Studyspark Study Document

Arabic Language and Culture Course: Middle East Culture Project Proposal

Pages:9 (2626 words)

Sources:5

Subject:Social Issues

Topic:Culture

Document Type:Project Proposal

Document:#35105739


Arabic Language and Culture Course: Middle East Culture

Abstract

This grant proposal seeks funds to support the development of the Arabic Language and Culture Course. This course will provide opportunities for students to further enhance their Arabic language skills outside the class setting. The target audience is Intermediate Arabic learners who have completed at least two Arabic courses. The primary goals of this proposed course include: preparing students to communicate effectively in Arabic.

Project Description

Rationale

This theme of Hookah Lounges enables me as an instructor to incorporate Arabic Culture concurrently with developing the linguistic skills of listening, understanding, speaking, reading, and writing. Hookah Lounges in Dearborn incorporate such elements as traditional Arabic décor and Arabic music. They are regarded by many as a novel and chic way to socialize and embrace multiculturalism. The reason I chose Dearborn is that it has the biggest population of Arabs in the US. It is located in the Detroit Metro Area, where Wayne State University is located. A Hookah lounge will serve as a Language Club for an authentic interactive and creative learning environment, which will create learning opportunities for the students (heritage and non-heritage) outside the classroom, helping them practice their linguistic skills in the real world while staying 80% within the Target language. (Social Distancing and mask-wearing will be practiced.)

Audience

The target audience is Arabic learners who have completed at least two Arabic courses. The majority of Arabic learners (ALs) are planning to visit the Middle East so that they can experience the Arab culture first hand. This course will introduce students to Arabic culture because they will visit Hookah Lounge in Dearborn where Levantine style is very authentic and Ishtar Restaurant, which represents Middle East culture. By visiting these sites, students will able to apply Arab courtesies appropriately.

Content and Design

Arabic Language and Culture Program introduce students to life in the Middle East through classroom discussions and face-to-face visits to Hookah Lounges and Ishtar Restaurant in Dearborn, Michigan. The course has four units: 1) Introducing self, 2) Identifying numbers and days of the week, 3) Talking about family members, student life, occupation, and leisure activities, and 4) Expressing emotions and feelings, 5) Arabic food and drink. Learning goals are outlined below:

Goal 1: Students can greet each other and say good-bye, and they can introduce themselves by name, nationality, and profession. Standards targeted is interpersonal communication.

Goal 2: Students can use number combinations from 0 to 5000 in situations to express their age, address, phone numbers, dates, time, price Standards is interpersonal communication, and cultural comparison.

Goal 3: Students can introduce others, especially family members, by name, nationality, and occupation.

Goal 4: Students can talk about how they feel using a wide range of adjectives.

Goal 5: Students will be able to talk about their majors and minors.

Goal 6: Students will be able to communicate by providing information about what they like and dislike doing in their leisure time.

Goal 7: Students will be able to relate to Arabic culture as it relates to food and drinks. For accomplishing this objective, students will prepare for the Taste of Arabia party and visit the Hookah lounge in Dearborn. Heritage students who form the majority of the class will prepare for a cultural day by inviting non-heritage student s to Arabic traditional dishes from different countries. This is a big authentic event that incorporates Arabic culture into the course. It will be held in the Ishtar restaurant, which represents the Middle Eastern culture in many ways. Second, students will visit Hookah Lounge in Dearborn where they will be able to rehearse their Arabic language skills.

Arabic Language and Culture Course are designed to introduce students to life in the Middle East, both linguistically and culturally. That is, it incorporates both Arabic language and culture. Additionally, it provides a comprehensive introduction to Arab culture through class discussions and f2f visits to places of cultural significance. This course takes 14 weeks and offers 25 contact hours, as elaborated below.

· Eight hours to introduce themselves. This unit differs from prior units in that learners will be taught to introduce themselves in a week dedicated to the acquisition of listening, cultural, and speaking skills. The Arabic Language and Culture Program differs from the remaining introductory-level programs in a colloquial language in its utilization of fellows’ advanced Arabic Language knowledge for swift course introduction. Furthermore, it familiarizes fellows with multiple sociolinguistic Arabic Language Levels, highlighting the cultural settings for the application of Arabic frameworks and vocabulary. Teaching materials utilized in the program include 4 Arabic multi-media book units (book title - “Hadduuta MaSriyya” “An Egyptian Story”), which is, at present, in the development phase, by three senior CASA educators. The textbook is in its final stage of editing and revision and is expected to be published in the spring.

· Eight hours weekly dedicated to additional MSA skills development in the areas of listening, reading, writing, and speaking via Egypt: Culture and Society course. This program especially emphasizes listening to and reading the news every day, which familiarizes fellows with historical, economic, political, and social elements that have marked the history of Egypt and resulted in the modern-day Egyptian nation. In this program, CASA will utilize its novel listening and reading material intended specifically for this program, which is currently in the editing stage for publication in spring.

· 3-4 hours weekly dedicated to practicing verbal communication skills by fellows through discussing Egyptian society and culture with their language partners — commonly Egyptian college-goers – in small groups made up of 4 or 5 students. This activity, titled Mishwaar wa Dardasha “Field Trip and Conversation,” involves individual groups meeting up with their respective language partners for visiting a site in Cairo (for instance, al-Hussein, Sayyida Zaynab, or Azhar Park, to name a few), exploring it, and discussing several problems and subjects associated with their study of Egypt and personal experiences in the country.

· Three hours weekly dedicated to the area of service-learning, which aims at extending learning beyond classroom settings and into real-world (community) settings. In summer 2007, students collaborated with a couple of non-governmental organizations in Cairo’s Mokattam area, one which aids matriarchal families and the other that caters to children hailing from underprivileged households.

Additionally, fellows commit a further 3-4 hours every day to complete homework assignments as well as taking part in various cultural activities in Cairo, as boat rides on the River Nile, watching a movie at the theater, visiting local markets, and cafes, etc.

The program will introduce students to life in the Middle East, both linguistically and culturally. It provides an extensive introduction to Arabic culture and society through lectures and tours of sites of historical and cultural significance. This program takes 14 weeks and offers three context hours per week as follows:

· Three hours a week devoted to the development of speaking, listening, and cultural skills.

· Two to three hours a week devoted to allowing students to practice their oral skills and engage in discussions of Arabic culture and society. Students will visit the Arab American museum.

· Four hours a week devoted to service-learning, aiming to expand learning beyond the classroom and into the community.

· Students will participate in several cultural activities in Michigan, such as visiting local cafés

Teaching techniques:

· class discussions in Arabic

· In this section, I will explain two lesson plans for teaching the act of refusal according to Arabic pragmatics. The lesson plans include role-play, discussion, and practice.

Lesson Plan 1:

· Teaching the Act of Refusal According to Arabic Pragmatics: Welcoming and Serving Guests (Arabic Beginners/Intermediate Level)

· This pragmatics lesson is for university-level students ranging from ages 18 and older. Most of whom speak English as their native language and come from American cultural backgrounds. The number of students can range from five to fifteen students. This lesson is for students who have covered at least three months of Arabic. Therefore, they have learned the alphabet, can read and write at a basic level and know how to use basic terms.

· 95

· Communicative Goal: Students will be able to welcome guests, offer and refuse food and…


Sample Source(s) Used

References

Center for Arabic Study Abroad (Casa). (2012). USED Grant Proposal, 2008-2012. Cairo, Egypt, The University Of Texas, Austin. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpsgpa/texas.doc

Center for Cross-Cultural Learning. (2008). Arabic Course Description and Syllabus. Boston University Morocco Program. Department of Moroccan Languages and Culture CCCL. Retrieved from http://www.bu.edu/abroad/files/2009/12/syllabus-rabat-language-and-liberal-arts-rabat-arabic.pdf

General English Activities Worksheets Games. https://www.teach-this.com/general-activities-worksheets

Learn Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) Online with Arab Academy. https://www.arabacademy.com/msa/

Syllabus for Spanish Culture - Instructure. https://canvas.instructure.com/courses/902107/assignments/syllabus

Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1820&context=gradreports

Cite this Document

Join thousands of other students and "spark your studies."

Sign Up for FREE
Related Documents

Studyspark Study Document

Water in the Middle East

Pages: 75 (22307 words) Sources: 1+ Subject: History - Israel Document: #58217118

While on one hand, the Nile gets the highest discharge from rainfall on the highlands of Ethiopia and upland plateau of East Africa, located well outside the Middle East region; on the other hand, discharge points of the other two rivers, Euphrates and Tigris, are positioned well within the Middle East region, prevailing mostly in Turkey, Syria along with Iraq. In other areas, recurrent river systems are restricted to

Studyspark Study Document

The Status of Japan S Relationship with the Middle East

Pages: 17 (5164 words) Sources: 35 Subject: Middle East Document: #89965774

Strengthening Ties: Arab-Japan Relations Pre and Post-Oil Shock, and Japan\\\'s Shift Towards Arab Partners for Energy SecuritySummaryThe relationship between Japan and Arab nations has seen a significant transformation since the oil shocks of the 1970s. Prior to this period, Japan\\\'s interaction with the Middle East was primarily trade-oriented, focusing on oil imports to fuel its post-WWII economic boom. Politically, Japan followed the lead of its Western allies on Middle Eastern

Studyspark Study Document

Impact of Culture on PTSD in the Middle East

Pages: 9 (2929 words) Sources: 10 Subject: Psychiatry Document: #66306094

PTSD in the Middle East

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is one of the most common mental health or psychological disorders facing people in the Middle East region. This condition emerges from episodes of social upheaval, combat, and violence that have become common in the Middle East over the past few years. Some of the major areas in the Middle East that have been characterized by increased conflicts in recent

Studyspark Study Document

Christianity in the Middle East

Pages: 9 (3325 words) Sources: 4 Subject: Drama - World Document: #40538736

Christianity was born in the Middle East, the religion has become globalized with a relatively sparse and scattered Christian presence in the region today. Currently, Christians suffer from frequent persecution, especially at the hands of terrorist groups like ISIS/ISIL. As Thomas (2014), points out, "members of the Islamic State have targeted Christian churches, destroyed symbols of Christian faith and killed Christians because of their beliefs." Current events echo the roots

Studyspark Study Document

Arabic Poetry Arabic Is Among the Youngest

Pages: 2 (689 words) Sources: 2 Subject: Literature Document: #73007981

Arabic Poetry Arabic is among the youngest of the Semitic languages, emerging around the fourth century C.E. And rising to prominence only after the death of Muhammad. The spread of Islam enabled the growth of the Arabic language, giving rise to its first literary manifestations. The earliest forms of Arabic language poetry were oral, "memorized and handed down from one generation to another," only written towards the end of the seventh

Studyspark Study Document

Culture and the Military Cultural

Pages: 7 (1915 words) Sources: 4 Subject: Anthropology Document: #48326917

This also has major implications for military operations, both within a military unit and in the interaction between the military unit and another culture. Essentially, the problem of ethnocentrism can be seen at the root of the other cultural problems discussed in this context; it implies both a lack of understanding about the impacts of the unit's culture on the people of a foreign culture, as well as a lack

Join thousands of other students and

"spark your studies".