MATSEC SEC Arabic study guide
MATSEC SEC Arabic · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Secondary Education Certificate (SEC) Arabic examination is offered by the MATSEC Examinations Board, the examinations body of L-Università ta' Malta. It is a secondary-level certification for students completing their compulsory education in Malta and for anyone seeking a recognised qualification in Arabic, typically to progress to advanced-level study or to demonstrate language competence to employers and institutions. The MATSEC SEC Arabic study guide has 4 sections and about 1,439 words.
01Arabic Language Skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing
The language-skills domain checks whether you can use Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) as a working language, not just decode it. Listening tasks ask for gist, specific detail and speaker purpose; speaking tasks test pronunciation, fluency and functional language such as greeting, asking, describing and giving an opinion; reading tasks move from short notices to longer texts; writing tasks require a complete message or short text.
359 words, about 2 min02Arabic Grammar and Structure
This domain assesses control of Arabic morphology and syntax in MSA: sentence types, case endings (إعراب), agreement, verb forms, pronouns, prepositions, idafa and number rules. Questions often ask you to choose the correct form, transform a sentence, or explain why a word carries a particular ending.
366 words, about 2 min03Arabic Vocabulary and Comprehension
Vocabulary and comprehension tests whether you can infer meaning from context, recognise roots and patterns, and handle the lexical density of real MSA texts. You are expected to know everyday topics such as family, school, travel, health, shopping and work, and to use synonyms, antonyms and collocations accurately.
348 words, about 2 min04Arabic Culture and Composition
The culture-and-composition domain combines background knowledge of the Arab world with the ability to produce coherent MSA in a set task. Culture questions may cover geography, festivals, family life, food, music, calligraphy, proverbs or famous places.
366 words, about 2 min