A Maharah Kalam Learning Strategy Based on Resolving Classroom Social Issues and Overcoming Demotivation

Abstract

This study aims to identify classroom social environment factors and student learning motivation as a basis for developing learning strategies to improve Arabic speaking skills (maharah kalam). Using a qualitative descriptive approach and conducted in a classroom for the 4th semester of the Arabic Language Education Program at the Indonesia University of Education, this study involved four students as informants. Through a qualitative descriptive approach using in-depth interviews as instruments and analyzed using the Miles and Huberman model, the findings indicate that peer pressure in the form of fear of judgment, as well as the teacher’s direct and confrontational correction style, were found to trigger acute anxiety and severe demotivation. The accumulation of these crises and pressures even overshadowed the students’ cognitive awareness of the importance of mastering Arabic speaking skills. Based on the identification of these problems, learning strategies were reconstructed through three approaches: the application of appreciative and delayed feedback, the creation of a space for error tolerance, and the adoption of creative, collaborative project-based learning. The implications of this research call for instructors who can facilitate students’ ability to speak Arabic in their learning without fear or heavy mental burdens. Institutionally, the findings of this study provide a foundation for educational institutions to develop curriculum components that are sensitive to and aligned with students’ psychological needs.