So yall, after one year of learning Levantine Arabic from scratch without a private teacher, I can finally, definitively, say:

I’m fluent.

I’m currently in Beirut and people are completely confused at how well I speak. Yesterday, someone asked me, “Is your father Lebanese?” Someone else began arguing with me. “No!” He said, “You were born in Saudi Arabia.”

No, my dad was definitely born in a village in Nigeria. My mom too. No, I was definitely born in a small town in South Carolina that felt like a village. Still, no matter what I say, few people in Beirut believe me when I say that I taught myself Levantine.

If you want some quick proof of my fluency, listen (immediately below) to my 20-minute conversation with Real Arabic Podcast about being Black in Lebanon and about my DIY Levantine Arabic fluency guidebook called: Zero-to-Fluent. In the fluency guidebook, I lay out the step-by-step, day-by-day process I used to reach Levantine Arabic fluency in one year with a private teacher.

So…

1) if you’re still reading this

2) if you want to learn how you can learn to speak fluently too

and 3) you want to know and how my Levantine fluency guidebook Zero-to-Fluent can help you get there, then مرحبة! So happy to have you here.f

[fusion_separator style_type=”default” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” flex_grow=”0″ top_margin=”” bottom_margin=”” width=”” alignment=”center” border_size=”” sep_color=”” icon=”” icon_size=”” icon_color=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” /][fusion_code]PGlmcmFtZSB0aXRsZT0iVWNoZWNoaSBLYWx1OiBaZXJvIHRvIEZsdWVudCBBcmFiaWMiIGhlaWdodD0iMTUwIiB3aWR0aD0iMTAwJSIgc3R5bGU9ImJvcmRlcjogbm9uZTsiIHNjcm9sbGluZz0ibm8iIGRhdGEtbmFtZT0icGItaWZyYW1lLXBsYXllciIgc3JjPSJodHRwczovL3d3dy5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS9wbGF5ZXItdjIvP2k9aTR4NTQtMTEwNjMzNi1wYiZmcm9tPXBiNmFkbWluJnNoYXJlPTEmZG93bmxvYWQ9MSZydGw9MCZmb250cz1BcmlhbCZza2luPTEmZm9udC1jb2xvcj0mYnRuLXNraW49NCIgYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuPSIiPjwvaWZyYW1lPg==[/fusion_code][fusion_separator style_type=”default” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” flex_grow=”0″ top_margin=”” bottom_margin=”” width=”” alignment=”center” border_size=”” sep_color=”” icon=”” icon_size=”” icon_color=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” /]

(You can find the full transcript in Levantine Arabic and English here on the Real Arabic Podcast Website. If this is your first time hearing about them, then you’re in for a treat.)

I should let you know right now, that by the end of this post, I’m going to ask you if you’d like to purchase the Levantine fluency guidebook: Zero-to-Fluent.

I’m not shy about asking, because I truly believe that when we Arabic learners share our best ideas, our entire community grows together. Most of all, we grow in our fluency.

I’m not shy about asking because, after a year of using the step-by-step, day-by-day method that I lay out in Zero-To-Fluent, this is what happened:

• I understood 75% – 90% of TV shows (without subtitles!), and 75% – 90% of native speakers’ speech (depending on the accent)
• I was able to express deep thoughts in Arabic and be understood, making it possible to build genuine and long-lasting relationships with people in Lebanon and Syria
• I gained a strong understanding of Lebanese and Syrian popular culture, including, songs, actors, tv shows, politics, and social issues (which surprisingly, was the most important key to making quick, deep, and lasting relationships)

Most of all, I shattered the myth I’d built up over the years that there was something wrong with me, and that no matter how I tried, I just would never reach a level of fluency I was proud of.

Have you ever told yourself that same thing?

I know that a lot of you readers have because you email me about it all the time. I feel you. Sometimes I wish we could all sit in a room together and commiserate about all the classes we’ve taken, the books we’ve bought, the study abroad programs we paid for, and the Arabic media we just couldn’t understand.

And then when we were all done, I’d tell you: That’s why I created Zero-To-Fluent and laid out a method خطو – خطو. So that you can spend the next year letting go of the same old story. So that you can spend the next year becoming fluent and fulfilling your dreams.

People in Beirut think I’m 1/2 Lebanese for goodness sake! Hopefully, in a few years, they’ll think I’m fully Lebanese. The proof is in the pudding.

[fusion_separator style_type=”default” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” flex_grow=”0″ top_margin=”” bottom_margin=”” width=”” alignment=”center” border_size=”” sep_color=”” icon=”” icon_size=”” icon_color=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” /][fusion_code]PGlmcmFtZSB0aXRsZT0iVWNoZWNoaSBLYWx1OiBaZXJvIHRvIEZsdWVudCBBcmFiaWMiIGhlaWdodD0iMTUwIiB3aWR0aD0iMTAwJSIgc3R5bGU9ImJvcmRlcjogbm9uZTsiIHNjcm9sbGluZz0ibm8iIGRhdGEtbmFtZT0icGItaWZyYW1lLXBsYXllciIgc3JjPSJodHRwczovL3d3dy5wb2RiZWFuLmNvbS9wbGF5ZXItdjIvP2k9aTR4NTQtMTEwNjMzNi1wYiZmcm9tPXBiNmFkbWluJnNoYXJlPTEmZG93bmxvYWQ9MSZydGw9MCZmb250cz1BcmlhbCZza2luPTEmZm9udC1jb2xvcj0mYnRuLXNraW49NCIgYWxsb3dmdWxsc2NyZWVuPSIiPjwvaWZyYW1lPg==[/fusion_code][fusion_separator style_type=”default” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” flex_grow=”0″ top_margin=”” bottom_margin=”” width=”” alignment=”center” border_size=”” sep_color=”” icon=”” icon_size=”” icon_color=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” /]

What You’ll Gain by Using “Zero-to-Fluent”

• A full list of exactly what content to watch, listen to, and read for the next year (no more time wasted looking for great content)
• A tried and true method that will dramatically improve your Arabic abilities
• The peace of mind that you’re truly making progress and will become fluent one day
• The ability to speak deeply in Arabic about your thoughts, feelings, and life in Levantine Arabic
• The ability to authentically pronounce Levantine Arabic words

What You Should Expect When You’re Finished With the Guidebook

• The ability to understand 75% – 90% of television (without subtitles) and spoken everyday speech
• A comfortable understanding of Lebanese and Syrian popular culture, including, songs, actors, tv shows, politics, and social issues
• The ability for native Levantine speakers to fully understand your meaning and pronunciation when you speak
• The ability to build genuine relationships and memories in the Middle East and with Middle Eastern people, due to your language skills

How to Know If Zero-to-Fluent Isn’t Right for You Just Yet

• You’re comfortable with the progress you’re making in your current system, and you’re not curious about whether you can make more progress and/or move at a faster pace
• You have an Arabic-learning system that already working like a well-oiled machine
• Your main goal is to master the basics in Arabic — etc. ordering a coffee, hailing a taxi, haggling in the souk — and nothing more
• You’re interested in the Arabic language, but are not interested in learning about Arabic culture, especially popular culture

So if on a scale of 1 – 10, you’re saying to yourself, “I’m a 10, I ready,” keep scrolling down. If you’re anything less than a 10, then you probably have a questions I haven’t answered here yet. But I want to! So, go to the contact page and send them to me. I’ll get back to you ASAP.

To purchase your copy the Levantine Arabic fluency guidebook: Zero-to-Fluent: How to Learn Arabic in One Year Without a Private Teacher click the image below.

[fusion_separator style_type=”default” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” flex_grow=”0″ top_margin=”” bottom_margin=”” width=”” alignment=”center” border_size=”” sep_color=”” icon=”” icon_size=”” icon_color=”” icon_circle=”” icon_circle_color=”” /][fusion_imageframe image_id=”2776|large” max_width=”” sticky_max_width=”” skip_lazy_load=”” style_type=”” blur=”” stylecolor=”” hover_type=”none” bordersize=”” bordercolor=”” borderradius=”” align_medium=”none” align_small=”none” align=”center” margin_top=”” margin_right=”” margin_bottom=”” margin_left=”” lightbox=”no” gallery_id=”” lightbox_image=”” lightbox_image_id=”” alt=”” link=”https://marhabtainarabic.com/zero-to-fluent-2/” linktarget=”_blank” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″]https://marhabtainarabic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/1634411634-1024×694.jpg[/fusion_imageframe]