Customer Reviews

Pimsleur Instant Conversation Arabic (Eastern) [CD]

5 star:		(4)
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If you want to learn conversational Eastern Arabic, and are not bothered about learning how to both read and write, then this is perfect: I was amazed at the progress I made even after the first lesson, at the beginning of which I have to say I was quite daunted. I have done a couple of levels of Arabic in classes here, but even after the first two levels my conversation was far weaker than it was after using Pimsleur. In fact, I was so impressed that I bought the full comprehensive course, and that was when I discovered, much to my disappointment, that the few hundred dollars I had just spent was for a mere sixteen lessons, as the first sixteen lessons are exact reproductions to what you will find here. Finding that there was no obvious indication that the lessons here are reproduced in the Comprehensive Level 1, I wrote to Simon & Schuster but unfortunately received no response. All those outside of US and Canada ...beware unless you are prepared to pay hundreds of dollars for what is effectively just 16 more lessons.

I bought this to see how well the pimsleur method works before shelling out a lot of cash for the comprehensive course. I am suprised at how well it gets you speaking and understanding the language.
The Arabic used is the syrian dialect and the tapes are very well done. This is not a complete language course, nor did it claim to be, but an introductory program to help you with simple conversation. I think its best use would be if you were planning a trip to syria in a month and needed a crash course.
Also its a good way to kick off your language learning experience in this dialect.

I bought this CD course from a big book store, not knowing what to expect and not expecting much. I was happily suprised when it turned out that this course was exactly what I needed.

The dialect taught in this course is Syrian, very compatible with Jordanian, Lebanese, and Palestinian dialects. The lessons are coherent and teach some vocabulary. I'm at the end of the expanded, 30-lesson version of this course which includes the following: how to greet an acquaintance, how to tell time, family and children, ownership, discuss prices and other money-related transactions, how to give and ask for directions and describe transportation, how to order in a restaurant. But beyond these topic-based goals, the course has really given me a good feel for the structure of this conversational language and also a decent accent.

I would recommend this course to anyone who wants to get a good start in conversational eastern arabic. I'm amazed by how, especially in the beginning of the course, I'd listen to a lesson and think, "there's no way I'm ever going to be able to pronounce or remember that," and then after a couple of listens would have no trouble at all. My arab friend tells me my understanding and speech is better than that of many people who studied arabic in college, and he also recommends it to other americans who want to speak arabic.

I agree that Pimsleur has an excellent method in general and this became evident when I first started using Instant Conversation Arabic. HOWEVER, I was not satisfied entirely with the speed and the lack of versatility of this course. I have successfully supplemented this product with Behind the Wheel Arabic by Language Dynamics. The two courses compliment one another very well. Pimsleur has the great memory technique and Behind the Wheel has the wonderful sentence building techniques. One is traditional and the other is creative. Both together are making me fluent in Arabic.

I don't have the same version of Arabic conversation but a different one, but couldn't resist writing how the revolutionary Pimsleur's method is!
I am learning Arabic with no books in my car. This CD made Arabic soooo easy that I bet anybody can learn this language.
I think once I am done with Arabic I will throw out all my language course books and CD's and start buying only Pimsleur!

I bought Pimsleur Instant Conversation Arabic to listen to on the way to work. It is an excellent program for that format. This method requires no preliminary knowlege of the language. It is clear and self explanatory. It builds on patterns of speech and requires active participation; it is not rote learning. At the end of the program I will have a framework of simple greetings and sentences to use in Arabic. However, this program is a starting point, not a complete language learning program.

I purchased the cds, like many others, to test out the program before splurging on the comprehensive. I have been so impressed with the lessons... I've learned so much in a short period of time, and my boyfriend (who is Lebanese) is also quite impressed with my progress! I've only encountered two problems: 1) sometimes it is difficult to hear the difference between "m" and "n" at the ends of words, and with no written companion, you can't be sure, and 2) as another reviewer noted, the dialect used is Syrian and so my pronounciation is a little off from how my boyfriend speaks. (However, he has no trouble understanding me.) But, limitations aside, I am thrilled with the program and am looking forward to the release of Level II in 2006!

This learning tool is very effective and very well executed. Just what I was looking for to learn Arabic while riding in my car.