Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya with DVDs: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic, Part One Second...

Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya with DVDs: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic, Part One Second Edition | Kristen Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal, ... | Arabic learning

books:

Al-Kitaab fii Ta'a...

	Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya with DVDs: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic, Part One Second Edition Kristen Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal, ... Georgetown University Press, 2004 - 544 pages average customer review:based on 35 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

For Intermediate Students

Having studied Arabic at the college level for a year I recently decided--despite some of the negative reviews I'd read--to buy the Al-Kitaab book, part 1. I was glad I had not used the book as the introduction to my Arabic language studies as it is not for [most] beginners. Even having completed the Alif Baa book [the prequel to this book, if you will] was not nearly enough to prepare me for this one. I have used and gone through most of what is known in circles as "The Big Orange Book" [Elementary Modern Standard Arabic, formally] as well as Ziadeh and Winder's An Introduction to Modern Standard Arabic, and found both to be lacking and dated. All of these books have their strengths and weaknesses, but together can give you a well-rounded education. (Along with a native speaker, who can help with pronunciation and conversational dialogues, neither of which can be found in any of the above-mentioned books). The Big Orange book lacks much, as it has several errors and leaves out crucial information. It also is in the Egyptian dialect. Don't even bother with Ziadeh and Winder's book unless you'd like to learn how to sound like an encyclopedia article from the 1950's. (It actually contains sentences regarding the Germans and the war as though they were current!! Can you say revision??)

I also bought a computer program called Learn Arabic Now which is all inclusive as it contains software for Arabic word processing, fantastic listening exercises, as well as reading exercises where you can break down texts word by word. This was extremely helpful in training the ear to pick out words and phrases. It also contains what many books do not: conversations! Finally, you know what to say when you meet someone new for the first time! Very useful program... At over $80 this program isn't cheap, but contains enough games and texts to keep you busy for months!

With all that aside, the Al-Kitaab book and supplementary DVDs prove to be the best learning aid out there, from the many books I've seen. THE DVDs help to facilitate proper pronunciation by native speakers as well as make it interesting. There are interactive listening exercises, conversations, and actual video footage covering cultural events. Yes, Maha is very pretty; I have not seen the supposedly overweight actress in the previous version. But what is important is that she speaks clear Fus-ha [formal Arabic] as well as the Egyptian dialect. (Although a native speaker told me she is Lebanese, as evidenced by her accent.)

But, if you have never studied Arabic before, be sure to at least have fluency in reading Arabic before attempting the exercises. The Alif-Baa book should be your first book, at least in learning the alphabet. You should be quite comfortable in reading/writing Arabic before attempting Al-Kitaab part 1, and even then, hopefully you will have already had some exposure to the language or else you could be left feeling quite intimidated. But, all in all, this is the best book available and it's worth the money. Oh, and there is a supplemental answer key that is worth the few bucks in order to check your answers. Note: only about 85% of the answers are given, so some of the exercises where you input personal information can't be checked. [Ex: Ana ismi ______; My name is _____.]

With this book you will definitely learn to speak Arabic with enough time and dedication to learning it.

for more information click here

Arabic learning

Good book for basic arabic, though if you're doing the higher level stuff such as cases (i.e in a degree, british BA) it includes them very late on and doens't explain them well. The audio and DVDs are great though for working on your accent and getting used to the oral and aural work.

reviews: 1, 2, 3, 4, page 5, 6, 7

products you might be interested in