The Arabic Program provides necessary understanding of the culture of the Arab world, which promotes peace, multiculturalism, diversity, and interfaith dialogue. Knowledge of the Arabic language provides greater insight into the vast Arab world of 22 countries. In fact, many of our students use their Arabic language in career fields such as:
- Domestic and International Business
- International Consultations
- Government (UN, CIA, etc.)
- Social Work
- Health Care and more
The Arabic program offers coursework in both formal and spoken Arabic at all stages of proficiency. Arabic 101 is open to anyone, even for those with no background in Arabic who wishes to learn the language. The core Arabic curriculum consists of two years (four semesters) of language-centered coursework that aims to build skills in reading, listening, speaking, writing, and culture.
ARABIC 101 (4 credits), ARABIC 102 (4 credits)
ARABIC 203 (4 credits), ARABIC 204 (4 credits)
These courses offer a proficiency-based curriculum based on the methodology of the Al-Kitaab textbook series, which introduces students to both formal and spoken Arabic from the beginning, and focuses on developing learning and comprehension strategies in addition to the active acquisition of vocabulary and grammar. The program is demanding, and requires a significant time commitment on the part of the student, but the reward for that commitment is steady progress Mid to High level.
Students are expected to reach Intermediate low to mid proficiency by the end of the first year, and intermediate mid to high by the end of the second year.