Continuing our detour from the Middle East: this website is awesome, especially for foreigners living in the UK, where I was living before coming to Egypt. Click on any of the little colored people and you’ll get an audio sample of an interview done with someone with a textbook case of the appropriate UK regional dialect along with notes telling you what to listen for. I only wish it came with an audio quiz at the end. One of these for the Arabic dialects would be invaluable.
I discovered this just about the time I needed to start studying for my masters final exams last year. Unfortunately this was too late to be of use during my attempt to convince a friendly neighbor ( who stopped our house party to tell us to shut the hell up) that I was from Manchester. Also required reading for Americans navigating the minefield that is Great Britain is Kate Fox’s Watching the English: The hidden rules of English behaviour.