Best Price: $74
(CD Version)

Our Rating:
37%

Ahlan wa Sahlam review

By Gerrit du Plessis

Yale Language Series' Ahlan wa Sahlan: Functional Modern Standard Arabic for Beginners (10 CDs plus textbook, $72.00). This program was actually intended to be used at the college level, but has all the components necessary for home use as well. The program's developer, Mahdi Alosh, presents the material as a story, which illustrates contemporary Arabic culture in a very entertaining way. This really could be an excellent way to learn Arabic, online or off, except for some rather glaring problems that could have been easily addressed.

The quality of the sound on the CDs is extraordinarily poor. The CDs are supposed to be used in combination with the textbook, but they don't seem in synch with one another. Since the file format of the audio CDs is mp3, it's natural to assume they could be downloaded onto an iPad, but in fact, you would almost have to be a computer geek to do so. The textbook also has multiple typographical errors.

Until Ahlan wa Sahlan addresses some of these issues, I could not recommend it at all, even for the relatively low price of $72.00.

Rather try a proven course like Rocket Arabic.

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