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Not all languages are created equal. So, it’s not surprising some languages that are more practical to learn. Arabic is one of those languages.
What started as a nomadic language is now the official language of the Arab League, which consists of 22 countries including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia. It is also the liturgical language of Islam and one of the official languages of the United Nations.
From a religious, political, or economic standpoint, it is worthwhile to learn Arabic.
Read more: 20 Fun Facts About the Arabic Language
While searching for resources to learn the language, you may have encountered a good review of Babbel. And you may be wondering if there’s a Babbel Arabic course. It makes sense to want the best tool to start your journey, after all. Unfortunately, Arabic is not on Babbel’s list of courses.
But don’t fret! There are great Babbel alternatives that can help you achieve your Arabic goals.
What is Babbel?
Before you jump into my recommended apps, here’s a quick intro to Babbel.
A bestselling language app, Babbel teaches languages through time-tested strategies. The goal of any Babbel course is to get you talking from your first lesson. The app achieves this through real-world conversations for an authentic approach to fluency.
Babbel only features the voices of native speakers, not machine-learning bots. A lot of cultural details also go into the lessons. What you get are lessons that teach the right pronunciation, accents, and substantial context.
Also read: Babbel Review: Interactive Lessons That Take You From Beginner to Fluent
To make sure you get the most out of your lessons, Babbel combines a variety of review exercises, with well-timed intervals to help you form long-term memory. You don’t want to forget everything after a week or so, right?
But while the lessons are well-structured and cover all proficiency levels, Babbel, to the dismay of many, offers only 14 languages. This includes languages such as Spanish, French, German, and Russian.
The best Babbel alternatives
Like I said in the intro, there’s no Arabic on Babbel. But there are lots of effective apps to learn Arabic and some of them are just as good (if not better) as Babbel. Here are the three that you should highly consider:
1. Mondly
It’s not hard to see why this is among the most popular language learning apps today. In an age of gamified apps, Mondly has managed to strike a balance between engaging gamification and valuable content.
This app features short and fun but effective lessons that promise to help you improve all core language skills. You simply need to use it for 10 minutes a day to build a habit that’ll help you master your target language.
The great thing about Mondly Arabic is that it also helps you be more familiar with the characters. Plus, with audio guides and chatbot conversations, you can practice your listening and speaking skills!
Find out more about Mondly with this detailed review.
Key features:
- Effective lessons that you can easily include in your daily routine
- Build simple but relevant vocabulary
- Various sets of exercises and a leaderboard keep you engaged
2. Pimsleur
Try Pimsleur Arabic for FREE today
One of the oldest language learning programs, Pimsleur is a scientifically proven method for improving your listening and speaking skills. This is the app to use if you’re keen to be conversational in the shortest time possible.
Through 30-minute core audio lessons, Pimsleur helps you really nail down the Arabic tone and accent while also helping you be more confident in speaking. All Arabic words and phrases are delivered by native speakers — that’s authentic Arabic right on your phone.
While Pimsleur doesn’t specifically teach writing in Arabic, you will get to practice your reading skills. You can also choose from Modern Standard Arabic, Eastern Arabic, and Egyptian Arabic. Check out this comprehensive Pimsleur review… or try Pimsleur Arabic for FREE today!
Key features:
- A well-established technique of learning languages
- Hear and practice authentic pronunciation and accents from native speakers
- Helps build useful Arabic vocabulary
3. Rocket Languages
Learn Arabic on Rocket Languages
In terms of lesson organization, Rocket Arabic is a great candidate. This app is well-structured and so comprehensive, targeting all skills that learners have to improve on.
The program is mostly audio-based and trains you to listen and speak Arabic. But it doesn’t skimp on writing lessons. Here, you can record your own voice to achieve accuracy in pronunciation and enunciation. You can also practice writing Arabic characters using the video demos.
This app also shines in the way it incorporates Arabic culture into its lessons. You’ll learn how the language fits into local customs, greetings, local cuisine, and more!
Explore more of this app’s features and benefits with this Rocket Languages review.
Key features:
- A well-rounded program that targets all language skills
- Lots of downloadable audio content and extensive writing lessons
- An excellent speech recognition engine
Other great resources to learn Arabic
The above three apps aren’t your only options for learning Arabic. From fun apps to Arabic learning books, online tutor sites, Arabic online courses, YouTube channels, podcasts, and more, there are lots of resources that can help you improve your Arabic knowledge.
Preply: Boasting over 1,700 Arabic tutors, Preply is one of the best places to find private coaching online. Find tutors who specialize in conversational Arabic, Arabic for beginners, children, and advanced learners, Arabic literature, Arabic for business, and more — all at affordable rates!
Learn Arabic for Beginners: For those looking to learn the Arabic alphabet, grow their vocabulary, and improve basic conversational skills, this newbie-friendly Android app is a great choice. It also teaches basic Arabic grammar.
italki: With hundreds of Arabic professional teachers and community tutors, italki is your best option if you want to get coaching from a native speaker. And no, you don’t have to burn a hole in your pocket. You can choose tutors based on your budget and schedule!
FunEasyLearn Arabic: One of the most robust courses out there, FunEasyLearn teaches 6,000 Arabic words and 5,000 phrases with thousands of visually appealing illustrations. Train your ears with crystal-clear audio of native speakers and practice your pronunciation with the app’s speech recognition technology.
Cudoo: Covering five Arabic variants and dialects — Modern Standard Arabic, Classical, Egyptian, Lebanese, and Morrocan — Cudoo has one of the most comprehensive Arabic offerings online. Whether you aim to learn useful phrases, master Arabic writing, or learn Arabic for business, there’s a Cudoo course for you!
Skillshare: With courses catering to all learning levels and spanning different course durations, Skillshare is an awesome platform to grow your Arabic skills. Find courses on Arabic reading and writing, pronunciation, grammar, and more!
Udemy: This site offers a flexible library of video courses for learning Arabic, covering everything from the alphabet and grammar basics to conversational fluency. You can find options for Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), various dialects like Egyptian, and even Quranic Arabic. Taught by diverse, real-world instructors, these self-paced courses often include quizzes and lifetime access.
Arabic Course for English Speaking Students (Madina Islamic University): This 3-volume set teaches Classic or Quranic Arabic, which is the liturgical language of Islam. Muslims prefer to learn this form of Arabic because of its in-depth coverage of the Quran and Hadith terminology. If you’re a beginner willing to study proper Arabic, this book is a must.
ArabicPod101: Here’s a multimedia resource for learning how to read, write, speak, and understand Arabic. You can learn from the free and paid app by Innovative Languages app, the ArabicPod101 podcast, or its YouTube channel.
Learn with Zakaria: Ideal for kids and beginners, Zakaria’s animated videos teach the Arabic alphabet, colors, shapes, names of animals, fruits, vegetables, and more in Modern Standard Arabic. The videos last anywhere from 2 to 20 minutes. It’s also a fun way of learning and memorizing the Quran.
Netflix: Yes, really. Watching Arabic television dramas (مُسَلْسَلات or musalsalat) is an engrossing way to learn the language. Shows like Jinn, al-Hayba, The Secret of the Nile, Whispers, and Al Rawabi School for Girls guarantee a fun time, but they can also be educational if you want them to be.
Conclusion
While Babbel Arabic is yet to exist, there’s no reason for you to not enjoy a high-quality tool for learning Arabic. As the above list shows, there are plenty of alternatives for you.
That said, even the best apps, books, and online tutors can only get you so far. It takes motivation and lots of discipline to master foreign languages — even more so for a challenging one like Arabic. But if you’re willing to work hard and work smart, you’ll get there!