Job Discussion Forums

cam · Joined: 22 Jan 2003 Posts: 124 Location: Maine, USA

Has anyone used the program Tell Me More 5.0 (Arabic 1 and 2) from Auralog to learn Arabic? If so, did it help? Is the program available in the Middle East?

kuberkat · Joined: 03 Jun 2005 Posts: 358 Location: Oman

Cam, several Arabic programmes are available in teh UAE and Oman (I haven't visited other ME states yet), but I haven't seen the Tell Me More series. Of course, if you live here there are some formal classes available, and you could also arrange more informal classes or language exchange.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

So, Kuber... do you think he's still checking for answers after 4 months? Laughing

VS

kuberkat · Joined: 03 Jun 2005 Posts: 358 Location: Oman

VS, Cam just might be blessed with your persistence. But seriously, I've often found myself digging up old threads rather than open up a new one asking the same question, and it's nice when there are some answers. Especially at this time of year, a whole new intake is out there somewhere, many of those recruited for Oman making their first plunge into the Gulf-O-Rama... maybe they wanna know. Embarassed

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Summertime thread resurrection... a board tradition?

This one had a very esoteric question which is probably why no one answered it.

VS

kuberkat · Joined: 03 Jun 2005 Posts: 358 Location: Oman

Summertime Board Resurrection, yes... fear not: I am finally going on holiday (home! the horror!) tomorrow, where internet access is too slow to let me wake the dead. Roll on those lazy, hazy crazy days of summer as I shiver away in the southern hemisphere, VS...

cam · Joined: 22 Jan 2003 Posts: 124 Location: Maine, USA

First, I am still looking for answers after 4 months. I am waiting for my visa to come through for the KSA and I wanted to get a headstart on learning some Arabic before I arrived. I used the Tell Me More Series for German and I was able to get a grasp of the language in a few weeks. I know that Arabic will not be so easy but nonetheless I would like to learn a few words and simple phrases.

Second, VS how did you learn Arabic?

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

Have a good holiday Kuberkat!!

Hey Cam... glad to see that you are persistent. Laughing

Well, the good news is that you won't have that much need for Arabic in Saudi. I learned 90% of my Arabic from my students, taxi drivers, and shopkeepers when in Cairo for a few years. Living there you need at least survival skills in the language. Then I got to the Gulf and never used it at all... except to amuse the students.

The thing in the Gulf is that most of your interaction is with fellow expats... most of whom speak Urdu or Hindi or English. The Arabic speakers that you meet are usually your students and you are their only source of practice in English. Before going I would familiarize myself with the alphabet and sound system... and then use your students to teach you the basic politeness structures. Much of it is very formalized...(statement X gets response Y) and varies slightly between Arabic speaking countries. And since these are students, I would confirm what they teach you with others before using it widely... until you learn who the tricksters are. Laughing

I also used the students and my fellow teachers who were Arabic speakers to learn the basics of the grammar and where the differences caused interference. This was especially useful since I usually taught writing.

VS

kuberkat · Joined: 03 Jun 2005 Posts: 358 Location: Oman

Er, yes, I am still waking the dead in the mean time.

Cleopatra · Posted: Sat Jul 08, 2006 4:11 pm Post subject:

cam · Joined: 22 Jan 2003 Posts: 124 Location: Maine, USA

Having read the Middle East and Saudi forums for the past few months it appears that it is not really necessary to learn Arabic to survive there. I guess I will try to learn a few useful phrases when I arrive as suggested by several of the posters on this board.

qas419 · Joined: 12 Jun 2006 Posts: 32

There seems to be a very interesting linguistic phenomenon in the Middle East and especially in the Arab World where people prefer to speak with foreigners in English sometimes broken English than speaking in their own mother-tongue. However, this is not the case in other Asian countires like India and Thailand where people resond positively to any foreigner who speaks their language. Most of the phrases and words that an ESL teacher will pick up in Saudi wont be of any beneficial linguistic value outside Saudi Arabia even in the Arab world. The Saudis rarely use lax or reduction or assimiliated sounds like the Egyptians and the Lebenese. Thus, it is very difficult to catch these sounds and the intonation which is often accompanied with facial and hand movements and gestures. Egyptian or Lebense Arabic is much easier for foreigners to learn. The best thing for an ESL learner in Saudi is to learn some situational standard Arabic which is meant for tourists. Good luck