( 11 reviews )
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Posted: Oct 14 2008
I have used other Pimsleur programs with great success. I also managed to use this one, but with significantly more struggling. One of the main problems is that the speakers, after carefully pronouncing a word out for you, will say it at regular speed and it sounds quite different. The male voice says the exact same word differently than the female voice, which is frustrating. The female voice is also nasal, high-pitched, and frankly it was grating on my nerves by the end. I also had difficulty because it seemed as if the speakers weren't repeating themselves as often as they do in the other language CDs by Pimsleur. I do highly recommend any Pimsleur program and own two different languages by them, and I am definitely adding more. The Eastern Arabic, if practiced, will make you sound a lot like someone from Syria, which will probably go over better than sounding like an American that is trying to speak Arabic. I like the program but this particular set... not so much.
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Posted: Aug 3 2008
The Pimsleur method has been working very well for me so far. It really makes learning foreign languages easy.
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Posted: May 26 2008
This product is a great way for someone with little to no knowledge of Arabic to get a solid footing in the language. I disagree with the other reviewer who says that they should have released the arabic program in modern standard arabic, as opposed to the easter dialect. Most people when they are learning a language are learning it for a specific reason, (i.e a trip, or because they are romantically envolved with someone who speaks it) In this case this program is directed towards people who want to learn Arabic to communicate with people in the middle east, specifically in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine, hence the name "eastern arabic". If a traveler to any of these countries spent their time learning Modern Standard Arabic prior to their trip they would find it very useless, as NO ONE uses it on a daily basis, and they will not be able to understand a thing that anyone in these countries is talking about. The only people who should learn MSA are people that are studying the language in depth and who seek to become fluent in the literary langugae, and be able to read books and watch news broadcasts in Arabic, which are usually broadcast in MSA to ensure intelligiblity to Arabic speakers accross the Arabic Speaking world who may not be from the specific dialect-area where the broadcast originated from (ie. Algezeera.) For most people the fun of learning a language is being able to have every day conversations with people, greetings, asking for directions, ordering meals etc. What good would it do the average tourist/business person if on trip to the middle east they could understand a news broadcast, but not be able to understand if someone on the street was simply asking them what their name is? Also, contrary to what this other reviewer said, the media, literature, and the educated do NOT communicate in Arabic in any Muslim country where Arabic is not the official language. Arabic will be of absolutely no use to you if you're traveling to Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, or any other non-arab Muslim country, unless of course you happen to be traveling to these countries for some kind of Islamic conference where you will be reading the Koran. As a final point, Pimsleur seeks to teach its customers to speak an every day version of the language they are learning, and the truth is that Modern Standard Arabic is not a language used in everyday situations. Another problem with learning MSA as opposed to a specific dialect, is that although the people to whom you are speaking will likely be able to understand what you are saying, you will not understand their responses.
