Linnette Schoeman, who is trying to learn Arabic, found the Duolingo lessons unhelpful.

It introduces the Arabic alphabet with sound exercises.

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DUBAI: Duolingo, an online language-learning portal with over 300 million users, recently added Arabic to its course offerings.

But with Arabic categorized as one of the super hard languages by the US Foreign Service Institute due to its complex grammar, varied dialects and rich lexicon, are the apps game-like lessons enough - or even useful - for a learner.

But as Muhamed Al-Khalil, director of Arabic studies and associate professor of practice of Arabic language at New York University Abu Dhabi, points out, Arabic presents a more complex system than many other languages.

But Russian, for example, shares with Arabic certain characteristics that make it relatively easy for a Russian speaker to learn Arabic, Al-Khalil told Arab News.

Likewise, May Zaki, associate professor in the department of Arabic and translation studies at the American University of Sharjah, said Arabic is not very difficult to learn for native speakers of Farsi or Urdu.

Arabic can be easier to learn also for a Spanish speaker than an English speaker because of similarities in grammar and even some vocabulary, she told Arab News.

Zaki said there are complexities in Arabic in matters of script, root and pattern system compared with most European languages.

She commended Duolingo for including Arabic to its menu of language offerings.

I have personally tried it to see how it feels from a teachers perspective, she said.

It would be a great addition at a later stage if Duolingo offers the option of learning one colloquial variety as well.

Egyptian Arabic and Shami (Syrian) Arabic could be the most popular options, Zaki said.

Duolingos Arabic language course takes the learner through the teaching process in steps.

In his essay, Wilson said: The challenge level of these exercises will ensure that our learners are forced to engage their brains to internalize the new alphabet.

Yomna Taha, a native Arabic speaker, tried out a few Arabic lessons on Duolingo and was impressed.

I was curious to check it out and, from my experience, it was pretty good, she told Arab News.

The verdict of Mariam Hammad, another native Arabic speaker who tried out Duolingo, was mixed.

The app is easy to use but I dont believe it will have a big impact on teaching Arabic, she said.

Arabic language is very nuance rich and probably needs an actual tutor, preferable of an Arab origin, she said.

Al-Khalil, of NYU Abu Dhabi, said Duolingo has created possibilities for practice and provided an opportunity not only to learn the Arabic vocabulary but also build sentences.

At the same time, he pointed out one limitation of Duolingo: language is a social activity whereas the app lacks human interaction in terms of body language and facial expressions.

Thus, the platform by itself may not be sufficient for a learner to master Arabic.

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