Start with a usable goal
Choose your purpose before collecting phrases: reading formal Arabic and chatting in a particular region need different practice. Keep a space in your notebook for the variety and source of each expression. Start with connected letters and a few complete greetings, then use the course's food and question lessons to build short exchanges.
Reading and listening
The writing system covered here is Arabic script. Keep written examples beside their spoken form when a recording is available.
Practise the same letter at the beginning, middle, and end of a word. Arabic letters can change shape when they join; a new shape is not automatically a new letter. Separate reading practice from listening practice, and pay attention to long vowels and consonants that do not have close English equivalents.
Build phrases, not just lists
Record nouns inside short expressions rather than memorising an English label alone. Keep the definite article attached when it appears in an example. When you meet a plural, put it next to its singular form rather than guessing the plural from the English word.
Put it into a conversation
Choose one regional variety for everyday conversation and ask a speaker whether a course phrase fits that setting. Rehearse a greeting, a reply, and a request to repeat. Avoid mixing unfamiliar regional expressions in the same rehearsed exchange merely because their English translations look similar.