Customer Reviews

Ultimate Arabic Beginner-Intermediate

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

 

 

This is one of the best arabic courses I have seen on the market. It gives you a complete run down of arabic grammar and it shows how standard written arabic differs from the colloquial dialects, something you have to know if you're going to an arab country. I recomend getting the audio material with the book, because arabic has some sounds that don't exist in english, and so you're going to need all the practise you can get. All in all, I can't find anything lacking in Ultimate Arabic.

This is quite possibly the best Arabic book out there. Whether you're taking classes or just studying Arabic on your own, this book will DEFINITELY help you. Instead of just teaching you pointless vocabulary items with tiny bits of grammar, it describes to you the structure and LOGIC of Arabic.
All languages possess a certain logic to them. The logic of the Arabic language is VERY different from that of English. This book won't just tell you basic grammar, it will immerse you in learning how to form your own sentences and teach you the language the way languages should be taught: learning the language's logic.
Another EXTREMELY important thing is the variety of Arabic it teaches you. MSA (modern standard arabic [which is taught here]) will basically be understood anywhere, but each region that uses MSA as its formal standard (for ex: Egypt, Iraq) has its own specific brand of Arabic. The differences between such a local dialect and MSA are pretty big at times. SO, it is even better to hear that this book/CD course not only gives you an AWESOME immersion into MSA, it gives you a good explanation of four major Arabic dialects: Saudi, Lebanese, Iraqi and Egyptian.
ABSOLUTELY AWESOME. I highly recommend this whole package.

I have learned over the years that I can count on Living Language to produce a quality product, and I wasn't disappointed here.

This course is designed for people who are serious about acquiring skills in Arabic grammar, vocabulary, and reading (distinguishing it from the innumerable courses that don't even introduce Arabic script.) The pace of the course is not too fast, not too slow, but just about right. If you follow the text and recordings diligently, you will find yourself starting to understand Arabic---a highly satisfying experience for most of us.

My only complaint is that roughly half of the course focuses on local Arabic dialects. The regional dialects of Arabic have their place; but not in a beginner's course on Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). Once the basics of MSA are grasped, students can then depart in the direction of whichever dialect is the most useful. (My guess is that most students will be interested in only one or two.)

This is the only factor that prevents me from giving this course a five-star rating. But don't let this factor dissuade you from buying it. The MSA material is well worth the cost of the course.

I see to my surprise that there are some favourable reviews of this item. My findings were rather different.

This was the first Arabic textbook that I bought. I got it because it looked like a fantastic way to get to grips with MSA and then move smoothly on to the dialects. So I got in a good stock of coffee and set myself the goal of a chapter a week.

My first tremor of concern came in Chapter 2, after rereading the explanation of word stress six times in a row, and coming away no wiser. Turning to the Internet, I located - within minutes - an explanation of MSA word stress that I easily grasped and have employed ever since, with 90% accuracy in results. Those who say that the Internet is not a reliable source of information have not studied Living Language Arabic.

My misgivings had grown by chapter 5, where the reader is summarily introduced to all 3 forms of the crucial "to have" construction at the same time - and then not given exercises on any of them.

My nagging doubts rose to a clamour when I noticed that in the same chapter, one of the exercises light-heartedly introduced readers to new vocabulary, new stylistic forms, and the vowel-less script all at the same time. Without warning. Employing words that could not be found even in the dictionary at the back.

I think the moment that I threw the book across the room came a little later, when I realised that a chapter on getting directions at the airport had introduced me to the word for "right" - WITHOUT TEACHING ME THE WORD FOR "LEFT".

Stir all these dubious elements together; chuck in frequent, debilitating misprints in both the English and Arabic text, and a markedly eccentric choice of vocabulary items; and there you have Living Language Ultimate Arabic.

Other highlights:
* The chapter entitled "At the Doctor's" does not teach you how to say "I feel nauseous", nor how to say "I have a fever". It does, however, teach you the Arabic word for "burrito". (For those of you who are interested, the word is "buuriituu")
* The authors do not get around to explaining plurals (admittedly complex) until chapter 11. When they do, their explanation is so impenetrable that it appears at some points to be saying exactly the opposite of the truth.
* When examples are given, they sometimes contain vocabulary items or grammatical features that have not yet been taught. Just the thing you need when you are struggling to get to grips with a new rule in one of the most challenging languages you are likely to tackle.
* Improbable vocabulary choices abound. In chapter 5, long before the book deigns to give you the word for "shirt" or "cat", you are taught the Arabic for "Venezuela" (It's "finizwiillaa").
* When the time comes to teach dialects, the authors adopt a curious approach. How would you teach a dialect, which differs in many unpredictable ways from the standard? How about having all the same dialogs as before, clearly highlighting any differences to the reader? Drill, drill, drill, right? Give the reader time to learn how to swim? Nope. As the reader enters the turbulent waters of dialect, they are presented with new, unrelated dialogs, containing a smorgasbord of new, unrelated vocabulary. By the end of a dialect chapter, the reader has no ideas which terms in the dialog are good for MSA and which are pure dialect, nor is there a handy reference at the back to clarify this.

As a serious linguist I use all the materials I can get in order to break the language and I was quite impressed when I saw this title. I have experienced other Ultimate courses, such as RUSSIAN and it was a wonderful learning experience.

Arabic is not one, but many: There are many dialects, but the ones I am interested in are covered on Ultimate Arabic. You have the Eastern dialect (as spoken in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine), you have Egyptian Arabic, Iraqui Arabic, Gulf Arabic, etc... apart from the dialects there is MSA (Modern Standard Arabic). The latter is only used in literature and on newscasts, and on official speeches. It has a resemblance to Saudi and Gulf Arabic, but many words change. So much that the differences can be compared to those between Spanish and Italian, and or Portuguese. Same origin, but the languages have evolved according to geography.

With this course, you will get a deep understanding of MSA and you will be introduced to four major dialects. You will learn how to read and write the Arabic script's 32 symbols and you will get ample practice from the beginning. There is no transliteration, so you will be reading and writing Arabic in no time and believe you me, this is one thorough course of Arabic!!! I have checked everything there is out there and this is in the top 3.

My sincere appreciation goes to the team that developed this product.

Shukran Kteer!!!

Thus far I like the textbook. I would have preferred one that didn't devote about 50% of the material to Arabic dialects but it is a good text, nevertheless.

Love this book. Very clear, very very helpful, (still using it), and I have encouraged others to buy it. Love it....Thanks!

This product was disappointing to me as I have studied other Ultimate language programs and they were very good. This product is just not helpful in developing a full and useful vocabulary. The dialect cds are too limited to be of much use. Overall I do not recommend the Ultimate Arabic.

I was very disappointed with the product, because I had different expectations, based on the advertisement of it.It was utterly different from what I thought it would be, and now it's no use for me. The four cds it has, are in four different dialects of the arabic language, so, only one is useful, since you can not use all four of them in your conversations, and the other four cds are only in the formal arabic language which is used only in writing.
I regretted I bought it.

I am suprised at some of the reviewers that gave this program good reviews. The text is loaded with errors and for the beginner, this is a real disservice. If you buy this program, be prepared to be confused when some words and phrases are written several different ways.