Price: AED 1,500

Duration: 24 Hours

Timing: Flexible

Marhaba!

Arabic the main language of Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrein, Qatar, UAE, Oman and Yemen. It’s also spoken in certain parts/among certain communities of Mali, Niger, Chad, Israel, Eritrea, Somalia – together with countries to which large numbers of Arabic speakers have migrated (e.g. France) and the number of mother-tongue speakers worldwide is about 250,000,000!

Why learn Arabic?         

  • Arabic is spoken across a huge area of the Middle East and North Africa. It is one of the world’s most widely spoken languages, and ranks about fifth in terms of total number of speakers. Arabic speakers are also to be found living in many western countries.
  • There is a strong cultural identification between the language Arabic, and the people, the Arabs.
  • Modern Standard Arabic provides the base on which the language is written. It is not, however, the form of the language which is most widely spoken. In fact, the forms of spoken Arabic differ quite markedly across the Arab world – a person from, say, Iraq, would struggle to understand the spoken language used in Morocco. Educated speakers of the language use Modern Standard Arabic to communicate with one another if they come from different parts of the Arab world – although at home they might speak quite differently.
  • When foreigners learn Arabic, they generally learn Modern Standard Arabic, and this is the form which we teach at Euroasia. People wishing to study Classical Arabic in order to read the Qur’an should be aware that there are certain differences.
  • Arabic is a Semitic language. It’s related to other Semitic languages such as Hebrew, Maltese and Amharic (spoken in Ethiopia). In spite of the geographical proximity, it’s not related at all to Turkish, Iranian/Persian or the languages of Afghanistan.

 

Is Arabic hard?

 Like every language, Arabic presents certain challenges! First of all, certain aspects of the pronunciation are quite tricky. As you’ve probably noticed, Arabic has a lot of sounds produced quite far down into the throat. It takes a while to get used to these. On the other hand, there are just three basic vowel sounds, “a”, “i” and “u” – so that’s not hard at all!

What exactly do we learn in the Arabic classes?

Arabic classes are offered at four levels, and all the levels are divided into ten units, each with its own theme or topic. 

There is a general outcome for the level as a whole, and more specific learning outcomes for each unit. These outcomes are expressed in terms of what you should be able to do in Arabic by the time you reach the end of each unit; various grammar points are covered as they are appropriate to the themes of the units. 

(Please note that the information which follows is subject to change, since we make ongoing revisions to our course material in the light of client feedback, and we may also adjust it to suit the needs of particular classes.)

Level 1

By the end of this course, you will already know enough to “get by” in Arabic: you will be able to cope with the most common everyday situations by asking and answering simple questions, and you will be able to understand people when they speak to you about the situations covered.

 Unit 1 – Greetings
You will be able to greet people in Arabic, give your name and ask how people are.

 Unit 2 – Professions
You will be able to ask and answer questions about your job in Arabic; you will also be able to ask about and give your phone number.

 Unit 3 – Nationalities and languages

You will be able to say where you come from in Arabic and give the language you speak; you will also be able to ask other people about these subjects.

 Unit 4 – Family

You will be able to talk about the people in your family (or, if you prefer, other people’s families) and say how old they are.

 Unit 5 – Time and transport 

You will be able to tell the time and give days and months in Arabic; you will also be able to ask for a ticket on public transport.

 Unit 6 – Freetime activities and weather

You will be able to say what you like or don’t like, and also talk about your freetime activities in Arabic; you will also be able to say what the weather is like at the moment or at particular times of the year.

 Unit 7 – Shopping for clothes

You will be able to ask about something in a shop in Arabic, understand and talk about prices, and also describe clothes.

 Unit 8 – Shopping for food

You will be able to talk about different meals, also food and drink; you will know what to say to buy these things from a shop using Arabic.

 Unit 9 – Accommodation

You will be able to book accommodation and check in using Arabic, also know how to ask questions and talk about simple problems.

 Unit 10 – Restaurants

You will be able to understand the main items on a menu and order a meal in a restaurant.

Level 2

By the end of this course, you will have expanded the range of situations which you are able to handle in Arabic, and you will have begun to learn some basic grammar points; you can expect to be understanding more of what people say, and growing in your confidence to respond appropriately.

 Unit 1 – Directions
You will be able to talk about where objects are in relation to one another and ask for directions to different places in Arabic.

 Unit 2 – House and home
You will be able to describe your home in Arabic and say where in the house and in particular rooms things are to be found.

 Unit 3 – Talking about people

You will be able to describe people, in terms of physical appearance and character.

 Unit 4 – Free time

You will be able to talk about common free-time activities in Arabic, and describe their appeal.

 Unit 5 – Places in the world

You will be able to talk about cities and countries and where they are in relation to one another; you will also be able to describe how often you do something.

 Unit 6 – Sickness and health

You will be able to say how you feel physically and talk about common medical conditions using Arabic.

 Unit 7 – At the supermarket
You will be able to describe what you are want to buy at the supermarket; also how to say that you are right or wrong, hot or cold, hungry or thirsty.

 Unit 8 – At the chemist’s

You will be able to talk about things you need at the chemist’s in Arabic, and both ask for and give reasons for wanting something.

 Unit 9 – The big event
You will be able to talk about events and when they take place during the day.

 Unit 10 – At the cinema

You will be able to describe a film in Arabic and relate a simple story.

Level 3

By the end of this course, you will be able to say more in Arabic about your professional and social life; you will be able to use the phone and write simple messages; you will also have a reasonable feel for the main patterns of the Arabic language.

 Unit 1 – Birthdays
You will be able to talk about giving things to people in Arabic, and both ask and answer questions using “how?”.

 Unit 2 – Our office
You will be able to refer to the things you find in an office, and say more about professional life.

 Unit 3 – At the post office

You will be able to use the services of a post office and talk about communications in general.

 Unit 4 – Preparing food

You will be able to talk about things in the kitchen in Arabic and say how you prepare food.

 Unit 5 – Eating out

You will be able to discuss a choice of restaurant using Arabic and make a booking by phone, as well as handling the situation when you arrive; you’ll also be able to talk about having to do something.

 Unit 6 – Accommodation

You will be able to talk about different types of accommodation using your Arabic, make a reservation by phone and talk generally about things you are able to do.

 Unit 7 – Nightlife

You will be able to make, accept and decline offers, especially in relation to going out in the evening, and talk about things you want to do in Arabic.

 Unit 8 – Keeping in touch

You will be able to compose a simple letter or e-mail in Arabic and discuss the kind of points often covered in correspondence with friends.

 Unit 9 – What do you do at work?

You will be able to discuss your job, talk about your preferences and make contrasts between what you like and don’t like.

 Unit 10 – Meeting people

You will be able to meet and introduce people using Arabic in a social or business setting, and exchange simple conversation.

Level 4

By the end of this course, you will be able to talk in Arabic about travel and a range of outdoor leisure activities; generally, you will be handling most everyday situations and also understanding a lot of native speakers in these contexts.

 Unit 1 – Special events
You will be able to talk about special events in your life, and the dates when they take place.

 Unit 2 – Fit in the city!
You will be able to talk about keeping fit and also give information about places and directions in a city.

 Unit 3 – Describing your company

You will be able to introduce your company, using Arabic, much as you would in a business setting.

 Unit 4 – A weekend in the country

You will be able to talk about nature, ask permission and make requests in Arabic, and also describe generally what is allowed and not allowed.

 Unit 5 – By the sea

You will be able to talk about what you see at the coast, and also use Arabic to discuss with more subtlety the activities which you like.

 Unit 6 – In the mountains

You will be able to talk about activities in the mountains, understand a weather forecast and also give instructions.

 Unit 7 – The daily routine
You will be able to talk about your daily activities in Arabic and relate these to particular times of the day.

 Unit 8 – Relationships

You will be able to discuss relationships and understand simple texts concerned with relationship issues.

 Unit 9 – At the station

You will be able to use Arabic to handle travel by train or metro, from getting information to finding your seat; you will also be able to talk about plans for the immediate future.