One of the most effective ways to learn a language is to do it the natural way – by immersing yourself in Arabic throughout your daily life. After all, that’s how native speakers learn! This Immersion Itinerary is the perfect way to kickstart the process and try out what works for you. After you’ve finished your Immersion Day, see which habits you’d like to build into your daily routine! This schedule for a day packed full of MSA practice covers a huge range of different Arabic language resources. Pick your own adventure and tailor your Immersion Day to your own interests – whether you’d prefer to go on a virtual tour of an art gallery or kick back and play a game on your phone, you’ll be learning while you do it! This Itinerary can easily fit around your 9-5, so don’t worry if you can’t set aside a whole free day.
Immersion is an incredibly effective language learning technique and will improve your comprehension, pronunciation, and dramatically increase your range of vocabulary thanks to the wide range of activities you’ll be doing. Without a grammar drill in sight, you’ll be absorbing Arabic in the most natural way possible!
Remember: With immersion learning, always remember that the goal is not to understand every word. Even if you only catch one word in ten, you’ll still be absorbing the rhythm of the language and improving your pronunciation and emphasis. You’ll even be subconsciously learning body language and hand gestures. Relax and enjoy your day of Arabic, we promise there’s no test at the end!
Early Morning | Begin your day with the Adhan
If you aren’t Muslim but have spent time in the Islamic world or live near a mosque, you may be very familiar with the sound of the Adhan, but you might not have ever been able to decipher the words being said in detail. The text of the Adhan has remained almost unaltered since the 7th century (in the Gregorian calendar). Despite the Adhan being hundreds of years old, MSA learners will be able to understand every word because the prayer is in Classical Arabic.
Did you know? In some countries like Kuwait, the Covid pandemic heralded a rare change to the words of the Adhan, replacing the line ‘come to prayer’, with ‘pray in your homes’ to try to slow the spread of the virus.
This video includes the text of the Fajr (dawn) Adhan in Arabic, English, and French.
Note: This is the Sunni Adhan, the Shi’a Adhan is slightly different and includes the words ‘I bear witness that Ali is the friend of Allah’. The Shi’a dawn Adhan also omits the line ‘prayer is better than sleep’, replacing it with ‘hasten to the best of deeds’.
Now that you’re warmed up | Why not listen to the morning news in Arabic?
Head to your preferred news channel on YouTube, or try searching صباح العربية to find the most recent morning news program from the Al Arabiya channel.
If you prefer to get your morning news fix on the radio, www.tunein.com lets you listen to radio programmes from across the world on your desktop or phone.
Alternatively, if you’re more into reading your news, make sure you’ve downloaded an Arabic news app – we like Al Jazeera Arabic and BBC Arabic, both available for free on iOS and Android.
Planning your day | Make your to do list in Arabic!
Next up, get your day off to the best possible start with a good old to do list – but write it in Arabic! Kill two birds with one stone and get organised while you boost your vocabulary. Here’s a flashcard set on Quizlet full of vocabulary on household chores to get you started!
Make one change today | Switch your phone language to Arabic!
Did you know that the average person picks up their phone 58 times a day? Can you imagine how much language exposure you’d get without even thinking about it if you changed the language on your phone? Because phones use standard Arabic, it’s the perfect way for MSA learners to squeeze a little more language exposure into their day.
Top tip: If you’re a beginner or not too confident in your reading, make sure you know where the right menus are to change it back just in case!
While you’re at work | Some background music to keep you focused
Keep your spirits up through the day with this beautiful Arabic Instrumental playlist on Spotify, perfect for playing in the background while you work:
If you’re looking for something a bit more upbeat, don’t miss this sweet pop song by Humood called ‘Kun Anta’ (Be Yourself). Bonus points if you read through the lyrics! It’s not all that common to find easily decipherable songs in MSA, but this song is very clear and you’ll be confidently singing along in flawless Fusha in no time!
Your commute home | Listen to an audiobook!
If you aren’t keen on the news but want something to keep you company on your commute home, why not try an audiobook in Arabic?
We’ve recently been trying out the app اقرأ لي, which is available on iOS and Android. The app is free to download and has hundreds of audiobooks across all genres available for you to browse through. You can listen to the entire first chapter of each book for free before choosing whether to buy the rest! The app also allows you to slow down the speech if you’re having trouble keeping up, and offers a timer in case you like to listen before you fall asleep. If it’s your first time listening to an audiobook in Arabic, we suggest looking for a plot you’re already familiar with so you don’t feel lost if you miss a few sentences.
If you’re an Audible addict, then make sure to make use of their library of podcasts in Arabic, as well as some Arabic courses you can sit back and listen to. Their selection of full audiobooks is more limited, but they do have a few available, including The Memoirs of a Vagrant Soul ( مذكرات الأرقش) by the great Mikhail Na’ima.
If you’re not quite there yet, or you’re looking for something less intense, Audible also has a selection of short stories in Arabic targeted at learners, like Short Stories in Arabic by Olly Richards or Arabic Short Stories for Beginners by My Daily Arabic.
After work | Relax your way!
After a long day at work, it’s time to chill out and pick a relaxing activity to do in Arabic. Finding ways to incorporate Arabic into your normal routine is the best way to make sure your language skills progress, and what better way than to work language practice into your downtime! Pick just one of our suggestions, or try them all!
– A dose of culture – A virtual tour of an art museum
Get your culture fix with a narrated virtual tour of the We Are Not Alone exhibit at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, beautifully narrated by the prominent Emirati composer and pianist Hussain Al Jassmi.
– Gamify your learning
If you relax by playing games on your phone or computer, why not change the language to Arabic – you’ll pick up lots of new vocabulary without even noticing! Although the Arabic-speaking world is underrepresented when it comes to gaming, there’s still plenty of options – even free apps like Clash of Clans and Candy Crush support Arabic.
– Sit back and relax with a movie
It can be challenging to find films or TV series in MSA, as most are made in their own regional dialect. However, documentaries can be the saviour of the MSA student. There’s a huge number accessible for free on YouTube – Al Jazeera Arabic and DW Arabic documentaries tend to be especially well made, and both channels have large back catalogues well worth exploring. They’ve got options on everything from music to sustainability! If you’re in the mood for some history, here’s a documentary to try about the rise and fall of the Fatimid Empire:
If you’re in the mood for something more lighthearted, Netflix is the place to be! While most original series and movies produced in the Middle East are in Arabic dialects, there are a fair few foreign films and series which have been dubbed into MSA. The incredible French crime drama series Lupin is one of our top picks, or have a fun evening with Yes Day, Despicable Me, or even Shrek 2, all in MSA! Choose your own difficulty level by turning on the English subtitles or leaving them off.
If you’re learning Arabic with your kids, Netflix even has 3 entire seasons of Paw Patrol in MSA!
Top tip: Using Arabic subtitles while you watch is a great way to work on your reading speed. Challenge yourself and race the subtitles next time you watch a movie!
Immersion Day complete! Pat yourself on the back after a great day of Arabic, and don’t forget to incorporate your favourite ways of learning Arabic into your routine going forward!
If you enjoyed this Immersion Itinerary, don’t miss our Levantine Arabic Edition – you’ll feel like you’ve spent the day in Amman!