These days, everybody’s looking for a fun and easy way to improve their Arabic. Well, what if we said we did, in fact, find a fun and easy way to improve our Arabic? What’s more, you can even do it right from the comfort of your living room sofa!
That’s right! These days you can improve your Arabic by simply watching TV. (We bet your math teacher never gave you that advice.)
Not only can TV improve your listening skills in Arabic, but it can also improve your speaking skills as well. How? Through a technique called “shadowing”. Shadowing is where you listen to a video of someone speaking and you repeat what they say. It’s great for helping you improve your Arabic intonation and pronunciation. What’s more, what shadowing does is create these neural connections in your brain. This helps produce Arabic words and phrases quickly and precisely, you don’t even have to think about it. At the same time, they also improve muscle memory in the body parts that are in charge of making those sounds. This comes in quite handy as Arabic has quite a few sounds not likely found in your language.
Today there is a plethora of Arab TV shows and series available to watch and just as many ways to watch them. From YouTube to live streams, you can watch everything from the best romantic Arabic drama series to free Arabic cartoons. (And yes, Arabic cartoons are a great way to improve your Arabic at any age.)
Today, however, we’re going to focus on another kind of Arabic series – the Arab reality show. We chose these shows because they’ll help you learn real Arabic that people use in everyday life.
So, without further ado, here’s an Arabic TV show list that you can start using the shadowing technique with today.
Arabs Got Talent
Arabs Got Talent is the regional spin-off of the popular America’s Got Talent and Britain’s Got Talent franchises. Broadcast out of Lebanon, the show offers gifted Arabs the chance to compete with each other for big prizes. Prizes include a brand-new car, 500,000 Saudi Arabian Riyals and a contract with the Arab channel MBC. Judges include Arab personalities like singer Najwa Karam, university dean Ali Jaber, comedian Nasser Al Qasabi and the actor Ahmed Helmy. These judges vote for contestants until the semi-finals when the audience decides who goes to the finals and wins. Since contestants come from all over the region, that means you’ll get a wide range of dialects from the show. Subtitles are in Modern Standard Arabic. However, As the show is seasonal, you can look for it on MBC4. Highlights are available on the Arabs Got Talent YouTube channel.
Khawatir
The award-winning Khawatir (meaning “reflections”) follows a young Saudi man, Ahmed Al Shugairi, as he travels the world. Each episode shows what’s the same and what’s the difference between the Middle East and the rest of the world. Though the series ended in 2015 after 11 seasons, you can still find each episode on YouTube. If you’re learning the Gulf Arab dialect, you’ll find Khawatir really helpful as Al Shugairi speaks that very dialect. However, advanced learners of Modern Standard Arabic should have no problem understanding him as well.
MasterChef Morocco
MasterChef Morocco is a branch of the American series MasterChef that has run from July 27, 2010, to today. Morocco is a good choice for the show as it has some of the most delicious cuisines in the world. Like the show’s Western counterpart, the premise of MasterChef Morocco is pretty simple. Both professional and home chefs are chosen from all over the region. They compete for the Grand Prize of somewhere around $40,000 and a free internship at a very well-known culinary school. Instead of staying in the same studio kitchen, however, chefs travel all over the Maghreb collecting local recipes. As a result, both chefs and viewers learn a little more about Moroccan cuisine. Those learning Arabic will learn all about the Maghreb dialect. Again, you can watch each episode on YouTube for those not living in the region.
The Victorious
The Victorious is the Arabs got Talent of the Arab sports world. And you know that there is really only one sport in the Middle East and that, of course, is soccer. The show brings the most gifted of Arabic-speaking athletes to Dubai for this yearly football contest. And judges Luís Figo, Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, Alessandro Del Piero and aren’t easy on them either. Still, if they make it to the end, the winner receives a grand prize of $100,000. As a result, competition is fierce. For Arabic learners, though most of the subtitles are in MSA, you get a wide mix of different Arabic dialects as well. This can be daunting for beginners, but advanced learners should be good to go. Like most of these shows, we’ve mentioned today, episodes of this program can also be found on YouTube.
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Another Western show with a Middle Eastern spin is the top-rated Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The show is hosted by Lebanese TV host (and former Minister of Information) George Kurdahi who is like America’s Regis Philbin without a singing career. The show has run off and on for more than 18 years in the Arab region. What’s more, during the 2015/2016 season the main prize was doubled to SR2,000,000 (or just over a quarter of a million USD). All guests had to do to win that two million is answer all 15 questions correctly. As far as Arabic goes, however, this show is not for the novice. In fact, even some intermediate learners will find it hard to understand sometimes because of the slang and jargon. Still, if you like a challenge, those learning MSA and Levantine Arabic can again find many episodes on YouTube.
Try using the shadowing technique while watching these shows. We think you’ll agree that they’re a fun and easy way to improve both your Arabic listening and speaking skills in no time at all.
Here’s the Reality of Using Kaleela
While learning Arabic might not make you a millionaire, it can enrich your life in so many other ways. It helps you meet other people living in areas rich in history and culture. What’s more, learning Arabic can help you find a better job leading to a more rewarding career. It also creates memories that’ll last a lifetime.
With all of these riches waiting for you, why not learn Arabic by giving the Kaleela Arabic learning App a try today? After all, Kaleela makes learning easier than it ever has been before. Kaleela was created by highly-qualified native speaking Arabic language experts to teach the basics of Arabic. That means you’ll hear real Arabic speakers just as if you were sitting in a Middle Eastern classroom. And that means you’ll learn to speak like a native speaker.
In fact, Kaleela will take you step-by-step through the whole Arabic learning process from the Arabic alphabet to Arabic dialects. Along the way, you learn the five main skills of learning any language – reading, writing, listening, speaking, and of course culture. Along with experience, Kaleela also brings you convenience. No more sitting in stuffy classrooms for hours or trying to fit learning Arabic into your schedule. With Kaleela, you’ll learn Arabic where you want when you want – all at your own pace.
Try it for yourself and see how fun and easy. Use Kaleela when you want to learn Arabic the right way. Download it today – only from kaleela.com.
