Ahlan wa Sahlan: An Introduction to Modern Standard Arabic

Rating:
Summary: Inaccurate
Review: I would not recommend Ahlan wa Sahlan. Unfortunately it's the book NYU uses. It's riddled with linguistic inaccuracies, and pushes a political agenda in its blatant omission of Israel and its replacement with "Palestine" on its map of the Middle East. This is completeley inappropriate in a language textbook. So much for building bridges...

Rating:
Summary: Excellent instruction
Review: I'm currently studying Arabic at OSU using this text and the accompanying CD's. The best I can describe this book and the course is that when I took another language, it was three years before I could have a decent conversation. Studying Arabic with this book, I was able to have a decent conversation by about my 2nd week. The script is explained well, and learning the language is very enjoyable since we learn it functionally. If you get this book, make sure to get the CD's with it as well; the book isn't complete without being able to listen to the passages. However, the exercises are great and there are even answers at the back of the book (though since it opens to the right, it's the "front" of the book for us Americans). Truly a great introduction to the Arabic language.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent advance in the way Arabic is taught
Review: This textbook is designed to cover the first year of instruction in Modern Standard Arabic. Accompanied by an instructor's manual and an audio program, it will teach students to read, speak, and write Arabic. The text presents an engaging story that involves Adnan, a Syrian student studying in the U.S., and Michael, an American student studying in Cairo. In diaries, letters, and postcards, the two students describe their thoughts and activities, revealing how a non-American views American culture and how the Arabic culture is experienced by an American student. The text also provides information about the geography of the Arab world, prominent characters in history, festivities in Arab culture, the media, daily life, and the family. Exercises in comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and writing attend to both form and meaning and develop functional abilities and knowledge about the Arabic sound, writing, and language systems. A great advance in the way Arabic is taught and an outstanding new addition to the available materials on the subject. ALSIADI,The State University of New jersey,RUTGERS .