Is Grammar Stopping You from Trying to Learn Arabic Language Skills?

Gary Greer 5/7/2020

Arabic Grammar

Do The Old School Methods Make Arabic Difficult to Learn?

Nowadays, most school curriculums include the study of foreign languages such as French, Spanish, Chinese, and even Arabic. So, it’s very likely you had the chance for learning languages free in high school.

Unfortunately, however, the average high school student doesn’t graduate with the ability to speak another language like Arabic fluently. Many of them learn to read Arabic and may be even good at Arabic writing, for example. However, they still lack the ability to understand Arabic in its conversational form. Because most high schools use the same language teaching methods. It’s clear that these methods simply aren’t effective in learning Arabic or any other language. So, what’s the solution?

So What’s Holding You Back?

The best way to learn Arabic is to both practice Arabic writing and learn to speak Arabic in a conversational manner. This may be the part you dread and where all of your self-confidence in the Arabic language skills you’ve already learned starts to unravel. It’s because it involves trying to grasp all of the important Arabic grammar rules. This can lead you to feel insecure and invoke fears of sounding stupid when you write or speak Arabic. This fear might be exactly what’s holding you back from progressing in the language.

This is the main reason why focusing on grammar is the wrong way to teach (and the wrong way to learn) Arabic and can hold students back in a number of ways:

It’s Complicated

Arabic learners have a lot to take in when first learning Arabic. The last thing they need is to be bogged down in the quagmire of all those complicated grammar rules. In fact, probably one of the most difficult things about learning Arabic is all of its grammar rules. These are far more than that of English, German or French, for example. Unless learning languages comes as naturally as breathing to you, being bombarded by all of these rules at the beginning of your Arabic language journey might want to make you throw your hands in the air and simply give up.

Grammar, Grammar, Grammar, Eye Roll

In general, perfecting written Arabic are what Arabic grammar rules are all about. While having a strong grip on the aspects of written Arabic is important in the modern world where a lot of communication is done online, when it comes to speaking the language, spending all this time on Arabic grammar might be holding you back

The goal for nearly every Arabic student is to try to become fluent in the language quickly. One result of being fluent in spoken Arabic is that it will transfer to a better understanding of written Arabic as well. Unfortunately, the old school way of teaching Arabic doesn’t see Arabic fluency as important as learning Arabic grammar. That seems to be a huge part of the problem.

Are You Speaking to Me?

Most of us do not speak our native language the same way that we write it in everyday conversations. We use less formal words, often speaking slang. Sometimes we don’t even use full sentences because the other person understands what you mean. So, how many Arabs do you think have everyday conversations using perfect Arabic grammar? There might be a few, but rest assured, it’s not many. So, why do Arabic teachers insist that their students learn all of this grammar when most people from Arabic speaking countries don’t use it when speaking Arabic anyway? This is why, if you insist on studying grammar first, you might struggle to understand Arabs when they speak.

Grammar Ain’t No Fun No More!

Learning anything should be fun, and that includes learning Arabic grammar. Unfortunately, all this grammar learning can suck the fun right out of learning, turning it into a chore. Students should be having nice conversations and meeting and practicing other learners and speakers of Arabic, not trying to remember all of these grammar rules by rote every day.

You know what makes learning Arabic fun? These new language learning websites and language learning apps, make learning Arabic, and even Arabic grammar, fun! If you want to put the joy back into the joy of learning, try one of those Arabic learning apps like the Kaleela Arabic language learning app today.

If worrying about grammar has been stopping you from learning Arabic, then forget about grammar for now; Instead, focus on having fun and staying positive as you learn. Keeping a positive mental attitude and enjoying the process is one of the greatest ways to ensure you’ll be successful. Just keep at it and you’ll be talking like a native Arab before you know it.

If you’re interested in learning Modern Standard Arabic or any of the other Arabic dialects, or you’re already learning the language and just want more tips for learning Arabic, why not check out the best way to learn a language online – the Kaleela Arabic learning app? As you may already know, researchers have proven that one of the best language learning techniques is learning Arabic through language learning apps. So, start learning Arabic now by downloading the Kaleela Arabic language learning app to your IOS or Android device today.