Blog by: Umm Ar Rihan The most powerful thing in our journey of raising our children is playing and having fun with them. This way we’re not only spending time together as a happy family, making memories, but are also using the time together to bond, share values, and teach them important skills in life. When it comes to learning and teaching them a second language, the same ideas need to be applied. Introducing a second language through play will make it easier to absorb and it will help add more information in an undirected way. For example, when it comes to learning Arabic as a second langu ..read more

Author: Olly Richards Review by: Juwairiyah Shah  I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book (Short Stories in Arabic for Intermediate Learners) as it precisely catered to my goal of improving my Arabic language abilities. It consisted of a collection of short stories, so it was more manageable to finish without the overwhelming feeling one might experience when tackling a foreign language novel. The writing style was straightforward and easy to understand. The inclusion of vocabulary lists and comprehension questions at the end of each chapter provided an ideal means to assess my understandi ..read more

  By Naveera Ashraf   I have previously written about learning Arabic. But as with any learning process, I often need to come back and add more reflections. In recent years, the most sound advice I have heard on learning classical Arabic is by Ustadh Mustafa elQabbani. He says: Just to remember, disciplines like grammar (Nahw) and Balaghah were reverse-engineered from their sources. Their sources are the Quran and other literature such as the Muallaqaat and other major poems. There are two approaches to (studying) Balaghah and Nahw and ideally, you should take both. There’s the or ..read more

  Vocabulary is key to learning Arabic! With a good range of vocabulary, you can start to speak and understand Arabic without worrying about grammar. How can we instill a love for Arabic through crafts? Below we have crafted an activity that incorporates relevant vocabulary. This can be a great addition to your Ramadan Basket. Let us make our very own “Ramadan Arabic Calendar”. It’s a simple and fun craft that you can set as a challenge to learn 30 new Arabic words—one word for each day of Ramadan. Things you may need:  A3 card  Paper cut into 30 — 8cm x 4cm rectangles Star stic ..read more

    1. Visit your local library If you live in a country that is multicultural, you are bound to find Arabic Storybooks in the library. A considerable collection or a tiny corner, doesn’t matter! All you need is a few books to start off with before you decide to order some of your own. Would you believe it when we say, most non-Arabic-speaking families, living in the UAE, have never explored the Arabic Storybook section at the local library? If you are guilty of this, let us change the narrative this year. We have to start somewhere and if we are not ready to monetarily invest in Ara ..read more

  Let us hear from people outside the UAE, how they have managed to traverse through different courses and life experiences to learn what they have learnt. Our today’s blog post is about a young mom in Singapore. As you read her story, reflect on the persistence, the going back to the learning, the experimenting. Let us know in the comments if you share her thoughts. – – My Journey Learning Arabic! I became interested in learning the Arabic language at the age of 17 years old. I started to find interest in the Arabic language while I was reading the Quran. As a Muslim, I want to understan ..read more