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Join us for part 2 of our Arabic Beginners course. Build and improve your beginners knowledge of Arabic over 10 weekly evening classes.

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Arabic Beginners Part 2 Course overview

Continue to develop your basic grasp of Arabic with part 2 of our beginners syllabus, the second of three beginners modules.

In part 2, you’ll expand your range of vocabulary to count, describe family members and use question tools to elicit information. We’ll introduce you to new grammatical structures, including demonstrative pronouns هذا هذه هُنا هُناك and the definite article أل.

Our class sizes are small, and we use a combination of tutor presentations, activities and group work to practice your listening, speaking and writing skills.

Who is it for?

You should have studied Arabic formally for around 20 hours. It is ideal if you have completed the beginners part 1 or equivalent. See the eligibility section to find out more.

Find out more about our Arabic courses

Timetable

Our January 2025 course will take place one evening a week at 18:30 for 8 weeks. This is a shorter timeframe to accommodate religious observances, such as Ramadan.

Benefits

  • Skip part 1 if you already know simple Arabic including the Arabic alphabet and how to introduce yourself
  • Led by qualified and highly skilled tutors, who follow the European framework for language learning.

What will I learn?

Part 2 teaches you more of the essentials you need, including how to count, give your address and express regret and apologise.

By the end of this course you will be able to

  • identify and describe classroom surroundings and people
  • elicit information and provide answers using general and unique questions tools
  • express admiration
  • describe family members, accommodation and study subjects.

Grammatical structures in context

  • demonstrative pronouns, gender agreements
  • contrast particles
  • assimilating and non-assimilating sounds, sun and moon letters
  • definite and indefinite nouns, idafa structure;,dual nouns, plural of non-rational noun (non-human)
  • Arabic verbs, object of verbs
  • negatives
  • interrogative form
  • ordinal numbers and number noun agreement
  • preposition of place
  • object of prepositions
  • pronouns of separation.

Assessment and certificates

You will be awarded an official City St George's, University of London certificate on completion of the course if you attend over 70 per cent of the classes. The course is not formally accredited.

Teaching

Your tutor will make your classes interactive through pair and group work, role-play and class discussion. You’ll also learn about grammar in context and pronunciation and intonation.

Your weekly homework allows you to practise what you have learned in class.

Eligibility

To benefit from this course, you should have already studied Arabic for approximately 20 hours, or be able to:

  • understand the Arabic alphabet (read, write and phonetics)
  • introduce and identify yourself and others
  • greet people and say goodbye
  • understand short and long Arabic vowels and how to construct simple sentences
  • use the letter Ta Marbouda
  • know how to use masculine and feminine words.

Completely new to Arabic? Start with part 1. Sign up for the Arabic Beginners full syllabus (parts 1-3), to get the best price.

Check out part 3 if you have had around 40 hours of formal study.

English requirements

You will need a good level of spoken and written English to enrol on this course.

Tutors

  • Ahmed El-Shareif

    Ahmed EI-Shareif (online classes)

    Ahmed El-Shareif is a native Arabic speaker from Egypt with extensive experience teaching Arabic online and in higher education. He is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) and holds two master’s degrees:

    • MA in Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language, SOAS, University of London (2012). Dissertation: “The Effect of Metacognitive Instruction on the Listening Ability of Arabic as a Foreign Language Students.”
    • MA in Academic Practice (2023). Project: “Exploring Levels and Types of Engagement with Open Education Practice and Open Educational Resources among Teachers of Arabic as a Second Language in Higher Educational Institutions in the United Kingdom.”

      He has attended multiple professional workshops led by the authors of different Arabic textbooks at the University of Texas (USA), as well as sessions in Spain and London.

      Teaching experience (current & previous):
    • Currently teaches Arabic online at City, University of London (Bayes Business School modules and all evening programmes, Years 1–3) and SOAS.
    • Previous roles at Suffolk College, University of Westminster, International House London, and King’s College London.

      Assessment & training:
    • Certified External Examiner for Pearson and the Chartered Institute of Linguists.
    • Designs and runs teacher‑training courses for Arabic instructors in the UK and abroad.

    Ahmed studied Classics (Latin and Greek), speaks Modern Greek, and knows Italian and Japanese.

  • Sawsan Askoul

    Sawsan has an MA in Translation from the University of Westminster and an MA in Applied Linguistics and Communication from Birkbeck College, University of London. She is particularly interested in Arabic phonetics and phonology, bilingual translation and second language acquisition. Sawsan is an experienced teacher who has been teaching Arabic as a foreign language for the past 15 years.

    Publications

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