The Saudi Arabic Basic Course is for students, in the classroom and on their own, seeking to attain a working knowledge of modern Arabic. The style of Arabic stressed in this text is the Saudi Arabic Urban Hijazi dialect, used throughout the country for government and commercial purposes. It is the most widely-understood dialect in the Arabian Peninsula. The Basic Course consists of 50 lessons, each containing a dialogue, structure sentences, grammatical notes, vocabulary notes, drills, situations, and cultural notes. There are 5 review lessons, an index of grammatical structures, a glossary, and appendices of specialized vocabulary, social expressions, gestures, and Saudi names.

Originally compiled in 1975 by Margaret K. Omar of the Foreign Service Institute, Department of State. Accompanies sound cassettes entitled Saudi Arabic [basic course].