Spanish 
French 
German 
Italian 
Portuguese 
Russian 
Chinese 
Japanese 
Korean 
Arabic 
Free Course Download
- 📚 Includes this course
- 🐌 Standard download speed
- 💬 Community support
All-In-One Arabic Mastery Pack
- 20 Arabic courses
- 219 hours of audio
- 5.1 GB of course material
- Fast download speed
- 30-day money-back guarantee
One-time purchase · Lifetime access
Arabic is what’s known as a dialect continuum. This means that many varieties of Arabic exist, with those spoken in geographically adjacent areas being more mutually comprehensible and those found in geographically distant regions becoming progressively harder to understand.
However, there is a standard written form of the language that is the same across the whole Arab-speaking world. This is the form that is used in formal education as well as in publications, and although this form has no native speakers (people use their local dialect for daily communication), it is understood to varying degrees by educated Arabic speakers everywhere.
Learners of Arabic usually choose an Arabic dialect to learn, for example, Egyptian Arabic or Levantine Arabic, depending on why they want to learn the language. However, for those who want to take it further, learning the formal written language comprises a separate part of their studies.
For those who already know at least a little Arabic, this free online written Arabic course will teach you the basics of the standard written language before moving you quickly to a more advanced level, allowing you to understand simple texts, newspapers and, for the most determined learners, even periodicals and Arabic books.
Course Details
What is the FSI Written Arabic Course?
FSI Written Arabic is made up of three modules. Before starting the first module, you should already be familiar with Arabic script and how to pronounce it, and a basic knowledge of a spoken Arabic dialect is also a big advantage.
As you work through the three modules, you deal with increasingly complex texts that highlight how the formal written language functions in terms of vocabulary and grammar.
The first two modules are accompanied by audio recordings while the third consists solely of longer Arabic texts for you to read.
The whole course consists of 96 units, and completing them all will give you a high level of competence in Modern Standard Written Arabic.
How was the FSI Written Arabic originally used?
FSI courses were originally designed for US diplomatic staff who were preparing for postings abroad. The FSI Written Arabic course would have been taken by those who were getting ready for positions throughout the Arab-speaking world and who required a knowledge of the formal written language as well as competency in the local dialect spoken where they were being sent.
Students taking the course were expected to study and prepare each lesson before class. Having mastered the new language presented in the unit beforehand, their teacher would then check they had assimilated and understood the everything correctly.
In this way, through an intensive program of study, the students would be able to reach a high level of competency in Modern Written Arabic in a relatively short time.
How can you use the FSI Written Arabic Course?
You won’t be able to recreate the perfect study conditions enjoyed by US diplomats, but if you already have some knowledge of Arabic, this free written Arabic course will be of much use if you want to begin working on the formal literary version of the language.
This course is suitable for autonomous study, and you can simply work through the units yourself, practicing the reading, repeating the recordings and reading the notes for each section.
If you are taking Arabic classes with a teacher, you will also be able to ask any questions that arise from this course, and they should be able to help you.
However, for those looking to start learning Arabic from scratch, this is probably not the best place to begin.
Taking it further
Since this is a literary or formal version of the language, it isn’t something you will be able to practice speaking so easily since it isn’t a language that people use in their day-to-day lives.
However, once you begin to make progress in written Arabic, you will be able to find plenty of texts and other reading materials that match your level, helping you to progress in Modern Written Arabic even faster.
Volume 1
Student Text
| Unit | Audio |
|---|---|
| Lesson 01 | Tape |
| Lesson 02 | Tape |
| Lesson 03 | Tape |
| Lesson 04 | Tape |
| Lesson 05 | Tape |
| Lesson 06 | Tape |
| Lesson 07 | Tape |
| Lesson 08 | — |
| Lesson 09 | Tape |
| Lesson 10 | — |
| Lesson 11 | Tape |
| Lesson 12 | Tape |
| Lesson 13 - 1 | Tape |
| Lesson 13 - 2 | Tape |
| Lesson 14 | — |
| Lesson 15 - 1 | — |
| Lesson 15 - 2 | Tape |
| Lesson 16 - 1 | — |
| Lesson 16 - 2 | Tape |
| Lesson 17 - 2 | Tape |
| Lesson 17 - 1 | Tape |
| Lesson 18 - 1 | Tape |
| Lesson 18 - 2 | Tape |
| Lesson 19 - 1 | Tape |
| Lesson 19 - 2 | Tape |
| Lesson 20 - 1 | Tape |
| Lesson 20 - 2 | Tape |
| Lesson 21 - 1 | Tape |
| Lesson 21 - 2 | Tape |
| Lesson 22 - 2 | Tape |
| Lesson 22 - 1 | Tape |
| Lesson 23 - 1 | — |
| Lesson 23 - 2 | Tape |
| Lesson 24 - 1 | — |
| Lesson 24 - 2 | Tape |
| Lesson 25 | Tape |
| Lesson 26 | Tape |
| Lesson 27 | Tape |
| Lesson 28 | Tape |
| Lesson 29 | Tape |
| Lesson 30 | Tape |
| Review - 1 | Tape |
| Review - 2 | Tape |
Volume 2
Student Text
| Unit | Audio |
|---|---|
| Lesson 33 | Tape |
| Lesson 34 | Tape |
| Lesson 35 | Tape |
| Lesson 36 | Tape |
| Lesson 37 | Tape |
| Lesson 38 | Tape |
| Lesson 39 | Tape |
| Lesson 40 | Tape |
| Lesson 41 | Tape |
| Lesson 42 | Tape |
| Lesson 43 | Tape |
| Lesson 44 | Tape |
| Lesson 45 | Tape |
| Lesson 46 | Tape |
| Lesson 47 | Tape |
| Lesson 48 | Tape |
| Lesson 49 | Tape |
| Lesson 50 | Tape |
| Lesson 51 | Tape |
| Lesson 52 | Tape |
| Lesson 53 | Tape |
| Lesson 54 | Tape |
| Lesson 55 | Tape |
| Lesson 56 | Tape |
| Lesson 57 | Tape |
| Lesson 58 | Tape |
| Lesson 59 | Tape |
| Lesson 60 | Tape |
| Lesson 61 | Tape |
| Lesson 62 | Tape |
| Lesson 63 | Tape |
| Lesson 64 | Tape |