FROM MSA to CA: A Beginner's Guide to Transitioning to Colloquial Arabic
For a beginner’s level of Arabic, the book covers some limited issues related to transitioning from Arabic MSA to Egyptian CA. It covers well some basic Vocabulary words and Grammar rules in contextual cultural content. It provides a glossary and introduction clarifying its contents and outcomes.
The content is accurate. However, as its title indicates, I think the book may benefit more by being more inclusive to other CA Arabic not only the Egyptian CA, otherwise it should have been clarified in the title.
On the other hand, I think there might have been more vocalization on some words to help in correct pronouncing. For example, page 61 the word ????
I think the book could be more supportive by including more interactive exercises and diverse cultural activities.
The text is clear, informative and accessible to students of beginner Arabic.
The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.
The four chapters of this book are clear and well organized. Each chapter can be downloaded as PDF which I think is helpful to learners. Adding more real life videos and images that can be downloaded would be more beneficial. I think there is a little educational benefit of most of the images found in the book.
The topics are generally presented in a clear and logical manner. It is suitable for the beginner’s transition from MSA to Egyptian CA. However, the presentation lacks coherence and flow between the chapters.
No significant interface issues.
The grammar presented is at the beginner level. No noticeable grammar errors.
While the book makes clear in its introduction that it will present cultural insights related to the main topics presented in the chapters which help the students become more familiar with acceptable behaviors in an Arab country, I think the topics of the book offer more cultural insights than the ones presented.
Overall, this book is useful for students learning Arabic. It is needed as a transitioning aid from Arabic MSA to Egyptian CA. Thank you for the effort and time in producing this book. However, given the lack of activities and diversity regarding another Arabic CA, such as Levantine, Gulf etc. I would recommend updating the book and develop material to fill this gap to become relevant to larger number of students learning Arabic.