ARABIC LANGUAGE CLASSES
Pasadena Language Center offers Arabic lessons for children and adults at all levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced and conversation. Learn Arabic in a comfortable, casual environment and make it a fun, enriching experience! We serve the areas of Pasadena, South Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia, Alhambra, San Gabriel, South Arroyo, Altadena, Monrovia, Sierra Madre, Glendale, Burbank, Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, La Cañada, Montrose, La Crescenta & Sun Valley.
ABOUT THE ARABIC LANGUAGE
Arabic is one of the world’s major languages, spoken in a broad belt extending from the Arabian Peninsula north to the Fertile Crescent and then west to the Atlantic Ocean. It is the official language of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Mauritania, making it the mother tongue of about 230 million people. In 1974 Arabic was made the sixth official language of the United Nations.
Arabic has contributed many words to the English language, many of them beginning with the Arabic definite article al-. These include algebra, alcohol, alchemy, alkali, alfalfa, and albatross. Others are elixir, giraffe, gazelle, cotton, and many more.
Arabic has contributed many words to the English language, many of them beginning with the Arabic definite article al-. These include algebra, alcohol, alchemy, alkali, alfalfa, and albatross. Others are elixir, giraffe, gazelle, cotton, and many more.
CURRICULUM AND STRUCTURE
The Arabic weekly classes are structured into three levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced. Each level is divided into four sub-levels: A, B, C, and D.
For Beginner A through Beginner C levels we use the workbook Ahlan wa Sahlan: Letters and Sounds of the Arabic Language (3rd edition) by Mahdi Alosh (Yale University Press). For Beginner D through Intermediate D levels, we use the textbook Ahlan wa Sahlan: Functional Modern Standard Arabic for Beginners (3rd edition) by Mahdi Alosh (Yale University Press).
Beginner A ( Ahlan wa Sahlan: Letters and Sounds of the Arabic Language - Lessons 1 & 2)
Objectives: common greetings, introducing one's self, leave-taking, numbers; identifying yourself and others, separate personal pronouns
Arabic Alphabet: one-way connectors (ا، و، د، ذ، ر، ز), the letter alif (ا), the letter waw (و), the letter r (ر); combining sounds/letters into syllables and words; distinguishing among similar letters; two-way connectors (ب، ت، ث، ن، ي), the letter ya' ( ي ) as a vowel and semivowel; long and short vowels (vowel length, the short vowel fatha, the short vowel damma, the short vowel kasra, different handwriting styles)
Beginner B (Ahlan wa Sahlan: Letters and Sounds of the Arabic Language - Lessons 3 & 4)
Objectives: the morning greeting, asking about well-being, inquiring about and identifying place of origin, nominal sentences, separate pronouns, colloquial Arabic; inquiring about and identifying arab cities and countries, Arab states, political systems, and capitals
Arabic Alphabet: two-way connectorsس، ش، ج، ح، خ، ف، ق، ة , the letters sīn and šīn and their sounds; the letters jīm, ḥā’, ḳā’ and their sounds; the letter fā’; the letter qāf and its phonetic description; the letter tā’ marbūṭa ( ة) and its sound; attaching a suffix to a word ending in ة ; two-way connectors ص، ض، ط، ظ، ع، غ ; the letters ṣād ( ص) and ḍād (ض) and their sound; the letters ṭā’ ( ط) and ẓā’ (ظ) and their pronunciation; the letters ‘ayn ( ع) and ġayn (غ) and their sound.
Beginner C (Ahlan wa Sahlan: Letters and Sounds of the Arabic Language - Lessons 5 & 6)
Objectives: familiar objects around the house, describing national and regional affiliation, the relative noun nisba (اِسْمُ النِسب), gender in Arabic nouns, familiar objects in the classroom, expressing possession, attached pronouns - feminine words and the attached pronoun
Arabic Alphabet: The Letters alif maqṣūra ( ى) and hamza (ء) and their sound; diacritical marks: the šadda (Arabic), the madda (آ), the tanwīn (تَنْوين), the sukūn سُكون (Arabic); the short alif; colloquial Arabic: phonological variation; representation of foreign sounds
For private class availability, please contact us.
For Beginner A through Beginner C levels we use the workbook Ahlan wa Sahlan: Letters and Sounds of the Arabic Language (3rd edition) by Mahdi Alosh (Yale University Press). For Beginner D through Intermediate D levels, we use the textbook Ahlan wa Sahlan: Functional Modern Standard Arabic for Beginners (3rd edition) by Mahdi Alosh (Yale University Press).
Beginner A ( Ahlan wa Sahlan: Letters and Sounds of the Arabic Language - Lessons 1 & 2)
Objectives: common greetings, introducing one's self, leave-taking, numbers; identifying yourself and others, separate personal pronouns
Arabic Alphabet: one-way connectors (ا، و، د، ذ، ر، ز), the letter alif (ا), the letter waw (و), the letter r (ر); combining sounds/letters into syllables and words; distinguishing among similar letters; two-way connectors (ب، ت، ث، ن، ي), the letter ya' ( ي ) as a vowel and semivowel; long and short vowels (vowel length, the short vowel fatha, the short vowel damma, the short vowel kasra, different handwriting styles)
Beginner B (Ahlan wa Sahlan: Letters and Sounds of the Arabic Language - Lessons 3 & 4)
Objectives: the morning greeting, asking about well-being, inquiring about and identifying place of origin, nominal sentences, separate pronouns, colloquial Arabic; inquiring about and identifying arab cities and countries, Arab states, political systems, and capitals
Arabic Alphabet: two-way connectorsس، ش، ج، ح، خ، ف، ق، ة , the letters sīn and šīn and their sounds; the letters jīm, ḥā’, ḳā’ and their sounds; the letter fā’; the letter qāf and its phonetic description; the letter tā’ marbūṭa ( ة) and its sound; attaching a suffix to a word ending in ة ; two-way connectors ص، ض، ط، ظ، ع، غ ; the letters ṣād ( ص) and ḍād (ض) and their sound; the letters ṭā’ ( ط) and ẓā’ (ظ) and their pronunciation; the letters ‘ayn ( ع) and ġayn (غ) and their sound.
Beginner C (Ahlan wa Sahlan: Letters and Sounds of the Arabic Language - Lessons 5 & 6)
Objectives: familiar objects around the house, describing national and regional affiliation, the relative noun nisba (اِسْمُ النِسب), gender in Arabic nouns, familiar objects in the classroom, expressing possession, attached pronouns - feminine words and the attached pronoun
Arabic Alphabet: The Letters alif maqṣūra ( ى) and hamza (ء) and their sound; diacritical marks: the šadda (Arabic), the madda (آ), the tanwīn (تَنْوين), the sukūn سُكون (Arabic); the short alif; colloquial Arabic: phonological variation; representation of foreign sounds
For private class availability, please contact us.