Al-Manhaj
Introduction

he teaching method Al-Manhaj has

T
promoted it, such as newspapers, the
Internet, advertisements, boards, signs and been especially designed for non
all other means of information. As to spoken Arabic-speaking students. It com-
Arabic, it cannot either be strictly limited to plies with the syllabus counselled by the
such "monologues" as official speeches, “French Education System” and means to be
news bulletins, exposés or lectures. a strict didactic tool for learners. It can be
used both by students who wish to have a
Written Arabic is more and more commonly simple and easy access to the Arabic langua-
used as a tool for communication and in the ge, as by those who intend to get a further
world of work (during meetings, for debates, command of the language, in view of higher
speeches made on TV and on the radio, studies or in order to use the language cur-
thanks for instance to satellite channels). rently in their private or/and professional
Thus being able to use literal Arabic as a life. Perfectly adapted for self-learning for all
spoken language as well as a written those who cannot attend classes, this
language is essential to be able to communi- method can however also be used in classes
cate, even if it must be completed with some provided the teacher makes the necessary
indispensable knowledge of dialectal Arabic. changes.

Teaching Arabic as a second language

implies using different teaching methods
from the ones used for those who are stu-
dying Arabic as a "national language" and
who already have a command of the dialec-
tal language but are taught the literal (or
written) Arabic at school in their countries.
We can of course not use the same methods
when teaching Arabic to English students
since they have no notion of Arabic whatsoe-
ver.

In Europe as a whole, but more especially in

France, the researches led on language tea-
ching methods have been quite invaluable to
the teaching of Arabic so that students of
Arabic may now benefit from the latest and
best means of learning the language.

The language studied in the teaching

method Al-Manhaj is modern written
Arabic. Hard as it may be to give an appro-
priate and accurate definition of what
modern written Arabic is it must be acknow-
ledged that it is no longer strictly confined to
books but has long been part and parcel of
our everyday background, especially
through administrative papers but also
thanks to the modern media which have

8 Al-Manhaj - Literal Arabic for beginners

Al-Manhaj
Presentation

which, besides, follow a strict and methodi- Teaching method Al-Manhaj

cal lexical and grammatical evolution. They for beginners
may however be studied separately or in a
different order if studied within a class his is the first level which will enable
group with a teacher.

Learning how to write and how to pronoun-

ce Arabic for people who do not speak any
T the learner to get some basic com-
mand of the language, so as ultima-
tely to be able to understand and make sim-
ple sentences both in the oral and written
dialect is a point which is tackled in the first language.
two sequences, throughout the first five les-
sons. Didactic choices are made according to the
current uses of Arabic : for instance the
method will take into account the fact that
there are no short vowels in the written
Arabic, that whenever possible declensions
as well as the “ta' marbûta” will not be conside-
red, while noun clauses are quite commonly
used as well as every sentence structure
close to what is being used in the dialects…
The dialogues and texts which serve as star-
ting points to each lesson may not be quite
genuine yet but are a necessary step in the
learning process and should ultimately lead
the learner to a better understanding of
genuine documents with a richer content,
such as excerpts from novels, press articles,
radio or TV programmes…

This beginner handbook includes 5 sequen-

ces each focusing on a specific theme dealing
with different types of communication situa-
tions : greetings and polite replies or
requests, how to introduce someone or one-
self, how to get or ask for information, how
to find one's way around a town, time mar-
kers, the body and its sensations, how to
express one's feelings, family links… every-
thing always being related to the Arabic cul-
ture, in other words distinctive codes, tradi-
tions and customs…

Each sequence is divided into lessons all

dealing with the same theme. The first
sequence is divided into three lessons while
the other four are divided into two lessons.
The lessons of one same sequence complete
each other. So do the different sequences

Al-Manhaj - Literal Arabic for beginners 9

 Al-Manhaj
Instructions for use

Third step : phonetic exercises Sequence I

Icon : Lesson 1

You have to make out which For every part of the lesson which leads to
sounds are characteristic of an oral work you will find the related recor-
the Arabic language and do dings which will be signalled thanks to the
not exist in English. That is following two icons :
the reason why not all the
letters which you can find in the different Track xx
lessons will appear in the tables.
and numbered track by
track, the first track being

Fourth step : learning how to write used for the theme music.
Arabic correctly
Icon :
The letters which you have
to learn appear in their diffe-
rent written forms, from the
first initial lines to the final
First step :
written form. They can all be understanding / memorising
Listen to the text or dialogue as often as
found at the end of each lesson in the order
necessary. Check by comparing with the full
of their appearance. You are meant to learn
translation enclosed at the end of the lesson.
how to move your hand to get as close as
We have deliberately chosen not to put the
possible to the Arabic way of writing and
translation right next to the dialogue, so as
learn new writing habits. Do write as much
to prompt the learner to listen carefully to
and as long as need be, following the exam-
the dialogue and try to understand the voca-
ples marked with arrows, so as to get a
bulary by himself. Once understood the dia-
fluent, adequate and readable handwriting.
logue will only need memorising fully by
repeating every line outloud, so as to impro-

Fifth step : writing exercises ve the pronunciation, the rhythm and the
From the tables of programmed letters on, intonation…
you will be given a series of writing exerci- It may then be useful to go back to the writ-
ses. The series starts with a list of words all ten text to try and identify the “global” pat-
made up of letters which you have already tern of every line. Every word from the dia-
studied. You will first need to listen careful- logue can be found in the vocabulary toge-
ly to the way each word is read, so as to ther with its translation.
memorise them as well as possible, then you
can start doing the exercises.
Second step : writing
Icon :
Lesson 2 The letters which must
Follow the same steps. be learnt will be shown
in their different posi-
Lesson 3 tions, with examples and
Follow the same steps as for the necessary explana-
lessons 1 & 2. The third lesson tions.
explains the first basic gram-
matical structures.

10 Al-Manhaj - Literal Arabic for beginners

Al-Manhaj
Instructions for use

The way the lesson is structured will enable It must be said that this part of the lesson
you to understand as you go along thanks to cannot in any way be considered as a tho-
the given vocabulary. How to use the voca- rough grammatical analysis : it is just meant
bulary is explained in sequences 1 & 2. to help understand the few main basic gram-
matical structures which you will find in
Texts for reading practice each lesson so as for you to be able to master
From sequence 2 on you will find a series of them correctly when doing the related exer-
texts destined to improve your reading cises. For each grammar point you will find
skills. These texts are as close as possible to three figures : the first number corresponds
genuine written documents and meant to to the sequence, the second one to the les-
check how well you have improved all along. son, the third one to the grammar point in
They should be read and listened to on the hand.
audio CD. Try to understand the texts as Example: 2.1.1 = sequence 2, lesson 1, 1st
much as you can thanks to the vocabulary. grammar point.
Only use the full translation (at the end of
the lesson) once you have made the effort to
understand by yourself and only as a means Sequence II
to doublecheck your understanding of the Lessons 1 & 2.
texts.
Follow the same steps as for sequence I.

Sequences III, IV, and V

You will also follow the same steps but from
sequence 3 on, you won’t need to memorise
the texts and dialogues entirely. Besides it is
strongly advised that you should look at the
full translation only as a last resort.

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Al-Manhaj - Literal Arabic for beginners 11