Elementary Arabic I

Reviewed by Reem Shishakly, Senior Lecturer of Arabic, University of Texas at Arlington on 3/30/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

After using this text book I found it comprehensive, but I added grammar notes that I found appropriate to introduce.
1- IDafa construction is introduced in Elementary Arabic II but I introduced it earlier while still on Elementary Arabic I. I recommend introducing the concept in Elementary Arabic I.
2- The alphabet is introduced in alphabetical order, but some of the letters and sounds were included in activities before getting introduced, which caused some confusion to the students. The alphabets can be introduced faster and can be grouped according to their similar written forms instead of in alphabetical order. Otherwise, the textbook chapters are sequenced and connected logically and smoothly.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Very few typing errors spotted.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Topics are basic themes that are the usual topics for beginning language learners.

Clarity rating: 5

English explanation of grammar notes is simple, and avoids unnecessary details. The English language usage is minimal and limited to activity instructions, grammar notes and culture notes.
The language concepts and activities' instructions are clear & concise.

Consistency rating: 5

The textbook is organized in a consistent method with consistent lessons in each chapter. Staring with introduction of letters and sounds, followed by

Modularity rating: 5

The nature of the subject makes this item not applicable, but I was able to merge activities from different resources easily into the chapters as needed.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This is stated above already. Meaningful and logical organization.

Interface rating: 5

Easy to navigate between the pdf copy and the online interactive companion website. The online website includes all the pdf page plus the interactive links to the activities. I was unable to use online correction and scoring of students' assignments, but the activities online are easy to copy and paste to the educational platform of Canvas, which made it quite easy to correct and score.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

No grammatical errors found.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Each chapter includes a cultural topic relevant to the topic of the chapter. Logical and appropriate and introduced in clear simple English language.

Comments

The book comes with weekly end of chapter assignment and a weekly review assignment. Those were excellent to wrap up the chapters and were used as part of assessments. However, other assessments were created.
Finally, this book is designed to align with the ACTFL language standards and more importantly, following the "Teaching-for- Proficiency" approach which is the latest and most dynamic in language teaching methodology. Students' progress and acquiring of the language was fast and consistent with all students regardless of their personal aptitude & capacities. Elementary Arabic I is an excellent book. I recommend this book along with Elementary Arabic II.