This three-part course in Modern Standard Arabic for non-native speakers approaches the language through a series of themed topics—daily life in the Arab world, politics and governance, literature and the arts, science and medicine, astronomy—concentrates principally on listening and speaking skills. In each section, vocabulary is built up as various linguistic structures and strategies are introduced and practiced in a clear introduction to Arabic grammar. A CD accompanies Volume 1, and a supplementary dictionary, al-Mu‘jam al-musa‘id, gives a complete key to the vocabulary of all three books in four languages: English, French, German, and Spanish. Comprehensive and easily digestible, varied and informative, these books make an ideal basis for a classroom-based course in Arabic anywhere in the world.

Kalaam Gamiil Volume 2 further develops learners’ skills in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, along parallel tracks of vocabulary and grammar. It is designed to enable students to communicate effectively with native speakers in a wider range of social situations, with a higher degree of accuracy and fluency. It aims to do so by expanding learners’ vocabulary and idiomatic expressions, increasing their command of grammar (both syntax and morphology), as well as instilling a measure of cross-cultural understanding. Structured around more sophisticated topics that go beyond those of daily life conversations to cover social and cultural issues and concepts, each lesson includes two situations (often dialogues), a vocabulary list, preparatory sentences using the new vocabulary items and grammatical structures, explanations of the grammar in English, relevant cultural information, in addition to a variety of mechanical drills and communicative exercises. The book, volume two of a two-part series, focuses on the speaking and listening skills that will enable high intermediate to advanced students to handle a variety of more complicated communicative tasks successfully. Click here to listen to the associated tracks on Soundcloud.