Mastering Arabic |
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Author:
Jane Wightwick,
Mahmoud Gaafar
By Palgrave Macmillan
Average Customer Rating: 
List Price: £14.99
Our Price: £8.97
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 420
EAN: 9780333490372
ISBN: 0333490371
Label: Palgrave Macmillan
Manufacturer: Palgrave Macmillan
Number Of Pages: 384
Publication Date: 1990-03-23
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Studio: Palgrave Macmillan |
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Brilliant & Easy!, 2008-06-02
I bought this book and i have only done 3 chapters and i cannot believe how much i know already! This book and cd set is amazing. The pace is perfect you learn how to read, write and say each letter and word perfectly and how to recognise the letters you learnt in words. I never thought i would pick it up this easy but i have. i have only studied one evening and 2 sundays about an hour each and i can already have a conversation saying hello and introducing myself!
I am going to Egypt in a months time and confident i will be able to hold a conversation when i am there AND i am this confident after only 3 hours of studying! So i cannot even imagine how good i will be at the end of the book.
Brilliant book and cd set, an excellent buy you will not be disappointed! I only hope they do other languages in this range.
I do think that i would learn more with this than actually paying for a language class its at your own pace, has clear words, helpful hints for writing and pictures so its not that "boring".
Excellent, definitely worth buying, 2008-07-03
I purchased this book for an Arabic class I was attending and found that it works very well in class, as a useful resource, and at home where I can continue to learn on my own.
I certainly recommend the book and CDs to anyone looking to learn Arabic
 Just about right, 2009-01-09
I bought this book about 8 weeks ago (the Amazon market-place seller messed up and I got it at Waterstones). The extent of my Arabic was watching alphabet songs on YouTube!
It provides a balanced coverage of all aspects of the language - written, spoken and reading. It covers (mostly) useful vocabulary and gives hints on techniques to learn it. The exercises are clear and mostly help you progress and use the new words and phrases. The audio CD combines different dialects but there isn't extensive information on the differences between dialects.
To improve it, I would have like the conversation sections expanded and better thought through - they tend to be quite vague and I haven't found them very helpful. There is a chapter with a lot of political vocabulary which was much harder to absorb - this would be better replaced by more content "around the house" which isn't covered extensively - ie the book doesn't cover "bathroom" which is quite important!
On balance, after reaching chapter 18, I am confident in the basics and I'm ready to start practicing on real people. The book has definitely helped me structure the learning and understand the language but could still be improved especially on the spoken side.
The best starting point to learn to understand Arabic!!, 2009-01-06
For anyone who wants to learn to understand, speak and/or write Arabic, I would happily say this Book+CD pack is the best package you could buy.
Brilliantly explained in simple style with the goal to get you to express simple ideas, needs and wants without compromising on understanding the grammar. The exercise are so well embedded with the text that you will actually enjoy doing them. The CDs supplied will augment the learning process. They contain, the vocals to the conversations in the book and pronunciations to words - the narrators are really good and bring the scenarios to life.
Ofcourse, to succeed one will need to have the commitment as with anything. But this book is probably the best way to start - it will give you the confidence to build on your Arabic skills. After finishing the book, if you want to be able to understand Arabic writing properly, or watch Arabic television you will definitely need advanced Arabic text books together with plenty of practice in reading and understanding (buying children's Arabic books are a good idea), those in an Arabic speaking country or among Arabic speakers will have an extra advantage of practicing speaking. Using children's Arabic TV channels will help.
Some people, especially non-Arab Muslims can read Arabic (but not understand it) as they learned to recite the Qur'an when young...this book is a good starting point for them to learn to understand the Arabic language if they are interested in understanding the Qur'an in the Arabic language. And for those with absolutely zero knowledge of Arabic, who wish to start learning it for the first time for whatever reasons, its great for them as it assumes zero knowledge and starts right from the Arabic letters and pronunciations.
To conclude, this book is a great starting point that will take you from zero knowledge to a modest beginner stage at which you can be confident to move on to develop your Arabic comprehension skills, including reading, writing and speaking to an Intermediate stage. 5/5 stars definitely.
Excellent!, 2008-06-02
I would just like to add my own enthusiastic review of this wonderful Mastering Arabic Course.
I'm currently on Unit 10 -- who'd have thought that I'd reach the middle of the book? --, and I haven't got one single complaint. Mastering Arabic provides a fantastic introduction to the Arabic language, and gives you all the necessary bases of Modern Standard Arabic.
A grammar reference book and a dictionary, although by no means imperative, may prove useful to the more 'serious' student and to whomever whishes to delve further into the language without having to wait until the end of the course.
Highly recommended.
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