‘Arabic for Beginners’ to Be Offered Free for 10 Weeks

A free, non-credit course, “Arabic for Beginners” will begin in early June as part of a research study on the teaching and learning of second languages. The research program is headed by Amanda Brown, associate professor in the Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences, who conducted a similar study in French last summer.

Brown says, “Though many successfully acquire second languages, we are always examining teaching and learning practices in an effort to make them more effective. We must also consider that a ‘one size fits all approach’ may not work for all learners or all languages. Having completed a similar study for a commonly taught language – French – last summer, we are now replicating that research for a ‘less commonly taught language’ (LCTL) – Arabic. While less commonly taught, Arabic is a critically important language. It is one of the six official languages of the United Nations, the native tongue for approximately 250,000,000 speakers and the official language of 22 countries. Dialects of Arabic also widely spoken in Syracuse. Therefore, I’m anticipating quite broad interest in these language classes.”

 Two beginning-level courses will be available. Each is open to adults in the SU community and beyond and will be taught one evening (5:30-8 p.m.) per week for 10 weeks. Scheduling for each course is currently underway based on participant availability.

If you are interested in participating or learning more, please contact Brown, at abrown08@syr.edu.