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. Makda G. Weatherspoon is a Senior Lecturer of Arabic in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at Cornell University, USA. Maha Saliba Foster is a teaching Professor of Arabic at the Center for World Languages and Cultures and the Languages and Literatures and Cultures at the University of Denver, USA.
Arabic is a multiglossic language, and to teach it effectively a spoken variety and Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) must both be included. Munther Younes’s pioneering Integrated Approach shows that it is possible to learn Arabic the way native speakers use it, listening and speaking in spoken Arabic and reading and writing in Modern Standard Arabic. I’ve been teaching with the ‘Arabiyyat al-Naas series for many years and I’m delighted with the improvements that the author team has made to this new edition of Book I. Congratulations! Victoria Aguilar, Profesora Titular de Lengua Árabe de la Universidad de Murcia Younes, Weatherspoon and Foster are to be commended for a method that enables learners to develop real-world proficiency in everyday, spoken Arabic, as well as the formal register. From the very start, Arabiyyat Al-Naas, Part One balances audio, visual and written texts to introduce stimulating and essential aspects of the language and its cultures. The textbook and its companion website offer a wealth of input through varied activities and materials, along with clear grammatical explanations. Arabiyyat Al-Naas is a well-conceived and exciting learning resource that empowers learners to reach the intermediate-low level. Nader K. Uthman, Language Director & Arabic Language Coordinator, New York University Arabiyyat al-Naas is the best textbook for a meaningful, engaging, encouraging introduction to Arabic. By focusing on language relevant to students’ needs and lives right from Lesson 1, and integrating every aspect of orthography, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar into that framework of immediately useful language, learners are truly and meaningfully communicating with each other from the very beginning. Most of all, learners are communicating as Arabs themselves do: in Modern Standard Arabic on paper, and orally in the colloquial. Arabic instructor and Ph.D. student in second language acquisition