Drawing on her years of experience as an Arabic instructor and course developer, Samia Louis has used a functional approach to create a bright, innovative coursebook for the study of Egyptian colloquial Arabic - the spoken dialect most frequently studied and most widely understood in the Arab world. Designed according to the ACTFL guidelines for teaching Arabic as a foreign language, in ten highly structured lessons "Kallimni 'Arabi" trains students in the crucial skills, with particular emphasis on listening and speaking. The accompanying audio CD carries recordings of the dialogues and exercises in each chapter, made by Egyptian native speakers. From the basics of communicating (asking directions, the language of shopping) to more advanced conversations (future plans, hobbies and free time), "Kallimni 'Arabi" is structured so that students learn Egyptian Arabic using real-life situations and expressions. The key topics covered gradually lead students to understand, use, and speak Arabic, rather than simply memorize fixed phrases.
"Kallimni 'Arabi" is aimed at students with some ability to read and write Arabic, who have had the equivalent of 30 hours of a beginner Colloquial Arabic class or 40 hours of a Modern Standard Arabic program.