Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Master isolated letter forms
10 days
Arabic has 28 letters, each with up to four positional forms (isolated, initial, medial, final). Begin with the isolated forms and the short vowel marks (harakat: fatha, kasra, damma). Group letters by shared skeleton shapes (e.g. ب/ت/ث share one base) to reduce memorisation load. Practice handwriting each letter with correct stroke order — Arabic is written right-to-left with a connected cursive script.
Proof required
Submit a handwritten chart (photo or scan) showing all 28 Arabic letters in their isolated forms, labelled with their names, written in your own hand — no printed worksheets.
What gets checked
- All 28 isolated letter forms present and legible
- Short vowel marks (fatha, kasra, damma) correctly placed on at least 5 letters
- Stroke direction is right-to-left and strokes connect logically within each letter
Common mistakes
- Memorising by sight only without handwriting practice — recognition and production are separate skills and the exam tests both
- Treating each positional form as a separate letter to memorise — understanding the shared skeleton pattern reduces the memorisation burden by ~75%
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Verify the chart contains all 28 letters, not a subset
- Check that short vowel marks are correctly drawn and positioned above/below the letter body
- Stroke order should proceed right-to-left within each letter
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Master connected forms and positional variants
2 weeks
Most Arabic letters change shape depending on their position in a word. Learn the initial, medial, and final forms of all 28 letters, plus the 6 letters that do not connect to the following letter (alif, waw, ra', zay, dal, dhal). Practice reading short vowelised texts (harakat fully marked) and writing simple words from dictation, connecting letters correctly.
Proof required
Submit a handwritten page (photo or scan) showing each of the 28 letters in all four positional forms (isolated, initial, medial, final) — your own handwriting, no printed templates. Annotate the 6 non-connecting letters.
What gets checked
- All four positional forms present for all 28 letters
- The 6 non-connecting letters correctly annotated
- Letters within simulated words connect correctly and directionality is consistent right-to-left
Common mistakes
- Skipping the 6 non-connecting letters and being surprised when words don't join as expected
- Relying on digital practice (apps) without handwriting — connected-form production requires pen practice to internalise
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- Check that all 28 letters show all four forms — missing forms for any letter is a gap
- The 6 non-connecting letters (alif, waw, ra', zay, dal, dhal) should be explicitly labelled
- Ask the learner to read back two or three of the forms aloud to confirm they can connect sound to symbol
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Read aloud a short Arabic passage
1 week
With all letter forms learned, demonstrate that you can decode written Arabic by reading a short vowelised passage aloud — converting script to sound in real time. The passage should be unfamiliar (not one you have memorised) to prove genuine decoding ability, not memorisation. At this stage, full comprehension is not required: the goal is accurate sound production from script.
Proof required
Record a 2–3 minute video of yourself reading aloud a short vowelised Arabic passage (at least 50 words) chosen on the day of recording — hold the text visible in frame. Reading may be slow and deliberate; accuracy matters more than speed.
What gets checked
- All words attempted — no skipping over unfamiliar letter combinations
- Short vowel marks (harakat) correctly sounded where marked
- Both the written text and the reader are clearly visible and audible in the recording
Common mistakes
- Practising only memorised phrases — reading a fresh passage on camera is the only way to demonstrate true decoding rather than recall
- Recording with the text off-camera — the verifier must be able to check accuracy against the text
Resources
Foundationstart here
Depthgo deeper
What a verifier looks for
- The text must be visible in the recording — verify that the words read match the written text
- Check for consistent right-to-left decoding (no letter skipping)
- Harakat (short vowel marks) should be voiced where marked — errors on harakat count as script knowledge gaps, not pronunciation errors
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