If you want to learn “Arabic” you need to prepare yourself with the following steps:
Which dialect are you going to learn?
Egyptian Arabic? Levantine Arabic? Gulf Arabic? Modern Standard Arabic?
How are you going to learn the dialect?
A course? A teacher? In person?
Why do you want to learn?
Travel? Business? A relationship?
Do you have enough time?
Learning requires a certain amount of time, be it per week or per month. Make sure you have enough time to learn, repeat and remember words, sentences.
Be sure of your choice!
If you choose to learn Egyptian Arabic (or another variant) and want to make a sudden switch to Levantine Arabic, the transition will be difficult. You will easily understand the new dialect but you're going to have to deal with a completely new vocabulary from scratch.
Have the financial ability to learn.
This is a very important point, the course on StackArabic costs only $99.99 lifetime but this is a financial decision you have to make on your own. Are you willing and able to spend this amount of money? And what after learning, visiting the country or countries of your choice to put your knowledge to the test? It's important that after you start learning your variant of Arabic that you practice with people (be it online or in person). But I will always say this: in person is more efficient, I had to do it that way in Egypt and it was the best decision I could've made. I speak Egyptian Arabic fluently because of it!
Advice from Jason@StackArabic:
If you want to learn to speak Arabic, I recommend you to go for Egyptian Arabic.
Oh, he's simply promoting his course you could say. Yes and no.
You will have many benefits from knowing Egyptian Arabic: first of all be understood by ALL Arabic (dialect) speakers and understand not only Egyptian Arabic but also Levantine Arabic, Gulf Arabic.
Depending on where you live, other dialects too. I know for a fact that understanding Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) is EASY just because of knowing Egyptian Arabic.
How does that help? Well, knowing MSA helps you with understanding the Quran or Bible in Arabic.
Order food, Syrian delivery driver? Have a chat with him or her, easily! I do it too. It's quite fun actually.
Or speak with an Egyptian lady in the Netherlands that sells ice cream? I did that. Spoke about myself, family and walking at night in Alexandria, Egypt. Her mango ice cream is amazing. It's those delicious Egyptian mangoes.
Enter a store in an Arabic neighbourhood (in a Balkan country) and speak to the Syrian shopkeepers? Get your bottle of water cheaper and free snacks, be invited for tea in the back of the shop? It all happens.
Speaking "Arabic" and understanding others, joining in conversations, be invited to have tea or something to eat. It happens regularly and it's always fun!
Speak with a Moroccan street vendor in Belgium? Not an issue! While on a break in high school, going to get a delicious Arabic sandwich in Brussels from Moroccan food vendors? Ordering in Arabic, easy and fun! And the food is delicious!
You don't have to know the vocabulary in other Arabic dialects off the top of your head to be able to understand.
I recently watched a video of a person traveling to Yemen and I understood what was being said by locals. Using sometimes the SAME words as in Egyptian Arabic and words I don't use. What matters is that you understand.
In my course you will learn to speak Egyptian Arabic without any issues, use all your knowledge in person too. Speak Egyptian Arabic from the very beginning.
That's what you get with StackArabic.
