so, after a series of tests and interviews and surprise reading comprehension tests in DC and OPI (oral proficiency) interviews in fes, we were finally placed in appropriate levels for our summer of arabic learning. i didn't place as high as i thought/hoped i would, but that's ok. we must all keep in mind that i have not taken an arabic class since last summer, and didn't practice that much while in school. (hey, writing a SIP takes up a lot of time.)
anyway, the first two weeks of class have passed without much tumult. well, that's not quite true. there were a number of people who freaked out and complained about the work load, the class time, not getting to interact with "real" arabic speakers, blah-blah-blah ---
this is the time i have to remind myself that i have now spent 3 out of 4 of my college summers in intensive arabic classes... i guess i have an unfair advantage.
--- and then things settled down a little this past week (the second week).
i guess most of these past two weeks have been a combination of getting used to living in a new city (finding places to eat, run, shop, drink coffee, etc.) and getting used to being in "arabic mode." we have class starting at 9am, and it lasts until 1pm. we also have optional twice-per week quranic arabic, poetry, and moroccan arabic classes. (i attend all the optional classes. of course.) we've also signed a language pledge to "only" speak arabic while we're here. it's not actually a serious language pledge though. we did actually sign a piece of paper, with the word 'pledge' in its title; however, that paper said that we agreed to speak arabic exclusively in common areas between the hours of 8am and 4pm. what kind of bullshit is that? actually, i think it would be ok if people actually stuck to it. but i'm finding a lot of people here don't seem as serious about studying arabic as i thought they would be. hm... i won't use this as a place to complain about things. however i will say that, in all honesty, i thought this program would be a lot more intense than it has been so far.
is that just me?
ok. i'll work with what i've been given.
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Try the follwoing site for classical arabic
ReplyDeletehttp://www.80percentwords.com
okay, so you are going to think "OMG, my aunt is posting a comment............" suffice it to say that i think you are living a fabulous life, and spending time in 2 countries that i would sell my first-born in order to visit! enjoy every minute of your time in morocco. you are in my thoughts!
ReplyDeleteDude, the language pledge here is equally lax. The last time I did this summer program thing it was all Chinese all the time...this time, as soon as you hit the landing of the floor below our department, you are officially outside the Chinese-language-only zone. L.A.M.E.
ReplyDelete~T