Learning Arabic In London

Are you an Arabic language learner in London, or are you considering taking Arabic language lessons in England’s capital city? If so, you’ll be excited to discover that there’s no need to go far to practice the Arabic language lessons that you take in London! Just hop on the tube to Edgware Road and you’ll enter an oriental world, a road full of people who’d love to speak to you in the language of Arabic!

The Edgware Road, is one of the longest roads in London, approximately 10 miles in length, running from Marble Arch, at the corner of Hyde Park and Oxford Street, to Marylebone. It’s where many Arabs hangout to eat great food and meet nice people and its where you could do the same!

Sit at any of the cafes like Yalla Yalla or Abu Zaid and read your copy of one of the many Arabic language newspapers, such as Al Ahram or Al Sharq and you’ll fit right in. If you get stuck, you might like to reach out to someone at the next table and ask for help with a word or two. There’s a very strong chance that they’ll be overwhelmed with delight to hear that an English person has taken the time to learn their language and I am sure do everything they can to help.

They’ll speak to you in spoken Arabic which varies slightly from region to region and is simpler than the formal language of Arabic newspapers. So in just one visit to Edgware Road you could practice the formal language in reading the newspaper amongst Arabs, as well as the spoken Arabic language in talking to the people around you.

For a further Middle East experience and possibly another chance to speak Arabic in London, check out the British Museum http://www.britishmuseum.org/learning/ schools_and_teachers/resources/cultures/middle_east_and_islamic_world.aspx which often holds exhibitions that draw not only Arabs living in the city but many people other cultures living in London also interested in the Middle East. “Words into Art”, is just one example of such an event. An Arabic calligraphy exhibition, which featured works of foremost modern artists of the Middle East that was so popular that it drew crowds of 6 deep around the exhibits.

The Arab British Centre http://www.arabbritishcentre.org.uk is another fixed venue where you can practice the Arabic language and attend events and lectures to feed your thirst for Middle East culture. A hugely popular and recent event at this venue includes the screening of A Syrian Love Story, directed by Sean Mcallister. If you haven’t had a chance to see it we recommend you do so!

Even more exciting is Shubbak http://www.shubbak.co.uk, described as “a window of contemporary Arabic culture”, an annual Arabic extravaganza, attended by 1000’s of visitors. The festival reaches out across London and springs up at multiple venues. It’s a celebration of Arab music, dance, poetry and art, as well as an event where you can also sample sumptuous food from all over the Middle East.

For more details about places and events where you can speak Arabic and experience Middle East culture it’s worth checking out our Twitter feed @nassramethod; as we often cover interesting Arab and Middle East culture events that do not appear in mainstream media.

For a further opportunity to speak Arabic we hold Meetups, where fellow students can practice what they have learnt and speak Arabic to each other. To register for one of our Meetups, please login here http://www.meetup.com/London-Arabic-Language-Meetup/ .

A final point to add, if you have not embarked on an Arabic language course yet, or maybe would like to have more opportunities to practice what you’ve learnt so far, and you’d like to speak directly to us for advice, please don’t hesitate to call (+44) 020 3290 9323. If you are further afield, we have a standalone online learning programme http:// nassraarabicmethod.com that offers students the opportunity to both learn and practice speaking the language from beginner to advance level and we’d be happy to speak to you about that also!

Of course, it goes without saying that learning Arabic will not just introduce you to new experiences and people to enhance your social life, it opens up many opportunities as far as your career is concerned. There’s a shortage of European Arabic language speakers within the work place, so if you want to both broaden experiences and create more choices as far as work is concerned, its worth considering learning Arabic and you’ve seen here that there are immediate opportunities to practice it.