Student-Centered Arabic Teaching Materials in Internasional Undergraduate Programs: Empirical Evidence from UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta
Keywords:
student-centered learning; Arabic as a foreign language; teaching materials; international programs.Abstract
Student-centered learning (SCL) has been widely validated in foreign language education, yet empirical evidence from Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL), particularly in Islamic higher education contexts, remains limited. This study investigates how student-centered principles are embedded in Arabic teaching materials and examines their pedagogical impact in an international higher education program. Employing a mixed-methods classroom-based design, data were collected from 15 international students through pre- and post-tests, structured questionnaires, classroom observations, and semi-structured interviews with a purposive sub-sample of six students. Quantitative findings reveal statistically significant improvements in Arabic learning outcomes, alongside high levels of student engagement, autonomy, and collaboration. Qualitative evidence demonstrates that teaching materials functioned as mediational artifacts, structuring peer interaction and promoting active language use in multilingual classrooms. By foregrounding teaching materials as the primary vehicle of student-centered pedagogy, this study extends SCL research and repositions Islamic higher education as a globally relevant site of pedagogical innovation. The findings contribute to Arabic language education by offering empirically grounded insights into material design for international programs and by advancing a material-centered understanding of student-centered learning in applied linguistics.
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