CMC Professor Bassam Frangiehs new textbook, Arabic for Life, has just been published by Yale University Press. Frangieh, a popular professor of Arabic at CMC, says the text is intended both for beginning and intermediate level college Arabic students. It will be used in universities in the United States and throughout the world.
"It was published recently and has picked up sudden speed and astonishing attention all over the world," Frangieh said. "This book is promising to be the definitive authority for learning Arabic at the university level."
Arabic for Life, published on September 26, has received an average five-star review on Amazon.com.
According to a review of the text on Yale University Press, Arabic for Life is unlike other Arabic textbooks, which focus on either grammar or proficiency. It instead offers a balanced methodology that combines these goals, including reading, writing, speaking, listening, grammar, vocabulary and culture. The text includes more than 80 videos and 100 audio files. The videos were all filmed at CMC.
"Arabic for Life is an exciting, interactive approach to learning the Arabic language," said Frangieh. "It provides meaningful, relevant and important insights into Arab culture and demonstrates the true connection between language and life."
Frangieh is the author of 10 books, including one other textbook, Anthology of Arabic Literature, Culture, and Thought from Pre-Islamic Times to the Present. He is currently working on a new book on Arab culture, which will include chapters on the Arab Spring and the most recent political, social and cultural developments in the Arab world.
Frangieh joined CMC in 2008 after teaching at Yale University, Georgetown University and the Foreign Service Institute. He received the Glen R. Huntoon Award for Superior Teaching at CMC in May 2010.