ARABIC LANGUAGE 2

The Arabic Language 2 module (Advanced Arabic Language for the Social Sciences 2) is one of the courses characterizing the Master’s Degree Programme in Languages of Asia and North Africa for Business and International Cooperation (Arab Countries curriculum). It aims to provide students with intermediate-to-advanced linguistic and translation-related skills, with particular emphasis on the language of the social sciences.

The course is designed to develop students’ ability to apply their language skills in a variety of communicative situations, as well as in reading and analysing texts and listening to audiovisual materials that require familiarity with specialised language used in the social sciences, particularly in the fields of economics, law, culture, and the socio-political context.

In this perspective, the course aims to foster the use of linguistic competence as a tool for understanding and interpreting the contemporary reality of the Arab countries in its various dimensions and manifestations.

The expected learning outcomes are the achievement of a level of language proficiency equivalent to B2+ of the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages). Specifically:

1. Knowledge and Understanding
• Knowledge of the key phrases required to interact in communicative contexts involving specialised language in the economic, legal, socio-political, and cultural fields.
• A solid knowledge of the grammatical system of Modern Standard Arabic.

2. Ability to Apply Knowledge and Understanding
•Ability to correctly use key phrases required to interact in communicative contexts involving specialised language in the economic, legal, and socio-political fields.
• Ability to understand texts and audiovisual materials dealing with economic, legal, socio-political, and cultural topics.
• Ability to accurately translate from Arabic into Italian sentences containing complex grammatical structures.

3. Making Judgements
• Ability to assess one’s own level of linguistic knowledge, skills, and competences.

4. Communication Skills
• Ability to communicate the specific features of linguistic and textual analysis using appropriate terminology.

5. Learning Skills
• Ability to relate different learning contexts to one another and to apply one’s knowledge, skills, and abilities to foster personal and professional development.

Intermediate knowledge and skills in Modern Standard Arabic, as learned and internalized during the concerned Graduate Program, as well as in the LM005C- and LM006C-classes. In particular, vocabulary and structures as occurring in Deheuvels, Grammatica Araba, as well as in Al-Warraki, The Connectors in MSA and Kendall, Media Arabic: An Essential Vocabulary. Adeguate conoscenze di lingua inglese.

The course involves the acquisition of a defined set of widely used and standardised grammatical, morphosyntactic, and lexical elements of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), as used in journalistic contexts and in the specialised languages of the social sciences.
Students are expected to learn and consolidate these elements through their presentation and analysis in context, as well as to develop a thorough understanding of the content of the Arabic-language texts and audiovisual materials addressed during the course.
Specifically:

1) Grammatical and morphosyntactic elements of Modern Standard Arabic aimed at developing the ability to understand, translate, communicate, and produce complex content in MSA, with particular reference to journalistic materials in the economic, legal, socio-political, and cultural fields.

2) Journalistic texts drawn from newspapers and other media outlets in the Arab world, particularly from online sources, dealing with economic, legal, socio-political, and cultural topics.

3) Audiovisual materials, primarily available online, from the Arab world and dealing with economic, legal, socio-political, and cultural topics.

4) Specialised vocabulary relating to the economic, legal, socio-political, and cultural fields.

Core Text

Wael Farouq and Elisa Ferrero (2024), *Imparare l'arabo dei mass media*, Rome, Carocci.

Additional materials:
Articles from newspapers and periodicals, as well as Arabic-language audiovisual content, made available to students on the Moodle course page

Supplementary Texts:
Elgibali, A., Korica, N. (2014), *Media Arabic: A Coursebook for Reading Arabic News*, Cairo, American University in Cairo Press.
El-Farahaty, H. (2015), *Arabic-English-Arabic Legal Translation*, London, Routledge. (Selected excerpts)

Recommended Reading:
Kendall, E. (2005), *Media Arabic: An Essential Vocabulary*, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press.
Sirhan, N. (2018), *Mastering Arabic Vocabulary for Intermediate to Advanced Learners of Modern Standard Arabic*, London and New York, Routledge.

Dictionaries:
Traini, R. (1965–1973), *Vocabolario arabo-italiano*, Rome, IPO. (Reprinted several times.)
Wehr, H., *A Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic*, 4th edition..

Reference Works:
Badawi, E., Carter, M. G., Gully, A. (2004), *Modern Written Arabic: A Comprehensive Grammar*, London, Routledge.

Useful Websites:

Al Jazeera Learning Arabic: http://learning.aljazeera.net/en
Dictionaries and Glossaries: http://www.almaany.com
The Arab Council for the Social Sciences: https://theacss.org/

The assessment consists of a two-hour written examination and an oral examination. The two examinations DO NOT take place on the same day.

Written examination: The written examination consists of three parts: (1) Comprehension: reading and comprehension of a journalistic text dealing with economic, legal, socio-political, and/or cultural topics, followed by comprehension exercises, including multiple-choice questions, true/false exercises, and open-ended questions. (2) Translation: translation from Arabic into Italian of a journalistic text dealing with economic, legal, socio-political, and/or cultural topics. (3) Written production: writing a paragraph on a topic related to the economic, legal, socio-political, and/or cultural fields.

Oral examination: The oral examination consists of a conversation in Modern Standard Arabic based on the vocabulary and linguistic structures covered in the course materials and during the practical language classes. It also includes a section focusing on the audiovisual materials covered during the course.

The maximum overall grade is 30/30 cum laude, with 20 points awarded for the written examination and 10 points for the oral examination. A minimum score of 18/30 is required to pass the examination. For the grading scale, please refer to the relevant table.

Both examinations are designed to assess students’ ability to understand, produce, communicate, and translate complex materials in Modern Standard Arabic, particularly journalistic texts and content involving specialised language in the economic, legal, socio-political, and cultural fields.

The same assessment procedure applies to both attending and non-attending students.

written and oral

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

Regarding the grading scale, scores will be assigned according to the following schema:

A. Scores in the 18-22 range will be awarded in the presence of: Sufficient knowledge and applied comprehension of the program;
B. Scores in the 23-26 range will be awarded in the presence of: Fair knowledge and applied comprehension of the program;
C. Scores in the 27-30 range will be awarded in the presence of: Good or excellent knowledge and applied comprehension of the program;
D. Honors will be awarded in the presence of excellent knowledge and applied comprehension of the program.

The teaching methodology adopted aims to develop students’ language skills in an integrated manner, including reading and listening comprehension, written and oral production, translation, and communicative interaction, through a combination of multimedia tools and traditional teaching methods. The activities alternate between inductive and deductive approaches and include a variety of exercises appropriately contextualised within the individual teaching units and designed to address the different stages of the learning process: overall comprehension, analysis, synthesis, reflection, and assessment.
Particular attention is devoted to the use of language in context through the analysis of authentic journalistic texts and Arabic-language audiovisual materials relating to the economic, legal, socio-political, and cultural fields. The activities are designed to consolidate students’ knowledge of the grammatical and morphosyntactic structures of Modern Standard Arabic, expand and systematise specialised vocabulary, and develop their ability to understand, analyse, translate, and produce complex content.

The course is organised in:
a) Lectures
b) Practical language classes

Class also held in Modern Standard Arabic.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "International cooperation" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development