Arabic Speaking Practice

olbigjim Active member

30POSTS

15 years ago

Hello Expats, and welcome to Jordan! I know that many of you out there, like me, may be struggling to learn to speak Arabic comfortably. We know some, or many of the words and phrases, but have difficulty talking to native Arab speakers for many reasons. I am forming a group for expats to practice speaking Arabic. We will meet once a week, with a couple of native speakers and discuss a prearranged topic, all in Arabic. Our Arab friends will help us in choosing the right words or phrases, all in a fun and friendly atmosphere.

I already administer a group similar to this in which I assist speakers of English as a foreign language to practice their skills and develop a better comfort level when speaking to native English speakers. To date, the group has been tremendously successful and continues to grow week by week.

I believe such a group for those of us speaking Arabic as a foreign language could benefit greatly from such a group. At no time are any fees associated with these meetings.

Are there expats here in Amman who would be interested in joining this group in order to perfect their Arabic speaking skills?

Please contact me on my cell at 0797668102 or email me at olbigjim@yahoo.com and let's get this thing rolling!

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veralynn Member

2POSTS

15 years ago

I am interested! I really want to learn arabic but so far I have only learned from people I meet around town. It would be nice to have an actual group of people to talk with on a regular basis. I don't really know that much, and I hope that's not a problem. Where do you meet?

olbigjim Active member

30POSTS

15 years ago

Hi Veralynn! Thank you for being the very first to respond! At the moment I have only the idea, and I have developed outlines and agendas for meetings. I will form the group if I can generate enough interest; say 5 or so members to begin. Now we are at 2!

When the weather wasn't so good, we met in coffee shops but I found that such venues are generally too noisy to practice a new language. Now that Spring has arrived, I have begun scheduling my English group's meetings outside. For instance we had a barbeque at Ghamadan National Forest a couple of weeks ago and we will go to King Hussein Gardens at the upcoming weekend.

I try to keep the venues varied and conducive to learning as well as having lots of fun. I hope you will remain interested as I attempt to garner more members and then we can set about gathering for practice.

If you would like to contact me directly, rather than through the forum my address is olbigjim@yahoo.com and I would be happy to hear from you!

Regards,

Jim

olbigjim Active member

30POSTS

14 years ago

I'm gratified to report several positive responses on this thread. With that in mind, I have scheduled a first meeting of "Finjan Ahweh" at 3rd Floor Cafe in Swefieh for Friday, 20th May at 6 pm.

I sincerely hope you will all be there! My friend Zeek has kindly agreed to provide the "emcee" services in order to help us all to improve our Arabic speaking skills.

Please RSVP at my private email, olbigjim@yahoo.com to let me know if you can, or cannot come to be with us. If my English group is any indication, I believe this can be a very exciting and lively group!

I'm looking forward to hearing from each of you.

Regards,
Jim

olbigjim Active member

30POSTS

14 years ago

I failed to mention in any of my previous posts that there will be NO FEE associated with Finjan Ahweh. These gatherings will be friendly chat sessions, as Zeek has agreed to provide his services without charge.

The only thing you will have to pay is the cost of your coffee and, if you want it, your arghileh!

R/
Jim

daleelkom Member

19POSTS

14 years ago

See you then!

olbigjim Active member

30POSTS

14 years ago

I've created the group, now it's time for those of you who are interested to join!

Here is how it will work. Those of us who need to practice our conversational Arabic will meet on a (hopefully) weekly schedule to hone our skills. Zeek will moderate the group, helping us to speak in a natural and understandable way. Zeek's mother tongue is Arabic and I can report from experience that he is an excellent teacher.

Those of you who expressed an interest in this group, please to to the my Facebook page, facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_150296255040038¬if_t=group_activity and join up. After you've done that, we'll put our heads together to figure out a meeting schedule and start practicing Arabic!

Looking forward to meeting you all!

Jim

philano79 Active member

82POSTS

14 years ago

Hi all,

Although I am past the 20 May deadline, I would like to introduce my services for those interested.

My name is Bilal El-Ouri, from Jordan, Amman. I am an experienced translator/editor and English instructor. I obtained my Master's in Translation from the University of Jordan. I am fluent in both English and Arabic, and I have been working as a translator/editor/trainer/media specialist for seven years. I also worked as a part-time English instructor at the University of Jordan and offered Araic lessons for non-native speakers.

It will be my pleasure to offer informal Arabic classes for individuals/groups. I usually give trial sessions for free, and my rate, if one plans to proceed with me, is very very attractive and competitive. You will enjoy my classes because they will be very friendly,fun, and useful

For further questions, please call me on 0788661409 or contact me on my e-mail: belal.ouri@yahoo.com

Best regards,

Bilal

Armand ViP

24785POSTS

14 years ago

Hi Bilal!

You should post your advert in the classes section of Amman classifieds!

Regards
Armand

olbigjim Active member

30POSTS

14 years ago

#10

philano79 wrote:
Hi all,

Although I am past the 20 May deadline, I would like to introduce my services for those interested.

My name is Bilal El-Ouri, from Jordan, Amman. I am an experienced translator/editor and English instructor. I obtained my Master's in Translation from the University of Jordan. I am fluent in both English and Arabic, and I have been working as a translator/editor/trainer/media specialist for seven years. I also worked as a part-time English instructor at the University of Jordan and offered Araic lessons for non-native speakers.

It will be my pleasure to offer informal Arabic classes for individuals/groups. I usually give trial sessions for free, and my rate, if one plans to proceed with me, is very very attractive and competitive. You will enjoy my classes because they will be very friendly,fun, and useful

For further questions, please call me on 0788661409 or contact me on my e-mail: belal.ouri@yahoo.com

Best regards,

Bilal

Not only should your post be in the Classified section as advised by the Admin, it should NOT be attached to an advert posted by another person. If you want to advertise your services, by all means do so, but not on one of my posts. It shows complete disrespect for the original poster.

philano79 Active member

82POSTS

14 years ago

#11

Hi all,

I am completely sorry as I am fairly new to this forum. I sent my advertisement out of good faith. Obviously I learned a very good but hard lesson

Thank you for the notes. Best regards, Bilal

olbigjim Active member

30POSTS

14 years ago

#12

Bilal,

Apology accepted. We've all made mistakes in these things. I didn't notice that you only joined a few days ago.

Good luck in your future!

Regards,

Jim

suzi.t Member

3POSTS

14 years ago

#13

Hi Jim

I've just joined the site and will be returning to Amman in September- is your group still meeting and would it be suitable for a complete beginner??

regards,

Suzi

olbigjim Active member

30POSTS

14 years ago

#14

Please stay in contact with us. I believe we will be ready to begin our sessions again by September. There has been some renewed interest. Email me at theolbigjim@gmail.com and thanks for contacting us!

elaine123 Active member

84POSTS

13 years ago

#15

Whatever became of your group? Was it successful? Are you still meeting? Just curious.

olbigjim Active member

30POSTS

13 years ago

#16

Hi Elaine, I'm afraid I wasn't able to generate any interest in the group. I'm not quite sure why, but even the few who responded never followed up when I gave details. I thought a casual setting with a few friends and a native speaker would be appealing to most of us.

Primadonna Jordan Expert

5334POSTS

13 years ago

#17

That's a pity!
I would love to join in if there is still interest from your side and other members of this forum.
I learn/study the arabic language at the Univesity of Jordan and I would like to practice more.

This is a very good and practical initiative and it should be continue.

olbigjim Active member

30POSTS

13 years ago

#18

I agree, it is a pity! Zeek tells me he will be happy to reactivate the group IF a minimum of five persons show interest and commit to attending the meets on a weekly basis. If we can get more than five, it would be even better! And, remember this, there is no charge associated with this group. You will only ever pay for your coffee, snacks, etc.

bdutch New member

9POSTS

13 years ago

#19

I'm still in, Jim. Things went quiet after my first visit!

Bara Sub茅 Active member

58POSTS

13 years ago

#20

Hello , i'm ready for teaching you and practice arabic with u ! ^_^ Bara

Bara Sub茅 Active member

58POSTS

13 years ago

#21

0788183045 my number i'm ready to join your group to tach u and practice with u arabic

SinanDira Active member

35POSTS

13 years ago

#22

Greetings. This sounds聽 pretty nice! I'd love to attend as a guest whenever possible. I am a native, but you got to keep in mind that my visit is temporary and that my availability is limited, especially until the end of this week.

I live almost just by the University of Jordan.

Primadonna Jordan Expert

5334POSTS

13 years ago

#23

Sounds great.
I can ask my co-students if they have interest too.

strong79 ViP

107POSTS

13 years ago

#24

I'm ready also

elaine123 Active member

84POSTS

13 years ago

#25

Olbigjim..... I'm sorry for you and the others that this didn't work out the first time. I'm glad I asked the question and it sparked a new flame. This time I hope it will work out and everyone comes together. It is an awesome idea. For the life of me I don't know why anyone wouldn't take advantage of a great opportunity like you are proposing.
If I was in Amman you could definatly count me in, but unfortunatly I'm not. I do wish you well and hope this becomes a success. Maybe next time i'm in Amman for an extended visit I can meet with your group and learn from you all.

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!

elaine123 Active member

84POSTS

13 years ago

#26

Have you all got a chance to meet yet? If so, how did it go?

Primadonna Jordan Expert

5334POSTS

13 years ago

#27

Nope, it is very quiet at the other side of my screen...

Yazan_Dababneh Active member

27POSTS

13 years ago

#28

Would it be possible to join from time to time?
I used to teach Arabic to Italians and Australians before I left Jordan 6 years ago.
now that I am back, I would like to join and help.
Would that be possible?

David ViP

9410POSTS

13 years ago

#29

Hi Yazan_Dababneh,

Please note that the topic you post is from 2011, in suggest you to create a new topic on the Amman forum.

I also invite you to post an advert in the Amman classifieds, Classes/Language classes section, this could help.

Thank you,

David.

olbigjim Active member

30POSTS

13 years ago

#30

Well, this is encouraging! It looks like Elaine's recent post renewed interest in this project.

Please, all who are interested in getting together to practice, email me at theolbigjim@gmail.com and let's see what we can put together.

Meanwhile, I will scout around for a place that's reasonably quiet where we can enjoy coffee and chatting. Everyone is welcome!

olbigjim Active member

30POSTS

13 years ago

#31

Marhabteyn! Let's do this! I propose a meet-up to greet and get to know each other and find out how many are truly interested in practicing Arabic.

We will meet on Saturday, 11th May 2013 at 4 pm. The patio at Wild Jordan seems like a good place to meet.

Primadonna, have you found any interest from your co-students?

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday!

Primadonna Jordan Expert

5334POSTS

13 years ago

#32

@ Olbigjim: my "offer" to ask my co-students if they have the interest, was dated almost three months ago...

Till now I didn't see a reply from you if you want to restart this initiative so I didn't ask them.
Now it is to late because we have less then a week until the final exam (and the end of the semester) and the most students will leave the country or have other plans.

But I hope to be there on this Saturday.

Anyone else???

GuestPoster10533 Guest

0POSTS

13 years ago

#33

Hi all ,,
I am joining to meet you all I am an Arabic and can support

olbigjim Active member

30POSTS

12 years ago

#34

I was at Wild Jordan today at 4 pm as arranged with everyone. I stayed until 5.15 pm. No one showed up. The interest in practicing Arabic with native speakers is apparently not as high as I had believed.

As of today, 11th May 2013, this thread is no longer valid.

philano79 Active member

82POSTS

12 years ago

#35

I feel sorry for this. I wish I could have known about this gathering, although I am an Arabic native speaker and a teacher of Arabic for non-native speakers. You might want to try again.

Primadonna Jordan Expert

5334POSTS

12 years ago

#36

Yes, I am sorry too.
I said that I hope to be there but unfortunately I couldn't make it.
And there was no telephone number available where I can ring to.
This Tuesday聽 I have the final exam so I needed the time to study.

I had the feeling that this will ended like this and I feel sorry.