Customer Reviews

In-Flight Arabic: Learn Before You Land

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

 

 

This CD goes from "hello" straight into "where can I find the passport office?". If you worked at it, you could memorize this mouthful. But you would not have an understanding of what words you just said and you would have no ability to understand the answer that would come next even if you did.

If you want to learn a language, use the Pimsleur CD's. There is no better way to pass through your daily commute.

Don't get this cd. I bought it from Audible.com and thought it was completely worthless. It went WAY too fast, and for someone who's heard even a little Arabic (my husband is Syrian), most of this was unintelligible for me. For example, the way it taught numbers was "1, 2, 3" and said it all together, so I had no idea where one word started and the next one ended! Like I said, I've heard a little Arabic over the past few years, and most of the words I heard didn't mesh with anything I'd heard from my husband and his family.

Granted, this is supposed to squish what you need to know in one hour, but don't waste your hour trying to figure out what these people are saying. Instead, check out what I ended up using to really learn Arabic - Formal Spoken Arabic (with the mp3 cd) - it's definitely worth your money.

This is down and dirty way to hit the ground, well almost, in an Arabic speaking country. Nothing, fancy. It comes with an excellent little booklet of what is on the CD. It fits in a shirt pocket. It really is much more. Since it mirrors the contents of the CD you and reenforce what you listen to. Also, if your brain works in a way that you need to see the written word, you are in luck with this system.

And as you use taxis or order a falafel you can peek in the book for a word you forgot.That saved me when haggling over fares, or taking group taxis. Learning In-Flight Arabic is easier than wadding through the process of writing this review. My only complaint is that Living Language does not have a Farsi version.

Robert M. Taylor

I really do have to disagree with the other negative comments made so far here about this CD.

Of all of the CD/books on Arabic that I have, this really has to be the BEST!!. It beats all of the others I have with pronunciation in particular & is laid out in a very logical & intuitive way.

My copy of the CD also came with a very useful 19 page pamphlet "Boarding Pass" (11x16cm) that summarised everything on the CD for quick & easy referral. Small enough to keep in your back pocket or passport. A definite must to carry around when you're down the local Medina or Sook.

It's so easy use. Rip it onto your MP3 player and start learning the important basics straight away. By the time you've flown to Egypt for example (about 5 hours) you'll have covered all of the basics you'll need to get by at your hotel & the airport. It has all the essential words & phrases that you would expect to want to use in most situations. This one is very comprehensive too.

Although this one is designed primary for those who are visiting Egypt, you'll still be able to use the majority of this CD even if you travel to Tunisia, Morocco or the Lebanon for example, the Arabic basics used on this CD/book will help you get but very successfully in each of the above countries and the rest of the Middle East.

Learn just few simple & basic words of courtesy and you'll be surprised and very pleased with the response you get. You'll start to make a lot of new friends all of a sudden and it will go a long way to ensure that you get more out of your holiday and have more fun.