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Noorani Qaida — reading from the first letter
Letters and their articulation points, then joining words, then elongations and sukun — ending with reading a full surah correctly, unprompted.
Course · Arabic language
Learn Arabic Online — One-to-One Lessons for Kids and Beginners
A curriculum built for the child born abroad who does not hear Arabic at home: it starts from sound and word before grammar, and ends with a child who speaks, reads and writes.
A free 15-minute intro — no card, no sign-up
Arabic for kids and beginners at Katateeb Online is a one-to-one course of 30-minute lessons with a teacher specialised in teaching Arabic to non-native speakers. The curriculum is built for one specific situation: the child born abroad who hears the local language at school and in the street and only a little Arabic at home. So it starts from speaking and vocabulary before grammar, uses story and image rather than tables, and measures progress by what the child can say rather than what he can parse. The path runs: sounds and letters → words and everyday conversation → reading short texts → writing → core grammar. Start with a free 15-minute intro — no card and no sign-up — and inside a monthly subscription the lesson price is $7.5, so cost starts at $30 a month.
Why doesn't a school curriculum work for a diaspora child?
A school curriculum assumes a child who hears Arabic all day and needs to learn its rules. A diaspora child is the exact opposite: he needs the language itself before its rules.
School curriculum
Doesn't fit him
- Assumes a vocabulary he already has
- Starts from grammar and parsing
- Measures progress by exam, not by speech
- Result: a child who knows the rule but cannot ask for a glass of water
Our curriculum
Built for him
- Starts from the vocabulary of his home and his day
- Speaking from the first lesson, even if only two words
- Grammar arrives after he already uses the structure, not before
- Result: a child who speaks first, then reads and writes
The course path
1
Sounds and letters
Hearing the difference between close sounds, then the shape of the letter and writing it.
2
Vocabulary and everyday speech
Words for home, food, family and school, used in short sentences from the first lesson.
3
Reading
Short graded texts, with spoken comprehension questions before written ones.
4
Writing
From copying a letter to writing a sentence, then a short paragraph about his day.
5
Core grammar
Masculine and feminine, singular and plural, past and present tense — after the child already uses them.
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My child understands Arabic but doesn't speak it — where do we start?
This is the most common case we see, and it is called passive comprehension: the child understands his mother and answers in the local language. This situation is measured, not assumed: Pew Research Center, using 2021 American Community Survey data, reports 1.4 million people speaking Arabic at home in the US, and about two-thirds of those aged 5 to 17 were born in the US — so the audience for this course is the majority, not the exception. We start him straight from conversation rather than from letters, because his listening vocabulary is already there and what he lacks is production and confidence. The first lesson measures what he actually understands, and it is usually far more than the parent expects. Progress in this case is faster than starting from zero.
Child safety
The boundaries of every lesson
- A password-locked Zoom room
- You may attend any lesson unannounced
- Camera off on request
- No recording, and never your child's name or face in an advert
Questions about this course
My child understands Arabic but won't speak it — will this course help?+
Yes, and it is the case best suited to it. A child who understands but does not speak already has the listening vocabulary; what he lacks is production and confidence, so we begin from conversation rather than from letters. Progress here is faster than starting from zero.
Do you teach Modern Standard Arabic or a dialect?+
Simplified Modern Standard Arabic is the basis of the course, because it is the language of reading, writing and the Quran. But conversation at the first level uses structures the child actually hears at home, so the lesson does not feel detached from his life. We do not teach one particular local dialect.
How is this different from the Noorani Qaida course?+
The Noorani Qaida teaches reading the Quran: the letter, its articulation point, elongations and rules. The Arabic course teaches the language itself: vocabulary, conversation, reading, writing and grammar. Many children take both in parallel, one lesson a week each.
Does it suit supplementary schools in Europe and North America?+
Yes, and we can align the plan with the Saturday or Sunday school your child attends if you send us its material. A one-to-one lesson fills the gap a large group in those schools inevitably leaves.
How many lessons a week do we need to see a difference?+
One lesson a week maintains the level and adds slowly. Two a week is the point at which a visible difference in speaking appears within two to three months. More important than the count is that the child hears Arabic between lessons, even 10 minutes a day. UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report (2016) concludes that «at least six years of mother tongue instruction is needed» for early gains to be sustained — Arabic is a project of years, not months, and we say so from the start rather than promising a result in a term.
Does the teacher speak English?+
Yes. Instructions are given in English at first and shrink gradually until the lesson runs in Arabic alone. That is part of the plan, not an exception to it.
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One price for every course, and every lesson is one-to-one.
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Quran for women: recitation correction and memorisation
A female teacher, camera off if you prefer, and a time you choose. From recitation correction to memorisation and revision.
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Start with a free intro meeting
15 minutes with a certified teacher, no card and no sign-up — or subscribe from $30 a month.
A free 15-minute intro — no card, no sign-up