BurtuQal Culture · Learning programmeBURTUQAL LEARN
Courses in language, movement and craft, led by artists, teachers and practitioners connected to the Arab world and the Mediterranean.
Conversation-first Levantine Arabic for complete beginners. Live online, small group, taught with familiar Latin letters, with no Arabic alphabet required.
Your first exchange
You answer
You answer
You answer
You answer
You answer
You'll read it, say it, and use it. No Arabic script needed to start.
Two cohorts · September–October 2026
Beginner Levantine Arabic: live, in a group of ten
Eight live classes of 75 minutes. The first class is free and is the real first lesson; you decide afterwards whether to continue. Classes 2 to 8 cost €120, paid once.
Evening
Beginner Levantine Arabic: Evening Cohort
19:00–20:15 Lisbon · 75 minutes per class · max 10 students
First class free · €120 for the remaining seven classes
All eight dates (Lisbon time)
- · Wed 16 Sept, 19:00(free first class)
- · Fri 18 Sept, 19:00
- · Mon 21 Sept, 19:00
- · Wed 23 Sept, 19:00
- · Fri 25 Sept, 19:00
- · Mon 28 Sept, 19:00
- · Wed 30 Sept, 19:00
- · Fri 2 Oct, 19:00
Payment deadline to continue: Thursday 17 September, 23:59 Lisbon time
Daytime
Beginner Levantine Arabic: Daytime Cohort
12:00–13:15 Lisbon · 75 minutes per class · max 10 students
First class free · €120 for the remaining seven classes
All eight dates (Lisbon time)
- · Wed 16 Sept, 12:00(free first class)
- · Sat 19 Sept, 12:00
- · Mon 21 Sept, 12:00
- · Wed 23 Sept, 12:00
- · Sat 26 Sept, 12:00
- · Mon 28 Sept, 12:00
- · Wed 30 Sept, 12:00
- · Sat 3 Oct, 12:00
Payment deadline to continue: Thursday 17 September, 23:59 Lisbon time
Long-term direction
Your Levantine Arabic pathway
A three-level beginner foundation, completed over roughly six months. Each level is eight live sessions across six to eight weeks, so the language has time to settle between classes.
- 1
Foundation 1
8 live sessions · 6–8 weeks
Practical spoken Levantine Arabic for complete beginners. The current founding course is this level, and it stays the accessible way in.
Available now: free first class
- 2
Foundation 2
8 live sessions · 6–8 weeks
Builds directly on Foundation 1: more verbs, more past and future, longer exchanges. No free trial class, since you already know how the room works.
For learners continuing from Foundation 1
- 3
Foundation 3
8 live sessions · 6–8 weeks
Consolidates the beginner foundation through longer supported interaction and practical scenarios you can carry into real conversations.
Completes the beginner foundation
Your progress
The pathway takes you from complete beginner toward confident A1 foundations in spoken Levantine Arabic. You’ll build practical listening and conversation skills through clear ‘can-do’ goals, while learning Arabic script step by step.
CEFR-informed pathway; not an official certification course.
What the language is for
Learn practical Levantine Arabic for human connection, grounded in health, mental health, migration, refugee and community support, and the living cultures of the region.
Vocabulary and scenarios come from welcoming people, appointments, feelings and needs, consent and asking permission, directions, everyday administration, and just as much from food, music, movement, storytelling and shared cultural life. The people you will speak with are neighbours, colleagues, friends and hosts, not case studies. We use trauma-informed wording, keep space for what someone chooses not to share, and never suggest you should speak or act beyond your own professional competence.
Coming next
November–December
A new Foundation 1 beginner intake.
Exact dates, timetable, price, capacity and registration: coming soon.
January–February
Foundation 2, for learners who completed Foundation 1. Eight sessions, no trial class.
Exact dates, timetable and price: coming soon.
The full six-month pathway
Later, you will be able to reserve all three Foundation levels together at a single commitment price. Details will be announced closer to the November intake.
Consistency turns lessons into language.
What you'll learn
- Greet, introduce yourself and hold a first real exchange in Levantine Arabic
- Order food, ask directions, shop and get around with confidence
- Key everyday phrases you'll actually use, not textbook Arabic
- How Levantine sounds, feels and differs from Modern Standard Arabic
- A cultural feel for Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon
No Arabic alphabet required: We focus on speaking and listening, using familiar Latin (English) letters (e.g. Mar7aba! Kifak? Shu ismak?) to show pronunciation. This course does not teach the Arabic alphabet or reading and writing; you start speaking from lesson one.
Who it's for
- Travellers heading to the Levant
- Partners, family and friends of Arabic speakers
- Culturally curious learners and lifelong students
- People working with refugee and migrant communities
- NGO, humanitarian and psychosocial-support professionals
- Anyone who wants to start, no prior Arabic needed
Why Levantine Arabic
Levantine Arabic (shami) is the spoken language of Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and one of the most widely understood spoken varieties across the Arab world. It's warm, expressive and immediately useful in real conversations: the Arabic people actually speak at home, in the street and in the market.
About the instructor
I'm Hilal, a native Levantine Arabic speaker and a mental-health and psychosocial-support (MHPSS) professional with years of humanitarian work alongside refugees and migrant communities. I've also worked in cultural production and, most recently, in Arabic-language standup comedy, an ongoing lesson in how language, timing and cultural context shape communication.
BurtuQal Learn is BurtuQal Culture's learning programme, bringing people together through practical, live courses. Levantine Arabic is the first offering, with more teachers, formats and languages to come.
What's next
We're building BurtuQal Learn as a home for language and cultural learning connecting the Mediterranean and Portugal. Additional courses and city-based activities are planned. Write to us if you'd like to be kept informed or suggest a course.
Frequently asked
Fully online, live over Google Meet. Your link is emailed after payment is confirmed.
Speak Levantine Arabic from your first class
Reserve your free first class →Questions about the course, cancellations or rescheduling? Email learn@burtuqal.pt.