ARAB 114: Elementary Arabic III

ARAB 114 at the University of Maryland Global Campus offers further development of skills in elementary spoken and written Modern Standard Arabic.

UMGC states that the aim is to communicate in Arabic in a variety of real-life situations using culturally appropriate language. The prerequisite is ARAB 112 or an appropriate placement test score, and the course is not open to native speakers.

As with the earlier courses, online sections require a microphone, speakers and occasional synchronous work. The key change at this stage is variety: rather than rehearsing a few set exchanges, you are expected to handle a wider range of situations. That means talking about the past, handling numbers and times, and understanding longer texts.

What ARAB 114 Develops

Key Concepts Explained

Past Tense

Arabic past-tense verbs add suffixes to a stem to show who did the action. Because the verb shows the person, a separate pronoun is often unnecessary.

Numbers and Gender

Numbers are one of the trickiest parts of Arabic grammar. For the numbers three to ten, the number takes the opposite gender form to the singular of the noun it counts, and the noun is plural.

Verbal and Nominal Sentences

Arabic sentences can begin with a verb (verbal sentence) or a noun (nominal sentence). Verbal sentences are common in formal and written Arabic, so reading practice at this level helps you recognize both orders.

Talking About the Future

To refer to the future, Modern Standard Arabic adds sa- or the separate word sawfa before a present-tense verb. For example, sa-aktubu means "I will write". Combined with the past tense, this lets you narrate what happened, describe what is happening and explain what you plan to do, covering the range of situations ARAB 114 aims for.

Typical Activities and How to Approach Them

Your class sets the tasks. At this level, common activities include:

Reading Longer Texts

As texts grow longer, word-by-word translation becomes slow and tiring. A more effective strategy is to read in stages. First skim for the topic: look at any title, names and numbers, and words you recognize. Then read for the main idea of each paragraph.

Only then go back for detail, guessing unknown words from their roots and from context before reaching for a dictionary.

Because everyday Arabic writing often omits short vowels, you will increasingly rely on vocabulary and grammar to read words correctly.

Knowing that a word follows a common pattern, such as the maf'al pattern for places (maktab, "office"; mal'ab, "playground"), helps you both pronounce and understand it. Keeping a short list of patterns alongside your root notebook makes longer texts noticeably easier.

Where Students Get Stuck

• Number agreement. Learn the rule, then drill common phrases such as prices and ages.
• Mixing tenses. Keep a verb table showing past and present side by side.
• Longer texts. Do not translate word by word; look for the main idea first.
• Register. Notice when formal or polite forms are expected.

Study Tips for ARAB 114

• Write a few sentences each day about what you did yesterday.
• Practice numbers through everyday tasks: prices, times and dates.
• Read short graded texts or children's materials in Modern Standard Arabic.
• Keep building your root notebook from ARAB 112.

How We Help with ARAB 114

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