Learning Arabic
Do you want to finally become fluent in Arabic and feel like a local in countries and regions where Arabic is spoken? Find below a summary of my top recommendations for tools and resources that will help you learn Arabic. I've personally tried and tested all of them and selected the ones that I found to be most effective, user-friendly, and fun. Mix and match them, and use 3 or 4 of them interchangeably to keep your motivation high and your attention span focused.
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This is my #1 recommendation for anyone starting to learn Arabic or trying to improve their listening and pronunciation skills. The 30-minute lessons are easy to fit into your schedule, and they do wonders for pronunciation and speaking skills!
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: *****
Cost: $
Learning a language successfully is impossible without interacting with native speakers and getting lots of speaking practice. This app gives you access to thousands of professional and community teachers, and you can book private online courses with them for as little as US$ 5 an hour!
Effectiveness: ****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $
This is my favorite app to train my memory and retain vocabulary in Italian. It uses spaced repetition system to help you remember words and phrases more effectively. It also has a great game-like interface, making this app a fun and exciting pass-time. And you can complete a session in as little as 5 minutes, making it very easy to practice your Italian on a break or during a commute.
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $$$
This website and app have great short 10-15 minute videos and podcasts with lessons from beginner to advanced levels, flashcards, dialogues, grammar break-down, and vocab lists. Premium plans give access to a tutor for accountability and faster progress.
Effectiveness: ****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $$
NaTakallam offers award-winning, high-quality language services and courses delivered by refugees, for all levels in Arabic. It connects displaced people — including refugees from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Venezuela, and beyond — with students around the world, to provide affordable, flexible, and tailored language practice, intercultural exchange, and experiential learning opportunities over the internet.
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $
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This fun app helps you learn languages with short stories, audiobooks, and music. It shows texts in two languages, side by side, so you can compare the two and learn the language in context. And all texts have audio narration! The texts go from fairy tales and news to science papers and novels, and new ones are added every week. You can listen to a native speaker narrate at your preferred speed (even with your phone locked or while offline) and take tests to assess your comprehension.
Effectiveness: ****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $
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Mondly is a fun game-style app that teaches you vocabulary through core words and phrases. The app breaks the learning process into short lessons and puts them into themed packs. It has great visuals and is easy to use if your schedule is too busy for more structured or intensive courses.
Effectiveness: ***
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $
Rocket Languages has great audio content, comprehensive vocabulary-building tools, pronunciation training, solid grammar breakdown, and a steady path for progression. It's a pricier course and somewhat trickier to do on-the-go, but it's incredibly well-structured and effective.
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: ***
Cost: $$$
"Arabic in 60 steps" is an excellent podcast for learning Arabic. Its episodes last between 10 and 30 minutes and teach useful vocabulary, everyday phrases, grammar, and culture. There are over a hundred episodes for beginner and intermediate learners teaching you the essentials of Arabic and going over useful tips and strategies to learn this language successfully. The podcast is completely free.
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: ***
Cost:
Al-Diwan is a language school in Cairo offering both online and in-person classes for all levels, from beginner to advanced. Lessons are offered in Modern Standard Arabic "Fus-ha" and Egyptian Colloquial Arabic "A'ameya." The teachers use several learning aids during class in addition to the curriculum materials as reading selections from various genres, pictures, comic strips, posters, memory cards, audio CDs, videos, local and international Arabic magazines, and newspapers.
Effectiveness: *****
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: $
This very thorough video course from Language Transfer approaches language learning with what has been coined as “The Thinking Method’ and is a great introduction to Arabic. The course goes in-depth on how the language works, teaching the main grammar points and giving the tools needed to learn independently and intuitively. For beginners looking to learn a language, this course is an effective and productive way to start with Arabic without getting too overwhelmed or discouraged.
Effectiveness: ***
Easy-to-use: ****
Cost: -
