Arabic Reading Difficulties and Pedagogical Interventions Among Elementary School Students: A Field Case Study

Abstract

This study investigates difficulties in Arabic text reading skills among elementary school students and the practical instructional contexts of these difficulties. Although the literature diagnosing reading barriers is extensive, most of it has remained confined to one-dimensional, surface-level descriptions of phonetic problems or the identification of inhibiting factors without examining the roots of the cognitive disconnect between pronunciation fluency and depth of comprehension, with few procedural models and remedial solutions suitable for young learners in the Indonesian context. To explore this phenomenon, the study employed a descriptive method with a qualitative approach through a field-based case study design at Permata Sunnah Elementary School in Sidoarjo, using purposive sampling of fifth-grade lessons and triangulation of data collection instruments through silent observation, diagnostic reading tests, and semi-structured interviews with the teacher and students, with the data analyzed using the interactive analysis model. The findings revealed that students’ difficulties manifested in two main patterns: difficulties in decoding visual and phonetic symbols arising from confusion over visual forms and interference from devotional tajwid habits (overapplication of tajwid), and deficient semantic comprehension associated with limited vocabulary and a lack of morphological awareness of word roots, while interventions using colored cards, simplified conjugation tables, and interactive games contributed to stimulating language processing. The study concludes that the reading crisis is not a deficiency in pronunciation but a cognitive disconnect resulting from the predominance of rote instruction and interference between foundational Qur’anic instruction and communicative texts, and that this disconnect was successfully addressed through interactive connections between form and meaning. The educational implications highlight the need to reorient teacher training toward consciously separating the recitation mode from functional reading and to redesign elementary reading curricula by integrating visual activities involving morphology and comprehension strategies grounded in the communicative approach.