Difficulties and Causes in Understanding Unvowelized Arabic Texts Selected from Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām among First- and Second-Level Students at Ar-Raayah University صعوبات فهم النصوص العربية غير المشكولة المختارة من كتاب توضيح الأحكام وأسبابها لدى طلاب المستوى الأول والثاني بجامعة الراية
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Abstract
This study aims to identify the difficulties experienced by first- and second-level students at Institute Muslim Cendekia in understanding unvowelized Arabic texts selected from Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām, to explain their causes, and to formulate relevant instructional solutions. The research employed a descriptive-analytical method involving 20 students selected purposively. Data were collected through a multiple-choice reading comprehension test, a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire, and semi-structured interviews. The findings show that students could generally understand direct meanings, but they struggled with items requiring deeper syntactic analysis, identification of word functions, and interpretation of relations between sentences. The tenth test item was the most difficult, with only 30% correct answers. Questionnaire data indicate that the dominant factor was lack of regular reading practice, with a mean of 4.30 or 86%, followed by the need for additional teacher explanation at 4.05 or 81%, limited vocabulary at 3.75 or 75%, and weak concentration at 3.70 or 74%. The study recommends functional grammar instruction, gradual exposure to authentic unvowelized texts, thematic vocabulary enrichment, and explicit reading-strategy training.reading comprehension; unvowelized Arabic texts; Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām
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