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ARABIC A LEVEL
Arabic A level
‘'I believe that international doors have opened, and that from now on, literate people will consider Arab literature also. We deserve that recognition.’
Naguib Mahfouz (Egyptian writer and Nobel Prize Winner for Literature (1988) 1911-2006)
Why Study Arabic?
Arabic is one of the world’s most important languages, spoken by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. The aim of the course is to guide students to explore and develop understanding of the contemporary society, cultural background and heritage of one or more country or community whose language is Arabic. You will read and respond to a variety of written texts from authentic sources and demonstrate flexibility when communicating in writing. You will learn how to use appropriate registers in written communication and manipulate Arabic accurately to organise facts and ideas.
Ashbourne’s Languages Department
Ashbourne’s best tutor by common consensus is Odette Hudson, who heads the language department. Her commitment enthusiasm and patience know no bounds. If a student studies French with Odette, it invariably ends up being their best grade. But it is more than just results that mark Odette out. It is her personality and style of tuition that enthuses students. Odette has a Licence d’enseignement des Languages from her native France as well as a DipLanguage obtained in Denmark. There is also a wealth of experience in the department. Odette is ably assisted by Louise Forster who holds a BA hons from Reading and who is fluent in German and Italian. Teaching Spanish is the highly personable Alberto Lado Rey who holds a LIcentiado & Spanish Teachers Training Certificate as well as an MA from Westminster University. Sakae Osakabe holds a Japanese Teacher’s Training Certificate and teaches, naturally, Japanese. Dr. Hussain Al-Shamari teaches Arabic and George Chalzedos teaches Latin.
Examination Board: Ashbourne teaches the Edexcel specification which has received approval from the QCA for the commencement of teaching in September 2008. Unlike the vast majority of A levels in the new 2008 curriculum Arabic consists of two examinations rather than four. Unit One is to be taken at the end of the first year, thus completing the AS and Unit two is to be taken at the end of the 2nd year, thus completing the A level.
Unit One: Understanding and Written response in Arabic
Content summary:
This unit consists of three sections.
Section A: Reading
Section B: Translation
Section C: Essay
Students are required to convey their understanding of written Arabic through a series of reading tasks. They also need to draw upon and apply their knowledge of Arabic language, grammar and lexis to produce a short translation from Arabic into English, as well as demonstrate an ability to manipulate Arabic language in continuous writing.
Students will be expected to recognise and use Arabic in a variety of contexts and in relation to the following general topic areas:
Youth culture and concerns
Lifestyle: health and fitness
The world around us: travel, tourism, environmental issues and the
Arabic-speaking world
Education and employment.
Assessment:
2 hour 45 minute paper in three sections.
Section A: Students will need to understand, retrieve and convey information from a short series of different Arabic-language texts. They will be required to provide a mix of non-verbal and Arabic-language responses. In addition, marks will be given for vocalisation of text produced in response to one of the questions.
Section B: Students will be assessed on their ability to transfer meaning from Arabic into English. They will be required to apply their knowledge of Arabic language, grammar and lexis to produce a short translation from Arabic into English.
Section C: Students will write a 220-270 word essay, in Arabic, in response to a short Arabic-language stimulus and related bullet points. The assessment rewards learners for communicating relevant information effectively as well as for the quality of the Arabic language produced.
Unit Two: Understanding and Written response & research in Arabic
Content summary:
This unit consists of three sections.
Section A: Reading
Section B: Translation
Section C: Essays on chosen topic(s) and/or text(s)
Students are required to demonstrate skills in advanced level Arabic reading and in the transfer of meaning from English into Arabic. To promote research and a greater knowledge and understanding of Arabic culture and/or society, students must produce two Arabic-language essays in response to questions related to their chosen topic(s) and/or text(s).
Students will be expected to recognise and use Arabic in a variety of contexts and in relation to the following general topic areas:
Youth culture and concerns
Lifestyle: health and fitness
The world around us: travel, tourism, environmental issues and the
Arabic-speaking world
Education and employment
Customs, traditions, beliefs and religions
National and international events: past, present and future
Literature and the arts.
Assessment:
3 hour paper in three sections.
Section A: Students will be required to read an Arabic-language passage and to
retrieve and convey information from this via a series of questions and answers in Arabic.
Section B: Students will be expected to undertake a short translation from English into Arabic.
Section C: Students must answer two questions, in Arabic, that each relate to a topic or a text chosen from the prescribed list featured in Section 2.3 Content. A choice of two questions will be offered for each of the prescribed topics and texts.
The case system
Vocalisation system Consonants; long and short vowels; helping vowels; hamza Transliteration of loan words in Arabic script
Nouns Definite/indefinite
Gender (masculine/feminine) plus exceptions Singular/dual/plural (sound; broken; non-human; collective) Diptotes
Idafa
Indeclinable; invariable; defective; diminutive
Articles Definite; omission of indefinite; generic
Adjectives Agreement (human; non-human)
Position
Elative (comparative and superlative)
Demonstrative
Relative (nisba)
Indeclinable; invariable; defective
Adverbs Manner, time, place, purpose
Comparative and superlative
Interrogative (eg mata, kayfa, kam)
Cognate accusative
Hal
Tamyiz
Pronouns Personal
Relative
Demonstrative
Possessive
Interrogative (eg man)
Verbal sentences Word order; subject/object
Verbs Active/passive participle
Verbal nouns (masdar)
Sound triliteral, quadriliteral verbs (Forms I-X) hollow; defective; assimilated; doubled;
Hamzated verbs (Forms I-X)
Tenses Perfect
Imperfect; present; subjunctive; jussive
Latin imperfect
Conditional
Pluperfect Future
Future perfect (R)
Imperative — positive, negative, indirect
Negative Passive voice (R)
Nominal sentences Equational sentences
Kana and its sisters
Inna and its sisters
Prepositions
Particles including Interrogatives
Vocative
Use of qad (perfect, pluperfect and hal)
Use of qad (hypothetical) (R)
Exception (eg Illa)
Quantifiers/intensifiers
Conjunctions
Number, quantity and time Cardinal/ordinal
Agreements with nouns
Use of munthu
Advanced GCE: All grammar and structures listed for AS Level plus:
Verbs Future perfect tense
Passive voice: all tenses
Use of qad
Particles Absolute negative (la); exclamation and wonder;
emphatic
Possible University Degree Programmes Suited to A-level Arabic
Although a specialized area of study, along with many other languages, the study of Arabic opens up a number of possibilities for undergraduate courses and subsequent careers including Islamic Studies, further studies in Arabic, Theology, Religious Studies, Classical Civilisation, Ancient History, Anthropology, International Politics, Politics, Commerce, Business and Finance and Tourism.
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