Arabic (preferably Egyptian) TV dramas (with arabic subtitles)
Hi!

I've been trying to look for an Arabic (preferably Egyptian Arabic, since that's the dialect I'm focusing on) TV drama that has ARABIC subtitles included with it on youtube or some other video viewing platform.  

I'm open to any/all drama's, but I'm trying to find videos with arabic subtitles underneath them so its easy to search up new words.  Does anyone know any of these types of videos?

What is closer to Modern Standard Arabic, Lebanese or Egyptian Arabic?
Which dialect has the most similarities with Modern Standard Arabic?  Lebanese or Egyptian?

Which is simple/easier to learn: Egyptian Arabic or Modern Standard Arabic?
I know that Egyptian and MSA both have their own benefits and disadvantages, but which is easier to learn?  Which one is more straightforward?  Which has easier grammar in your opinion? Thank you :)

Learning Article : 6 Ways To Improve Your English Pronounciation
Discuss the Article : 6 Ways To Improve Your English Pronounciation<a href='/article/334/6-ways-to-improve-your-english-pronounciation' target='_blank'>6 Ways To Improve Your English Pronounciation</a>Having problems getting others to understand you? Mixing up sounds, stumbling on words, or choking out consonants? Here are six ways you can improve your English pronunciation.

Having problems getting others to understand you? Mixing up sounds, stumbling on words, or choking out consonants? Here are six ways you can improve your English pronunciation.

&nbsp;
<h2>1. Know your weak areas</h2>
 
When starting to work on a problem, it is pivotal to have a good understanding of what the problem actually is. This is especially important when you want to <a href="http://www.italki.com/article/107/10-ways-to-improve-your-english-speaking-fluency">improve your english </a>pronunciation. You have to ask yourself: what sounds do I find most difficult to pronounce? How am I pronouncing them incorrectly? What is the correct way to pronounce them? Although each English learner may have their own individual sounds they find difficult to say, the biggest factor to improving your English pronunciation is your mother tongue. Think: what sounds does English have that my mother tongue does not? This is usually what learners find most difficult. For example:
 
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.italki.com/article/285/arabic-some-advice-for-beginners">Arabic speakers</a>: differentiating between the &ldquo;b&rdquo; sound and the &ldquo;p&rdquo; sound</li>
<li>Korean/Japanese speakers: differentiating between the &ldquo;r&rdquo; and &ldquo;l&rdquo; sound</li>
<li>Spanish speakers: pronouncing &ldquo;v&rdquo; and &ldquo;th&rdquo;</li>
</ul>
 
These are just some of the common difficulties that English learners who have different mother tongues face. So before going any further in improving your pronunciation, remember to ask these questions and pinpoint the exact issues that you face.
 
<h2>2. Pay attention to your mouth and tongue</h2>
 
The human mouth and tongue can make a number of sounds, but what students often forget is that even little changes and movements of your tongue or mouth can drastically change the way you speak a language! Take a moment to feel the way your tongue moves when you speak a sentence. How is your mouth shaped when you say &ldquo;the&rdquo;? What about &ldquo;very&rdquo;? Ask yourself, &ldquo;How should my mouth be shaped? Where should my tongue be when I say these words?&rdquo; This is where English teachers in particular can help you because they are trained in understanding the way English sounds are made in the mouth and properly articulated. When talking to a native English speaker, simply ask them to tell you where their tongue is positioned in their mouth when they pronounce a particularly difficult word!
 
For instance, speakers of Indian languages such as Hindi or Tamil often pronounce the &ldquo;t&rdquo; sound with the tongue slightly more inward and sometimes even more curled backwards than English speakers. This causes it to sound subtly different than when a native English speaker pronounces the letter &ldquo;t&rdquo;. Asking an English speaker to slowly articulate a word in front of you, such as &ldquo;tractor,&rdquo; while also slightly emphasising their tongue and mouth movements will help you to understand how to correctly pronounce particular sounds in a more effective and visual manner. Give it a try next time!
 
<h2>3. Record yourself</h2>
 
Sometimes you have to face reality: you don't know exactly what areas of your pronunciation you need to improve. What if you don't have a native English speaking friend or teacher to constantly correct you? The best strategy here is to record yourself! Find or write a passage, then record yourself speaking it in the most natural and comfortable way for you. Post it or email it to your English teacher or English speaking friend. Or even place it on any language learning community (such as italki)! Here you'll find plenty of people happy to point out some areas of weakness on which to focus. This way you can also get advice from multiple people who can help pinpoint the sounds and words to concentrate on and to make your English sound more natural and native.
 
If you are up to the challenge and at an advanced level in English, why not try a tongue twister? See what others think of your speaking and pronunciation skills! Write yourself a self-introduction or a short passage, then record yourself reading it aloud! This way you are practicing your writing and speaking skills!
 
Sometimes listening to a recording of yourself speaking English can be a way for you to find your own mistakes too! When we speak, what other people hear and what you hear yourself can often be slightly different. This is where recording yourself can help you find areas of concern that you can work on with your teacher or independently.
 
<h2>4. Be aware of different English accents!</h2>
 
English, as in most other languages, has numerous different regional accents as most of you probably know. As a teacher I find the two most significant accent students learn English from are the American and British accents. Although English can be understand mutually between all accents, if you are trying to sound PARTICULARLY more like a native English speaker, you'll have to realize that native speakers all have their own specific accents. For instance the pronunciation of simple words such as &ldquo;car&rdquo; can be different between American and British accents.
 
When trying to improve your pronunciation ensure that you are aware of the differences in English accents. Also make sure you are focusing only on one accent. This way it will be easier to effectively improve your pronunciation and mimic sounds.
 
<h2>5. SLOW. DOWN.</h2>
 
A weakness that almost all language learners have had at one point (including me), is trying to speak fast to sound like a native. Almost all language teachers, and not only English teachers, will tell you that this is an especially bad habit to have if you are looking to improve your pronunciation. Native speakers are able to speak fast because words naturally come out of their mouth with correct pronunciation. However, as English learners this is almost never the case. Speaking fast doesn't give you enough time to articulate words correctly (especially difficult words), and contrary to common belief, this will make you sound less like a native English speaker! Slow and articulated speaking always beats fast and muffled speaking; for native English speakers this is also true.
 
Try to say a sentence a third of your normal talking speed and just focus on the sounds and words you pronounce. If you ask your English teacher to listen to you, pronunciation mistakes will probably start to become more apparent, and he or she can accurately tell you which words you need to improve on. In the long run, when you are able to effectively grasp English pronunciation, speaking faster will become easier and more natural. However even as advanced or near-fluent English speakers, speaking slowly carries less risk when trying to sound appropriate with correct pronunciation.
 
Ok, are you ready? My last tip is (drum roll, please)&hellip;
 
<h2>6. Perfect pronunciation is not important!</h2>
 
I've told almost every single one of my students the same thing: &ldquo;sounding like a native&rdquo; should never be a goal for most English learners, even for advanced level students! It's true that often times having a perfect or near perfect pronunciation benefits you in work environments and leaves a favourable impression on employers, but if you're learning English to improve social networks, talk with friends, or to simply communicate with others, there is no need to sound perfect! As long as your pronunciation doesn't inhibit the way others understand the meaning of your speech, you should not be spending hours and hours trying to perfect it!
 
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try and how much time you spend, your vocal morphology will still create obstacles for you. The structure of one's throat and mouth plays a crucial role in enunciating subtle sounds found in the English language. Often times this acts as an obstacle to sounding 100% like a native English speaker, so there's no point in fretting about it! For some learners, pronunciation may be one of the hardest parts of English; for others it may be considerably easier.
 
This is why improving your pronunciation, especially at a high level in English, is a gradual process. Most English learners who have finally reached a level at which they can't be differentiated between native speakers have spent years or a considerable amount of time in an English speaking country immersed in the foreign language. The fact of the matter is, such a high goal like this can rarely be achieved in a non-English speaking environment!
 
So the next time you sit down and think, &ldquo;I really need to improve my English pronunciation,&rdquo; try using these strategies to help you tackle the challenge. Good luck!
 
&nbsp;

6 Ways To Improve Your English Pronounciation

Weird English words with bizarre spellings are all around us: why is 'colonel' pronounced 'kernel'? Here is a list of words to help you improve your writing.

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English students at any level will no doubt discover that English has an extremely &ldquo;interesting,&rdquo; but often times confusing spelling system.&nbsp; Here are some weird English words that you need to watch out for when studying, along with some patterns that will help you understand English spelling a little better and improve your writing skills.
The amount of words with unusual spellings is almost impossible to count, but let&rsquo;s go over some important spelling patterns and anomalies that you will need to know to get a firm grasp of the English writing system.
&nbsp;
Through, Dough, Enough
Now, this is a very interesting case.&nbsp; All three of these words clearly use the ough suffix, and as you probably know the gh sound of the word isn&rsquo;t pronounced like the g of giraffe.&nbsp;
But what makes the spellings of these words even weirder is that each of these words has a completely different pronunciation, even though they all end with ough.&nbsp; You would think all these words should rhyme, but in reality they actually sound quite different from each other.
<ul>
<li>Through (Throo) The road passes through a valley.</li>
<li>Dough (Doe) You need dough in order to make bread.</li>
<li>Enough--(Enuf) I have enough sodas for everyone at the party.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Plateau, Bureau, Gateau
Here is another set of interesting spellings.&nbsp; The part that confuses a lot of English students is the combination of two vowels to form eau, and how to correctly pronounce it.&nbsp; Now, here&rsquo;s something intriguing:&nbsp; If you put these three vowels together, they end up sounding like a 4th vowel (o).
<ul>
<li>Plateau (Plaat-o) The peace process had reached a plateau.</li>
<li>Bureau (Byur-o) I work at the National Bureau of Statistics.</li>
<li>Gateau (Gaat-o) My grandmother made me a chocolate gateau for my birthday.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Xylophone, Xenophobia
The main feature of these words is the x consonant at the beginning of&nbsp; each word.&nbsp; X alone has a sound more similar to the sound eks, but when it is put in front of words, it usually makes the sound z.
<ul>
<li>Xylophone (Zai-la-fone) I used to play the Xylophone when I was in high school.</li>
<li>Xenophobia (Zee-na-fobe-eea) Xenophobia is a major issue that needs to be addressed.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Doubt, Debt
These words both end with a bt but instead of making a bit or bet sound when you read them aloud, the b is completely silent!
<ul>
<li>Doubt (Dowt)I doubt his ability to do his job.</li>
<li>Debt (Det) I&rsquo;ve finally paid off all of my debts.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Critique, Torque, Mosque
In this situation, the key understanding how que is pronounced. You might think it&rsquo;s pronounced similar to the que in queen, but it really only creates a k sound at the end of a word:
<ul>
<li>Critique (Cri-teek) He has asked me to critique his artwork.</li>
<li>Torque (Tork) The three-litre engine has lots of torque.</li>
<li>Mosque (Mosk)There is a beautiful green mosque in our city.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Know, Knight, Knife
This is arguably the most odd spelling that English learners will encounter.&nbsp; When Kn is placed in front of a word, it almost always is read out as N and the letter K becomes silent.
<ul>
<li>Know (No) I don&rsquo;t know what this means.</li>
<li>Knight--(Nite) The knight left the castle to look for the princess.</li>
<li>Knife--(Nife) Please out the knife <a>down</a><a id="_anchor_1" href="#_msocom_1" name="_msoanchor_1">[1]</a>&nbsp;<a id="_anchor_2" href="#_msocom_2" name="_msoanchor_2">[2]</a>&nbsp;.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Colonel, Island, Receipt
Now these three words are weird in their own unique ways:&nbsp;
Receipt is another example of a word with a silent letter (in this case the letter p) and this is similar to the words debt and doubt mentioned earlier.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Island also contains a silent letter, and this silent letter is s.
However, the weirdest of these three words is colonel.&nbsp; This is because colonel actually is pronounced quite differently than how it&rsquo;s spelled; the olo part of colonel is pronounced as er!
<ul>
<li>Colonel (Kernal) He was a high ranking colonel in the navy.</li>
<li>Island (I-land) Jamaica is a beautiful island in the Caribbean Sea.</li>
<li>Receipt (Reseet) I was given a receipt after I bought my groceries.</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
Why do these words have weird spellings?
Briefly, English words have been borrowed from other languages, and have also kept their original spellings and pronunciations.&nbsp; In other words, when you speak English, you often speak a couple words of French, Latin, Greek, some Arabic and many other languages.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
When English borrows a word from another language, it&rsquo;s often difficult to change its spelling to make it suitable with the language, and thus the word will maintain its spelling.&nbsp; Examples&nbsp; of this are bureau, plateau and gateau, which all have French origins and still maintain their French spellings.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
However, as a language evolves, the ways we speak words change, as well.&nbsp; For instance, in the case mentioned of knight and know, there once was a time when the K of these words was actually pronounced! But as spoken English changed, people decided to ignore the k sound in the front of these words, but this didn&rsquo;t mean the spellings of these words changed.
&nbsp;
There are often huge debates on the origins of various words, but that&rsquo;s a topic for another day.&nbsp; The fact of the matter remains, English is a beautiful but complex language, and one of its major complexities is its spelling system.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
So how are you supposed to remember all these unusual spellings?&nbsp; Well, the short answer is, you just kind of have to know them!&nbsp; Just like in any other language, memorization is almost always the only way to remember anomalies.&nbsp; And try this:
&nbsp;
1. Read as much as you can.
2. Write short passages.
3. Immerse yourself in the wealth of the vocabulary English has to offer.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Spelling is no easy thing, but it is something that can easily be improved upon if you have the motivation to practice every day. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
If you know any other weird English words with really unusual spellings, make sure to leave a comment.&nbsp; Good luck!
&nbsp;
Hero Image cropped from the original "It Looks Insoluble" by&nbsp;<a class="owner-name truncate" title="Ir a la galer&iacute;a de David Goehring" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/carbonnyc/" data-track="attributionNameClick" data-rapid_p="22">David Goehring</a>&nbsp;(<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/" target="_blank">CC BY 2.0</a>)
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Beware! Weird English Words

Learning Article : Beware! Weird English Words
Discuss the Article : Beware! Weird English Words<a href='/article/299/beware-weird-english-words' target='_blank'>Beware! Weird English Words</a>Weird English words with bizarre spellings are all around us: why is 'colonel' pronounced 'kernel'? Here is a list of words to help you improve your writing.

Beijing Dialect 北京话
Want to know a little bit more about the Beijing Dialect (北京话)? &nbsp;Take a look at this video:&nbsp;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9sPrQ6Vm98
&nbsp;

INTERACTIVE Chinese Listening Practice!
Here is a resource for any Chinese students wanting to practice their listening comprehension! Good luck!
&nbsp;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duMU8QrZyfs
&nbsp;

What are some good arabic language shows to practice Arabic (MSA al-fusha)?
Are there any suggested TV shows to use to practice listening MSA Arabic? Any good Children shows? (Usually children shows are the easier ones to understand)
Also another question, is the TV show B+ from Egypt in Egyptian Dialect or Al-fusha?