Alsuna: Journal of Arabic and English Language

Gamification in L2 Arabic Writing Instruction: Perceived Usability and Learning Support of Baamboozle in an Indonesian Islamic Secondary School Context

Narul Hasyim Muzadi — 2026-05-25

Purpose - Arabic writing instruction in Indonesian Islamic secondary schools is still largely teacher-fronted: structured, passive, and lacking in practice that builds productive skills. This study examines whether the browser-based game platform Baamboozle can shift that dynamic. Drawing on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Vygotskian scaffolding theory, and self-determination theory (SDT), we document the implementation of Baamboozle in an L2 Arabic writing class at MAPK MAN 1 Surakarta, Indonesia, and report how students evaluated its usability, visual design, interactivity, and perceived learning support across five theoretically grounded dimensions.

Design/methodology/approach - A quantitative descriptive design was employed. Twenty female students from Class X MAPK participated in a Baamboozle-integrated Arabic writing lesson and subsequently completed a nine-item, four-point Likert-scale questionnaire mapped onto five TAM-derived perception dimensions for L2 Arabic writing development: ease of access, operability, interactivity, visual appeal, learning motivation, language clarity, and perceived effectiveness. Descriptive statistics and RAL scores were computed via IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0. This study has a bounded, exploratory design; findings are interpreted as preliminary perceptual evidence rather than causal claims about learning outcomes.

Findings – All nine perception items fell in the excellent range (85%–100%), with an overall RAL of 87% (M = 31.65/36, SD = 3.05). Students rated perceived support for L2 Arabic writing development highest (RAL = 91%)—consistent with SDT predictions about competence-supportive task structures—while platform accessibility scored lowest (RAL = 83%), pointing to a minor entry-friction problem that is practically fixable. No item dropped below 83%, indicating that learners were broadly positive across the usability, affective, and instructional dimensions.

Originality/value - The study contributes to CALL and L2 Arabic writing research in three ways. This study extends TAM–based technology acceptance work to a typologically complex productive-skill context (Arabic orthography) in a Southeast Asian Islamic school setting, which is rarely represented in CALL literature. This study shows how Vygotskian image-based scaffolding and SDT-aligned game mechanics can work together inside a low-cost, zero-registration platform. Furthermore, it offers a replicable four-stage implementation model that does not require specialist infrastructure. The study is bounded: n = 20, one session, self-report only. Causal claims about writing development require follow-up.

Paper type – Research paper

Technology and Islamic Values in English Language Teaching: A Contextual Pedagogical Framework for Value-Oriented Digital Instruction

Widya Rahmawati — 2026-05-25

Purpose - This study examines how technology and Islamic values can be systematically cointegrated within ELT, proposing a theoretically grounded, 3D (3D) pedagogical framework applicable across Indonesian Muslim-majority educational settings. While prior research has independently documented the effectiveness of digital tools in language skill development and the importance of Islamic values in curriculum design, these two streams have rarely been synthesized into a coherent, empirically supported framework. This study addresses this gap by treating technological facilitation and moral value development as co-constitutive rather than competing pedagogical concerns.

Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative narrative literature review design was employed (Snyder, 2019). We retrieved peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2025 from Google Scholar, SINTA–indexed national journals, and international Scopus-indexed databases. Thirty-five articles meeting three pre-established inclusion criteria were selected and analyzed using Miles and Huberman’s (Miles & Huberman, 1994) three-stage thematic analysis: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification. The inclusion criteria required each article to address: (1) technology integration in ELT; (2) Islamic values in education; or (3) the intersection of technology and character-based or value-oriented learning.

Findings – Three thematic findings emerged from the analysis. First, technology in ELT operates at three functionally distinct levels—motivational, pedagogical, and value-disseminative—but its educational effectiveness is determined by the depth of its pedagogical grounding, not by the technology itself. Second, Islamic values integration achieves the greatest impact when it is systematically embedded across all phases of the learning process—materials, task design, assessment, and classroom norms—rather than confined to content selection. Third, AI introduces significant personalization and feedback affordances but raises principled ethical challenges, such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, academic honesty, and the erosion of the relational bond between teachers and learners. A critical integration gap persists: practitioners lack a coherent framework that operationalizes technology use and values formation simultaneously.

Originality/value - This study makes a dual contribution to the literature. Theoretically, it extends the TPACK framework (Mishra & Koehler, 2006) by proposing a values-integrated TPACK dimension—values-integrated TPACK (VI-TPACK)—that accounts for the moral-ethical knowledge dimension required in Islamic educational contexts. Practically, it proposes a 3D contextual pedagogical framework—comprising Technological Facilitation, Value Internalization, and Contextual Adaptation—as an integrated model for value-oriented digital ELT. The framework provides evidence-based guidance for educators working through the productive tension between global language instruction demands and local Islamic principles and offers a replicable model for a Muslim majority in international educational contexts.

Paper type – Review paper

Discursive Memory of Authoritarianism and Religious Delegitimation of Resistance in Modern Arabic Drama: A Sociocognitive Reading of Musthafa Mahmud’s Az-Zaʿīm

Ragim Samanery — 2026-05-25

Purpose - This study introduces two interpretive concepts—discursive memory of authoritarianism and religious delegitimation of resistance—to examine the construction of power in Musthafa Mahmud’s modern Arabic drama Az-Zaʿīm. Rather than applying Van Dijk’s sociocognitive CDA as a checklist, the study deploys it to show how a single dramatic text encodes the structural logic of authoritarian discourse across historical periods.

Design/methodology/approach - The study applies a qualitative descriptive design grounded in library research. The primary data consist of 27 purposively selected textual units—dialogues, monologues, and stage directions—drawn from the 1990 Dar al-Maʿarif edition of Az-Zaʿīm (pp. 3–97). Inclusion criteria required each unit to: (1) contain an explicit representation of a power relation; (2) carry at least one ideologically marked lexical item (e.g., kufr, sādah, ʿabīd, ṯāʿah); (3) exhibit a syntactic form enacting power (imperative, passive, or fronting); and (4) relate to a historically traceable socio-political condition. Units lacking all four criteria were excluded. Analysis moved through three linked stages: data reduction via a structured coding table, cross-analyst interpretive discussion (triangulation), and contextual interpretation connecting linguistic findings to Ottoman Tripolitan and modern Arab political history.

Findings/results – Power in Az-Zaʿīm is constructed through four interrelated discursive strategies: (1) religious delegitimation, whereby the term kufr forecloses political dissent before its content is addressed; (2) hierarchical lexical opposition (sādah/ʿabīd), which naturalizes social inequality while simultaneously enabling its critique; (3) imperative forms that condense vertical authority into bare commands; and (4) passive constructions that delete the agent of discriminatory policy. Collectively, these strategies constitute what this study terms the discursive memory of authoritarianism—a repertoire of recurring linguistic moves that reproduce domination across Ottoman and postcolonial Arab political contexts.

Originality/value - The study proposes two novel conceptual tools for the field: discursive memory of authoritarianism and religious delegitimation of resistance in modern Arabic drama. These extend Van Dijk’s model beyond its standard application and position Az-Zaʿīm within comparative debates on political theater, critical stylistics, and the discourse-historical approach. The findings have direct implications for Arabic literary pedagogy and scholarship on power discourse in postcolonial Arabic contexts.

Paper type – Research article

Enhancing Arabic Vocabulary Acquisition through Mobile-Assisted Language Learning: A Quasi-Experimental Study in an Indonesian Madrasah

Rika Nurmalia — 2026-05-25

Purpose - This study examines the effect of integrating the Kaleela Arabic application into classroom instruction on seventh-grade Arabic vocabulary acquisition in an Indonesian Islamic junior secondary school (madrasah). This study addresses the continuing problem of limited Arabic vocabulary mastery among madrasah learners and the need for empirically examined mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) practices in Arabic education.

Design/Methodology/Approach - A quantitative quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent control group was employed. The participants were 44 seventh-grade learners at MTs Al-Khairiyah, divided equally into an experimental group (n = 22) and a control group (n = 22). The experimental group received four weeks of teacher-guided instruction integrating the Kaleela Arabic application, whereas the control group received conventional vocabulary instruction. Data were collected through a 20-item Arabic vocabulary test administered as pre- and posttest. The instrument was validated through expert content review, item validity analysis (Pearson r), and reliability testing (Cronbach’s α = 0.843). Data analysis included Shapiro-Wilk normality tests, Levene’s homogeneity test, pretest equivalence testing, paired sample t-tests within each group, an independent sample t-test for post-test comparison, N-Gain analysis, and Cohen’s d-based effect size estimation.

Findings - Pre-test scores confirmed initial group equivalence, t(42) = 0.468, p = 0.642. A post-test comparison revealed a statistically significant difference between groups, t(42) = 3.284, p = 0.002, with a large effect size (d = 0.99). The experimental group obtained a mean post-test score of 78.18 (SD = 13.50) compared with 65.45 (SD = 12.20) for the control group. The average N-Gain of the experimental group was 0.57 (moderate category), whereas that of the control group was 0.33 (low–moderate boundary). Variation in individual gains highlights the mediating role of knowledge of prior vocabulary and teacher scaffolding.

Originality/Value - This study provides quasi-experimental evidence on the pedagogically integrated use of Kaleela Arabic for vocabulary acquisition in a madrasah classroom context. It extends MALL research by interpreting learning gains through theoretically grounded mechanisms: repeated exposure, retrieval practice, multimodal input, immediate feedback, and teacher scaffolding, rather than attributing improvement solely to the application.

Paper type - Research paper

Comprehensible Input, Affective Filter, and Communicative Environment: A Case Study of Krashen’s Five Hypotheses in an Indonesian Pesantren

Muhammad Fadhil Hadziq — 2026-05-25

Purpose - A persistent gap exists between formal grammar instruction and communicative competence in Arabic language acquisition in Indonesian Islamic residential schools (pesantren). Institutions that deliberately construct Arabic language environments demonstrate more effective outcomes, yet the mechanisms through which such environments produce acquisition results remain underexamined using Krashen’s complete monitor model. This study investigates how the Arabic language environment at Pesantren Islam Al-Irsyad Batu operationalizes all five of Krashen’s second-language acquisition hypotheses, and what documented outcomes this produces.

Design/Methodology/Approach - A qualitative instrumental case study design was employed. Data were collected through non-participant observation across eight sessions per week over five months (July–November 2025), semi-structured interviews with five purposively selected informants (three teachers/program administrators, two students), and institutional document analysis. Data analysis followed the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña (2014); trustworthiness was established through source triangulation, method triangulation, and member checking.

Findings - Three integrated mechanisms characterize the acquisition-supportive design of the environment: (1) graduated comprehensible input calibrated to the i+1 threshold across formal and informal contexts; (2) delayed post-production error correction that sustains low affective filter conditions during speaking; and (3) structured informal communicative programmes extending Arabic use into dormitories, mosques and social spaces. Participants describe a progressive shift from monitored, rule-dependent production toward spontaneous communicative use. The main inhibiting factor is the inconsistency of the use of Arabic in unsupervised contexts, which the institution addresses through peer accountability structures.

Originality/Value - This study provides the first empirical account of operationalizing all five of Krashen’s Monitor Model hypotheses as explicit analytical categories within a single pesantren setting, mapping specific institutional design decisions to acquisition mechanisms. The findings offer a theoretically grounded model of acquisition-supportive environment design with direct implications for pesantren and comparable residential Islamic educational institutions’ Arabic language programs.

Paper type - Research paper

Narrative Structure as a Pedagogical Scaffold: A Quasi-Experimental Study of the Story of Kan'an (Surah Hud 11:42-43) in Improving Short-Term Arabic Reading Performance at Indonesian Madrasah Aliyah

Abdul Basith — 2026-05-25

Purpose - This study examines whether a three-stage narrative learning model structured around the story of Kan'an ibn Nuh in Surah Hud (11:42-43) produces significantly greater short-term gains in Arabic reading test performance than conventional grammar-translation instruction among Indonesian madrasah secondary school students.

Design/Methodology/Approach - A quasi-experimental nonequivalent control group design was implemented at Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 1 (MAN 1) Banyuwangi, East Java, in January 2026 (N = 64; two intact tenth-grade classes of 32 each). Pre-test equivalence was confirmed through Mann-Whitney U test (p = .553) and Levene's test (p = .278). The experimental class received three 60-minute sessions structured across pre-reading, while-reading, and postreading stages grounded in NBL theory and Vygotsky’s ZPD. Both classes completed a validated 20-item multiple-choice instrument (Cronbach’s α = 0.830) that assessed vocabulary in context, reading comprehension, and grammatical structure recognition. Non-normal post-test distributions required the Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann-Whitney U tests; the normalized gain (N-gain) scores and effect size (r) were used to quantify the magnitude of improvement.

Findings - The pretest scores were statistically equivalent (p = .553). The experimental class mean rose from 65.00 to 87.66 against a rise from 62.81 to 77.19 in the control class. Mann-Whitney U testing confirmed a highly significant between-group difference (U = 178.000, Z = -4.571, p < .001, r = 0.808). The experimental class N-gain of 61.63% (moderately effective) was 1.8 times greater than the control class N-gain of 34.12% (small-to-medium, r = 0.296). The posttest score variance in the experimental class narrowed substantially (SD: 12.18–7.62), indicating disproportionate gains among the lower-performing learners.

Originality/Value - This is the first study to operationalize the Kan’an narrative as the primary instructional vehicle—not supplementary text—within a fully specified three-stage reading model grounded in NBL theory and Vygotskian scaffolding. The findings suggest that culturally coherent Qur'anic narrative text selection is a substantively meaningful instructional variable in madrasah Arabic reading instruction, offering a replicable, technology-free model for classroom implementation.

Paper type - Research paper

Tripartite Barriers in Arabic Grammar Instruction: A Phenomenological Study of Methodological, Curricular, and Learner-Related Challenges in a University-Affiliated Islamic Dormitory

Ilfan Mahendra — 2026-05-25

Purpose - This study investigates the challenges of Nahwu (Arabic grammar) instruction at Ma’had Al-Jami’ah IAIN Kerinci, Indonesia, focusing on three interdependent dimensions: instructional methodology, curriculum content, and learner characteristics. Existing research has largely examined these dimensions in isolation, leaving unresolved how they interact within a single institutional setting. This study addresses this gap by treating the three dimensions as mutually reinforcing barriers within a university-affiliated Islamic dormitory context.

Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative phenomenological design was employed, drawing on Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase thematic analysis. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews with 12 students and 3 instructors, 8 sessions of non-participant classroom observation conducted over 4 weeks, and document analysis of the Matan Al-Jurumiyah textbook and institutional curriculum materials. Trustworthiness was established through source triangulation, member checking, and reflexive journaling. Ethical clearance was obtained from IAIN Kerinci, and all participants and their guardians provided informed consent before data collection.

Findings/results – Thematic analysis reveals four interconnected challenges: limited conceptual scaffolding within the discussion-based instructional method; inadequate contextualization of classical curriculum content, particularly Matan Al-Jurumiyah; perceived abstraction and irrelevance-driven low learner motivation; and systemic misalignment between pedagogical practice and digital learning preferences of contemporary students. These challenges do not operate independently—each compounded the others, producing a learning environment in which persistence with Nahwu is cognitively costly and motivationally unrewarding. Representative student accounts illustrate this compounding dynamic: one participant described feeling “less motivated in class because the teaching method lacks detailed explanation” while simultaneously experiencing Nahwu as “hard to apply in practice,” capturing the simultaneous operation of methodological, curricular, and motivational barriers.

Originality/value - This study is the first to examine methodological, curricular, and learner-characteristic challenges as an interdependent, cooperative system within a university-affiliated Maʿhad context in Indonesia. Drawing on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and the Zone of Proximal Development, it proposes an integrative reform matrix combining technology-enhanced learning, contextualized Qurʿanic and Hadith content, and scaffolded student-centered pedagogy. This study makes three specific contributions: (1) an empirically grounded tripartite barrier model that demonstrates the interdependence of method, content, and learner characteristics; (2) a four-dimension reform matrix applicable to comparable Maʿhad institutions across Indonesia; and (3) evidence from a resource-constrained regional Islamic HEI context not previously examined in the Nahwu literature. Study limitations—including the single-site design, cross-sectional data, and absence of quantitative outcome measures—constrain transferability; future experimental and multisite comparative research is needed.

Paper type – Research paper

Semiotic Codes in Filasṭīn Bilādī by Humood Alkhudher: A John Fiske Analysis of Resistance, National Identity, and Ideology

Adinda Zahwa Amalia — 2026-05-25

Purpose - This study analyzes semiotic codes in the music video Filasṭīn Bilādī by Humood Alkhudher, examining how visual and lyrical elements construct Palestinian national identity, political resistance, and ideological meaning across multiple layers.

Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative media text analysis grounded in John Fiske's three-level semiotic framework of reality, representation, and ideology. The primary data source is the official music video of Filasṭīn Bilādī by Humood Alkhudher (YouTube channel: Ḥumūd, duration: 3:45, accessed January 2025). Eleven scenes were purposively selected based on four criteria: (1) symbolic density, (2) ideological relevance, (3) multimodal richness, and (4) direct connection to Palestinian identity and resistance. Data were collected through repeated observation, scene capture, lyric transcription, and systematical categorization into three analytical levels.

Findings/results – At the reality level, social codes including the kūfiyyah, Palestinian flag, a large key, protest posters, and destroyed urban spaces, encode the Palestinian political and cultural experience. At the representation level, cinematic choices—eye-level angles, bird's-eye views, low-angle shots, back shots, and contrasting lighting—intensify emotional and ideological readings. At the ideology level, the music video frames Palestinian identity as layered and multidimensional, encompassing anti-colonial resistance, collective memory, intergenerational solidarity, and, in specific visual sequences, Islamic faith as one ideological strand among several.

Originality/value - Unlike prior semiotic studies that focused on violence or social emotion in media, this research positions Filasṭīn Bilādī as a multidimensional political text that integrates the national, cultural, and religious dimensions of Palestinian identity. The analysis shows how popular music can function as a medium of symbolic resistance and counter-hegemonic identity construction within a settler-colonial context, contributing to semiotic media and Palestinian cultural studies.

Paper type – Research Article

Improving Arabic Listening Skill through Teams Games Tournament: One-Group Pretest–Posttest Study of Junior Secondary Students

Fadhila Ayumi Nur Azizah — 2026-05-25

Purpose - This study investigated the association between the TGT cooperative learning model and short-term improvements in Arabic listening skills (maharah al-istima’) among ninth-grade students at a junior Islamic secondary school in Surakarta, Indonesia. The novelty of this study lies in applying TGT to Arabic listening skills at the junior secondary level, whereas prior studies have focused predominantly on vocabulary, speaking, or nonlanguage subject areas.

Design/methodology/approach - A preexperimental one-group pretest – posttest design was employed with 20 learners selected by total sampling. Four 80-minute TGT sessions were conducted using graded audio materials on Islamic themes (mawlid al-nabi, nuzul al-Qur’an, and Islamic holidays). The validity of the test was established through an expert panel review and Aiken’s V coefficients (ranging from 0.75 to 1.00 across items), and reliability through Cronbach’s alpha (αpretest = 0.81; αposttest = 0.79). Non-normal distributions (Shapiro–Wilk: pretest W = 0.895, p = .033; posttest W = 0.746, p < .001) led to the Wilcoxon signed-rank test as the inferential procedure. The N-Gain scores and effect size r were calculated to estimate the change magnitude.

Findings/results – The Wilcoxon test yielded Z = −4.005, p < .001, r = 0.90 (large effect), with the mean score rising from M = 69.50 (SD = 11.91) at pretest to 91.00 (SD = 11.65) at posttest. The mean N-Gain was 0.78 (77.83 %), which was classified as a high gain. All 20 learners showed individual score increases; 85 % met or exceeded the school minimum mastery criterion (KKM = 75) in the posttest versus 30 % in the pretest. Given the single-group design, these results indicate association, not causation.

Originality/value - This study offers a replicable four-phase implementation procedure grounded in Krashen and Vygotsky’s ZPD’s input hypothesis. The findings suggest that TGT is a viable instructional alternative in MTs/SMP settings. Future research should adopt quasi-experimental or true experimental designs with control groups and larger, more diverse samples to permit stronger causal inference.

Paper type – Research paper

The Relationship between Vocabulary Mastery and Self-Confidence among Students in an Intensive Arabic Program: A Correlational Study at Markaz Arabiyah Pare

Naura Nadhifah — 2026-05-25

Purpose - This study examines the relationship between vocabulary mastery and self-confidence among students in an intensive Arabic learning program at Markaz Arabiyah Pare. Speaking performance was not measured; no claim is made regarding either variable's effect on oral production outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach - A quantitative correlational design was employed with 25 students from the I’dad Awal A class selected through purposive sampling. Two instruments were used: a vocabulary mastery test (10 valid items; α = 0.828) and a self-confidence questionnaire (16 valid statements; α = 0.791), both validated through expert review and SPSS-based item analysis. Shapiro–Wilk normality testing led to the use of Spearman’s rho for correlation analysis.

Findings/results – A statistically significant moderate positive correlation was found between vocabulary mastery and self-confidence (rₛ = 0.444, p = 0.026, r² = 0.197). Descriptive statistics revealed a wide vocabulary score distribution (M = 50.00, SD = 30.14, Mdn = 40, IQR = 60) against a considerably narrower self-confidence distribution (M = 56.52, SD = 6.10, Mdn = 56, IQR = 7). Vocabulary mastery accounted for approximately 19.7% of the variance in self-confidence scores.

Originality/value - This study is among the first to directly examine the relationship between linguistic readiness (vocabulary mastery) and affective readiness (self-confidence) within an intensive Arabic learning institution in Indonesia. Rather than treating the two variables as independent predictors of speaking performance, it investigates their direct interrelationship—a question underexplored in Arabic language acquisition research.

Paper type – Research paper

Integrating Problem-Based Learning and Spinning Wheel Media to Improve Arabic Grammar Mastery an Indonesian Islamic Boarding School: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Muhammad Fadhli Alkhoiri — 2026-06-18

Purpose - This study examines how Problem-Based Learning (PBL) combined with Spinning Wheel media operates in classical Arabic grammar (nahwu) instruction, and whether this combination is associated with improved qawāʿid nahwu mastery among ninth-grade students in an Islamic boarding school.

Design/methodology/approach - A quasi-experimental pretest–posttest nonequivalent control-group design was conducted with 50 ninth-grade students at Al-Hikmah Islamic Boarding School, West Pasaman. Class IX-1 (n = 25, female) was the experimental group; Class IX-2 (n = 25, male) the control. The gender-based class split is a school-level structural constraint and is treated as a major internal validity limitation. Instruments were expert-validated (CVR ≥ .62), pilot-tested (Cronbach’s α = .84), and short-answer items were scored with an analytic rubric verified for inter-rater reliability (κ = .82). Statistical analysis included Shapiro–Wilk, Levene’s test, independent-samples t-test, and ANCOVA with homogeneity-of-regression-slopes verification. The treatment ran across eight 70-minute sessions over four weeks.

Findings/results – Pretest means were statistically comparable (t(48) = 1.73, p = .091). Posttest comparison yielded t(48) = 8.14, p < .001, Cohen’s d = 2.01; ANCOVA F(1, 47) = 66.3, p < .001, partial η² = .585; N-Gain = .61 (medium–high) versus .17 (low) for the control. Qualitative themes corroborated higher engagement and metalanguage use in the experimental group. These results suggest a strong association between the model and improved mastery; causal attribution remains limited by the quasi-experimental design.

Originality/value - This study offers preliminary evidence that embedding the Spinning Wheel as a randomised problem-trigger within PBL’s initiation phase may lower affective and cognitive barriers to grammar engagement in classical Arabic contexts — a pedagogical pairing not previously examined under quasi-experimental classroom conditions in Islamic boarding schools.

Paper type – Research paper