4 Reasons Why Arabic Is Extremely Easy to Learn?

This is probably the first question that comes to mind when you want to learn Arabic.  We all love to get things done faster, better, and easier, so it is not surprising to me to hear from you this kind of question.

Since Arabic is my mother tongue, let me answer your question with another question. Do you consider your native language, whether it is English, French, Chinese or any other language easy to learn? 

Probably your answer is going to be: “yes.” Since you already know how to speak it fluently, with ease, and automatically, you believe that your own language is very easy to learn. However if I ask the same question to anyone who doesn’t speak your language, the answer is gonna flip upside down.

Despite the fact that the foreign service institute (FSI) classified Arabic as one of the most difficult languages in the world ,the ease or difficulty of Arabic stems from various factors, such as the nature of the language, the methods you are going to use, your own motivation, and the level of dedication you have toward Arabic.

 In this article we are gonna talk about all these 4 points in detail.

Understand The Nature Of Arabic

Each language comes with its own features, alphabet, grammar rules, and particularities. For that reason, it is crucial to know what you are getting yourself into before deciding to learn Arabic and speak it like a native. I believe that I have an obligation to show you the things that separates “اللغة العربية” from other languages and why it may seem difficult to some students.

Derivatives

In Arabic, there are a lot of derivatives. I also call them branches. In other words we can produce multiple words from just one single, original word. We call it “the root word”. For example we have the verb “كتَبَ” which means he wrote. We can derive from it these words:

Number	Arabic	English
1	كتاب	a book
2	كتابة	writing
3	كاتب	a writer
4	مكتب	a desk

This feature is a double sword edge. You have the advantage to memorize a lot of vocabulary words just by knowing their origin. However, when it comes to speaking and listening, things will be a little bit complicated because you must know which vocabulary word to use in every context and this may confuse a lot of people especially the ones who speak languages like English.

Alphabet & Pronunciation

The alphabet and the sentence structures are entirely different from the ones in popular languages like English, Spanish, or German. The direction of writing In Arabic is from right to left, the opposite way compared to most languages. Also, there are also a lot of sounds in the alphabet that may seem difficult to a wide variety of students. For example, the letters: “ض”, “خ”, or “ق”.

Grammar Rules

When it comes to grammar, things get a little bit messy. Compared to English (since I know the two), I can tell you that the Arabic grammar is far more difficult and complicated than the English’s. To demonstrate my point I am gonna show you one little example.

Let’s take the verb to speak in the present tense “يتكلم”. In English, there are only five subject pronouns that go with it: I speak, you speak, he/she speaks, we speak, and they speak.

On the other hand, In Arabic there are 12 Subject Pronouns

Number	Arabic	English
1	أنا أتكلم	I speak
2	أنت تتكلم	You (masculine) speak
3	أنتِ تتكلمين	You (feminine) speak
4	هو يتكلم	He speaks
5	هي تتكلم	She speaks
6	أنتما تتكلمان	You (two persons) speak
7	أنتم تتكلمون	You (plural masculine) speak
8	أنتن تتكلمن	You (plural feminine) speak
9	هما يتكلمان	They (two persons) speak
10	هم يتكلمون	They (masculine) speak
11	هن يتكلمن	They (feminine) speak
12	نحن نتكلم	We speak

The subject in Arabic depends on the gender (masculine, feminine) and its number (one, two, three and more). You do the math yourself. That’s why in all my lessons, I never teach grammar rules. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that grammar rules are not important. You need to understand how grammar rules work to use the language properly. However, you don’t need to dive into its complexity and memorize every rule you find. Instead, I want to learn the grammar rules naturally, the exact same you did with your native language.

Arabic Dialects!

This is the point where a lot of people get confused and lost. Dialects! In reality no one speaks Modern Standard Arabic “MSA” the language we use formally in televisions and newspapers. If your goal from learning Arabic was just to recite “القرآن الكريم” or understand “الأحاديث النبوية” the sayings of prophet “محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم” then learning MSA would be the perfect choice for you. However, if you aim to connect with the locals and expect them to interact with you using MSA, then I am sorry to disappoint you. No local uses MSA to speak on his day to day conversation. 

Unfortunately each region has its own dialect. Watch my video on YouTube to know more about dialects and what is different between them. The good news is that each dialect is like a branch from the tree “modern standard Arabic”. That’s why at talkarabictoday.com we focus only on teaching MSA. After that, if your goal is to learn a specific dialect like Egyptian, Moroccan, or Gulf,  things will be much easier and you won’t find it difficult to familiarize with it.

The Method 

The method that you are going to use to learn Arabic is very important. Choosing the wrong method will make the learning process difficult, boring, and depressing.

On the other hand, when you follow the right approach and the correct method, learning Arabic will  seem very easy and enjoyable.

Example

I remember myself back when I took my first class in English. It was horrible. The system that we followed at school was not designed to teach us how to become fluent. Instead, it made us think only about tests, and how to get an A+ on the exams. I had excellent scores, however my pronunciation was  terrible. I couldn’t understand an American movie, or read a British newspaper.

The reason is simple. The method I followed was wrong. It made me think that speaking English fluently is next to impossible. At some point, I knew that I wouldn’t reach my goal if I had been following the same approach. And I thank God that I found the appropriate method that helped me speak English fluently. 

Same goes with you. You must follow the proper method to learn Arabic. Otherwise, you’ll be lost in the way and you will find Arabic hard to learn. 

The best way to do it is by following the same system that got you to learn your  native language, with some tweaks. 

Baby Approach

Back when we were babies, we had been listening to our mothers, fathers, and other people. two years of listening without speaking a single word. Then, After lots of listening, we managed to spell our first words like dad and mom.

I am not saying that you should follow the exact same thing back when you were a baby. After all, we are adults. We have more capabilities and tools to use. However, you should pursue the same concept. Keep it simple.  For more details, read my article here, I discussed about the method I used that got me to speak English fluently, and it is the same method I am teaching you to master Arabic.

Motivation

Even if you follow the best method in the world, you won’t get the best results if you are not passionate about becoming fluent in Arabic. 

Motivation is important for any kind of studying. When you are motivated,  you will focus and enjoy the time you spend on the lessons. On the contrary if you are not motivated, you will not only be distracted, but also you will have a hard time to start studying in the first place.

Let me give you a cold hard fact based on my own experience with learning English. To be fluent in Arabic you need time. We are talking about two years minimum to become fluent. All the videos and articles that say otherwise are lying to you. It is impossible to be fluent in any language in one month, six months, or even 1 year.

For that reason, and in order to continue learning Arabic day after day, month after month, you have to be super motivated. You need compelling reasons to fuel your body every time you study Arabic. 

For example, imagine yourself reciting “القرآن الكريم” just like a native speaker or understanding “خطبة الجمعة” in Arabic, or having a natural conversation with your Muslim friends.  Remember all the goals you have set, visualize that you have accomplished them. This is one of the ways to help you be maintain your motivation every single day.

The level You want to reach

It is quite obvious that the higher you climb, the more difficult it is going to be. Learning a few words just for fun is not like speaking Arabic perfectly. 

Learning the basics like “السلام عليكم” or “كيف حالك” is like shooting fish in a barrel. A month or two will serve the purpose. However, speaking Arabic natively and automatically takes time and dedication. That’s one of many reasons that make most students quit in the middle of the road.

To conclude, learning Arabic requires dedication and practice. While it may take time to become fluent in Arabic, with consistent effort, following the right method and being motivated every single day,  it is certainly possible that you will find learning Arabic and speaking it fluently is an easy mission to complete.

If you have any question or a suggestion regarding the topic, don’t hesitate to shoot your concern at the comment section below. Also, I encourage you to visit our YouTube channel to get weekly lessons that help you speak Arabic naturally and fluently.