Modern Standard Arabic Courses at ALIF
Courses below are six weeks in length. Students may also register for a 3-week course, which is the first three weeks of the courses listed below. Those 3-week courses are designated with an "S" (short), MSA101S, MSA102S, etc. and are 60 hours.
LANGUAGE COURSES
MSA101 Beginning I: An entry-level course which uses a student-centered approach to introduce basic grammatical structures & sound patterns of Modern Standard Arabic, with attention to mastery of script, pronunciation and listening comprehension. No prior background in Arabic required. Text: Alif Baa 3rd edition, Al-Kitaab I 3rd edition units 1-4, plus additional materials (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA102 Beginning II: Aims to expand vocabulary and to further develop the four skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking. Lessons focus on reading comprehension and introducing more complex grammatical structures. Prerequisite: MSA101 or Language Coordinator's approval. Text: Al-Kitaab I 3rd edition units 5-9, plus additional materials (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA103 Beginning III: Further expands students’ vocabulary base to permit reading of increasingly authentic texts from newspapers, journals, and other sources such as Al-Kitaab Al-Assasi, while introducing controlled writing assignments. Focuses on listening comprehension and reading to facilitate interactive conversations on complex subjects. Prerequisite: MSA201 or Language Coordinator's approval. Text: Al-Kitaab I 3rd edition units 10-13, plus preparatory materials for Al-Kitaab II (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA201 Intermediate I: Prepares students for independent study in MSA focusing on stylistic devices, vocabulary refinement, and communicative skills. This course also makes use of additional texts from various sources in order to reinforce the student's ability to read and comprehend complex writings. Prerequisite: MSA103 or Language Coordinator's approval. Text: Al-Kitaab II units 1-5, plus supplementary materials (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA202 Intermediate II: Further develops students' skills learned in MSA201. Ideal for scholars wishing to hone their ability to comprehend Arabic university lectures and to express themselves on technical subjects in speech and in writing. Prerequisite: MSA201 or Language Coordinator's approval. Text: Al-Kitaab II units 6-10, plus supplementary materials (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA301 Advanced I: Focusing on stylistic aspects of different literary genres, this course uses a sampling of authentic texts drawn from both contemporary and classical sources, and involves substantial writing assignments. While Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya Volume III is used as the central text, course materials may be adjusted according to student interest. Prerequisite: MSA202 or Language Coordinator's approval. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA302 Advanced II: A continuation of the skills learned in MSA301. Text: Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya Volume III and additional materials based on student interest. Prerequisite: MSA301 or Language Coordinator's approval. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
CONTENT COURSES
MSA251 Media Arabic I: Exposes students to basic newspaper vocabulary and structure starting with analysis of headlines. Prerequisite: MSA102 or Language Coordinator's approval. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA252 Media Arabic II: Seeks to build a media vocabulary sufficient for students to grasp the gist of a newspaper article or news broadcast with minimal intervention of the dictionary. Includes graded newspaper readings from Middle Eastern dailies & taped material from Moroccan television and radio. Prerequisite: MSA103, MSA251, or Language Coordinator's approval. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA261 Readings in Contemporary Maghrebi Literature: Survey of modern Arabic literature by major North African authors focusing on the short story genre with discussion of the cultural underpinnings of this literature as well as schools of criticism dealing with the authors in question. Knowledge of French and Maghrebi dialect(s) is helpful but not obligatory. Prerequisite: MSA201 or Language Coordinator's approval. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA351 Readings in Islamic Texts I: An introduction to the Quran and the sciences related to it. Includes a survey of the history of the revelation (asbâb at-tanzîl), compilation (tadwîn) of the Quran, principles of correct recitation (tajwîd) and discussion of exegesis (tafsîr). Prerequisite: MSA201 or Language Coordinator's approval. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA352 Readings in Islamic Texts II: This course consists of a broad introduction to the study of hadîth, including historical background on the major compilations, and a broad overview of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) focusing on the 4 main schools (madhâhib) of Sunni law. Authentic Islamic manuscripts are used as central texts and emphasis is placed on stylistic aspects and essential terminology. Prerequisite: MSA202 or MSA351. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
*Please note: 120 hours of classroom instruction given four hours per day, as long as there are 3 or more students. If there are 2 students, there will be 90 hours of instruction. If only one student, the course will be considered a private class. For online classes the hours are the same, with a maximum of 3 hours per day of group classes, plus extra hours (individual or small group) as needed. A content class with only 1 student is normally cancelled, but may be offered with 40 hours total.
Colloquial Moroccan Arabic course descriptions
LANGUAGE COURSES
MSA101 Beginning I: An entry-level course which uses a student-centered approach to introduce basic grammatical structures & sound patterns of Modern Standard Arabic, with attention to mastery of script, pronunciation and listening comprehension. No prior background in Arabic required. Text: Alif Baa 3rd edition, Al-Kitaab I 3rd edition units 1-4, plus additional materials (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA102 Beginning II: Aims to expand vocabulary and to further develop the four skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking. Lessons focus on reading comprehension and introducing more complex grammatical structures. Prerequisite: MSA101 or Language Coordinator's approval. Text: Al-Kitaab I 3rd edition units 5-9, plus additional materials (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA103 Beginning III: Further expands students’ vocabulary base to permit reading of increasingly authentic texts from newspapers, journals, and other sources such as Al-Kitaab Al-Assasi, while introducing controlled writing assignments. Focuses on listening comprehension and reading to facilitate interactive conversations on complex subjects. Prerequisite: MSA201 or Language Coordinator's approval. Text: Al-Kitaab I 3rd edition units 10-13, plus preparatory materials for Al-Kitaab II (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA201 Intermediate I: Prepares students for independent study in MSA focusing on stylistic devices, vocabulary refinement, and communicative skills. This course also makes use of additional texts from various sources in order to reinforce the student's ability to read and comprehend complex writings. Prerequisite: MSA103 or Language Coordinator's approval. Text: Al-Kitaab II units 1-5, plus supplementary materials (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA202 Intermediate II: Further develops students' skills learned in MSA201. Ideal for scholars wishing to hone their ability to comprehend Arabic university lectures and to express themselves on technical subjects in speech and in writing. Prerequisite: MSA201 or Language Coordinator's approval. Text: Al-Kitaab II units 6-10, plus supplementary materials (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA301 Advanced I: Focusing on stylistic aspects of different literary genres, this course uses a sampling of authentic texts drawn from both contemporary and classical sources, and involves substantial writing assignments. While Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya Volume III is used as the central text, course materials may be adjusted according to student interest. Prerequisite: MSA202 or Language Coordinator's approval. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA302 Advanced II: A continuation of the skills learned in MSA301. Text: Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya Volume III and additional materials based on student interest. Prerequisite: MSA301 or Language Coordinator's approval. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
CONTENT COURSES
MSA251 Media Arabic I: Exposes students to basic newspaper vocabulary and structure starting with analysis of headlines. Prerequisite: MSA102 or Language Coordinator's approval. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA252 Media Arabic II: Seeks to build a media vocabulary sufficient for students to grasp the gist of a newspaper article or news broadcast with minimal intervention of the dictionary. Includes graded newspaper readings from Middle Eastern dailies & taped material from Moroccan television and radio. Prerequisite: MSA103, MSA251, or Language Coordinator's approval. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA261 Readings in Contemporary Maghrebi Literature: Survey of modern Arabic literature by major North African authors focusing on the short story genre with discussion of the cultural underpinnings of this literature as well as schools of criticism dealing with the authors in question. Knowledge of French and Maghrebi dialect(s) is helpful but not obligatory. Prerequisite: MSA201 or Language Coordinator's approval. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA351 Readings in Islamic Texts I: An introduction to the Quran and the sciences related to it. Includes a survey of the history of the revelation (asbâb at-tanzîl), compilation (tadwîn) of the Quran, principles of correct recitation (tajwîd) and discussion of exegesis (tafsîr). Prerequisite: MSA201 or Language Coordinator's approval. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
MSA352 Readings in Islamic Texts II: This course consists of a broad introduction to the study of hadîth, including historical background on the major compilations, and a broad overview of Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) focusing on the 4 main schools (madhâhib) of Sunni law. Authentic Islamic manuscripts are used as central texts and emphasis is placed on stylistic aspects and essential terminology. Prerequisite: MSA202 or MSA351. (Six weeks, 120 hours*)
*Please note: 120 hours of classroom instruction given four hours per day, as long as there are 3 or more students. If there are 2 students, there will be 90 hours of instruction. If only one student, the course will be considered a private class. For online classes the hours are the same, with a maximum of 3 hours per day of group classes, plus extra hours (individual or small group) as needed. A content class with only 1 student is normally cancelled, but may be offered with 40 hours total.
Colloquial Moroccan Arabic course descriptions
