Below are your course requirements. Please read carefully, and ask me if you have any questions about any of this.
1. Attendance, participation and Language Table (20%):
Attendance: You are expected to attend classes regularly and to arrive to class punctually. Please do your best not to be late for class. Attendance is 7% of your total grade. You should also bear in mind that each contact hour in class equals two hours of preparation at home. Missing one class (2 hours and 15 minutes) would mean at least 4 hours and a half of extra work to catch up on. Absence is only allowed for academically legitimate reasons.
Participation is the key component of this class, and its scope extends beyond the classroom itself to group homework assignments, Arabic tables and Arabic language activities at the Arabic House. Part of participation also means not overshadowing others and allowing them the space to learn. Participation will be 10% of your total grade.
Language Tables will be held at Freeman Hall twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Attending the Arabic language tables (lunch) is crucial for your participation and use of the language outside the classroom. Each student is required to attend language table only once a week. Missing the table means missing 1% of your total percentage and a whole range of possibilities to communicate with your two native speaking moderators and your professors over lunch. Students are assigned by Fatma to one of the days of the table. Should any conflict with your other schedules arise, please try to switch your day with another student from your section or from section A.
2. Homework and preparation (30%)
Homework assignments is perhaps the most essential part of your preparation. The philosophy of this course rests upon the idea that the material is rarely introduced to the student ‘cold’; in other words, the majority of class time will be devoted to practice as opposed to explanation. Class time will not be wasted in explaining or elaborating on issues that should have been prepared at home, unless necessity arises. It is, thus, essential for you to come to class prepared.
There will be daily written assignments due at the beginning of the class. You are expected to hand in these assignments on time. If assignment is turned in late but before 5pm on the day it is due, it will be subject to a 10% delay penalty. If turned in after than, the penalty is 20%. Needless to say, you cannot turn in assignments after I discuss solutions in class.
There will be a total of 12 homework assignments for this course: 3 short ones assigned M-W + a rather long one to be assigned on Thursday of every week.
The short homework assignments will be graded on a scale from 1 to 10 points, whereas the longer ones will be graded on a scale from 1 to 20 points.
You are encouraged to study and work together on your homework assignments, with the stipulation that everyone must submit his/her own individual work. Please hand in homework written on a separate sheet of paper, and try to be neat and organized. For each assignment please include both the due date and the lesson, as well as the exercise and page number(s).
Preparation is obviously related to homework, but it also includes assignments and aspects of the course which are not written, i.e. you must come prepared for class activities (this means following the syllabus, studying vocabulary and grammar, and being ready to participate fully). That said, please do not skip class even if you are not fully prepared.
3. Quizzes (20%)
There will be a total of four short quizzes (15-20 minutes each). These quizzes will include what has been discussed during the week.
4. Final Exam (20%)
Your final exam will be on the 31st of January, the last day of the semester.
5. Final Presentation (10%)
You will be required to give presentations in front of your class on January 30th. I will leave the choice of the topic up to you, but you need to be decided by the 15th for me to be able to assist you if you need any help. Your presentations should be no less than 5 minutes and no more than 10 minutes. The evaluation criteria includes grammar, pronunciation, fluency, coherence of content and timing.
Grading
Here's how your letter grade will be assigned:
95%+ is A
from 90%+ to 95% is A-
from 87%+ to 90% is B+
from 83%+ to 87% is B
from 80%+ to 83% is B-
from 77%+ to 80% is C+
from 73%+ to 77% is C
from 70%+ to 73% is C-
from 60%+ to 70% is D
60%+ and under is F.
Honor code
I will follow the Middlebury College’s Academic Honesty Statement as described here:
http://www.middlebury.edu/academics/acadinfo/honorcode/statement.htm
Please make sure to write the Honor Code Pledge "I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this assignment," on the quizzes and the final exam.
