Offered By	ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
Academic Contact	Dr Ali Aldahesh

Arabic is the mother language of over 250 million people in the Middle east (West Asia and North Africa), and one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Arabic is also the language of the Qur’an with special importance to all Muslims in the world numbering over 1.5 billion people.

Arabic is the language of an ancient civilization, which contributed greatly to human knowledge. Its influence is strongly felt on such languages as Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Indonesian and Malay, among others. And many European languages still preserve hundreds of words from Arabic origin in various fields of knowledge. Arabic is also the living medium of a contemporary dynamic literature and culture. Its rich and magnificent poetry, classical and modern, is especially captivating.

The Arabic courses can be undertaken as an Arts language major within the Bachelor of Arts or combined BA degree options or within the Bachelor of Asian Studies, or as single courses.

First year Arabic assumes no previous knowledge of the language. It covers the Arabic script and sound system, basic grammar rules, and the study of samples of modern Arabic literature and print media. The method of teaching is based on an audio-visual and audio-lingual approach, which is designed to develop the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing in an integrated way through the use of dialogues in realistic situations, class interaction and oral and written drills. Grammar is explained in its functional aspect using basic structures of Arabic. Later courses cover more advanced grammar, as well as the style and language of the Arabic media, contemporary Arabic fiction and Classical Arabic.

Courses in Arabic use Modern Standard Arabic as the language of teaching. In third year, students will have the opportunity to read some literature and works in Classical Arabic, including readings from the Qur'an. Students will thus gain a sound knowledge of Arabic grammar and appreciation of modern and classical, secular and religious texts.

Students who successfully complete their third year of Arabic may then undertake further Arabic studies which include modern literary genres, classical poetry, religious and historical texts.

Students enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Asian Studies combined program must indicate to the relevant Faculty Office if they are undertaking this major as part of their Arts or Asian Studies component of the combined degree, as requirements differ between Faculties.

Requirements

Three streams of Arabic language study are available depending on the prior studies of the student. The Arabic major in the Bachelor of Arts requires the completion of 42 units of study comprising of courses indicated in one of the streams below. The major must include ARAB3002 Advanced Arabic B, or equivalent, with the permission of the Coordinator.

Major at beginners level: the beginners stream is available to students who have little or no knowledge of Arabic. It is available at both first and second year level, although students intending to complete a major will need to commence their language study in their first year.

The beginners stream consists of:

• ARAB1002 Introductory Arabic A
• ARAB1003 Introductory Arabic B
• ARAB2011 Intermediate Arabic A
• ARAB2012 Intermediate Arabic B
• ARAB3001 Advanced Arabic A
• ARAB3002 Advanced Arabic B
• Plus one ARAB elective course

Major at post-beginners level is usually only available to students who have obtained a pass in HSC Arabic, or its equivalent.

The post-beginners stream consists of:

• ARAB2011 Intermediate Arabic A
• ARAB2012 Intermediate Arabic B
• ARAB3001 Advanced Arabic A
• ARAB3002 Advanced Arabic B
• Plus three ARAB elective courses

Major at advanced level is only available to students whose level in Arabic is higher than HSC standard and who have passed a special placement test.

The advanced stream consists of:

• ARAB3001 Advanced Arabic A
• ARAB3002 Advanced Arabic B
• Plus five ARAB elective courses

ARAB Electives include:

• ARAB2010 Applied Arabic
• ARAB3003 An Introductory course to Arabic Linguistics
• ARAB3004 Research Essay (Arabic)
• ARAB3005 An Introductory course to Arabic Literature
• ARAB3006 Special Topics in Arabic
• ARAB3007 Directed Study Project (Arabic)

With the permission of the Convener, a student with appropriate language competence may enter the major without the Introductory Arabic courses at first year level.

The information published on the Study at ANU 2009 website applies to the 2009 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2008 website.