An Introduction to Moroccan Arabic and Culture and the accompanying multimedia DVD are designed to enable students to communicate effectively using Moroccan Arabic. Since Moroccan Arabic is rarely written or used in formal communication, the strength of the book lies in training learners in speaking and listening skills that can be used in everyday situations.
Upon completing this course, students should be able to:
• greet people
• introduce themselves
• ask and reply to simple questions
• use days and numbers in context
• order food
• shop
• make appointments and reservations
• give directions
• talk about future plans
• use common idiomatic expressions
Each chapter includes:
• cultural introductions to social, religious, or cultural aspects of Moroccan society
• listening comprehension exercises
• vocabulary exercises
• dialogues and texts
• conversation practice
• grammar instruction on how native speakers structure their speech
• interactive and video materials to support cultural understanding, listening, speaking, and grammar explanations
The book uses Romanized transcription alongside Arabic script for the first three chapters and thereafter only the Arabic script. It also includes a glossary and answer key. It requires approximately 120 contact hours, plus 180-240 additional hours of preparation outside class. A novice student should reach the intermediate-mid level of proficiency by the end of this course.
Table of Contents
Preface
Letters and sounds
1. Getting Acquainted (Part 1)
2. Getting Acquainted (Part 2)
3. The Family (Part 1)
4. The Family (Part 2)
5. Time
6. Daily Activities
7. At the Café
8. Shopping
9. At the Restaurant
10. In the City
11. Traveling
12. Geography and Weather
13. Ramadan and 'Achoura
14. Clothes and Celebrations
Reviews
"An invaluable resource for classroom instruction at the university level, as well as for independent study of the dialect…an example to follow in the authoring of books of other dialects of Arabic."—Modern Language Journal Reviews Office
"It is my hope that An Introduction to Moroccan Arabic and Culture will be the harbinger of effective dialect learning and teaching materials to come. That is to say, ones like these that are replete with communicative activities adroitly set in their cultural context, and it is particularly useful for anyone who has studied Modern Standard Arabic."—Gerald Lampe, senior academic advisor for Flagship programs and senior research scientist, National Foreign Language Center, University of Maryland
Awards
2011 Illustrated Cover, Large Non-Profit Category of the Washington Publishers Book Design and Effectiveness Awards, Second Place
About the Author
Abdellah Chekayri is an associate professor and coordinator of the Arabic language program at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco.
