Mr Luay Hasan

This is a non-credit-bearing course available to all LSE students, staff and alumni.

• Students must have familiarity with Arabic script.
• For admission into the course, students must attend an information session and obtain the tutor's approval.
• Students should demonstrate commitment to regular attendance, completion of homework, and assessments. 
• Students should expect to dedicate at least two hours per week to independent study (homework, vocabulary review, reading, and listening practice) in addition to classroom contact hours.

Course Aims

• To develop the use of Arabic at survival level
• To raise awareness of the two Arabic varieties (formal and colloquial)
• To further develop students' ability to use Arabic script
• To establish the skills, language, and attitudes required to promote and facilitate further study of Arabic
• To bring students to Level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)

Communicative Content

• Greetings
• Asking for and giving personal information, directions, and opinions
• Talking about family
• Talking about your country
• Describing people, places, and objects
• Talking about past events and experiences
• Using the dictionary (basic)
• Asking and giving the time
• Talking about present events
• Talking about future events (basic)
• Ordering in a restaurant
• Asking for and giving directions

Structural Content

• Roots
• The definite article
• Independent pronouns and pronoun suffixes
• Noun–adjective phrases
• Numbers
• Feminine and masculine words
• Adjective–noun agreement
• Word order
• Verb–subject agreement
• Demonstratives (singular)
• Possessive pronouns
• Interrogatives (where, when, what, how many, etc.)
• Prepositions (in, between)
• Nisba (nationality)
• Iḍāfa (genitive construction)
• Past tense
• Linking words (firstly, after, lately, etc.)
• Present tense
• Future tense (basic)
• Plurals (sound, masc./fem.)
• Negative phrases (past, present, future)
• Prepositions with pronoun suffixes
• Persons of the verb (singular and plural)

16 hours of classes in the Autumn Term.
22 hours of classes in the Winter Term.

Please refer to the LSE timetable for course teaching arrangements.

16 hours of classes in the AT. 22 hours of classes in the WT. 2 hours of group tutorial time, as arranged by the teacher during the AT, WT, ST. 

Textbook

• Hasan, L. (2015). Test your Arabic: Part I. Lightning Source.

Sample copies are available in the LSE Library. Students will also be provided with a study pack.

Other useful materials

• Brustad, K., Al-Batal, M., & Al-Tonsi, A. (2011). Al-Kitāb fī taʿallum al-ʿArabiyya, Part 1: A textbook for beginning Arabic. Georgetown University Press.
• Maisel, S. (2015). Speed up your Arabic: Strategies to avoid common errors. Routledge.
• Wightwick, J., & Gaafar, M. (2005). Mastering Arabic grammar. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Wightwick, J., & Gaafar, M. (2007). Mastering Arabic 1. Palgrave Macmillan.

Oral examination (30%).

Continuous assessment (70%).