As the Arab world becomes more and more prominent on the world stage, the advantages of learning Arabic are escalating. Perhaps the most useful real world skill to exist right now is having Arabic language skills.

If you’re thinking about taking the time to learn Arabic rather than expecting the Arabic speaking countries of the Middle East to accommodate your language, you are a rare breed indeed. However, transforming into the impressive polyglot you aspire to be is 100% possible with the right approach and attitude.


Studying Arabic is really all about learning how to communicate and connect with others—an incredibly important life skill that can only be cultivated by interacting with other Arabic speaking people. When you master Arabic, what you’re really doing is using your new phenomenal powers of being able to comprehend what someone is saying, remembering the proper vocabulary and grammar to use and using it correctly to reply back—all then and there and in a timely manner. Now you’ve connected, and that’s what learning Arabic is really all about.

So, why is it important to learn Arabic? Basically, the advantages of learning Arabic can set you up for success in nearly every aspect of your life. Here are six of those aspects:


1.  Travel Cheaper and Easier with Arabic

It’s 3 a.m. and you’ve just arrived at Queen Alia International Airport outside of Amman, Jordan, after an 11-and-a-half-hour flight from Chicago. All you want to do now is put your head on a nice, comfortable pillow. If you only took the time to learn basic Arabic words from a phrasebook you bought at a bookstore in O’Hare and read on the flight to Amman, finding a place to crash could be exhaustingly slow. Without knowing the right words, you’ve limited yourself to some very expensive or slower options.  

However, if you started learning Arabic for beginners a few weeks before your trip, you can know enough of the language to save yourself some time, money, and heartache. Just as a few key phrases will make Transportation and lodging can be much cheaper with just a few well-learned Arabic phrases, giving you a better and more genuine experience. Oh, and by the way, this also applies to food, because knowing what to ask for in Arabic can help you gather some valuable information, ultimately leading you to far tastier and cheaper fare than what is usually available at your hotel.


2. Get a Career!

You may already know the difference between a job and a career: a job is something you do only to earn money; a career is a series of connected employment opportunities. A job has very little impact on your future work life, while a career provides experience and learning to fire up your future.  

Learning Arabic language skills can fuel your chances of having a fruitful and satisfying career. More companies than ever are doing business in the Middle East and North Africa, but they can’t do business there without hiring people who have a  good working knowledge of the Arabic language. In fact, the Arabic language is in very high demand in many Western countries as there is a shortage of people who actually take the time to learn to speak Arabic. As a result, being able to communicate in Arabic makes you much more valuable to an employer and having that competitive edge on your resume is without a doubt an eye-catcher. So, in today’s increasingly competitive job market, why not give yourself every possible edge? 


3. “Check Out the Big Brain on Brett!”

Research has shown that, no matter at what age you start, there are many cognitive benefits of learning another language such as Arabic. These studies have shown that people who speak at least two languages tend to have bigger brains, better memories, are more creative, and solve problems easier than their monolingual counterparts. They also learn pretty much anything better and faster and can quickly switch between tasks, an especially important skill in today’s world of multitasking.


4. Win Friends and Influence People

Meeting new and interesting people and developing lifelong friendships are certainly objectives well worth aspiring for, and learning another language is a sure way to expedite that process. Famed American writer and lecturer, and perhaps the world’s first, self-help guru, Dale Carnegie came up with six ways to get people to like you:


  1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
  2. Smile.
  3. Remember that a person’s name is, to that person, the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
  4. Be a good listener.
  5. Talk in terms of the other person’s interest.
  6. Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.


Learning Arabic can certainly help you with most of these ways win new friends. Arabs love when you try to learn their language because it shows them that you are genuinely interested in them.  Indeed, it will make them smile even if you make a few mistakes. You’ll smile two as you get to know your new friend’s name and other details about them in Arabic. You’ll be able to listen to them and have great conversations about thinks you have in common (even learning Arabic is something you’ll have in common).  Because you took the time to learn Arabic and talk to them, they’ll know you’re sincere and feel you respect them by learning their language.  So, according to Mr. Carnegie’s hacks for getting people to like you, learning Arabic can help you meet new people and develop meaningful friendships.


5. You’ll be More Open-Minded About Other Cultures

Learning Arabic and soaking in the Arab culture is the surest way to become an open-minded, understanding, and tolerant human, and this new worldview you’ll have is enormously valuable. Indeed, looking at the world through the eyes of others can give you a different perspective. Understanding where you and others come from is a fantastic, eye-opening and priceless experience.


6. You’ll Also Learn More About Your Culture

Learning Arabic can essentially result in a kind of reverse psychology for you and leave you with a better understanding of your own language and culture. This is one of the most surprising benefits of learning Arabic. You’ll become much more aware of not only you’re your own cultural customs, but also aware of your language and its grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation patterns of your first language, meaning you’ll not only improve in Arabic, but also improve in your native tongue.  

Learning Arabic is indeed, very beneficial to enriching your life in many ways. If you’re interested in learning the language, perhaps the best way to learn Arabic these days is through Arabic learning apps like the Kaleela Arabic learning app. Our user-friendly app is downloadable to both IOS and Android mobile devices and available in a number of languages including English, Spanish, Indonesian, and Chinese – with more to come!


After downloading the app, you can choose from a variety of courses including Modern Standard Arabic (also known as fusha) or dive a little deeper into the Arabic dialects by learning Egyptian Arabic, Palestinian-Jordanian Arabic and Syrian Arabic.  There are even special courses on the Arabic alphabet and how to write Arabic letters for those learning Arabic for beginners. Visit kaleela.com today for more info.


If you liked this article and would like to learn Arabic, why not head over to our website and download the Kaleela Arabic learning app and learn to speak Arabic today? With the Kaleela Arabic learning app you can start learning Arabic on your own, at your own pace, whenever and wherever you want. It really is the best way to learn Arabic! Try it now and find out why.