Spring 2012 Survey

Please remember to complete your mandatory Spring 2012 Flagship survey no later than Friday, May 18th.  We want to ensure our students are have a good experience, and w need your feedback to improve our program!  We value your honest opinion.

All responses will be kept confidential.  Please see Katlyn Leight's email for the survey link.

Sham El Nessim - thank you!

From Saffiya Latif:

Ahlan ya shabab! For those of you who attended the second annual Sham El-Naseem, I want to express my sincere thanks! The event couldn’t have been possible without you. For those of you who didn’t attend, I’ll just say you missed out big time.  

The event began on Arab time as people leisurely piled into Mckeldin Special events room. Light music by the popular Lebanese band, Mashrou El-Laila, played in the background as students and teachers enjoyed a Middle Eastern lunch, catered by Moby Dick. I gave a short presentation on the history and significance of the Egyptian national holiday, Sham El-Naseem. Afterwards, students flocked to the arts and craft table for egg painting and henna! Many students left happy, with henna hands and colored eggs.

I can honestly say that Sham El-Naseem wasn’t only an event for celebrating Arab culture and history but also a chance to spend time with the Arabic Flagship family here at Maryland. As a graduating senior, it meant the world to me to spend time with friends, faculty, and staff who made my time at Maryland worthwhile. I hope that someone picks up the Sham El-Naseem torch and continues the celebration next year. :)

Creative Writing Club

Look at these great poems your classmates have created in Creative Writing Club!  Special thanks to Ustaza Nesrine for leading this club.

Creative Writing Club meets each Wednesday at 12pm in 2107 Susqehanna.

-- Rachel Mayer --

الريف منعزل ومدهش يمشي ويستكشف و يتأمّل تجري وتخرج وتتعجّل المدينة

The countryside Isolated and amazing Walks, explores, and contemplates Runs, goes out, and rushes The city

-- Maisoon Asi --

صمت أجوف وأبديّ يكتشف وينتشر ويمسك تغطي وتختفي وتترك عالية ومليان ضوضاء

Silence Hollow and eternal Discovers, spreads, and leaves Covers, disappears, and leaves Loud and busy Noise

-- Holly Tartanian --

النهار خفيف ونشيط يصحو ويمشي ويلعب يفكر وينام ويحلم عميق وهاديء الليل

Day Light and active Wakes up, walks, and plays Thinks, sleeps, and dreams Deep and quiet Night

رحلتي : My Journey with Arabic

This post was written by senior Arabic Flagship student Grace Stoute.

During my time in the Arabic Flagship Program, I have experienced many interesting things more than just the language itself. There’s a huge emphasis on culture in the Flagship Program that facilitates learning more about the people, problems facing the Middle East, and ultimately preparing students for future endeavors involving the Arabic language.

One such way is through the clubs that are offered throughout the week, specifically the cooking and film clubs. There, we’d prepare an Arabic dish and followed the recipe in Arabic. Then, later I tried to cook some of the dishes on my own. As for the film club, films are good way to learn more expressions and of course, more of the cinematic culture of the Middle East. How do directors and producers in the Arab world portray what’s going on in their societies?

The other great and actually most memorable experience was the summer overseas program in Alexandria, Egypt. I learned a lot of things just by making mistakes in the language —getting lost in the city, having a misunderstanding between friends, searching in vain for a money order, etc.  However, I improved over time and the things that were misunderstood before were not at the end. The trip was beneficial in so many ways, not only linguistically. The things I liked most about being exposed to Egyptian culture were learning about a culture different from my own and taking on the challenge of it. For example, living under different societal norms (i.e. dressing more conservatively, riding in the first car on the train, etc.) was interesting. At the end of the trip, I realized I had grown emotionally-attached to Egypt and its people.

After my return, I soon noticed that the cultural exposure did a world of good as far as my understanding of certain topics and subjects covered in many of my classes. Also I find that my understanding of the people and language has increased my confidence and desire to help others, especially those in the Middle East. In the wake of the political and social uprisings in the region, understanding of the problems they’re facing is crucial now if not before. For that, I plan to continue my Arabic studies (even if only independently) in the future and hopefully return to the region to explore more.

Meet Nesrine Basheer, Flagship GA

This post was written by Nesrine Basheer, a Ph.D. student in Second Language Acquisition and Graduate Assistant with the Arabic Flagship Program.


What am I doing at UMD? Well, I’m a first year PhD student in the Second Language Acquisition program. In this program you can study (obviously) how people learn or acquire a second language. You can also research what teaching methodology works best for a certain group of students. Or maybe you want to find out whether Arabic words are stored in the same place in the brain as English. Me? I’m interested in all of the above. But since I hope to eventually graduate, I’ll have to stick to only one area.


A couple of months ago, one of my students said to me “I just finished my OPI exam and I’m not quite sure why the interviewer insisted that I speak in Modern Standard Arabic! So frustrating.” Exactly! This is what I’d like to work on: Assessing Arabic language proficiency. I can’t blame the interviewer because in order to measure something you need to have a clear definition first... and good luck trying to define "Arabic oral proficiency!" Having observed the recent developments in the field of teaching Arabic as a foreign language, however, I’ve become more optimistic. There have been successful attempts to get one score that would tell us something about learners’ ‘real-life’ proficiency, which as you sure know, doesn’t mean speaking in MSA only. You can definitely do that to show a native speaker that your Arabic is better than theirs, or to ask an Arab girl out and get rejected.


The painful part about my journey towards a that-makes-sense definition of Arabic proficiency is that deep inside (shhhh! Don’t tell my advisor) I’d actually rather go for a bike, work on a photography project, or enjoy a jazz dinner with a friend. Instead I have to sit at the library to convince myself that structural equation modeling, multiple regression, logits, and confirmatory factor analysis make sense. Yes, they sound like statistics because they are.


But, what can I say? I love Arabic and can’t help being a nerd.

Volunteer at Maryland Day: Saturday, April 28th

Maryland Day, one of the largest recruiting events for the university, is quickly approaching on Saturday, April 28th, and WE NEED YOUR HELP!

We'll be tabling from 8am-5pm on McKeldin Mall with the Persian Flagship program & will also be running some SWEET interactive programs from 2-4pm in Susquehanna.  Please volunteer at least an hour of your time to help promote our programs!

Work on your tan while you man our table on McKeldin, engage with parents and potential students, write visitors’ names in Arabic, and direct them towards our Arabic & Persian activities in Susquehanna.

Sign up using this Doodle: http://www.doodle.com/6bayp59mc6ckg5x5

*Volunteer for two or more hours and be excused from a club meeting!

Calligraphy Club

This post was written by Clair Gellner, a sophomore student.

If you’ve ever taking a drawing class, or fiddled around with doodling in a notebook, you know how hard it can be to get your hand to produce what you see in your mind.

I have recently begun practicing Arabic Calligraphy. The beginning of my journey with this new art form began in Flagship Calligraphy Club with Professor Alkebsi. During the fall semester, activities included recopying various examples of words in the Tuluth script written by master calligraphers. I would do my best to make my version of the word as beautiful as the example. However, this proved a daunting challenge.

What makes Arabic Calligraphy more challenging than, say, Western Calligraphy, is that Arabic Calligraphy is based on the proportionality of letters to one another. Each letter design is defined by how many diamond markings can fit on a particular line or space of a letter. For example, an Alif is seven diamonds in length. Alifs are easy since they are only a straight line, but letters like ص or خ have much more complex diamond markings; these markings are not optional. The diamond shapes serve to make sure the letters are of relative size and enable them to be spaced adequately in designs. The hand of a master calligrapher knows the various size requirements of the different letters in the different scripts by heart, allowing him to create complex designs in which letters mingle with each other to create shapes and sometimes even animals or plants. The most challenging design encountered last semester was that of a pear. I could never quite master the spacing of the sweeping strokes made of the letter ر that gave the fruit its outer shape.

This semester, we have focused much more on individual letters, as they are the basis of all calligraphy. Though at times tedious, this practice has led to great improvements in our individual abilities.

I have begun to practice Calligraphy on my own, in preparation for an Arts Scholars capstone project, in which my own Arabic Calligraphy designs will be displayed. Taking what I learned in Calligraphy Club, I have attempted to create original works of Arabic Calligraphy. More challenging than spacing, I have discovered, is finding inspiration and envisioning a work in an art form one has not been trained in for very long. However, I believe, even if I have not mastered the intricate and ancient art of Calligraphy by the end of Calligraphy Club and my project this semester, I have learned discipline, perseverance, and tranquility: the discipline of paying attention to every single stroke and line of a letter or work; the perseverance to not be discouraged when the design isn’t centered or is lopsided; and the tranquility that comes with patiently writing words while listening to calming traditional music, as Professor Alkebsi suggests we should when practicing Calligraphy.




Calligraphy Club meets every Monday from 3:30-5 P.M. in 2132 SQH.

Arabic Language Flagship wants YOU!

Interested in joining our program?  Want to learn more?

Attend an information session about the University of Maryland's Arabic Language Flagship Program on Tuesday, April 17 at 3:30 p.m. in 2101 Susquehanna Hall.

We will cover the application process, and program benefits, as well as answer any questions.  A panel of current students will also be present to answer questions with their first-hand experience.

Undergraduate Program Requirements:

1.      Must be enrolled in a degree program at the University of Maryland
2.      Must have completed Arabic 104 or equivalent
3.      Must demonstrate commitment to Arabic and language learning talent
4.      Strong academic record required – minimum GPA for admission is 3.25
5.      Must complete a FAFSA form to be considered for scholarships

To access an application, and for more information about our program, please visit arabic.umd.edu.


Applications are due by Friday, May 18th to the Arabic Flagship Program office, 2105 Susquehanna.


Questions?  Please email Katlyn Leight, Program Coordinator, at kleight@umd.edu

HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Language House Coffee Conversations

The Language House, located in St. Mary's Hall next to the University Health Center, is still holding Coffee Conversations!

Join them every Monday from 4:00-5:30 p.m. on the Ground Floor of St. Mary's Hall.

Languages offered include:

• Arabic
• Persian
• Hebrew
• French
• Spanish
• Portuguese
• CHinese
• Russian
• Korean
• Japanese
• German
• Italian
• Greek

Questions?  Please contact Dr. Naime Taramanoglu at nya@umd. edu 301.405.4046

Sham al-Nessim: Arabic Spring Party

Friday, April 20th, 2:30-5:00 p.m.

McKeldin Library, Special Events Room 6137

Join us as we celebrate Sham el-Nessim, the Egyptian national holiday celebrating the beginning of Spring!

Sham el-Nessim falls on the day after the Eastern Christian Easter (following the custom of the largest Christian denomination in the country, the Coptic Orthodox Church).

The name of the holiday is derived from the Egyptian name of the Harvest Season, known as Shemu, which means a day of creation. According to annals written by Plutarch during the 1st century AD, the Ancient Egyptians used to offer salted fish, lettuce, and onions to their deities on this day.

The modern Sham el-Nessim is celebrated by both Christians and Muslims, and is considered a national festival, rather than a religious one. The main features of the festival are:

• People spend all day out picnicking in any space of green, public gardens, on the Nile, or at the zoo.
• Traditional food eaten on this day consists mainly of Feseekh (a salted Grey Mullet), lettuce, scallions or green onions, tirmis or Lupini Beans, and colored boiled eggs.

We'll gather for dinner, music, and egg-painting.  Please RSVP by Friday, April 13 to Katlyn Leight, Flagship Program Coordinator, at kleight@umd.edu.

The Perks of Netflix

This blog post was written by Emily Greiner, a sophomore Flagship student and Arabic studies major.

Like most college students, I like to spend the majority of my free time perusing Netflix and Hulu for something to watch. One day while on Netflix, I stumbled across the international genre of movies. I then began adding essentially every movie Netflix had in Arabic to my queue. 

The first movie I received in my mailbox was "A Citizen, a Detective, and a Thief" (“Mowaten we Mokhber we Haramy”). It's an Egyptian film that came out in 2001 by director Daoud Abdel Sayed. Sayed’s film includes a star-studded cast of Salah Abdallah, Hend Sabri, and musician Shaaban Abdel Rehim who contributes several songs to the film. In addition to this cast was the well-known actor Khaled Abol Naga who was mentioned in a previous blog post about the film “Microphone”.

This comedy-drama is about Selim, a handsome and successful writer who triggers an elaborate chain of events when he visits police headquarters to report his car stolen. There he runs into Sergeant Fathy, an old family friend who now works as a detective. When the meddlesome Sergeant Fathy insists on hiring a live-in housekeeper for his old friend, Selim’s life becomes inextricably intertwined with that of his beautiful new housemaid, her thieving husband and the well-meaning detective.

The film was engaging and interesting to watch and I highly recommend it to any Flagship student.  The film also showed many underlying issues regarding police inefficiency, censorship, and class placement. The film faced controversy with its blunt sexuality as well as the critiques on censorship, police inefficiency, and the pretentiousness of the intellectual and wealthy class. However, despite these controversies, this film was a huge success with Egyptian audiences as well as throughout the Middle East.

I highly suggest that any Flagship student with a Netflix account considering watching a few Arabic films. I found it is very helpful to listen to Arabic being spoken whether it is al-Jazeera, a film, or a music video. It was especially helpful since it was spoken in dialect rather hearing FusHa like I would while listening to al-Jazeera. It’s always a really good feeling to know that you understand what the characters are mostly saying without using the subtitles.

Arabic art exhibit-- showcase YOUR work!

The Arabic Flagship team will be holding a unique Arabic cultural art exhibit and reception at the end of April. This exhibit will feature YOUR original works, including sketches, paintings, 3D art, and photographs, etc. You will have the opportunity to talk about the meaning and importance of your pieces as well as share reflections on other artwork.

If you would like to participate, please email Saffiya Latif (contact below) to confirm your submission. Make sure that your work relates to Arab culture, or history in some way.

Submissions will be due to the Arabic Flagship Office in 2105 SQH by Monday, April 23 at 5:00pm.

Contact Saffiya Latif at Slatif1213@gmail.com with any questions.

Arabian Sights Film Festival: “Microphone”

This post was written by Maddy Bersch, a sophomore Flagship student. 

A while back, I attended a screening of “Microphone” at the Arabian Sights Film Festival in DC.  The Egyptian film, which had won many awards including the “Best Arabic Movie” at the Cairo International Film Festival, was set in Alexandria, where we will all be spending some time after our respective graduations from Maryland.

The main character of the film, Khaled, spent several years in the US away from his family, but recently returned.  He hoped to win back the woman he loves, but he is unsuccessful.  He also hoped to mend his relationship with his father, although this is more successful.  Along the process of re-acclimating to his hometown, Khaled becomes entwined in the underground Alexandrian music scene, and decides to make a documentary about the youth creating this music.

The most amazing thing about this film (sort of a documentary, too) was that the only real “actor” in the film was Khaled Abou El Naga, who played the protagonist Khaled.  All the musicians in the film were actual Alexandrian musicans!  These musicians did not have a script; rather, El Naga responded to what they were saying.

Besides just being an enjoyable film, this screening also opened up for me a new possibility in using my Arabic speaking ability. 

Most of us Flagship students (or Flagship hopefuls) have a concrete plan in mind for what we want to do after graduation, and how exactly we plan to use Arabic in our careers.  A good number of us hope to work for an agency; many want to work with NGOs; and others plan to do aid work abroad.  Many of us likely came to Arabic through a desire to attain our future career goals—for example, learning Arabic because it will help in a position with the State Department.  We’re all very focused on the future—which is great!—but sometimes we may not realize all the other doors opened by our Arabic abilities.  There are so many things we can do because we speak Arabic!  Attending the screening of “Microphone” showed another opportunity; what will show you?