Why study Arabic?

• Arabic is the official language of the 22 countries that forms the Arab League. It is spoken by nearly one billion people around the world. It is the fourth biggest natively spoken language and the third most-widely spoken language after Chinese and English in terms of population.
• Arabic is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.
• Most of the people from North Africa and Middle East speak Arabic.
• Many languages, including English, are influenced by Arabic directly or indirectly, and that’s why a good number of vocabularies used in those languages are originated from Arabic.
• The use of the letter “X” to represent something unknown is originated from Arabic.
• The Arabic language is considered to be a language with the richest amount of vocabularies.
• The Arabic alphabets are widely used in the writing of other languages around the world. For example, you can see Arabic writings at the back of Chinese banknotes.
• Arabic speakers enjoy a wide range of professional opportunities all over the world and exiting career choices.
• Learning Arabic can benefit students of different Major subjects, as Arabic language and culture and Islamic culture are linked to different fields.
• Most Arabic-speaking countries are fast-growing markets containing huge financial and economic potentials and opportunities.
• Learning Arabic will open a new horizon to the understanding of the Arabic and Islamic culture, which is beyond people’s normal perspectives and will be an eye-opening experience.

ARAB1000 Arabic I (Course Outline)
This course invites students without prior knowledge of Arabic to explore the basic features of Modern Standard Arabic. Students will receive intensive practice in spoken and written Arabic through interactive class work and homework. They will become familiar with the basic concepts of Arabic grammar and learn how to interact in some simple everyday situations.

Note: For students who have learnt Arabic before, please contact the teachers of the language programme for placement test.

ARAB2000 Arabic II (Course Outline)
This course invites students with knowledge of some basic Arabic vocabularies and grammars to further explore the basis of Modern Standard Arabic. Students will receive intensive practice in spoken and written Arabic through interactive class work and homework. They will acquire more proficiency of basic Arabic language in dealing with some common occasions in daily life.

Prerequisite: ARAB1000

ARAB2001 Arabic III
This course aims to further enhance students’ communication skills in the four language domains listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students are expected to communicate confidently in a wider range of social interactions including more formal situations and simple professional contexts as well as reporting past events and sharing experience. At the end of this course, students will have completed a proficiency level comparable to level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

Pre-requisite: ARAB2000 or 2050

ARAB2050 Arabic I & II
This course invites students without prior knowledge of Arabic to explore the basic features of Modern Standard Arabic. Students will receive intensive practice in spoken and written Arabic through interactive class work and homework. In Arabic I, they will become familiar with the basic concepts of Arabic grammar and learn how to interact in some simple everyday situations. In Arabic II, they will acquire more proficiency of basic Arabic language in dealing with some common occasions in daily life.

Note: For students who have learnt Arabic before, please contact the teachers of the language programme for placement test.