Tips for learning Arabic in your free time
Practice makes perfect, and with Arabic, it couldn’t be any different. Learning a new language takes time, effort, patience, and constancy. It is certainly the case with Arabic, a language with so many dialects and accents across the different countries in which it is spoken.
But how to maximize your learning opportunities in Arabic? What else can you do to learn Arabic besides taking Arabic classes? Bear in mind that the more input you have in Arabic, the more output you will be able to produce. To give you a hand we would like to give you a couple of tips to maximize your learning opportunities with such a rich language as Arabic!
1. Study Arabic in an Arabic-speaking country
It has been largely proven that learning a second language in immersion is the fastest and most efficient option. If you only study the language in your country of origin, you will have fewer opportunities for communicating in your second language. What happens if you study Arabic in an Arab country? That you will not only be learning Arabic while in the classroom, but you will be communicating in Arabic to perform daily tasks, to talk to locals…
Not to mention that by taking an Arabic course in immersion you will be experiencing the country and its culture in a way impossible to achieve if you travel just as a mere tourist. Take an immersion course and discover amazing countries such as Jordan, Egypt and Morocco, and many more!
2. Use online resources
Maximize the use of your free time. The arrival of the Internet and the improvement of educational resources have made it easier for students to learn second languages outside of the classroom. You will need to be constant and organize well your study time, as well as planning carefully your needs in the target language. Remember that there are 4 key language skills you will need to master in order to be a comprehensive Arabic speaker: oral and listening comprehension and expression and written comprehension and expression.
Therefore, try to find different resources that cover the four language skills.
– To improve your written comprehension:
Visit your local library and check if they have books in Arabic adapted to your current level (there may be even audiobooks!). In case they don’t have, check on the Internet. Surely you will be able to find some you can download or buy! It is a good option to begin with children’s stories.
– To improve your written expression:
Start a journal. At first, it may be a bit complicated, but writing on a diary while you keep on learning new grammatical structures in your Arabic classes will make you progress faster. You will need to have your texts corrected and revised later on to keep improving.
– To improve your listening comprehension:
The Internet is full of Arabic Youtube channels, podcasts, series and movies (have you read our post about movies in Arabic?) you can watch with and without subtitles to help you better understand Arabic. Start with the easy ones, and focus on those that use real-life Arabic phrases!
– To improve your oral expression:
Talk to your Arabic friends, there is no better and more pleasurable way to learn a new language than by making new friends and talking to locals! If you are taking an Arabic course in immersion you will have it much easier. If that is not your case, try finding a chat group or a language learning app in which you can interact with other learners! You could also take part in TANDEM language exchanges.
Do you want to learn Arabic the fastest and most efficient way?
Take an immersion course in Arabic