Appropriate Grammatical Topics for Non-Arabic Speakers

Abstract

The aim of this research is to determine appropriate grammatical topics for advanced level learners of Arabic as a second language and measure their mastery of them. In this vein, the descriptive method is applied, as it seems to be the most appropriate one to meet the aims of the study. First, the researcher prepared a questionnaire to determine the appropriate grammatical topics for those learners based on several sources. The questionnaire resulted in 16 topics. Accordingly, the researcher constructed a test to measure the extent to which students were familiar with these topics. The test was applied to a sample of fourth-level students at the Arabic Language Institute for Speakers of Other Languages at King Abdul Aziz University. The total number of students was 94, and the results show that their familiarity was high in 10 topics, average in 3 topics, and low in the other 3 topics. The research recommended that these 16 topics should be included in the grammatical curricula for advanced level Arabic learners. Moreover, there should be mechanisms to prevent overlap and recurrence of these topics in the curricula. The research also suggested applying similar studies to beginner and intermediate learners to prepare lists of topics that reflect their levels in all linguistic aspects. KEYWORDS Grammatical topics, language learning, language proficiency, learning difficulties, learning skills, second language