Al-kitab Al-asasi Reviews

Drawing on her years of experience as an Arabic instructor and course developer, Samia Louis has used a functional approach to create a bright, innovative coursebook for the study of Egyptian colloquial Arabic—the spoken dialect most frequently studied and most widely understood in the Arab world. Designed according to the ACTFL guidelines for teaching Arabic as a foreign language, Kallimni ‘Arabi trains students through ten highly structured lessons in the crucial skills, with particular emphasis on listening and speaking. The associated audio files carry recordings of the dialogues and exercises in each chapter, made by Egyptian native speakers. Click here to listen to the modules on Soundcloud.
From the basics of communicating (asking directions, the language of shopping) to more advanced conversations (future plans, hobbies, and free time), Kallimni ‘Arabi is structured so that students learn Egyptian Arabic using real-life situations and expressions. The key topics covered gradually lead students to understand, use, and speak Arabic, rather than simply memorize fixed phrases. Kallimni ‘Arabi is aimed at students with some ability to read and write Arabic, who have had the equivalent of 30 hours of a beginner Colloquial Arabic class or 40 hours of a Modern Standard Arabic program.

This book approaches its subject of Arabic writing and composition by looking at the discrete entities, including vocabulary, grammar, and transformations, which together comprise style. Assuming that different areas of writing require different styles, it presents examples of such areas (expressing time, instructions, physical descriptions, and so on), and for each example the relevant stylistic elements—vocabulary, grammar, and transformations—are outlined. The book, entirely in Arabic, is clear and logical, and is aimed at intermediate to advanced levels, although, with the assistance of a teacher, students at elementary levels will also find much of interest.