Standard Arabic Course

Contents overview:

Level 1: Beginner

Students at this level learn how to introduce themselves using their name, age, and nationality. They begin conjugating regular past tense verbs with singular pronouns and using basic question words like who, what, where, and how many. They also start distinguishing between singular and plural forms of simple nouns and learn numbers from 1 to 10 in context. Other foundational skills include using subject pronouns, forming basic identification sentences with this is (using “هذا” and “هذه”), and expressing simple possession with phrases like I have or it belongs to me.

Level 2: High Beginner / Low Intermediate

Here, students expand their grammar knowledge by learning the present tense in both its jussive and subjunctive forms within simple sentences. They conjugate past tense verbs with all pronouns, understand how adjectives agree with nouns and follow them in order, and become familiar with regular masculine and feminine plural forms. They also use common prepositions (such as in, on, to, from), ask for and understand directions using everyday expressions, and use possessive suffixes. Speaking about daily routines with common present-tense verbs is also a key focus.

Level 3: Intermediate

This stage introduces students to conditional sentences using if (إذا), and they begin expressing future intentions using words like will (سوف) and will not (لن). They learn to recognize and conjugate irregular verbs in past and present tenses, and construct more complex nominal and verbal sentences. Vocabulary expands to cover work, education, and travel. Students use coordinating conjunctions like and, then, but, and or, apply advanced negation tools, and learn to distinguish between kāna and its sisters for expressing time-related ideas.

Level 4: Upper Intermediate

At this level, students work on forming more advanced and compound questions. They use comparative structures like more... than (أفعل form), and differentiate between transitive and intransitive verbs in context. Writing skills improve with the creation of descriptive and analytical texts using appropriate connectors. Students also learn exclamatory structures like How amazing it is... (ما أفعله / أفعل به), summarize journalistic texts, and use both verbal and nominal infinitives (المصدر الصريح والمؤول). Expressing opinions and viewpoints in a formal register becomes essential.

Level 5: Advanced

Advanced learners delve into rhetorical devices such as metaphor, simile, and metonymy. They analyze literary texts using basic critical terminology and work with more complex conditional structures using if only (لو) and if it weren’t for (لولا). They develop academic writing skills through structured analytical essays and learn how to use parenthetical phrases and emphasis tools. Classical praise and criticism expressions like Ni‘ma and Bi’sa are introduced, alongside writing formal letters and government-style reports. Specialized vocabulary includes legal and diplomatic terminology.

Level 6: Proficient / Near-Native

At the highest level, students read and analyze classical religious or heritage texts, using a wide range of advanced idioms and complex sentence structures. They compare grammatical styles across different historical linguistic schools and practice paraphrasing texts into more elegant or concise language. Formal debate and discussion are emphasized, using precise, eloquent Arabic. Writing includes in-depth essays on cultural or scientific topics. Finally, learners interpret classical and modern poetry, both structurally and thematically, and use rare rhetorical styles in both written and spoken Arabic.