MIT: Independent Activities Period: IAP

IAP 2013 Activities by Category - Foreign Languages

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Getting to know Italian: An introduction to language and customs with a native speaker

Elisabetta Pili, Native Italian speaker

Jan/07 Mon 11:30AM-01:00PM 66-148
Jan/09 Wed 11:30AM-01:00PM 66-148
Jan/14 Mon 11:30AM-01:00PM 66-148
Jan/16 Wed 11:30AM-01:00PM 66-148
Jan/21 Mon 11:30AM-01:00PM 66-148
Jan/23 Wed 11:30AM-01:00PM 66-148
Jan/28 Mon 11:30AM-01:00PM 66-148
Jan/30 Wed 11:30AM-01:00PM 66-148

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/03
Limited to 12 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Prereq: none
Fee: $10.00 for materials

This is an informal and interactive course that will cover basic conversation, grammar and vocabulary. We will also discuss Italian customs in particular regions. Come prepared to participate and to try something new. I look forward to sharing a bit of my country and I hope that you will share yours.

Please email Elisabetta to reserve your place.

Sponsor(s): SpousesandPartners@mit
Contact: Elisabetta Pili, elisa295@hotmail.com


Hebrew for Beginners

Inbar Yamin

Enrollment: Use registr'n link by Jan. 7, walkins allowed first week until class fills.
Sign-up by 01/07
Attendance: Participants must attend 80% of classes

Description: This class is designed to teach basic Hebrew skills, and is appropriate for those with little or no knowledge of the language. After finishing this course, students will be able to:

A textbook is required beginning at the end of the first week of class. Hebrew from Scratch Part 1 can be purchased new at the Israel Book Shop in Brookline for approximately $40. For those who wish to order online, the ISBN is 965-350-112-7.

Use registration link by January 7, walkins allowed during first week until class is full.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dEdhMmNwaTJyZ3M0T05hZnJzQVZGNWc6MQ

Sponsor(s): Hillel
Contact: Marissa Feinman, W11, 617-253-2982, Hebrew@mit.edu


Hebrew for Beginners

Jan/07 Mon 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/08 Tue 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/09 Wed 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/10 Thu 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/14 Mon 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/15 Tue 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/16 Wed 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/17 Thu 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/22 Tue 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/23 Wed 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/24 Thu 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/28 Mon 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/29 Tue 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/30 Wed 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205
Jan/31 Thu 06:00PM-07:00PM 8-205

Limited Enrollment, other: Use registration link by January 7, walkins allowed during first week until class is full.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?fromEmail=true&formkey=dEdhMmNwaTJyZ3M0T05hZnJzQVZGNWc6MQ

Attendance other: 80% of classes must be attended

Inbar Yamin


MIT in China - Finding Opportunities to Go Abroad to China

Josh Nupp, Assistant Dean, Global Education, Sean Gilbert, Managing Director, MIT-China

Jan/28 Mon 02:00PM-03:00PM 4-145

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: none

Hear about opportunities in China from representatives of several MIT offices, including Global Education, MISTI, UROP, and FL&L. We will discuss the MIT-China program, the Chinese Government Scholarship, IROP Summer Research Exchanges, and funding opportunities for summer and IAP Chinese language study abroad programs.

Sponsor(s): Global Education and Career Development
Contact: Josh Nupp, 12-189, 617-715-5331, jnupp@mit.edu


Your First 5000 words in Arabic

Betty Lou McClanahan, Administrative Assistant

Jan/09 Wed 12:00PM-01:00PM 56-191
Jan/11 Fri 12:00PM-01:00PM 56-191

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Attendance: Attendance at both sessions is preferred
Prereq: Rudimentary ability to read Arabic


Dr. Moshe Brill, in his classic study, The Basic Word List of the Arabic Daily Newspaper (1940), was the first to make the claim that a vocabulary of the most frequent words in Arabic, numbering even as few as 1,000, would allow the reader to make sense of perhaps 80% or more of written Arabic (newspapers, for example.)  He additionally claimed that this fact should motivate a re-thinking of Arabic language pedagogy.  Buckwalter and Parkinson's A Frequency Dictionary of Arabic (2011) is the contemporary work in this field, comprising 5,000 words, and we will use it as our text for this class.  Purchase is not required.  If there is interest, we will also discuss key internet sources for building speaking ability and listening comprehension.  Additional sessions will be scheduled if there is interest.

Sponsor(s): Chemistry
Contact: Betty Lou McClanahan, 18-598, 253-0630, blm@mit.edu