Practice Arabic in Birmingham with Native Speakers
Real Arabic conversation for people in Birmingham, over video - no crossing the ring road, no meetups cancelled because it's pouring again.
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Arabic in Birmingham isn't background noise - you hear it on Coventry Road between the shisha cafés and grill houses, in Sparkhill and Sparkbrook where a lot of Iraqi and Syrian families settled, and in Balsall Heath, home to one of the older Yemeni communities in the country. Add the students at the University of Birmingham's Department of Arabic, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies out in Edgbaston, and you've got two very different groups who want the same thing: someone to actually talk to, not a textbook dialogue.
Finding that person in real life is where it falls apart. Someone working evenings at a takeaway on Coventry Road can't easily get to Selly Oak for a coffee, and a student without a car isn't crossing the inner ring road on a whim after lectures. Add typical Birmingham rain and buses that don't always turn up when the app says they will, and half the meetups people plan on WhatsApp groups just quietly die before they happen.
Doing it over video takes the geography out of it. You get thirty minutes in Arabic and thirty in English or whatever your other language is, with someone who actually speaks it at home - whether they're in Sparkbrook or a diaspora further afield - without either of you losing an evening to the 50 bus.
Words you will actually hear
| Here | Elsewhere | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| bab | mate / dear | friendly way to address someone, used constantly in Birmingham shops and buses |
| cob | bread roll | what Brummies call a plain bread roll, not a bun |
| gully | alleyway | the narrow passage running behind terraced houses, common in areas like Sparkhill |
| our kid | my brother/sister or close mate | used for a sibling or someone you're close to, not necessarily family |
| mardy | moody, sulky | describes someone in a bad mood or being difficult |
| bostin | brilliant, excellent | used to say something is really good |
| ta-ra | goodbye | the standard way to say bye across the city |
| y'alright | hello | a greeting, not a real question about how you're doing |
| the Ring Road | Birmingham's A4400 inner ring road | the road locals use to explain distance - 'inside' or 'outside' the Ring Road changes how far something feels |
Exchanges looking for a partner
How it works here
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Sign up and say your level
Two minutes. If you do not know your level, we place you in the first class.
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Pick a class or an exchange
Classes are led by a native teacher. An exchange is with another member: half the time in their language, half in yours.
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Join by video, nothing to install
From your phone or your computer. If you cannot make it, cancel and get your place back.
Questions about this
What time are people from Birmingham actually around for Arabic exchanges?
Mostly evenings, once shifts on Coventry Road or classes at the university finish - so from around 7pm - plus weekend afternoons. Weekday lunchtimes tend to be quiet because most people are working or studying.
Do I need to meet up in person at some point?
No, everything runs over video. That's the whole point for Birmingham - you're not depending on someone being free to travel from Sparkhill to Selly Oak or dealing with the ring road traffic.
What level of Arabic do I need to join?
The small group classes with a native teacher start from beginner level and build up. The one-to-one exchanges work better once you can hold a basic conversation for half an hour, since there's no teacher steering it.
How much does it cost?
Group classes and one-to-one exchanges sit on different plans, and pricing depends on group size and course length, so it's on the sign-up page rather than fixed here. Have a look there before deciding which format suits you.
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