Arabic Folktales for Language Learners: Traditional Stories in Arabic and English (Free Online Audio)

Learn about Arabic culture while improving your language skills!

This fascinating book presents 28 traditional Arabic tales in parallel English and Arabic versions on facing pages.

The stories all have charming black & white illustrations, and include:

• The Blue-Eyed Yamamah: The story of a legendary blue-eyed woman who has the amazing ability to see far into the distance
• Layla and the Wolf: The story of a little girl who faces grave danger and learns the true importance of family
• The Judge and the Talking Tree: A greedy man who, through the teachings of a wise judge, learns to appreciate what he has
• This Is Life: A man learns through experience that what is good for him might not be good for his neighbor
• And many more interesting tales from Arabic-speaking cultures!

Each story is accompanied by a vocabulary list, cultural notes, and exercises to help beginning students. The stories increase in length and complexity as the book progresses, and free online audio recordings of the Arabic and English versions are available online.

This book is not only an accessible language resource for self-study, but also a wonderful book for anyone who wants to learn about Arabic culture through charming folktales!

Sarah Risha is Senior Lecturer of Arabic at Arizona State University. She has over 20 years’ experience teaching and developing coursework in the Maricopa Community College system, the Cisco Learning Institute, and the Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation. She is the author of Education and Curricular Perspectives in the Qur’an and Arabic for Beginners.