Personal Practice

Reading and Listening: Monologues E, F, G, H, and I

Ranya and her family have recently moved to the United States. Since moving here Ranya has hoped to make some American friends. A cousin told her about a pen pal website, to which Ranya submitted a biographical sketch of herself. Read Ranya's vingette and then listen to the aural vingettes of other site participants, contemplating who would make a good pen pal friend for Ranya and why.

There are three new vocabulary words that you will need to know in order to understand the vingettes:

الآداب Speaker Icon
al-'aadaab
literature

كتابات Speaker Icon
kitaabaat
writings

مثلا Speaker Icon
mathalan
for example

In addition to the new vocabulary, be on the lookout for cognates. These are words that sound similar to the same words in English, such as موسيقى "music". There are lots of cognates, as well as transposed names, in these vignettes.

أنا اسمي رانيا. أنا من البحرين لكني أسكن الآن في ولاية مسيسِبي. أنا طالبة في جامعة ولاية مسيسِبي في مدينة ستاركفل. أدرس الآداب وأحبّ كتابات شايكسبير وهمنغواي وستاينبك. أحبّ السينما والموسيقى أيضا ولكنّي لا أحبّ التلفزيون.

Pen Pal 1:جيهانSpeaker Icon
Pen Pal 2:فاروقSpeaker Icon
Pen Pal 3:سميرةSpeaker Icon
Pen Pal 4:رائدSpeaker Icon

After reading Ranya's vingette and listening to the four aural vignettes, answer the following questions in English.

  1. Who do you think would make the best pen pal for Ranya? Why?
  2. Who do you think would make the most unlikely pen pal?
  3. Who do you think you would get along with best? Why?

Email your answers to your instructor.

Print Written and Oral Monologues