Arabic

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standto

Longterm Registered User
Gents, what would you advise to be a recognised / desired qualification in languages that employers would look for. I have a military tri-service colloquial in German but since leaving the military I have been learning Arabic for some time and would like to gain a qualification in it. Any ideas apart from GCSE?
 
Rosetta stone? Google for language schools.

Also Arabic encompasses many dialects such as pashtu and farsii as well as regional differences.

Further food for thought is depending on the work you want to do, some of the Arabic families don't like it when their minions speak their language so if you do learn it it will likely need to be a strategic consideration as to revealing your linguistical talents.
 
So do Rosetta do exams and qualifications as well? I've got the learning covered its the qual I want rather than saying "I speak a little Arabic".
 
Ladies/Gents,

This is the EDEXCEL syllabus.

http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCSE New GCSE/GCSE Arabic spec 060112.pdf

It is quite useful for the core vocabulary and grammar concepts for GCSE Arabic.

You ladies/gents are probably going to get caught in that trap that you know what you want to say through experience in the region, but it may not "translate" to formal Arabic. But it is worth sticking with it, to get a bit of paper to wave at people.

I believe you can register as an external candidate at exam centers, so if you are confident you can pass; nip down and sit the exam and get the bit of paper. It will stick out on the CV.

مع التحية/With Compliments
 
Depends on what market you really want to cater for, if you are looking for jobs that require some degree of language as a condition of employment then you really need to look at CEFR (European) or ILR (American) frameworks.

Telc offer a basic Arab certificate under the CEFR framework
telc GmbH - The European Language Certificates: Find Exam Centres

If you do go the academic route also look at Cambridge International they offer both GCSE and then A-Levels in Arabic
Cambridge IGCSE Subjects

Off the top of my head you could als look at the UN Language Proficiency Exams... not sure if you can do them as a non-UN employee, but it's another avenue worth exploring.
 
Best place to start is the Book 'Mastering Arabic'. If you can get it cheap with CDs, do.Mastering Arabic Book and 2 CD pack Palgrave Master Series Languages: Amazon.co.uk: Books

It is the best grounding in Arabic that I have come across. But that is Modern Standard Arabic (their Queen's English). Each country has different dialects. Egyptian differs greatly from Omani and Iraqi is a different kettle of fish altogether. I've studied them all! If you pm me I'll happily send you the book for free but not sure if I have the CDs.

Just a point - pashtu and farsi are not Arabic - they're Persian (Iran/Afghan).

I might be able to help you with some resources and stuff - but can't recommend quals. I started at Stanmore College to get a civvy qual - but it was delivered by someone who was I think native Algerian and not a natural edcuator - dumped it. Got my L3 speak/listen/write/ in the military...
 
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Some universities will allow you to pay to do an Arabic language speaking exam. Thus providing you with a certificate from a university. Far more impressive than RS
 
Scab said:
Rosetta stone? Google for language schools.

Also Arabic encompasses many dialects such as pashtu and farsii as well as regional differences.
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Wrong. Pashtu & Farsi are not dialects of Arabic. The thing they have in common with Arabic is a derivative of the arabic script just like Urdu. They are completely different languages, however Pashtu is related to Farsi.

There are regional differences in dialects of Arabic, but written, classical Arabic (the Arabic of the Quran) is a common denominator throughout the arab world.
 
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Written classical arabic no. Modern Standard Arabic yes - that's the one to learn. Get that squared away and you can learn the rest.
 
Best to learn on the job I've found, that being said '"Mush k lay" or problem be it small or large tends to work in most situations.

Oh,and if you can avoid learning Arabic in the Basra area you will be doing yourself a huge favour.As I'm told its the equivalent of Geordie,and no one north of Amara will have a clue what your on about.

P
 
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rifleman6388 said:
Best to learn on the job I've found, that being said '"Mush k lay" or problem be it small or large tends to work in most situations.

Oh,and if you can avoid learning Arabic in the Basra area you will be doing yourself a huge favour.As I'm told its the equivalent of Geordie,and no one north of Amara will have a clue what your on about.

P
Click to expand...

True. In fact Iraqi is a dialect of Arabic all on its own, the difference between it and Gulf Arabic is quite hefty. It depends where you want to be and what you want to do. Mushkila might not cover wider needs...
 
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