Mohd Firdaus Yahaya

Design and Development of Mobile EZ-Arabic.Net for Ubiquitous Learning Among Malaysian Primary School Learners from Experts’ Perspective

Ubiquitous learning, also known as u-learning is based on ubiquitous technology. The most significant role of ubiquitous computing technology in u-learning is to construct a ubiquitous learning environment, which enables anyone to learn at anyplace at any time. This article is focusing on the design and development of a mobile learning platform known as mobile EZ-Arabic.net that serves as a medium of ubiquitous learning in Arabic for Malaysian Primary school learners. The design of this mobile learning application is conducted by transformation a web-based version of EZ-Arabic.net into a mobile application that is suitable for mobile and ubiquitous learning environment. ADDIE model for mobile learning is used for the design and development of this learning platform. The objective of the research is to evaluate a mobile ubiquitous learning platform that was specifically designed for Malaysian primary school learners among subject matter experts (SMEs) from International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) and Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA). Based on the findings of the analysis, the learning will be built with content appropriate to meet with students’ needs and syllabus. The final evaluation is also to be conducted among teachers and learners for the improvement of this mobile learning application.

Improving Arabic Writing Skills “Jawlah Lughawiyyah”: An Analysis

Since the 2000s, the efforts of the various parties offering learning Arabic whether in schools, higher education institutions, and associations related to the field of language are seen growing. For example, the j-QAF program was introduced to improve the quality of education to produce a skilled multilingual learner. The main problem faced by the students in mastering the language is the failure to master the vocabulary of the Arabic language as well as motivation factor and a negative perception toward learning Arabic. To produce good writing, precise vocabulary selection is vital in the delivery of a clear meaning. Moreover, the use of the five affective senses through activities outside the classroom which are relaxed, structured, and fun can have a positive impact on the improvement of language acquisition. So one alternative medium that is Jawlah Lughawiyyah concept of language activities outside the classroom that implements the seven stages of language learning have been conducted toward non-native speakers in Sekolah Menengah Agama Sultan Zainal Abidin dan Sekolah Menengah Agama Khairiah, Terengganu. The main objective of this study was to identify the level of students’ writing skills before and after attending Jawlah Lughawiyyah activities. A total of 30 Form Four students from each school were randomly selected and some of them have undergone this activity. The process of data collection through pre- and posttest was conducted on a sample and was analyzed using qualitative methods: Wikispaces and quantitative scoring rubric, t-test. The findings showed that there were significant improvements in writing skills from 14.3 % up to 17.5 %. Therefore, this study suggests that a Jawlah Lughawiyyah activity was practiced in the process of teaching and learning the Arabic language, particularly involving non-native speaking students.