<p>superwizard- Thanks a lot for the information. I can’t say I’m not surprised to find somebody on CC who just took the Arabic placement test…haha, it’s great though.</p>
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have you formally studied arabic recently (I haven't since grade 7 and I placed out of two quarters).
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<p>Well, I've been in Arabic class since 10th grade, so I'll have three years of experience with it...but the class is really pathetic. I haven’t learned anything useful there since the absolute basics in first year, and most of what I know I either learned from outside source books or on the streets---I live in Oman, so I’m pretty accustomed to hearing the language being spoken. Again though, my “formal” (ie: classroom) training has been exceedingly weak.</p>
<p>Overall, my modern-standard Arabic is pretty good. I assume that’s what the class and the placement exam are in…but how rigorous are you expected to be? I mean, does he expect you to know/does he use when speaking the inflected case endings? I’m better at reading and writing in general, but when the topics of conversation stay in areas I’m comfortable with vocabulary-wise, I can talk up a storm. Is Professor Barhoum Egyptian? I ask because I’m thoroughly used to Omani and other Gulf/Levantine accents, but find it quite hard to listen to the North African dialects. </p>
<p>Any chance you remember what kind of questions he asked you? Did he start with really basic things (What’s your name? What day is it? Where are you from?), or stick to descriptive things (What is this? What color/shape/whatever is the chalkboard?), or was it more like a real conversation (How do you feel about being at Stanford?). Also, did he speak slowly and carefully, or did he just let it flow like a normal conversation? Man, the whole placement is based on an oral test? That’s strange…I know people out here who speak it fluently but can’t read a word. They’d be in trouble when they got placed into advanced Arabic. Congrats on getting placed out of two quarters…will you take the third quarter class? Let me know how it goes, if it’s really hard or anything.</p>
<p>Thanks again for your help. Where are you from, by the way? It’s just not that common to meet somebody who studied Arabic in school. It’s cool though, and I’m looking forward to seeing you around the department next year if we’re both around.</p>
<p>celestial605- Thanks a lot for the post. That philosophy class looks interesting in its own right, whether or not the proofs are helpful. On most days I’m a techie as well, so I’ll be sure to keep the regular WRITE-2 classes in mind. Haha, I’m glad to know my high school experience has been good for something.</p>