OVERVIEW

This is a 36-hour course worth 6 credits. The course will address the language of mass media and it will focus on economic, tourist and socio-political topics. An in-depth study of the course content will be carried out through the reading and the analysis of the lexical and syntactic features of the specialised language, as well as through the listening comprehension of texts.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course intends to provide students with the essential reading skills for the comprehension and the analysis of texts related to the fields of economics and politics, as well as to enable the development of their speaking skills within these fields. It also aims to consolidate the knowledge of the Arabic sentence structure and the lexis used for special purposes, through the reading of articles and the listening of audiovisual materials.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Provide students with the necessary skills for understanding and producing texts related to the economic, tourist and political fields, as well as for interacting with others on these topics.

Consolidate the Arabic language structure together with general and specialised vocabulary through the reading and the translation of articles and short passages from newspapers and magazines.

- At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• examine and analyse the structure of a text;
• translate and produce written texts mainly from economic and tourist fields;
• understand the gist of publications in Arabic from the economic, tourist and political fields;
• hold a conversation effectively on specific topics.

PREREQUISITES

The course is for third-year students who have acquired the necessary morphosyntactic skills, both theoretical and practical, as well as the necessary lexis to be able to deal effectively and profitably with the course syllabus.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures and seminars. Students will be asked to participate in class discussions, to read and comment on several selected passages, both in Italian and in Arabic. Texts and audiovisual material will be provided in class.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course addresses the language of mass media, particularly through the translation and analysis of texts on economic, tourist and socio-political topics. The translation will be from Arabic into Italian and vice versa and will also consist in discussing the techniques used. It will focus on the study of the Arabic sentence structure and the lexis for special purposes. Special attention will be paid to the analysis of the syntactic structures as well as the semantic, pragmatic and stylistic aspects of the various texts. The teacher will instruct students on the correct use of monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, both paper and online. The course “Arabic for special purposes” aims to stimulate and enhance the students’ communication skills in both general and specialised Arabic. Authentic material will be provided by the lecturer and will include extracts from newspapers and magazines, and short texts.

- The syllabus is the same for non-attending students. Bibliographical material and texts covered during the course will be available on Aulaweb.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Elisabeth Kendall, Media Arabic, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2012;

El Mustapha Lahlali, Advanced Media Arabic, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2017.

• Newspapers and websites:

- al-Shurūq, Egyptian newspaper, www.shorouknews.com;
- Al-Maṣrī al-yawm, Egyptian newspaper, www.almasry-alyoum.com;
- Al-Quds al-'arabī, London newspaper, www.alquds.co.uk;
- al-Sharq al-awṣaṭ, Saudi newspaper, www.aawsat.com;
- Al-Ğazīra, http://www.aljazeera.net/portal;
- Other material and selected texts will be given during the academic year.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

NASSER AHMED ISMAIL AHMED (President)

ABDELHALEEM HUSSEIN ABDELMOTTALEB SOLAIMAN

MARCO AMMAR (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Unless otherwise indicated, the lessons in the second semester will be held in person according to the university teaching timetable

Class schedule

ARABIC FOR SPECIAL PURPOSES

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

There is an oral examination at the end this course which is held in Arabic for Italian speakers and in Italian for Arabic speakers. It lasts approx.15 minutes for each student and consists of a number of questions about general and specialised topics covered during the course.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Students will be assessed on their ability to understand, produce and interact in  specialised language through the reading, the translation and the analysis of the course content.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students with certified special educational needs are advised to contact the lecturer at the beginning of the course