Let's Begin to Read Arabic (A Beginner's Guide to Learning the Arabic Language and the Qur'an)

This book does not follow the conventional approach to teaching the Arabic alphabet. This unconventional approach is based on the following factors: To benefit from sounds common to Arabic and English. Arabic sounds in relation to those of English fall under three categories: identical; similar and totally different. In this book the identical sounds have been presented first; followed by similar and then by the totally different. The letters are presented along with the vowel-signs from the very beginning. The student learns the sounds of the letters rather than their names. Each lesson contains only one new element a consonant; a vowel; a phonetic rule or a spelling rule. The student is made to read real words from the Qur'an. The student is advised to learn every lesson thoroughly before passing on to the next. The student is encouraged to try to read every word and then check it by listening to accompanying tapes (sold separately). This method is successfully being used in certain parts of the world and has considerably shortened the learning time.