ISSUES IN THE TEACHING OF KALAM TO UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF TEACHING PRACTICES, LINGUISTIC BARRIERS AND SELF-CONFIDENCE.

Abstract

This study analyses problems associated with learning maharah kalam, or Arabic speaking skills, from the perspectives of university students who had taken or were taking an Arabic speaking course. It presents a secondary, problem-focused analysis of a broader needs-analysis dataset comprising 108 students from several Indonesian higher education institutions. A convergent mixed-methods survey with a dominant quantitative strand was used. Nine five-point Likert items were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while relevant responses to five open-ended questions were examined using a hybrid deductive-inductive framework in NVivo. Although 75.0% of respondents reported sufficient speaking opportunities and 78.7% reported frequent speaking activities, only 41.7% agreed that students actively used Arabic during instruction. Four interrelated problem domains were identified. Linguistic barriers included limited active vocabulary, difficulty constructing spoken sentences, and pronunciation concerns. Psychological barriers involved low confidence, fear of mistakes, embarrassment, and hesitation. Reported pedagogical issues included the continued prominence of lecturer explanation and memorized dialogue, uneven participation, and limited spontaneous interaction. Environmental limitations involved restricted access to speaking partners, weak Arabic-use routines, and limited sustained exposure beyond assigned classroom activities. The findings suggest that the problems are multidimensional and mutually reinforcing within the surveyed contexts. They support a stronger emphasis on communicative, contextualized, and interaction-rich instruction. Communicative and experiential practices may help students move from rehearsed production towards more sustained and spontaneous Arabic use, although their effectiveness requires further empirical testing.