WLC Academic ProgramsArabic
Why Study Arabic?
The Arabic classes at ODU are the key to introduce the students to the Arabic language and cultures. Arabic is the official language of 22 countries, in addition to being an official language at the United Nations. Muslims around the world use Arabic to read the holy Quran and conduct their religious ceremonies in Arabic too. Proficiency in Arabic allows the students to communicate in MSA and the Levantine dialect and prepares them to interact with the native speakers of the language in oversees programs. It also prepares them to read the old Arabic scripts, poetry and prose, in addition to translate news articles or other official documents from the internet. Our modern world is full of international events, which require the knowledge of Arabic to better analyze Middle Eastern events and gives our students better chances of employment in NGOs and government-related jobs.
The program offers a variety of classes starting with beginner's classes, which focus on learning the Arabic alphabet with its unique sounds and shapes. In these classes, the students start getting used to writing from right to left and use their jaws in ways they didn't know possible, by pronouncing the deep glottal Arabic letters. These unfamiliar beautiful sounds and shapes are usually mastered within the first few weeks by most of the students, which make their journey of studying Arabic a fun, easy and exciting one. These beginners' classes require no previous knowledge of Arabic and are considered the base to the next levels. After successfully finishing these classes, the students are allowed to move to the more specific and content-based classes dealing with the culture, literature media and the politics of the Middle East up until the 400-levels.
