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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Candy
Format:Audio CD
Firstly, I'll inform you what this is not.
This is not a course that will make you fluent... This very course is "Pimsleur Eastern Arabic I", and there are two more courses after this one: "II, III". After completing all three you will not be fluent. However, you *will* have a very desirable base of language skills that will enable you to travel Syria and the surrounding Eastern region without having to resort to your English; unless of course you wish to discuss specific topics such as politics or sports. Moreover, remember that this is not "standard" Arabic (MSA); rather, it is a regional dialect, though it shares many many commonalities with all Arabic dialects. Furthermore, this course is audio only - though it does have some reading lessons - and as such, a potential buyer needs to be aware that there are no visual aids - it is audio only.
Essentially, this course will allow you to *speak* with a basic conversational fluency to the extent that you will be complimented on you pronunciation (Pimsleur gives a great pronunciation) and on your ability to speak with ease and confidence with what it teaches. This specific course (no. I) is 15 hours in length, and gives you a vocabulary of no more than 150 words. All three courses will give you a vocabulary of roughly 500 words. I know you're probably thinking: "there's no way I'm spending 45 hours learning 500 words". Well, look, this course teaches the 500 most common words, and does so in a way that you can manipulate all of these terms into a variety of contexts. Remember, it's all well and good having a vocabulary of 3000 words, but being able to use it in context is a whole different ball game. This course allows you to speak in sentences, it gets you asking for things, telling people about yourself, et cetera.
Worried about the price? So was I, that's why I searched the internet for cheaper places to buy it. Also, check your local library, you may find that it has this course there. For more detailed and varied reiews of this product I recommend you go to Amazon.com.
Have a nice day.
This is not a course that will make you fluent... This very course is "Pimsleur Eastern Arabic I", and there are two more courses after this one: "II, III". After completing all three you will not be fluent. However, you *will* have a very desirable base of language skills that will enable you to travel Syria and the surrounding Eastern region without having to resort to your English; unless of course you wish to discuss specific topics such as politics or sports. Moreover, remember that this is not "standard" Arabic (MSA); rather, it is a regional dialect, though it shares many many commonalities with all Arabic dialects. Furthermore, this course is audio only - though it does have some reading lessons - and as such, a potential buyer needs to be aware that there are no visual aids - it is audio only.
Essentially, this course will allow you to *speak* with a basic conversational fluency to the extent that you will be complimented on you pronunciation (Pimsleur gives a great pronunciation) and on your ability to speak with ease and confidence with what it teaches. This specific course (no. I) is 15 hours in length, and gives you a vocabulary of no more than 150 words. All three courses will give you a vocabulary of roughly 500 words. I know you're probably thinking: "there's no way I'm spending 45 hours learning 500 words". Well, look, this course teaches the 500 most common words, and does so in a way that you can manipulate all of these terms into a variety of contexts. Remember, it's all well and good having a vocabulary of 3000 words, but being able to use it in context is a whole different ball game. This course allows you to speak in sentences, it gets you asking for things, telling people about yourself, et cetera.
Worried about the price? So was I, that's why I searched the internet for cheaper places to buy it. Also, check your local library, you may find that it has this course there. For more detailed and varied reiews of this product I recommend you go to Amazon.com.
Have a nice day.
0 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By M. Hamann
Format:Audio Cassette
I am very fond of Pimsleur courses. I begin any new language by listening to the Pimsleur course first. I have never been disappointed until now. The presenter's voice was light, young and female. It was difficult to mentally accept her as a "teacher". It may sound sexist, but well, there it is.
Note: mine is the 30-lesson "World Citizen" edition.
Note: mine is the 30-lesson "World Citizen" edition.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.6 out of 5 stars
17 reviews
42 of 44 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
perfect for a trip to Damascus
29 Mar 2005
By J. Spencer
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Note that these CDs are specifically in the Damascus dialect, ask a native speaker if that dialect will work where you are going. My wife is Syrian from Damascus, and I found these tapes much more useful than the class I took from an Egyptian teacher. The spoken dialects are very different. Now my wife's family is actually understanding the things I say, it's worth every penny.
My guess is that the critical review below stems from trying to use the Eastern Arabic CDs for a trip to Egypt. You have to get the Egyptian CDs to learn the Egyptian dialect. Egyptians struggle to understand my wife, they are probably not going to understand an English speaker trying to speak the Damascus dialect.
My guess is that the critical review below stems from trying to use the Eastern Arabic CDs for a trip to Egypt. You have to get the Egyptian CDs to learn the Egyptian dialect. Egyptians struggle to understand my wife, they are probably not going to understand an English speaker trying to speak the Damascus dialect.
32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pimsleur Eastern Arabic I, 2nd Edition (Syrian Dialect)
2 Mar 2007
By Karl Thorsson
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD
This is a review of Pimsleur's Eastern Arabic I, 2nd Edition
Updated 19 August 2009
ABSOLUTELY SUPERB!!!
FIVE STARS HANDS DOWN, 10/10
Crystal Clear Speech from native Syrian speakers
NOTE
This is the first installment in the Eastern Arabic series. After you complete this course you can directly go on to
Pimsleur Eastern Arabic II, Copyright 2006. After completing the latter you can jump to Pimsleur Eastern Arabic III, Copyright 2008.
Pimsleur's 1st edition of Arabic (Eastern) I will not help you make a smooth transition into Eastern Arabic II. Therefore I highly recommend you study with this product, namely Pimsleur's Eastern Arabic I, 2nd Edition.
To illustrate a different aspect of Arabic study I will elaborate further:
If one learns MSA (Modern Standard Arabic), one will learn the language of the Koran, aka Classical Arabic, this is a language used in books, not a language used to communicate with people on a regular basis.
If John Doe learns MSA, he will be eventually understood when he speaks in a shop, and then his interlocutor will respond to John in his/her local dialect, which John will find unintelligible and then the conversation will be over. Nevertheless, if John Doe learns a dialect such as Eastern (Syrian) or Egyptian, he will have a better chance of understanding the response from his Arabic speaking interlocutor.
In my opinion, this is the best Arabic Course if you are headed to Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, where Eastern Arabic is spoken. Additionally, after completing this course, I personally have not had much difficulty in communicating with people from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE (where Gulf Arabic is spoken). Note that Iraqis speak Iraqi Arabic which is different but similar to Syrian, but you will still be able to communicate. The Gulf dialect is also different but more similar to Syrian than Egyptian.
If you are heading for Egypt, you should get Pimsleur Egyptian Arabic instead. Egyptian and Eastern, while sharing the same root have evolved over the centuries.
Updated 19 August 2009
ABSOLUTELY SUPERB!!!
FIVE STARS HANDS DOWN, 10/10
Crystal Clear Speech from native Syrian speakers
NOTE
This is the first installment in the Eastern Arabic series. After you complete this course you can directly go on to
Pimsleur Eastern Arabic II, Copyright 2006. After completing the latter you can jump to Pimsleur Eastern Arabic III, Copyright 2008.
Pimsleur's 1st edition of Arabic (Eastern) I will not help you make a smooth transition into Eastern Arabic II. Therefore I highly recommend you study with this product, namely Pimsleur's Eastern Arabic I, 2nd Edition.
To illustrate a different aspect of Arabic study I will elaborate further:
If one learns MSA (Modern Standard Arabic), one will learn the language of the Koran, aka Classical Arabic, this is a language used in books, not a language used to communicate with people on a regular basis.
If John Doe learns MSA, he will be eventually understood when he speaks in a shop, and then his interlocutor will respond to John in his/her local dialect, which John will find unintelligible and then the conversation will be over. Nevertheless, if John Doe learns a dialect such as Eastern (Syrian) or Egyptian, he will have a better chance of understanding the response from his Arabic speaking interlocutor.
In my opinion, this is the best Arabic Course if you are headed to Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, where Eastern Arabic is spoken. Additionally, after completing this course, I personally have not had much difficulty in communicating with people from Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE (where Gulf Arabic is spoken). Note that Iraqis speak Iraqi Arabic which is different but similar to Syrian, but you will still be able to communicate. The Gulf dialect is also different but more similar to Syrian than Egyptian.
If you are heading for Egypt, you should get Pimsleur Egyptian Arabic instead. Egyptian and Eastern, while sharing the same root have evolved over the centuries.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent starting point
19 Nov 2001
By A Customer
- Published on Amazon.com
What an excellent starting point! Unlike most tapes, this set was slow enough to keep up with and breaks down the pronunciation of a word into manageable pieces. The repetition is helpful to remember the vocabulary. I used it in the car going to work everyday and finished all the tapes in one month. My only regret is that there isn't another expanded set available.
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 17 reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
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