Young Adults Department

The Conversation Course

The Arabic Young Adults Department was established in 2017 with the aim of teaching modern and functional Arabic communicative skills to adolescents. To teach Arabic to students who have no pre-knowledge of Arabic, a series has been prepared. Furthermore, to show the affinity between the two languages of Iranian and Arabic culture, the name Bustan al-Arabiya has been used, which indicates the closeness between Bustan-e Sadi in Persian and Bustan Al-Arabiya, meaning Arabic Garden.

In Bustan Al-Arabiyah series, there has been an attempt to use the most tangible and widely used words to teach teenagers, and to design this in a completely situational manner.

There are many advantages to this series including the emphasis on the auditory method and the use of visual intelligence to aid better and easier memorization, the focus of each lesson on one area to help the learners better understand the subject, the employment of various, leveled exercises, the use of color images well suited to the language learners’ mentality, the use of up-to-date animations of Arab countries as well as poems related to the lessons, and the evaluation of the learners’ progress by themselves as well as the teacher during the semester.

This course consists of twelve levels (or terms) in approximately 500 hours. All books are accompanied by audio and video CDs of the lessons.

The learner is expected to achieve the following goals after the end of this course.

1. Gaining the ability to construct correct sentences in the lessons. The aim of teaching this package is not just to learn words but to learn sentences.

2. Remembering basic sentences and words in a conversation.

3. Gaining the ability to ask questions.

4. Acquiring the relative ability to write in Arabic by relying on learned structures and interpretations.

5. Getting full knowledge of the tenses including the past, the present, negative forms as well as the usage of the verbs.

6. Having complete understanding of pronouns, nouns and demonstrative pronouns.

7. Learning the practical rules and applying them for accurate conversations.

Adults Department

1. The Conversation Course

The Arabic Adults Department was established in 1989 with the aim of teaching Arabic in a modern, functional method. It initially started working with the adult age group in two areas of conversation and structure.

This department, consisting of four levels in thirteen terms for approximately 550 hours, is as follows:

1. Basic level (1 term)

2. Elementary level (4 terms)

3. Intermediate level (4 terms)

4. Advanced level (4 terms)

By successfully completing these courses, the learner will be able to speak, read and write texts as well as letters in Arabic.

Sada al-Hayat Series (Echo of Life)

Many students, teachers, administrators, researchers, those interested in traveling to Arab countries or the users of new Arabic media, and the publishers have always lacked some interesting, purposeful and dynamic collection having the essentials needed for language teaching in the field of Arabic language. Iran Language Institute has tried to provide a suitable solution to this problem by producing the Sada Al-Hayat educational series. In Sada Al-Hayat series, which include a language learner's book, a practice book, a teacher's guide, an audio tape or CD, and some instructional videos, an attempt has been made to consider the listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills of Arabic Language so that they are taught engagingly in line with the functional needs.

Applying variations and preparing the materials by using new and absorbing methods are the highlights of this series. Conversations, interpretations, words, and texts recorded on audio tapes or CDs make it easy to learn the correct Arabic accent and intonation and to improve listening skills.

Sada al-Hayat - The Basic Level

The first book in Sada al Hayat series is related to the basic teachings of the Arabic language. This book includes the simplest conversations, the mostly used simple words, pronunciations of the words in Arabic accent, getting to know diacritic of this language and the ways the words change in Arabic structure as a criteria and prerequisite for taking the next steps.

Sada al-Hayat – The Elementary Level

In this level, the main aim is learning to listen and speak and knowing the language formats while simulating them. Conversing about practical and everyday topics, reading simple texts, knowing commonly used terms and phrases, and learning Arabic structure with a variety of exercises are the important steps that the learners take at this stage.

Sada al-Hayat – The Intermediate Level

This level includes 4 books and 4 booklets.

In this level, based on the relative familiarity of the learner with Arabic language, new areas of this language are taught to him.

It consists of thirty conversations on a variety of topics, more complex texts with glossary, independent listening sections, and commonly used proverbs. This stage, like the previous stage, includes 4 books and 4 booklets.

Sada al-Hayat – The Advanced Level

At this stage, additional Arabic language training and some expansions of vocabulary and complex structures are provided.

Utilizing rich, literary texts and creating a platform for teaching essay and letter writing are other features of the advanced Level.

At this stage, reading and writing skills take priority over listening and speaking skills. However, the existence of independent auditory sections as well as the general atmosphere of the series do not overlook the two important skills of listening and speaking.

The other areas considered for this level are media terminology, poetry and literature, proverbs, translation from Persian to Arabic, and correcting and diacritic.

This level is presented in 4 books to the learners.

2. The Grammar (al-Qawa’id) Course

Education here is done in two levels: General (in 5 academic terms) and Specialized (in 6 academic terms). In the general course, learners learn the general structures of Arabic and complete a course in the structure of Arabic lexis and sentences.

In the specialized course, they learn more precise and complex cases of grammar on a broader level, but with a focus on practical training in the analysis of sentences and phrases, along with the intensive learning of the rhetoric.

The general course of structure is useful for pupils, students, candidates of the university entrance exams and those interested in understanding historical, religious and Islamic texts. The specialized course is for candidates who want to take university graduate courses (master's and doctoral) as well as teachers and researchers.

The duration of this course is about 460 hours and is as follows:

1- General course in 4 levels

2- Specialized course in 4 levels

3. Translation Course

This course is presented in 4 levels and the goal is to help with the necessary preparation to take university entrance exams as well as to qualify for general and media translating. These classes give students the skills needed to take these exams and to understand the Arabic mass media.

4. Levantine (Shami) Dialect Course

Due to the need of Arabic language learners for different dialects, an attempt has been made to take these dialects from Arab countries with scientific and educational methods. The first step taken is to teach the Levantine (Shami) dialect (Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan). Efforts to write books on other dialects, such as Iraqi Gulf and Egyptian, will bear fruit in the future.

Shami-dialect classes include 4 terms in approximately 168 hours.

5. Iraqi Dialect Course

Language learners who have completed 4 basic levels can take this course. This course consists of 4 levels and can be useful for pilgrims to the holy shrines in Iraq, businessmen and those interested in the Iraqi dialect. This course can be useful even for Iranians in Iran dealing with Iraqi tourists or pilgrims traveling to Iran for tourism, business or medical services.

6. Basic, intermediate and advanced free conversation courses

Basic, intermediate or advanced language learners can take these classes to reinforce communicative skills on a variety of topics related to everyday life. During this course, language learners are encouraged to practice more conversation and to participate in group conversations as well as to develop scientific knowledge and skills in Arabic conversation on cultural, social, medical, tourism, business, etc. topics.

In order to reinforce the learners' learning, the Arabic department has produced and presented various educational aids.

At-Tamhidi Dictionary (Elementary Dictionary)

This is a bilingual dictionary (Arabic-Persian-Arabic) with synonyms and antonyms as well as plural and singular forms and has the following features:

• Suitable for all language learners in elementary and basic stages of learning Arabic

• Helping intermediate and advanced learners to repeat words and avoid forgetting them

• Using words with meanings appropriate to the vocabulary range of elementary students

• Attractive appearance with various colors and easy portability

• Easy expression of words by diacritical marks

• Providing examples and explanations for words that need further clarification and instruction

• Arranging the words based on their appearance and not on their roots, which makes it easy for readers to access.

Nada al-Hayat (The Dew of Life)

Based on the language learners' need for a dictionary that, in addition to compiling Arabic and Persian equivalents for the words and terms used in the Sada Al-Hayat educational complex, is effective in memorizing these words to facilitate learning, the Nada Al-Hayat dictionary has been prepared in both paper and electronic formats.

This dictionary contains more than seven thousand words and eight hundred terms and expressions that are used in Sada Al-Hayat non-repetitively. It has been arranged in Arabic to Arabic and Arabic to Persian forms including the usage clues. A general visual dictionary is also included at the end of this dictionary.

Shahid wa Ta’allam (See and Learn)

Based on the needs of language learners, especially in basic levels to use visual and auditory resources, a book has been prepared with the aim of strengthening the understanding by listening in the form of a movie book with 45 lessons, each of which has 15 lessons with special exercises based on the levels of difficulty for each of the three stages: elementary, intermediate, and advanced. Having the visual and audio sources is one of the advantages of this book.

Teaching the Iraqi Dialect

This book is the first book to introduce the Iraqi dialect in a practical and academic way. The difference between standard Arabic and slang is one of the difficulties for learners of Arabic, and this book seeks to provide a basic introduction to the Iraqi slang dialect. This book has been written with the aim of meeting the educational needs of Arabic language learners at four levels in order to increase the four skills.

Shadha al-Hayat (The Fragrance of Life)

This book is the first book to get acquainted with Arabic slangs in an educational and purposeful way. The difference between the eloquent and official Arabic language and slang is one of the difficulties of Arabic language learners and this book has tried to provide a basic familiarity with slang dialects. In the first volume of this book, in addition to providing the necessary information about the various Arabic dialects and their general principles, the Levantine dialect (Syria-Lebanon-Palestine and part of Jordan) is taught.

Al-Muqattafat (Excerpts)

This collection including films and educational programs of Arab countries to strengthen the vocabulary and familiarity with Arabic sentences and their structure made by Arab countries is provided for language learners. On these CDs, the learners can watch the film with subtitles or disable the subtitle to assess their listening skills.

Al-Majmu’ah Al-Qasasiyyah 1 and 2 (Story Series 1 and 2)

This collection is to strengthen the skills of reading and listening and to expand the vocabulary range of Arabic language learners. It includes 14 story books in the form of multimedia software. In addition to the audio part of this collection, users can view the text of the story so that they can assess their listening comprehension.

To learn Arabic, it is important to pay attention to the four main language skills (listening, reading, speaking and writing). In Arabic classes, it is the learner who plays the main role in doing activities while the teacher has only the role of supervising and guiding. In fact, it is the learner who studies the words, interpretations, dialogues, texts and grammar at home and listens to the audios while searching the meaning of the new words using a dictionary. Unless the learner reaches the stage of language production by placing himself in virtual situations (restaurant-airport-hospital-store-park, etc.) and uses the learned topics, he cannot get mastery over contents in his mind.

In the next step, the learner should develop his / her vocabulary and structure by using books, CDs as well as various educational stories and Arabic educational sites. Of course, it should not be forgotten that learning Arabic means living and thinking in this language and avoiding translating Persian to Arabic in the mind and using the language outside the classroom and in different situations.

For classes where the final exam is written and in person, the evaluation is as follows:

Continuous evaluation of class activities 60% + final exam 40% = final score

For classes where the final exam is online, the evaluation is as follows:

Continuous evaluation of class activities 80% + final exam 20% = final score

The passing score at the end of the semester is at least 70 out of 100. Students will be awarded a certificate at the end of each semester and after the completion of the entire course, they will receive the official certificate of Iranian Language Institute.