You would have already guessed by now, but learning a language is neither an easy nor a fast process. It takes time. But how much time is the question? Well, as it turns out, it depends on a number of factors. Isn’t it time to learn Arabic?
Approach and Drive
As anything you might engage in, the reason and motivation of why you do things is very important. If you are lacking motivation, then you are likely to quit pretty soon. This will automatically affect how fast you will learn Arabic. The approach and attitude is also another major part. If you are seeking to learn Quranic Arabic, but you are not interested in Islam, then what is the point? Your approach will probably be a weak one. The same applies to your motivation. How long does it take to learn Quranic Arabic in that case? Probably a very long time.
Time
Dedication is important. If you want to learn Arabic in 6 months, for example, you would need to be spending most of those 6 months by actually learning. Purely learning. If you find the best books to learn the Arabic language, but you have no time to read, what is the point? You need to spend enough time on whatever Arabic learning you are trying to do. Timing also differs from one Arabic topic to the other. Arabic grammar for example, may take you months. On the other hand, Egyptian Arabic may not take as long. It depends on you and how well you manage and dedicate your time.
Experience
Your experience in learning a language plays a huge role in what you do next. It even affects your approach, drive, and time you spend. If this is something you have done before, you may need to spend less time because you already recognize your own learning style. If you haven’t tried learning such a complex language before with detailed comprehension, then you would have to figure everything out from scratch. In other words, it will take you longer.
Your Language
Some languages share similar grounds to Arabic. For example, the Germans would say 21 as 1 plus 20. Unlike English, which starts with the 20 then the 1, Arabic is similar to German in that sense. This is good news for the German speakers as they will find numbering a not-so-challenging learning process. All they need to do is memorize the numbers. However, for the speakers of the English language, they would need to rewire their brain to place the 1 before the 20. It is like driving in the United Kingdom on the left side and moving to the Middle East and drive on the right side. You could end up with a lot of accidents to say the least.
The Real Deal
The number of hours per say depends on the factors we mentioned above. However, there have been studies made on this. Of course, at Kaleela we like to keep you covered with everything to do with Arabic language learning. We previously posted an article that will give you the numbers you need to know on how long it takes to learn Arabic. Keep in mind that it depends on your situation. The number of hours you spend, how efficiently you use those hours into actually learning, and basically everything we mentioned in this article, plays a key role in your Arabic learning.
Ask Learners
It is always a good idea to ask non-Arabic speakers on how long it really took them. Find out what they did which practically worked for them. Theory is great but practice is everything. As humans, we have different learning styles and we may even learning in unconventional ways. Everything is possible. It is important, however, to stay tuned on what works for others because it just might work for you too.
