Malaysian Students' Attitudes toward Learning Arabic at Al Al-Bayt University

Abstract

The study aimed to explore the attitudes of Malaysian students at Al al-Bayt University toward learning the Arabic language, and to determine whether there were statistically significant differences at (α= 0.05) in these attitudes resulting from the variables of gender, academic specialisation, and academic level. To achieve this goal, the researchers prepared a scale of attitudes toward learning Arabic for non-native speakers. The scale consisted of (30) items distributed equally across three domains: behavioural, cognitive, and emotional. The study sample included (178) male and female Malaysian students enrolled in the bachelor's program in various specialisations at Al al-Bayt University during the first semester of the academic year 2023/2024, and they were selected using the available random method.

The study results showed that Malaysian students' attitudes toward learning the Arabic language were generally positive. The behavioural domain ranked first with a positive rating, followed by the emotional domain with a positive rating as well, while the cognitive domain was medium. The results also indicated that there were no statistically significant differences at (α=0.05) in the attitudes of Malaysian students toward learning Arabic, resulting from the variables of academic level and gender. However, the study showed statistically significant differences at (α=0.05) resulting from the specialization variable, specifically in favour of students majoring in Islamic law.