
Introduction:
The Arabic language is a Semitic language that first emerged in the 1st to 4th centuries CE. It is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. It is named after the Arabs, a term initially used to describe peoples living in the Arabian Peninsula bounded by eastern Egypt in the west, Mesopotamia in the east, and the Anti-Lebanon mountains and Northern Syria in the north, as perceived by ancient Greek geographers The ISO assigns language codes to thirty varieties of Arabic, including its standard form, Modern Standard Arabic, also referred to as Literary Arabic, which is modernized Classical Arabic.
Arabic is usually ranked among the top six of the world’s major languages. As the language of the Qur’an, the holy book of Islam, it is also widely used throughout the Muslim world. It belongs to the Semitic group of languages which also includes Hebrew and Amharic, the main language of Ethiopia.
Arabic is widely taught in schools and universities and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government and the media. Arabic, in its standard form, is the official language of 26 states, as well as the liturgical language of the religion of Islam, since the Quran and Hadith were written in Arabic.
In this blog, we will discuss some of the tips on how to self-study Arabic.
Here are the top 10 tips on how to Self-study Arabic:
- Set goals that are trackable and achievable
Before you do anything, make sure you get clear on WHY you want to learn Arabic. Maybe it’s because you have plans to travel the region and want to be able to converse with the locals; perhaps there’s a specific country in the Middle East that you want to visit; or maybe you need to learn for work. Everybody’s WHY is different – get clear on yours and write it down somewhere you’ll see it regularly. This will give you the sense of purpose you need to stay motivated and keep moving forward when things get tough.
You should review your goals regularly and be flexible if things don’t turn out exactly as you planned. It’s better to move the goalposts slightly and KEEP GOING than to give up because you’ve fallen too far behind to catch up. Finally, make sure you celebrate your wins, no matter how small. Those little moments of success along the way will keep you moving forward!
2.Use a language learning app
There are many smartphone apps available to help you build an Arabic study habit and learn on the go, many of which offer a great service for free. Here are a few we recommend:
Multibhashi: one of the most famous languagr learning app. You can join live online video lectures for learning Arabic. Click here to join.
Drops: Drops allows you to learn and practice vocabulary from a wide variety of topics with their fun and interactive, game-style app. With their free plan, you can play for 5 minutes a day.
- Watch Arabic news and documentaries
If you want to focus on your listening skills, try watching videos from mainstream Arabic media outlets like BBC Arabic, Al Jazeera and Sky News Arabia. If you’re interested in a specific region or dialect, use Google or social media to search for local news and media platforms. Short news videos are great if you only have a few minutes to spare.
If you have a little more time, you can also find hundreds of documentaries either produced or dubbed in Arabic on YouTube – try following BBC Arabic, Al Jazeera, Vice Arabia (a brilliant and edgier outlet which covers more unique, and sometimes controversial stories than other networks), Nat Geo Abu Dhabi, and DW Documentary.
4.Read a news article every day
We can’t understate the importance of reading for improving your Arabic! There are few things more effective for improving your Arabic than simply reading a little bit every day. Depending on your level, that could be a couple of lines of an article or a Tweet, or if you’re up to the challenge, you could try reading an article a day or even an Arabic book (if you can get your hands on any).
We highly recommend trying to read an article a day, even if you don’t get past the first paragraph. Reading helps you expand your vocabulary, grasp key grammar concepts and improve your comprehension, and you’ll quickly see results across other areas of your language learning including speaking and listening.
5.Keep a vocab diary
This is such a simple and effective way to keep track of what you’re learning and make sure you don’t forget any new words. Set yourself a target for each week and create a list as you read or watch videos. You can even pick words from subject-specific vocab books (we recommend Elisabeth Kendall’s pocket-sized books of vocabulary on different topics such as the media, technology, politics etc.) to make sure what you’re learning is relevant to you and your why. Either write them down in a notebook or create your own flashcards using Quizlet.
- Listen to Arabic music and radio
Listening to Arabic, whether spoken or sung, is a great way to immerse yourself in the language and passively absorb words and phrases – particularly colloquialisms that you may not learn in a book or formal course. And with a smartphone and a few of basic apps like Spotify, TuneIn Radio and Podcasts, you literally have a whole world of Arabic music and broadcasts at your fingertips.
- Watch Arabic TV shows and movies
Watching TV series and films in Arabic is a great way to improve your listening skills – and the best part is that it requires very little effort! Netflix has a range of binge-worthy Arabic boxsets – here are a few to get you started:
Fauda – politics/action, Palestine/Israel
Al-Hayba – politics/action, Lebanon
Jinn – Cultural thriller, Jordan
Six Windows in the Desert – Culture/society, Saudi Arabia
- Follow Arabic speakers on social media
Most of us have been guilty at one point or another of scrolling through social media when we’re supposed to be working or doing something productive… Following Arabic speakers on social networks is a great way to keep Arabic in your head, while simultaneously easing the guilt when you go down Instagram rabbit holes!
There are millions of creatives, public figures, celebrities and influencers from the Arab World using social networks to connect with their followers, so it’s easy to fill your feed with Arabic speakers so you can learn as you scroll! You can strategically follow people from different countries to expose yourself to local dialects, or from different industries and backgrounds if you’re looking for subject specific language.
- Find an online language partner
If you have friends or contacts in the region, why not ask around and see if they or someone they know would be interested in a language exchange? For example, if someone wants to improve their English, you could agree to a video call once a week, speaking in English for half of the session and Arabic for the other half. That way you get to improve your conversational and listening skills without paying a penny!
There are also hundreds of groups on Facebook focused on learning Arabic, along with Arabic and English exchange groups where you can post a request for a language partner. Try searching ‘Learn Arabic’ or ‘Arabic English exchange’ and filter for groups.
- Use your smartphone settings to help you learn
Why not try switching your phone language to Arabic? Let’s be honest, we all know our way around our phones pretty well, so this will likely be easier than you think. Or if you’re not quite confident enough to do that, you could start by renaming your app folders (for example, you could rename your ‘social media and ‘news’ folders with the Arabic words, so you get used to seeing this vocabulary every day.
And if you haven’t already, make sure you add an Arabic keyboard on your phone (easily done in Settings) so you can get comfortable typing in Arabic. And don’t forget, just like in English, you can dictate in Arabic when typing or writing messages – this is great if you find typing in Arabic too slow or you’re not comfortable with spelling!
Conclusion:
Self-study requires a lot of self-confidence, dedication and most important patience. The above mentioned some of the tips which will help you to self- study the Arabic language. Also, you can enroll in Multibhashi for language learning.