Media Arabic ─ A Coursebook for Reading Arabic News

In light of the rapidly growing number of people studying Arabic-in academia, governments, NGOs, and business-Media Arabic is a unique and timely learning tool for anyone looking to access news information from this important global region firsthand. Media Arabic introduces the language of the newspapers, magazines, and internet news sites to intermediate and advanced level students of Modern Standard Arabic. Using this textbook, students will be able to master core vocabulary and structures typical of front-page news, recognize various modes of coverage, distinguish fact from opinion, detect bias, and read critically in Arabic.
Drawing on their long experience as Arabic instructors, Alaa Elgibali and Nevenka Korica have organized the book into six chapters, each covering a dominant news topic: Talks and Conferences, Demonstrations and Protests, Conflicts and Terrorism, Elections, Rule of Law, and Business. In addition, the book offers three self-assessment units and a glossary organized by theme.
The book enables students to read extended texts with greater accuracy and speed by focusing on the relationships among meaning, language form, and markers of cohesive discourse. The activities include pre-reading discussions as well as extensive practice on vocabulary in context, organizing information, skimming, scanning, critical reading, and analyzing content.

Alaa Elgibali is professor of Arabic and linguistics and director of the Arabic language programs at the University of Maryland.

Nevenka Korica Sullivan currently teaches Arabic in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. She is co-author of Umm al-Dunya: Advanced Egyptian Colloquial Arabic (AUC Press, 2013).