Try Arabic!

Try Arabic is a short online taster course of Modern Standard Arabic that has been specifically designed for students in schools throughout the United Kingdom.

It is ideal for secondary pupils of any age, but will be particularly beneficial at key stage 3 as it leads learners progressively towards an active use of the Arabic language and understanding of Arab culture.

  • The course is available on desktop and laptop computers and is complemented by a Smartphone App (Android).
  • The course can be classroom-based and teacher guided, but can also be offered to pupils for self-study.
  • No previous knowledge of Arabic is required.
  • The course uses Modern Standard Arabic, which is widely understood throughout the Arab world.

To ensure ease of access and overcome initial hurdles to learning Arabic, the online course uses transliteration (Western script), combined with an initial familiarisation with Arabic script.

The aim of Try Arabic is to offer secondary school pupils a barrier-free opportunity to explore Arabic and arouse the initial interest of pupils in a language that is frequently considered to be ‘too difficult to learn’.

Few schools in the UK have experienced native speaker teachers of Arabic. For this reason, Try Arabic has been designed so that any well-trained MFL teacher will recognise how the course is organised and structured and will know how to guide students through the course without being able to speak Arabic. In this respect Try Arabic offers an exciting language learning opportunity for teachers as well as students.

Try Arabic uses a cognitive-constructivist approach to learning and is based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, which sees learners as active participants learning a language for communicative purposes. The pedagogical approach is designed for European learners with European educational backgrounds. The topics cover social interaction at CEFR level A1.

The online is currently available as a beta version for testing. Access is free and registration is not required.

If you choose to use this resource, we would appreciate your feedback.