Kalaam Gamiil ─ An Intensive Course in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic

Based on the cumulative experience of three leading teachers of Arabic as a foreign language, Kalaam Gamiil builds and develops communicative skills in Egyptian Colloquial Arabic, along parallel tracks of vocabulary and grammar. It is designed for students who have reached the lower intermediate level of Modern Standard Arabic and are now ready to branch out into their first experience of a major spoken dialect. Structured around basic topics that crop up in daily conversations, lessons each include a situation, a vocabulary list, preparatory sentences using the new vocabulary items, explanations of grammar in English, cultural information, and a variety of mechanical drills and communicative exercises. The book, volume one of a two-part series, focuses on the speaking and listening skills that will enable intermediate students to handle a variety of uncomplicated communicative tasks with native speakers of Egyptian Arabic successfully. Volume two is scheduled to be published in 2010.

Abbas Al-Tonsi is a senior lecturer in Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in Qatar. He is the author or co-author of a number of Arabic coursebooks, including the Al-Kitab series.

Laila Aw-Sawi and Suzzane Massoud are both senior instructors at the Arabic Language Institute of the American University in Cairo.