Arabic

In Middle School, Arabic is offered to all students in three streams, five periods per week.

Stream 1: First Language

This is offered to students whose mother tongue is Arabic, who started Arabic in Year 1 and have been successful in their uninterrupted studies.

The First Language syllabus contains two different aspects: Language and Literature. Directed and creative writing is encouraged throughout the course. In Literature, students are exposed to the different genres, from different periods of time, and compare them to modern texts with an introduction to literary criticism and directed and creative writing is mastered.

Stream 2: Second Language

This course is designed for students with previous experience of learning Arabic. The focus is on language acquisition and development of skills through text handling, written production, listening and oral expression, research projects and presentations.

It includes different types of non-literary texts which belong to assorted themes that are aligned with IGCSE requirements.

Stream 3: Non-Arabic

This course aims at teaching Modern Standard Arabic, oral and written, for communication purposes. The course introduces aspects of Arabic culture in addition to topics of universal appeal to students of various cultural backgrounds, such as hobbies, life at home and school, shops, airports and restaurants.

Core Arabic: Years 10-11

Core Arabic is a compulsory non-IGCSE course taken by all students. Core Arabic is both a government and a school graduation requirement. Students are put into groups according to ability and previous experience in Arabic.

Course content depends upon whether the student is already a reader of Arabic or not. Readers of Arabic focus on reading and writing skills, through reading articles and discussing them, then writing about the topic. Non-readers of Arabic concentrate on speaking and listening skills, through class discussions.

Cambridge IGCSE: Years 10-11

In Years 10 and 11, Arabic is offered in two streams.

Stream 1: IGCSE Arabic (First Language)

The course offers variety in its selection of anthologies from works of classical and modern Arab authors, in its focus on the various literary genres, and in its methods of practice, where emphasis is placed on personal response.

Candidates at this level must have a very effective command of Classical Arabic, in addition to having followed courses for native speakers in their previous years of education. Students with very weak expressive and grammatical skills will have difficulty in performing at the higher grades.

Syllabus Cambridge IGCSE™ Arabic First Language

Stream 2: IGCSE Arabic (Second/Foreign Language)

A variety of texts are used including the works of modern writers. Topics include:

• everyday activities
• personal and social life
• the world around us
• the world of work
• the international world

It is recommended that candidates at this level must have some prior exposure to Arabic for at least three years if capable.

Syllabus Cambridge IGCSE™ Arabic Foreign Language

IB Diploma – Years 12-13

In Years 12-13, Arabic is offered in two streams.

Stream 1: IB-B (Higher and Standard level)

IB Arabic A: Language and Literature is for students who are fluent in Arabic and want to study it at first-language level. It can be taken as a Group 1 language, and students who take both English A and Arabic A can be awarded the IB bilingual Diploma.

The course is organised around three areas of exploration: readers, writers and texts; time and space; and intertextuality, or how texts connect with one another. Students read classical and modern Arabic literature alongside non-literary texts such as journalism, speeches, advertising and online media, and consider how each is shaped by its cultural and historical context. Standard Level students study four literary works and Higher Level students six, including works in translation from other languages.

Assessment is through two examinations, a guided analysis of unseen non-literary texts and a comparative essay on two literary works, together with the Individual Oral, which links one literary and one non-literary text to a global issue. Higher Level students also write a formal essay on a line of inquiry of their choosing. Students finish the course as confident, critical readers and writers of Arabic, which is a real advantage for university study and careers in law, media, diplomacy, education and business in Saudi Arabia and across the region.

IB Diploma Programme Subject Brief Language B 

Stream 2: Arabic Ab-initio

Arabic is offered in Years 12 and 13 in two streams. Language B, at Standard or Higher Level, is for students who have already studied Arabic as an additional language, usually up to IGCSE. Ab initio, offered at Standard Level only, is for students who are starting Arabic from the beginning or have very little experience of it. The department decides which course is right for each student, based on their previous study of the language.

Both courses are built around five prescribed themes: identities, experiences, human ingenuity, social organisation and sharing the planet. Students work with written, audio, visual and audio-visual texts and learn to communicate for different audiences and purposes. At Language B, students describe situations, narrate events, make comparisons, explain problems and give and support their own opinions, and Higher Level students also study two literary works originally written in Arabic. Ab initio students build a secure foundation in everyday language, grammar and vocabulary while learning about the cultures of the Arabic-speaking world.

Assessment includes a writing paper, a paper testing listening and reading, and an individual oral with the teacher. At Standard Level and ab initio the oral is based on a visual stimulus; at Higher Level it is based on an extract from one of the literary works studied.

IB Diploma Programme Subject Brief Language ab initio