# 11 Ways To Make Arabic Learning (A little) Easier

<p>Arabic is one of the languages that is considered very difficult for English speakers to be obtained, right there with Chinese and Pashto. Any book that promises mastery for months is lies; More accurately is an ordinary teacher saying "seven years to learn it, for life to master it."</p>
<p><strong>1. Know there is not only one Arabic language;</strong></p>
<p>THERE ARE MANY. Arabic is what linguists are called diglossic: there is one form for reading and writing and other forms for talking. Written version (called Modern Arab Standard, MSA, or Fusha) is consistent throughout the Arab world, while oral dialects vary from one country to country and region to territory. The teacher often does not mention Diglossia in the beginning - they don't want to shrink your heart. But that's an important detail that will form your study.</p>
<p><strong>2. Commit to dialect&nbsp;</strong></p>
<p>For basic uses, most beginner classes for foreign languages like <a href="https://languagestutor.org/pashto-language/">Pashto language</a> students are in standard Arabic standards. But for understanding natural listening, you also need to learn dialect early on. Initially I went to the MSA-Only path, and now I can only understand only when people talk slowly-or or when I watch SpongeBob Squarepants, who are dubbed in MSA. Plus, having several dialects will prevent the original speakers laughing at you - MSA who is talking to make you sound like, yes, a cartoon sponge of nerd. But which dialect? Don't think too much about it; Just use your closest connection and personal condition.</p>
<p><strong> 3. but don't trench modern Arabic standards</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;If you have good ears for language, you can take the basis of dialects quite easily. But if you are the type of student who needs to see words written to remember, you will have a more difficult time - there is a lack of learning materials for dialect. Either way, some facilities with MSA are the key to smoothness in various situations, because it allows you to read magazines and use dictionaries. And once you understand the logic of language, you can make a more educated guess in dialect.</p>
<p><strong>4. Build crazy mnemonic</strong></p>
<p>Apart from coffee (qahwa) and algebra (al-jabr), there are not many English-Arabic. This means you can't guess the vocabulary like you might be in Spanish or French, and you must be extra-creative to make the vocabulary remain in your brain. Take time to match Arabic with a strange similar phrase, and/or build a strange mental image. The more inappropriate, the better they stick. What is considered G who is designed by a friend: pat your pocket and say, "My fish feels loose" (mafeesh fuul), which means "I have no money" in the Egyptian dialect.</p>
<p><strong>5. FLASHCARDS ARE YOUR FRIEND</strong></p>
<p>In addition to having few cognates, Arabic also has a seemingly bottomless well of vocabulary, and that vocabulary varies depending on whether you&rsquo;re reading a newspaper or listening to a sitcom. Don&rsquo;t assume that a word is too rare or weird, and you&rsquo;ll never see it again. Make a flashcard for it. Work it into your repertoire&mdash;it will be back, even if just as a joke among fellow students. (Sab&rsquo;a, to insert one&rsquo;s finger into a hen&mdash;really?!)</p>
<p><strong>6. KEEP IT SIMPLE</strong></p>
<p>&nbsp;On the contrary, however, resist the charms of only-in-Arabic oddities you&rsquo;ll stumble across in the dictionary. Your writing teacher&mdash;or anyone else receiving a letter from you&mdash;will likely not appreciate your arcane vocabulary. Arabs may be famous for revering poetic expression, but they also appreciate a clear and simple writing style.</p>
<p><strong> 7. SET GOALS</strong></p>
<p>Why are you learning Arabic? The only way to pick key vocabulary from a sea of synonyms is to have a specific achievement in mind. Gossip, read a poem, charm a crush, rock the karaoke mic&mdash;pick a mission and work toward it. And then pick another, and another ...</p>
<p><strong>8. MEMORIZE WHOLE PHRASES</strong>&nbsp;</p>
<p>Particularly when reading newspapers, you&rsquo;ll find set phrases with very particular meanings. Learn these. To offset the dreariness, load up on fun idiomatic phrases and expressions in whatever dialect you&rsquo;re studying. Learning a phrase makes you sound more fluent&mdash;and it fills up much more conversational space than a single literal word. Bonus: Lots of dialect phrases rhyme, so they&rsquo;re easier to remember, as the Egyptians say&mdash;all progress is good.</p>
<p><strong>9. ESPECIALLY POLITE ONES</strong></p>
<p>Niceties in Arabic go well beyond with set expressions for every possible occasion. for instance: As my Moroccan dialect teacher informed me, it&rsquo;s for &ldquo;when a bad smell comes out of you.&rdquo; It&rsquo;s easy to think you need only one or two such phrases, and turn back to &ldquo;meatier&rdquo; vocabulary. But Arabs love gracious compliments (who doesn&rsquo;t, really?), and it&rsquo;s even possible to make a whole conversation out of the phrases.</p>
<p><strong>10. USE TECH WITH CARE</strong></p>
<p>If you don&rsquo;t have a native speaker nearby, take full advantage of globe-shrinking technology and get a teacher via Skype is a great program, linking displaced Syrian teachers in Lebanon with students all over the world. Bonus: you&rsquo;ll learn from <a href="https://languagestutor.org/">Languages Tutor</a> the lovely-sounding Syrian dialect. But approach Google Translate with caution: For English to Arabic, it works just enough to get you started in the right direction. For Arabic to English, it&rsquo;s hilariously awful and useless.</p>