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

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.

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

GCSE Arabic - sport

Vocab

ما هي هوايتك المفضَّلة What's your favourite hobby?

أعشق I adore...

أهتم ب I'm interested in...

أحبّ I like...

أفضّل I prefer...


...أحبه لأنه I like it because it is ...


رخيص cheap

ممتع enjoyable

مثير exciting

مرح fun

مفيد للصحة good for your health

مسلٍّ ,المسلّي interesting

محبوب popular

مفيد useful

سَهل easy



أكره I hate...

لا أهتم ب I'm not interested in ...


...أعتقد أنه .../ أنها I think it is …

خسارة الوقت a waste of time

مملّ boring

غالٍ , الغالي expensive

لا فائدة منه there's no point to it

صعب difficult

خطر dangerous

*** See this video for more ways to say that you like or dislike things on the Unilang website.
*** Test yourself on the vocab for this topic at iFlipr - online, on your desktop or on your web phone

Arabic vocab lists

This site isn't much to look at but has some wonderfully detailed vocabulary lists and grammar lessons: http://arabic.speak7.com

It includes thematic lists, although fairly wide-ranging themes are lumped together: places and sport; food and house; time and weather. They have started to provide alphabetical lists, but so far they have only posted lists for the English letters A-F.

It's not recommended for absolute beginners, or breakthrough (Asset) level, but if you've got a basic vocabulary and are comfortable with reading the script and with how to pronounce words, it could help quickly expand your vocab. Especially if you upload the lists to a flashcard testing tool, or spaced repetition software (SRS).