sentence structure can be very different because verbs tend to come before the subject
There are not many opportunities to get immersed in the language outside Arabic-speaking countries
It’s important to understand what makes Arabic and English so different because this will give us a foundation from which we can work to overcome the most common challenges.
Everyone learns languages differently. Some people seem to pick up the new vocabulary and grammar without any problems. Others seem to have a more difficult time dealing with the differences between their language and the new one.
So, whenever someone asks: “is Arabic hard to learn?” we have to answer with: “it depends.”
We understand that that’s not the answer a lot of people want to hear, and it may even seem like a bit of evasion, but it’s true.
In other words, the more similar the new language is to your native language, the easier it will be for you to learn it.
Everyone learns languages differently. Some people seem to pick up the new vocabulary and grammar without any problems. Others seem to have a more difficult time dealing with the differences between their language and the new one.
Here are many characteristics that make Arabic more challenging for some learners.
The Arabic alphabet has 28 script letters that can be difficult for some students to learn
Reading Arabic has its own challenges because in written form it omits vowels
Arabic is written from right to left, which takes a whole new mindset
English and Arabic share very few common words (though there are some)
Arabic uses a lot of sounds that require using the back of the throat in a way that most English speakers are not familiar with
The sentence structure can be very different because verbs tend to come before the subject
There are not many opportunities to get immersed in the language outside Arabic-speaking countries
It’s important to understand what makes Arabic and English so different because this will give us a foundation from which we can work to overcome the most common challenges