Mastering Arabic: The Complete Course for Beginners

Palgrave Master Series

by Jane Wightwick, Mahmoud Gaafar

This new edition of the bestselling Mastering Arabic is the most accessible and carefully placed Arabic course on the market. It boasts an even more attractive design and layout, full of illustrations and helpful explanatory notes. Mastering Arabic is aimed at beginners with little or no previous knowledge of the language who want to understand, speak, and read Arabic confidently. -Teaches Modern Standard Arabic, the universal language of the Arab world -Includes twenty practical language lessons with cartoon illustrations, lively exercises, and conversation sections

-Useful and relevant lessons cover everyday situations related to family, jobs, introductions, eating and drinking, and much more

-Offers a gradual introduction to the language, script, and grammar with thorough explanations and instructions

-Two audio CDs feature correct pronunciation by native speakers and help learners start speaking Arabic right away.

Genres: Language, Nonfiction, Reference, Textbooks, Middle East, Linguistics

371 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 1990

Reviews

[Sasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book for those who want to learn MSA! I started from absolute zero and now I can read and write and even make sense when watching Aljazeera :) Highly recommended!

[Peter N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've dipped into a lot of different textbooks for a lot of different languages and this is almost certainly the best of them all. It really shows up all those textbooks in the Routledge "Colloquial" or Teach Yourself series that claim to be dutifully following a "communicative" methodology, but which apparently means hitting the absolute beginner squarely in the forehead with an entire page of dialogue in a completely unfamiliar language (even in a different script) and expecting that reader to have the energy to look up each word in the attached glossary. It always makes me think of Borges sitting in the library teaching himself German with nothing besides a dictionary and some kafka stories. And then I think, I'm not Borges, why am I punishing myself like this. So instead of that garbage, Mastering Arabic starts by introducing four letters, makes sure you have fully grasped them, then gives you another six, and so on, and seven or eight chapters later it presents you with some dialogue, i.e. at the point where you can actually understand it. It's super slow-paced, perfect for a beginner, such that you never feel overwhelmed or intimidated (none of that "this is what a verb looks like, now memorise the entire conjugation table before moving to the next page") and you always keep up the confidence to push on. I really wish I could find textbooks for other languages like this.*

*The Catalan Parla.Cat programme is as good as this, but it's an online course, not a book, so I don't know if that counts.

[James Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly excellent resource for beginning Arabic students, such as I. Mastering Arabic 1 was the textbook used in my Arabic course in University, and it would be difficult to find a more precise and simple text. Mrs. Wightwick goes step-by-step, point-by-point in teaching the grammar within lessons not exactly "basic" one would expect from an introductory textbook. For example, besides an introduction with the (not so complicated, once one has practiced over time) alphabet, one weaves through lessons from family members to more serious matters, such as the daily schedule of an Arab national president (and even his cabinet), all whilst learning a wide range of appropriate, in-depth, and incredibly useful vocabulary within every lesson.

I would highly recommend, and would note that it is perfectly manageable for self-study, as well!

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite what GoodReads says, there is a more recent edition of this book (still with 2 CDs). The newer edition has apparently (i.e. according to the intro) been edited to reflect more real-world situations and include more 'fun exercises.'

This pair of authors seem to by far dominate in the English-language Arabic students' field of books. I'm not sure why, as in my reviews of other books of theirs, I've noted multiple faults with their work. However, this is miles above their other works. There are still some issues - most especially that they don't always translate words that are in the exercises (it would be nice to build up vocab further), the drawings aren't always clear enough for me to be sure what the word is but often don't have accompanying English text, sometimes the "extras" they choose to focus on baffle me (for example, in the "nunnation" section, they focus on "-un" instead of "-an," when the latter is much much more common in the basic written MSA that I've studied so far in class), and sometimes they assume that you are going to know how to do something that you'd have no reason to know how to do but only note the correct way to do it in the answers to the exercise (plus, occasionally I have found inaccuracies in the answer key, leaving me wondering if there are further inaccuracies I don't know enough to realize).

However, the best things about it, to me, are: The incorporation of speaking and writing is far greater than in any of the other Arabic coursebooks I've used; the exercises similarly ask you to THINK much more than many of the other coursebooks, doing things like constructing your own sentences (the same kinds of activities we're doing in my Arabic 2 class); and the wide variety of activities help ensure that people who learn in all different kinds of ways all have some of their learning needs met by this book & CD set.

[Ferenc · Rating 4 out of 5]

This package is perfectly suited to self-learners.
The layout is modern and it covers everything: learning the script, grammar, pronunciation, listening skills, and a good set of practical everyday words.
I was only planning to learn the basics, but since I discovered that the same authors have made a sequel with the same publisher, I have decided to continue. This is what quality looks like.

[Riley Galvis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me probably 8 months to finish this, 30 minutes per day of solo study although a long vacation threw a wrench into the timeline and I had to catch back up at the very end.

This is a great book to start from not knowing any Arabic script to being able to have a casual conversation. Of course this is MSA, but let’s not act like people won’t understand you. You MUST use the online audio recordings so be prepared to have a phone/computer on-hand for study with listening and speaking practice.

My only gripe about the instruction is the many topics touched on but not explained. I did have to go out on my own to research WHY the irregularities exist. Like what is the alif maqsūra??? There are some moments with egregious errors in Latin script translation where you’re not sure if there’s some irregular caveat to the pronunciation or it’s just an error! It’s not like this was the first edition of this book…

Although I’m still grateful for the instruction and the lessons and teaching is easy-to-follow and rewarding. I moved on to Mastering Arabic 2 to continue my study and we’ll see where I go after.

[Kristine Gift · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used this book to teach myself Arabic and it was extremely helpful. After finishing the book, I know the basics of grocery shopping, ordering food, and talking about daily activities in Arabic. I can also identity verb forms, hundreds of vocabulary words (literally, I have the flash cards to prove it!), and use an Arabic-to-English dictionary with ease. I'm looking forward to the second volume in the series.

In addition to this I used the Level 1 workbook to do additional exercises. I also had the audio CDs that accompany the book that are crucial for many of the chapter-by-chapter listening exercises. Overall a very good book course for beginning your study of Arabic!

[Anoir Koolhoven · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will give you a solid foundation for speaking and writing Fusha (Modern Standard Arabic). Best choice I could’ve ever made.

Part 2 seems even more promising.

[Dev Bhuma · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Mastering Arabic: The Complete Course for Beginners," co-authored with Jane Wightwick, is a well-structured and engaging textbook designed to introduce learners to Modern Standard Arabic (MSA). This comprehensive course is particularly effective for beginners, as it emphasizes a gradual and systematic approach to language acquisition.

The book is organized into twenty practical lessons that cover essential topics relevant to everyday life, such as family, work, and social interactions. This focus on real-life scenarios makes the content immediately applicable, allowing learners to see the relevance of their studies in practical contexts. Each lesson is carefully crafted, beginning with the basics of the Arabic script and progressively introducing more complex grammatical structures and vocabulary. This pacing is beneficial for learners, as it prevents feelings of overwhelm and encourages steady progress.

A notable feature of "Mastering Arabic" is its inclusion of audio resources. This auditory component enhances the learning experience by allowing students to practice speaking from the outset, reinforcing their confidence in using the language. The visual design of the book is also commendable, featuring illustrations and helpful explanatory notes that make the material more engaging. The layout is modern and user-friendly, which contributes to a positive learning environment. Additionally, the exercises included in each chapter are varied and interactive, promoting active participation and reinforcing the material covered. For its intended audience—beginners—this book serves as an excellent foundation.

Overall, "Mastering Arabic" stands out as an accessible and effective resource for those embarking on their journey to learn Arabic. Brosh and Wightwick have successfully created a course that balances linguistic instruction with practical application, making it a valuable addition to any language learner's library. Its structured approach, combined with engaging content and supportive resources, makes it highly recommended for anyone looking to master the fundamentals of Arabic.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book ten years ago when I was learning Arabic, but I gave up unfortunately for various reasons. I decided to learn Arabic again earlier this year, and I started with this book again. Mastering Arabic teaches Standard Arabic or Fusha. No one speaks Fusha in their daily life, so that is one negative with this book. However, this book really helps you with reading the Arabic script. I definitely feel a bit more comfortable reading because of this book. I am also fortunate to have Egyptian students that I can ask which words are just Standard Arabic and if they are used in Egyptian Arabic as well.

If you are not going to any Arab countries or not in a hurry to learn a dialect, I would recommend this book. If you are looking to learn a specific Arabic dialect, this book is not for you. It is not a terrible book by any means, but I wish the authors had books similar to this in dialects. Finding good resources for dialects are difficult.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good course book for learning Arabic. You can use it for home-schooling but we are using it in class. It's a fun and stimulating book with lots of exercises and pictures. That said I don't have any hopes of being able to "speak" Arabic after finishing this course hahaha. At least not beyond the avarage tourist level :-) But then maybe I should spend a bit more time on it...

[Sarah Sparkle]

I strongly recommend buying the accompanying cassettes or CDs. This is a useful resource for learning Arabic but it is not easy to self-study with it without the CDs, which I don't have. This is a good book to use if you want to improve your Arabic reading skills as there is lots of Arabic script, unlike 'Kullu Tamam!' for example.

[Kevin de Ataíde]

This looks like a very simple primer for, with my limited understanding of the language, I'm already a quarter of the way in. The words lists should help restore my vocabulary and perhaps my recognition of spoken Arabic.



A little light reading for wet afternoons.

[Valters Bondars · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10