نشریه دراسات فی تعلیم اللغه العربیه و تعلمها
پیاپی 13 (بهار و تابستان 1402)

The current research deals with the role of language learning strategies (LLSP) in teaching Arabic language to undergraduate students at Yazd University, and it is one of the topics that applied scientific research in teaching the Arabic language has not significantly touched yet, as most of the scientific efforts are concentrated on researching the problems of teaching without learning. This research aims to know the strategies for learning Arabic language and applying them in order to benefit Yazd University language learners. The positive results of the previous research conducted about English language and the unique approaches and integrated strategies of language learners in using language learning strategies for more effective language learning prompted us to investigate the role of this instructional strategy in learning Arabic. The present study sample consisted of 40 Arabic language undergraduate students at Yazd University. The data was collected based on a survey-analytical method through questionnaire and interview. The results showed that the study sample students tended to have a holistic view of the learning task by looking at their personal lives and academic experiences. They also chose interaction strategies with their teacher, speaking and flash cards as their preferred applied learning strategies. These choices indicated that Arabic language students at Yazd University were trying to strengthen their language skills by choosing a concrete and more functional strategy to make the language more relevant to everyday life. Thus, advanced students preferred the strategies of interaction with the teacher, speaking, flash cards and individual work, respectively, while the beginner students preferred the strategies of learning grammar and group work. Thus, the empirical evidence obtained from this study may yield positive results with regard to theoretical methods for teaching Arabic language effectively, training teachers of the Arabic language, developing curriculum in this field, and reducing its shortcomings.

The process of learning a new language begins with listening skills. Improving students’ listening skills requires providing them with decent compatibility with circumstances and different educational elements such as materials and curricula, which have an important role in learning this skill. This research aims to study the extent of scholastic compatibility in the materials and curricula in Iranian public universities and to identify the problems in the materials and syllabuses in Arabic language lab classes. Two approaches have been implemented in this study: a descriptive and field approach, and a research community that consists of Tehran public universities. As for the research sample, it comprises 145 male and female students of Arabic language and literature branch who are chosen randomly and 7 professors who teach Arabic language laboratory subject. The researchers used 3 tools to collect data in the field approach, including a questionnaire, observation, and interview. The researchers distributed the electronic questionnaire link among the study population after placing the questionnaire in the electronic questionnaire maker program “Porsa”. In addition to real classes, they also attended 20 online classes in Arabic language lab. The data were processed using “SPSS”, and structured analysis methods were used to analyze the interview data. The research concluded that the scholastic compatibility in Arabic language lab is very weak, and also the curricula due to the weakness of its objectives, the lack of educational resources, and limited hours allocated to teach this skill do not lead to scholastic compatibility. Therefore, the courses need to be reviewed by experts and authorities. Last but not least, almost all educational materials applied in the teaching of listening skills are inappropriate, or they do not provide sufficient properties of educational resources and can only be used as supplementary materials. Therefore, the recruiting of skilled and experienced tutors in teaching listening skills is one of the most crucial needs of universities, and it is suggested to avoid the employment of inexperienced tutors and try to design suitable educational materials for teaching listening skills.

Books are fundamental tools in teaching and learning. Therefore, preparing and editing educational materials need to be evaluated so that the education process can be executed efficiently. In this research, the book entitled Linguistic evaluation in programs for teaching Arabic to non-native speakers by Khalid Hosein Abu Amsheh et al. has been analyzed based on the evaluation model of McDonough and Shaw (2003). The goal is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the aforementioned book in teaching Arabic language to non-native speakers of this language. The research method is descriptive-analytical and is applied by using a questionnaire compatible with the criteria of the McDonough and Shaw evaluation model. The findings of the research are supported by statistical methods. In the research process, 10 instructors of Arabic language skills courses were selected, who completed the review questionnaire of Abu Amsheh’s book. Their answers were analyzed by SPSS software. Findings of the research show that the structure and content of this book are organized according to what is mentioned in its introduction, and this is one of the factors that made the book get an acceptable score in terms of external evaluation. In terms of internal assessment, the authors have been successful in creating appropriate content for each discussed topic. For example, they have taught the method of teaching four language skills in an innovative way and have designed creative related exercises. The book also received an acceptable score in the overall evaluation, since based on language skills teachers, the contents of the mentioned book are practical and can be implemented in the classroom. Finally, the fact that the book is collectively authored is one of its most important strengths, because each one of the language skills in this book is written by an expert of the said skill.

The emergence of e-learning as a subset of distance learning has paved the way for the widespread use of learner-centered learning and other changes in educational practices. Undoubtedly, one of the most important achievements in the development of information technology is the change in the field of education, which confuses users of virtual educational products. Also, not knowing the nature of these methods and being unaware of the positive and negative points of each of them leads those who wish to do so to not to make the right decision and not reach the desired result. Iqlid City is using ANP technology; and it is where data analysis was conducted – 180 questionnaires for female students and 20 interviews with female teachers – based on the objective analysis and the explanatory approach. The research sources and written documents were analyzed and interpreted thematically. The results showed that strategic and communication factors and outcomes have a significant impact on teaching Arabic online in the Corona period. By anticipating requirements, needs, planning, policy making, and serious review of human and financial resources and support, virtual education can be developed and used in future as a complement to traditional training.

A part of the conceptual structure of sadness is understood and expressed along with pain. The relationship between pain and part of the concept of sadness is quite close in a way that physiological correlation of these two is predictable. Pain is phenomenologically related to sadness in which, understanding and perception of its progress as an abstract experience through the experience of pain which is more physical. In the cognitive concept of “sadness is pain”, sadness should be sought in the framework of the sensory characteristics of pain. Pain expresses the feeling of a person when experiencing sadness, and it shows an unfavorable mental state with an unpleasant physical feeling. Sadness is a warning and a call from the damaged mind (soul) of a person. Pain is a warning issued from the body. Pain is naturally considered a negative experience; consequently, it creates a negative evaluation of sadness. The present study surveys the concept of sadness in that part of Persian and Arabic languages which is expressed by source domain related to pain, so that the way of thinking of the speakers of the mentioned languages in this domain, the understanding, and the similarities and differences between them are revealed. The method of conducting this research is descriptive and analytical, and the method of analysis is cognitive linguistics and conceptual metaphor. Regarding the pain perception of sadness, it can be said that the analysis of the data indicates a wide cognitive similarity between these two languages. It seems that Persian and Arabic people imagine themselves affected by different states of pain when they are sad; this means that they expose their bodies to insect bites, plant thorns, sharp tools, heat and burning, or pain caused by high pressure, etc. which seems that the source domain  related to tools and animals in Arabic show more diversity for the conceptualization of pain and the reason for that can be found in the environmental and geographical characteristics of Arabic people.

Modality as a semantic category expresses the method that the speaker chooses to express his position in a specific context. In this regard, some verbs and modal elements create this modal system. The research of traditional grammarians about the verb and its components was mainly focused on structural elements. Therefore, on the one hand, they neglected to examine the temporal aspect of the verb, and on the other hand, they failed to distinguish the relationship between the structural meaning and the meaning based on the context in categories such as mood, tense, and aspect. Therefore, the verb and tense of the verb were studied with a modularity approach without referring to the context of the verb and its form, which prompted the authors to study the mood, tense, and aspect based on a non-modularity approach. Using the theoretical and applied research of aspect, tense, and mood based on a descriptive and applied analytical approach in Arabic and Persian languages, this article tries to show the patterns of representation of the aforementioned categories in the two languages based on selected examples from contemporary texts. The results of the research showed that the two languages share indicative and subjunctive moods, aspects, and tenses based on structure. Nevertheless, the semantic heterogeneity caused by the grammatical and contextual indicators in the text is considerable. Therefore, according to the relationship of each of the above-mentioned elements with each other and the current system, and to avoid confusion between concepts like before, a practical approach has been applied and studied.

Covid-19 pandemic motivated the employment of a tailored strategy for distance learning with the ultimate goal of providing more enjoyable and truly educational environment for learners, restoring their self-confidence, and increasing positive interaction among students and the teacher. The flipped classroom is one of such smart strategies which can be used through distance learning because of its undeniable impact on development of creative critical thinking, enhancing the performance, and increasing the level of study in school pupil. Accordingly, the current study aims to investigate the effectiveness of employing the flipped classroom strategy during distance learning on improving the learning of Arabic language for students in 10th grade of the Arts and Humanities branch of Zahra school (Sa’adat Shahr) in Sa’adat Shahr, Fars Province, Iran. The current study is a semi-experimental research and the statistical population consists of students in 10th grade of the mentioned location. The population under study includes 22 students, randomly distributed into two equal groups. One group learned the subject of Arabic according to the strategy of the flipped classroom (experimental group), and the second group went under traditional teaching strategy. Both groups received 12 class sections. One way ANOVA test showed statistically significant difference between the average grades of two groups (in favor of the experimental group). The results revealed the effectiveness of flipped classroom strategy in improving the learning of Arabic.

In most definitions, learning style is a person’s preferred or usual way of learning. As we know, people do not learn in the same way, but prefer different methods to learn. In the learning process, each person may choose the method that they find most appropriate for themselves and abandon the methods that they do not feel comfortable with. If learners are aware of their learning preferences, they can choose appropriate methods to deal with specific learning situations and activities. The complexity of thinking and learning in humans on the one hand and the lack of interest and usefulness of textbooks and their concepts, on the other hand, as well as the inefficiency of some teachers, lack of transparency in educational goals and other factors such as learners’ desire and motivation, cause many failures. Learners do not achieve the desired results in Arabic classes and hence their aversion and coldness towards this lesson. The statistical population is all tenth grade male students in Sarpol-e Zahab city in the academic year 1399-1400 (N = 385). Using cluster sampling method and based on Morgan and Jersey table, 181 people were selected as the sample. To determine the validity, the questionnaire was provided to several experts in the field and the experts confirmed the validity of the questionnaire. Cronbach’s alpha test was used for reliability and 0.79 in sequential-general style, 0.73 for active-reflective style, 0.81 for visual-verbal style and 0.80 for intuitive sensory style were achieved, respectively.

Anxiety is a psychological construct that psychologists consider to be a state of ambiguous apprehension and fear that indirectly affects learning. Research has shown that the conversation between the student and the teacher is one of the main sources of anxiety, and since in the classroom, conversation is the axis of language interaction, learning anxiety is more prominent. For this purpose, different techniques have been presented around the world to reduce anxiety. Huertz et al. have designed a scale (anxiety measurement test) to measure learning anxiety. Therefore, in the present study, to operationalize this effect, a training class (32 people) of Arabic conversational learners was selected as available sampling, and after removing outliers, the learners were divided into three groups: the first group using the negative feedback method, the second group with the positive feedback method, and the third group with the cognitive variability feedback method were subjected to intervention. Then, by employing a quasi-experimental method of post-test intervention, the learners’ performance after the intervention was analyzed by SPSS software (version 21) and through one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of this research showed that all three educational groups had educational growth in conversation and listening skills in the post-test stage. However, Tukey’s post-hoc test showed that the cognitive variability feedback method has a greater effect on reducing anxiety and increasing dialogue learning than the two positive and negative feedback methods. This significant difference in the scores obtained has been investigated and reported in detail.

The Brain-based learning theory has arisen from cognitive neuroscience, brain studies, Computer science and other sciences as a comprehensive educational model compatible with the brain’s natural requirements in the educational arena such that concentrate on how to teach and train the brain and activate all its aspects. By providing an effective educational environment and using the curriculum and strategies that suit needs of the brain according to principles of this theory, the research treated contents of Arabic books at high-school levels and teaching the methods used in classrooms according to the principles of brain-based learning theory. So, the research has selected two first, it used the content analysis method, analyzing all the texts, exercises and images of four books as a model selected from all Arabic curriculum books in the first and second intermediate level of Iranian high schools according to the principles of this theory. Then, the survey method was used and a questionnaire was distributed to 80 high school teachers to find out their methods and strategies used in teaching the Arabic language curriculum in high schools. The results of analysis of the texts showed less interest in the active process component than the orchestrated Immersion and Relaxed Alertness component. Less repetition of the exercises is related to the orchestrated immersion component. Results of the questionnaire indicate that the component of orchestrated Immersion and Active process are more used by teachers, but the component of Relaxed Alertness has been rarely used by the teachers

One of the elements of foreign language teaching materials is that they should include the foreign language culture. Experts have reached consensus on cultural recognition in learning any language, because language is the product of culture and it is impossible to separate them. In recent decades, linguistic studies – all of its branches – have witnessed the fact that the study of culture is a necessary capability in addition to linguistic and communicative competencies. Due to its importance, cultural efficiency has become an essential part in international authorities dealing with criteria for learning foreign languages. Despite the significance of the fact that cultural efficiency provides the highest levels of language learning, we still notice shortcomings in presenting Arabic culture to non-native speakers through Arabic language teaching methods. Teaching culture and integrating it within the context of textbooks and special educational materials in teaching Arabic to non-native speakers is still an issue that provokes a lot of challenges. This study seeks to investigate and evaluate the cultural content of instructional collection Sadal Hayat based on an analytic-descriptive approach and by using a statistical content analysis tool. The collection has unprecedentedly been spread at various levels of Persian-speaking Arabic learners and has been well received by Iranian universities. This study was conducted by taking advantage of common criteria among the Rushdi Taima criteria, American Council of Foreign Language Teachers, and European Common Framework, because the mentioned criteria have widely been spread in teaching foreign languages and Arabic language to non-native speakers. The study has obtained significant results, including: The importance of the selected Arabic, American and European criteria for the evaluation of cultural content of the book; and the collection’s focus on Arab’s and Islamic cultures and its inattention to international culture, except in some rare instances. It is concluded that all the examined books aced with lack of balanced cultural elements, and the book’s cultural contents need some modifications for removing their shortcomings.

Many applied linguists believe that the phenomenon of culture plays an important role in the learning process. Therefore, it can be said that understanding Arabic culture is the highest and foremost goal of learning Arabic for non-Arabic speakers. Arabic dialects are a type of Arabic language that reflects the life of Arabic speakers and what is going on in their society. Learning a formal language and dialects together or learning multiple language levels at the same time can lead to early learning problems, but Ph.D. students are expected to have the most proficiency in language skills, so the of use accent as a tool is one of the mechanisms that may provide Ph.D. candidates with the skills to understand Arabic culture and help them become more aware of the Arabic-speaking community. Despite the importance of acquiring cultural skills in the learning process, accent learning is not considered as a mechanism at the Ph.D. level. Therefore, we decided to examine the attitudes of Ph.D. students in Tehran public universities towards the place of Arabic dialects in understanding Arabic culture and to evaluate the importance of learning dialects based on their perspectives. This research has been done using descriptive, analytical and survey methods and relying on simple random sampling method and has used a questionnaire as a data collection tool. The results of the study based on a study of the approaches of Ph.D. students of public universities in Tehran showed that they realized the importance and necessity of learning dialect to better understand Arabic-speaking community and better understand Arabic culture and they feel the lack of a curriculum or course with a cultural perspective on teaching Arabic dialects in universities.