Mastering Arabic 2 Paperback + CD Audio Paperback – 1 Mar. 2009

I'm really happy with Mastering Arabic 2. It's really what I was looking for and makes learning the language REALLY enjoyable :).Best points:- TONS of new vocabulary that is really USEFUL and related to that chapter's concept. For EACH word both the singular and plural is given automatically :). Examples: In Chapter 1 you are taught ALL the words related to family members plus subject pronouns (me, she, they etc.) and attached pronouns (our, their, his etc.)! In Chapter 3 (which is work related) they give words for 23 different professions right at the start: (teacher, accountant, student, reporter, nurse, engineer, baker, singer, pupil, chef, carpenter, journalist, doctor, lawyer, designer, representative, artist, builder, driver, guard, manager, assistant, worker).- For EACH word both the singular and plural is always given so you never have to guess and wonder! (Deserves its own mention!)- There are also many great example sentences. In Chapter 1 you learn to say: I was born on March 7 in the year... My father was a dentist. I moved to the capital in the year... What are you studying? Are you a student? Who's this? How are you? Where do you live? Why do you work at night? What's your job? I am (originally) from... My address is 6 Al-Malik Street, Amman. - And many many more :D! And all these are given in simple example sentences so you learn A LOT right off the bat, so no guessing! You actually learn how to tell about yourself right at the start.- Excellent grammar advice which is simply explained and to the point. In Chapter 1 you learn aforementioned pronouns plus nisba adjectives (couldn't be explained any easier!), all kinds of greetings (from ahlan! to as3ad allaah sabaahakum bi-kulli khayr - all given in Arabic example sentences of course!), In Chapter 2 plural forming (sound plurals, broken plural, collective nouns etc...), In Chapter 3 all present tense conjugations and info on irregular verbs (really well put together!), plus all kinds of information on forming sentences, cultural tips, grammar tips etc. are found pretty much in every page!- On top of all the tips and grammar advice given throughout a chapter, there's also a special grammar section, printed in grey paper to be more easily recognizable, marked 'Review' which explains a grammar section in detail - and again, to the point! Like in Chapter 2 the plural forming.- There are plenty of versatile exercises that are at the same time fun and challenging! They are exactly related to the concept learned at the time so you must use your brain so that the new information sinks in, but you never feel like it's something you couldn't do or are uncertain about!- To ALL the exercises there are clearly printed answers in the 'Answers Section' at the back of the book, containing all the possible charts and drawings related to that exercise so it's really AMAZING and well put together. Never before have I seen an answer key that is so easy to follow!- One of the best features is the ''Cultural Section', at the end of each chapter in which you are introduced to an Arabic speaking country and to the features of its dialect. You can hear a local speaking of him/herself in their natural dialect AND an exact transcript (in Arabic) and translation (in English) is provided in the Answers section! So you are yet again exposed to new vocabulary and can practice your listening and comprehension skills as well as reading skills, but in a fun way because you are told what is said!- The book starts with the very basics/quick review of the things learned before (depends which way you wanna look at it): The exact first thing you are taught when you open the Chapter 1 is the following: My name is... I live in... My address is... I am (+ nationality/job). I am (originally) from... Also you are taught many greetings, pronouns, all the question words, names for family members, nationalities etc. so this book is really suitable for a beginner! (Of course, you must know how to read/write Arabic.)- When you reach the end you are able to say the following: Air pollution is likely to damage our health. You must do physical exercises every day. It might cause a rise in blood pressure. The machines in the factory are operated by solar energy because it is natural energy and environmentally friendly. Don't turn over the question paper. Listen to these important instructions. The temperature will be slow at night. They won't find us a room in the hotel. Write a suitable word in the gap. I enjoy reading novels, but I'm not interested in plays. My daughter enjoys pop songs, but I prefer the opera. We like watching TV, but we don't go to the cinema often. - To give you some idea! So, by the end you really know how to speak Arabic and have learned all kinds of grammar and verb structures.- On top of all the little word charts throughout that chapter there is always a VOCABULARY at the end of each chapter that compiles all the words learned together with their plurals, verbs and also some phrases for easy recap.- Because of the vocabulary section where you can revise and learn the words plus all the charts and word lists provided in every chapter, it is very easy to check up a word anytime! Don't remember what 'aunt' or 'mother-in-law' is? Quick peak on that family members list! Don't recall 'lawyer'? Check the profession list! Need a reminder on verb formation? Check the grey grammar section. And so on.If you haven't got the idea yet, this book is FANTASTIC :D!Bad points:There's no Mastering Arabic 3 :D! (To my knowledge.)General note:Remember that this book teaches MSA, Modern Standard Arabic, and not dialects spoken in Arab countries (except for the cultural sections where you can hear colloquial Arabic spoken). Even if you wanted to learn to speak a colloquial dialect, I would say you'd benefit tremendously from this course and all the general vocabulary and grammar taught.Obviously this book contains the audio material: 2 CDs and the whole package is in a convenient (hard) cardboard box! (If you buy the right edition, at least.)Comparison on Al-Kitaab:I bought this book at the same time I bought the Al-Kitaab series... and it's a pretty striking comparison! I WANT to learn more and more and complete more chapters with Mastering Arabic 2, while studying Al-Kitaab feels unpleasant and strenuous effort. If you plan on using Al-Kitaab you'll definitely need another recourse like this one to broaden your vocabulary. This is way better than Al-Kitaab in every aspect, and all the grammar and vocabulary I learn from this one. Al-Kitaab is good only for teaching also the spoken language (Egyptian and Levantine) but due to the huge lack of vocabulary that isn't even that great of an aspect either. Warning on Al-Kitaab buyers: You MUST have some prior knowledge of Arabic before using it. It is NOT suitable for beginners, and it teaches specific academic phrases, NOT general language and vocabulary. With Al-Kitaab alone you are unable to speak Arabic with people (You will learn to say things like 'I'm a specialist in anthropology' but you won't be able to say 'I work as a dentist/lawyer'). If you buy Mastering Arabic 2 too, it will fill all the gaps left with Al-Kitaab. If you just want to learn to understand and speak Arabic, I advise you to not buy the Al-Kitaab at all! The money is much better spent in Mastering Arabic 1 & 2 plus some reference material.Lastly, check out these:- Mastering Arabic 1 (Don't have it so can't say anything about it.)- Arabic Stories  Arabic Stories for Language Learners: Traditional Middle-Eastern Tales In Arabic and English : HUGE inspiration! Highly recommend to every Arabic learner out there. Greatly expanses your vocabulary and sense of language features/grammar while you listen and read the stories. Each story is about one page long and exact translation in English is given on parallel page, so you can first read the translation to give you general idea what's being talked about, and then expand by following the Arabic script while listening, or by trying to read the sentences out loud with the help of the CD.

Really useful and has many keywords which can help improve practicle language skills also will be taking it on holiday when visiting any arab country as it has alot of useful vocab

Made learning Arabic easy and fun.

as advertised good product

It would be INFINITELY better if the CD covered the vocab list: as it is it's really hard to learn the vocab, since it doesn't given pronunciation for it either, so you'd better be really certain about how you pronounce all the letters. I'm not - I find it very, very hard.

Good learning material

Fantastic service. The book was what taught me the basics of Arabic, it was that good I purchased the following course. Teaches you to speak, read and write Arabic.

Better then number one.Easy..well explained.