Arabic Language Readers

Arabic language readers serve two purposes; firstly they give the student extra practice of the Arabic language and secondly they add insight to the understanding of the Arabic world. Unfortunately at present there are too few Arabic language readers which are accessible to new students of the Arabic language. Here are two Arabic language readers which we think are most suitable for beginners and intermediate students.

Sahlawayhi 1: Graded Stories for Beginners (Arabic Edition)

“This is the first-ever series of graded stories for beginning and intermediate adult learners of Arabic as a foreign language. It is based on the following pedagogical principles: 1. gradual introduction of vocabulary and structure, in context. 2. frequent recycling of both. 3. a huge volume of comprehensible input. The 24 stories in this reader are divided into 6 levels of 4 stories each. Levels 1-3 for beginners, levels 4-6 for intermediate students. The stories range from 200 – 400 words.” (Amazon Product Description)

“After searching hi and low, I finally found the reader I’ve been looking for. This book is designed for someone who has finished about a year of Arabic study or who has completed an introductory course book through self-study…. , but other than that it’s mostly words/grammar that a first year student would know at the beginning. This book has been a great help, as the vocab is useful and progresses at a nice slow pace, with 10-15 pages of reading and recap for each vocab list. Also, each vocab list (besides the first which includes every word they think you should already know) introduces around 20-30 new words (with short vowels written in), which didn’t seem to fast because you see these words repeated across so many pages before progressing to the next section. But best of all, this book is part of series, which I fully intend to complete.” (An Amazon Customer Review)

• Good for reading practice and vocabulary acquisition
• A lot of conversational language
• Part of 3 book series for beginners, intermediate to follow

• No English translations of the stories

Sahlawayhi 1: Graded Stories for Beginners (Arabic Edition)

by Ahmed H. Khorshid [CreateSpace]

Price: $14.72

Find out more on Amazon!

Read Arabic: An Arabic Reader for Arabic Students at All Levels

“Up until now, material intended for novice readers of Arabic has been difficult to acquire for students as well as teachers. The Arabic texts in this book are intended for a wide section of students and, no matter what linguistic level students have at the outset, the materials may function as the basis of a diversified reading practice. The book is made up of Arabic reading material at three different levels which comprise different genres and include short stories, concise descriptions of regions and countries, as well as letters. Read Arabic gives the reader insight into a varied selection of different writing styles.” (Amazon Product Description)

“This small tome certainly had the potential to fill a gap in the Arabic-teaching corpus, by providing teachers with a large number of simple texts with a repeated vocabulary that are very useful in increasing the reading speed and capabilities through repetition of beginning Arabic students with a limited vocabulary. Such repetition in simple vocabulary is almost impossible to obtain in authentic texts (i.e., those written for native speakers), and hence the book gives beginners a chance to read without suffering the frustration of a more difficult text. With stories arranged from simplest to most difficult, the book also provides a useful tool for the self-taught Arabic student. ” (An Amazon Customer Review)

• Repetition of simple vocabulary, ideal for beginners
• Wide range of subject matter

• Does contain some misprints

Read Arabic: An Arabic Reader for Arabic Students at All Levels

by Gunna Funder Hansen [University Press of Southern Denmark]

Price: $22.00

Find out more on Amazon!

 

 

If you know of any more suitable Arabic language readers, books of short stories or books of poetry, that are suitable for beginners in Arabic, please add a comment!