Carnegie Mellon University Elementary Arabic 1 (82-111)Department of Modern Languages Professor: Nevine Abraham, Ph.D. Fall 2013 - 9:30AM 10:20AM email: nabrah@andrew.cmu.edu(MWF) WEH 5312 – (T) SH 208 (location may change) Office Telephone: 412-268-4312Off. Hrs: (W) 10:30-11:30AM Language assistant: Julia ConstantineOffice: 3rd Floor Loft, FMS Bldg. jkconsta@andrew.cmu.edu

Required:

- Alif Baa: Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds – Third edition, Kristen Brustad, Goergetown University Press. ISBN 978-1-58901-705-4

- A book key for online homework exercises. (Please follow the instructions on the screen shot in page 3 on how to create an account and purchase a book key on http://www.alkitaabtextbook.com)

Recommended:

- English/Arabic Oxford Picture Dictionary – Second edition, Jayme Adelson-Goldstein, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-474010-4 (This book is recommended for those who wish to learn more vocabulary or will continue with Arabic 2 or further. If you will not be taking any further course of Arabic, it will not be necessary to purchase this Dictionary. If you purchase it, we will not be using this Dictionary until we begin learning and using vocabulary. Quizzes and exams will not cover vocabulary from this Dictionary.)

Course Objectives: (10 units of Alif Baa)

- Listening: Students should be able to understand high-frequency commands, simple questions, and basic conversation.

- Speaking: Students should be able to use learned material, i.e. introduce him/herself, give basic autobiographical information, describe family, ask and answer simple questions.

- Reading: Students should be able to read sentences and dialogues.

- Writing: Students should be able to transcribe words and simple sentences.

- Learn about different aspects of Arabic culture.

Grade Breakdown

Attendance & Participation 15%Out-of-class Meetings 5%Homework 15%Presentation 10%Quizzes 15%Midterm 15%Oral Final Exam 10%Written Final Exam 15%

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Class Attendance & Participation

- Students are expected to attend and participate in every class.

- No late arrival to class please as this distracts your classmates and disrupts the lesson. - Your preparation of assignments should be as thorough as possible: read all the pages as assigned on

the syllabus prior to coming to class. You will be expected to raise your hand at least once during a class period and answer a question based on your homework (one that you think you have right, if you’re worried about making a mistake).

- Group work participation will be noted. When working in groups, make sure you take turns representing group work.

- Please refer to Blackboard for “Participation Rubric.”

Out-of-Class Meetings

- Individual, 15-min, out-of-class meetings occur every other week and begin in week 2 (week 2 Last Name A-P begin – week 3 Last Name Q-Z begin). You will schedule your meeting with either your professor or a language assistant, usually for writing and/or conversational practice and review. Preparatory materials will be posted on Blackboard. Graded based on preparation.

Homework 

- Homework assignments should be done daily, either by handing in a paper of a new letter writing practice [see “a)” below ], or on the Companion Website (follow the instructions on the screen shot below on enrolling into the Companion and purchasing a book key) [see “b)” below]s.

- Your professor will not remind you of the exercises assigned; rather, your daily homework consists of:

a) writing all new letters/numbers assigned in the daily reading pages of the textbook. To be handed on a paper on the following day. Write each new letter at least 5 times on the line. Your professor will check for neatness and accuracy of your writing.

b) completing all exercises on the Companion Website. These are the same exercises included within the pages assigned daily on the syllabus. For example, if day 2 covers pages 5 to 9, and page 9 contains Listening Exercise 2, then you must automatically do this exercise on the Companion Website. The exercises on the Companion Website are the same as the ones in the textbook. Your professor may occasionally assign additional practice exercises. The advantage of the website is to offer you an instant correction and feedback, and is easier than handing in paper-homework in class.

- Homework should reflect your learning in progress and does not need to be 100 % correct to receive full credit, but is not expected to be mostly wrong either. Your homework should show adequate comprehension, diligent effort, and improvement over time.

- Complete the assigned exercises prior to coming to class. Your professor will regularly check that you have done the exercises on the website, and a credit for the completed exercises will be posted on

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Blackboard. Also, your professor will grade and leave you feedback on the open-ended exercises that are marked with a red dot.

- INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO ENROLL ON THE COMPANION WEBSITE:

o Go to http://www.alkitaabtextbook.com and click Create an account.o Select a username and password and enter your information, then click Submit.

Note: Remember to write down your username and password and be sure to select the correct time zone. Also, please enter a valid e-mail address so we can send you your password if you forget it.

o Follow the instructions below:

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Presentation

- A one 10-15 min. presentation in English, although it would be an asset to possibly use a few Arabic key words to educate your classmates more on that cultural topic. Suggested topics will be posted on Blackboard. Please consult with your professor on the content of your presentation before presenting it.

- Please refer to Blackboard for presentation grading rubric and for a list of topics.

- Submit your presentation to your professor by email no later than 9:00PM the night before your presentation. In class, you will use your professor’s computer to present.

Quizzes

- 10-minutes quizzes, every Wednesday, beginning week 3. Quizzes will be on the material already covered up to the date of the quiz. Dates are noted on your syllabus. No make-up will be allowed except with a medical, written excuse.

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Midterm, Final Oral Exam, and Written Final Exam:

- All comprehensive. Dates are noted on your syllabus. No make-up will be allowed except with a medical, written excuse.

- The Final Oral Exam will consist of questions similar to the ones that you will routinely practice in every class. Your professor will provide you with sample questions to prepare prior to the Final Oral Exam. The Final Oral Exam will take place during the last week of classes and will be done by 10-minutes appointment.

Accommodations for Disabilities

Individuals with documented disabilities may be eligible to receive services/accommodations from CMU’s Equal Opportunity Services office. This office provides support services for both physically disabled and learning disabled students. E-mail or call Larry Powell (lpowell@andrew.cmu.edu at 268-2012).

Academic Integrity

Students who copy assignments or presentations, allow assignments to be copied, or cheat on quizzes/tests will fail the assignment or test on the first offense, and fail the entire course on the second. In such case, your professor will contact Student Affairs and have them decide whether a Review Board hearing is necessary. If you are caught cheating, you will fail that assignment (and depending on the seriousness, the whole class). If you are unsure about your particular situation, please ask your professor for clarification before you turn in an assignment as your own work. Please take the time to read the University’s discussion guide to promoting academic integrity at: http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/acad_integ/acad_integ_text.html and CMU’s “standards for Academic and Creative Life” in the student handbook or online at: http://www.cmu.edu/policies/documents/Cheating.html

*What is too much help?

Many students have questions as to what constitutes too much “help” on essays or homework. Of course, you may discuss a topic with a classmate or a friend. And you may ask a classmate or a friend for clarification if you don’t understand a sentence/idea.

DON’TS:

• Don’t write your classmate’s/friend’s opinion as your own in your homework.

• Don’t copy the content of a website into your “Presentation.”

• Don’t ask someone to ‘read over’ your homework to see if you made mistakes and then tell you what could be fixed.

Use of mobile devices, laptops, phones, etc. As research on learning shows, unexpected noises and movement automatically divert and capture people's attention, which means you are affecting everyone’s learning experience if your cell phone, pager, laptop, etc. makes noise or is visually distracting during class. For this reason,

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-turn off your mobile devices and close your laptops during class unless you are using your laptop to take class notes; -if you take notes or refer to notes on your laptop during class, turn the sound off so that you do not disrupt other students' learning;

-if you intend to do anything other than work for the class on your laptop, then please don’t come to class.

Course timeline

Mon Tues Wed Fri

Week 1

8/26

Intro to the course

Unit 1 pp.2-4

U1 pp. 5-9 U1 pp. 9-13 U1 pp. 13-17

Week 2

9/2

Labor Day U2 pp.20-24 U2 pp.25-29 U2 pp.29-33

Week 3

9/9

U2 pp.34-39 U2 pp.39-44 U3 pp.46-49

Quiz 1

U3 pp.50-53

Week 4

9/16

U3 pp.54-56 U3 pp.57-59 U3 pp.60-62

Quiz 2

U4 pp.63-64

Week 5

9/23

U4 pp.66-70 U4 pp.71-76 U4 pp.77-84

Quiz 3

U4 pp.85-89

Week 6

9/30

U5 pp.92-97 U5 pp.98-103 U5 pp.104-108

Quiz 4

U5 pp.109-111

Week 7

10/7

U5 pp.112-115 Midterm Review Midterm Review Midterm

Week 8

10/14

U6 pp.118-123 U6 pp.124-129 U6 pp.130-135

Quiz 5

Mid semester break

Week 9

10/21

U6 pp.136-140 U6 pp.141-144 U7 pp.146-150

Quiz 6

U7 pp.151-155

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Week 10 10/28

U7 pp.156-160 U7 pp.161-163 U7 pp.164-167

Quiz 7

U8 pp.170-174

Week 11

11/4

U8 pp.175-180 U8 pp.181-185 U8 pp.185-189

Quiz 8

U8 pp.190-191

Week 12

11/11

U9 pp.194-197 U9 pp.198-201 U9 pp.202-204

Quiz 9

U9 pp.205-206

Week 13

11/18

U9 pp.207-209 U10 pp.212-214 U10 pp.215-219

Quiz 10

U10 pp.220-225

Week 14

11/25

Final Review Final Review Thanksgiving Thanksgiving

Week 15

12/2

Final Oral Exam Final Oral Exam Final Oral Exam Final Oral Exam

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