Basic knowledge in modern arabic : Al-Manhaj

Course I, lesson 01

Lesson 1 For every part of the lesson which leads to an oral work you will find the related recordings which will be signalled thanks to the following two icons : and numbered track by track, the first track being used for the theme music.

* First step : understanding / memorising :
Listen to the text or dialogue as often as necessary. Check by comparing with the full translation enclosed at the end of the lesson. We have deliberately chosen not to put the translation right next to the dialogue, so as to prompt the learner to listen carefully to the dialogue and try to understand the vocabulary by himself. Once understood the dialogue will only need memorising fully by repeating every line outloud, so as to improve the pronunciation, the rhythm and the intonation... It may then be useful to go back to the written text to try and identify the "global" pattern of every line. Every word from the dialogue can be found in the vocabulary together with its translation.

* Second step : writing Icon :
the djinn who is writing. The letters which must be learnt will be shown in their different positions, with examples and the necessary explanations.

* Third step : phonetic exercises Icon ;
the djinn who is listening. You have to make out which sounds are characteristic of the Arabic language and do not exist in English. That is the reason why not all the letters which you can find in the different lessons will appear in the tables.

* Fourth step : learning how to write Arabic correctly Icon :
the djinn who is writing. The letters which you have to learn appear in their different written forms, from the first initial lines to the final written form. They can all be found at the end of each lesson in the order of their appearance. You are meant to learn how to move your hand to get as close as possible to the Arabic way of writing and learn new writing habits. Do write as much and as long as need be, following the examples marked with arrows, so as to get a fluent, adequate and readable handwriting.

* Fifth step : writing exercises
From the tables of programmed letters on, you will be given a series of writing exercises. The series starts with a list of words all made up of letters which you have already studied. You will first need to listen carefully to the way each word is read, so as to memorise them as well as possible, then you can start doing the exercises.

Course I, lessons 02, 03

Lesson 2 Follow the same steps.

Lesson 3 Follow the same steps as for lessons 1 & 2. The third lesson explains the first basic grammatical structures. Icon : the djinn with the jumla table. It must be said that this part of the lesson cannot in any way be considered as a thorough grammatical analysis: it is just meant to help understand the few main basic grammatical structures which you will find in each lesson so as for you to be able to master them correctly when doing the related exercises. For each grammar point you will find three figures: the first number corresponds to the sequence, the second one to the lesson, the third one to the grammar point in hand. Example: 2.1.1 = sequence 2, lesson 1, 1st grammar point.

Read next : Courses 02 to 05 : lessons : 04 to 11