INTRODUCTION

The Arabic Program, which is run by the Department of Linguistics, offers a unique opportunity for students to study Arabic. Arabic is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic family. It is the official language in 22 countries and one of the official languages used in the United Nations. In Addition, Arabic is the primary liturgical language of Islam and its theological scholarship.

The Arabic Program offers courses in Modern Standard Arabic (formal Arabic) at three levels: beginning, intermediate and advanced during the fall and spring semesters. Additionally, the program offers students the chance to study a variety of local and regional dialects (Colloquial Arabic) during the summer term.

The Arabic program has introduced "heritage" classes of Arabic for students who have had previous exposure to Arabic at home or within their community. The heritage classes are offered in the fall and spring semesters along with the Modern Standard courses. Heritage students are requested to register for the section(s) assigned to heritage students as shown in the Course Catalog.

The Arabic Program is also part of the Intensive Foreign Language Instruction Program (IFLIP) which is geared toward working professionals as well as students who seek to attain basic Arabic proficiency in a short amount of time. The intensive Arabic courses are offered every year immediately following the end of spring semester. The intensive courses consist of two hours of language instruction each weekday, and last 3 weeks.

The Arabic Program expects to offer a minor in the Arabic language by spring 2007. We hope to offer a major in the language soon after that.

The Arabic Program is committed to providing quality education in the Arabic language by staying at the forefront of teaching methodology and technology. All courses are taught by native speakers with teaching experience. We also offer a large interactive site of online materials which we developed. These materials, available exclusively to our students (users must login using their NetIDs), include an introduction to the Arabic alphabet, and Arabic grammar and vocabulary at beginning and intermediate levels. The materials include listening resources, comprehensive writing instruction complete with animated illustrations, and a variety of interactive exercises.