JAMB

JAMB Arabic Syllabus

General Objectives

  • Answer comprehension questions correctly in standard Arabic
  • Translate simple texts from English to Arabic and vice versa
  • Apply the rules of Arabic grammar functionally
  • Appreciate Arabic literary texts within the contexts of their environment and eras
  • Use Arabic as a living world language in communication where necessary

1. COMPREHENSION

Passage Comprehension

Content:

  • It consists of a passage of seventy (70) words.
  • Five multiple-choice questions are to be set on the passage.
  • The contents should be within the experience of the candidates e.g. current affairs, sports, education, politics, economy, health, culture, and ethics.
  • The themes of the two passages should vary.

Learning Objectives:

  • use appropriate words or phrases for specific thought
  • deduce the lesson in the passage
  • determine the main theme of the passage
  • give an appropriate title of a passage
  • interpret the meanings of particular words

2. TRANSLATION

Translation Skills

Content:

  • This section consists of ten (10) questions.
  • Five of them are on translation from English into Arabic while the other five are on translation from Arabic into English.
  • Translation into English includes keywords and phrases in a sentence.
  • Translated questions are to be based on standard Arabic and English usage.

Learning Objectives:

  • use an appropriate Arabic word or phrase to convey the meaning of an English word or phrase
  • determine an appropriate English word or phrase for an Arabic statement
  • interpret idiomatic expressions in both Arabic and English
  • transfer ideas expressed in Arabic to English and vice versa
  • communicate effectively in Arabic and English

3. GRAMMAR

Major Grammatical Features

Content:

  • Demonstrative and relative pronouns (أسماء الإشارة والموصولة)
  • Gender (Masculine and Feminine) (المذكر والمؤنث)
  • Characteristics of a noun (علامات الاسم)
  • Dual (المثنى)
  • Plurals: sound masculine plural (جمع المذكر السالم), sound feminine plural (جمع المؤنث السالم), broken plural (جمع التكسير)
  • Construct phrases (المضاف والمضاف إليه)
  • Separable and inseparable pronouns (الضمائر المنفصلة و المتصلة)
  • Appendants: adjective (النعت), conjunction (العطف), the permutative (البدل), emphasis (التوكيد)
  • Prepositions (حروف الجر)
  • Transitive & Intransitive verbs (الفعل الالزم والفعل المتعدي)
  • The perfect verb (الفعل الماضي)
  • The imperfect verb: indicative (المرفوع), subjunctive (المنصوب), jussive (المجزوم)
  • The imperative verb (الفعل األمر)
  • The modifiers: Kana and its associates (كان و أخواتها), Inna and its associates (إن و أخواتها), Zanna and its associates (ظن و أخواتها)
  • Trilateral and derived verbs (الفعل الثالثي المجرد و المزيد فيه)
  • Derivatives: the comparative/superlative (اسم التفضيل), nouns of the instrument (اسم اآللة), nouns of time and place (اسما الزمان و المكان), relative adjectives (اسم النسبة)
  • Conditional sentences (الجملة الشرطية)
  • Numerals (1 – 3000) (العدد)
  • Active and passive voice (الفاعل و نائب الفاعل)
  • Nouns in the accusative: direct object (المفعول به), adverbs of place and time (المفعول فيه), adverb of circumstance (الحال), the exempted with illa (المستثنى بإال), specification (التمييز), the vocative (المنادى)

Learning Objectives:

  • identify the various forms of demonstrative and relative pronouns
  • compare gender markers in Arabic
  • identify the three basic characteristics of Arabic nouns
  • differentiate between singular and dual forms of nouns
  • construct plural forms of singular nouns
  • identify construct phrases and their usages
  • differentiate between separable and inseparable pronouns
  • identify correct usage of adjectives, conjunctions and the permutative in Arabic sentences
  • apply correct preposition in a given sentence
  • differentiate between transitive and intransitive verbs and use them in sentences
  • identify the perfect verbs and their forms
  • identify the imperfect verbs and their grammatical words in sentences
  • identify the imperative verbs and their forms
  • identify the kinds of modifiers and apply them in Arabic usage
  • differentiate between trilateral and derived verbs
  • identify the types of derivatives
  • apply the rules governing conditional sentences, identify them in sentences, construct them and differentiate them in normal sentences
  • recognize and count Arabic numerals from 1 to 3000 and identify the intricacies involved in their usage
  • distinguish between active and passive voice and apply them in sentences
  • identify different types of adverbial clause, the exempted, specification, and the vocative as well as identify and use them in standard Arabic

4. COMPOSITION

Written Composition

Content:

  • This section consists of five (5) questions on subjects relating to the lives and environment of the candidates, e.g.
  • Education
  • Culture
  • Health
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Current affairs

Learning Objectives:

  • use appropriate words for specific thoughts
  • use correct idiomatic expressions in Arabic
  • communicate effectively in Arabic
  • express ideas clearly in Arabic
  • demonstrate the use of common Arabic idioms and proverbs

5. ARABIC LITERATURE

Literary Periods and Works

Content:

  • The Pre-Islamic Period (500 – 610 C.E.) - Qus ibn Sa'ida and his sermon 'من عاش مات', Tumadhir al-Khansa and her elegy 'صخر الندى'
  • The Islamic Period (610 – 1798 C.E.) - Al-Farazdaq and his praise of Zayn al-Abidin, Hassan ibn Thabit and his poem on the conquest of Mecca, Jarir and his poem 'أشجان الهوى'
  • The Modern Period (1798 to date) - Al-Manfaluti and his book 'العبرات', Iliya Abu Madi and his poetry 'لم تشتكي وتقول إنك معدم'
  • Arabic Literature in West Africa - Zakariya Idris Hussein and his play 'الطبقة العليا', Jamil Abd Allah Al-Kanoui and his work 'ادفع بالتي هي أحسن'

Learning Objectives:

  • identify pre-Islamic poetic traditions and conventions
  • identify and analyze the style of figurative expressions contained in given Islamic literature
  • describe the aesthetic features in literary texts and assess their modern cultural values
  • evaluate areas of successful use of Arabic as a medium of West African novel and drama, analyze their contents and describe their major characteristics and plots

Recommended Textbooks

  • A Selection of Pulpit Counseling, by Adam Abdullahi Al-Ilory.
  • Why The Anger On Us. A literature text, by Muhammad Salisu Mai Ango
  • The perfection/Adornment of Pages; A book of poems, by Abdullahi Bin Fodio
  • بشير أحمد محيي الدين و المرضي مختار المرضي: المطالعة الواضحة. كنو: شركة طن لامى و للمرحلة الثانوية. إبادن: دار سبكترم للطباعة و النشر.
  • محمد بديع شريف و سليم حكيم و الحاج حسين آدمو: العربية الجديدة فى نيجيريا. الكتاب 1 – 3 إكيجا: لونغمان.
  • Adekilekun, A. L. A.: Learning Arabic Language, Ilorin.
  • Balogun, I. A. B. and Oseni Z. I. (1982) A Modern Arabic Course Book 1 Lagos: Islamic Publications Bureau.
  • Haywood, J. A. and Nahmad, H. M. (1965), A New Arabic Grammar of the Written Language, London: Lund Humphries.
  • Malik, S. H. A. (1982) A Guide to Arabic Composition, Books I & II, Lagos I.P.B.
  • Arabic newspapers, magazines and

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