46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Urdu asaan nahin hai, magar yeh kitab achi se achi thi., April 13, 2006
On the box it says that the goal of this book was to reach "all-around confidence". It did that and more. This book covers a variety of subjects while following the story of John and his wife Helen as they travel through several sites Pakistan and North India. There were even several situations and vocabulary words that they covered that I thought I would never need to use, but found myself using in conversation shortly after. Also, the culture notes were a very nice touch as well. And as a Muslim I really liked the Islamic culture notes they brought up also.
I was 100% sure that the best way to learn a language was to be in a class all day, or immersion in the specific country, or among friends. This book proved me wrong. The content is difficult, especially after the 5th chapter because they remove the English transliteration and you are stuck reading the Urdu script and can only "cheat" by going to the back of the book. It seemed like every five chapters it got REALLY hard and seemed not gradual enough in the level of difficulty. But it took me three weeks to finish this book (I will admit, I should have gone slower) and after wards I was speaking and thinking in Urdu and the overall goal of "all around confidence" was definitely met.
That being said, I want to share the downsides, which are few. The errors that a lot of the reviewers talked about, I didn't notice until the last few chapters, and most of the students will probably notice this because by that point they are familiar with the Urdu script and it won't be a problem. Also, I learned Arabic script first from "Teach yourself Arabic Script" and "Very Simple Arabic Script" so I can't comment on their Urdu script introduction, which is needed for the rest of the book. You can't fake it past chapter five without knowing the script!
Finally, I would like to add that if you are *really* serious about learning Urdu, this is THE book to get, but still there is a long way to go. I *highly suggest* following up by getting "Urdu - An Essential Grammar" by Ruth Schmidt afterwards. I was so confident in Urdu after this "Teach Yourself" course but the Grammar book will make your realize that there is still a whole bunch more to learn and clear up the fuzzy spots. But overall, I very highly recommended "Teach Yourself Urdu Complete Course" very, VERY well done.
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27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mere khayal se bhi hai ke vuh achhi chiz hai!, December 28, 2004
I agree that Teach Yourself Urdu is excellent course for those wishing to learn the Urdu language. Although the course is centred around vocabulary and structures required by travellers, it provides an excellent start for those who would eventually like to learn more advanced Urdu. Concepts taught are constantly reinforced through the use of dialogues and examples, both of which serve to standardize the flow of Urdu in the learner's mind and to make the reader as comfortable with written Urdu as possible. I am at the tenth lesson in the 15 lesson book and can already recognize parts of headlines on BBC Urdu or even entire headlines. Bahut shukria TY!
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Boht acha!, June 19, 2000
I have been in the market for two years searching for just the right book. I have found it. It's professional produced and also incorporates the cultural aspects of the language as well. My only discontent with the book is you have to learn the written script as well in order to follow along after Chapter 5. I didn't learn to read and write English that way. Be forewarned if you just want to learn to speak Urdu.
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