Updates since I last wrote the article:

I still see a lot of learners of Arabic as a second language suffering from the age-old problem learning the language which remains the lack of any international or 'pan-arab' agreed upon standardized Arabic curriculums for non-native speakers to use as a reference, much like what Oxford and Cambridge have done with English.

I would like to talk here a little bit about the benefit of learning a regional Arabic dialect instead of learning Modern Standard Arabic such as the Michel Thomas Method does with Egyptian Arabic. Many teachers, especially native Arab teachers, would recommend that you study Modern Standard Arabic until you are somewhat fluent in the language before facing the regional dialects. However, I believe although intuitive, this is not the best way to approach Arabic.

The problem, as many of you learners of Arabic know, is that Modern Standard Arabic isn't used on a day-to-day basis by any native speaker whatsoever. So the analogy that Modern Standard Arabic is to modern Arabs what Latin is to modern European has some truth, except for the fact that Arab modern Arabs can 'still' understand Modern Standard Arabic unlike most Europeans today who cannot understand Latin outside of some theological and academic circles.

It is true that there are dialects which are somewhat more closer to Modern Standard Arabic and the benefits an Arabic speaker could get from improving in Modern Standard Arabic might reflect on that given regional dialect like Saudi Arabia or Jordan.

The rest unfortunately is relative to the country the learner plans to resign in or work in. For example, Egyptian, Moroccan and Lebanese have extremely little to do with Modern Standard Arabic or the Quranic Arabic the majority of native teachers promote.

Therefore, I would love to hear any input or feedback from students who have tried in their learning to give more emphasis on Regional Arabic instead of Modern Standard Arabic and share with everyone a little bit about their experience in learning the language.

Discuss the Article : I Want To Learn Arabic But It Feels Impossible To Pick Up The Language!

<a href="/article/986/i-want-to-learn-arabic-but-it-feels-impossible-to-pick-up-the-language" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">I Want To Learn Arabic But It Feels Impossible To Pick Up The Language!</a>

Intimidated by Arabic? No one would say it's easy, but the difficulty of getting into one or several of the dialects spoken today depends strongly on your language background and adaptability to Semitic languages. Try this article for an in-depth explanation!