Want to learn Arabic online

Hi prasadpauti,

I would recommend that you buy a disc to help you learn such as Arabic for Dummies. You will also find that you will pick alot up from your collegues at work. Good Luck!

I've completed the Rosetta Stone Arabic program (Units 1 - 3) which I enjoyed but won't recommend, they are very expensive and I don't think they are value for money.

I'm currently working through Tell-Me-More Arabic Level 2.
This is a much more intensive program than the Rosetta Stone.  Level 1 covered as much material as the 3 Rosetta Stone modules.  It covers speech (with voice recognition software, writing and reading and grammatical rules.  I'm finding this extremely good.

Level 1 does require you to already know the Arabic alphabet so you need to do an introduction to this first before starting work on the Tell Me More disks.

Prasad,

Just one thing you need to keep in mind, most of the arabic language courses that I know of (if not all) teach classic arabic, which is the language you can find in books, newspapers... etc, the arabic which people use to communicate verbally (which might be what you aim to learn) is a totally different dialect which you have to come here to learn.

If you need anymore info just ask... good luck

MadMaz,

I'm looking to learn Arabic in a classroom. Does the local dialect have a name? and do you know who teaches it?

Dear MadMaz,

I need to start a course asap.

You make a very good point about clasical versus "street" usage.

What do you recommend?

ed

You make a very good point about clasical versus "street" usage.

I'm taking an arabic course at the moment and as for classical vs street, the advantage of classical is that you'll be able to speak/be understood in any country where Arabic is spoken (Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Syria, etc.). 

Not true with 'street' .. each country seems to have its own version. 

True, Maz?  or is my teacher lying?

many thanx alliecat

Modern Standard (MSA) is what most most online & class based courses are in.  Classical is the version used for the Koran. 

MSA is what people across the middle east generally read and write (at least for formally writing).  Even if they don't speak it they generally understand it.

I know it is possible to get course material for Gulf Arabic but I was advised to start with MSA as a base then do additional study in dialects once I had a good grip on that.

Dear Alethe,

Thamk you for this.

edward

hmmmm lets see...

@Stevie334

The dialect which is used in the Gulf countries is called "Khaliji" dialect (in arabic the word "Khalij" means Gulf) and it has several sub dialects as well, so you have the saudi dialect, kuwait dialect, emarati dialect... etc.

I've tried to find some school in Riyadh that can teach you the local dialect but so far I couldn't find any, however I found a website that offers a course for people interested in learning it, you can check it out

http://www.gulfarabic.com/

note that I didn't have the time to go through all the material they have but I'll do that soon and let you know.

@edwardmusiak

I will always recommend learning classic arabic (or MSA as Alethe called it) for many reasons such as:
1. As Alliecat said, no matter where you go within the arab countries you'll be able to communicate with people, you will probably not understand a conversation between two natives speaking their local dialect but if you try to talk to them using classic arabic you will be understood.
2. Classic arabic is still the language used for written material, you'll have access to books, newspapers, news TV channels... etc, not to mention contemporary & old literature if you're into that.
3. Classic arabic is without a doubt the strongest foundation you can have to learn any spoken dialect you want, coz once you understand the "mentality" of arabic language and maybe our poetic way of saying things (lol) the rest will be much easier.

One last note, since you're already in KSA, you can simply learn the local dialect by listening to people around you and trying to use it to talk to them, I'm sure any Saudi will be happy to help you with that if you ask a question every now and then

Good luck to you both, if you have anymore questions I'll be glad to help

you are a good man...thank you for taking the time to advise me...edward

Alethe!!

Well I usually reply to everyone in one post but since what you've mentioned is a significant matter I thought it will be better if I clarify this in a separate post...

I do recognize that some expets suggest this distinction between Classic Arabic and what they refer to as Modern Standard Arabic, yet I strongly disagree with them for a simple reason; wether you read the Holy Koran or a book published this year, you'll find exactly the same grammer, exactly the same spelling (with few exceptions you can find only in Koran) and exactly the same sounds and alphabet. The only difference you'll find between a modren standard text and something written hundreds of years ago is that some words just are no longer used or their meaning changed (just like any other language).

One thing I do need to mention here though, Koran, and only Koran, does sound different, becuase even though it's still Arabic it somehow has a language of its own, I know this might not make much sense to a non-arabic speaker, but I can't really explain this more and doubt anyone can... take it the way it is lol

you are a good man...thank you for taking the time to advise me...edward

You're most welcome, I'm here to teach what I know and learn what I don't!

Hi Madmaz, where can I learn to speak classic arabic?

I spoke to a guy the other day and he said he gave up learning Arabic because his teacher spent too much time learning how to read and write it. Are there classes whereby you only learn to speak it?

I believe King Saud offers that, Kman.

King Saud University’s Institution of Teaching Arabic for Non-Arabs offers two months’ courses for both men and women. Nasir Al-Ghali, the director of the institution, said each class has about 12 students, a number that has declined since the institution started charging for the courses. Simon Salter, a student at the institution, said the course is challenging because all the course material is in Arabic, even at the intermediate level.

You can read the full article here:  http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=1&sec … ry=Kingdom

you can learn Arabic for free at madinaharabic.com which has lots of lessons, discussion forum monitored by teachers etc, they also have a 1 to 1 tuition service with Arabic tutors!

Whoever wants to just speak Arabic, I'd suggest writing common phrases you'd use daily in English and forget learning the Arabic alphabet. Then, get a decent English to Arabic dictionary and hope that your sentences work and if not, the person you're talking to corrects you.

I know this isn't a good solution the long-term but it's a good temporary fix if you're not in the country for that long. Also, if you guys want, you could start a thread and I'll translate anything you want or give a good list of common phrases that will help. Good luck!

[Moderated: No free ad on the forum please]

if anyone interested , i would be glad to exchange language teaching , the written ,and the spoke { well not the local , my accent is lebanese  }.
i am interested in acquiring the British accent and getting better at french.

yea i forgot , the price is : 1000000000000000000 USD , if u dont have that , it's free ;P

Hi Xtrem,

You should post an advert in the Riyadh classifieds under community section - Language Exchange.

Thank you.

Christine wrote:

Hi Xtrem,

You should post an advert in the Riyadh classifieds under community section - Language Exchange.

Thank you.

thanks ^^

hahaha.. Xtreme, they take your ad seriously..hahahaha...

Ive got 8 mp3 files its 8 Arabic lessons. They speak arabic and translate it to English. For starters, i guess it will help a lot... They teach simple phrases that you can use for everyday encounters with arabic people.

If you are interested. you can download the file from demonoid.me

Just search for Learn Eastern Arabic - Pimsleur and download it.

Hope it will help.. IF you find it difficult to download from piratebay and if still you can't just send me a message then ill download for you. Please note that im referring to torrent file so ill send you the torrent file. Its impossible for me to send the file through email becoz the file size is 317MB.

Enjoy arabic..hehehe
Hope it helps.

seeker of truth wrote:

hahaha.. Xtreme, they take your ad seriously..hahahaha...

Ive got 8 mp3 files its 8 Arabic lessons. They speak arabic and translate it to English. For starters, i guess it will help a lot... They teach simple phrases that you can use for everyday encounters with arabic people.

this is not a joke ,i am serious about this , and i am going to canada as soon as i get what i need , so i need to understand the mentality of the western culture

yeah right, you are serious about this!

Xtrem wrote:

yea i forgot , the price is : 1000000000000000000 USD , if u dont have that , it's free ;P

hehehehe

Seeker of truth
This is such a small world lol.I will be moving to Saudi and need to learn Arabic. I am Canadian and can help you in providing any information you need.

Hi all

I , actually, started writing up a replay to this thread days ago and haven't finished it yet! lol

  So, I just saved it and realized it's getting really long and decided to make it a new post (soon).

  But for now please go and read my replies here:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=85531
(Arabic language)

& here:

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=88449
(Arabic Calligraphy)

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Good luck to all

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