كَانَتْ سَلْمَى تُجِيدُ الْكِتَابَةَ، لَكِنَّهَا كَانَتْ تَخْشَى الْحَدِيثَ أَمَامَ جُمْهُورٍ كَبِيرٍ.
Salma was a good writer, but she was afraid of speaking before a large audience.
A Lesson in Courage in Arabic
درس في الشجاعة
A Lesson in Courage is a Advanced-level Arabic reading text about Salma learning to face public-speaking fear through practice. Its fully vocalized Arabic helps learners read each word accurately, while the sentence-by-sentence English translation supports understanding. The story also includes optional Arabic audio, useful vocabulary, comprehension practice and a focused language point. It works well for independent reading, a short classroom lesson or shared practice with a parent.
Read the Arabic story with English translation
Read each Arabic sentence from right to left. Use the speaker button to hear the sentence, then check its English meaning underneath.
كُلَّمَا وَقَفَتْ أَمَامَ زُمَلَائِهَا، تَسَارَعَ نَبْضُهَا وَنَسِيَتِ الْكَلِمَاتِ الَّتِي أَعَدَّتْهَا.
Whenever she stood before her classmates, her heartbeat quickened and she forgot the words she had prepared.
اِخْتَارَتِ الْمَدْرَسَةُ طَالِبَةً أُخْرَى لِتُمَثِّلَهَا فِي مُسَابَقَةِ الْخَطَابَةِ، فَشَعَرَتْ سَلْمَى بِالرَّاحَةِ وَالْحُزْنِ مَعًا.
The school chose another pupil to represent it in a public-speaking competition, and Salma felt both relieved and disappointed.
قَبْلَ الْمُسَابَقَةِ بِأُسْبُوعٍ، مَرِضَتِ الطَّالِبَةُ، فَطَلَبَتِ الْمُعَلِّمَةُ مِنْ سَلْمَى أَنْ تَحِلَّ مَحَلَّهَا.
A week before the competition, the pupil became ill, so the teacher asked Salma to take her place.
كَادَتْ سَلْمَى تَرْفُضُ، لَكِنَّ مُعَلِّمَتَهَا قَالَتْ: «الشَّجَاعَةُ لَيْسَتْ غِيَابَ الْخَوْفِ، بَلْ خُطْوَةٌ نَأْخُذُهَا رَغْمَ وُجُودِهِ.»
Salma nearly refused, but her teacher said, “Courage is not the absence of fear; it is a step we take despite it.”
قَسَّمَتْ سَلْمَى خُطْبَتَهَا إِلَى أَجْزَاءٍ قَصِيرَةٍ، وَتَدَرَّبَتْ أَوَّلًا أَمَامَ الْمِرْآةِ.
Salma divided her speech into short sections and first practised in front of a mirror.
ثُمَّ أَلْقَتْهَا أَمَامَ أُسْرَتِهَا، وَطَلَبَتْ مِنْهُمْ مُلَاحَظَاتٍ صَرِيحَةً لِتُحَسِّنَ أَدَاءَهَا.
Then she delivered it to her family and asked for honest feedback to improve her performance.
عَلَّمَتْهَا مُعَلِّمَتُهَا أَنْ تَتَنَفَّسَ بِبُطْءٍ، وَأَنْ تَنْظُرَ إِلَى وُجُوهٍ وَدُودَةٍ فِي الْقَاعَةِ.
Her teacher taught her to breathe slowly and look at friendly faces in the hall.
فِي يَوْمِ الْمُسَابَقَةِ، شَعَرَتْ سَلْمَى بِالْخَوْفِ نَفْسِهِ، وَلَكِنَّهَا لَمْ تَعُدْ تَرَاهُ أَمْرًا يَجِبُ أَنْ تَهْرُبَ مِنْهُ.
On the day of the competition, Salma felt the same fear, but she no longer saw it as something she had to flee.
صَعِدَتْ إِلَى الْمِنَصَّةِ، وَتَنَفَّسَتْ بِهُدُوءٍ، ثُمَّ بَدَأَتْ خُطْبَتَهَا بِصَوْتٍ وَاضِحٍ.
She stepped onto the stage, breathed calmly, and began her speech in a clear voice.
لَمْ تَكُنْ خُطْبَتُهَا خَالِيَةً مِنَ الْأَخْطَاءِ، إِلَّا أَنَّهَا أَكْمَلَتْهَا بِثَبَاتٍ وَحَصَلَتْ عَلَى الْمَرْكَزِ الْأَوَّلِ.
Her speech was not free of mistakes, yet she finished steadily and won first place.
عَرَفَتْ سَلْمَى أَنَّ الشَّجَاعَةَ مَهَارَةٌ تَنْمُو بِالتَّدَرُّبِ، وَأَنَّ النَّجَاحَ الْحَقِيقِيَّ كَانَ فِي مُوَاجَهَةِ خَوْفِهَا.
Salma learned that courage is a skill that grows with practice and that her true success lay in facing her fear.
New Arabic words from the story
These words all appear in the story. Listen, repeat and find each one in the text above.
- جُمْهُورٌ Audience
- نَبْضٌ Heartbeat
- الْخَطَابَةُ Public speaking
- تَحِلَّ مَحَلَّهَا Take her place
- خُطْبَةٌ Speech
- صَرِيحَةٌ Honest / frank
- الْمِنَصَّةُ Stage
- بِثَبَاتٍ Steadily
- مُوَاجَهَةٌ Facing / confronting
- مَهَارَةٌ Skill
Reading comprehension questions
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Learn Arabic from this story
كُلَّمَا links a repeated condition and result
كُلَّمَا وَقَفَتْ أَمَامَ زُمَلَائِهَا، تَسَارَعَ نَبْضُهَا وَنَسِيَتِ الْكَلِمَاتِ الَّتِي أَعَدَّتْهَا.
Whenever she stood before her classmates, her heartbeat quickened and she forgot the words she had prepared.
كُلَّمَا means “whenever.” It shows that the same result occurred each time the condition happened.
Another example: كُلَّمَا تَدَرَّبَتْ، زَادَتْ ثِقَتُهَا. — Whenever she practised, her confidence grew.
For parents and teachers
Read the story in sections and discuss the ideas connected with courage, emotions and deliberate practice. Ask the learner to summarize each section, explain character motives or causes, support inferences with evidence from the Arabic, answer the comprehension questions, and finish with a short written or creative response.
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Questions about A Lesson in Courage
What level is A Lesson in Courage?
A Lesson in Courage is marked Advanced. The full tashkīl, English translation and sentence audio provide extra support for developing readers.
What can learners practise in A Lesson in Courage?
Learners practise connected reading, listening, comprehension and vocabulary related to courage, emotions and deliberate practice.
How should this Arabic story be used?
Read one sentence at a time, listen to the audio, repeat the Arabic aloud, check the English only when needed, and then answer the questions from memory.