Comparing the levels of Arabic

[Guest B.E.P.]

OK.

I'm taking Arabic in IB, and I don't know which level to take. I live in Egypt; but I, as a kid, focused too much on English. This made my Arabic skills not up to A1 Level. . .

I need to know, in comparison to the other levels, the difficulty of Arabic in IB. For example, the level of difficulty in A1, A2, B, and AB Initio Arabic (If you can include HL/SL as a bonus, that would be much appreciated)

Also, Na7w (Arabic Grammatical Study) is my FAVORITE 'section' of Arabic, is it included in IB?

Finally, for Egyptians: How does A1, A2, and B levels of Arabic compare to the "manhag el sanaweyya 3mma" (Egyptian Government High School Curriculum)?

Edited April 17, 2010 by Mahuta ♥
Please make sure you dont use text-speak on the forum, thanks -Maha

[RBST]

Hey

I'm doing Arabic language B, it's easy- except for the fact that Arabic isn't an easy subject :\

No but seriously, it doesn't include any literature (Unfortunately) or any grammar (Again, unfortunately). The fact that it's easy makes it a little bit boring; there is nothing challenging in it!

As far as I'm concerned, Arabic A1 and A2 are kinda the same, and they include literature and longer writing and ensha'/ t3beer. But still, I don't think it includes n7w.

For your question about the "al thanaweyya al 3amah" I'm not Egyptian but IB Arabic is easier than all Arabic curricula in the Arab world because it depends on reading and writing more than qawa3d and n7w. But still A1 and A2 have bala'3a and literature if you are interested.

ab initio is very basic, I guess it will be sooo boring if you know basic Arabic rules.

and if you are willing to improve your Arabic, there was a previous topic in the forum where we discussed different books that might be useful..

Hope this helped..

[Mahuta ♥]

I took arabic A1 SL.

Na7w and i3rab(conjugaison) is not included at all in IB, it's all ta3beer (essays). I have done my IB in Oman, and A1 SL was pretty easy but again, I had been living there for 7 years before I came here. A1 SL & HL differ in terms of the essays you have to write and the number of texts/books, the latter has more books.

A2, I have done it for english, but apparently its the same. I had friends who lived in Oman their whole lives but still took A2 because, just like you, they focused on english more in their childhood. A2 is not too easy, I think it would be good for you. By the time I was going to start IB, I had already been taught all subjects in english for 7 years and A2 was the perfect level for me.

I don't think you should consider B, because from what you're saying, you are pretty good at the grammar.

And AB Initio..... seriously?! You're egyptian!

[Bishup]

Do A1 be cool, don't join in with the mundane A1 English world like me and Maha

I'm only kidding, I think it's a question of what you prefer. Obviously you need to have a very good level, Ie Native but from what I assume you do have it. To give you an idea, I chose between French A1, Swedish A1 and English A1 because my ability was pretty much the same in all languages but I chose the one I prefer. What you have to realise is that you'll be spending all your time on the literature aspect of it. It all comes down to do you prefer Arabic or English.

[Vahl]

I am taking Danish A1 SL and English A2 HL, and I think that mainly the difference is that in A1 you will only deal with literature all through the course, while in A2 you only study 4 (?) literate works and have some cultural options (media and culture, language and culture etc.).

At the exam paper 1 for A1 is a commentary on two texts of approx. 40 lines (helping questions are guiding SLs, not HLs) and paper 2 is an essay discussing two of the works studied (In SL you have two works to choose between in HL you have 4).

Paper 1 for A2 is a comparative commentary only dealing with linguistic features and paper two you can choose between questions on the cultural options and the literate works, the latter are just like those in A1, in my opinion.

During your oral exams the difference is that in A1 you have a presentation which you have prepared, in A2 you have two interactive orals that are a bit informal at times, at other you could be hosting a class discussion, it really depends on your teacher. Both have an oral commentary where you draw 40 lines from a work studied; in A1 it's from 2 works if you're SL and 4 if you're HL. In A2 either way it's just two works ...

Generally you can say that mistakes in your grammar are more easily looked upon in A2, but if you're A1 you're meant to know the language, and the marking boundaries are a bit stricter in A1.

Hope this helped you decide I know all this paper 1, paper 2, oral exams etc. is confusing to start with, but choose according to your level of Arabic and second whether you like or love literature

[Guest B.E.P.]

Hey

I'm doing Arabic language B, it's easy- except for the fact that Arabic isn't an easy subject :\

No but seriously, it doesn't include any literature (Unfortunately) or any grammar (Again, unfortunately). The fact that it's easy makes it a little bit boring; there is nothing challenging in it!

As far as I'm concerned, Arabic A1 and A2 are kinda the same, and they include literature and longer writing and ensha'/ t3beer. But still, I don't think it includes n7w.

For your question about the "al thanaweyya al 3amah" I'm not Egyptian but IB Arabic is easier than all Arabic curricula in the Arab world because it depends on reading and writing more than qawa3d and n7w. But still A1 and A2 have bala'3a and literature if you are interested.

ab initio is very basic, I guess it will be sooo boring if you know basic Arabic rules.

and if you are willing to improve your Arabic, there was a previous topic in the forum where we discussed different books that might be useful..

Hope this helped..

Hey, Arabic is NEVER an easy subject!

If you can give me the link to that topic, I would appreciate it

Thanks!

I took arabic A1 SL.

Na7w and i3rab(conjugaison) is not included at all in IB, it's all ta3beer (essays). I have done my IB in Oman, and A1 SL was pretty easy but again, I had been living there for 7 years before I came here. A1 SL & HL differ in terms of the essays you have to write and the number of texts/books, the latter has more books.

A2, I have done it for english, but apparently its the same. I had friends who lived in Oman their whole lives but still took A2 because, just like you, they focused on english more in their childhood. A2 is not too easy, I think it would be good for you. By the time I was going to start IB, I had already been taught all subjects in english for 7 years and A2 was the perfect level for me.

I don't think you should consider B, because from what you're saying, you are pretty good at the grammar.

And AB Initio..... seriously?! You're egyptian!

I want na7w in IB, I really love na7w

Thank you! HAHAHAHHA, I might consider B if A2 is too hard.

AB Initio was only for a general knowledge, I'm not going to take it!

Do A1 be cool, don't join in with the mundane A1 English world like me and Maha

I'm only kidding, I think it's a question of what you prefer. Obviously you need to have a very good level, Ie Native but from what I assume you do have it. To give you an idea, I chose between French A1, Swedish A1 and English A1 because my ability was pretty much the same in all languages but I chose the one I prefer. What you have to realise is that you'll be spending all your time on the literature aspect of it. It all comes down to do you prefer Arabic or English.

HAHAHAHAHAH!

I DONT THINK IM COOL ENOUGH FOR A1 ARABIC!

I am taking Danish A1 SL and English A2 HL, and I think that mainly the difference is that in A1 you will only deal with literature all through the course, while in A2 you only study 4 (?) literate works and have some cultural options (media and culture, language and culture etc.).

At the exam paper 1 for A1 is a commentary on two texts of approx. 40 lines (helping questions are guiding SLs, not HLs) and paper 2 is an essay discussing two of the works studied (In SL you have two works to choose between in HL you have 4).

Paper 1 for A2 is a comparative commentary only dealing with linguistic features and paper two you can choose between questions on the cultural options and the literate works, the latter are just like those in A1, in my opinion.

During your oral exams the difference is that in A1 you have a presentation which you have prepared, in A2 you have two interactive orals that are a bit informal at times, at other you could be hosting a class discussion, it really depends on your teacher. Both have an oral commentary where you draw 40 lines from a work studied; in A1 it's from 2 works if you're SL and 4 if you're HL. In A2 either way it's just two works ...

Generally you can say that mistakes in your grammar are more easily looked upon in A2, but if you're A1 you're meant to know the language, and the marking boundaries are a bit stricter in A1.

Hope this helped you decide I know all this paper 1, paper 2, oral exams etc. is confusing to start with, but choose according to your level of Arabic and second whether you like or love literature

Thank you!

I decided I'm going to take Arabic A2 SL, with the possibility of changing to Arabic B HL if I find A2 too challenging.

[Gail.]

"I decided I'm going to take Arabic A2 SL, with the possibility of changing to Arabic B HL if I find A2 too challenging. "

I am taking Arabic A2 now, and it is really easy. All you have to do is basically read and be have a good sense of what to write and when to write it... The hardest, and the most annoying, thing in the whole comparative writing (which is a major part if the amount of practice we are doing is anything to go by) is figuring out the style and the literary elements used in the writing.

on a further note, i have friends who can barely manage to string two whole sentences without incorporating English words but are improving quite a lot. the system is admittedly faulty in the sense that we don't take qawa3ed or n7w but it compensates by improving your language and writing as a whole. it is also fun to see people take 4 hours simple to type a 750 essay (myself included).

IB Arabic is definitely easier than the sanawya 3amma Arabic. But here, in UAE, we still use the government books in our studying because later on we are required to do the government test in grade 12, i am unsure if the same is mandatory in Egypt.

Oh and one last thing, according to my Arabic teacher A2 and B are nearly the same but i don't know if that is true because nothing other than A2 is offered in my school...

Edited April 25, 2010 by Mahuta ♥

[Guest B.E.P.]

"I decided I'm going to take Arabic A2 SL, with the possibility of changing to Arabic B HL if I find A2 too challenging. "

I am taking Arabic A2 now, and it is really easy. All you have to do is basically read and be have a good sense of what to write and when to write it... The hardest, and the most annoying, thing in the whole comparative writing (which is a major part if the amount of practice we are doing is anything to go by) is figuring out the style and the literary elements used in the writing.

on a further note, i have friends who can barely manage to string two whole sentences without incorporating English words but are improving quite a lot. the system is admittedly faulty in the sense that we don't take qawa3ed or n7w but it compensates by improving your language and writing as a whole. it is also fun to see people take 4 hours simple to type a 750 essay (myself included).

IB Arabic is definitely easier than the sanawya 3amma Arabic. But here, in UAE, we still use the government books in our studying because later on we are required to do the government test in grade 12, i am unsure if the same is mandatory in Egypt.

Oh and one last thing, according to my Arabic teacher A2 and B are nearly the same but i don't know if that is true because nothing other than A2 is offered in my school...

Good to know A2 is easy .

I can't type Arabic on my computer, even if it meant the world to me (I use the website yamli )

In Egypt, if you take A1 or A2 Arabic, you are exempted from the government tests; however, if you enter B, you have to take the government tests (at the end of grade 11 and 12).

If A2 and B are nearly the same, I'll just take A2 to get the Bilingual diploma!

[RBST]

Good choice!

I was talking to my sister telling her how difficult it is to do something you already know. But I'm not regretting it, if I had other subjects chosen I would have regretted it, but as you can see (from my signature) I'm doing 2 sciences and maths as higher level. Maybe it's better to have one easy option to breathe

and for the link, here you go:

Good Luck!