Dialogue Script — Session 2: My Name Is...

A short bilingual conversation in Levantine Arabic that uses today's vocabulary. Read it together, take turns playing each part, then try without the script. By session 5, kids should be able to do this kind of mini-dialogue from memory.

The setting

A school courtyard in the morning. Kids are arriving with their parents. A boy named Karim is standing near the gate with his dad (Baba). A girl he doesn't know — Yasmine — walks up nearby. Baba gently nudges Karim to say hi.

The dialogue

Line 1 — Baba leans down to Karim

Baba: Yalla Karim, ool marhaba! — Come on Karim, say hi!

Line 2 — Karim, a little shy, turns to Yasmine

Karim: Marhaba! Ana ismi Karim. Ma ismik? — Hi! My name is Karim. What's your name?

Line 3 — Yasmine smiles

Yasmine: Ahlan Karim! Ismi Yasmine. — Hi Karim! My name is Yasmine.

Line 4 — Karim points to his dad

Karim: W hayda baba. — And this is my papa.

Line 5 — Baba waves

Baba: Marhaba Yasmine! Ana ismi Sami. — Hi Yasmine! My name is Sami.

Line 6 — Yasmine points to a boy nearby

Yasmine: Hayda akhuy. Inta, ma ismak? — This is my brother. You — what's your name?

Line 7 — The brother answers

Al-akh: Ana ismi Zayd! — My name is Zayd!

Line 8 — The school bell rings. Baba waves them off.

Baba: Yalla ya wlaad, ma'a as-salaama! — Okay kids, goodbye!

How to use this script

First time — listen

1. Read it together once, with you doing all the voices.
2. Don't worry about pronunciation perfection. Let your child hear the rhythm of ismi and ma ismak/ismik.

Second time — alternate

3. You take Baba and Yasmine. Your child takes Karim and Zayd.
4. Read slowly. Pause after each question so your child can hear the answer coming.

Third time — switch

5. Your child takes Baba and Yasmine. You take Karim and Zayd.
6. Now they're asking the questions. That's the real goal — being the one who asks "ma ismak?"

Fourth time — act it out

7. Stand up. Pretend you're at a school gate, or at a park, or meeting someone new at the playground.
8. Walk up to each other. Shake hands. Do the whole scene with your bodies.
9. Then try it with a stuffed animal, a doll, a sibling — anyone. The more people they "introduce themselves" to, the faster it sticks.

Bonus — make it real

10. Next time you meet someone new (a neighbor, a cousin on a video call, a friend's kid), nudge your child: "Yalla, ool marhaba. Ool ismi..." Even just trying it once in real life is worth ten reads of the script.

What new words are in here (beyond today's main vocabulary)?

These are bonus words the dialogue exposes. We'll formally teach some in later sessions — for now, just let your child hear them:

• ool (قول) — say (command, to a boy) // ooli (قولي) to a girl
• ahlan (أهلاً) — hi / welcome (from Session 1)
• marhaba (مَرحَبا) — hi (from Session 1)
• hayda (هَيدا) — this (masculine) // haydi (هَيدي) — this (feminine)
• w (و) — and
• akhuy (أَخوي) — my brother // ukhti (أُختي) — my sister
• al-akh (الأَخ) — the brother
• ya wlaad (يا وْلاد) — "hey kids" / "oh children"
• ma'a as-salaama (مَع السَّلامة) — goodbye (from Session 1)

Notice how ma ismak? changes to ma ismik? depending on whether you're talking to a boy or a girl. Arabic does this a lot — words shift a little based on who you're speaking to. Kids pick it up by ear long before they can explain it. Just keep modeling both forms.

A note on the dialect

The Arabic in this dialogue is Levantine spoken Arabic — what people actually say in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, and Jordan. A few things to notice:

• hayda / haydi ("this") is very Levantine. In other dialects you'd hear haadha or da.
• ool (say) is the Levantine pronunciation of the MSA qul. The ق often becomes a soft glottal sound in spoken Levantine.
• baba is what most Arab kids actually call their dad — across dialects. It's one of the warmest words in the language.

Don't worry about explaining any of this to a 5-year-old. Just let them swim in it.

Yalla Arabic · Dialogue Script · Session 2