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Has anyone taught themselves Arabic?!?

 Language Learning Forum : Language Programs, Books & Tapes Post Reply
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hhissashi
Newbie
Brazil
Joined 4276 days ago

1 posts - 3 votes
Studies: Arabic (Egyptian)

 
 Message 65 of 70
09 October 2013 at 2:43am | IP Logged 
Hello, people!

I write this post - the first one here - to share my experience through the old Assimil
Arabic as I didn't find enough information and detail anywhere. I've seen some review
videos on Youtube, but none of them talks about the old one in detail.
As it was my only Arabic source and I didn't want to spend money on the new version
(which I didn't know if it was good at all either) I kept with the old one.
Well, the text is not good, but I'd call "sufficient". I agree that the audio is very
slow and bad quality, but I believe that the worst problem is the voices tone that
keeps the same tediously without expression along all the course, which makes hard to
memorize the phrases.
I think it was very hard already from the first lesson and I had to study back and
forth three or four times and it's still difficult to retain something. I stopped in
lesson 84, but I think I'll do the Active Phase once again and skip to the
Perfectionnement Arabe. And I'm not disposed to study all over again by the new
L'arabe.
It's really frustrating because it's a language I really want to learn. I was
absolutely astonished and excited with Assimil Français Sans Peine, which I studied in
just one month, while I'm in the fourth month in L'Arabe Sans Peine with just little
progress. Not even my basic japanese was so hard as arabic is.

I hope I was useful.Cheers!

Edited by hhissashi on 12 October 2013 at 12:35am

3 persons have voted this message useful



wieser_d
Diglot
Newbie
Austria
Joined 4372 days ago

9 posts - 18 votes
Speaks: German*, English

 
 Message 66 of 70
14 October 2013 at 10:25am | IP Logged 
Hi, I am currently learning arabic. And I find the Teach Yourself Gulf Arabic very easy to learn.
And I would highly recommend Teach Yourself Arabic Conversation (full audio course with paperback) as well.

My girlfriend speaks arabic - this is a huge advantage for me...
But I won't trade her. ;-)
2 persons have voted this message useful



Jappy58
Bilingual Super Polyglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4638 days ago

200 posts - 413 votes 
Speaks: Spanish*, Guarani*, Arabic (Levantine), Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Maghribi), Arabic (Written), French, English, Persian, Quechua, Portuguese
Studies: Modern Hebrew

 
 Message 67 of 70
16 October 2013 at 11:18pm | IP Logged 
KSAKSA wrote:
Hi All

Just prowling around the net and saw this book: Arabic Stories for Language Learners Traditional Middle-Eastern
Tales in Arabic and English By Hezi Brosh, Lutfi Mansur (with DVD)...has anyone a review they'd like to share?

Cheers


I just ordered this book to see if I would recommend it for others, so thanks for sharing! Based on the Amazon
preview pages, it seems decent, but I won't post my review until it arrives and I've looked into the book with more
depth. :)
4 persons have voted this message useful



KSAKSA
Groupie
Australia
Joined 5145 days ago

65 posts - 99 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Arabic (Gulf)

 
 Message 68 of 70
10 November 2013 at 2:46am | IP Logged 
Jappy58...have you had the opportunity to sit down with the book and DVD? any thoughts you'd like to share?
1 person has voted this message useful



Jappy58
Bilingual Super Polyglot
Senior Member
United States
Joined 4638 days ago

200 posts - 413 votes 
Speaks: Spanish*, Guarani*, Arabic (Levantine), Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Maghribi), Arabic (Written), French, English, Persian, Quechua, Portuguese
Studies: Modern Hebrew

 
 Message 69 of 70
10 November 2013 at 4:13am | IP Logged 
@KSAKSA: You read my mind! I was planning to post my thoughts today! :D Sorry for taking so long, i just had to
plan my time more accordingly than I thought I'd have to.

Anyways, here is what I think:

Overall, the book and its accompanying DVD are a nice resource. There 66 stories in the book, varying in length.
Most, however, are between 1-3 pages long. Many of them are less than a page. In general, I found the stories
interesting and I think that by focusing on 1-3 of them every day would help a student improve his or her
competence in Arabic.

The audio from the DVD is also decent, but to give a better idea, I think it's good to compare the audio's speed to
that of Aswaat Arabiyya. The speed at which the stories
are narrated is similar to the "Slow" setting on Aswaat Arabiyya. That is, it isn't frustratingly and unnaturally slow,
but it isn't very challenging either. I would recommend it for those who are low intermediate to mid-intermediate in
their Arabic listening skills, but it could also serve as a primer for those who are upper-intermediate. In general,
listening to these folk stories adds variety to the other Arabic audio works for students out there, since they are
different from the typical news-oriented or academically-oriented topics that some other resources use.

In short: I recommend the book. However, if I were to wish for one or two things, it would be that the stories get
progressively more difficult and that the audio accompanying it would also increase in difficulty. I give it 4/5 stars.

Again, sorry for taking so long!
If you guys have any more questions, feel free to ask me! :)
6 persons have voted this message useful



KSAKSA
Groupie
Australia
Joined 5145 days ago

65 posts - 99 votes 
Speaks: English*
Studies: Arabic (Gulf)

 
 Message 70 of 70
12 November 2013 at 10:37am | IP Logged 
Oh Jappy58 - a million thanks, this sounds right up my ally I'll have to go make a purchase. I love your reviews, they always answer the questions I have!
Cheers


1 person has voted this message useful



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