‘Arabi Liblib Reviews

Aimed at the growing number of students studying Arabic worldwide, Kallimni ‘Arabi Aktar takes an innovative, functional approach to the study of Egyptian colloquial Arabic—the spoken dialect most frequently studied and most widely understood in the Arab world. Picking up where the previous title in this series, Kallimni ‘Arabi, leaves off, this volume is designed for adult students at the high-intermediate/low-advanced levels of language proficiency. Drawing on her years of experience as an Arabic instructor, author Samia Louis has developed a course rich in everyday cultural content and real-life functional language as well as comprehensive grammar. Written in accordance with the ACTFL guidelines for teaching Arabic as a foreign language, this highly structured course trains students in the crucial skills, with emphasis on listening and speaking.
Each chapter includes a conversation unit that enables students to improve their communication skills and allows for progressive acquisition of vocabulary and grammar through interactive classroom tasks and everyday situations, from expressing personal likes and dislikes to initiating conversations and describing events and experiences. The associated audio files carry recordings of each chapter’s dialogues and exercises, made by native Egyptian speakers to enrich the student’s exposure to the spoken language in its natural context and speed. Click here to listen to the modules on Soundcloud.

There are basically two types of Arabic: the local vernaculars—which are used in everyday life—and Modern Standard Arabic, which is restricted to writing and to speaking in formal settings. Anyone wanting to have a good command of the Arabic language must learn both varieties.
kullu tamam! takes account of this diversity in two ways: it introduces the student to the language by means of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, and provides a basis for those who want to go on to learn Modern Standard Arabic. This is done by using the grammatical terminology common to both varieties of Arabic, by offering many vocabulary items current in both the vernacular and the standard variety, and—in the later lessons—by introducing the Arabic script.
kullu tamam! uses a cognitively oriented approach, presents Arabic mainly in transcription, gives grammatical rules, and presents a wide range of pattern drills and translation exercises (with key), as well as vocabulary lists for both Arabic–English and English–Arabic. Illustrative texts are either short dialogues, as may be encountered in daily life in Egypt, or descriptive passages dealing with more abstract topics and using a vocabulary typical of Arabic newspapers. The accompanying online audio files carry recordings of the texts, made by Egyptian native speakers.
For over ten years now, the Dutch edition of kullu tamam! has been used successfully as a textbook in first-year Arabic courses at university level in the Netherlands. Now students in the English-speaking world can benefit from its clear, fresh approach. kullu tamam! is also suitable for self-study purposes. Click here for the accompanying online audio files on Soundcloud.