🇸🇦 Best Arabic podcasts for beginners

Mihalis Eleftheriou records real lessons with a real student and walks you through constructing the language yourself using cognates and logic — Spanish, French, Italian, German, Greek, Turkish, Arabic and Swahili are covered. Completely free, no ads, no sign-up, funded by donations. The Spanish course in particular is one of the most recommended free resources anywhere; the trade-off is small vocabulary and no reading or writing practice.

Made for Arabic-speaking children rather than language learners, which is exactly why it works: simple sentences, repeated vocabulary and warm expressive narration at a speed beginners can follow. Free on the site and podcast apps. Being genuinely children's content, expect fairy-tale vocabulary rather than the language you need to order coffee or discuss work.

Bite-sized episodes of slow, clear Modern Standard Arabic — stories and everyday vocabulary — that you can follow well before you could handle news or native podcasts. Learner podcasts in formal Arabic are rare, which makes this worth the shelf space on your phone. Most episodes are free with some behind a paywall, and MSA listening practice will not train you for conversation in any actual dialect.

Dialogue-plus-explanation lessons with transcripts, line-by-line breakdowns and flashcards, covering absolute beginner through lower intermediate. The sheer volume makes it a decent daily listening habit, and a free account gives real access before you commit. Two caveats: the catalogue mixes varieties without always making the distinction obvious, so check whether a lesson is formal Arabic or dialect; and the marketing is relentless, with prices only reasonable during their frequent sales.

Mark Pentleton teaches a genuine student while you listen in, across French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Swedish, Portuguese, Japanese and Gaelic. The podcast seasons are free on any podcast app and are structured as a real curriculum rather than scattered episodes; the Academy sells premium lesson notes, video and bonus audio. Ideal commuting material for beginners through B1, and the Spanish and French series are the strongest.