Customer Reviews

Alif Baa With Multimedia: Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds (Arabic Edition)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Good book, it was required for a class, so I didn't have much choice. My first impression was that it was very academic and difficult for the beginner (I've used other Arabic text textbooks) The DVD is very helpful. One thing that is an absolute must is buying the answer key. There are several spelling dictation drills and other drills that are simply audio on the DVD. Without the answer key or a professor you have no feedback as to whether you're getting it right or not. My confidence and learning went up significantly after I purchased the answer key. Overall a good, thorough book.

For a language that seems to have such an emphasis on beauty, precision and grace, this book is embarrassing. It is poorly laid out, with no chapter or section indication on each page, which makes the task of cross-referencing a big waste of time. (The Table of Contents is just not enough.) Plus the Arabic typography is so small as to require a magnifying glass for a reader with 20/20 vision.

I understand the point of view not to include much transliteration. But why is there no unified table of all the Arabic alphabet, the multiple ways characters are written, and diacritical marks? The DVD has a table with just the basic alphabet, but nothing to show the nuance to writing the language. A chart like the Periodic Table of Elements could be beautiful and very helpful in learning the ways letters morph when they bond to form words and the subtleties of pronunciation of the vowels, etc.

One strength of the book and DVD is the many different types of exercises it includes. In that regard it is stronger than other introductory language learning tools I have used.

It would be simple to solve many of the navigation problems with this book and DVD. This would making working with the book and more importantly, that initial immersion in Arabic, much more enjoyable. On the other hand, if the goal of this text is to discourage all but the most zealous students, then it is perfect just the way it is.

The Alif Baa textbook is the first in a series of Arabic textbooks that have become the university standard for Modern Standard Arabic teaching. I've used this same series of books at Columbia University, Harvard University, Middlebury Language Schools, and the American Language Institute of Fez.

Alif Baa is the beginner's beginner manual - it teaches the alphabet, and some very basic vocabulary. When I used this textbook, we covered all the material in about a month.

I don't know how well this book would work for auto-didacts trying to learn the language without a classroom or instructor. I don't think that it was designed for that purpose. I know that Arabic teachers appreciate this manual because it walks a line between the more technical, grammar-obsessed textbooks and the more free-wheeling, conversation based textbooks. It will lay the groundwork for obscure, scholarly research or for a heated discussion about politics.

I am using this book along with "The Arabic Alphabet" by Nicholas Awde & Putros. I don't think that the Alif Baa course would have made as much sense - or would have been absorbed as easily - had I not already had a grasp on the alphabet, grammar, etc. Try these books together. Altogether, I've found this course to be very helpful, though at times I have wished for something more suited to a beginner who is NOT a native speaker of the language, but I appreciate the course and have found it very helpful.
One thing I especially appreciate about this course, is that it comes with DVDs. It is essential to listen, listen, listen to be able to correctly pronounce the words and sounds that are so foreign to our English language, and these DVDs - though not the greatest quality - are wonderful helps.
I definitely recommend this course to a beginner, but would encourage the use of "The Arabic Alphabet" alongside. Best wishes in your journey to learn this difficult - but learn-able - language!

I was hoping this would be better. To be fair, most Arabic books are not so good. Bottom line, you have to take a class because you can't learn from a book. I learned just as much watching free videos online as I did with this book.

This is a great book. It is suitable to use in a beginner's class but it is also great for self-instruction. If you use it in conjunction with the DVD (that comes with the book), you can really learn as much on your own as you can from a beginner's class. The DVD has tons of listening exercises and videos of a calligrapher slowly writing all the letters which makes the DVD hugely helpful in both pronunciation and in properly forming the letters when writing. The letters are not taught in the typical alphabetical order, but I found the order of the lessons to be very logical and intuitive.

I'm taking an Arabic class for which we use this book. I really like it, except for the fact that they don't always tell you what word it is (in English) that you are writing. Otherwise, it's great.

Very helpful for a beginner level Arabic. This is a phonetics book; this will teach you letters and proper pronunciation. This will not teach you "how to survive as a tourist in Cairo", however. If you're looking for that, look for the more tourist-ishy Arabic books.

Very well written book. Its a challenging language, but with practice with the book it should come to you.

The Alif Baa and Al Kitaab text books are wonderful for learning Arabic. They are best in the context of a formal course, but could be used for individual study as well.