Biblos- Levantine Arabic

Biblos for learning arabic the levantine dialect

This app focuses on the Levantine dialect of the Arabic language, commonly spoken in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine. It is designed for beginners starting their Arabic learning journey, with a special focus for children in the diaspora who want to connect with their heritage and language. It is also suitable for adults who want to learn how to speak and read Arabic.

The app does not teach grammar. Instead, it emphasizes building foundational reading and speaking skills. Arabic is written from right to left, has no uppercase or lowercase letters and is cursive in nature. Letters can take different forms depending on their position within a word.

Unit One introduces basic vocabulary and letter forms. Learners discover word meanings through sound, text and picture associations, allowing them to study independently at their own pace. The unit concludes with interactive games that test retention and motivate learners through rewards based on their scores.

As mentioned, Arabic does not use uppercase or lowercase letters, but it does use accents, known as harakat (fatha, damma, and kasra). These marks indicate short vowel sounds and influence how letters are pronounced.

Unit Two builds on these concepts by teaching how accents create short sounds and how letter combinations produce longer sounds. Each lesson presents letters with all relevant accents and corresponding combinations. Learners practice reading words and short phrases, progressing to meaningful and more complex sentences by the end of the unit. Similar to Unit One, the games at the end of the unit allow learners to assess their progress through their scores.

Future lessons will cover greetings, asking for directions, food, colors, daily routines and more. We hope you enjoy the app and we welcome your feedback as we continue to improve the learning experience.