Just Listen 'N Learn Arabic

Rating:
Summary: Best Conversational Arabic Book
Review: I have read every instructional book I can find on learning Arabic. Just Listen n'Learn Arabic is easily the best that I have found for learning conversational Arabic. This course also introduces the reader to Arabic script in a gradual and relatively easy manner. The conversations on tape are natural-sounding and they contain useful information for getting around or getting acquainted in the Arab world. Several times I have tried using what I have learned from the course with Arabs whom I have just met and I am always understood. This is always a delight and it makes the effort worthwhile.

Rating:
Summary: Not so user-friendly
Review: Just Listen and Learn Arabic is a decent course in the colloquial Arabic of the Levant IF you already know some Modern Standard Arabic. I tried using it before I knew any MSA and I found it totally confusing because it doesn't give a very clear explanation of Arabic phonology, or of the variations of pronunciation. Sometimes the dialogues would show a word written one way, but in the recording it would be pronounced another way and I didn't know why. After I learned some MSA and browsed some other Arabic books these things made more sense to me.

Once you're past those initial hurdles this book is pretty good. The dialogues are authentic conversations, not scripted ones, so sometimes they go fast and there are words you don't know, but in the long run that is very helpful in developing your comprehension. The dialogues involve topics very relevant to travellers, like ordering in a restaurant, reserving a hotel room, taking taxis, etc. It's not like some Arabic books which start with sentences like "The delegation is meeting to discuss the problems with transportation infrastructure".

Rating:
Summary: Believe U Me
Review: There is no way in the world anybody will walk away learning Arabic from trying this method. I don't know what this guy was thinking besides suckering people out of their hard earned money. Save your money and move to Egypt!

Rating:
Summary: A good course on spoken Arabic, but not perfect
Review: This book (and tapes) provide a basic introduction to the dialect of Arabic spoken in Jordan, Sryia, and Lebanon. The book covers everyday situations such as greetings, shoping, resturants and so on. After working through the book, I feel like I have a good grasp of basic Arabic for travel puropses. One thing I really liked about the book was the fact that there are many pictures or the Arab world which help to break up the lessons. The main fault I have with this book (or tapes) is that the vocab words are never slowly pronounced so you can hear all the sounds in the word. Instead, there is just a dialog which is spoken quickly. As a result, it is difficult to pick out the sounds of the individual words. Since this is basicaly a course on spoken Arabic, I think this is a major flaw. However, if you are dedicated and work through the lessons you can pick up a lot.

Rating:
Summary: Seriously Flawed
Review: This book claims to teach "The Real Arabic". There seem to be less than 200 words in this whole book printed in Arabic script. The learning and usage of the script is dealt with as an occasional after-thought. Anyone who speaks even enough of any Semetic language to argue about cab fares will tell you that the script is a prerequsite to learning anything really useful.

On top of this is the most fouled-up non-standard method of tranliteration that will confound anyone who has even a little experience with the language, and start off any new learners with a system they will see nowhere else on the planet. Compunding this problem is the lack of Arabic script to see what the heck these folks are transliterating in the fist place.

Even the "Teach Yourself" series "...Arabic" with it's tapes of mediocre quality is much better than this book. Save your money and pick up Awade and Samano's "The Arabic Alphabet: How to Read and Write It" to start and get just about any other book and tape set to listen to pronunciation.