Are community based Arabic classes for foreigners easily available?
Yes, though they can be frustrating because they don’t prepare you very well to the daily language. We don’t speak Arabic on the street, but what is called “colloquial Arabic” (a misnomer as there is a different “colloquial arabic” for every country of the region) or “Lebanese dialect”. Learning Lebanese is a frustrating process because people have a tendency to reply in French or English even if you’re making an effort to address them in Lebanese. I’m sure you can find what you need, though, be it for daily speech or literary arabic.
