The Arabic Learning Process

Ahlan wa Sahlan,

There are many approaches and methodologies when it comes to learning a language, however some are far better than others when it comes to effectiveness. There is no doubt that when choosing a methodology you take into account the process in each one. Many people can learn better through certain ways than others and not every way suits everyone as a whole. I myself, in my efforts to learn the Arabic language have tried various approaches and would like to talk about them and their pros and cons.

IMPORTANT: The names of these approaches are not ''official'' but are my representations of what they are.

1. The Grammatical Approach
In this methodology the idea is learn the grammar and you understand how the language is supposed to work. After this process you can learn as many words and phrases as you want since you will be able to put them together in the proper way to form sentences, phrases and even write documents. This method does work and is taught mainly at University levels where the aim is to make the student understand how the language works.

Pros: good understanding of grammar, good understanding of how language works, learning the difference between the language as a standard and various colloquial uses

Cons: does not provide enough emphasis on the ability to speak, vocabulary does not become vast enough for everyday use, takes a lot of time to learn, can be difficult especially for those new to the language, heavy dependence on use of dictionaries.

2. Specific Area Language Learning
In this methodology you learn the vocabulary of a particular field of study that you wish to understand. For me, it was Islamic Arabic vocabulary. This process is very successful in teaching you the vocabulary of the specific knowledge field you wish to read and understand. This process is also used for those wanting to understand Islamic History and other fields related to Islamic knowledge, mainly the Quran.

Pros: field specific vocabulary enough to understand 80 to 90% without the need for a dictionary, provides basic knowledge of grammar, through understanding the language of even a specific field a basic understanding of how the language works is provided, learning speed is dependent upon individual effort.

Cons: almost no focus on spoken so communication ability is not strong, deep understanding of how the language works is lacking and is found much more in the first methodology, requires time to repeat and memorize the vocabulary words, self study courses can be harmful if no teacher is available

3. The Natural Approach
I call this the natural approach because this methodology teaches the new language in the same manner we learned our mother tongue. It depends heavily on listening and watching a speaker speaking and acting as he speaks. For example teaching the word 'jump' would be done by saying 'jump' while jumping. This is by far the most successful approach as will be clarified in the pros and cons.

Pros: heavy emphasis on speaking ability and building the confidence to do so, vast vocabulary for everyday usage, the ability to focus on a specific field and build a vast vocabulary through reading & learning that field in the language, the ability to be almost dictionary free even during the learning process, quickest approach for learning the language, memorizing vocabulary is easy as it is done though a natural audio, visual process that we are used to in our everyday lives, provides an excellent understanding of how the language works though usage and experience

Cons: does not provide deep understanding of grammar and the student must spend extra time in this regard, if not used and practiced often can lead to forgetting what is learned,

Conclusion
All of these, and other approaches, can be successful in learning the language if you keep in mind the pros and cons and work to do away with the cons. My learning process was in this very order and I actually found that the first two methods prepared me to understand easily the natural method as I was able to pick up on the beginner and intermediate levels fairly easily due to previously having understood how the language works through the grammatical method.

Everyone is different and not everything suits us all. Do not take any method for granted but take it as experience. Every method will give you benefit and if you choose to move on to another one you will find that the previous one will benefit you and ease the process in the next. There is no set order to move through these methods if you wish to and some people are able to master the language by just one as well.

It is my opinion and experience not only with myself but with my peers as well that the third method, the natural approach, is the best and fastest way for new comers and those with experience with the language to learn the language as a language.