Course Description
Continuation of Intermediate Bengali I. Oral fluency and development of writing and reading skills in Bengali. Taught by vocabulary use in simulated settings through repetition drills, frequent vocabulary use, acting, and reading aloud. Augmented by reading, translation, and discussion of Bengali texts drawn from news articles and Bengali literature.
Athena Title
INTERMED BENGALI II
Prerequisite
BENG 2003
Semester Course Offered
Offered spring
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The objectives of the course are to help students to communicate effectively through speech and writing in Bengali. By the end of the course students should have gained the following abilities: 1- to read Bengali texts of intermediate level II difficulty 2- to communicate and converse in Bengali on a variety of topics and understand spoken Bengali in everyday situations 3- to write intermediate II narrative style paragraphs coherently and with reasonable accuracy 4- to be familiar with many of the primary aspects of Bengali culture
Topical Outline
Week-1: Syllabus + Review of BENG 2003 Week-2: Paragraph writing in Bengali Discussion: honesty Week-3: Writing Short Essays in Bengali Discussion: Weather of Bangladesh Week-4: Writing: Narrative Essays Reading: Selected Newspaper Stories Discussion; Islam in Bangladesh. Week-5: Writing: Descriptive Essays Discussion: Dress/clothes of Bangladeshis Listening: TV/Radio News from Kolkata Week-6: Writing: Cause and Effect Essays Discussion: Food and drink of Bangladeshis Week-7: Writing: "Compare and contrast" Essays Discussion: The life and works of Kazi Nazul Islam Listening: Classical Bengali Music Week-8: Review and midterm Week-9: Writing: Newspaper and Magazine Features Reading and discussion: The life and works of Rabindranath Tagore Week-10: Writing: Business Letters: claims and complaints Discussion: Sufism in Bangladesh. Listening: Bengali Sufi music Week-11: Writing: Business Letters (sales) Reading and Discussion: Poverty and micro-credit in Bangladesh. Week-12: Writing: Business Reports Reading: Storytelling in Bangladesh Discussion: Politics in Bangladesh Week-13: Writing: Translation of selected passages in short stories from Bengali to English Reading: selected short stories Discussion: Trade and Commerce in Bangladesh Week-14: Translation of selected passages in Bengali to English Discussions: Attending a party and festivals in Bangladesh. Listening: Watching Bengali drama Week-15: Review
Syllabus