Learning Arabic is a daunting challenge. The variety of dialects and the differences between spoken and written Arabic are the most enigmatic aspects of this fascinating language. But they are also among the most insidious. In addition, there are other difficulties: learning the Arabic alphabet (different from ours), the pronunciation of some sounds, the flow of writing and syntax.

Yet, this language never ceases to fascinate and attract new students from all over the world every year. Work needs are among the main reasons, but also religious studies: Arabic, in fact, is the sacred language of Islam. As well as the official language in many countries of Northern Africa and Asia Minor, such as Yemen, Sudan, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Saudi Arabia.

If you too are about to study Arabic, the question will come naturally to you: what is the best method to learn Arabic? In this article, we will try to give a comprehensive answer. If instead, you want to try more imaginative alternatives, we recommend our article Learn Arabic while you sleep.

The Best Way to Learn Arabic Language

The advice is to proceed step by step: as with many other languages, learning Arabic requires patience, tenacity, and above all, consistency. As in building a house, you have to start with the small bricks that make up the language: details that may seem useless or not very fun but are the fundamental bases.

The important thing is not to rush things. In this regard, here are three useful tips that we feel we should give you before starting your Arabic language course:

• Use tools that are suitable for your level of knowledge of the language and understandable: If you are just starting out, it is frustrating and useless to start reading a book or watching a film in Arabic. Instead, you should use a study book for beginners or sites that start from the basics, like Linguaraba.
• Learn one language at a time: If you decide to learn Arabic, focus only on that. Especially as adults, in fact, it is difficult to concentrate on studying multiple languages ​​at the same time. The risk is that of confusing terms, pronunciations, and grammatical rules.
• Bear the uncertainties and ambiguities: At the beginning, you will not understand many things, you will get confused; well, it is really normal. The desire to be perfectionists can lead you to become discouraged and to close yourself off. Instead, you must take the study of Arabic as an exciting adventure. You can make mistakes, it is allowed!

If you apply these three tips, the start will be easier. Let’s now see what steps you need to take to immerse yourself in Arabic little by little.

Understand Arabic

As we said at the beginning, Arabic is a language with a thousand facets. There are three major types of Arabic, which can be very different from each other:

• Classical or Quranic Arabic, used in religious, classical, and legal texts. It is the basis of modern Arabic.
• Modern or Standard Arabic, which corresponds mostly to the written language. It is used throughout the Arab world, in fact, but only in official contexts, such as television, school, justice, politics, etc.
• Spoken or colloquial Arabic, formed by a set of dialects, distinguishable in five families: Gulf Arabic, Mesopotamian Arabic, Levantine, Egyptian, and Maghrebi. Each family is composite and contains different nuances, even very marked, based on the geographical area.

Deciding to learn Arabic, then, is not enough: you will also have to understand which Arabic language course to focus on, depending on your needs.

Start from the Basics in Your Arabic Language Course

The ideal method, as we were saying, requires you to start from the basics, to lay the foundations. What are they? The alphabet, pronunciation, grammar, and basic vocabulary. Let’s look at them together one by one.

The Alphabet in Arabic Language

Learning the Arabic alphabet is the first thing to do. The letters are not many, but more than ours: 28. The difference with our alphabet is that they are consonants; the vowels, in fact, are indicated by symbols placed next to the letters.

The biggest stumbling block, however, is that letters can be variable and invariable. And the former change shape based on their position in the word.

Because of these difficulties, when you start learning Arabic, you will be tempted to put aside the alphabet and use transliterations. We advise against it: even if it helps at the beginning, in the long run, it turns out to be just a ploy to postpone the inevitable.

The Pronunciation in Arabic Language

When you learn a language, you can always study new vocabulary or grammar rules. One thing, however, that is difficult to fix once you have set up your learning badly is pronunciation.

For this reason, we recommend that you start studying pronunciation right away. It is true that Arabic pronunciation is thought to be difficult, but in reality, this is a myth that needs to be dispelled. In fact, all words are pronounced as they are written. There are guttural and particular sounds, but only three do not exist in other languages ​​that are more familiar to us.

So learn these three sounds first: once you do, you will be able to continue practicing the remaining sounds more easily.

The Grammar in Arabic Language

Arabic grammar is not more difficult than that of other languages. In fact, there are some very simple aspects, such as, for example, the fact that there are only two verb tenses.

Of course, you will have to get used to the sense of writing, from right to left, and to a different syntactic structure: while we use the Subject-Verb-Object structure, Arabic uses, albeit flexibly, the Verb-Subject-Object order. This may cause you some headaches at first.

The Lexicon in Arabic Language

Once you have learned the alphabet and pronunciation, start studying the first words. Don’t know where to start? Perseverance and patience are still valuable allies. First of all, start with the basic vocabulary: greetings, numbers, names of objects you have at home. Make a list of 10 for each day. If you make an effort to learn them, in two months you will know 600 words, which is a very respectable vocabulary.

Despite what is believed, in fact, Modern Arabic does not have a much larger vocabulary than that of other languages. With that number of words, therefore, you will already be able to manage everyday conversations. Not bad, right?

Learn Arabic with Lisaan Academy’s Arabic Language Course

In any case, another effective and fast method to learn Arabic is always the classic one: a good personalized course.

Check out Lisaan Academy: with us, learning Arabic is rewarding and fun. Connect to the platform and choose a native Arabic teacher. Then agree on the path with him depending on your budget and your time availability. Our tutors will also help you find the study method that best suits you. Learn Arabic easily, choose Lisaan Academy. We are waiting for you on our site!