Arabic Test Research Articles

Standardization of the Revised Arabic Language test for 4-8-year old children

Standardization of the Revised Arabic Language test for 4-8-year old children

Tahlīl Muhtawā wa Mustawā As'ilat Ikhtibārāt Al-Lughah Al ‘Arabiyah Li Imtihān Al Madrasah 'alā al Ma'āyīr Al Wathaniyyah 'alā Ithār Al Manhaj 2013

Abstract
 The 2013 curriculum demands a paradigm shift in learning, process, and evaluation, including in HOTS, MOTS, LOTS-based assessments. Using an evaluative research design, this study aims to analyze the Arabic language test items in the UAMBN Madrasah Aliyah under LP. Ma'arif Kabupaten Jepara for the Academic Year 2018/2019. The analysis includes the design and approach used in preparing the test, the content (materials) of the test, and the categorization of the quality level of the test items in the 2013 Curriculum, i.e. HOTS, MOTS, or LOTS. The results showed that: first, the approach used in preparing the test was an integrative approach for multiple-choice test questions and a discrete-point test approach for essay test questions. Second, the content of the test included Arab and Indonesian culture and civilization, Muslim figures, language level, language rules, and sentence structure. Third, Arabic language test questions in UAMBN covered HOTS, MOTS, and LOTS questions. In the multiple-choice questions, 11 questions (27.5%) were included in the LOTS category, 10 questions (25%) in the MOTS category, and 19 questions (47.5%) in the HOTS category. Meanwhile, the essay questions, which presented 4 questions (80%) for the HOTS category and 1 question (20%) for the MOTS category, were considered less proportional. Overall, the format for the Arabic test in the UAMBN Madrasah Aliyah has been proportional because it has accommodated questions with the HOTS, MOTS, and LOTS categories.

Arabic language teaching evaluation process for non-native speakers

Teaching languages in general and teaching Arabic to non-native speakers, in particular, have had two attempts to create a standardized test to assess language proficiency in Arabic for non-native speakers. This research is a comparative and descriptive study of the reality of the achievement tests carried out by An-Najah National University in Palestine at the College of Arts, Department of Arabic Language Teaching Non-Native Speakers, as it has been the leading educational institution established in the State of Palestine for decades. The need for courses on preparing the correct tests for students comes through seminars or conferences or a direct meeting between the teacher and the authors of questions for the Arabic language test for speakers of other languages. The preparation of the exam requires a specific skill and knowledge of the circumstances of the learners and the variations between them so that questions can be with a challenging level with a low percentage, middle-level questions, and they are the most and simple questions to answer directly, these questions can be at the beginning of the exam to give a boost to the student who takes the exam.

Arabic Proficiency Test: An Analytical and Evaluation Study

The need for a standardized Arabic proficiency language test for speakers of other languages and/or even native speakers of Arabic still poses a challenge for specialists in Arabic applied linguistics and teachers of Arabic to speakers of other languages alike. Despite many attempts to produce such a standardized test over the past decades, yet they fall short of being satisfactory to be accepted as international tests like other international recognized and widely implemented language proficiency tests due to their many short comings. This study is twofold: first, it is an attempt to shed light on some of the Arabic language proficiency tests produced and implemented thus far such as the test produced by the American Association of Teachers of Arabic (AATA), the test produced by the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) and the test, with limited implementation,produced by the Arabic Linguistics Institute at King Saud University (ALI). The studypresents a thorough analysis pertaining to content and theoretical framework in light of standards for language proficiency tests. Second, the paper presents an empirical study on the results of 70 students from three language levels in the department of Language and Culture who were studying Arabic as a second Language and sat for the ALI test when experimenting on it. The variables examined were the number of languages they speak, the number of years they spent learning Arabic before joining the program and the level they were placed in according to the department own language test. The goalwas to see the impact of these variables on the four language skills; writing, reading, listening and speaking and whether their results in the proficiency test matches their placement by the department in the different language levels. Statistical results and discussions are based on SSPS. The study concludes with some pedagogical implications and recommendations. Keywords: Proficiency, Test, Standards, Standardized tests, Arabic for speakers of other languages.

TAHLÎL MULÂIMAH BUNÛD IKHTIBÂR AL-LUGHAH AL-‘ARABIYYAH AL-NIHÂÎ AL-WATHANÎ LI MANHAJ MUSTAWÂ AL-WAHDAH AL-TA’LÎMIYYAH (KTSP) WA TASHNÎF BLOOM AL-MU’ADDAL

This study aims to describe the suitability of Arabic language question item with educational unit level curriculum (KTSP) and Bloom’s taxonomy at the Final National Standard Madrasah (UAMBN) at Senior High School. This study used a qualitative approach with a descriptive type. Data was collected from exam documents on 2009/2010 and analysed using Krippendorff’s theory of content analysis . The findings of this study are (1) question items of Arabic language test of UAMBN academic year 2011/2012 for Senior High School level is suitable with Education Unit Level Curriculum in which the question items include: a) language element, and language skill (question items of reading and writing skills) that suitable with standard competency and basic competency. However, those question items are not including question items of phonetic and question items of listening and speaking skills. b) the suitable theme represented in each Standard Competency and Basic Competency from the first grade to third grade. (2) there is a correspondence between items of question that have met LOTS, MOTS and some HOTS.

Effect of iron deficiency anemia on language development in preschool Egyptian children

BackgroundIron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common nutritional deficiency primarily in developing countries. ObjectiveThis study evaluates the effect of IDA on language development in preschool children. MethodologyThe study is a multicenter, comparative cross-sectional study included 226 children between ages 4–6 years. The children were classified into two groups’ anemic (patients) and non anemic (controls) according to the hemoglobin level. All anemic children subjected to complete iron study including; Serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC), Serum ferritin level, to confirm the diagnosis of iron deficiency anemia. Cognitive assessment was done using the Arabic translation Stanford Binet intelligence scale, version four which comprised of four cognitive area scores; visual reasoning, verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and short-term memory. Measurement of IQ and mental age were calculated for each child. Language evaluation was done using the Arabic Language test. Receptive language quotient, expressive language quotient and total language quotient were calculated for each child. Results122 children were anemic and 90 were non-anemic with hemoglobin level 10.65 and 11.96 g/dL, respectively (P < 0.000). Anemic children had significantly lower serum ferritin (p < 0.0001), and serum iron (p < 0.0001) compared to the controls. Both groups were matched as regards age, sex, socioeconomic levels and parental educational level. No significant differences observed regarding IQ, mental age, receptive, expressive and total language quotients between anemic and non-anemic children. ConclusionsIDA does not seem to have an effect on language development in preschool Egyptian Children. Future large controlled studies with long follow-up time for the younger age group are needed to determine whether there are existent associations between IDA with language development.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids supplementation can improve specific language impairment in preschool children: a pilot study

BackgroundSpeech and language are one of the higher cognitive brain functions. Language delay is one of the major concerns of child health in Egypt. Speech therapy is the standard management in language delay.ObjectiveWe aimed to investigate the potential role of dietary supplementation with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in improving specific language impairment.Subjects and methodsA total of 220 children (ages 3–4) were included in this study at the Phonetics Department, Helwan School of Medicine, Egypt, during the period from 2015 to 2018. Children received comprehensive neurological examination and intelligence quotient (IQ) test to exclude the other causes of language delay. Language evaluation was performed using the Arabic language test. They either received family counseling, speech therapy (45 min; 3 times a week for 16 weeks), and PUFA supplementation 500 mg twice daily (group A) or only counseling and speech therapy (group B). Language quotient (LQ) was calculated before and after treatment.ResultsOur results show that LQ significantly improved in group A compared with group B (p < 0.004).ConclusionDietary supplementation with PUFA has a beneficial role in the management of specific language impairment along with speech therapy.

Adaptation to Arabic Language, Validity and Reliability Test of Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Patients

AbstractBackground: Carpal tunnel syndrome is a frequent cause of compression neuropathy. So, it is necessary to measure function and symptoms which are highly important to patients with carpal tunnel syndrome and have the most impact on quality of life.Aim of Study: To translate and test face validity, content validity, feasibility, internal consistency reliability and test retest reliability of Arabic-language version of Boston carpal tunnel questionnaire in carpal tunnel syndrome patients.Material and Methods: Fifty patients with carpal tunnel syndrome was recruited, 95 sheets (test and retest sheets) were filled out, two expert panels (each consists of ten experts) participated in this study. Forward translation, development of preliminary initially translated version, backward translation, and development of the pre-final version and testing of pre-final version by experts then testing of the final version on patients was done. Index of clarity, expert proportion of clearance, index of content validity, expert proportion of relevance, descriptive statistics, missed item index, Cronbach's alpha and Spearman's rank correlation coefficient were used for statistical analysis.Results: The study showed that scale index of clarity equals 87.14%, the mean proportion of clearance equals 87.14%, scale index of content validity equals 96.67%, the mean proportion of relevance equals 96.67%. The questionnaire items were filled by 95% in all sheets. The questionnaire needed less than 7 minutes to be filled. Cronbach's alpha equals 0.915 (0.877, 0.915) and all Spearman's correlations between test and retest results were statistically significant.Conclusion: Arabic-language version of Boston carpal tunnel questionnaire has face and content validity, feasibility and Internal consistency and test retest reliability enough in assessment of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Arabic Language Test in the Perspective of Competency-Based Curriculum for Students of Madrasah Aliyah Negeri 3 Malang

The purpose of this research is to describe the items of the final Arabic language test questions for students of the Government Islamic Secondary School 3 Malang in the light of the proficiency based curriculum (KBK). This research is the type of desk research on the descriptive analytical approach qualitative approach. The data sources in this research are in the form of Arabic language question documents for the final school exam in the curriculum based on proficiency. The data were collected in the manner of documents and interviews. The results of this research are in harmony between the items of the final Arabic language test questions for students of the Madrasah Aliyah 3 Malang in the academic year 2011/2012 with the curriculum on the basis of competence, which contains: Reading skill questions are also suited to normative and basic competence, although these items do not contain items of phonics questions in language questions and listening, speaking and writing items in language skills questions.

تقويم تعليم اللغة العربية

Evaluation is a very urgent part of the process of learning Arabic. In the relationship between evaluation and learning Arabic, i.e. can be known to what extent the success of the learning process and the learning objectives to be achieved. Therefore, every Arabic language teacher must have the knowledge and understanding of the criteria and principles for preparing an evaluation instrument for learning Arabic. In order for the test to have good quality, three criteria must be fulfilled, namely validity, reliability, and practicality. The Arabic language test room can be grouped into two: namely language element tests and language skills tests. Arabic tests can be grouped into various types of tests based on various characteristics of grouping. In preparing the Arabic language test, it is necessary to pay attention to the principles and guidelines for the preparation of the test so that the test questions prepared are guaranteed quality.

The Influence of Early versus Late Cochlear Implantation on the Language Outcomes of Egyptian Arabic Speaking Children with Congenital Bilateral Severe-Profound Sensory-Neural Hearing Loss

Introduction: Young children who experience severe-to-profound sensory-neural hearing loss (SNHL) face challenges in developing spoken language since they are unable to detect acoustic-phonetic cues which are essential for speech recognition.Aim: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of age at implantation on children's language development to detect whether early intervention with cochlear implantation in children with severe to profound SNHL results in better linguistic outcomes.Subjects and Methods: 60 children from the cochlear implant unit from the Kasr El Ainy hospital were recruited to participate in this cross sectional study. They suffered from congenital bilateral severe to profound sensori-neural hearing loss since birth. They all had unilateral cochlear implant. Their ages ranged from 2 - 7 years old, 30 of them received cochlear implant prior to 5 years of age and the other 30 children received cochlear implant after 5 years of age. They all underwent formal language assessments.Results: Comparison between group I & group II in receptive, expressive and total language ages obtained by the Arabic Language Test with & without visual cues showed a significant difference between group I (early) and group II(late).

MINAT LULUSAN S1 PENDIDIKAN BAHASA ARAB PTKI LAMPUNG TERHADAP LANJUT STUDI S2 PBA PASCASARJAN

Cost readiness is a picture of a good economic situation. The family's economic situation is closely related to children's learning. This, in line with the opinion of Slameto, states that children who are learning must meet their basic needs for learning facilities. The learning facilities can only be fulfilled if the family has enough money. That means, a person's economic situation will influence his choice of education to carry out further studies. Universities should observe income trends, personal savings, and banks as services to help finance education. This will affect the number of prospective students who will carry out further studies and can take steps to redesign, reposition, and reassign the work program quickly. Therefore, according to Slameto that the family economy is related to children who will study further, because learning facilities can only be fulfilled if the family has enough money. Language readiness is the second supporter besides cost readiness. Therefore, to enter Postgraduate, there are Arabic and English language test requirements, in addition to the TPA test and knowledge about the subject matter. This was stated in the SOP of the IAIN Metro Postgraduate New Student Registration. Support from parents or family is very important. This is according to Slameto's opinion that the Family is the first and foremost educational institution. Family that is very big means for education in small size, but it is to determine education in large measure, namely the education of the nation. Or in other words that the family can greatly influence the future study of prospective graduate students. The desire factor to improve knowledge and worship is one of the motivations for further study. This is according to Slameto's opinion, that motivation is a psychological factor in a person. Someone has needs at a time. There are biological needs, which arise from forced circumstances such as hunger, thirst, or feeling uncomfortable. Other needs are psychological, arising from the need to be recognized, valued, or belonging.

Assessment of phonological awareness in children with delayed language development

Objective To study the relationship between language disorders in children and phonological awareness (PA) to identify children with reading difficulties as early as possible. Background PA is an important determiner of success in learning to read and spell. Early speech and early language difficulties are considered to be risk factors associated with future reading difficulties. Children with language difficulties are particularly at risk for poor literacy outcomes. Patients and methods Fifty cases (aged from 5 to 8 years) with delayed language development of average intelligence quotient participated in our study at Phoniatrics unit outpatient clinic in Menoufia University Hospital, from March 2015 to March 2016. They were divided into three groups (A, B, and C) and assessed by Arabic Phonological Awareness Test and Standardized Arabic Language Test. The results of cases were compared with the results of 50 controls matched for age and sex. Moreover, the results of the PA test were correlated with the results of standardized Arabic language test. Results By comparing the performance of PA skills for cases and control in the three age groups, there were significant differences in all skills (P Conclusion Children with specific language impairments require specific therapy that includes explicit focus on PA and letter identification.

Simulasi Penerapan Teori Respon Butir dalam Perakitan Perangkat Tes Bahasa Arab di Prodi Pendidikan Bahasa Arab Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta

Penerapan teori respon butir dalam perakitan perangkat tes bahasa Arab yang dilakukan di Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Arab, Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa, Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. Teori ini akan diterapkan dalam pemilihan soal ujian akhir bagi mahasiswa PBA pengambil mata kuliah Al-Qawaid An-Nahwiyyah. Item soal yang digunakan dalam ujian ini bersifat dikotomus, dengan banyak soal 250 butir, untuk kemudian disaring dan hanya diambil beberapa soal saja, melihat pada tingkat kemampuan mahasiswa pada angkatan yang ditentukan. IRT digunakan untuk mendefinisikan sifat atau kemampuan skala yang mendasari di mana pertumbuhan akan diukur. Model item yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah model item dikotomus. Hasil dari simulasi penerapan teori respon butir dalam perakitan perangkat tes bahasa Arab di prodi Pendidikan Bahasa Arab Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta dari bank soal yang disediakan dengan jumlah butir soal 250, diperoleh 4 butir soal yang sesuai dengan target yang diharapkan.

Investigating the psychometric properties of the Qiyas for L1 Arabic language test using a Rasch measurement framework

BackgroundThis study investigated the psychometric properties of the recently developed Qiyas for L1 Arabic language test using a Rasch measurement framework.MethodsResponses from 271 examinees were analyzed in this study. The test is hypothesized to involve one dominant factor that assesses four skills: reading comprehension, rhetorical expression, structure, and writing accuracy.ResultsFit statistics and reliability analysis, principal component analysis of Rasch residuals, and the results of differential item functioning supported the hypothesized structure of the Qiyas for L1 Arabic language test. However, the results of a person-item map analysis suggested that the content aspect validity of the Qiyas for L1 Arabic language test lacked representation to some extent.ConclusionThe initial findings of the Rasch analysis indicated that the Qiyas for L1 Arabic language test maintains satisfactory psychometric properties. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution given the limitations of the sample population used. Continued investigation of the psychometric proprieties of the test is necessary to ensure its appropriate use as a tool of assessment for modern Arabic language.

Development and Standardization of a Test for Pragmatic Language Skills in Egyptian Arabic: The Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test (EAPLT)

Objective: The aim of this study was to standardize an Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test (EAPLT) using linguistically and socially suitable questions and pictures in order to be able to address specific deficits in this language domain. Participants and Methods: Questions and pictures were designed for the EAPLT to assess 3 pragmatic language subsets: pragmatic skills, functions, and factors. Ten expert phoniatricians were asked to review the EAPLT and complete a questionnaire to assess the validity of the test items. The EAPLT was applied in 120 typically developing Arabic-speaking Egyptian children (64 females and 56 males) randomly selected by inclusion and exclusion criteria in the age range between 2 years, 1 month, 1 day and 9 years, 12 months, 31 days. Children’s scores were used to calculate the means and standard deviations and the 5th and 95th percentiles to determine the age of the pragmatic skills acquisition. Results: All experts have mostly agreed that the EAPLT gives a general idea about children’s pragmatic language development. Test-retest reliability analysis proved the high reliability and internal consistency of the EAPLT subsets. A statistically significant correlation was found between the test subsets and age. Conclusion: The EAPLT is a valid and reliable Egyptian Arabic test that can be applied in order to detect a pragmatic language delay.

Correlation between stuttering severity and pragmatic development in Egyptian children who stutter

BackgroundFew studies have been carried out concerning the relation between stuttering behaviors and language pragmatics in children who stutter (CWS). The correlation between stuttering severity and pragmatic development in CWS is scarce in the literature so far.AimThis research aimed to study the relationship between stuttering severity and pragmatic language development in the Egyptian Arabic-speaking CWS.Patients and methodsThis study is an analytical cross-sectional study carried out at the Phoniatrics Clinics of El-Demerdash Hospital (Ain Shams University) and El-Zahraa Hospital (Al Azhar University). A total of 60 Egyptian CWS in the age range between 4 years 1 day and 9 years 11 months 31 days were selected conveniently based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Selected children underwent the Ain Shams assessment protocol for fluency disorders, including assessment of stuttering severity by Bloodstein (BLS) classification and the Stuttering Severity Instrument for Children and Adults – Arabic version (ASSI). The standardized Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test has been used to assess the pragmatic language development.Pearson’s correlation coefficient has been used to correlate the total pragmatic language age and degree of stuttering severity by BLS classification and the ASSI.ResultsUpon application of the Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test, all the participating children had no pragmatic language delay. They had scores either at and/or above their fifth percentiles in all the test items except in the paralinguistic aspect. There was no statistically significant correlation between grades of BLS classification or ASSI and the total pragmatic language age.ConclusionCWS had no pragmatic language delay except in the paralinguistic aspects.

Auditory short-term memory in children with cochlear implant

Abstract The aim of this study was to assess short-term auditory memory in children with cochlear implant and to assess the possible correlation of their language ages with their memory scores to consider memory training during rehabilitation program for cochlear-implanted patients. Sixty-one Egyptian children were included in this study. Thirty prelingual deaf children implanted with the nucleus multichannel cochlear implant were included. Their ages at the time of implantation ranged from 4 years to 4 years 11 months. All of the children had normal intellectual abilities. All cases were selected from Wadi El Neel Hospital where they received their aural-oral rehabilitation program for 1 year. A total of 31 normal children of matched sex and age were selected as a control group. A battery of auditory short-term memory assessments for Arabic-speaking children were applied to all children. An Arabic language test was also applied. A significant defect in short-term auditory memory in cochlear-implanted children as compared with controls was proven. A positive correlation between short-term auditory memory and their language ages was found. The study revealed defective short-term auditory memory in cochlear-implanted children. This defect is more evident in cochlear-implanted children with poor language skills.

Outcome of Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder after Cochlear Implantation

Purpose: To record language and auditory skills development before and after cochlear implantation (CI) in children with Auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD), and to determine the outcome after cochlear implant in patients with ANSD in comparison to patients with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL). Materials and methods: Cases Included in this study were divided into two groups. Group I: includes, 13 children diagnosed with ANSD, of them 7 cases were subjected to CI. Group II: includes, 20 cases of SNHL, of them 10 patients were subjected to cochlear implant. For all cases language therapy was given regularly for 6 months pre-operatively and 6 months post-operatively. Auditory Skills Checklist (ASC) and The Arabic language test (receptive, expressive and total language Quotients) were used to monitor the progress concerning auditory skills and language development. Results: There was significant improvement in SNHL group and ANSD group after cochlear implantation regarding auditory skills (AS) and language development and almost the same outcome was obtained in both groups. Conclusion: Cases with ANSD improved markedly after cochlear implantation and No differences were noticed in outcome between SNHL & ANSD groups.

Grammatical comprehension in developmental semantic-pragmatic disorder

This is a clinical case study of 105 children; 35 children demonstrated ‘semantic-pragmatic’ type of specific language impairment, 35 children presented with delayed language development due to mental retardation, and 35 children with normal language development. In contrast to the disturbances of linguistic form that characterize the most frequently reported type of specific language impairment, the semantic-pragmatic disorder is characterized mostly by ‘inappropriate’ language use. A cognitive explanation has been proposed, which accounts for all instances of inappropriate language thus far studied in this population. An expressive linguistic explanation has also been proposed, which accounts for some instances of inappropriate language. This study investigates the possibility that a receptive linguistic explanation can account for inappropriate responses to questions. A linguistic explanation with receptive and expressive components could account for some of the semantic-pragmatic behaviors previously accounted for by the cognitive explanation. To test this proposal, the linguistic profiles of all children were examined using the Arabic language test. The results indicate that grammatical comprehension was impaired in about 45.7% of the children examined. Therefore, instances of inappropriate language use that appear to express disordered concepts may reflect receptive linguistic deficits instead.