加州州立大學(xué)圣博納蒂諾分校

Arabic is the native language of more than 300 million people living in Southwest Asia and North Africa. It is the liturgical language of more than 1.4 billion Muslims around the world and is also commonly used among 3.5 million American and Canadian citizens of Arab descent.

Learning Arabic is a gratifying experience because it exposes students to a rich culture and civilization and enhances their abilities to comprehend the multi-faceted aspects and complexities of the Arab and Islamic worlds. Generally speaking, Arabs tend to be welcoming and hospitable people with a great passion to engage in historic, cultural, and socio-political discussions. For this, students of Arabic should never be surprised by the fact that uttering a simple expression to an Arab like "Marhaba" (hello), "As-salaamu alaykum" (peace be upon you) or "Shukran" (thank you) , could lead them to a prolonged conversation or even an invitation to the Arab's home where staple foods, like hummus, falafel, stuffed lamb, and the aromatic Turkish coffee (actually, Arabs like to call it Arabic coffee) are offered.

Threshold Concepts

Ability to act as global ambassadors and mediators through:

- Developing linguistic competence and intercultural understanding necessary to

interact in respectful and responsive ways with diverse Arabic speaking communities.

- Thinking and reading critically while understanding that meaning is a social and

ideological construct

- Developing awareness of how linguistically and culturally diverse communities

contribute to the humanities (fine arts and performing arts, music, literature, poetry,

media, film, drama) and ability to care authentically about others

Based on the Threshold concept above, following are the Program Learning Outcomes

and how they connect with Institutional and General Education learning outcomes.

Program Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

Communicate effectively in three modes of communication: interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational with speakers of Arabic in order to understand the dynamics of global communities (ILO-8, GLO-8)
Comprehend and analyze oral and written texts effectively and critically as socially and ideologically constructed and shaped by context so students can contribute to enriching their local communities and beyond (ILOs- 3, 4, 5; GLOs- 1, 3, 6)
Think critically, pose questions and solve problems responsibly using their communication skills and knowledge/awareness of the language and culture within a social justice framework; students are able to make connections with their local and global communities (ILOs- 4, 5, 6, 7; GLOs- 2, 5, 7, )
Practically apply their knowledge and skills in new settings and contexts
Develop understanding of multiple perspectives and are able to respectfully interact, collaborate and solve problems across communities and cultures, respect other cultures and become aware of stereotypes in the target community as well as the local one. (ILOs- 6, 7, 8; GLOs 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)