TIPS HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY LEARN MODERN STANDARD ARABIC (MSA)
Quoted from Book Belajar Bahasa Arab Modern bagi Pemula by A. Fatih Syuhud
General Guidelines
1. Learn more conversations, debates, discussions, in Arabic even if you do not understand a single word. The goal here is to get the ear to hear the sound and vocabulary. Download various Arabic audio and video from the internet. Please note: when downloading search for standard modern Arabic (MSA) instead of local dialect (amiyah).
2. Do not translate what you want to say from English to Arabic. But, memorize the Arabic expression and use it to express whatever you want to convey. Repeat as often as possible. This method will facilitate fluency in Arabic. Try to speak fluently without a hitch.
3. Do not be ashamed to speak Arabic even though what you say may be wrong. Consistency and continuous effort will bring you to the door of success. Again, ignore the shyness of speaking Arabic, because it will prevent you from learning and mastering it.
4. Learn the original Arabic speaker’s voice and the correct way of pronunciation via audio or video or tv news channel like Al-Jazeera or Al-Arabiya. This will help you to learn to hear and speak Arabic correctly and fluently.
5. Learn basic minimal Arabic rules of Al-Ajurumiyah for Nahwu and Al-Amtsilah Tashrifiyah for shorof. Understanding the grammar of Arabic will greatly assist the ability to speak, read and write Arabic correctly.
6. Make your own schedule to memorize at least five vocabularies (mufrodat) every day. And try to read and write the five mufrodat in perfect sentence either in jumlah fi’liyah (verbal sentence) or jumlah ismiyah (nominal sentence). This will generate a vast collection of vocabularies in a short time and use it appropriately. The greater the language of our languages, the more our power increases in Arabic.
7. Make learning Arabic as a fun hobby, not an obligation. Loving the material learned will speed up the learning process. Enjoy learning by listening to Arabic audio or watching Arabic-language movies or plays downloadable videos from the internet including youtube and other online services. Try the ones without any subtitle or if there is anyway focus on the pronunciation not on the translation.
8. For those who have started to speak Arabic fluently, do not say “I have mastered Arabic” and then stop learning. Keep learning and try to deepen it. This will open many opportunities up for you both for da’wah (spreading Islam) and career.
9. Test yourself periodically and correct the mistakes made. Between learning Arabic and professionals in Arabic are two different things. In the early stages of learning Arabic you should speak spontaneously without caring about errors, but after that it is mandatory for us to evaluate and correct what has been learned if something goes wrong.
10. Self-confidence is the main basis in learning Arabic. The higher our confidence, the higher our desire in using Arabic. Conversely, without self-confidence we will tend to avoid speaking in Arabic for fear of being wrong.
11. Rest assured on one thing: that everything new will be difficult at first. But hard work, consistency, istiqomah, daily practice, confidence, and perseverance (tenacious) will bring us to success and excellence.[]
For the first step: Learn 100 Top Arabic Phrases and Expressions