Applied Study Of The Processability Theory OF Arabic Learners In The Islamic University Of Madinah/ دراسة تطبيقية لنظرية قابلية المعالجة على مجموعة من متعلمي اللغة العربية في الجامعة الإسلامية بالمدينة المنورة

Muhammad Zafer Alhazmi

Abstract


This paper focuses on an essential aspect of teaching Arabic to non-native speakers, drawing on applied linguistics, a field that seeks to deepen our understanding of second language acquisition. Many theories exist in this field, but their validity can only be tested through practical application. This study applies the Processability Theory to assess Arabic language learners' proficiency. The study sample includes twenty international students from the Islamic University of Medina: students of the College of Sharia (first year) and the College of Arabic Language (eighth year). The main goal is to highlight the relevance of Processability Theory in evaluating learners' levels. The study also provides statistical analysis regarding the student's progress in learning Arabic. According to Processability Theory, language learning progresses through five levels. The application in this study focuses on three of these levels: (1) the third level, represented by the correct use of the definite article (Al-); (2) the fourth level, focused on sentence structures with basic (VSO) and free word order (SVO); and (3) the fifth level, dealing with complex sentences. The findings reveal a significant difference between the groups regarding correctly using the definite article. First-year students made considerably more errors compared to eighth-year students. However, the gap between the two groups narrowed at the fourth and fifth levels. Their use of sentences under the fourth level was similar, and while their use of complex sentences (fifth level) was rare, it did not yield statistically significant results. Nonetheless, eighth-year students showed a slight numerical advantage in this area. Overall, this study demonstrates the importance of Processability Theory in assessing learners' proficiency and highlights the variation in language learning progression.

Keywords


Processability Theory; Arabic; Language Acquisition; Language Proficiency Assessment; Second Language Learning

References


Al-Hazmi, Muhammad Dhafer. Jerobianism As A Result Of Interlingual Contact 304 - 341, Issue - 18 (Taybah University Journal of Arts and Humanities, Seventh Year) 1440.

Al-Obaidi, Bashir 2015. Experiences in Teaching the Arabic Language in Europe: Presentation and Evaluation, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Center for Arabic Language Service: Riyadh.

Chomsky, N. 1980. Rules and Representations. Behav. Br. Sci., 3, 1-61.

Clahsen, H. 1985. Parameterised Grammatical Theory And Language Acquisition. A Study of the Acquisition of Verb Placement and Inflection by Children and Adults”. In S. Flynn and W. O’Neil (Eds.), Proceedings of the workshop “Linguistic theory and second language acquisition”. Cambridge Mass.:MIT Press.

Edward P. Stabler 1984. Berwick and Wienberg on linguistics and computational psychology. Cognition, 17 (2): 155-179.

Marr. D. 1979. Representation and computing visual information. In P.H. Winston and R.H. Brown (sds.) Artificial Intelligence: An MIT Prespective, Vol. 2. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press.

Owens, Jonathan. 2023. Arabic and the Case Against Linearity in Historical Linguistics, Oxford University Press: Oxford.

Pienemann, M. (1998). Language processing and second language development: Processability theory. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Ben jamins.

Stern, H. 1991. Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching, first published 1983, Oxford University Press: Oxford.

Wardhaugh, R. 1969a. Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages: The State of the Art. Washington, D.C.: ERIC Clearinghouse for Linguistics. [108,11S(n 7)]

Winford, Donald 2006. Reduced syntax in (prototypical) pidgins. In Ljiljana Progovac, Kate Paesani, Eugenia Casielles, & Ellen Barton (eds.), The syntax of non-sententials. 283–307. Amsterdam: Benjamins.

Yule, George. 2017. The Study of Language, translated by Hamza Al-Muzaini, Jawadul for Publishing, Translation and Distribution: Beirut.

Alasmari, M., Qasem, F., Ahmed, R., & Alrayes, M. (2022). Bilingual teachers’ translanguaging practices and ideologies in online classrooms in Saudi Arabia. Heliyon, 8(9), e10537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e10537

Alhazmi, M. Z. (2016). Maritime Terminology of the Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coast. De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783112209264

Al‐Jallad, A. (2020). ʿArab , ʾAʿrāb , and Arabic in Ancient North Arabia: The first attestation of (ʾ)ʿrb as a group name in Safaitic. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 31(2), 422–435. https://doi.org/10.1111/aae.12157

Arifin, Z., Hasan, M. R., & Haqqi, A. R. A. (2022). Qat’i And Zanni Debate From The Perspective Of Qur’anic Studies. QiST: Journal of Quran and Tafseer Studies, 2(1), 63–67. https://doi.org/10.23917/qist.v2i1.1248

Azizah, N., Basthomi, Y., & Subianto, A. (2021). Syntactic Analysis of Surah Qaf English Translation by Muhammad Taqiudin Al Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan. JoLLA: Journal of Language, Literature, and Arts, 1(2), 239–250. https://doi.org/10.17977/um064v1i22021p239-250

Dahia, I., & Belbacha, M. (2024). International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation Machine-Learning-based English Quranic Translation: An Evaluation of ChatGPT. https://doi.org/10.32996/ijllt

Izzah, N., Ghozali, M., Suhaili Mansor, N., Awang, H., & Yusof, S. M. (2024). Automated Translation Tools For Mualaf: Artificial Intelligence Solutions For Accessing Islamic Texts And Resources Across Languages Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. International Journal of Islamic Theology and Civilization E-ISSN, 2(3), 3009–1551. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13943175

Layth, A., & Muhammed, N. (2006). Supplemental Coherence as a Cause of Ambiguity in English Quranic Translation: Al-Qariah Surah as a Case Study. In Pickthal.

Mamasadikova, M., & Qizi, Q. (2024). The Functions Of Sentence Types In The English Language ENGLISH LANGUAGE. https://scientific-jl.org/

Mukhtar, S., & Sani Abdulkadir, Z. (2023). The Significance of English Language and its Relevance to the Preservation of the Qur’anic Script. 1. https://doi.org/10.59479/jiaheri.v1i001.38

Roodashsty, M., Amin Mozaheb, M., & Ghajarieh, A. (2023). Translation of Culture-Specific Items in Three Chapters of the Holy Quran: The Case Study of Translators with Different L1 Backgrounds. 1(1). https://doi.org/10.30497/ISQH.2023.244736.1005

Sari, W. A., & Ariyanti, T. D. (2022). Language Acquisition (Types of Sentence) of Three to Four Years Old Children. Disastra: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Dan Sastra Indonesia, 4(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.29300/disastra.v4i1.4718

Tarmizi, S. A., & Saad, S. (2022). Named Entity Recognition For Quranic Text Using Rule Based Approaches. Asia-Pacific Journal of Information Technology and Multimedia, 11(02), 112–122. https://doi.org/10.17576/apjitm-2022-1102-09

Versteegh, K. (2015). An empire of learning: Arabic as a global language. In Language Empires in Comparative Perspective (pp. 41–54). DE GRUYTER. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110408362.41

Wazery, Y. M., Saleh, M. E., Alharbi, A., & Ali, A. A. (2022). Abstractive Arabic Text Summarization Based on Deep Learning. Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience, 2022, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/1566890

Zekkour, H., & Imamuddin, I. (2024). Methods of Understanding the Quran and Hadith from Ancient Times to Modern Times. Journal of Education and Teacher Training Innovation, 2(2), 102–109. https://doi.org/10.61227/jetti.v2i2.112




DOI: https://doi.org/10.18860/ijazarabi.v8i1.29356

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2025 Muhammad Zafer Alhazmi

License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/