Arabiyyat al-Naas ─ An Intermediate Course in Arabic

Arabiyyat al Naas (Part Two): An Intermediate Course in Arabic offers a vibrant course in Arabic as it is written and spoken today by educated native speakers. Not only does it continue the innovative integration of Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and Levantine Arabic used in Part One of the series, but it does so in a way that supports and develops students’ increased mastery of the language. Combining a greater focus on cultural topics with an increased coverage of MSA, Part Two introduces more sophisticated communication, giving students a deeper awareness of the cultural base of the Arabic language.

Features include:

• Twenty-one theme-based units covering a wide range of relevant and engaging topics, including education and learning, jobs and professions, the Arab woman, religion, money and the economy, politics and government and the environment
• Thorough coverage of listening, speaking, writing and reading skills in every unit, with lessons structured to provide students with variety, stimulation and further opportunities for practice
• Humorous, realistic dialogues reflecting everyday educated speech among Arabs to build up strong and practical communication skills
• A rich variety of reading passages, including poems, short stories, newspaper articles, descriptions of Arab cities and biographies of famous figures, designed to improve comprehension and analytical skills and to deepen students’ knowledge of Arab history, culture, language, and literature
• An extensive range of appealing exercises and activities, including crossword puzzles, root-and-pattern identification exercises, passage completions, guided and free compositions, and songs
• Free accompanying CD that includes audio recordings of the listening materials in the 21 units and a number of songs tied to their themes
• Free companion website (www.routledge.com/cw/younes) featuring the texts of the listening passages, the audio recordings available on the CD , a track list of all the audio materials, the answer keys to the crossword puzzles, sample tests and language games.

Developed by an experienced and dynamic author team and tested over a number of years at Cornell University, Arabiyyat al Naas (Part Two) will be an essential resource for intermediate-level students of Arabic. While primarily designed for classroom use, the accessibility of the course also renders it highly suitable for independent study.

Munther Younes is a Reis Senior Lecturer of Arabic Language and Linguistics and Director of the Arabic Program in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University, USA.

Hanada Al-Masri is Assistant Professor of Arabic at Denison University, USA.