improve my Arabic

Yikes! I am really slacking off since summer classes ended. I need to get back into studying before school starts. I need to make a plan and then get moving…

Well, summer classes ended today with a nice surprise. We were supposed to have our final this morning but our teacher told us that she had grades for us already and that if we were happy with those grades, we didn’t need to take the final.

I ended up with a really really good grade in the course, so I decided (along with everyone else) not to take the final. So we just went out for coffee with our teacher instead.

So I have successfully completed intensive Arabic and obtained excellent grades, plus I feel that I have learned a fair amount. I need to consolidate it now, so my goal is to study for at least an hour a day during vacation.

Today was the last day of intensive summer Arabic. I still have an oral final and a written final, but I have successfully made it through the class now. It has been really stressful, but I have done well on tests, presentations, homework, etc. and I feel that I have improved my Arabic skills quite a bit.

I’m going to take a few days off after the final and then start studying again, in order to consolidate all of this information before school starts again. It is one thing to cover a year’s worth of material in 9 weeks, but I still don’t really feel that I have learned a year’s worth of material.

Yay! My oral presentation went really well, it seems. I spoke for about 15 minutes on the history of Syria and presented a powerpoint presentation of slides of photos and maps and whatnot. People seemed to understand what I was saying and although the presentation was not “deep” by any means, I felt like I communicated some new information to them.

So all in all I feel pretty good, though I know there is a big difference between speaking when I have rehearsed what I am going to say and speaking spontaneously. Tomorrow my summer Arabic program is being visited by a group of students from throughout the Arab world, so I should get plently of practice from that experience, as we are not allowed to speak English with them!

I am currently taking an intensive summer Arabic course. The point is to cover a year’s worth of material in 10 weeks. I have stopped saying “to learn a year’s worth of Arabic” because I realize that it is impossible to actually learn a whole lot in this kind of course. While I love having the opportunity to focus solely on Arabic, which is something I don’t get to do during the regular academic year, it is almost impossible to keep up and remember all the vocabulary that we are exposed to each day.

I have another big exam tomorrow, this time with a big oral presentation component. My speaking skill is sub-par, compared to all my other skills. I do not look forward to this. :)