Thirteen Ways to Make a Plural: Preparing to Learn Arabic

About the Book

Arabic is one of the world's most complex and fascinating languages, but many students dive into it without first understanding what they are aiming for, much less knowing how they will get there. Thirteen Ways to Make a Plural: Preparing to Learn Arabic provides essential guidance on making a success of learning Arabic, drawing on the author's personal experience of having been there and done it, along with the insights and advice of countless other students and teachers.

Written in a lively and engaging style, this invaluable primer enables readers to identify the type of Arabic (modern standard or colloquial) suited to their needs, to set realistic learning goals, and to achieve them more efficiently. It includes tried-and-tested methods for improving vocabulary retention, speaking fluency, listening accuracy, and reading skills, while separating the grammar that's needed in the real world from that which can be left for later. It also provides helpful advice on how to make the most of an 'immersion' experience abroad, what it takes to reach an advanced level, and the Arabic required in different professional areas.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. Arabic Essentials: Drawing Your Arabic Roadmap 2. Tricks of the Trade: How to Learn More Effectively 3. Tuning Your Arabic Engine: Grammar You Can’t Ignore 4. Finding the Deep End: Arabic Immersion and Living Abroad 5. Speaking Like a Local: How to Get Really Good 6. The Real World: What Can You Use Arabic For? Common European Framework of Reference Table

About the Author :
Jacob Halpin is a British diplomat who learned Arabic with the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, studying it at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies and at centers in Jordan and Lebanon. He then spent five years posted in the Middle East, living in Baghdad, Beirut, and Amman while also continuing to improve his Arabic. He is now based in London.

Review :
This book is a must-read for anyone considering learning, or already learning, Arabic. It answers the questions and allays the concerns that every Arabic learner faces but that traditional textbooks just don’t tackle. I wish it had been written years ago. I wish I had this guide by my side as I started out on the Arabic journey. Jacob Halpin demystifies, clarifies, and reassures that Arabic can be learned, and indeed mastered. Outstanding. Learning Arabic is an amazing experience, though for some months it can feel more like just a maze. This insightful, sympathetic, and precise guide will help any learner achieve their goals and avoid getting lost on the way. Jacob Halpin’s Thirteen Ways to Make a Plural is an excellent, succinct Arabic primer that would benefit any new student of the language. He offers sound, accurate advice that is evidently grounded in years of Arabic expertise. Highly recommend. This engaging volume is not a text book: it might rather be called a pre-text book. It won’t teach you Arabic, but it will give you an idea of the language. If you are thinking of studying it, or have decided to learn it or are in the early stages of learning it, you will find in it sound practical advice. This is an invaluable guide for Arabic learners and teachers alike. One of the major challenges for students of Arabic as a foreign language is defining which aspects of this vast language and its dialects to learn and in which order; there is no easy answer and for each learner the priorities will differ. This very readable book helps learners to navigate the many different ways to approach studying Arabic and to manage their expectations and better evaluate their progress. Not just for beginners, this thought-provoking book is full of practical tips for intermediate and even advanced learners to develop their weaker skills and move to the next level.