Detailed Class Information :: www.AlbanyAdultSchool.org

Instructor: Linda Sarkis
I have an academic background in the Arabic language and culture. As an undergraduate and graduate student, I majored in Arabic Studies at the Near Eastern Studies Department at U.C. Berkeley. I was awarded the National Defense Fellowship for the Study of Foreign Languages from U.C. Berkeley to study Arabic for two years at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. I also worked as the Language Specialist for Arabic and Persian for the Special Languages Section at the Main Library (Doe Library) at U.C. Berkeley for sixteen years. My Arabic work experience also entails working as an interpreter at the Alameda Superior Court in Oakland.

I am a native Arabic speaker of Iraq. I have been teaching Arabic for many years at different levels and various age groups. My classes have included students at U.C. Berkeley majoring in African Studies.

I teach Classical Arabic (al-Fusha), Modern Standard Arabic (al-Nahwi, Modern Fusha) and the Baghdadi Iraqi Dialect (al-’Ammiyyah).

I have a scholarly interest in the Arabic language and culture. I genuinely enjoy teaching this magnificent language and seeing the progress of the students.

It is important to note that the Arabic language has a structural complexity, sophistication and unique patterns that should be taught by instructors with academic backgrounds.

Class Description: Introduction to Arabic
This course is for real beginners and those with rudimentary exposure to the Arabic language. Topics covered include the two layers of the Arabic alphabet, reading, writing, pronunciation of the sounds of its letters and words, practical and useful conversational skills, sentences and phrases, greetings, al-arqam al-'Arabiyah (Arabic Numerals), definite/indefinite article, sun/moon letters, judhur (roots), awzan (word patterns) and al-muthanna (The Dual). This course is taught in Modern Fusha/MSA.