It's good to talk!

CONVERSATIONAL Arabic in just 10 weeks, sounds impossible doesn't it? But that's the claim being made by a new language school which aims to get students speaking and, for those who study Modern Standard Arabic at beginners' level, even reading Arabic in just 20 hours.

Former St Christopher's School teacher Sophie Man Cheung, set up Lingo-ease in July last year initially offering courses for young learners, aged six years and above, to study either Arabic or English.

Since then she, and her staff of teachers, have launched further courses for adults and teens offering both Modern Standard Arabic, Gulf Arabic and English as a second language.

Sophie, who hails from Kent in England, came to the island in 2003 to teach music at St Christopher's School where she also offered learning support. She said: "I have always had a love of languages and see it as a real breakthrough when people learn to communicate in another language, you can see the empowerment that this gives them.

"At university I studied modern foreign languages and then when I moved here I used to take myself off during my holidays and study Arabic in various countries.

"Being able to actually speak the language meant that, for instance, in Syria when I drove out into the middle of nowhere and met Syrian Bedouin families I was able to communicate with them and learn about their lives rather than just watching and seeing them almost through a lens."

She left St Christopher's School in 2007 and spent a year going through the process of setting up the language operation which runs from premises at Al Nasir Garden, off the Budaiya Highway.

Now she wants to send out the message that Arabic can be a very accessible language which will give students the chance to interact with the native speakers around them and offer a new freedom to enjoy the Arabic world.

"So many people are put off the idea of even starting to learn Arabic as they feel it is beyond their abilities," she said. "But our classes are accessible and fun and, as a student, you will find yourself speaking Arabic from the first class so it encourages enthusiasm to get out there and have a go."

The Gulf Arabic conversation class runs over 10 weeks with two hour-long sessions per week and using games, role-play and discussion, it aims to give students a grounding in everyday language skills which will allow them to speak Arabic outside the classroom.

Lingo-Ease also offers Modern Standard Arabic courses which equip learners to understand and communicate in the language common to the entire Arab world.

Running over an initial 20-week course, beginners learn to write the 28-letter Arabic alphabet and the aim is that within 20 hours they will be learning to read and write three and four letter words and will also be gaining an understanding basic aspects of grammar.

Students can then go on to study at an intermediate and advanced level and Sophie claims that within around two years of intensive study it should be possible to attain a high level of fluency.

She said: "I wanted to be able to offer year round, affordable courses that would give people, both children and adults, the opportunity to learn the local language in a way that is usable and fun and that's what we aim to do.

"For adults we use methods of learning that make it fun and our timings are aimed at fitting in with people who may want to come after work. We also run throughout the year and try not to keep people waiting too long for the next course to start."

A course of 20 hours in conversational Gulf Arabic or a basic Modern Standard Arabic costs BD80 and for young learners the 16 hour course is BD64.

To find out more log onto www.lingoeasy.com or call the school on 17590895 / 39102297.