With the Syrian diaspora, thousands of Westerners are learning Levantine. Also, since all Arabs understand Levantine, learning Levantine means unlocking the potential of conversation with over 400 million - almost half a billion - people. But many learners find that they don't have enough time to learn it. This article will give you tips and tricks on how to learn Levantine on a tight schedule.
Steps
Part 1
Part 1 of 4:
Having the Proper Frame of Mind
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1Know that how much you will progress depends more on what you put into it than on any natural abilities you have.
- For example, no study has ever shown any direct correlation between reduced language acquisition skill and increased age.
- On the contrary, research has confirmed that adults can be better language learners than kids. A study at the University of Haifa [1] X Research source has found that under the right circumstances, adults show an intuition for unexplained grammar rules better than their younger counterparts
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2Create reasonable and quantifiable goals. Learners who don't have quantifiable goals might not feel they're improving, while learners who have unreasonable goals will be discouraged. On the other hand, reaching your milestones will encourage you to keep learning!
- For example, instead of saying "I want to learn Levantine within 3 years", here are examples of quantifiable goals:
- I will be able to introduce myself and ask the other how he feels within one week.
- I want learn 1 word a day over the coming 30 days.
- I will learn to use personal suffixes (beddi, beddak, beddo...) correctly within one month.
- I will be able to form simple sentences with correct syntax within two months.
- I need to learn the two basic tenses (base infinitive and past) within four months.
- I will enjoy having basic exchanges with people about everyday life within six months.
Advertisement - For example, instead of saying "I want to learn Levantine within 3 years", here are examples of quantifiable goals:
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3Know that Levantine isn't that difficult. Fusha Arabic has a reputation of being one of the most difficult languages in the world, but that doesn't apply to Levantine, which is a colloquial, and therefore extremely simplified, dialect.
- Levantine syntax (sentence structure) is very close to English syntax.
- Levantine tenses mirror English tenses.
- In Levantine, one letter = one sound (unlike English where "t" has a sound, "h" has a sound, and "th" has a completely new sound).
- If you remember only three patterns (suffixes, base infinitive, past), you've remembered everything you need to remember for all kinds of Levantine conjugation.
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4Don't compare yourself to others.
- Others may progress faster than you, but that doesn't mean you can't do it - maybe they just have the circumstances to study and improve
- Others may have spent years trying to learn a language but without having progressed much, but that doesn't mean you can't do it - maybe they just didn't have the circumstances to actually study it and improve
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5Don't worry about making mistakes!
- Consider this: every day, even every second, our brain is bombarded with millions of pieces of information. Just look at everything around you - the number of items around you, their shape, their color, their size; the sounds you can hear; the smells you can smell... If your brain were to remember all of these, it would be a disaster! So what does our brain do? It forgets. Yes, our brain was actually designed to forget things.
- When you learn Levantine, your brain gets ready to forget it. If you don't use Levantine because you're afraid of making mistakes, you're basically telling your brain "right, this is not important, please forget it". And it will. But if you make an effort to learn it, even if you make mistakes, you'd be telling your brain, "this is important, please don't forget it". And eventually it won't.
- In brief, mistakes are how we learn [2] X Research source .
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Part 2
Part 2 of 4:
Learning Tips and Tricks that Don't Take Time
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1Read aloud for at least 5 minutes a day. You don't need to read correctly, but you do need to read. Read aloud , not just in your head, for better results.
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2Have short and frequent study sessions.
- If you study for an hour a week and skip a couple of weeks, you've spent almost a month without studying, while will make it harder to study next month.
- But if you study for 10 minutes on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and you skip a couple of them, it's not that bad. Besides, learning is enjoyable, not punishment.
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3Set auto-repeat reminders on your phone to remind you of your reading and study sessions.
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4Find cognates . These are words that English and Levantine have in common.
- If you can't find a list online, ask a native.
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5Surround yourself with Levantine.
- Download an app on your phone that allows you to record a voice or upload a file to use as an alarm, then record a word, expression or sentence you're learning or upload a Levantine song or record, and use them as wake up alarms.
- You could use Voice Alarm for Android or My Voice Alarm for iOS.
- Stick notes on stuff in your house: برّاد on the fridge, مطبخ in the kitchen's entrance, باب on doors, شبّاك on windows, طاولة on tables, كرسي on chairs... And start referring to them by their Levantine names.
- When you feel you've acquired a name, add a descriptive underneath it, for example بنّي on a brown chair, زغيرة on a small table, or a verb like اطبخ or آكل in the kitchen's entrance, افتح/سكّر on doors, نام in the bedroom. Start using these new words.
- Download an app on your phone that allows you to record a voice or upload a file to use as an alarm, then record a word, expression or sentence you're learning or upload a Levantine song or record, and use them as wake up alarms.
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6Create an I remember sheet. Whenever you learn a useful word or concept, add it there. Your sheet could be a small book or a digital file, as you like - as long as it's easy to access wherever you are.
- You might want to organize it into five sections: nouns, verbs, ads (adjectives/adverbs), small words (like prepositions or logical connectors), and grammar concepts.
- Review it often!
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Part 3
Part 3 of 4:
Making Good Use of Dead Time
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1Put Levantine music or a Levantine movie on when you're cooking, ironing, shopping, showering, etc. It won't take any of your time, and can actually make chores more enjoyable!
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2Use a flash cards app or go through your I remember booklet while waiting for something. For example:
- When commuting
- When using the bathroom
- When you're waiting for someone to show up
- This is one reason why the I remember booklet should be easily accessible at all times, whether you choose to have it in paper or digitally.
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3Make a Levantine narrative of what's happening around you. For example:
- While walking down the street, try talking about or describing what's happening around you.
- While waiting in line, talk about or describe the people you see, and make stories about them.
- While stuck in a boring class or meeting, describe what the meeting is about and try translating some of what's being said.
- In all of these cases, you could be describing using words or making small sentences if you're a beginner, or making a more elaborate narrative if you're more advanced - whatever you can do is perfect.
- If you're at loss for words, look it up on an online dictionary, or write it down in your I remember booklet so you can check it out next time you open the booklet.
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Part 4
Part 4 of 4:
Having Someone Else Help
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1Do some tandem learning.
- If your spouse or flatmate is also learning Levantine, try and express yourself in Levantine from time to time. For example:
- Include Levantine words in your everyday English speech (Don't forget to get خبز on your way home حبيبي!) .
- Set aside a few minutes a day to talk in Levantine.
- Set aside a few minutes a week to teach each other new things you've learned, and when you do that try to reuse, perhaps in a very simple way, what the other has just told you they've learned.
- If a neighbor or friend is also learning Levantine, you could try and do some of the above steps, whether you can do that face-to-face or via social media (I'll see you at اربعة and a half, تمام ?) .
- If your spouse or flatmate is also learning Levantine, try and express yourself in Levantine from time to time. For example:
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2Consider getting a tutor. People tend to benefit a lot from things they have paid for. If money is an issue, perhaps you could get a tutor for 15 or 30 minutes a week, and ask him or her to give you a lot of homework.
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3Ask natives. Arabs are generally friendly, and they love it when people learn their language!
- If you have an Arabic friend, ask them if you can text them occasional questions when you have some - they will probably say yes.
- If you meet an Arab, tell them you are learning Arabic. Tell them the last thing you learned and ask them to correct it if it's wrong, or ask them to teach you a new word or expression - they will love it!
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