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Mohammed VI Polytechnic UniversityFaculty of Governance, Social sciences and economics

EGE Rabat

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Build your Arabic language skills at the leading political science school in Morocco.

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ContentsGenerAl PresentAtion .................................................................................................6

ProGrAm orGAnizAtion ...............................................................................................7

semester 1 intensive language study .................................................................................8Language classes (LC) ................................................................................................8

Tutorial classes (TC)...................................................................................................10

Workshops ..................................................................................................................13

Tutorials ......................................................................................................................14

Provisional calendar ..................................................................................................15

semester 2 social sciences (language of instruction: arabic) ............................................16Study Period 1: Moroccan Arabic Study ..................................................................16

Study Period 2: Social science study and research in standard Arabic ...............16

Provisional calendar ..................................................................................................18

APPlicAtion requirements .. ...................................................................................18

reGistrAtion Fees .......................................................................................................19

reGistrAtion cAlendAr ............................................................................................19

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General PresentationArabic Program for Social Sciences (APSS) is an intensive language course designed for non-native Arabic speakers who seek to develop their standard Arabic skills, and at the same time gain a better grasp of the major political, social and economic challenges facing the contemporary world.

More specifically, this Arabic program is designed for students undertaking undergraduate or post-graduate study in social sciences, and who wish to proceed with their research or consider professional positions that require a fair degree of critical analysis of social, political and economic issues.

APSS combines two complementary approaches:

a communicative approach which aims to develop language skills and ensure a high level of fluency and accuracy (from phonological to syntactic and lexical control).

an academic approach focusing on content relating to social sciences (history, sociology, political science). In addition to expanding the lexical range of students in areas of social sciences, the program is structured around academic activities, where students use their critical and analytical skills in processing material that relates to their area of study (reviews, summaries, oral presentations, branch out, etc.).

Arabic Program for Social Sciences is intended for students who have successfully completed a formal intermediate course of standard Arabic (at least 150 contact hours).

Program organizationThe program takes up two semesters of study over a twelve-week period each.

semester 1

« intensive language study » ....

The students will do 300 hours of intensive language study over 12 weeks (25 hours a week). The course earns 18 credits by US standards or 36 ECTS (European credit transfer and accumulation system).

semester 2

« social sciences in Arabic »

In semester 2, the students will carry a load of 150 contact hours that earn 12 credits by US standards or 24 ECTS.

Semester 2 is a twelve-week course broken down into 2 study periods:

Study Period 1: a 50-hour intensive course in Moroccan Arabic. This course will be offered in the first two weeks of semester 2, week 1 and week 2.

Study Period 2: running from week 3 to week 12. This study period will be devoted to theme-based classes that will take up 100 contact hours, 60 of which will be taught in standard Arabic. For the remaining 40 hours, students can choose to register in classes of social sciences offered in languages other than Arabic, namely French or English.

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Semester 1Intensive Language Study As part of Semester1/ Intensive language study, 4 teaching formats are offered:

Language classes (LC)

ObjectivesLanguage classes are the main teaching format in Semester 1/ Intensive language learning. These classes are taught by Arabic teachers with extensive experience of teaching standard Arabic to non-native Arabic speakers, and are primarily designed to consolidate students’ communication skills and practical language use, for the specific context of academic study.

Organisation The organisation of Language Classes is based on simulations of real-life situations, using activities and topics to elicit oral expression and interactive communication.

Al Kitaab fi ta3llum al logha l3arabiya is the main textbook for Language Classes. It comprises a range of simulation exercises and allows for students’ gradual progress, as well as the possibility to assess their progress on a regular basis through carefully selected communication tasks.

Other supplementary activities will be used in Language Classes, such as discussion and document analysis, debates on topical issues, role play and simulations, presentations and so on. For instance, the “discussion and document analysis” activity is detailed below.

Discussion and document analysis

Each week the APSS pedagogical team will select a general topic or issue that pertains to a specific lexical field. The weekly sessions will then provide the opportunity to study documents related to the general topic being discussed during that week.

After introducing the general topic of the session, brainstorming and highlighting the initial comments of students, the teacher will then use authentic material, a reading passage or video footage related to the topic in hand. The students will be able to reflect on the material provided, before pointing out its most significant aspects, making connections with the general topic of the session, or coming up with their own reading.

The teacher will simply facilitate interactive communication, to help students develop practical strategies (in communication tasks, students learn to use language skills they have already mastered to complete tasks in hand). Students are then invited to pair up and produce a short presentation and analysis of the material under study, following a textual procedure set up in advance (presentation/ contextualizing the material, describing content analytically, identifying issues raised, suggesting avenues for further analysis and discussion...)

Finally, starting from the different short presentations produced which are read by the different pairs in turn, the class produces a short model-text of approximately 200 words on the material under study.

Credit Points Students fulfill the Language Class requirement with a minimum average mark of 10/ 20, which earns 12 credits ECTS.

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Pedagogical resources Al Kitaab fi ta3llum al logha l3arabiya, as a primary textbook together with readings passages or video footage relating to national and international news items.

Number of class hours2 hours per day, 5 days a week.

Tutorial classes (TC) Objectives

The tutorial class is the innovative teaching method on offer at EGE Rabat. Its purpose is to significantly consolidate the students’ entry language level in standard Arabic according to a formal approach (vs. communicative), and focusing on 5 components:

acquiring a rich vocabulary deemed necessary to discuss or write about political, economic, and social issues with some precision (approximately 1000 new words acquired by the end of the intensive language study semester)

improving listening and speaking skills in standard Arabic

reinforcing composition and writing skills in standard Arabic, with attention to spelling and syntax

developing grammar and syntax skills (knowledge of rules and common use)

practicing writing/ calligraphy in standard Arabic on a daily basis.

ProgressTo reach the objectives set for formal skills in standard Arabic, the TC, as its name suggests, places students under supervision.

Starting with practice exercises, drills, and systematization, target language skills and competencies are gradually developed.

Several systematization activities can be used: grammar in context, visual listening memory tasks on lexical fields in social sciences, reading and analysis of relevant and topical material using a dictionary, practicing quick and efficient standard calligraphy, acquiring internet research techniques using an Arabic keyboard. As an example, two activities commonly used in TC are detailed below:

Transcribing audio material

At the beginning of the month, the APSS pedagogical team sets a specific target for vocabulary acquisition for students, notably based on the Al Kitaab fi ta3llum al logha l3arabiya, to be completed over the four weeks. The average vocabulary acquisition pace is set at 350 words per month, approximately 90 new words per week.

Vocabulary acquisition takes place during class, using the textbook’s audio recordings. As they practice listening skills, students must keep a ‘transcript file’ in which they transcribe all audio material to which they are exposed. Tutorial class teachers can then check student transcript files in real time for both spelling and syntax, and correct possible grammar and syntax errors with individual students. At the end of class, students are expected to have transcribed a correct and final version of audio material used during class.

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Reading and text analysis

Tutorial classes also provide the opportunity for students to consolidate their skills with regard to reading comprehension and analysis of current news items. Under the supervision of teachers, students read and analyse the passage under study, before answering comprehension questions. Students can call upon their teacher to explain a difficult passage, idiomatic expressions, or the general structure of the text. They can also come up with texts of their own and submit them to their teacher in class. At the end of each class, students are expected to have completed and written up the final version of their text analysis.

CreditsStudents fulfill the Tutorial Class requirement with a minimum average grade of 10/ 20, which earns 12 credits ECTS.

Pedagogical resourcesThe Al Kitaab fi ta3llum al logha l3arabiya manual, Book II and Book III, as well as supplementary material chosen by instructors.

Number of class hours2 hours per day, 5 days a week.

Workshops

ProgressWorkshops allow students to identify their areas of specialization as well as new topics of interest. Designed for intermediate and advanced students, and based on a wide range of interest areas such as Arabic literature and poetry, Moroccan cinema, international Arab media, the ‘Nahda’ movement, Morocco under Hassan II and so on, workshops are run either by Arabic language teachers or by Arabic-speaking Social Science university lecturers, trained to teach non-native Arabic speakers.

Workshops provide the opportunity for students to find a topic of their choice, in a teaching format that allows for further study and research.

Students have the possibility to attend 3 workshops over the semester, with each workshop taking up 16 hours. Workshops are scheduled for a period of one month, two 2-hour sessions per week.

CreditsStudents fulfill the Tutorial Class requirement with a minimum average mark of 10/ 20, which earns 12 credits ECTS.

Number of class hoursTwo 2-hour sessions weekly.

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TutorialsTutorials are the teaching format aimed to develop students’ ability in one-to-one interaction.

At the start of the semester, students choose a tutor amongst the Moroccan students who sign up to tutor international students, or a member of the school’s pedagogical team associated with the APSS. On their tutorial wish form, students specify a number of topics that they wish to discuss during their tutorials. Given that international students do not generally start with a good command of Moroccan Arabic, Moroccan Arabic classes being scheduled for semester 2, topics discussed in tutorials allow for the use of standard Arabic, and are as a result derived from a more formal and institutional context.

Tutorials allow non-native Arabic speakers to engage in open discussion in standard Arabic in a one-to-one setup and eventually enables them to develop ‘spontaneous’ communication skills in standard Arabic.

Provisional calendarOpen day prior to the start of the semester: Thursday, September 10th 2015

September 2015 October

14 to 19 21 to 26 28 to 2 5 to 9 12 to 16 19 to 23 26 to 30

S1 S2 S3 S4 Pause S5 S6

November December 2015

2 to 6 9 to 13 16 to 20 23 to 27 30 to 4 7 to 11 14 to 18

S7 S8 Break S9 S10 S11 S12

NB: Depending on demand, the intensive language study semester could also be offered during semester 2 of the academic year 2015-2016, starting January 2016.

Sample Weekly TimetableMonday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

08h15-10h15 LC LC LC LC LC

10h30-12h30 TC TC TC TC TC

Lunch break

14h-15h Workshop Workshop Tutorials

15h-16h

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Semester 2Social sciences (Language of instruction : Arabic)Semester 2 comprises two study periods: the first study period runs over 2 weeks and is devoted to intensive Moroccan Arabic study; the second study period runs over 10 weeks and is devoted to academic content classes in standard Arabic.

Study Period 1: Moroccan ArabicIn this study period, the 4 teaching formats offered in Semester 1 in intensive language study are offered in Moroccan Arabic, namely language classes, tutorial classes, workshops, and tutorials.

Students who satisfy the requirements for Study Period 1 earn 1.5 American credits/ 3 ECTS credits.

Study Period 2: Social science study and research in standard ArabicIn the second study period, 3 teaching formats are offered: Content classes in Arabic (CCA), Preparation of content class workshops (PW), Initiation to research in standard Arabic (IR).

Content classes in Arabic (CCA)For Academic content classes in standard Arabic, non-native Arabic speakers may attend, together with their Moroccan peers, Social Science classes on offer at EGE Rabat.

Classes are taught in standard Arabic by Arabic-speaking university lecturers in core academic disciplines offered at the school (political science, sociology, anthropology, history), with no change to the content or format to accommodate the specific profile of international students.

Non-native Arabic speakers must attend a minimum of 20 hours in one academic content class. Satisfying the requirements of an ACC earns 3 American credits/ 6 ECTS credits.

Preparation for content class workshops (PW)Preparation for Academic content class workshops provide non-native Arabic speakers the opportunity to prepare for academic content classes in standard Arabic one week ahead of class. These preparation workshops are run by Arabic language teachers working in close coordination with academic content class lecturers, to identify and prepare for the lexical field to be used in upcoming classes each week.

During preparation workshops, students have the possibility to engage with reading passages or video footage relevant to the issues to be raised in upcoming academic content classes.

Satisfying the requirement of a PW earns 3 American credits or 6 ECTS credits.

Initiation to research in standard Arabic (IR)As part of the Initiation to Research in standard Arabic classes, non-native Arabic speakers have the opportunity to conduct a research project of reasonable scale in standard Arabic on a topic relating to contemporary Morocco. The topic chosen must allow students to conduct some interviews, either in Moroccan or standard Arabic, with relevant Moroccan respondents.

Initiation to research classes is taught by Moroccan university lecturers specialising in social sciences.

Satisfying the requirements of an IR earns 3 American credits or 6 ECTS credits.

Other classesStudents have the possibility to sign up for other academic content classes in standard Arabic, French, or English, if they wish to earn extra credits.

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Application RequirementsStudents interested in the APSS must submit an application file including the following documents:

Grade transcript or certificate as evidence that they have had a minimum of 150 contact hours in standard Arabic class

Letter of recommendation from a standard Arabic teacher

Personal statement outlining the personal, academic, or professional reasons for choosing the APSS at EGE Rabat.

APSS application form duly completed

Application files may be submitted by email at candidater.peass@egerabat.com, or sent by mail to the address below:

Arabic Studies ProgrammeUM6P/ Ecole de Gouvernance et d’EconomieAvenue Ben Abdallah RegraguiAl Irfane – BP 628310112 Rabat

Provisional calendar

January 2016 February March

18 to 22 25 to 29 1 to 5 8 to 12 15 to 19 22 to 26 29 to 4 7 to 11 14 to 18 21 to 25

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 Break S7 S8 S8

April 2016

28 to 1 4 to 9 11 to 15 18 to 22 25 to 29

S10 Break S11 S12 Presentation of research projects

Registration FeesFor the academic year 2015-2016, the registration fees for a full year of study amount to €2200. These fees are not subject to change and also apply to students who sign up for intensive language study semester only, for either semester 1 or semester 2 of academic year 2015-2016.

Preferential rates could also be offered to international students in residence at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University/ EGE Rabat, as part of academic exchange programs. For further information on academic exchange programs and partnerships, please address queries to cui@egerabat.com.

Registration CalendarFor the september 2015 registration session:Deadline for submitting application file: June 15th 2015

For the January 2016 registration session:Deadline for submitting application file: October 15th 2015

For further information, please contact: peass@egerabat.com

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Avenue Mohamed Ben Abdellah Regragui BP 6283 Madinat Al Irfane 10112 RabatTel: + 212 5 37 21 67 00 / Fax: +212 5 37 77 68 64

www.egerabat.com