Online English lessons for children in Iraq: for Arabic- and Kurdish-speaking families

How do children in Iraq learn English?

Arabic and Kurdish are Iraq's official languages. Most schools teach in Arabic, schools in the Kurdistan Region teach in Kurdish, and English is taught as a subject in both. Private and international schools often teach more English, and many families also look for English classes outside school.

How much English a child has met varies a great deal between schools and regions, and that's normal. Your child's school is the best source for what they cover each year. In a first lesson, a teacher can usually tell where your child is comfortable and where to begin.

What does learning to read English involve?

• A new direction. Arabic, and Kurdish as usually written in Iraq, run right to left; English runs left to right. Mixing up b and d is common for a while.
• Letters that keep their shape. Arabic-script letters join and change shape; English letters stay the same, but have capitals and small letters.
• Every vowel is written. Arabic usually leaves out short vowels, so children may write bg for big. In English, every sound is spelled.
• Irregular spelling. English spells the same sound in several ways, as in see, sea and me.

Phonics handles these step by step: letter sounds, then blending them into short words, then common spelling patterns. See what phonics is and what CVC words are.

Which English sounds take practice?

For Arabic-speaking children, the English p is new, so park can sound like bark, and so is v, so van can sound like fan. English also has more vowel sounds than Arabic, so pairs like ship and sheep take careful listening. Kurdish has both p and v, so Kurdish-speaking children often find those easy, but may still need practice with English vowels and the th sounds in think and this.

All of this is normal and improves with listening and practice. A teacher who models the sound and shows the mouth shape on camera helps more than repeated correction.

Will English confuse a child who already speaks two languages?

No. Many children in Iraq grow up with Arabic and Kurdish, or with Turkmen, Syriac or another language, and children who already use two languages are well prepared for a third. Mixing words for a while is a normal stage. Keep your home languages strong and give English its own regular time. See bilingual children who mix languages.

When can a child in Iraq fit in an online lesson?

Iraq doesn't change its clocks, so a weekly slot stays at the same local time all year. Try to choose a 25-minute lesson after school, between about 4pm and 8pm, planned around prayer times, or a weekend morning. The weekend is Friday and Saturday, so a Saturday morning can be a calm time for a lesson.

If power or internet is less reliable at certain times of day, choose a slot when it's usually steadier, keep the device charged and test with a short video call first. Headphones with a microphone help your child hear the teacher clearly in a busy home.

What age should my child start English lessons?

From around four, short, playful lessons with songs, pictures, games and letter sounds help children enjoy English and get used to its sounds and its left-to-right letters, with no pressure to write. From six or seven, phonics and simple reading grow naturally. Older beginners often move quickly, because they already read their own language well and know how to learn. See English for 4-year-olds.

What should I look for in online English lessons?

• A live, real teacher who listens and responds to your child.
• 1-to-1 lessons with plenty of speaking time.
• Clear phonics for reading and spelling.
• A starting level, feedback after lessons and visible progress.
• Short, lively lessons with games for younger children.
• Clear safety rules: checked teachers, lessons only inside the provider's classroom, and a way to report a concern.

To follow progress on an international scale, the CEFR describes what a learner can do. Its early levels for children are Pre-A1, A1 and A2. See CEFR levels for children explained.

How can I support English at home in Iraq?

• Look at English picture books together, pointing to each word from left to right.
• Play sound games: pear or bear? Fan or van?
• Ask your child to teach you new words from each lesson, and use them at home that week.
• Praise effort and keep it relaxed, so your child enjoys English.

How would CurioKids lessons work for a family in Iraq?

CurioKids gives children aged 4–12 live, 1-to-1 online English lessons, 25 minutes each, with a real teacher in the CurioKids classroom: video, an interactive whiteboard, lesson slides and games. Most children start with Phonics Starter, 52 lessons from letter sounds to reading sentences, then continue with CEFR-based levels. Lessons happen only inside our classroom, and there's a “Report a concern” button in every lesson. See our curriculum and safety pages.

Visit our Iraq page to see how lessons work, what your child will learn and how we keep children safe. If lessons for families in Iraq haven't opened yet, the page has a waitlist: leave your details and we'll let you know when you can book your child's free first lesson. Plans for families in Iraq are priced in US dollars: see the prices for Iraq.