Arabic language skills are significant for students who wish to study Islam and Muslim civilizations. Through lectures, reflection, and interactive activities, beginner students learn Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), the standardized, literary Arabic that is used in formal settings. They build their vocabulary, develop, and apply their Arabic communication skills, both orally and in writing. Students learn everything from the alphabet and numbers to grammatical structures and verb patterns, from the Arabic script to similar-sounding phonemes, from describing their feelings and objects to greeting people, from methods for developing listening and speaking skills to common, useful words, phrases, and expressions.