Arabic alphabet and pronunciation

Arabic has an alphabet that’s different from what’s used to write English. This is what written Arabic looks like:

اسكن في جزيرة

The Arabic alphabet is stunning and difficult to learn. For someone who was raised speaking and reading English, the following factors make reading and writing Arabic challenging:

The writing system is right to left. Given that the majority of computer systems were created for left-to-right languages like English, this is challenging philosophically and technologically.

Depending on whether they are at the start, middle, or end of a word, letters take on a different shape. Consider how the shape of the letter varies based on where it appears in the word. (Remember to read from right to left!)

Short vowels are not represented as complete letters. Instead, it is anticipated that those who read Arabic will be able to pronounce the words they have read. Similar to how English speakers can pronounce terms like "bought" and "tough" despite the spelling being ambiguous, but on a far larger scale. Those abilities take time to develop! (In our course, we spell out these short vowels; this is a common practice in Arabic language classes for beginners to aid students in developing their skills.)

The alphabet is taught in our programs in a very thorough way. The course is set up so that new letters are introduced in small groups, followed by opportunities for practice, before other groups of letters are introduced, and so on.

The Arabic sounds are practiced frequently. There are phonetic exercises in each unit. Your ability to distinguish one new sound from another or your comprehension of the relationship between sounds and letters will both be improved by these exercises.

We've also made these exercises challenging! These exercises' degree of difficulty will guarantee that our students are compelled to use their brains to internalize the new alphabet.