I don't think it will be. Modern Standard Arabic is based in large part on the text of the Qu'ran, and is basically the literary and more "official" language (e.g. of newscasts and the like), and my differ a fair amount from what you hear on a streetcorner. Fluent speaking is by far the hardest part of learning a language, and that's not something I'm trying to do. Being able to recognize, say, a verb form is much easier than having to remember it on your own and then use it properly. Two other factors help. The main thing is that I'm not on a deadline. If it takes me 3 years to learn what a college student would learn in a semester, so what? The other is that the more time you spend learning language, the more you learn to take languages on their own terms, and you stop fighting them. It makes things a lot easier.
A good point! Much easier to develop receptive skills than productive ones, especially reading. It also seems like people retain those skills for much longer - I know a lot of people who studied French in school years ago and couldn't get beyond "je m'appelle" but can still understand some written bits.Fluent speaking is by far the hardest part of learning a language, and that's not something I'm trying to do. Being able to recognize, say, a verb form is much easier than having to remember it on your own and then use it properly.
Exactly. Right now direct communication isn't my goal, so I can take the easier route. This has an added benefit of allowing me to learn on my own schedule, and not be subject to when a class (or even just another person) may be able to meet.