Negash S Zewdie
Topics in which students and faculty have developed an interest as a result of work done in other classes or as a result of the need to investigate in greater depth Afro-American Studies issues. Topics vary.
This course is a three quarter course in Basic Amhariniya, with increasing levels each quarter. Summer 2011 will be the third quarter.
The principal focus of the course is true communication. It is functional and prepares students for effective functioning in real life situations. Students are encouraged to learn Amharic by doing. Grammatical explanations are presented. High frequency vocabulary is presented in a thematic group.
This course is designed to serve multiple missions in language education: applied, general education, and heritage missions. Meta linguistic aspects of the course help students to recognize how languages are similar and different, be aware of techniques and modalities of 2nd language learning transferable to new language learning situations, and be aware of challenges and limitations of interpretations and translation from one language to another.
Student learning goals
Reading: be able to 1. understand simple discourse for informative social purposes. 2. read materials such as announcements of public events, simple prose containing biographical information or narration of events, and straightforward newspaper headlines. 3. guess at unfamiliar vocabulary if highly contextualized.
Listening: have 4. sufficient comprehension to understand short conversations about all survival needs and limited social demands. 5. started developing flexibility evident in understanding a range of circumstances beyond immediate survival needs. 6. started to reduce spontaneity in understanding.
Speaking - be able to: 7. initiate and maintain predictable face-to-face conversations and satisfy limited social demands beyond exchange of skeletal biographic information. 8. attain accuracy in basic grammatical relations and have that be consistent. 9. start understanding the social conventions of a conversation to reduce interlocutor’s strain to employ real-world knowledge to understand the speech.
Writing – can: 10. create sentences and short paragraphs related to most survival needs (food, lodging, transportation, immediate surroundings and situations) and some social demands. 11. express fairly accurately present and future time. Also be able to produce some past verb forms though not always accurately. 12. relate personal history; discuss topics such as daily life, preferences, and very familiar material. 13. use a dictionary to advantage to express simple ideas.
General method of instruction
Instruction will focus on helping students understand the basic structures and grammar of Amharic and the overall cultural context in which those are used. In all the speaking and writing, students are personally engaged. Pair groups and group activities will be used in the class room. Students are encouraged to practice what they learn in their real life situation, with families, friends or people they meet who speak Amharic.
Prerequisite: AFRAM 498 E - Basic Amhariniya, or instructor's permission based on an assessment of the student's proficiency to be able to catch up with the course content in the quarter.
Class assignments and grading
Reading assignments and home works, quizzes at the end of each lesson, final exam, and individual and group projects will comprise of the overall course evaluation.
Grades will be assigned based on students' scores in quizzes, exam, projects and overall class participation and attendance.