Anybody Use Online Qur'an/Arabic Tutors

[umsami]

So, DH is Egyptian--but doesn't speak to the kids in Arabic. :angry:

 

Of course, he thinks the kids should be fluent by osmosis or via eating hummus or something.

 

The eldest can read Qur'an sort-of...from weekend school.

 

The next eldest is learning to read.

 

DD knows the alphabet some days. :)

 

We do a program I like for Egyptian Arabic called Michel Thomas, but I'd like to step up the formal Qur'anic Arabic a bit. Have any of you used any of the online Qur'an academies? What has been your experience?

 

Does anybody know of online Egyptian Arabic classes/tutors for kids? I am not a fan of Arab Academy.

[Shahrazad]

I've heard good things about Studio Arabiya (http://studioarabiya.com/) but that is fusha. I think that is beneficial to learn since it is the language of the Qur'an and also the language of the 'educated' class in addition to dialects. Your husband could easily teach them to adapt and pick up the dialect by just *speaking* to them. I say this as someone who is fluent in Moroccan from just talking to people. I do think you will need some sort of teacher (whether your husband or an outside tutor) to work intensively with the reading, otherwise your children will likely have issues with flow as they get older. If he wants them to be fluent though as natural speakers, your husband really needs to start speaking exclusively Arabic with them.

 

The thing is, they can always learn from a teacher but if they aren't hearing it from him and using it with him, their accents will be weak and they will be easily identifiable in the Arab world as not natural Arabic speakers. I see this A LOT with families where the husband speaks it and the wife doesn't, for some reason everyone just speaks English all the time, the husband never speaks Arabic with the children, and then at the end he is surprised when his children don't speak/read/write fluently, How would they learn if they don't learn it from you? I wish it was just that easy that it was genetically encoded at birth :lol:.

 

If he really cannot get into it though, I would look into having a person come 1-on-1 if possible locally to tutor them or enroll them to learn fusha and then just get them speaking regularly with a egyptian-speaking friend or family member to learn the dialect.

 

Sorry, I know it wasn't much help but that is all I can think of at the moment. I am not aware of any Egyptian dialect classes other than Arab Academy.