Learning to Read in Hebrew and Arabic: Challenges and Pedagogical Approaches

Hebrew and Arabic are Semitic languages that use abjad alphabets, a consonant-primary writing system in which vowels are featured as optional diacritics. The relatively predictable morphology of Semitic language renders abjad writing feasible, with literate native speakers relying on grammatical and lexical familiarity to infer vowel sounds from consonantal texts. However, in the context of foreign language acquisition, abjads present unique difficulties in the attainment of literacy. Due to the absence of written vowels, learners of Hebrew and Arabic face manifold challenges, such as phonetic ambiguity, extensive homography, and morphological unpredictability. Therefore, the inherent complexities of abjad alphabets necessitate targeted pedagogical intervention to increase metalinguistic awareness to strengthen learners’ reading skills—specifically, by recreating elements of literacy education for native speakers in the second language context. This article explores the linguistic challenges of abjads for foreign language students and how pedagogical methodologies can be optimized to ameliorate long-term learning outcomes.