Pleasant Way to Learn Darija – Moroccan Arabic for foreigners

[ctt template=”5″ link=”aelUP” via=”yes” ]Pleasant Way to Learn Darija When You\’re Busy [/ctt]Guess what is the most popular result in my Google Analytics account? Right after finding out what is the best
Moroccan food recipe, learning how to open a business in Morocco, or hoping to find a “big Moroccan ass” on my blog, people want to learn Darija!

What’s more interesting, most of people who intend to learn Darija, live outside Morocco. I know how hard it is to learn a language when you’re not exposed to it, but as a language methodologist, I believe that nothing is impossible! You may curse technology but in such cases it is more than useful – you can find lots of amazing language resources online.

Here is the list of tips on learning Darija when you have no chance to speak it on a daily basis and hear it on the streets or when classroom courses are too boring for you.

Podcast & YouTube videos for the lazy ones

YouTube is full of videos to learn Darija. I don’t have a personal favorite, but I am sure that you’ll find something that will suit your needs.

You can also check this 3-Minute Moroccan Arabic podcast on Amazon. It’s a series of 25 audio lessons for busy bees! You can make it to free 3 minutes of your time per day, can’t you?

Online grammar course for perfectionists

Living in a different country than your target language is spoken in, has advantages too! For instance, you have a chance to focus on grammar, while living in the country where the language is spoken, you pay more attention to the spoken language rather than written.

A friend of mine is a passionate linguist and he came up with this complex grammar course for foreigners. Check it out, and take advantage of the 50% discount that he offered to my Readers!

Apart from the course create by my friend, Udemy is full of different Arabic couses. I am recommending you this one, because I’ve tried it and liked it. 100% approved!

Books for the traditionalists

I am a huge fan of paper books, I hate e-books! That’s why I spend too much money the paperbacks ;)

If you love the smell of books, the touch of the pages, and want to hold your books in your hands, check out Amazon. It offers a wide variety of books, even Moroccan slang phrasebooks! You can buy new and used books – depending on your budget and preferences.

I’ve written a post about my favorite picks and you can read it here.

Movies with subtitles

Many people disagree with me, but I am a fan of Moroccan cinema.

My personal favorite movies are:

• Ali Zaoua
• Marock
• Rock the kasbah
• Road to Kabul

Here is a list of some other good Moroccan movies. MarocMama wrote this article about 10 movies filmed in Morocco. They are not in Darija, but could be a nice choice for cinema fans and lovers of Moroccan landscapes!

Apps, for those who prefer modernity

I am old-fashioned and I love to watch movies, hear the music, speak to people and read the books. Some apps are super helpful though! I’ve asked some people in my group on Facebook, what is their favorite way to learn Darija and some of them mentioned Memrise app. I don’t have first-hand experience with it, but heard good opinions about it.

Skype course – if you want to practice!

When I first came to Morocco, no one-to-one online courses were available. Now the number is rapidly growing and lots of Moroccans offer Darija courses via Skype! I have a couple of friends who do that!

What is your favorite way to learn a new language? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!

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