This tutorial answers many frequently asked questions about the program. Students applying for admission to Five College Spoken Arabic courses are no longer required to complete this online orientation tutorial, but may wish to review the information before beginning their coursework.
Questions about the status of an application or orientation response should be directed to fcmlp2@umass.edu. Course information and applications are on the Five College Center for World Languages website.
Five College Spoken Arabic courses are sponsored jointly by the Five Colleges: Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The administrative home for these courses is the Five College Center for World Languages (FCCWL). The Center is located at Amherst College, 79 S. Pleasant St. in downtown Amherst (directions to the Center). FCCWL's operations and staff are supported equally by each of the five institutions. The courses offered by the Center are listed at the University and have been approved for Five College interchange credit by each of the other four campuses. A student studying for a degree at any of the five institutions may enroll in Fall and Spring academic courses as part of their regular course load. There is no special fee.
The role of FCCWL is to support study of the Less-Commonly Taught Languages (commonly abbreviated as LCTLs) by Five College students. FCCWL works only with languages not represented in traditional classroom language offerings at the colleges. Arabic is the one exception. Spoken Arabic courses are designed to complement classroom offerings in Modern Standard Arabic by giving Arabic students an opportunity to develop conversational skills in a specific dialect. In addition to offering courses, FCCWL also engages in numerous course and materials development projects funded by government and private foundation grants.
Spoken Arabic courses may be scheduled to meet on any of the five campuses. Conversation sessions meet on the home campus of the native speaking conversation partner assigned to each section, and conversation partners are spread out among all five campuses. Sessions are scheduled based on schedule information submitted by admitted students. Each student is assigned to whichever conversation section can best meet his/her educational needs with preference given to a home campus or nearby campus location when possible. The Center does not have the resources to provide home campus sessions for all students and conversation partner availability is limited. Therefore, a student enrolling in the course should be aware that his/her sessions may be scheduled to meet on another campus.
Spoken Arabic courses are currently offered as Supervised Independent language courses. Students in a Supervised Independent Spoken Arabic course work independently during the week and then have a weekly 60-minute conversation session to practice using the material studied independently. The conversation session is led by a native speaker trained to be a conversation partner with the program. Conversation sessions typically have only 1-3 students. The final grade for a Supervised Independent Spoken Arabic course will be based 80% on a final oral evaluation conducted by a member of the Five College Arabic faculty or an external evaluator, 10% on attendance, and 10% on on-time submission of weekly self-assessment reports.
At the lower levels (generally levels I through III), a detailed syllabus guides preparation for each week's session. Upper-level students participate in choosing topics for weekly discussion. Students should expect to spend about 4 hours per week working independently to prepare for the 60-minute conversation practice session each week. The final oral evaluation at the end of the course is based on the content of the syllabus for the semester.
Teachers in a classrom course often introduce new material to students and then have students practice using the material in the classroom and at home. For a conversation session, a student prepares the material ahead of time, practicing extensively on his/her own. The student then attends the conversation session and participates in the activities based on prior preparation. The activities in a conversation session emphasize active use of the language to communicate with other students and the conversation partner.
The term "conversation partner" is used to stress the nature of the session. A regular classroom teacher presents information to a larger body of students and then leads the class through a set of activities designed to address the common needs of the entire group. A conversation partner works with a small group of students to practice, refine, and elaborate upon knowledge and skills students have developed through independent study.
A variety of individuals work as conversation partners for the program. Most conversation partners are undergraduates; some graduate students or community members may also be conversation partners. Conversation partners must be native speakers or have near-native proficiency in the language. Conversation partners are trained and supervised by the Center.
Each course offered by the Five College Center for World Languages has a staff member assigned as the course organizer for the course. The staff member handles logistics for the course for both students and the conversation partner, reads weekly self-asessment reports, schedules final oral evaluations, and works with the program director to address student concerns. The course organizer is the person to contact about difficulties ordering the textbook or accessing multimedia materials, questions about the syllabus or assignment due dates, and questions about any other logistical aspects of the course. The current course organizer for Spoken Arabic courses is Theo Hull, Program Assistant with the Center. They may be reached at fcmlp2@umass.edu or by phone at 413-542-5264.
Conversation sessions provide a chance for learners to practice using the language. The session is conducted entirely in the language students are learning with an opportunity to ask questions in English at the very end of every session. Conversation sessions focus on using the language in the types of situations one might encounter in everyday life. Students commonly engage in role plays, question and answer activities, description, narration, and problem-solving exercises. In beginning level courses, typical topics are greetings, introductions, getting acquainted conversations, telephone calls, asking for directions, shopping and bargaining, and talking about schedules and events in the past, present or future. More advanced students will practice more complex speech activities that involve expressing opinions, giving reasons in arguments, and discussing current events and cultural issues.
In this program, the term "conversation partner" is used to refer to the person who leads the conversation session. The role of the conversation partner is to facilitate activities that make active use of the language. In a successful conversation session, the students will be the ones doing most of the talking for at least 90% of the time. The conversation partner may engage students in dialogue or may have students work in pairs with one another. The conversation partner will use the language being learned throughout the session. At the end of the session, the conversation partner will give students a chance to ask questions in English.
Most of your study time each week needs to be devoted to oral practice. This means you must have a regular time and place to study where you can talk out loud without bothering others. To do well, you literally need to TALK TO YOURSELF. Ask yourself what you would need to do and say to communicate in a particular situation. Imagine yourself in many variations of the same situation. Act out various role plays or dialogs, describe things, and narrate events aloud. Practice over and over again, always keeping in mind that your goal is communication in a wide variety of situations.
Here are some characteristics of a good conversation session:
Order your textbook one or two months before the start of the semester. You will be given textbook ordering information when you register. Textbooks need to be ordered online. If you have questions or difficulties ordering the text, contact your course organizer as soon as possible for assistance (Theo Hull at fcmlp2@umass.edu or 413-542-5264).
Late Enrollments: If you enroll late, order your textbook immediately and contact your course organizer about how to prepare for sessions until your textbook arrives.
Course syllabi are housed on the LangMedia website. The primary web address for this website is: http://langmedia.fivecolleges.edu. There are individual links for each language. Find your Arabic course and level. This page has syllabi from the most recently offered Arabic courses. Syllabi for the upcoming semester will be posted on LangMedia a week or two before the semester starts. Course formats and requirements vary by semester, so you will need to study your up-to-date syllabus when it is issued.
Before attending your first session you need to find your syllabus online and follow the instructions on the syllabus to prepare for the first session. You are expected to attend the first session prepared.
Regular conversation session meeting times are set at the beginning of the semester. Conversation session scheduling will take place over e-mail. Students send schedule information to the native speaking conversation partner. The conversation partner chooses a time that will work for all members of the group. That time then becomes the regular meeting time for the semester and should remain consistent throughout the semester. Conversation sessions meet on the home campus of the conversation partner, and the conversation partner will notify students of the exact meeting location.
You will receive more details about the process of scheduling conversation sessions when you register for the course. If you have questions about the scheduling process, contact your course organizer. Your course organizer is Theo Hull, Program Assistant for FCCWL. They can be reached at fcmlp2@umass.edu or 413-542-5264.
10% of your final grade is based on weekly submission of self-assessment reports. You should submit your self-assessment as soon as possible after each week's conversation session and no later than 9am on the following Monday (you get the weekend as a grace period in case you forget). The self-assessments are designed to help students reflect about the language learning process and to let the FCCWL office know about any academic or logistical issues that need attention. Self-assessments need not be long. Some students choose to write a lot, others just a sentence or two. You get full credit for assessments turned in on time, but only partial credit for late assessments. You will get a special online link to self-assesments when you register for the course.
Address questions about course logistics to the FCCWL staff, not to your conversation partner. FCCWL language courses each have a staff member assigned as the course organizer for the course. The course organizer for all Spoken Arabic courses is Theo Hull. They are the person to contact about issues such as difficulties purchasing or accessing materials, scheduling problems, evaluation scheduling, and questions about meeting course requirements. They can be contacted at fcmlp2@umass.edu or 413-542-5264.
You need to be able to spend 4-5 hours per week practicing the language on your own and attend a weekly 60-minute conversation session. Daily practice is more effective than cramming your practice into one or two sessions.
Language study is a serious commitment. You need to think of language study as similar to athletic training, musical training, or practice in dance or theater. It takes sustained practice and study every day in order to make noticable progress. Simply completing a set of exercises will not produce tangible results. You need to prepare and practice communicating regularly.
You need to practice where you can comfortably repeat and imitate the speakers in audio and video materials. You also need to spend time improvising out loud, thinking through the various types of scenarios and speaking tasks you will do in your conversation sessions. You need to pretend you are part of a role play or real situation in which you need to address and respond to people. Imagine how you would handle certain situations and practice the speech involved out loud.
Language courses are cumulative. It is easy to forget the vocabulary and forms learned in earlier weeks if you do not continually review. It is also easy to find yourself feeling lost and overwhelmed half-way through the semester, if you have not been systematically reviewing as you go. Include time for review every day.
Self-assessment reports are an important part of your course and 10% of your final grade. The reports are designed to help you think about the effectiveness of your language learning strategies and to let program staff members know how things are going. Self-assessments are graded based on the timeliness of submission. You do not need to write a lot. Short, simple responses are fine. The key is that you have taken a few minutes to think about your progress and to pay attention to key factors that may affect the success of your learning. Having multiple missing or late self-assessments will result in a lower final grade, while a strong record of on-time self-assessments makes a significant positive contribution to the final grade assigned.
Organizing a language program based on small group and individual sessions is a complex process. You will be one of 100-150 students in 60 different courses working with over 30 different mentors and conversation partners. Conversation partners help you with learning the language; the FCCWL staff helps you deal with logistical issues related to your course. Each language has a staff member who serves as the course organizer for all courses in that language. Theo Hull is the course organizer for all Spoken Arabic courses. You can reach them at fcmlp2@umass.edu or 413-542-5264. Your course organizer is your first contact about logistical issues. If for some reason, your course organizer is not available, another staff member will help you. You will be introduced via email to your course organizer at the start of the course.
In this context, your success in the course requires you to take the initiative in communicating with your course organizer and in responding promptly to e-mail queries. Here are some situations that require PROMPT e-mails or calls to your course organizer:
In order to successfully manage the logistical side of this course, you need to practice proactive communication skills similar to those required in a professional internship or work enviroment. To do this successfully, you need to:
Students who need to complete this orientation tutorial as part of an application for a Spoken Arabic course, need to submit the TUTORIAL RESPONSE. Once your orientation is complete and your application approved, you will be able to make an appointment or attend a drop-in session to do the paperwork necessary to enroll.