Product Description

Arabic basics made easy--and fun!

Studying Arabic is intimidating. Not only do you face the usual challenges of learning a new language--vocabulary, grammar, verb tenses--but you also have to learn a non-Roman alphabet as well. These formidable obstacles frustrate many learners. But now there is a program that helps you overcome these hurdles so you can be successful in your Arabic language studies.

The extraordinarily accessible Read & Speak Arabic for Beginners entertains you while you learn, lessening the anxiety of a new script and increasing your desire to master Arabic. This program teaches you basic vocabulary and explains sentence structures for eight key areas of everyday life--introducing yourself, saying where you're from, asking what things are, asking where things are located, describing objects and people, asking how to get around, talking about your family, and describing what you do. The accompanying CD features all the key words and phrases so you can hear how they are pronounced and repeat them after the speaker.

Inside you will find:

• Clear explanations of how to use basic phrases in everyday conversations
• Entertaining activities, games, and puzzles with which to check your progress
• Illustrated flash cards to help you memorize key phrases
• Listening exercises and audio games on the CD to further reinforce your comprehension

Whether you use this program on your own or as a supplement to your formal studies, Read & Speak Arabic for Beginners gives you the tools to overcome the difficulties presented by a non-Roman script and master the Arabic language.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44592 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-27
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

From the Back Cover
Arabic basics made easy--and fun!

Studying Arabic is intimidating. Not only do you face the usual challenges of learning a new language--vocabulary, grammar, verb tenses--but you also have to learn a non-Roman alphabet as well. These formidable obstacles frustrate many learners. But now there is a program that helps you overcome these hurdles so you can be successful in your Arabic language studies.

The extraordinarily accessible Read & Speak Arabic for Beginners entertains you while you learn, lessening the anxiety of a new script and increasing your desire to master Arabic. This program teaches you basic vocabulary and explains sentence structures for eight key areas of everyday life--introducing yourself, saying where you're from, asking what things are, asking where things are located, describing objects and people, asking how to get around, talking about your family, and describing what you do. The accompanying CD features all the key words and phrases so you can hear how they are pronounced and repeat them after the speaker.

Inside you will find:

• Clear explanations of how to use basic phrases in everyday conversations
• Entertaining activities, games, and puzzles with which to check your progress
• Illustrated flash cards to help you memorize key phrases
• Listening exercises and audio games on the CD to further reinforce your comprehension

Whether you use this program on your own or as a supplement to your formal studies, Read & Speak Arabic for Beginners gives you the tools to overcome the difficulties presented by a non-Roman script and master the Arabic language.

About the Author

Jane Wightwick is an experienced language instructor, author, and respected developer of language learning materials.

Customer Reviews

Bad for Beginners
I have arabic for dummies and it is better, incl CD for audio. I am a visual learner, so I need to SEE how to say it. Following a CD in this book is not easy, if you can't see it too. I would NOT recommend this book for beginners.

Helpful, but method of introducting Arabic script is problematic.
This text is useful. It begins from the basics and proceeds at a realistically slow pace. The CD is very helpful for pronunciation. HOWEVER, one big drawback is the way the author introduces written Arabic script. Although she does not SYSTEMATICALLY introduce the script until near the END of the book, she uses the script from the very first lesson, where she blithely - overly optimistically - instructs the student to simply remember the overall SHAPE or appearance of words written in Arabic. I challenge anyone to be able to do this!!! Beyond a few words, that is. Unit exercises often present words in Arabic script only, with no Roman scipt trancription, so you really have to master reading the script to fully paricipate in the program. The solution is to jump ahead to the end of the book, and study the letters first - but you won't get much help with this - there are no graduated exercises. I do not find Arabic script "easy" (much harder than Cyrillic script, for example, although easier/faster to learn than Japanese's three concurrent scripts) and I crave more support than this book offers. (There is a companion book by same author and one other, for learning to write Arabic.)

A fun introduction to a difficult language!
This book is a valuable resource as an introduction to Arabic for someone who wants an introduction to the alphabet and some basic volabulary, grammar and phrases. It is well-designed to make learning easy and fun. It is also a great value because it comes with a CD and flashcards to help with pronunciation and script recognition.

I think a weakness of the book is the superficial treatment of script in the middle of the text. However, it is an adequate introduction, but to me learning the script would be easier with a book like The Arabic Alphabet: How to Read & Write It. This is a much more comprehensive, accessible and less intimidating exposure to learning Arabic script and it is still less than 100 pages.