Students at this level have a broader range of vocabulary, more fluency in speaking, and more advanced skills in Arabic than students at the regular Intermediate Arabic level. The main objective of this course is to move students in a short period of time across the threshold of the high intermediate level of proficiency and provide opportunities and learning strategies towards the advanced level of proficiency. This level is characterized by extensive readings and discussions on a multitude of political, social, cultural, and literary topics. Writing assignments are geared toward stylistic and aesthetic aspects of the Arabic language. Students produce lengthy expository and argumentative discourse. Attending lectures and films and participating in follow-up discussion sessions either with their instructor or the visiting lecturer are regular features of class activities. Listening activities focus on authentic materials of considerable length and content. At this level, students choose one of the colloquial dialects offered in the School. The objective is to equip students with the necessary conversational skills that would enable them to engage in meaningful discourse with educated Arabs in a medium that is not considered artificial or unfamiliar in the Arab World. The study of the dialect is uniquely integrated into the general curriculum emphasizing the linguistic realities in the Arab World. Work outside of class requires between four to five hours a day. (1 unit)

Required Texts:

1) Connectors in Modern Standard Arabic, by Al-Warraki et al, AUC Press, 1994.

2) Media Arabic, by Elgibali et al, AUC Press, 2007.

3) The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic, Spoken Languages Services.

A variety of additional texts selected by the instructors, including fiction and nonfiction.