FSI Levantine Arabic Course

What is the FSI Levantine Arabic Course?

The FSI Levantine Arabic course deals primarily with the pronunciation of the Levantine dialect of Arabic. More specifically, it features recordings of the Arabic of Palestine, although this version of Arabic is also readily understood in nearby areas.

Furthermore, much of what this course deals with – namely the problems English speakers have with the pronunciation of Arabic – are relevant to other forms of the language, such as the Arabic of Iraq or North Africa.

This means that for most students of Arabic, whichever dialect you have chosen to study, this course will help you improve your pronunciation.

How was FSI Levantine Arabic Course originally used?

FSI Levantine Arabic was originally designed for US diplomatic staff who were preparing for postings in the region where Levantine Arabic is spoken.

They would have spent a portion of their study time working through the material themselves, and the rest of the time, they would have spent in class with a teacher, who was there to check their progress.

In this way, on completing the course, they would have mastered the most challenging aspects of the pronunciation of Levantine Arabic, leaving them ready to assume their roles abroad.

How can you use this FSI Levantine Arabic Course?

Since this free Levantine Arabic course is mainly concerned with pronunciation, it is well-suited to autonomous study. You can simply work through the lessons, using the recordings to copy the pronunciation of the words and sentences.

The only difference is that you won’t have a teacher to monitor your progress or help with any difficulties, so you will either have to find a native speaker who can respond to your queries or simply manage by yourself.

If you can, I also recommend you record yourself speaking Arabic and listen back to what you say since this is an excellent way to improve your pronunciation when working alone.

Taking it further

Of course, you won’t be able to learn to speak Arabic simply by repeating the sounds and perfecting your pronunciation.

For this reason, if you are studying Arabic, I strongly encourage you to go out and find native speakers to practice with.

Try to use your Arabic skills to communicate as much as you can, and above all, try to make using Arabic a part of your daily life. Then, when you do, you may surprise yourself with how quickly you start making progress in this useful and fascinating but notoriously tricky language.