This post has been included on my new blog: http://welovearabic.wordpress.com
Beginners and GCSE level
* Holidays vocab wordsearch (on Transparent Arabic blog)
Showing posts with label GCSE. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GCSE. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
10 facts about Arabic
This post has been included on my new blog: http://welovearabic.wordpress.com
The BBC website has a great article about the language in English and in Arabic, and downloadable as an MP3.
The BBC website has a great article about the language in English and in Arabic, and downloadable as an MP3.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
GCSE vocabulary on Arabicpod101
This post has been included on my new blog: http://welovearabic.wordpress.com
Building sentences with videos
These brilliant video podcasts, available on itunes and their website, are a great way to learn vocabulary by associating it with sweet pictures and stories. First you're shown individual words with pictures, then a short video with a whole sentence, and at the end is a test where you're shown the video and have a few seconds to say the sentence before you're shown it again. The language is clear, standard Arabic.
By topic
* Daily routine: getting ready in the morning
* Daily routine: relaxing in the evening
* Transport: walking, bus, car, plane
* Classroom phrases 1
* Classroom phrases 2
* Talking about technology: phones, SMS, emails and surfing the net
General vocabulary
* Top 20 Arabic verbs 1 - do, make, want, love, use
* Top 20 Arabic verbs 2
* Top 20 Arabic verbs 3
* Top 20 Arabic verbs 4
Vocabulary with pictures
These videos are more simple: just a series of pictures introducing vocabulary which you're tested on at the end. But they're still a really nice way to pick up a few more words or test yourself, with some relaxing jazz background music!
* Vegetables
* Fruit
* Transport
* Places around town
* Parts of the body
* Cooking in the kitchen
* Weather
* Clothing
* In a bookshop
* Describing a room
* Office
* Jobs
* Arabic fairy tales!
* Sport
* School subjects
* Colours
* Computers
* Winter
* Summer
* Dating
Key vocabulary in sample sentences
NB. Egyptian pronunciation!
These videos are a bit harder (described by Arabicpod101 as "beginners" whereas the ones above are for "absolute beginners" - I'd describe these as pre-intermediate as opposed to beginners) and introduce you to sample sentences illustrating the new vocabulary. The sample sentences will include a lot of words you don't know, especially verbs: don't worry about that, but just try to follow the pronunciation with the help of the subtitles and listen out for the key word.
* Positive emotions
* Negative emotions
* At the table: yum yum... hungry and thirsty...
* Natural disasters
* Weather
* Sports
* More sports
* Daily activities 1
* Daily activities 2
* Daily activities 3
Building sentences with videos
These brilliant video podcasts, available on itunes and their website, are a great way to learn vocabulary by associating it with sweet pictures and stories. First you're shown individual words with pictures, then a short video with a whole sentence, and at the end is a test where you're shown the video and have a few seconds to say the sentence before you're shown it again. The language is clear, standard Arabic.
By topic
* Daily routine: getting ready in the morning
* Daily routine: relaxing in the evening
* Transport: walking, bus, car, plane
* Classroom phrases 1
* Classroom phrases 2
* Talking about technology: phones, SMS, emails and surfing the net
General vocabulary
* Top 20 Arabic verbs 1 - do, make, want, love, use
* Top 20 Arabic verbs 2
* Top 20 Arabic verbs 3
* Top 20 Arabic verbs 4
Vocabulary with pictures
These videos are more simple: just a series of pictures introducing vocabulary which you're tested on at the end. But they're still a really nice way to pick up a few more words or test yourself, with some relaxing jazz background music!
* Vegetables
* Fruit
* Transport
* Places around town
* Parts of the body
* Cooking in the kitchen
* Weather
* Clothing
* In a bookshop
* Describing a room
* Office
* Jobs
* Arabic fairy tales!
* Sport
* School subjects
* Colours
* Computers
* Winter
* Summer
* Dating
Key vocabulary in sample sentences
NB. Egyptian pronunciation!
These videos are a bit harder (described by Arabicpod101 as "beginners" whereas the ones above are for "absolute beginners" - I'd describe these as pre-intermediate as opposed to beginners) and introduce you to sample sentences illustrating the new vocabulary. The sample sentences will include a lot of words you don't know, especially verbs: don't worry about that, but just try to follow the pronunciation with the help of the subtitles and listen out for the key word.
* Positive emotions
* Negative emotions
* At the table: yum yum... hungry and thirsty...
* Natural disasters
* Weather
* Sports
* More sports
* Daily activities 1
* Daily activities 2
* Daily activities 3
Sunday, January 9, 2011
This is how - هيك
This song is in Levantine dialect, so if you've been learning standard Arabic only, here are a few differences to be aware of:
* هيك= هكذا = thus, in this way, this is the way that ...
* In the present tense, verbs have a 'b-' at the start
* ق isn't pronounced
* بكرة= غدا = tomorrow
How do you say...?
* the birds fly
* the kids clap their hands
* early tomorrow morning
* we'll pick flowers and jasmine
* هيك= هكذا = thus, in this way, this is the way that ...
* In the present tense, verbs have a 'b-' at the start
* ق isn't pronounced
* بكرة= غدا = tomorrow
How do you say...?
* the birds fly
* the kids clap their hands
* early tomorrow morning
* we'll pick flowers and jasmine
Imperative
The word Imperative is the grammatical term to refer to the type of sentence where you are telling someone to do something. The following are all examples of the imperative in English:
"Please, sit down."
"Shut up and leave me alone!"
"Put the kettle on."
There are special rules for forming imperative verbs in Arabic, which I'll outline here shortly.
Here are a few songs which use the imperative:
* My sheep - يا غنماتي
* I am the Wind أنا الهواء
"Please, sit down."
"Shut up and leave me alone!"
"Put the kettle on."
There are special rules for forming imperative verbs in Arabic, which I'll outline here shortly.
Here are a few songs which use the imperative:
* My sheep - يا غنماتي
* I am the Wind أنا الهواء
Grammar help
The grammar sections of this blog are a work in progress - very slow progress! Please keep an eye on the blog and I hope to make more time for updating these areas in the course of the school year 2011-12. If you have any specific grammar questions, please do leave a comment and I will try to address that area first.
GCSE Grammar
* Use of hamza, ta’marbuta, alif madda, and other standard orthographic devices
Nouns
* the three cases: nominative, accusative, genitive
* definite and indefinite
* masculine and feminine
* singular, dual and plural
* common broken plurals
* genitive with prepositions
* except for = illa + accusative
Pronouns
* personal pronouns
* demonstrative pronouns
* relative pronouns
* interrogative pronouns
Sentence structures
* Nominal sentences (using the verb 'to be' in English, but where there is no verb in Arabic in the present tense)
* idaafa / possesive structure
* Verbs: present indicative
* Verbs: past tense
* Negative sentences
* Pronoun suffixes
* The verbs kaana and her sisters
* Using inna and her sisters
* Imperative (giving commands)
* Present subjunctive
* Comparing the 3 moods of the present tense: indicative, subjunctive and jussive
* hollow verbs, eg. kaana, qaala, Taara
* weak verbs, eg. masha, rama, qala
* doubled verbs, eg. shadda, ‘adda
* hamzated verbs, eg. ra’a.
Describing things
* adjectives agreeing with nouns
* comparative and superlative
* adverbs of manner, time, frequency etc.
AS
* Passive sentences
*
GCSE Grammar
* Use of hamza, ta’marbuta, alif madda, and other standard orthographic devices
Nouns
* the three cases: nominative, accusative, genitive
* definite and indefinite
* masculine and feminine
* singular, dual and plural
* common broken plurals
* genitive with prepositions
* except for = illa + accusative
Pronouns
* personal pronouns
* demonstrative pronouns
* relative pronouns
* interrogative pronouns
Sentence structures
* Nominal sentences (using the verb 'to be' in English, but where there is no verb in Arabic in the present tense)
* idaafa / possesive structure
* Verbs: present indicative
* Verbs: past tense
* Negative sentences
* Pronoun suffixes
* The verbs kaana and her sisters
* Using inna and her sisters
* Imperative (giving commands)
* Present subjunctive
* Comparing the 3 moods of the present tense: indicative, subjunctive and jussive
* hollow verbs, eg. kaana, qaala, Taara
* weak verbs, eg. masha, rama, qala
* doubled verbs, eg. shadda, ‘adda
* hamzated verbs, eg. ra’a.
Describing things
* adjectives agreeing with nouns
* comparative and superlative
* adverbs of manner, time, frequency etc.
AS
* Passive sentences
*
I am the Wind أنا الهواء
This song is in Levantine dialect:
الهواء = الريح
ق is not pronounced
شو = ما
ها = هذه
مرحى = bravo! hurrah!
شو هالفرحة = what joy!
كبوت pl كبابيت: one of those words to be careful of, as it means different things in each dialect. Generally, it means 'hood', so it can be an item of clothing with a hood, or even a hat, but it's also a 'hood' of a car (US English; UK English 'bonnet') and even a condom (Saudi dialect). In this song, it refers to a dress.
الهواء = الريح
ق is not pronounced
شو = ما
ها = هذه
مرحى = bravo! hurrah!
شو هالفرحة = what joy!
كبوت pl كبابيت: one of those words to be careful of, as it means different things in each dialect. Generally, it means 'hood', so it can be an item of clothing with a hood, or even a hat, but it's also a 'hood' of a car (US English; UK English 'bonnet') and even a condom (Saudi dialect). In this song, it refers to a dress.
Nice cartoon from the Syraj series about the dangers of overeating! Let's sing together about the digestive system...!
Friday, November 26, 2010
Queen Elizabeth's visit to the Emirates
زيارة ملكة بريطانيا الى الإمارات
Series of photos of the Queen's visit to UAE (BBC Arabic).
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Arabic number plates
* Saudi licence plates with both kinds of numerals - Arab (the ones English uses) and Hindi (the ones Arabic uses!)
Cultural expressions
Here's some useful guides to cultural expressions and idioms in Arabic
* http://www.transparent.com/arabic/cultural-expressions/
* Podcast on varabic.wordpress.com
What do you say when you sneeze? What do you say when you are invited to someone’s house?
* http://www.transparent.com/arabic/cultural-expressions/
* Podcast on varabic.wordpress.com
What do you say when you sneeze? What do you say when you are invited to someone’s house?
In this podcast, you will learn some of those important Arabic expressions that are used culturally which will definitely impress your Arab friends and might save you from embarrassing situations.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Vocab flashcards
There are hundreds of online and downloadable programmes for making vocabulary flashcards, but my favourite is www.iflipr.com
I have uploaded lots of vocab lists for GCSE Arabic to this programme. You will find them here, or from the start page, choose:
> decks
> search
type GCSE Arabic
click on the topic you want to practice
> practice
For each card you look at, click the tick if you knew the word, and cross if you didn't.
In theory, the programme memorises which words you didn't know and test you on those ones more frequently.
You can create an online account and save flashcard decks to your favourites, and if you have an iphone you can download the decks and flick through them on your phone offline.
I have uploaded lots of vocab lists for GCSE Arabic to this programme. You will find them here, or from the start page, choose:
> decks
> search
type GCSE Arabic
click on the topic you want to practice
> practice
For each card you look at, click the tick if you knew the word, and cross if you didn't.
In theory, the programme memorises which words you didn't know and test you on those ones more frequently.
You can create an online account and save flashcard decks to your favourites, and if you have an iphone you can download the decks and flick through them on your phone offline.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Learn the animals cartoon
Another little cartoon Arabic lesson from SyrajBooks about the animals in the zoo and the sounds like make ...
Counting to 10 and the number 2
Here's a very cute kids' video about the numbers 1-10. I don't mean to be patronising by posting so many kids' materials on this site, but I really think they're useful and fun even for adults :)
After the 1-10 song (lyrics coming shortly), there's some examples of using one "waahid" with masculine and feminine nouns (then you say "waahida").
Then about half way in, there's a song about body parts, which practices the dual. Lyrics coming shortly...
After the 1-10 song (lyrics coming shortly), there's some examples of using one "waahid" with masculine and feminine nouns (then you say "waahida").
Then about half way in, there's a song about body parts, which practices the dual. Lyrics coming shortly...
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Vocab games
Here are some good sites for interactive games to learn vocabulary and test your memory:
* http://www.funwitharabic.com/
* http://www.digitaldialects.com/Arabic.htm
* http://www.funwitharabic.com/
* http://www.digitaldialects.com/Arabic.htm
Arabic numbers
Go here, to the wonderful Arabic student blog, where you'll find the lyrics to this song:
* Learn the numbers and test yourself with these online games - Digital Dialects
* On this site, click on the numbers to hear them pronounced. Requires Real Player plug-in
* Learn the numbers and test yourself with these online games - Digital Dialects
* On this site, click on the numbers to hear them pronounced. Requires Real Player plug-in
Books for Not Quite Beginners
This post has been included in my new blog at http://welovearabic.wordpress.com
By this I mean, students of Arabic who have learnt a little, perhaps in a short course, and want to continue independently.
Before tackling these books, you'll probably want to have learnt to read and write, got to grips with a little of the basic grammar: feminine and masculine nouns, the fact that adjectives and nouns agree in gender and in being definite/indefinite, using possession (somebody's thing - ie. the idaafa construct), past and present tense verbs, that sort of thing. Then you'll be ready to increase your vocab and the range of situations you can use Arabic in.
Mastering Arabic
Even if you've met the basics of Arabic, and can read the script, I'd still recommend Mastering Arabic as a revision aid, and to progress beyond the basics confidently. If you find Mastering Arabic 1 too easy, it's probably time for ....
Mastering Arabic 2
This is a truly amazing and brilliant book, aimed at GCSE level and beyond to AS. You will certainly want to be comfortable with the basics, because the texts in this are quite long and introduce a lot of vocabulary to take in for each exercise. If you've picked up conversational Arabic while living abroad, if you speak Arabic as a mother tongue, or have studied for more than a year or two, then you will probably be ready for this book.
Build Your Arabic Vocabulary
This wondeful book systematically teaches you 1000 words in 16 chapters, perfectly arranged for GCSE topics. It comes with cut-out-able flashcards, and has lots of fun exercises and prompts for speaking exercises, but the downside is that there's no recording with it.
By this I mean, students of Arabic who have learnt a little, perhaps in a short course, and want to continue independently.
Before tackling these books, you'll probably want to have learnt to read and write, got to grips with a little of the basic grammar: feminine and masculine nouns, the fact that adjectives and nouns agree in gender and in being definite/indefinite, using possession (somebody's thing - ie. the idaafa construct), past and present tense verbs, that sort of thing. Then you'll be ready to increase your vocab and the range of situations you can use Arabic in.
Mastering Arabic
Even if you've met the basics of Arabic, and can read the script, I'd still recommend Mastering Arabic as a revision aid, and to progress beyond the basics confidently. If you find Mastering Arabic 1 too easy, it's probably time for ....
Mastering Arabic 2
This is a truly amazing and brilliant book, aimed at GCSE level and beyond to AS. You will certainly want to be comfortable with the basics, because the texts in this are quite long and introduce a lot of vocabulary to take in for each exercise. If you've picked up conversational Arabic while living abroad, if you speak Arabic as a mother tongue, or have studied for more than a year or two, then you will probably be ready for this book.
Build Your Arabic Vocabulary
This wondeful book systematically teaches you 1000 words in 16 chapters, perfectly arranged for GCSE topics. It comes with cut-out-able flashcards, and has lots of fun exercises and prompts for speaking exercises, but the downside is that there's no recording with it.
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