Course Name and Code
AL 422: Advanced Western Armenian - (in English): 3 credits

Term
Summer Term 2013
July 1 to September 3

Hourly Breakdown of the Required Participation (hours/week)

Audio – visual and text based resources	1 – 2  hours
Discussions	2 – 3 hours
Assignments	2 – 3 hours
Expected commitment  per week	5 – 8 hours

Participants will:

• Exchange posts with their peers and interact using discussion – forums, chats, Skype, audio/video conferencing;
• Review and discuss online and text based resources;
• Work individually using a spectrum of online tools.

Course Description and Objectives
The main goal of the course is to help students advance their knowledge of Western Armenian. Students will continue to improve their speaking, reading, writing and listening comprehension skills. They will further strengthen their knowledge with the help of various exercises and assignments. Students will learn the formation and use of personal, impersonal verbs, onomatopoeia, and conjunctions, as well as new communication structures, words and their orthography.

Course Materials
No hardcopy texts are required. Selected online resources will be included as part of the lessons. Students are required to read/listen/view all material and complete all assignments.
The online resources are drawn from the publicly available professional language literature, academic curricula, recent publications in professional journals, and educational material used in schools. The Western Armenian course is based on the following method: to provide students with the opportunity to listen to the pronunciation of words and sentences and then to learn how to read and write correctly.

Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the course students will have an enhanced knowledge about the formation and use of personal, impersonal verbs, onomatopoeia and conjunctions. Students will be competent in a variety of skills, including in their vocabulary and grammar necessary to initiate, engage in and negotiate meanings both, orally and in writing.

Bibliography

• Abrahamyan A. Հայոցլեզու,բառուխոսք:[Armenian language, word and speech]. (Yerevan, 1972).
• Gyulamiryan J. Հայոց լեզվի տարրական ուսուցման մեթոդիկա: [Armenian Language. Teaching methodology of elementary Armenian]. (Yerevan, 2006).
• Jahukyan G. Հայոց լեզու:[Armenian Language]. (Yerevan, 1978).
• Kapinos V. I. Развитие речи. Теория и практика обучения. [The Development of Speech.Theory and Practice of Teaching]. (Moscow, 1991).
• Savignon S. J., & Berns M. S. Communicative language teaching: Where are we going? Studies in Language Learning. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983).

Topics covered

• Text; words and expressions; personal and impersonal verbs; conjunctions; sentences; dialogue; orthography;
• Text; words and expressions; participle; conjunctions; sentences; dialogue; orthography;
• Text; words and expressions; infinitive participle; conjunctions; sentences; dialogue; orthography;
• Text; words and expressions; future participle; conjunctions; sentences; dialogue; orthography;
• Text; words and expressions; perfect participle; onomatopoeia; sentences; dialogue; orthography;
• Text; words and expressions; past participle; onomatopoeia; sentences; dialogue; orthography;
• Text; words and expressions; subjective participle; sentences; dialogue; orthography;
• Text; words and expressions; negative participle; sentences; dialogue; orthography.

Teaching Methodology
The electronic resources have been designed for user-friendly access and comprehension by a broad audience.  Activities and online discussions are supported by the illustration-writing, listening method as well as the top-down method. The comparative teaching method is used to conduct the learning of the verbs and adjectives in order to make it easier as the lessons are not provided with translations.

Course Schedule
The course lasts for nine weeks, including the orientation week. Each week requires student commitment throughout at least five days.

Week 0	Orientation week: Students are familiarized with the Student Guide  identify their own learning style by completing the Learning Style questionnaire, complete their profile, introduce themselves to one another, participate in introductory discussion forum, and identify the time zone in which they are working. Students will also familiarize and verify the technical compliance to all the communication and learning tools to be used during the course.
Weeks 1-8	Lessons 1-8 Quizzes and exercises
Week 4	Midterm exam
Week 8	Final Exam

Course Requirements and Grading
Students are required to actively participate in on-line discussions, forums and chats and meet deadlines for all assignments.
Students are required to be familiar and comply with academic policy of AVC.

Students’ performance will be evaluated based upon total points accumulated throughout the semester according to the following:
20% - participation
20% - quizzes and exercises    
30% - midterm exam
30% - final exam

Grades will be assigned by letters according to AVC Grading Policy .

Late Assignment Policy
You are expected to complete assignments in a reasonable period of time. This prevents you from getting too far behind in the course and allows the instructor to assign grades in a consistent manner. Late assignments will result in a 10% deduction in the grade for the assignment (if the assignment is submitted a week late from the deadline) unless the student receives prior approval from the instructor. Assignments submitted later than 2 weeks after the assigned deadline are accepted (feedback only) but are not graded. Exceptions to this policy are allowed only in unusual cases.

For enrollment, please complete your enrollment application.