Arabic Language

Unlocking Arabic: Lessons from a Lifelong Learner

I help Arabic learners take steps toward fluency by drawing on lessons learned in my own journey of interacting in Arabic. This journey has been ongoing over the past 30 years of living in the Arab world.

My website thearabiclearner.com focuses on Arabic language learning, as well as my personal Arabic learning journey. I was born and grew up in Canada, but have lived in Egypt for more than half of my life. Depending on what day of the week it is and how much coffee I drink, I am a relatively fluent Arabic speaker. I also curate the site egyptianarabic.com.

My courses help Arabic learners take their first steps in the Arabic language. These include:

Egyptian Arabic Absolute Beginner's Workshop

Modern Standard Arabic Absolute Beginner's Course

I have also written a book on the 15 Essential Skills of an Arabic Learner. It looks at different ways of maximizing your Arabic language study.

My educational background is in Applied Linguistics and Middle Eastern Studies. I have a masters in Teaching English as a Foreign Language, which has helped me in approaching my own process of Arabic learning. Most of my Arabic education has come from spending many hours with people, although I did do one and a half years of formal Arabic courses at AUC, and several Arabic courses at the University of Toronto.

Most of what I develop or blog about, in terms of Arabic language learning, is based on my own interest in growing as an Arabic learner. The teacher always gets more learning out of the process than the student!