A practical, community-built phrasebook and curriculum for learning languages from first words to natural conversation.
Language Ladder begins with English as a reference, then grows into resources for other languages. It is designed to make learning gradual: learners start with familiar words and visible translations, then steadily move towards understanding and speaking the target language on its own terms.
This repository currently uses Arabic as its first target language. The structure is intentionally broader than Arabic or English, so contributors can record the grammar, scripts, pronunciation, politeness, dialects, and cultural context that make each language unique.
Language Ladder is also looking for maintainers and long-term contributors. The project should remain useful even when its original author is busy or no longer able to participate regularly. If you care about language learning, language accuracy, documentation, or the future of this resource, you are welcome to help shape and carry it forward.
- Read the first English lesson to see the source template.
- Compare it with the Arabic lesson to see how a target language adds script, pronunciation, and grammar notes.
- Browse the object vocabulary and the home vocabulary for reusable examples.
- Use the contribution guide to add a language, lesson, phrase, or carefully reviewed word.
- Contributing - contribution workflow, content standards, and review guidance.
- Authors and contributors - project attribution and contributor credit.
- Code of conduct - expectations for respectful, constructive collaboration.
- Roadmap - current priorities and possible future tools.
The project is available under the MIT License. Review the license before redistributing the learning materials or any future software built from this repository.
- Start with high-frequency, concrete language and build towards useful sentences.
- Reuse words across templates, lessons, and locations rather than translating the same word in isolation each time.
- Record meaning and usage, not only a one-to-one translation.
- Keep standard language, dialect, register, gender, and cultural context visible when they affect what a learner should say.
- Prefer natural translations over forcing a target language into English grammar.
en/ English reference templates
lessons/ Progression from simple to complex
locations/ Home, school, restaurant, and other settings
vocabulary/ Reusable concepts and example words
ar/ Arabic learner resources
lessons/ Arabic versions of the lessons
locations/ Arabic vocabulary grouped by setting
vocabulary/ Arabic entries with script and pronunciation
The English files describe the learning intent. A target-language folder should mirror that intent, but it may add fields or files when the language needs them.
Use this format for reusable vocabulary entries:
### book
- Meaning: a bound set of pages used for reading
- Target: كتاب
- Transliteration: kitaab
- Part of speech: noun
- Grammar: masculine; plural كتب (kutub)
- Register: neutral / standard
- Examples: This is a book.
- Notes: Add a dialect variant when it is common or changes the meaning.Use this format for phrases and templates:
### Template: This is [thing].
- Goal: identify a nearby object
- Pattern: This is [noun].
- Example: This is a book.
- Target: هذا [noun].
- Substitutions: book, chair, house
- Grammar note: document agreement or word-order changes here
- Culture note: document politeness, taboo, or context hereThese fields are a guide, not a constraint. A language-specific explanation is more valuable than a misleadingly symmetrical translation.
A comparison table is useful at the start of a lesson, but it should be a scaffold rather than the final exercise. Keep the columns stable while changing which columns the learner sees:
| Stage | Learner sees | Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Supported | English, target script, pronunciation, meaning | Match and repeat the phrase. |
| Guided | Target script and pronunciation; English is covered or shown after answering | Read aloud and substitute a new word. |
| Independent | Target script only | Understand, answer, or produce the phrase in the target language. |
Use an answer key or collapsible section in a future app to reveal the hidden columns. In Markdown, label the intended stage and keep the full comparison available for teachers and reviewers. Do not remove grammar or culture notes just to make the columns symmetrical.
Recommended comparison columns:
| English | Target script | Pronunciation | Literal structure | Stage |
| --------------- | ------------- | -------------- | --------------------------------------- | --------- |
| This is a book. | هذا كتاب. | haadhaa kitaab | this + book; present "is" is understood | Supported |Lessons should grow in small, observable steps:
- Lesson 1: first words - people, objects, yes/no, greetings, and simple pointing or naming.
- Lesson 2: short descriptions - possession, location, colors, numbers, and basic questions.
- Lesson 3: daily needs - food, school, home routines, requests, and polite responses.
- Lesson 4: connected speech - time, reasons, preferences, past and future events, and short conversations.
- Lesson 5: real-world fluency - idioms, regional variants, written versus spoken language, and culture-specific situations.
Each lesson should link to the vocabulary it introduces and revisit words from earlier lessons. Locations are contexts, not difficulty levels: a restaurant file can contain both beginner naming exercises and advanced ordering dialogue.
Arabic resources should distinguish Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) from spoken dialects. The starter material uses MSA unless it says otherwise. Arabic nouns have grammatical gender, and demonstratives and adjectives agree with nouns; this is why a template may need more than one target-language form. Arabic is written right-to-left, while transliteration is only a pronunciation aid and should never replace the Arabic script.
The Arabic definite article is written الـ and can affect pronunciation with
sun letters. Add this kind of pronunciation note only where it helps a learner,
and label regional forms rather than presenting one dialect as universal.
Contributions of every size are welcome, whether you are a language teacher, student, native speaker, developer, or careful reviewer. You can improve the structure, add a lesson, contribute a few words, or clarify a usage note.
We are especially interested in people who can help maintain the project over time. Maintainers may review contributions, guide the curriculum, support language-specific reviewers, improve the repository structure, and help make decisions when the project grows. Shared stewardship is encouraged: the future of this resource should not depend on one person always being available.
To add a language, start by copying the intent of an English lesson, then add:
- native script and a consistent pronunciation system;
- literal meaning and natural meaning where they differ;
- gender, number, classifiers, cases, or other grammar that affects reuse;
- register and dialect labels;
- cultural notes, usage warnings, and examples from real situations;
- a source or reviewer note for uncertain, disputed, or region-specific forms.
Avoid machine-translating a whole folder without review. A small set of checked, natural examples is better learning material than a large set of literal ones.
When possible, include the language variety, region, register, and source or reviewer for forms that are uncertain, disputed, or context-dependent. This helps learners and future contributors understand not only what to say, but when and why to say it.