Reviews

Hundreds of resources to help you teach yourself

Just a Few of Your Many, Many Memrise Language Choices!

4-5 Arabic, Apps, Audio Lessons, Flashcards, Multimedia, Vocabulary, Websites, Kids

I am now a hard-core Memrise addict. It is all over for me, but stop reading here and you could be saved from a similar fate. Still reading? Beware, compulsive types! If you try this website—which is free, making…

30 Pimsleur Lessons for Modern Standard Arabic

5 Arabic, Audio Lessons

I really, really, really wish Pimsleur offered 90 lessons for Modern Standard Arabic, often referred to as MSA. I love Pimsleur, and 30 lessons aren’t nearly enough! Pimsleur is a great resource for dozens of languages. It is extremely interactive…

Pimsleur Egyptian Arabic: If Only There Were More Than 30 Lessons!

5 Arabic, Audio Lessons

Pimsleur offers highly interactive audio lessons, each about half an hour long, that have so far impressed me more than any other teach-yourself product for spoken language skills. Everyone has different language-learning tastes, though, so before you buy, I recommend…

Schoenhof's Website Is a Window to the World

5 Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Websites, Bookstores/Libraries, Kids

Founded in 1856, Schoenhof’s claims to have the “largest collection of foreign books in North America.” As a student at Harvard, I used to shop at their main store in Harvard Square for my language and literature course materials. I…

This Is a Great Little Book

5 Arabic, Books

I loved The Arabic Alphabet: How to Read & Write It by Nicholas Awde and Putros Samano. It is hard-core, sincere, and careful. I learned a ton from it. There is much useful vocabulary in there alongside…

I Often Did Pimsleur Arabic on the Floor; It Made It Easier to Focus

5 Arabic, Audio Lessons

I love Pimsleur and have used it for 15 different languages to date. Pimsleur Eastern Arabic consists of a series of exquisitely designed audio lessons, roughly half an hour each, in which you are constantly challenged to speak Arabic in response…

It Says Easy, But It Didn't Work Out That Way For Me

2-5 Arabic, Books

I did not find Easy Arabic Grammar, by Jane Wightwick and Mahmoud Gaafar, easy. I admit I had a brief spell of euphoric pleasure when I was reading the early pages, where I enjoyed an excellent and reassuring…

You Can Speak the Word You Want Translated...

5 Arabic, Dutch, English, French, General, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Yiddish, Apps, Dictionaries

I have a tendency not to get around to downloading iPhone apps onto my iPhone, but fortunately I have a husband who will take my phone and do it for me. I’m very glad he stuck this app on…

Teach Yourself Arabic? Nope, I Couldn't Teach Myself with This

2 Arabic, Books, Multimedia

I used Teach Yourself Arabic by Jack Smart and Frances Altorfer back in 2009, and it struck me as an example of language-learning marketing trumping actual usability. This book-CD combo was a total bust for me. I confess I…

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