Alif Baa

The beauty of the Arabic language, both spoken and written--and the richness of the Arabic-speaking world, its history and culture--has recently become of increasing importance and a matter of revelation for the English-speaking world. It is essential as this new century unfolds, that understanding develops between nations--and language is the magic key.

The Al-Kitaab Arabic language program is among the English-speaking world's most widely used Arabic language learning texts. Alif Baa with DVDs: Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds is the first part of the Al-Kitaab program. This revised, second edition contains updated readings, new and revised exercises, and completely new audio/video materials on two DVDs bound into each volume.

In teaching the sounds and letters of Arabic, Alif Baa provides a variety of exercises aimed at developing the crucial nascent skills of reading, listening, writing, speaking, and cultural understanding. In conjunction with learning how to read and write the alphabet, Alif Baa introduces about 150 basic vocabulary words, including conventional forms of politeness and social greetings.

Standard Arabic vocabulary is distributed throughout the book, enhanced by the visual and audio materials on the DVDs and implemented in practical exercises. It introduces a range of Arabic from colloquial to standard in authentic contexts, including social greetings in dialogues that take place in an Egyptian context, the most widely-used and understood Arabic dialect.

Finally, Alif Baa includes capsules on Arab culture as well as an English-Arabic glossary. Alif Baa provides the essential first twenty contact hours of instruction that are the foundation for the rest of the Al-Kitaab language program.