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Would you recommend that I start by learning the Arabic "alphabet"? Or is the ability to read Arabic not needed in order to learn to speak it?
You could get some short-term, very rapid progress by only learning how to speak it. But very soon, you'll run into a word that you don't know and you'll need to look it up. Or you'll come across a zebra that you need to read. Take the literate approach and learn to read and write it as well, it will help you later on. 