Customer Reviews

Berlitz Arabic: With Book (Berlitz Cassette Pack) (Arabic Edition)

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

 

 

I was looking for basic arabic, so I could converse with my Arabic-speaking in-laws. This didn't really fit the bill. It's definitely oriented towards traveling (getting a hotel, etc) in an Arabic speaking country. It moves a little fast and expects you to jump right into conversation! Its probably a good way to become familiar with the 'sounds' of the language, though. I'll keep working on it!

First of all, as an introduction, I come from a language in which Arabic script is native and have also taken 3 yrs. of Arabic in school. Now, since a long time had passed and I wanted to re-learn spoken/Written Arabic, I have picked up this and the Teach Yourself course.

Well, I have started this cassette pack initially so here is its review: A. It is a very nice way to learn Arabic fast. B. The problem with both these courses is that surprisingly, the authors somehow cannot pronounce some letters correctly. e.g. Saa is pronounced as taa So, Isnain is spoken/written as itnain and Salaasa as Talata.

Well, as I already knew Arabic much more than learning the basics before this course, that was not a problem for me but if you are just starting out, remember, this is some dialect which may not be spoken other than some regions!

Other than that quirk (Which has made me to think of returning it several times!), it may be a good course, hence the three stars!

If your looking for something to help you speak Arabic this is for you. As soon as I got it I was speaking a couple of sentences but now I can speak Arabic al the time. Now when I go to Egypt this summer I don't have to worry about trying to find someone that speaks english.

The cassette broke after playing it once through.
The phrasebook looks pretty useful, though.