[AR] al-Mawaqif al-Ittisaliyyah al-Yaumiyyah al-Mukhtalifah wa Hajat Talabah al-’Arabiyyah al-Natiqin bi Ghairiha fi al-Marhalah al-Jami’iyyah fi Tanmiyah Maharah al-Muhadathah: Maliziya wa Mamlakah Thailand Unmuzajan

Different Daily Communication Situations and the Needs of Non-Native Arabic Language Students at the University Level in Developing Conversational Skills: Malaysia and The Kingdom of Thailand as a Case Study

Abstract

The habit among Arabic language teachers who are non-native speakers in Southeast Asia in general, and Malaysia in particular, has been to focus on reading and writing skills, neglecting listening and speaking skills. This has resulted in students' weakness in conversational and communicative skills. However, linguistic communication is one of the most important goals in language teaching, regardless of whether the learners are native speakers or not. Communication is the primary function of language, as humans learn language to communicate and interact with their society. Therefore, it is essential to train learners to use the language in various daily communicative situations. A study conducted among 30 Arabic language students at the undergraduate level in the Islamic University of Selangor, Malaysia, as well as in Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. In the Islamic University of Selangor, found that learners' needs were identified through a questionnaire consisting of ten different daily communicative situations. In the Islamic University of Selangor, the study found that the classroom communicative situation received the highest rank with a nomination rate of 90.67%, followed by the library communicative situation with a nomination rate of 83%, and then the restaurant communicative situation with a nomination rate of 82%. Similarly, in Prince of Songkla University, the study found that the classroom communicative situation received the highest rank with a nomination rate of 90%, followed by the restaurant communicative situation with a nomination rate of 89.4%, and then the mosque courtyard communicative situation also with a nomination rate of 89.4%. These percentages show the importance of focusing on communicative situations in language teaching to meet learners' needs and enhance their conversational skills.