Open research questions in Arabic Language Education Studies

What the literature leaves open

• One limitation of this study is the small sample size of 50 students, which may not fully represent the diversity of non-Arabic speakers at the Islamic University.

  Designing A Measure For Arabic Language Skills Using Blackboard: A Statistical Study Applied To Non-Arab-Speaking Students · 2026 · DOI

• Future research is recommended to quantitatively examine the impact of OBE implementation on graduate competency attainment and its relationship with graduates’ performance in the labor market.

  Outcome-based education curriculum implementation in arabic language education: A comparative study from a constructive alignment perspective · 2026 · DOI

• Prior studies on the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach have largely focused on general speaking skills at the secondary and higher education levels, while its application to mastering fi'il amr at the elementary level remains understudied.

  STRATEGI PENGUASAAN FI’IL AMR MELALUI PENDEKATAN KOMUNIKATIF PADA SISWA SEKOLAH DASAR ISLAM TERPADU · 2026 · DOI

• Various suggestions can be made for future research to address these limitations. It is recommended that similar studies be conducted on different Arabic teaching sets, and that the results be compared. This approach may provide a broader perspective on the CEFR alignment of materials in this field. In terms of methodological development, the use of digital analysis tools or corpus linguistics methods in future studies could enhance the reliability of the analysis. Additionally, designing mixed-methods research can maintain qualitative depth and allow for the systematic analysis of quantitative data. To expand the scope, comprehensive studies covering all CEFR levels (A1-C2) are sug- gested. Furthermore, studies that integrate the four main language skills could improve understanding of how listening skills interact with other abilities. From the perspective of practical application, research involving teachers’ and students’ opinions could allow for the evaluation of the effectiveness of materials in the classroom setting. In this con- text, the action research method may be valuable for identifying problems in practice and developing possible solutions. This study has not thoroughly analyzed the effects of these cultural and linguistic differences on CEFR compatibility. Future research should examine this dimension in detail. It is recommended that the number of pre-listening activities be increased to at least 3–4 in each unit to balance the distribution of activities throughout the listening pro- cess. These activities may include teaching key vocabulary, visual prediction exercises, and activating background knowledge related to the topic. To address the lack of listen- ing activities at the A2 level, the number of activities between units can be increased, and the recording durations can be diversified within the range of 1–3.5 min. In addi- tion, to increase the variety of activity types between units, it is suggested that notetak- ing, summarizing, and comparison activities be systematically integrated. To overcome the lack of visual support, it is necessary to add at least 2–3 visually supported listening activities in each unit at the A2 level, and to ensure that these visuals are not merely decorative but supportive of the comprehension process. To address the lack of content in the announcement and instruction categories, it is recommended to add at least two activities at each level in the form of audio recordings, including airport, hospital, and school announcements, as well as recipes, sports instructions, and everyday life guide- lines. To compensate for the lack of TV, video, and film connections, 2–3-min news bul- letins, advertisements, educational videos, and short film clips should be integrated into each unit as at least one audiovisual comprehension activity using a QR code system.

  Evaluation of listening activities in arabic language teaching textbooks used in Turkey in light of the CEFR criteria · 2026 · DOI

• This study had various methodological and scope limitations. The research examines only a single Arabic teaching set called Miftâh’ul-Arabiyye. This limits the generalizabil- ity of the findings to other Arabic teaching resources. The study focused solely on listen- ing activities at the A1 and A2 levels and did not cover other levels. Therefore, it cannot provide a comprehensive evaluation of all the levels of the CEFR. Methodologically, the research employed the manual document analysis method and did not use digital text analysis tools or corpus-based analysis methods. This limits the systematic and objective nature of the analysis process. Additionally, this study focused only on listening skills and did not examine the interaction between listening and other language skills. From a research perspective, this study reflects only the researcher’s viewpoint and does not include feedback from teachers and students. This situation prevents us from evalu- ating the effectiveness of the implementation. The study analyzed only the content of the book and did not collect data regarding the implementation and outcomes of the teaching process. A significant limitation of this study is its insufficient consideration of cultural and linguistic contextual factors. The CEFR was originally developed for European languages, so its direct application to languages like Arabic, which belongs to the Semitic language family, may cause problems. Arabic’s right-to-left writing, lack of vowels, phonetic structure (sounds not found in European languages), grammatical features (root-template system), and cultural context may not be fully compatible with the CEFR’s European-centered approach. Additionally, listening materials depicting Arkan Asian. J. Second. Foreign. Lang. Educ. (2026) 11:10 Page 17 of 20 everyday situations, social interaction patterns, and communication norms specific to Arab culture differ from the European-focused examples in the CEFR. Thus, adaptation is necessary when applying CEFR criteria to Arabic teaching materials.

  Evaluation of listening activities in arabic language teaching textbooks used in Turkey in light of the CEFR criteria · 2026 · DOI

• 1004 | Abjadia: International Journal of Education, 11 (2): 998-1005 (2026) Hafifah Fitriana, Abdul Hafidz bin Zaid However, this study is limited to a single research site and focuses primarily on descriptive qualitative findings.

  Bi'ah Lughawiyyah in Arabic Language Learning: A Case Study of a Multicultural School in Jakarta · 2026 · DOI

• This study is limited to one Islamic boarding school and uses qualitative data from observation, interviews, and documentation. Therefore, the findings are context-specific and should not be generalized statistically to all pesantren. The study also does not measure students' public speaking competence quantitatively before and after participation, nor does it analyze actual digital da'wah content produced by students on social media platforms. Future studies may use mixed-methods designs, oral presentation rubrics, video-based performance analysis, digital portfolio assessment, or comparative studies across several pesantren to examine how face-to-face muhadaroh training transfers into recorded sermons, livestreams, podcasts, and social media-based religious communication.

  Muhadaroh as Pesantren-Based Oral Da'wah Communication: Developing Students' Public Speaking, Religious Language, and Digital Media Readiness · 2026 · DOI

• Future research should address these limitations through larger multi-site randomized designs with delayed retention assessments. Fifth, while Cohen's d values indicate medium to large effect sizes, the absence of a follow-up delayed posttest means it remains unclear whether gains were retained beyond the immediate post-intervention period. Several limitations of this study should be acknowledged explicitly. While these findings show promise instruction, generalizability remains limited by the small sample, short intervention duration, and single-site design.

  Social Cognitive Theory for Arabic Reading Skills: A Quasi-Experimental Study in an Indonesian Islamic Junior High School · 2026 · DOI

• and 20 Juliani et al., “Green Islamic School: Integrating Environmental Education in the Islamic Education Curriculum,” Cendekiawan : Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Studi Keislaman 3, no. 3 (2024): 565–74, https://doi.org/10.61253/cendekiawan.v3i3.270. 21 Sugito Sugito, “Hybrid Learning in Pesantren: Integrating Digital Pedagogy and Islamic Values to Enhance 21st-Century Competencies,” Tafkir: Interdisciplinary Journal of Islamic Education 5, no. 4 (2024): 749–64, https://doi.org/10.31538/tijie.v5i4.2207. 22 Nick Surawy-Stepney et al., “Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods: Part 2,” Perspectives in Clinical Research 14, no. 2 (2023): 95–99, https://doi.org/10.4103/picr.picr_37_23. AN NABIGHOH Vol. 28 No. 1 (2026) https://doi.org/10.32332/an-nabighoh.v28i1.145-170 Paperless Arabic Language Learning: Integrating Ecotheology, Bilingual ... | 151 source. Member checking involved presenting preliminary findings to key informants to allow them to offer corrections. This validation mechanism maintained research integrity and enhanced the participants’ trust in the research process. This approach aligns with contemporary qualitative research standards. The data analysis process began once validity was confirmed. Analysis followed an interactive model consisting of three stages: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification. 23 In the reduction stage, data were categorized thematically according to the research focus. Next, the data were displayed in matrices, diagrams, or visual narratives to clarify emerging patterns. Verification was conducted through triangulation and member checking to ensure that the analysis results were valid and logically accountable.24 In addition to analytical techniques, research ethics were a primary concern. The researcher obtained official permission from the madrasah and provided informed consent to the participants. 25 All data in the study report were anonymised, and participant identities were kept private. During observations and interviews, the researcher employed a participatory-reflective approach, actively participating in the field but keeping an analytical distance. Given the study atmosphere, which included both religious and educational principles, this strategy was especially crucial.

  Paperless Arabic Language Learning: Integrating Ecotheology, Bilingual Education, and the Love-Based Curriculum in Madrasah · 2026 · DOI

• Despite its contributions, this study has several limitations that should be acknowledged. First, the study employed a literature review design relying exclusively on secondary data obtained from books, journal articles, and scholarly publications. As a result, the findings were limited to conceptual interpretation and synthesis rather than direct empirical observation or experimental investigation. The absence of primary field data limited the study’s ability to measure the practical effectiveness of culturally contextualized vocabulary instruction in specific educational settings. Second, the reviewed literature predominantly focused on Arabic language learning within formal and academic environments. Therefore, the findings may not fully represent vocabulary acquisition processes occurring in broader sociolinguistic or informal learning contexts. Cultural practices and communication patterns in different educational and geographical settings may also influence the applicability of the findings. Third, the study did not quantitatively examine the degree of influence exerted by cultural context on vocabulary mastery because the analysis emphasized qualitative interpretation and thematic synthesis. Consequently, the study could not determine statistical relationships between cultural dimensions and vocabulary achievement outcomes. Future research may therefore employ experimental, quantitative, or mixed-method approaches to investigate the effectiveness of culturally contextualized vocabulary instruction more comprehensively. the reviewed studies. Differences Another limitation concerns the variation of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches among in research settings, participant characteristics, and instructional models may have influenced the consistency of findings synthesized within this literature review. Nevertheless, these variations also provided broader insight into the diverse ways cultural context contributes to Arabic vocabulary learning.

  The Influence of Cultural Context on the Mastery of Arabic Vocabulary · 2026 · DOI

• The study documented psychological obstacles (low confidence, fear of errors) affecting performance on ḥarf al-jarr tasks despite student capability, but did not test interventions combining confidence-building strategies with the proposed didactic restructuring to determine their combined effectiveness.

  Kajian <i>Learning Obstacle</i> dalam Pembelajaran <i>Ḥarf Al-Jarr</i> di Madrasah Aliyah<b></b> · 2026 · DOI

• The research found instrumental obstacles linked to weak mastery of prerequisite i'rāb signs among beginner learners, but did not systematically evaluate which prerequisite concepts (noun characteristics, complete sentence formation, i'rāb markers) require reinforcement or how to sequence their instruction before ḥarf al-jarr introduction.

  Kajian <i>Learning Obstacle</i> dalam Pembelajaran <i>Ḥarf Al-Jarr</i> di Madrasah Aliyah<b></b> · 2026 · DOI

• The study documented that dense material presentation (full whiteboard) and peer-presentation methods create didactic obstacles related to cognitive load theory, but did not test alternative presentation strategies (simplified examples, staged instruction, visual media variations) to determine which specific instructional modifications reduce these didactic barriers.

  Kajian <i>Learning Obstacle</i> dalam Pembelajaran <i>Ḥarf Al-Jarr</i> di Madrasah Aliyah<b></b> · 2026 · DOI

• The research identified differential learning obstacles between pesantren-background and non-pesantren-background students in ḥarf al-jarr acquisition, but did not conduct comparative analysis of how prior Arabic language exposure affects the severity and type of epistemological barriers encountered.

  Kajian <i>Learning Obstacle</i> dalam Pembelajaran <i>Ḥarf Al-Jarr</i> di Madrasah Aliyah<b></b> · 2026 · DOI

• The study identified three types of learning obstacles (ontogenetic, epistemological, and didactic) in ḥarf al-jarr instruction, but did not implement or test remedial instructional designs to address these specific obstacles. Future research should complete the Didactical Design Research (DDR) cycle by designing and implementing didactic interventions specifically targeting cognitive overload in prerequisite knowledge (i'rāb signs) and peer-presentation methods.

  Kajian <i>Learning Obstacle</i> dalam Pembelajaran <i>Ḥarf Al-Jarr</i> di Madrasah Aliyah<b></b> · 2026 · DOI

• As there is a drastic lack of motivation literature in the field of Arabic Language Learning and adult learning within the context of higher education in the emirate of Dubai, UAE, this research strives to become a substantial addition to this under-researched topic and unique context.

  The Motivational Orientations of Undergraduate Students to Learn Arabic in a Dubai Private University · 2023 · DOI

• The questions in the first-grade book were limited to the first level (auditory excellence), and although the results showed some improvement in the questions of the second and third-grade books, they still lacked the classification skill and the transformation of questions into essay and objective.

  The Compatibility of Listening Skills in Our Arabic Language Books for First Graders with Special Products in Jordan · 2023 · DOI

• The study concluded with a number of recommendations, including supporting the elements of the Blackboard and using them in the educational process, developing and evaluating them in the light of quality standards; conducting further studies on the use of the Blackboard; providing all facilities for the success of the educational process; and seeking to achieve quality and accreditation requirements whenever possible.

  The effectiveness of the Blackboard Elements During Corona Pandemic in Light of the Quality Assurance and Accreditation Standards from the Viewpoint of Faculty Members: A Case Study of the Mathematics Department at Umm Al-Qura University · 2021 · DOI

• Based on the limitations of this study, it is recommended for future research to involve more sources or respondents and to expand the scope of locations with different areas in order to obtain more comprehensive data and a clearer picture in accordance with field facts.

  The Application of the Tsulusi Muroja'ah Method in Improving the Fluency of Qur'an Memorization Among Students at Madinatul Qur'an Umbul Lumajang Islamic Boarding School · 2026 · DOI

• Although we have limited evidence on this point, we believe that the formative tests should not be as- signed grades or quality points. Outcomes What are the results of a strategy for mastery learning? So far we have limited evidence.

  Instructional Design for Teaching Manṣūbāt al-Asmā' Based on the Pyramid Theory at the Madrasah Aliyah · 2026 · DOI

• Future research should explore the long-term impact of these strategies on language proficiency and consider the role of emerging technologies in language education.

  Integrating Padlet In Arabic Language Learning To Improve Students' Speaking Skills at UniSZA · 2026 · DOI

• Research on Qur'anic instruction for adult learners remains scarce compared to studies focusing on children, despite a growing demand for methods aligned with the distinctive characteristics of adult learning.

  IMPLEMENTASI METODE UMMI PADA PEMBELAJARAN ALQUR'AN: ANALISIS KEBERHASILAN METODE UMMI UNTUK DEWASA DI PONDOK NGAJI NURUL JANNAH DI DESA SULINGI · 2026 · DOI

• Meanwhile, inhibiting factors include teachers’ limited time to develop content, uneven digital competencies among teachers, internet connection stability, students’ limited data quotas, and the temptation to use social media or play games.

  Implementasi Metode Resitasi Berbasis Teknologi Digital dalam Mengatasi Kesulitan Belajar Siswa pada Pembelajaran PAI · 2026 · DOI

• The limitations of this study are that the scope of observation covers only one grade level and the implementation period is relatively short, making it impossible to determine long-term impacts and generalize the results to other institutions.

  Implementing Integrative Theory Based Materials for Arabic Speaking Skills: A Case Study at Nurul Jadid Islamic Boarding School, Indonesia · 2026 · DOI

• Therefore, future research is recommended to expand participant samples across proficiency levels, incorporate varied video genres, and employ experimental designs to test specific pedagogical interventions.

  Listening Comprehension and Text Representation of Animated Videos in Arabic Courses: A Case Study in Indonesian Higher Education · 2026 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Arabic Language Education Studies

• LEARNING TO READ IN ARABIC: READING, SYNTACTIC, ORTHOGRAPHIC AND WORKING MEMORY SKILLS IN NORMALLY ACHIEVING AND POOR ARABIC READERS · Reading Psychology · 1995 · 57 citations
• Current status of gifted education in Saudi Arabia · Cogent Education · 2022 · 24 citations
• The impact of learning strategies on the academic achievement of university students in Saudi Arabia · Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Gulf Perspectives · 2022 · 21 citations
• The Role Of Technology In Era 5.0 In The Development Of Arabic Language In The World Of Education · Journal International of Lingua and Technology · 2022 · 21 citations
• Perceptions and attitudes of Qatar University students regarding the utility of arabic and english in communication and education in Qatar · Language Policy · 2021 · 20 citations
• Embracing diglossia in early literacy education in Arabic: A pilot intervention study with kindergarten children · Oxford Review of Education · 2022 · 17 citations
• Language policy in higher education in the United Arab Emirates: proficiency, choices and the future of Arabic · Language Policy · 2020 · 17 citations
• Critical Reflections on ChatGPT in UAE Education: Navigating Equity and Governance for Safe and Effective Use · International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (iJET) · 2023 · 13 citations
• Gifted education in Arab countries: analyses from a learning-resource perspective · Cogent Education · 2022 · 12 citations
• Learning Arabic as a second language in Saudi universities: Ajzen’s theory and religious motivations · Language Culture and Curriculum · 2023 · 11 citations

Most recent work

• Kajian <i>Learning Obstacle</i> dalam Pembelajaran <i>Ḥarf Al-Jarr</i> di Madrasah Aliyah<b></b> · Jurnal Onoma: Pendidikan, Bahasa, dan Sastra · 2026
• Technology Assisted Arabic Language Learning through the Wayground Application at Nahdlatul Ulama University of Purwokerto · Journal of Multidisciplinary Science: MIKAILALSYS · 2026
• Innovation in Digital Arabic Learning: The Effectiveness of the Durusullughoh Application in Enhancing Speaking Skills. · Edusoshum : Journal of Islamic Education and Social Humanities · 2026
• The Effectiveness of Make a Match in Teaching Arabic Vocabulary to Madrasah Students · Aphorisme Journal of Arabic Language Literature and Education · 2026
• Pemanfaatan Deepsek Sebagai Perangkat Koreksi dalam Pembelajaran Murasalat (Korespondensi Arab) pada Mahasiswa Pendidikan Bahasa Arab Universitas Negeri Semarang · Aphorisme Journal of Arabic Language Literature and Education · 2026
• PENERAPAN STRATEGI JOYFUL LEARNING BERBASIS MEDIA SPINNING WHEEL UNTUK MENINGKATKAN MAHARAH KALAM · QANUN: Journal of Islamic Laws and Studies · 2026
• Improving Students’ Ability to Read the Qur’an Through the Tahsin Method Ban Mapring School, Pattani Province Thailand · Attadrib Jurnal Pendidikan Guru Madrasah Ibtidaiyah · 2026
• Pedagogical Effectiveness of Arabic as a Foreign Language: A Comparative Perceptual Study of Teachers and Students in Islamic Senior High Schools · Kitaba · 2026
• Optimalisasi Kemampuan Membaca Al-Qur’an Melalui Metode Yanbu’a di SDIT Al-Azkar Pamulang Tangerang Selatan · IHSAN: Jurnal Penelitian dan Pendidikan Islam · 2026
• PENERAPAN PEMBELAJARAN BERBASIS POWER POINT UNTUK MENINGKATKAN KETERAMPILAN BERBICARA SANTRI DI LINGKUNGAN PONDOK PESANTREN · El-Tsaqafah : Jurnal Jurusan PBA · 2026

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