History
Reading Harry Potter in Arabic before the Foreign Service swearing in ceremony.
When I started studying Arabic in 2006, I thought it would be easy. After all, I ignorantly/arrogantly thought to myself, people said calculus and chemistry were hard, and I found few difficulties.
After two quarters in gulf colloquial and 1 week in a Syrian Fusha class, I was beginning to suspect that Arabic was not a project to be completed in a year. I came to the conclusion that stubbornness would prevent me from giving up, but that classes were not helping me achieve my goal. Starting with Alif-Baa, I worked my way through the Al-Kitaab series, and now try to read novels while using Arabic in the workplace.
After more than 1500 hours of study (yes, I’ve counted) and an FSI score of 3/3 I can claim that Arabic is no longer an impregnable mystery, but there is still a long road ahead of me before I become fluent. This blog is an attempt to make the journey slightly easier for those who want to learn, or continue to learn, one of the hardest languages in the world.
Hello Jonathan,
I discovered your blog on learning Arabic, and was suprised to read that you live in Spokane.
I’ve been studying in MSA on and off for the past 10-years (couple half-summers in Morocco in 1998 and 2000 and a summer at Middlebury in 1999) and now live in Coeur d’ Alene.
If you are looking for a conversational partner when you return from Syria, let me know. I am considered a “High Intermediate” speaker according to the ACTFL and expect to reach “Advanced Low” when I
re-test with http://www.languagetesting.com in June.
Good luck in Syria.
Derek