Introduction

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 written from right to left. There are 18 distinct letter shapes, which vary slightly depending on whether they are connected to another letter before or after them. There are no “capital” letters. The full alphabet of 28 letters is created by placing various combinations of dots above or below some of these shapes. The three long vowels are included in written words but the three short vowels are normally omitted – though they can be indicated by marks above and below other letters. Whether you’re a college student looking for your first job to launch a career or you’re a professional going back to school to advance in your career, you have probably heard that learning another language is essential. Being fluent in more than one language will make you stand out from other applicants and open up new career opportunities in countries around the world.

 In this blog, we’ll discuss some of the ways through which you can get better at the Arabic language:

1. Patience will take you a long way:

Don’t be surprised if you don’t understand a single word even after listening to your Arabic resources for quite some time. That happens with everybody trying to learn a new language. Instead of letting this get the better of you, resolve to strive more than ever. Don’t become obsessed with understanding every little detail, either. If you get stuck on one new word in a sentence, let it go and try to listen to the rest of the message. Getting the gist does wonder for understanding.

2. Readout loud: 

If you’re listening to a lesson and reading along, read out loud. Then re-read and speed up your tempo. Do this again and again until you can speak faster. Try your best to pronounce the words correctly, but don’t obsess about it. Read swiftly, emote and put some inflection on the sentences. Reading aloud helps to train the muscles of your mouth and diaphragm to produce unfamiliar words and sounds.

3. Create your own personal dictionary as you go: 

Despite all your innovative study tactics, your brain is like a sieve—it’s always looking for things to let go of. The longer ago you studied something, the more details you’ll lose. Take control of your ability to recall important expressions with spaced repetition. This is a straightforward concept, formalized in the 20th century, based on quizzing yourself more often on newer or harder vocabulary, then less and less often as you can confidently recall it.

4. Review again and again: 

This is the key to perfection, and we can’t emphasize it enough. Most learners don’t review! If you review and repeat lines again and again, you’ll be speaking better, faster and with more confidence.

5. Ask for help: 

When you face a problem in understanding something, don’t shy away from asking the speaker or instructor to help you understand a particular word or phrase over and over again. Ask them to repeat something for you, to say it in a different way or to speak more slowly. A good listener always triumphs over his or her fear of asking for help when it’s really needed.