Arabic
Arabic Classes at SDSU -- Fall Semester, 2009
ROTC Language & Culture Project
The ROTC Language & Culture Project at SDSU focuses on Iraqi Dialect, one of several languages currently being taught on campus for this project. The program offers cadets intensive summer training in the language and the culture, refresher courses for the fall and limited study abroad opportunities. Cadets earn 8-10 college credit hours for the intensive 6-week classes.
Professional Level Iraqi Dialect
SDSU through their critical language program, funded by the Department of Defense and housed in LARC, has trained teachers and has developed intensive courses for Iraqi dialect. Camp Pendleton Marines study the language and culture with emphasis on task-based activities using only dialect, and Iraqi and Middle East history and culture.
Modern Standard Arabic Courses
The Arabic program at the Language Acquisition Resource Center offers intensive Modern Standard Arabic courses (MSA) at all levels starting with the beginners’ all the way up to the distinguished levels. Native experts in the Arabic language and the culture, who have been trained by LARC, teach the courses.
Arabic Summer Courses
The summer intensive MSA courses are designed to equip students with relevant knowledge that can be used in their daily lives. Our focus is primarily the communicative and functional uses of the Arabic language. Each class has a master teacher and an apprentice, a team that enables classes to be conducted with a smaller teacher-student ratio.
Quarterly Arabic Courses
The Iraqi courses offered by the Arabic program at LARC are designed for the military personnel who will be deployed to Iraq. As such, the courses offer pseudo immersion experiences that focus on what a military person would need when in Iraq, i.e., speak and understand other people’s speech. Culture and the various Iraqi dialects spoken in Iraq are highlighted.
After School Arabic Program (ASAP)
The After School Arabic Program offers the opportunity to school age students whether from a heritage or non-native backgrounds to get an early exposure to Arabic. Such a program offers training in the language and culture at a grassroots’ level that eventually will help grow the pool of proficient speakers of Arabic once they are at the college level. Currently we oversee the program at Carver elementary School, Islamic School of San Diego and soon at other elementary and high schools in the San Diego School district.
Arabic Language Material Development
The Arabic program at LARC has developed a myriad of Iraqi materials that includes a 120 everyday life scenarios in addition distinguished level MSA materials that are used in the summer intensive distinguished level course. These will be soon published and available to interested users. LARC has also published an intermediate level MSA book under the title of: Arabic Language through Dialog 2. Expected in a few months are books 1 & 3 in the same series. Children’s materials based on the best practices are also available.
Arab Culture
The teaching and learning of the Arabic language is inherently linked to the studying and understanding of the culture. As such, LARC focuses and invests a lot of its funds and resources in hosting events that bring the culture closer to its students of Arabic. Events include Arabic music parties, Henna parties, cooking lessons, movies, reading Arabic novels (at the distinguished levels) and excursions in Arabic stores, barbershops and restaurants available to us in the San Diego area.
Collaborative Work
The Arabic program at LARC has been very involved on the national scene participating in teacher training conferences and closely collaborating with other campuses and colleagues. This includes being part of the development of the California subject test in Arabic, expertise sharing and close working relationship with the Arabic program at the CSU San Bernardino, the revision of the Arabic DLPT V, and other work.
Training & Program Assessment
The Arabic program at LARC has been very involved in teacher training. Many workshops have been conducted including training teachers on the applications of the communicative language approach, multiple intelligences in the Arabic language classroom, teaching Arabic through Art, and training many teachers on how to conduct a distinguished level class.
International Work
Dr. Hanada Taha-Thomure, the director of the Arabic program at LARC has been a regular speaker at International forums including the Arabian Reading Association Conference (TARA) and Near East and South Asia American Schools Conference (NESA). In addition, she is a consultant for Scholastic managing their My Arabic Library program in Bahrain and training teachers around the Arab world on the uses of classroom libraries and literacy.
Arabic Digital Media Files
Arabic Digital Media is where student assignments for their Arabic classes are posted to share. Media types ranging from conversation and graphics to music, slideshows and student-produced videos can be viewed and downloaded here.
Links
Sheikh Diya’ AlMousawi on Arab Youth
Professional Level Arabic Program (PDF)