Al-Kitaab: Part One" develops skills in standard Arabic while providing additional material in both colloquial & classical Arabic. With new video material & revised & updated text & exercises the bound-in & revised DVDs supersede both the former CD audio set & video DVD previously available only as separate items
- making this singular volume a comprehensive whole for those immersed in the early & intermediate stages of learning Arabic. Providing Approx. 150 contact hours of college-level instruction parts of this revised edition are updated with contemporary selections for reading comprehension. The organization of the chapters has been adapted to reflect the most current pedagogical developments. Audio tracks for vocabulary sections now allow students to hear a new word followed by a sentence using it in context with previously acquired vocabulary & grammatical structures enabling students to build new vocabulary skills while reviewing old material. The basic texts have been refilmed with a new cast of actors. The DVDs also contain substantially more material that exposes the learner to Egyptian Arabic: students have the options of seeing & hearing the video of each lesson in both Modern standard Arabic & Egyptian colloquial Arabic. In addition a short dialogue in Egyptian colloquial Arabic appears at the end of each lesson. New video materials also feature interviews with Egyptians (subtitled in English) about various aspects of Arab culture such as gender issues fasting in the Muslim & Christian traditions social clubs & their significance & more. This title develops all language-related skills including reading listening speaking writing & cultural knowledge; immediately incorporates extensive use of authentic materials for reading listening & grammatical practice thus relating abstract grammatical concepts to practical skills; presents narrative-based content through audio & video media rather than written text to develop meaning-focused language processing skills utilizing two main characters & their extended families; develops reading skills through the use of composed texts derived from the main narrative & authentic texts from newspapers & journals; & introduces grammar using spiraling & inference challenging students to discover the grammar of the language by means of analogy problem solving & educated guessing. It reinforces grammar & vocabulary through extensive classroom & homework exercises that provide constant review & expand to challenge students as their skills develop; introduces students to Egyptian colloquial through scenes based on the main narrative to promote the use of shared vocabulary & structure of the two registers to increase listening comprehension skills; & contains Arabic-English & English-Arabic glossaries & reference charts as well as a new grammar index."