The rich artistic, religious and intellectual history of the Arab world dates back thousands of years and includes a myriad of cultures and traditions throughout the Middle East and North Africa. An official language in over 20 different countries, Arabic is spoken today by nearly 300 million people. It is also spoken at the United Nations, where it plays a key role in global communications and international affairs. While Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is the written language of official communication across the Arabic-speaking world, each region features its own variations and cultural traditions.
Arabic is an asset for students interested in pursuing a degree in translation/interpretation, economics, anthropology, public health, or history. The U.S Department of State has listed Arabic as one of the languages critical to U.S. national security and economic prosperity.
Students wishing to deepen their skills in Arabic can major in Liberal Arts, take as many courses as possible in this language, and transfer to Hunter College, where they can pursue a B.A in Arabic. Our courses in Arabic are fully articulated with the program in Arabic at Hunter College.
Other opportunities for exposure to Arabic include the Arab Students Association and external scholarship programs, including the Critical Languages Scholarship Program offered by the U.S. Department of State.
- Elementary Arabic I is a complete beginner-level course for students who have had no previous background in Arabic. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are emphasized with an introduction to Arabic culture.
- Students will continue the study of basic Arabic begun in ARB 105. They will also further their skills in listening comprehension, speaking, reading and writing in Arabic. Prerequisite: ARB 105 or departmental placement test
- This is an elementary Arabic course for students who can speak Arabic but have no formal training in the language. Students who have taken ARB 105 and /or ARB 106 will not receive credit for this course. This course is designed to help heritage speakers of Arabic to enhance their reading and writing competence of the target language in the formal and high-level register. The course especially focuses on improving students’ Arabic grammar, usage, and their critical reading and writing strategies in Arabic through project-based assignments. This course is taught in Arabic. Prerequisite: Departmental approval based on language proficiency exam
- This course offers students an opportunity to enhance their Arabic reading, writing, speaking and comprehension skills through active class use of vocabulary and grammar. The course's balanced four-skills approach endeavors to prepare students to use the language in a natural way for communication in a variety of situations. It emphasizes the use of language for oral communication without neglecting the other basic language skills. This class will use reading and writing activities to extend student's grasp of vocabulary and grammatical structures and to further their comprehension of and ability to express themselves in Arabic. Prerequisite: ARB 106 or ARB 107 or departmental approval
- This course is designed to advance student proficiency and communication in Modern Standard Arabic. The structural and grammatical usages of Arabic are emphasized, as necessary linguistic tools for the improvement of the learner’s proficiency and fluency. The overall intended learning objective is to enable students to critically analyze Arabic texts and discourses, and express ideas in Arabic at an appropriate level. Advanced Arabic focuses on reading extracts of articles from journals, magazines, and newspapers, while incorporating music, advanced texts, and watching audio/video excerpts from major Arabic outlets. Prerequisite: ARB 200 or departmental approval
