This course is an introduction to Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) intended for students with no prior knowledge of Arabic. It aims at laying the foundation for the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The students will spend the semester recognizing and producing Arabic language sounds accurately, talk about simple daily life situations, read and understand words, phrases, and sentences, and write various forms of the Arabic alphabet, graduating on to basic sentences, short notes and memos. This course is based on the communicative approach in language teaching and learning. It focuses on the functional usage of the language and on communication in context.