The Travels of Ibn Battuta Reviews

Based on the cumulative experience of three leading teachers of Arabic as a foreign language, Kalaam Gamiil builds and develops communicative skills in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, along parallel tracks of vocabulary and grammar. It is designed for students who have reached the lower intermediate level of Modern Standard Arabic and are now ready to branch out into their first experience of a major spoken dialect. Structured around basic topics that crop up in daily conversations, lessons each include a situation, a vocabulary list, preparatory sentences using the new vocabulary items, explanations of grammar in English, cultural information, and a variety of mechanical drills and communicative exercises. The book, volume one of a two-part series, focuses on the speaking and listening skills that will enable intermediate students to handle a variety of uncomplicated communicative tasks with native speakers of Egyptian Arabic successfully. Click here to listen to the associated Kalaam Gamiil tracks (Lessons 1 to 12) on Soundcloud.

While most courses in Egyptian Arabic teach the essentials of syntax, morphology, and vocabulary, this resource book takes the student a step beyond. Intended for the advanced learner of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic who has mastered the basics, this third in a series of three books (following Volume 1, Adjectives and Descriptions, and Volume 2, Proverbs) focuses on colorful expressions used by native speakers. The learner will advance from knowing how to form a good sentence to being able to express his or her thoughts about the ups and downs of daily life using culturally appropriate expressions. Definitions (including connotation) and explanations are given in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, and expressions taught in the book are used in many of the definitions, thus providing further reinforcement. Organized as a reference work, the book can also be used as a textbook, as it contains exercises.