Heritage Language Courses

Arabic

ARAB 30800/1 – Arabic for Heritage Learners

This course is meant to prepare heritage speakers of Arabic to enter Arabic 202 in the Winter Quarter. By “heritage” learners, we mean those students who know the alphabet, speak or have spoken Arabic at home, are familiar with a broad vocabulary connected to daily life, but lack the grammatical underpinnings of Arabic, its case system, its structure, verb forms, etc. As such, the course will train students in listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Modern Standard Arabic, but with an overt and systematic focus on grammar. Most course materials will be authentic, up-to-date, and relevant to student interests.

Prerequisites: Knowledge of the alphabet and vowel system, of basic vocabulary, and of rudimentary grammar (such as gender correspondence); an ability to read, write, speak, and listen at a novice level, even with the intrusion of colloquial words and structures.

Instructor: Noha Forster
Term: Autumn

French

FREN 10402 – Heritage French: Developing Foundational Skills. 100 Units.

This course is designed to build on heritage learners’ skills to prepare them for success in subsequent French courses. Skill areas include in-depth practice in reading and writing, along with review and expansion of targeted grammar structures, and development of precision in vocabulary.

Terms Offered: Autumn
Instructor: Isabelle Faton
Note(s): This course satisfies the College Language Competency Requirement. Designed for heritage learners who placed into FREN 10200 or 10300, or who have not studied French formally. Can also be added with instructor consent.

Bangla/Bengali

BANG

No course specifics are available for now.

For information contact Mandira Baduri, mbhaduri@uchicago.edu

Chinese

CHIN 11100-11200-11300 First-Year Chinese for Bilingual Speakers I-II-III

This course is a three-quarter series, designed for bilingual speakers of Chinese who, having grown up in a Chinese-speaking family, can communicate effectively verbally (in Mandarin or in a dialect), perhaps with limited vocabulary and imperfect grammar, but have virtually no literacy skills in the Chinese language.

CHIN 22110-22120-22130 Intermediate Modern Chinese for Bilingual Speakers

PQ: Chin 11300 or placement of 20100. Students must take a quality grade. This three-quarter sequence is intended for bilingual/heritage speakers of Mandarin Chinese.

CHIN 23110 Third-Year Chinese for Bilingual Speakers-1

This three-quarter series are intended for bilingual speakers of Chinese who already have intermediate level ability to understand and speak Mandarin Chinese in daily communication, although they may have some accent or some difficulty using the language in formal settings.

Hebrew

HEBR 20500 Lower intermediate Hebrew through Israeli media for heritage language speakers

No description is available for now.

Instructor: A. Almog
Term: Autumn

Hindi

HIND

A 1.5-hour “Devanagari Intensive” video is available for students who speak and understand Hindi to some degree, but cannot read or write the script. The video introduces students to the entire Devanagari script. After watching the video, and with self-directed study (20-30 minutes per day), students will be able to take the Hindi placement exam and enroll in the appropriate level of Hindi.

Please contact Jason Grunebaum for further information and for the video link.

Russian

RUSS 21600 Russian for Heritage Learners

This course is for the students who speak Russian with their family members/friends, but received no or little formal training in Russian language. In this course you will learn about the structure of Russian and the basics of formal grammar (parts of speech, cases, declensions, conjugations etc.). You will read selected works by famous Russian writers of 19th and 20th century, as well as some non-fiction texts.

Instructor: Maria Yakubovich

Spanish

SPAN 20102 Language, History, and Culture for Heritage Speakers-I

The goal of this first course in a two-course intermediate sequence is to help students who are heritage learners of Spanish to improve their oral, writing and reading skills and to formalize their linguistic ability.

Instructor: Lidwina van den Hout
Term: Winter

SPAN 20302 Language, History, and Culture for Heritage Speakers-II/III

The goal of this second course in a two-course intermediate sequence is to teach heritage learners of Spanish how to use formal written and spoken language to debate and to formulate cogent arguments.

Instructor: Lidwina van den Hout
Terms: Autumn & Spring

SPAN 20402 Curso de redacción académica para hablantes nativos

This advanced language course helps students achieve mastery of composition and style through the acquisition of numerous writing techniques. A wide variety of literary and non-literary texts are read. Through writing a number of essays and participating in class discussions, students are guided in the examination of linguistic structures and organization of several types of written Spanish discourse.

Instructor: Lidwina van den Hout
Term: Autumn

SPAN 20602 Discurso académico para hablantes nativos

This seminar/practicum focuses on developing vocabulary and discourse styles for academic verbal communication. This goal is achieved through exposure to taped formal and informal interviews and public debate in the media. Most important, however, is active class participation. Through a number of class presentations, students put into practice a variety of discourse styles (e.g., debates, lectures, seminars, interviews).

Instructor: Lidwina van den Hout
Term: Spring