Online Arabic Classes for Adults and Children
Live online Arabic classes, one student and one teacher on a video call, for adults starting at the alphabet and for children from age four. We teach Modern Standard Arabic, the Arabic of books, news and the grammar of the Quran, with conversation and Quranic Arabic as tracks of their own, and every explanation is in English. Plans start at $34 a month and the first lesson is free.
Book a free class on WhatsApp How the free class works
Format
Live and one to one, never a recorded course
Who
Adults, teenagers and children from 4
Which Arabic
Modern Standard, with conversation and Quranic tracks
Price
$9.50 an hour, down to $7.00. Plans from $34 a month
Teachers
Named and qualified, several with degrees in Arabic
Female teacher
Available on request, at no extra cost
How online Arabic classes work
You and the teacher are on a video call with the same page in front of you. You read or speak, the teacher listens, and a sound that comes out wrong is corrected on the word where it happened. Arabic has several sounds English does not, and hearing them corrected in the moment is the part an app or a recorded course cannot give you.
- Send one message. Say who the lessons are for, their age, what Arabic they know already, and two or three times in your week that could work.
- Take the free first lesson. The teacher spends it finding out where you are, so the plan starts from there rather than from page one of a textbook.
- Keep the same teacher and the same slot. Lessons are set in your own time zone, in the US, the UK, Canada or Australia, and a lesson can be moved with two hours notice.
- See the progress. Parents may sit in on any lesson, and lessons are never recorded unless that has been agreed with you first.
All you need is a laptop, tablet or phone on a steady connection, and headphones with a microphone. The full walkthrough of a lesson is on how lessons work.
Which class fits you
Every class below is taught the same way, live and one to one. What changes is the starting point and the goal.
| Who is learning | What they learn first | The class |
|---|---|---|
| An adult starting from the alphabet | The letters, their sounds and joining, explained in English, then reading | These classes |
| An adult who wants to speak | Everyday conversation in Modern Standard Arabic, or in Egyptian Arabic if you ask for it | These classes: say so when you book |
| Someone who wants to understand the Quran | The vocabulary and grammar of the Quran, verse by verse | Quranic Arabic course |
| A child from 4, or a child who hears Arabic at home but cannot read it | Letters, reading and speaking at a child’s pace | Arabic for kids |
| Someone who wants to read the Quran aloud rather than study the language | The letters, then reading the mushaf with Tajweed | Online Quran classes |
| A woman or girl who would rather learn with a woman | Any of the above | Ask for a female teacher when you book |
Not sure where you fit? Say so in your first message. Placing a student is what the free lesson is for.
Modern Standard Arabic or a dialect?
It is the first thing to settle with any Arabic class, and course pages rarely say. Ours are built on Modern Standard Arabic, called Fusha: the Arabic of books, newspapers, formal speech and the grammar of the Quran, read the same way from Morocco to Oman. Spoken dialects differ from country to country. We start with the standard because a dialect is easier to add on top of it than the other way round.
If what you want is everyday conversation, ask for it when you book. Our teachers are Egyptian, and some teach Egyptian Arabic for everyday speech alongside the standard. If your family speaks another dialect at home, the teacher works with it rather than against it.
What you learn, level by level
Reading comes first, and it comes quickly. It follows the same order as our free 90-day Arabic reading plan: the letters and their four forms in weeks 1 to 3, the short vowel marks in weeks 4 to 6, joining letters into words in weeks 7 to 9, and first connected text in weeks 10 to 12.
| Level | What you can do at the end |
|---|---|
| 1. Letters and sounds | Recognise all 28 letters in each of their forms, and say the sounds English does not have, such as ع and ح |
| 2. Reading | Read vowelled text aloud correctly, slowly at first and then with ease |
| 3. Writing and spelling | Write words and short sentences, spelling them from their sounds |
| 4. Grammar and vocabulary | Build sentences in Modern Standard Arabic, and see how a word’s pattern carries its meaning |
| 5. Conversation | Hold an everyday conversation in Modern Standard Arabic, or in Egyptian Arabic if you asked for it |
| 6. Real texts | Read a news story, a children’s book or the Arabic of the Quran with a dictionary rather than a teacher |
How fast the later levels go depends on hours a week and practice between lessons more than on anything the teacher does. If you want to learn the letters on your own first, the free Arabic alphabet chart has every letter in all its forms, and our guide to the best way to learn Arabic sets out what to do in what order.
If nobody at home speaks Arabic
This is the family the academy was built for. Every explanation is in English, and one of our teachers teaches entirely in English, which suits a student starting from nothing. The correcting happens in the lesson, so the practice between lessons is something a student can do alone: listening to a recording, rereading the page they just read correctly, or a few words said aloud each day.
A parent still has a part, and it needs no Arabic. Keep the weekly slot fixed, ask your child to teach you the word they learned, and sit in on a lesson whenever you want to. Our guide to teaching Arabic to kids when you don’t speak it goes through the rest.
What online Arabic classes cost
The hourly rate falls as you book more hours in a month. Every plan is four weeks of lessons, paid in advance, and unused lessons are refundable.
| Schedule | Hours a month | Rate | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 lessons a week, 30 minutes | 4 | $8.50 an hour | $34 |
| 3 lessons a week, 30 minutes | 6 | $8.00 an hour | $48 |
| 2 lessons a week, 60 minutes | 8 | $7.50 an hour | $60 |
| 3 lessons a week, 60 minutes | 12 | $7.00 an hour | $84 |
Brothers and sisters take 10% off the family bill, each with their own teacher and timetable. A teacher of either sex costs the same. Every plan and the full rate ladder are on the pricing page.
Who teaches the classes
Each student is matched with one named teacher, who stays with them. These are three of our Arabic teachers as the about page lists them, with the rest of the faculty.
Dr. Jihad El-Sayed
Arabic for non-native speakers
A PhD in literary and critical studies, with degrees in Arabic and Islamic Studies education and in Arabic literature. Six years teaching Arabic at every level.
Sara Adel Hassan
Fusha and conversation
Classical Arabic, grammar and spelling, plus Egyptian Arabic for everyday conversation. Six years teaching Arabic in person and online, to all ages.
Mohamed Nayel
Taught in English
Teaches entirely in English, which suits a student who does not speak Arabic yet. Four years teaching Arabic, Quran and Islamic Studies to English speakers.
How to choose any online Arabic class
Whether you book with us or anyone else, these questions separate a good class from a bad one. Ask every school on your list.
- Which Arabic does it teach? Modern Standard, a named dialect, or the Arabic of the Quran. A class that will not say is not sure itself.
- Is it live and one to one? Pronunciation is corrected by someone listening. A recorded course cannot hear you.
- Who exactly is the teacher? A name, what they studied, and whether they will be the same person every week.
- Are the explanations in your language? A beginner taught only in Arabic spends the first months decoding the lesson rather than learning from it.
- Is the price written down? A school that quotes only after a sales call is choosing the price after it has met you.
- Can you try before you pay? A free first lesson costs a good teacher nothing.
If you would rather learn in a classroom, our page on Arabic classes near you covers what to look for locally.
Book a free class on WhatsApp Use the contact form
Cost, MSA or dialect, and how long Arabic takes
How much do online Arabic classes cost?
From $34 a month for two 30-minute lessons a week, which is $8.50 an hour. The rate falls to $7.00 an hour as monthly hours rise, siblings take 10% off, and the first lesson is free.
Which Arabic do you teach, Modern Standard or a dialect?
Modern Standard Arabic is the foundation for every student. Egyptian Arabic for everyday conversation is available on request, and the Arabic of the Quran has its own course.
How long does it take to learn Arabic?
Reading comes first: on our 90-day plan, a beginner reads first connected text in weeks 10 to 12. Speaking comfortably takes much longer, and is counted in years of regular lessons rather than months.
Can Arabic be self-taught?
The alphabet and a first vocabulary can be. Pronunciation is the part that goes wrong alone, because several Arabic sounds have no English equivalent and settle into the nearest English sound when nobody is listening.
Is Duolingo good for learning Arabic?
It is a good daily habit for the letters and first words. It cannot hear how you say the sounds English lacks, and it explains grammar only briefly, so learners who want to read or speak properly usually add a teacher.
Is Arabic hard for an English speaker?
The script is quicker than it looks: 28 letters, learned in weeks. The harder parts are the sounds English does not have and a grammar built on word patterns, which is where a teacher saves the most time.
Can I choose a female Arabic teacher?
Yes. Several women on our faculty teach Arabic, and a female teacher costs the same. Give two or three possible times, since availability depends on the hour.
Arabic for kids, Quranic Arabic and Islamic Studies
For a child, start with Arabic lessons for kids. If the goal is understanding what you recite, the Quranic Arabic course is built for it, and families who want the faith taught alongside the language can see the Islamic Studies classes.