Alif Baa: Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds

Now revised and packaged with two DVDs containing both audio and video exercises, Alif Baa with DVDs: Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds is the first part of the Al-Kitaab program. It teaches learners to recognize and produce both letters and sounds accurately through a variety of exercises designed to develop listening, reading, and writing skills. In addition, it introduces a range of Arabic from colloquial to standard in authentic contexts, video footage of an Arabic calligrapher, and a large collection of street signs from Morocco, Egypt, and Lebanon.

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 more evenly distributed throughout the book, introduced through color pictures on DVD and activated through book and classroom exercises. Social greetings are introduced through new versions of dialogue that take place in an Egyptian context. Finally, it includes capsules on Arab culture as well as an English-Arabic glossary. Alif Baa provides the essential first twenty to twenty-five contact hours of instruction that lay the groundwork for the rest of the Al-Kitaab language program.

Kristen Brustad is an associate professor of Arabic at the University of Texas at Austin.

Mahmoud Al-Batal is an associate professor of Arabic and the director of the Arabic Flagship Program at the University of Texas at Austin.

Abbas Al-Tonsi is a professor of Arabic at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar.