FROM NEEDS TO DESIGN: STUDENTS’ READINESS FOR AUGMENTED REALITY IN CEFR A1 ARABIC LEARNING

Abstract

Listening skills are fundamental in language acquisition. Based on previous research findings, several challenges have been identified in mastering listening skills, thus highlighting the need for innovative approaches. Therefore, this study aims to examine students’ readiness and design requirements for the integration of augmented reality (AR) in learning Arabic listening skills at the CEFR A1 level. This study employed a quantitative research design using a questionnaire distributed to 261 students from the Social Sciences cluster at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam, who were taking Arabic as a third language. Purposive sampling was used to select the respondents. The data were analysed using SPSS version 29 to obtain mean scores, standard deviations, and percentages. The findings indicate that students demonstrate a high level of readiness towards the use of AR, particularly in terms of interest in multimedia integration and willingness to engage in interactive learning environments. In addition, the study identified key design requirements, including multimodal content integration, user-friendly interface design, and alignment with CEFR A1 proficiency level. The study concludes that the successful integration of AR in Arabic listening learning is not solely dependent on technological availability but is also influenced by students’ readiness and pedagogically grounded design. These findings contribute to the development of needs-driven AR-based learning applications in foreign language education.