MDES UN2208

I learned a lot of grammar (including sentence structure, conjugations, and gender/number agreement) as well as vocab. We also had many informal discussions about culture.

I learned a great deal of arabic grammer and vocab. My arabic reading and writing skills also improved greatly.

This course is designed to teach the modern standard Arabic language to students who have some background in the dialect of their Arabic-speaking heritage. We started with the alphabet so we could learn how to read and write and very quickly moved into expanding the learning of the language to grammar, translations, comprehension, etc. We also spend time talking about cultures affiliated with the Arabic language.

I learned how to read and write and speak in Arabic in the modern dialect.

I learned a lot of new vocabulary regarding professions, citizenship, daily activities, etc. I learned how to conjugate verbs in past, present, and future tense. I learned about masdars, or the "default" or "source" of many Arabic words. I learned about idaafas, or phrases involving "of" in Arabic. Learned how to negate sentences and what words to use when offering reasoning. I learned about relative clauses, attached and detached pronouns, and how to use adjectives.

Although it's an intensive class, the intensity pushes you to learn a lot in a setting with a dozen(ish) people that have the same cultural and linguistic basis.

Every student who knows an arabic dialect due to family heritage should take this class.

Professor Nouhi is amazing because he is incredibly knowledgeable in several languages, including many of the Arabic dialects, which is incredible. He is also extremely understanding of each student's personal circumstances and willing to provide accommodations. My only warning is that this class is a lot of work and there isn't really any room to fall behind if you want to succeed in the course.

You will learn a lot in this course and the pace is very reasonable. The workload is very reasonable (one hw assignment per day, shouldn't take longer than half an hour), a handful of quizzes throughout the semester and a final at the end (no midterm). Professor Nouhi is amazing. 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2021 Course: MDESUN2208_001_2021_3-ARABICFORHERITAGESPEAKERSI : MDESUN2208_001_2021_3 - ARABIC FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS I Instructor: Youssef Nouhi

This was the most useful class I have ever taken in my life. I learned how to read and write in Arabic, how to conjucate in Fusha (Modern Standard Arabic), Fusha vocabulary, and how to strengthen my overall Arabic. I truly came out ten times as knowledgable in the language. I came in not knowing the Arabic alphabet and came out in one semester reading and writing paragraphs.