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Mentored Arabic courses emphasize speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. The mentored courses require seven to ten hours per week of independent study, a weekly one-hour conversation session, and a weekly thirty-minute individual tutorial with the Arabic mentors. The mentors are Fulbright-sponsored fellows from Arabic-speaking countries and other visiting scholars. The courses use the Georgetown University Press Arabic text series, Alif Baa and Al-Kitaab. Courses are available at the elementary, intermediate, and advanced levels.
The mentored courses are based on course plan study guides created with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The course guides and syllabi for Arabic are online on the Five College Center for the Study of World Language's LangMedia website.
The Five College Mentored Arabic Program serves as a supplement to traditional classroom Arabic courses offered on four of the five campuses each year. The program serves students whose schedules do not allow travel to another campus four times a week or who are off track from the classroom course sequence due to study abroad or other time off. The program also supplements classroom offerings by offering upper-level students the opportunity to focus on spoken language skills through courses in Formal Spoken Arabic and in colloquial language.
For traditional classroom courses offered at Amherst, Mt. Holyoke, Smith, and UMass, see the online Five College Course Catalog. In general, we recommend that students enroll in regular classroom courses except when their needs cannot be met through a classroom course. The program director/associate director will be happy to discuss with applicants whether the mentored or classroom courses will best meet their needs. The classroom courses cover more material in one semester and are worth more credits than the mentored program courses. The mentored courses are designed to provide more flexibility for students with tight schedules, who are off track from the classroom courses, or who need to emphasize speaking skills in formal or colloquial Arabic.
These courses are each worth either 2.0 or 1.5 credits at UMass. Transfer credit at the colleges varies, but is generally: Amherst College – ½ course; Hampshire – credit; Mount Holyoke – 2 credits and at the elementary level two courses or the equivalent are required to receive credit; Smith – 2 credits and at the elementary level two courses or the equivalent are required to receive credit.
Registration in these courses requires a special application process. See How to Register for details. The pre-registration deadline for Fall 2008 is Friday, April 18th, 2008. Applications will continue to be reviewed, as long as space is available, until September 5, 2008. Placement request deadline for students with prior experience with the language is April 18th, 2008. To contact the Center, e-mail fcsilp@hfa.umass.edu or call 413-545-3453.
Desginated conversation session times and the time blocks within which tutorials will be scheduled are given below for some courses. Students will be assigned specific tutorial times within the time blocks reserved based on schedule information provided by the registration deadline. "To be arranged" indcates that the schedule will be determined at the beginning of the semester based on the schedules of enrolled students and the mentor assigned to the course.
Students will be given preference in tutorial times and locations based on order of application and registration. Enrolled students must provide the mentored program staff with up-to-date schedule information by the course registration deadline. Students who make changes in their schedules after that date will have to take whatever time slots and locations are still available.
Covers all of Alif Baa plus additional work in Modern/Formal Spoken Arabic. No course prerequisites.
Conversation sessions: Friday 3:45-5:00 pm at Hampshire College
Tutorials: Wednesday between 5:45-7:45 pm at Hampshire College
NOTE: Arabic I has small group one hour tutorials, instead of half-hour individual tutorials.
Covers Al-Kitaab Units 1-5 plus additional work in Modern/Formal Spoken Arabic. Prerequisite: completion of Alif Baa or the equivalent.
Conversation session: Friday 3:45-4:45 pm at Hampshire College
Tutorials: Wednesday between 5:45-7:45 pm at Hampshire College or Thursday between 5:15-6:15 pm at Hampshire College
Covers Al-Kitaab Units 6 – 10 plus additional work in Modern/Formal Spoken Arabic. Prerequisite: completion of Al-Kitaab Units 1-5 or the equivalent.
Conversation sessions: Friday 2:45-3:45 pm at Hampshire College
Tutorials: Wednesday between 5:45-7:45 pm at Hampshire College or Thursday between 5:15-6:15 pm at Hampshire College
Covers Al-Kitaab Units 11 – 15 plus additional work in Modern/Formal Spoken Arabic. Prerequisite: completion of Al-Kitaab Units 1-10 or the equivalent.
Conversation sessions: Friday 2:45-3:45 pm at Hampshire College
Tutorials: Wednesday between 5:45-7:45 pm at Hampshire College or Thursday between 5:15-6:15 pm at Hampshire College
An intermediate to advanced course in spoken Modern Arabic for students who have already acquired basic reading and writing skills, but not the spoken language. Recommended as a supplement for students at the intermediate level who want more practice with formal spoken language. Prerequisite: prior completion of Al-Kitaab Units 1-10 or the equivalent. This course is not open to students who have taken Mentored Elementary I, II, and III.
Conversation sessions: Thursdays 6:15-7:45 pm at Hampshire College; No tutorials
An intermediate to advanced course in spoken Modern Arabic for students who have already acquired basic reading and writing skills, but not the spoken language. Recommended as a supplement for students at the intermediate level who want more practice with formal spoken language. Prerequisite: prior completion of Al-Kitaab Units 1-20 or the equivalent. This course is not open to students who have taken Mentored Elementary I, II, III, IV, and V.
Conversation sessions: Thursdays 6:15-7:45 pm at Hampshire College; No tutorials
An introduction to the dialects spoken in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine. The course includes significant independent work in listening comprehension, along with group conversational practice. One of the following prerequisites must be met: 1) a minimum of one year of elementary Arabic in a classroom course which included practice in speaking Formal Spoken Arabic; 2) completion through level IV of the Mentored Arabic program, or 3) a minimum of one year of elementary Arabic in a classroom course plus Formal Spoken Arabic A or the equivalent. One conversation session per week, no tutorials.
Conversation sessions: Thursday 6:15-7:45 pm at UMass
An introduction to the dialects spoken in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Palestine. The course includes significant independent work in listening comprehension, along with group conversational practice. Prerequisite: Levantine Colloquial Arabic I or the equivalent. One conversation session per week, no tutorials.
Conversation sessions: Thursday 7:45-9:15 pm at UMass
An introduction to everyday Arabic as spoken in Egypt. The course includes significant independent work in listening comprehension, along with group conversational practice. One of the following prerequisites must be met: 1) a minimum of one year of elementary Arabic in a classroom course which included practice in speaking Formal Spoken Arabic; 2) completion through level IV of the Mentored Arabic program, or 3) a minimum of one year of elementary Arabic in a classroom course plus Formal Spoken Arabic A or the equivalent. One conversation session per week, no tutorials.
Conversation sessions: Friday 2:00-3:30 pm at Amherst College
An introduction to everyday Arabic as spoken in Egypt. The course includes significant independent work in listening comprehension, along with group conversational practice. Prerequisite: Egyptian Colloquial Arabic I or the equivalent. One conversation session per week, no tutorials.
Conversation sessions: Friday 3:30-5:00 pm at Amherst College
Covers Al-Kitaab Units 16 – 20 plus additional work in Modern/Formal Spoken Arabic. Prerequisite: completion of Al-Kitaab Units 1-15 or the equivalent.
Conversation sessions and tutorials: Wednesday 5:00-8:00 pm or Friday 10:00 am-1:00 pm Amherst College
Covers Al-Kitaab Book 2 Units 1 - 3 plus additional work in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Modern Standard Arabic. Prerequisite: completion of Al-Kitaab Book I or the equivalent in another format.
Conversation sessions and tutorials: Wednesday 5:00-8:00 pm or Friday 10:00 am-1:00 pm Amherst College
Covers Al-Kitaab Book 2 Units 4 - 6 plus additional work in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Modern Standard Arabic. Prerequisite: completion of Al-Kitaab Book 2 Units 1- 3 or the equivalent in another format.
Conversation sessions and tutorials: Wednesday 3:30-8:00 pm Amherst College
Covers Al-Kitaab Book 2 Units 7 - 10 plus additional work in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Modern Standard Arabic. Prerequisite: completion of Al-Kitaab Book 2 Units 1- 6 or the equivalent in another format.
Conversation sessions and tutorials: Wednesday 3:30-8:00 pm Amherst College
Advanced Arabic course offerings are determined based on the needs of student applicants and the availability of appropriate mentors. Students interested in advanced Arabic courses should apply to the Center as soon as possible in order to allow sufficient time to arrange an appropriate course. Late requests are unlikely to be accommodated.
A course in Arabic literature for students who have completed the equivalent of intermediate-level classroom Arabic or Mentored Arabic VIII. Contact the Center about how to register for this course through Amherst College.
Instructor: Nahla Khalil
Amherst College Wednesday 2:00-4:30pm
Covers Al-Kitaab Book 3 Units 1-7 plus additional work in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Modern Standard Arabic. Prerequisite: completion of Al-Kitaab Book 2 or the equivalent in another format. Students must be able to use Formal Spoken Arabic as the medium of communication in the classroom.
Instructor: Mohamed Hassan
Conversation sessions: Thursday 6:45-8:15 pm at Smith College
Tutorials: Mondays 1:00-5:00 pm at Smith College or Wednesdays 3:30-8:00 pm at Amherst College
Five College Supervised Independent Language Program
Five College Mentored Language Courses
Language and International Opportunities Web
LangMedia: The Five College Foreign Language Media Archive
Five College International and Regional Studies
Five College Language Departments
Language Resources on the Web
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Five Colleges, Incorporated is the consortium of Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.