durusi:
عربي

Arabic tutoring · Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Arabic tutors in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Arabic tutoring

Arabic A or Arabic B. Getting that one decision wrong costs a child years.

Arabic is a required subject in UAE private schools, whichever curriculum the school follows. Durusi teaches IGCSE Arabic, IB Arabic A and Arabic B, the Arabic track in American and Canadian schools, SABIS Arabic and the EmSAT Arabic paper. Our name means my lessons in Arabic, and this whole site is written in it.

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Why it works

What makes the difference

  • 01

    The two streams are different subjects

    Arabic A is Arabic as a first language: literature, formal grammar, extended writing, marked against the standard expected of a native speaker. Arabic B is Arabic as an additional language, built around vocabulary, structures and everyday communication. They share an alphabet and almost nothing else, and a child in the wrong one is either drowning or bored.

  • 02

    Placement is made by the school, and not always correctly

    A child who speaks Arabic at home but was schooled entirely in English is the case that goes wrong most often: placed in Arabic A because of the surname, then measured against classmates who have been reading formally for years. If that is your child, the first thing worth doing is finding out honestly where they sit.

  • 03

    Classroom Arabic is not the Arabic at home

    Schools teach Modern Standard Arabic. Most families in Dubai and Abu Dhabi speak a dialect, or no Arabic at all. A child can be fluent at the dinner table and still lost in a comprehension paper, and knowing that is the difference between blaming the child and fixing the problem.

Inside the subject

The two streams, the writing, and the paper at the end

Arabic A: first language

Literature, formal grammar, comprehension of unseen texts and extended writing in Modern Standard Arabic. The marks go to structure and precision, in the same way an English Literature paper rewards them, and native fluency on its own does not earn them.

Book your first lesson

Tell us which stream your child is in, or say that you are not sure. Not being sure is a normal answer, and it is the one we can do the most with.

Across the curricula

Arabic on every syllabus Durusi teaches

IGCSE

IGCSE Arabic

Cambridge, Edexcel and Oxford AQA, taught on your child's own board's past papers and official mark schemes rather than a generic Arabic course.

 IB

IB Arabic A and Arabic B

Arabic as a first language or as an additional language, at Higher or Standard Level, alongside the Internal Assessment, the Extended Essay and the rest of the Diploma core.

 American

The Arabic school track

The Arabic course American-curriculum schools run alongside Common Core, supported across the whole year so it never becomes the subject that pulls the GPA down.

 Canadian

School Arabic, Grade 9 to 12

The Arabic a Canadian-curriculum school in the UAE teaches beside its provincial programme, built course by course.

 SABIS

SABIS Arabic, every Level

Arabic on the SABIS pattern: weekly AMS tests, then the periodic exams, taught by mentors who studied inside the system.

 EmSAT

EmSAT Arabic

The Arabic paper in the UAE university entrance test, prepared with a diagnostic first and timed practice throughout.

Arabic appears on every list above because UAE private schools are required to teach it, whichever curriculum they follow. Each course has a landing page of its own with the boards, the papers and the prices in full.

In Abu Dhabi: IGCSE · IB · SABIS. Reading this in Arabic is easier for some families: هذه الصفحة بالعربية.

How it works

From first message to a first Arabic lesson in days

  1. 01

    Tell us the stream, or say you are not sure

    Arabic A, Arabic B, or unsure. Add the school and the year group. If you do not know which stream your child is in, the school report usually says, and we can read it with you.

  2. 02

    Meet your mentor

    The mentor we choose studied Arabic at that level themselves. The first lesson follows within days, in your home in Dubai or Abu Dhabi or online.

  3. 03

    Watch the reading speed change

    We work around the school week and the mock season, send the parent a progress note after each lesson, and change mentors free if the fit is not there.

Book your first lesson

FAQ

Arabic tutoring in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, answered

  • 01

    What is the difference between Arabic A and Arabic B?

    Arabic A is Arabic taught and examined as a first language: literature, formal grammar and extended writing, judged against native standard. Arabic B is Arabic as an additional language, built around vocabulary, structures and communication. A school places a child in one of them, usually on entry, and that placement decides what the next several years look like.

  • 02

    My child is in the wrong stream. What can we do?

    Start by finding out for certain rather than assuming. A mentor can work through a past paper from each stream with your child and tell you plainly what the marks say. Changing stream is a school decision, not ours, but going to the school with evidence rather than a worry is a much stronger conversation. We will not promise a move we cannot make.

  • 03

    Is Arabic compulsory in Dubai and Abu Dhabi schools?

    Yes. Private schools in the UAE are required to teach Arabic whichever curriculum they follow, which is why it appears in the IGCSE, IB, American, Canadian and SABIS lists on our services page. It is the one subject a family cannot opt out of, and the one most often left until it becomes urgent.

  • 04

    My child speaks Arabic at home but is failing it at school. How?

    This is the most common case we see and it is not a contradiction. Schools examine Modern Standard Arabic in reading and formal writing, which is a different register from the dialect spoken at home. Spoken fluency helps, but it does not by itself earn marks on a comprehension or composition paper. That gap is teachable and it closes faster than most parents expect.

  • 05

    How much does an Arabic tutor cost?

    Rates go by year group rather than by subject, so Arabic costs the same as maths at the same level. That is AED 140 or AED 160 an hour at primary, AED 160 or AED 180 at middle school and AED 180 or AED 200 at high school, the lower figure being the Commitment plan and the higher one Flexible. VAT at 5% is already counted in, and a lesson at home is AED 30 more. The pricing page has the rest.

  • 06

    Are lessons online or in person?

    Both are offered. In person means anywhere in Dubai or Abu Dhabi; online reaches every emirate. For younger children learning to read the script, many families begin in person and move online once the reading is steady.

In numbers

The numbers behind the match

  • 150+ university mentors
  • 60+ subjects covered
  • 97% improve within weeks
  • 48h to a matched mentor

Related

The pages families open alongside this one

English

English tutors in Dubai and Abu Dhabi

Language and Literature on every board, and the tests that are not the same thing.

 EmSAT

EmSAT preparation

The UAE university entrance test, including the Arabic paper.

 IB

IB tutors in Dubai

Diploma and MYP, HL and SL, including Arabic A and Arabic B.

 Services

Everything we teach

Every curriculum and every exam track Durusi covers, named in one place.

Not sure which stream your child is in? That is the right place to start.

Arabic lessons online across the UAE, or at home in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Book your first lesson