|
 |
Best book for learning Arabic? | ||
Share with:
| ||
 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Voltman Newbie Australia Joined 5091 days ago 39 posts - 44 votes | Message 1 of 12 28 August 2011 at 3:50pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Hi everybody!
I am wondering whether anybody here knows what is the best/most useful book out there for learning Arabic for native English speakers. I've done a bit of "googling" and haven't found that many useful online learning materials for Arabic in comparison to the other Asian languages such as Chinese or Japanese. Has anyone noticed this or is it just me? Regards Voltman Edited by Voltman on 28 August 2011 at 3:58pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| arturs Triglot Senior Member Latvia Joined 5271 days ago 278 posts - 408 votes  Speaks: Latvian*, Russian, English | Message 2 of 12 28 August 2011 at 4:29pm | IP Logged | ||
|
I personally like the Teach Yourself Complete Arabic. For starting the language it is very good. Another good textbook is the Assimil, but I think unfortunately this course is only available as the French version "L'Arabe sans peine". As for grammar books, I like very much the Arabic: An Essential Grammar.
2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| dizzycloud Triglot Groupie United Kingdom Joined 6598 days ago 88 posts - 109 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French Studies: Turkish | Message 3 of 12 28 August 2011 at 4:31pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Hey, I am also interested in finding out the answer to this question...I have heard the "Al-quitaab" books are supposedly fantastic (albeit expensive), and also the Mastering Arabic series is meant to be good (reviews can be found here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mastering-Arabic-Palgrave-Master-Lan guages/dp/0230013120/ref=pd_sim_b_1 ) , though I'd like to hear some others' opinions before purchasing, haha!
Maybe in Australia you have more access to Asian language learning resources than in the UK, but it seems that for us there's just as much for Chinese and Japanese as there is for Arabic at the moment... 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| liddytime Pentaglot Senior Member United States mainlymagyar.wordpre Joined 6229 days ago 693 posts - 1328 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Galician Studies: Hungarian, Vietnamese, Modern Hebrew, Norwegian, Persian, Arabic (Written) | Message 4 of 12 28 August 2011 at 6:23pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Check out these two links:
What is Best Arabic Method? and: Has Anyone taught themselves Arabic? I have been through them all and most of them are pretty frustrating. You really need to find you a good tutor that can talk and talk and talk .... and then talk some more with you. Arabic is one of those languages that is very difficult to learn from a book. Modern literary Arabic is fantastic. It merely explains grammar and it is 50-odd years old but it does it with a clarity that the other guides lack. Plus, you can pick up a used copy for cheap! Al-Kitaab, if you are really motivated, is very good. It is the only course out there that will get you past a beginner's level. There is a 3rd edition coming out this fall ( with less chapters and less vocabulary no less!!) so you may be able to get some good deals on the 2nd edition soon. the DLI course also has a ton of material but every time I attempt to get through it, I'm good through 5 units or so, then I get bored out of my mind with it... FSI Saudi Hijazi Arabic is also very good and free, but will not teach Arabic script. Hijazi Arabic is a useful dialect that is fairly close to both the neighboring dialects and MSA. Assimil is very good ..... for nearly every language EXCEPT Arabic. Even the new French version is extremely painful to get through. It was for me anyway. Enjoy! While Arabic is extremely tough to learn, it is fascinating and incredibly rewarding! You'll be hooked for sure! 4 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Voltman Newbie Australia Joined 5091 days ago 39 posts - 44 votes | Message 5 of 12 28 August 2011 at 7:08pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Okay, thanks for the recommendations everybody.
I'll try requesting my local library to purchase those books if they can. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Annett Triglot Newbie Germany Joined 4838 days ago 2 posts - 2 votes Speaks: German*, EnglishC2, French Studies: Arabic (Egyptian) | Message 6 of 12 29 August 2011 at 8:15am | IP Logged | ||
|
Hi everybody,
I'm new to this forum and have just seen this thread which is interesting for me as well. However, I have just begun to learn Arabic (Egypt). So, I would like to know which books you find useful for learning Egyptian Arabic. I will also add a list of books later in the evening. Apart from that, I agree that it is recommendable to have a good tutor. I believe that it is hardly possible to learn this language only from books. I have attended one beginner's course before the summer holidays which will continue in autumn. I would be pleased to exchange with others about their ways of learning this challenging, but fascinating language! Have a good day, Annett 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| liddytime Pentaglot Senior Member United States mainlymagyar.wordpre Joined 6229 days ago 693 posts - 1328 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Galician Studies: Hungarian, Vietnamese, Modern Hebrew, Norwegian, Persian, Arabic (Written) | Message 7 of 12 29 August 2011 at 3:27pm | IP Logged | ||
I would go through the Michel Thomas Arabic before you go any further! Lucky for you it is in the Egyptian dialect. There is one level of Pimsleur in Egyptian, but that won't get you very far. DLI has a free Egyptian based course once you can read the script. I have not personally used the "Kallimni 'Arabi Bishweesh: A Beginners' Course in Spoken Egyptian Arabic" series, but I know that it is quite popular and many people recommend it. Good Luck! edit: It was not "Kullu Tamaam" but "Kallimni 'Arabi Bishweesh: A Beginners' Course in Spoken Egyptian Arabic" that I meant to refer to. I corrected the post. Edited by liddytime on 30 August 2011 at 5:07pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Fazla Hexaglot Senior Member Italy Joined 6262 days ago 166 posts - 255 votes Speaks: Italian, Serbo-Croatian*, English, Russian, Portuguese, French Studies: Arabic (classical), German, Turkish, Mandarin | Message 8 of 12 30 August 2011 at 1:11pm | IP Logged | ||
|
Now, very far from saying that my Arabic is nowhere near a good level, it is not, but taking into account the amount of time I put into studying the language, the new Assimil Arabic course worked extremely well for me, as a matter of fact it was the one and only book I used and it made me understand quite well the structure of the language. Lessons tend to get complicated in syntax and vocabulary quite early, unlike some other courses (namely, in my case, Persian) where until the very end they tend to be just too simple.
2 persons have voted this message useful |
|  | 
Printable version
|
| Copyright 2024 FX Micheloud - All rights reserved No part of this website may be copied by any means without my written authorization. |
