Arabic Alphabet, Duolingo, the polyglot LILT Toastmasters International club to be on Zoom

 I am struggling to learn the Arabic alphabet. It is nothing like Greek, Hebrew or Russian. It is all curves. I have started on Duolingo. You get the sounds and match them up with pictures. It took me a while with other languages on Duolingo to learn that in matching pairs you don't start on the left but play the sound on the right hand column and then match it with the picture without sound on the right. 

Duolingo

The second thing to remember in Duolingo when learning the alphabet, is that you will be asked to guess the picture of the written letter on the next page. So look at it carefully and create your own memory aid, connected with an English letter of the alphabet, or the picture of an object or a scene.

For example, in the picture of a sign which sounds like dow ood, I see a raised L in the air, third stroke, and think it looks like a door. However, a couple of signs later, the same sign appears again at the left sign of the word. I now have to remember that the D sound is in both words, but not where you might hope, with D at the the start of the word, but at the end. So the sound ending in D has the little L shaped like a door at the start. 

I was surprised at my progress, faster than on Korean. I got through the first two lessons quite quickly. 

I learned another sound. It looked like two uprights and a dividing letter in the middle. I thought it looked like two people arguing over something.

Now back to the alphabet. However I shall look on Memrise and Youtube to see if I can get any more suggestions. 

I need to learn the Arabic Alphabet because I have three meetings on Arabic in the World International Language Lovers, WILL (now LILT), a soon to be established Toastmasters Club. We need twenty paying members to register a new club. I thought of asking on Facebook for Arabic speakers to give a 5-7 minute speech, or a twenty minute easy introduction to the alphabet. But I have to be the backup. Even if I only teach three Arabic letters, that would be a start.

The WILL (now LILT) club meets online every Sunday night at 9 pm Singapore time. Login on Zoom fifteen minutes earlier to say hello, rename yourself online, check you are visible, get to know everyone.  If Sunday doesn't suit you, or you want more, we meet earlier in the day, 7.30 Singapore time, on the second and fourth Thursday each month. If there is a demand, we will run  a satellite in person meetings in Singapore or other countries. Arabic is the language we are learning about for the first three meetings in October, Sunday 1st, Sunday 8th, and Thursday 12th, 2023. Do come along and tell your friends.

Update 

WILL changed its name to LILT. A search for will brought up websites writing your will! Carolyn had the inspiration to create a word from the initials for Languages for Interest, Learning and Travel. The T can also be for translation. 

July 2024 We no longer do the Thursday meeting. Friday and Sunday keeps us fully busy! We need some paying members to establish the club with Toastmasters International. If you want to be a dual member, or a founder member, or just a guest. come along to the next Sunday meeting. I usually rehearse a speech on languages on Friday at SGI. The timing is UK summer time 2 pm for chat and topics, a 2.30 pm start on prepared speeches. Sunday (is an hour later to accommodate President Edward at dawn in Belize in central America, 3 pm chat and table topics for 3.30 speeches. 

Useful Websites 

Duolingo

https://thehuntswoman.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-finish-a-language-on-duolingo/

https://thehuntswoman.com/learn-arabic-on-duolingo/

Song highlighting each letter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnLSy4nZI80

This version repeats half a dozen letters in succession

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joaa_H3ejoM

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Learning Hebrew with Duolingo, Hebrew Alphabet song, Hebrew Keyboard

I started learning Hebrew with Duolingo. It is still in the Beta stage. That's the experimental stage when you can try it out and give them feedback so they can iron out problems.

Foreign Alphabets
I had been getting along fine with the Russian on Duolingo, but was stuck on the first lesson of the Hebrew, although I already knew many of the Hebrew letters.

The first thing I did with Russian was to copy out the letters and stick the guide in the back of my diary. I shall now do this with the Hebrew.

Reciting Alphabets
I can recite the Hebrew alphabet, but it's all a bit jumbled: aleph bet (vet), gimal dalet, hay vuv, zayin... kalph lamed, mem nun, pay Fay, tsadick, coo-f, raiy-sh, shin, samech ay-in, tough ...

Alphabet Songs
In English we have a song for the alphabet.
ABCDEFG (ay bee see dee ee e f f gee
HIJKLMNOP (aitch i jay kay - el-em en-oh pea
QRSTUV queue ah ess tea you vee
WXY Zee double yew ex why zee.

Maybe there's a song for the Hebrew alphabet sung in English of course.
aleph bet vet gim-al duv
..... shin t u v or something like that.

Well - what do you know - would you believe it, there are several on Youtube. Here's the first one I found:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiCzoTs1AdE

Installing The Hebrew Keyboard For Windows
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17424/windows-change-keyboard-layout

Installing The Hebrew Keyboard For Mac

If you're using Mac: Open System Preferences. Click the International button. Click "Input Menu". Scroll down until you see Hebrew, then put a check next to it. Put a check next to "Show input menu in menu bar". To change the language to Hebrew when you type, click on the American flag on the top right of the menu bar, and then choose Hebrew.

Virtual keyboard: https://www.branah.com/hebrew

Here's a site which teaches you the Hebrew letters of the alphabet and the vowels.
http://www.cartoonhebrew.com/hey

1 I had already downloaded the Hebrew alphabet. So now when I click on the small UK flag up pop several other alphabets I have chosen to use.

The problem is, I don't know where the Hebrew letters are under the QWERTY keyboard.

I am looking for an answer which I shall upload shortly.

I have found one website which shows the Hebrew letters and I have printed it. I can stand it up beside my keyboard. The theory is that you toggle or press escape and the Hebrew will come up, click a second time and then go back to qwerty.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author, speaker, language teacher.