Al-Kitaab series
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Author | Kristen Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal, Abbas Al-Tonsi |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | American English |
| Discipline | Arabic |
| Publisher | Georgetown University Press |
| Media type | textbook |
| Website | http://press.georgetown.edu/al-kitaab/about-al-kitaab |
The Al-Kitaab series is a sequence of textbooks for the Arabic language published by Georgetown University Press with the full title Al-Kitaab fii Taʿallum al-ʿArabiyya (Arabic: الكِتاب في تَعَلًُم العَرَبِيّة, "The book of Arabic learning"). It is written by Kristen Brustad, Mahmoud Al-Batal, and Abbas Al-Tonsi and was first published in 1995; since that time, it has become the most popular Arabic textbook in the United States.[1][2]
Brustad and Al-Batal wrote the Al-Kitaab series while they were associate professors of Arabic at the University of Texas at Austin,[3] where they taught for years. They now live in Lebanon, Al-Batal's homeland, and work at the American University of Beirut. Al-Tonsi is a senior lecturer at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar.[3]
Publication history
- Kristen Brustad; Mahmoud al-Batal; Abbas al-Tonsi (2014). Alif Baa: Introduction to Arabic Letters and Sounds (3rd ed.). Georgetown University Press. ISBN 9781589016323.[4]
- Kristen Brustad; Mahmoud al-Batal; Abbas al-Tonsi (2011). Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al-'Arabiyya, Part One: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic (3rd ed.). Georgetown University Press. ISBN 9781589017474.[3]
- Kristen Brustad; Mahmoud al-Batal; Abbas al-Tonsi (2013). Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al'Arabiyya, Part Two: A Textbook for Intermediate Arabic (3rd ed.). Georgetown University Press. ISBN 978-1-58901-962-1.[2]
- Kristen Brustad; Mahmoud al-Batal; Abbas al-Tonsi (2007). Al-Kitaab fii Ta'allum al'Arabiyya, Part Three: A Textbook for Arabic (2nd ed.). Georgetown University Press. ISBN 978-1-58901-962-1.
Alif Baa introduces the basics of the Arabic alphabet.
Part One contains thirteen lessons teaching basic language skills related to daily life.[3] Each lesson contains seven sub-sections: new vocabulary, grammatical rules, a story in dialectal Arabic, the same story in formal Arabic, cultural material, a dialog, and review exercises.[3]
Part Two contains ten lessons, covering daily life and general interest topics.[2] Each lesson is broken down into sub-categories: new vocabulary, grammatical rules, cultural material, and listening, reading and writing exercises.[2] Some reading and writing exercises are drawn from sources of authentic Arabic use, such as Al-Jazeera and Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation.[2]
Part Three contains ten lessons, primarily focused on modern prose texts.[5] It, too, follows the same basic structure of new vocabulary, long readings with accompanying exercises, grammatical lessons, and additional authentic text readings.[5] Chapter Four is focused on Arabic poetry, and subsequent chapters include a number of poems among the readings, which is unusual in textbooks at this level but praised by reviewers.[5] Other readings include short stories by Yahya al-Tahir 'Abd Allah and Tayeb Salih.[5]
The first editions were published beginning in 1995, with the publication of Alif Baa and Part One as a set, accompanied by 4 video cassettes and 23 audio cassettes.[6] Part Two was published in 1997, and accompanied by five audio cassettes.[7] Part Three was published in 2001.[5][8]
The second editions were published beginning in 2004, with the publication of Alif Baa and Part One.[9][10] The audiovisual materials were provided on DVDs, and featured the same scenes of Maha and Khalid re-recorded with new actors and provided in both Fusha and colloquial Egyptian Arabic.[10] Also new recordings added in the second edition included readings of the vocabulary as isolated words and used in a sentence, a "Culture" section with things like songs and interviews with native Arabic speakers, and new listening exercises.[10] The organization of the chapters was not changed, though each chapter had more supporting material and exercises added to it.[10] The second edition of Part Two appeared by 2006, and included 3 DVDs.[11] Part Three appeared by 2007, and included a DVD and an MP3 CD.[12] By 2007, the series also offered "Audio on the Go" MP3 CDs for Alif Baa, Part One, and Part Two.[12]
Third editions have been released for Alif Baa, Part One, and Part Two, but the publishers state that they currently have no plans to publish a third edition of Part Three.[13] Part One was published in 2011.[14] Part Two was published in 2013.[15] The third edition provides audiovisual materials both on DVDs as in the second edition, and online through streaming video and audio.[15] It also includes access to an online course management system, including interactive exercises with automatic grading.[2]