Arabic for children · العَرَبِيَّة لِلْأَطْفَال
Your child will speak before they can spell
Spoken Levantine Arabic for children aged four to fifteen, at our centre in Jabal Al-Weibdeh. The language they will actually hear in the playground, the shop and the street outside your door.
How children learn · كَيْفَ يَتَعَلَّم الطِّفْل
A child is not a small adult
The mistake most language schools make is to hand a child the adult course in a brighter cover. Children do not learn a language the way adults do — they pick it up by hearing it, using it, and being understood.
So the lesson starts with
- Listening long before speaking is expected
- Words attached to real objects and real actions
- Speaking allowed to be wrong, and corrected gently
- The dialect of the street, so it works the moment they leave
And not with
- Grammar tables before the child can say anything
- Copying letters they cannot yet pronounce
- Homework that turns Arabic into another chore
- Being told to be quiet and listen for an hour
الطِّفْل لا يَحْفَظ اللُّغَة، بَلْ يَعِيشُهَا
A child does not memorise a language. They live in it — which is why a child in Amman can pick up Levantine faster than any adult in the same room.
By age · حَسَب العُمْر
Four and fifteen are not the same child
We take children from four to fifteen, but what happens in the room is completely different at each end. Here is roughly what to expect.
Sound and play
All spoken, nothing written. The child hears Arabic, points, repeats, and plays — and usually starts producing words without being asked to. Sitting still is not the goal.
Talking and reading
Speaking is the centre, and the alphabet arrives once the sounds are familiar. Children at this age want to be able to do something with the language, so lessons build towards real situations.
Real conversation
Closer to an adult course, but not the same. Teenagers care about not sounding foreign and about talking to people their own age — so that is what we work on.
What parents ask · أَسْئِلَة الأَهْل
The questions we actually get
Will my child sit still for an hour?
A lesson is 55 minutes, the same as an adult's — but it does not look like an adult's lesson. With younger children the hour moves between activities rather than staying at a desk.
The honest answer is that some days go better than others, and the teacher works with the child in front of them. Come to the free first lesson and watch.
Does my child need to read and write Arabic?
Not to start, and not at all if that is not your goal. Speaking comes first; the script comes later, if and when it is useful.
If reading and writing formal Arabic is the point — for school, or for a curriculum your child is following — that is Modern Standard Arabic, and we teach it separately: see Modern Standard Arabic for kids.
We are only in Jordan for a year. Is it worth it?
Yes, and probably more than for you. A child who can ask for something in Arabic stops being a visitor in their own neighbourhood — they can talk to the neighbours' children, order their own food, and belong somewhere they did not choose to move to.
Whether the Arabic survives the move home is another question, and we will not promise you it will.
One to one, or with other children?
Both work, and they suit different children. A shy child often does better one to one; a sociable one learns faster with someone to talk to. Tell us about your child and we will say what we think.
Can I stay and watch?
For the first lesson, yes — most parents do, and with younger children it helps. After that, children usually settle better without an audience.
Where exactly are you?
Jabal Al-Weibdeh, on Al-Shariaah College St. We are on the third floor and the building has a lift, which matters if you are arriving with a small child.
Fees · الرُّسُوم
What it costs
Children's lessons are arranged case by case, because the right answer depends on your child's age, whether they learn alone or with others, and how often you want to come.
Tell us your child's age and how many times a week suits you, and the office will come back to you with the options and the fees. There is nothing to pay for the first lesson.
Four formats · أَرْبَع صِيَغ
Which format fits you?
The same Levantine Arabic, four ways. This page is the children's one — the other three are for adults.
3 to 5 people
Group classes
A small group that starts together at the beginning. Lowest cost per hour and classmates to practise with.
See group classesJust the two of you
Learn with a friend
Two students, one teacher. Almost the attention of a private lesson at a lower rate.
See pair ratesOne to one
Private lessons
Your schedule, your pace, your goals. Start any week, at any level.
See private lessonsYou are here
Arabic for children
Ages four to fifteen. Speaking before writing, and an hour built around the child rather than the book.
Free first lesson · الدَّرْس الأَوَّل مَجَّانِي
Bring them once and see
The first lesson is free and there is nothing to pay before it. Come with your child, stay in the room, and decide afterwards — a child's face during that hour will tell you more than any page can.