Customer Reviews

Arabic (Egyptian), Basic: Learn to Speak and Understand Egyptian Arabic with Pimsleur Language Programs

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

 

 

I am dating a guy from Egypt, and the majority of his family speak little or no English. I decided to try to start learning Egyptian Arabic to be better able to converse with all of them. Although learning any language is going to take far longer than a month or two (which is how long I have had the CD's) I think that this is a GREAT place to start. They really stress pronunciation, and help you retain what you have learned by subtle reviews. My boyfriend and his family have been SO impressed by what I have learned and what I am now able to understand and contribute to the conversation. I guess that is the best test of all!! Over all, I would reccomend this product highly.

I've made it most of the way through the CDs, and I feel that I've retained 99% of the vocabulary. The program uses hypothetical conversations to teach both vocabulary and grammar - a method which seems to work very well for my brain. The "teacher" guides you, sentence-by-sentence, through a conversation (repetition is key) until you can handle one side of the conversation on your own. The conversations themselves are a bit unimaginative - but one can't fault them too much for that (especially since they contain very useful everyday vocabulary). Overall, a very useful resource!

I decided to learn some Arabic before a two week holiday to Egypt. What I learnt from these lessons made such a difference to my time (and enjoyment) in Egypt. You only learn the basic tourist Arabic but it's enough. The locals understood my pronunciation and were very impressed. I was treated differently (better) than my fellow travelers. I wasn't hassled as much and the locals seemed more interested in me than selling me something!
Be patient though. As the language was so foreign to me, I had to listen to the first CD several times before I felt comfortable with the learnings but it became easier with each CD.

My only negative was that it was too short. I would have liked to learn more.

I've taken classes in Egyptian Arabic in the past but found their curriculum to be too 'dense'. You're expected to learn vocabulary and grammer points at an unnatural rate. On the otherhand, Pimsleur courses are slow and methodical. You'll only know a few words at the end of the ten lessons but you'll know them like the back of your hand. The complete course is highly recommended as well but try to see if you're local library carries it first before buying it.

BTW if you are interested in the type of Arabic found in the Quran, I've written a short book called 'Introduction to Quranic Arabic' that can be found at:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1411675533/sr=1-1/qid=1139460727/ref=sr_1_1/104-9570387-3262353?%5Fencoding=UTF8

Short review: If you want to learn some useful basic Egyptian Arabic words and phrases in advance of a trip to Egypt, DON'T BUY Pimsleur's Basic Egyptian Arabic CD Program.
My wife and I leave tomorrow for a trip abroad that includes about a week in Egypt. In the past I've studied Spanish and French so I am not new to language study. I was hoping that Pimsleur's basic CD program would help with basics such as "Where is the toilet?" "I would like a bottle of water." "How much does it cost?" "Do you accept credit cards?" "My name is ___" "What is your name?" We are from___" "The check please." Etc., as well as numbers. Forget it. None of that was covered except a few of the numbers from one to nine.
In addition, there was no book or even booklet to accompany the CDs. Being able to see a phonetic spelling of the words as well as hearing them would have accelerated my learning. I've used Berlitz tapes and phrase books in the past with great success. I should have stuck with Berlitz for this trip.
For me purchasing the Pimselur Program was a waste of money. Worse, it has wasted my time. I could have been learning useful Arabic with some other program. Since we are leaving tomorrow, there is no time for me to start over.

I have now tried 4 other Egyptian Arabic learning methods and this one is the best. I have already had two people tell me that I had " a really good accent". I find it so easy to learn and recall with these cds. I find that I can actually pronounce difficult words much better that when I have a printed booklet to look at. I have purchased this one and a german one, and I highly recommend both,

THis is a great way to learn arabic. Different approach, makes you repeat quite a lot but i realized that what i learned i remember and that when i visited egypt a few times people understood what i said

This is really a great product! I have truly learned everything on these discs and it was a very easy way to learn. The voices are pleasing to listen to and the content was exactly what is important to learn for living in Egypt! I live in Egypt now and the accent is almost perfect. I only wish there is a Level 2 for Egyptian Arabic!

I picked this up at Border's because it was discounted and I've been wanting to learn Arabic. I had experimented with other programs in the passed, and wasn't very impressed, but these CDs really exceeded my expectations.

I started listening to them in my car during my commute, and my boyfriend (who speaks Egyptian Arabic) has been very impressed with how quickly I am learning. I have had them for a week or two, and can already have very simple conversations with him in the language.

This language program really focuses on hearing and participating in conversations, so you won't know how to spell or read anything, conjugate verbs, etc. You will only learn how to speak and understand Arabic. I was skeptical about learning from a CD without anything supplementing it, but it is actually effective.

Sometimes they do progress a little fast, and this was especially the case in the beginning, when I was still getting used to the structure of words and phrases. However, it's easy enough to repeat a lesson as many times as needed until it sinks in.

Overally, quality product, I highly recommend.

Although the accents are authentic, the course is way too basic and repeats the same dialogue throughout the 5 discs with only minor changes. The best book I have found for Egyptian Arabic is Wightwick and Gaafar's "Colloquial Arabic of Egypt".