SKILLS
Learn Arabic with our growing repository of free, practice lessons, designed to improve your reading, writing, listening and speaking skills.
Learn Arabic at your level and pace
The self-study, Arabic lessons in these sections are written and organised by levels based on the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR). There are different types of texts, recordings and videos with interactive exercises and worksheets that practise the skills you need.
Choose the skill you want to practise today and learn Arabic at your own speed, whenever it’s convenient for you.
Select your level, from beginner Arabic level (A1 – A2) to advanced Arabic level (C1 – C2).
For the best results, you need to be familiar with the Arabic alphabet. If you haven’t already, start with our workbook here.
Reading
Here you can find activities to practise your reading skills. Reading will help you to improve your understanding of the Arabic language and build your vocabulary.
Writing
Here you can find activities to practise your writing skills. You can improve your writing by understanding model texts and how they are structured.
Listening
Here you can find activities to practise your listening skills. Listening will help you to improve your understanding of the Arabic language and your pronunciation.
Speaking
Here you can find speaking activities. You can improve your speaking by noticing the language we use in different situations and practising useful phrases.
Just starting to learn Arabic?
English speakers are often overwhelmed by the mere sight of Arabic letters, which at times may seem more like a half-finished painting of fiery dragons and mythical sea monsters than as a legible writing system. Unlike English, Arabic letters are written from right to left and may morph into each other, depending on their position in the word. Arcana’s Guide to the Arabic Alphabet uses mnemonic devices or visual aids, audio pronunciation and a plethora of reading and writing exercises to help you remember the Arabic letters in a matter of hours.
Learn Arabic with our digital courses in 20 minutes a day
Learning a dialect makes it easier to interact with others especially if you’re surrounded by Arabic speakers. Our digital courses are a great way to learn Arabic especially if you’re focused on speaking and understanding colloquial Arabic.
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
No, it is not a course. The Skills page gives you a wide variety of learning activities organised by level to help you learn Arabic.
There is no syllabus to follow or suggested study plans, and you are responsible for choosing suitable materials for your level.
If you are looking for structured learning through self-study digital courses or one-to-one classes with private teacher, we offer a selection of online classes and courses.
These practice lessons were designed for adult learners who want to improve their Arabic language skills online.
Since our digital courses focus on spoken Arabic, they prioritise speaking and listening. The skills-based lessons, on the other hand, focus on reading and writing in Modern Standard Arabic instead.
As a prerequisite, you only need to know the alphabet to learn Arabic for free.
All the learning materials on the Skills and Resources pages are free of charge. You don’t need to have an AOS account to access them.
Only our digital courses require an account and a subscription.
Yes, all the learning materials are organised by Arabic level based on the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR).
There are different types of texts, audio recordings and videos. All the activities have interactive exercises to support your learning and check your understanding.
Yes, but this is limited to watching videos and listening to Arabic to help you notice the language we use in different situations.
To really put your Arabic speaking into practice, you need to speak to other learners and ideally to a teacher who can correct your mistakes and advise you on how to improve your speaking and pronunciation.
Additionally, with Standard Arabic, you’ll be able to understand the news and media but you won’t be able to interact with other Arab speakers. For that, you have to learn colloquial (spoken) Arabic.
Our digital courses were designed with just this in mind. We focus solely on listening and speaking a dialect of colloquial Arabic.
You won’t need to. The individual lessons are self-contained with embedded quizzes that will give you instant feedback. You don’t need to do the lessons sequentially.
Our digital courses keep track of your progress since they are sequential with mandatory tests and certification.
All the practices lessons on the Skills page are in Modern Standard Arabic, which is mainly a formal literary language. The only prerequisite you will need is to be able to read and write the Arabic Alphabet.
You can start with the Guides section. There you will find a workbook for the Arabic alphabet as well as audio phrases and articles written especially for a compete beginner. As soon as you finish the workbook, you can start working on improving your skills starting from A1.