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Outstanding Language Resource Localized in 20 Languages

Bab.la offers free dictionaries, vocabulary sets, flash cards, quizzes, games, conjugation tables, phrases, travel survival guides, a forum and, yes, even more.

The website is localized in Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto (!), French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish and Turkish. Wow!

What does "localized" mean?

"Localized" (localised in British English) means that Bab.la's interface is available in all these languages, so speakers can surf the site in their native tongue. This can be useful for intermediate and advanced learners who want the challenge of surfing in their target language.

Learning Resources for 20 Languages

All the above languages also have learning resources available!

Of special note on Bab.la are the free Survival Guides, downloadable PDFs for quick access to phrases and language essential for travel conversation, complaints and computers. Chatting, computing and complaining has never been so simple!

The phrasebooks available are also of special note, as they cover quite a lot of ground that is often not covered in traditional phrasebooks. These are separated into four main categories: Application, Academic, Business and Personal, and are available for all the languages above - quite a boon to anyone needing quick access to phrases used commonly in application processes and academic, business and personal settings.

To give a quick example of this, you can quickly find useful common phrases for email communication, invoicing, reference letters, announcements and invitations, reservations and more.

Dictionaries, Vocabulary Sets, Quizzes, Games and Conjugation Tables

The dictionary area of Bab.la offers quick and easy translation between all the languages above.

The vocabulary section offers vocab sets for job, school & university, travel, self-study, fun & hobbies and official exams.

The quizzes and games are fun for children and can even help keep teens and adults entertained while learning.

The conjugation tables are quite useful for the appropriate languages, which currently include Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish and Portuguese. Some of these are also offered in sets, such as Polish <> German or French <> Italian, for the polyglots out there who like learning another language via a foreign language they already know :)

Tools: Broswser Plugins, Webmaster Widgets, Mobile Apps

All in all, Bab.la offers an amazing amount of material for free! There's even more that hasn't been covered here which is included in their Tools section. This includes dictionary toolbars and plugins for common browsers, dictionary widgets for websites and mobile dictionary apps (the apps are not free).

Essential Arabic Phrasebook

A collection of the most useful phrases in Arabic for travelers by BBC Languages Quick Fix.

Not to be considered an Arabic course, these simple phrases cover the most essential core necessities and "niceties" travelers ought to know ("Hello", "Goodbye", "Thank you", etc) to show cultural appreciation by speaking Arabic!

Includes an online player to view the phrases as they are written in Arabic and listen as a native speaker says them.

You can also download them to your MP3 player or print out a sheet and take it with you on your trip!

From Website

Summary

LQToronto.com is the official website of the Institute of the Language of the Quran in Toronto. The website is not for profit, and offers all of the Madinah Arabic courses for free as downloads of the texts and viewing of the videos.

There is an amazing amount of material available for free on this website. It is enough to allow an individual learner to learn to read, write and speak the Arabic of the Qu'ran without any further materials - truly amazing!

Also on the website is a shop where you can purchase the texts at cost, with no additional fees. Finally, you may want have a look at and participate in the site's nascent forum.

From Website

V. Abdur Rahim was born in the small town of Vaniyambadi in the state of Tamil Nadu, India in 1933. After finishing his secondary school studies, he joined Presidency College, University of Madras where he majored in English Language and Literature. He graduated in 1957. In 1964, he joined al-Azhar University, Cairo, where he did his M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Arabic Philology.

It is to be noted that Abdur Rahim learnt Arabic by himself. The school where he did his secondary school studies offered Arabic, but the lessons it offered consisted of only memorizing the conjugation tables. Abdur Rahim detested this method. He thought that it was the most unnatural way of learning a language. Only dead languages like Latin, Syriac, etc. are taught this way. Living languages teach sentences straightaway. He decided to design a curriculum to teach Arabic to non-native speakers of Arabic.

In 1969, he joined the Islamic University of Madinah to teach Arabic Philology. Here, he was also associated with the Programme of teaching Arabic as a foreign language. The course he designed for this purpose is now known as Durûs al-Lughaħ al-‘Arabiyya ħ li-Ghair al-Nâtiqîna Bihâ. (Now these books are popularly known throughout the world as “MADINA BOOKS”.)

When he was learning Arabic by himself, Abdur Rahim studied the many problems that beset the non-native students of Arabic, and tried to solve them. He discovered that all these problems can easily be solved by applying the principle of taqdîm al- usûl ‘ala al-furû‘, i.e. teaching the primary elements before the secondary elements. The following are some of the manifestations of the application of this principle:

1. Teaching the primary case-endings before the secondary endings, so you teach the masrûf noun before the mamnû‘ min al-sarf, and the al-af‘âl al-arba‘aħ before the al-af‘âl al-khamsaħ.
2. Teaching the sâlim verb before the other categories.
3. Teaching the al-mudâri‘ al-marfû‘ before the al-mudâri‘ al-mansûb or al-mudâri‘ al-majzûm.
4. Teaching the plural of intelligent nouns before that of non-intelligent nouns.

Another principle Abdur Rahim advocates is that rules of waqfshould not be applied during the teaching stage, for in that case the student cannot learn the correct ending of the last word in the sentence as, ma smu-ka and ma smu-ki, for example, are both reduced to ma smu-k.

The following are the books Dr. Abdur Rahim has written in field of teaching Arabic as a foreign language:

1. Durûs al-Lughaħ al-‘Arabiyyaħ (3 parts).
2. Key To Durûs al-Lughaħ al-‘Arabiyyaħ (3 parts).
3. Key To Exercises of Durûs al-Lughaħ al-‘Arabiyyaħ (3 parts).
4. Teachers' Guide To Durûs al-Lughaħ al-‘Arabiyyaħ (3 parts).
5. A Glossary of Words used in Durûs al-Lughaħ al-‘Arabiyyaħ.
6. Ahadith Sahlaħ.
7. Nusûs min al-Hadîth al-Nabawyyi al-Sharîf.
8. Nusûs Islâmiyyaħ.
9. From Esfahan To Madinah.
10. Al-Bâhith ‘an al-Haqq.
11. Innahumâ min Mishkâħ Wahidaħ.
12. Fi Balât Hiraql.
13. Abshir bi-Khayri Yawm.
14. Arba‘ûna Hadîthan.
15. Al-Mus‘if fî Lughati wa I‘râbi Suraħi Yûsuf.

Currently, Dr V. Abdur Rahim is Director, Translation Centre, King Fahd Qur'an Printing Complex, Madinah Munawwarah.

Visit www.lqtoronto.com

Summary

This site has a good selection of online games and activities for learning the Arabic language.

There are also many other languages available on the site.

From Website

Digital Dialects was launched in January 2007, originally a by-product of a dissertation reviewing web resources for language learning. The site was conceived as an educational tool for learning languages, and as a guide to online resources.

All animation and webpage design is by Craig Gibson. The animated activities are intended to incorporate the interactivity of computer aided language learning software with the web-design principle of simplicity in use and access. In essence the games are intended to provide a relaxed way of acquiring basic language skills, a break from the books!

The site will continue to be a work in progress, and it is intended that Digital Dialects will represent the World’s major languages, with a cross-section of languages from diverse regions. Audio files are to be gradually incorporated into animations for certain languages. The development of particular language sections will be dependant on assistance from translators and native speakers.

Visit DigitalDialects.com Arabic Learning Resources

Summary

UK India put together a basic lesson for learning to write Arabic script. Don't mind the lime-green background as you click through their web pages and learn the basics of Arabic script.

There is also a ZIP file available for downloading the lessons, which can be used for non-commercial purposes.

From Website

Arabic is the language of a large part of our planet . It is one of the permanent languages of the UN.

These are a few very basic learn to read the alphabet lessons.

Visit UK India.