About AWW

credits      

Arabic Without Walls consists of three complementary web-based components that can be accessed either through Syllabus (chronological breakdown of daily activities) or Course Content (materials organized into Al-Kitaab, Interviews, and Culture). AWW is designed around two textbooks with accompanying DVDs: Alif Baa: Introduction to Arabic Sounds and Letters and Al-Kitaab Fii Ta’allum Al-’arabiyya Part 1 by Kristen Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal and Abbas Al-Tonsi.

Make sure that you have in your possession a 2004 edition of both textbooks. Earlier editions are not compatible with AWW materials. The three web based categories are as follows:

  1. Al-Kitaab: Al-Kitaab refers to computer-based activities designed specifically for the distance learner to facilitate use of the assigned textbooks (Alif-Baa and Al-KitaabPart 1) used in traditional classrooms in most U.S. college programs. Both textbooks are essential for AWW and are currently used by regular UC Berkeley Arabic students. Using the Syllabus button allows you to navigate your way through both textbooks and the computer assisted activities presented under Al-Kitaab (navigation button on
    the left hand side of the screen). These activities were carefully designed to
    address questions that the regular student usually sees answered in class by
    the teacher and to cover the additional materials that Berkeley students
    usually receive. In the syllabus, the textbooks are referred to as AB and AK
    for short. The Al-Kitaab section of AWW is divided into seven main areas of
    study:
    1. Vocabulary المفردات
    2. Video الشريط
    3. Grammar القواعد
    4. Pronunciation النطق
    5. Reading القراءة
    6. Chat المحادثة
    7. Writing الكتابة
    8. Quizzes الامتحانات
  2. Interviews: Video interviews with Arabic speakers offering further listening and cultural input. The interviews expand the distant learner's opportunity to hear Modern Standard Arabic spoken in a sociolinguistic context that warrants the use of this, mainly, written variety of Arabic and get acquainted with a diverse group of individuals from the Arab world. The activities in this section (Interviews button on left hand side menu) focus particularly on strengthening the distant learner's listening and speaking skills by offering further opportunity to hear materials presented in the Al-Kitaab section used by fluent speakers of Modern Standard Arabic. The video interviews serve as models of the language that the student may use in conversation with the instructor or with distant peers in the Chat activity.
  3. Culture: This cultural-linguistic section (third button on the left) is intended to provide an informative and engaging context for learning Arabic. This thematically organized section contextualizes the language for the distant learners and raises their awareness of various, selected, cultural aspects of the Arab world that regular Berkeley students may access when
    attending classes or lectures in Near Eastern studies, history, literature, linguistics or anthropology. In addition, this section enriches the distant learners' Arabic vocabulary by introducing key contextualized Arabic words of relevance to the topics addressed. in the specific fields presented by offering them the opportunity to do activities in these subjects in Arabic.