Colloquial Arabic: Regional Dialect
Levantine Dialect
MDES-333
4 Units
MTuWThF 1:00-1:50
WPH 200
Instructor: Lina Kholaki
Office location: Taper Hall 449 A
Office hours: Tuesdays-Wednesdays @9:00-9:50, or by appointment
Telephone: 213-821-2375
E-mail: kholaki@usc.edu
Prerequisite: MDES 222/252 equivalent.
Arabic Levantine
This course in Levantine Arabic is for students of Arabic who are seeking to develop
communicative oral skills in colloquial Levantine Arabic, the dialect used in
contemporary Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine/Israel. The course is designed to
enable learners to communicate in spoken Levantine Arabic using the four skills: reading,
writing, listening and speaking. Emphasis is placed on the learner’s ability to speak and
listen. The course focuses on spoken rather than standard written Arabic, and will therefore
target primarily the oral skills, speaking and listening.
Required Course Materials:
Buy the complete course its E-version, there is no hard copy.
Syrian Colloquial Arabic, a Functional Course (third edition) by Mary-Jane Liddicoat, Richard
Lennane and Dr Iman Abdul Rahim, ISBN 978-0-646-49382-4 (downloadable PDF/MP3 e-book
and audio file format)
Price: US$49.00
includes full textbook and audio files.
Course Requirements and Grade Distribution:
You are expected to come to class regularly and to come PREPARED for class
activities. This means that BEFORE you come to class you should listen to the audios,
study the new vocabulary, prepare for the drills that are to be done in class, and be ready
to answer questions. Missing class not only means a couple of hours of extra work for
you to catch up, it is also unfair to your classmates because you will slow everyone down.
Grading Policy:
Your final grade will be based on the following:
One or Two Oral Interviews: 20%
Class Presentation: 10%
Listening quizzes: 20%
Homework: 20%
Class attendance and participation: 10%
Final presentation and listening quiz: 20%
Student Responsibilities
1. Participating in class activities, that means attendance is highly encourage and
essential to enhance your learning. Most of the language skills to be developed cannot
be acquired without effective participation and interaction with other students and
with the instructor. My expectation is that we can build an Arabic-speaking
community through teamwork.
2. Doing homework assignments. Refer to blackboard assignments daily and weekly.
This out-of-class practice is essential for reinforcement of classroom learning,
reading, and writing. Homework is due on Thursday of the week. Expect to spend at
least 2 hours daily outside the class to review, prepare and practice vocabulary and
drills. Homework will be submitted at the beginning of class—simply place it on my
desk after you arrive.
3. Taking classroom quizzes, the mid-term, and the written final. A make-up quiz will
be given for documented medical emergencies.
4. Taking oral exams during the fifth and tenth week of classes. They will be related to
what is covered in class. Oral exams could be individual or through oral
presentations. Pronunciation, fluency, breadth of vocabulary, and appropriate,
functional usage will be taken into account. The oral midterm is in the form of a
conversation between instructor and student. The final oral test is either a skit
designed and acted out by one to three students (one group at a time), or a one-on-one
oral examination with the instructor. The skit should integrate most of the material
covered and reflect the students’ creative and imaginative abilities.
This schedule is tentative and subject to change. Changes will be announced in class
and/or by e-mail.
Syllabus
Week 1
Welcome to
Damascus
Week 2
Review syllabus
Meeting someone for first time
describing your country
Study voc. Pg.,24-25
Continue lesson 1
Page 41-43
Page 39-40
Page 46
Exchanging pleasantries
Counting and using numbers
Asking and offering time
Telling the time
Week 3
Turn the meter
please
Week 4
Week 5
A room with a bath
Week 6
Week 7
We are very hungry
Week 8
Week 9
That’s so expensive
Week 10
Week 11
When did you
arrive
Week 12
Page 50
Lesson 2
Locating places in Damascus
Catching a Taxi
Study Voc.Pg.58-59
Page 69
Lesson 2
Expressing existence
Paying for the taxi
Expressing possession in the classroom
Page 71
Page 74
Page 76
Study Page
78(adjectives)
Lesson 3
Expressing desire
Expressing ownership and availability
Lesson 3
Talking about hotel facilities
Paying for accommodation
Counting floors of building
Lesson 4
Counting things
Ordering at a restaurant
Lesson 4
Expressing your feelings
Lesson 5
Comparing things
Going to the shops
Shopping for food
Lesson 5
Shopping for clothes
Describing people
Saying “No”
Lesson 6
Talking about past events
Talking about past occupations
Talking about when you arrived
Lesson 6
Talking about period of time
Page 94
Study voc.Pg.,99
Page 102
Page 106-107
Page 111
Page 114
Study vocPg.,128-129
Page 131
Page 141
Page 147
Study voc. Pg.,159-160
Page 165
Page 168
Page 177-179
Page 182
Page 185
Study voc. Pg., 193195
Page 197
Page 203
Page 207
Page 217
Week 13
What are you
doing?
Week 14
Week 15
Week 16
Talking about what have you bought and
Seen.
Giving reasons and making up excuses
Lesson 7
Making suggestions
Talking about what you have to do
Making invitations
Lesson 7
Talking about daily routine
Describing ongoing activities
Talking about hobbies
Page 220
Page 228
Page 233
Study voc. Pg., 240256
Lesson
Review and presentations
Review- prepare projects
Final exam

Homework: One day late half credit; two days late no credit
Academic Integrity
USC seeks t maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of
academic honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of
others, the expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise
allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic
work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own.
All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. Scampus, the
student guidebook, contains the Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the
recommended sanctions are located in Appendix A:
http://www.usc.edu/edu/dept/publications/SCAMPUS/gov/
Disability policy
Any student requesting accommodations based on disability is required to register
with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification
for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is
delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP offices are located in STU
301, and are open from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday. Their phone
number is (213) 740-0776.