I keep coming back to this idea of learning languages, each for a different purpose—Arabic for my faith, English as the universal language of science and technology, and Spanish and French simply for enjoyment.

Over time, I’ve experimented with many approaches to language learning—Pimsleur, FSI, mobile apps, and more. Each had its strengths and weaknesses, and some were even fun. But in the end, none of them truly fit me. They lacked my context, the personal relevance that would make the knowledge stick. Without a reason to recall or use what I studied, it slipped away.

Now, I’ve decided—إن شاء الله—to create my own curriculum. My plan is simple: I’ll start by writing, in my native language, the things I imagine myself needing to say in the target language. Then I’ll break those sentences down, as if I were teaching a baby—because in that language, the baby is me. From there, I’ll translate the phrase into the target language, write it out, pronounce it, listen to it, and memorize it. I might even expand on it by asking myself related questions, just to push the learning further.

Once I’ve reached the point where I can express everything I need in that language, I can call it “complete” for me. Except, of course, for Arabic—this sacred, timeless language that I’ll continue to learn and use until my very last day, إن شاء الله.