Personal Practice
Listening (Dialogue E)
The following dialogue is fairly long, and therefore, we included some focused listening links to make finding the answers to the questions easier for you. Only use this "crutch" when you need to, and be sure to listen to the complete dialogue at least twice: once at the beginning and again at the end.
To better understand the dialogue, you will need to learn some new vocabulary. Be aware, however, that the dialogue purposely contains a few unknown constructions, but if you know the vocabulary from Arabic Without Walls, as well as Alif Baa, you know everything you need to in order to understand this dialogue. Think of the unknown constructions as a chance to work on developing a tolerance for a little ambiguity.
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صاحبي \ صاحبتي |
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أزور |
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الطبيعة |
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أشوف |
Background: At a college student gathering in California, a young male (Abdul Rahman) approaches a female (Yasmin) standing alone.
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No. Yasmin is a student at Davis, but Abdul Rahman works at a large company. Are Yasmin and Abdul Rahman both students?
Focused Listening Clip Answer
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He lives in Pheonix, Arizona, but he is visiting a friend in California. Where does Abdul Rahman live? Why is he in California then?
Focused Listening Clip Answer
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They both like the cinema. Do the two have anything in common? If so, what?
Focused Listening Clip Answer
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Yasmin does not like nature much like Abdul Rahman does. What is one interest that Yasmin does not have in common with Abdul Rahman?
Focused Listening Clip Answer
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لا أحب الطبيعة كثيرا.
I don't like nature very much.
Thought Question: How might you use this pattern to talk about things you think are okay but you don't like a lot? How does Yasmin express that she does not like something very much?
Focused Listening Clip Answer
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Yasmin ends the conversation by saying that she sees a female friend and asks permission to take leave by saying عن إزنك (with your permission). Whether or not Yasmin is interested in Abdul Rahman is subjective; whatever answer you give is acceptable as long as you can reasonably defend it. Do you think Yasmin is interested in Abdul Rahman? Why or why not? For instance, how does she end the conversation?
Focused Listening Clip Answer
Now that you have finished answering the questions, please listen to the entire dialogue at least once more all the way through before quitting. For those of you who enjoy metaphors, think of this as pushing yourself at the end of a workout to get the most out of the workout. If you have the time, listening intently to the entire dialogue one more time before quitting is always a good strategy.