Developing Arabic Listening Comprehension through a YouTube-Based Active Listening Model : A Design-Based Study in Postgraduate Arabic Language Education

Ach. Tabrani; Rizal Firdaus; Lalu Agus Pujiartha; Achmad Zuhrudin; Shakhzod Akhmedov; Badar Al Mamari

doi:10.31000/0wmm5b25

Authors

Ach. Tabrani Institut Muslim Cendekia
Rizal Firdaus Institut Muslim Cendekia
Lalu Agus Pujiartha Institut Muslim Cendekia
Achmad Zuhrudin Walisongo State Islamic University
Shakhzod Akhmedov Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages
Badar Al Mamari Sultan Qaboos Institute, Oman

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31000/0wmm5b25

Keywords:

Listening comprehension, Active listening, YouTube

Abstract

This study aims to design and preliminarily implement a YouTube-based active listening model to improve Arabic listening comprehension among postgraduate students. The study employed a Design-Based Research (DBR) approach through two iterative design cycles involving analysis, design, implementation, evaluation, and redesign in the context of postgraduate Arabic language education. The participants were ten students from Institut Insan Cendekia in Sukabumi, Indonesia, enrolled in a course on the application of technology in Arabic language teaching. The model was structured around six interconnected actions—listen, predict, verify, listen again, reconstruct meaning, and reflect embedded within a nine-stage instructional sequence. Each listening cycle was organized around a specific purpose that guided learners from global comprehension to analytical processing and metacognitive reflection.

The study employed authentic or semi-authentic YouTube materials. The instructional intervention was conducted over eight weeks, comprising sixteen sessions of 90 minutes each. Arabic listening comprehension was assessed using a 20-item multiple-choice test. Content validity was established through expert judgment, while reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha. Data were collected through pre- and post-tests, classroom observations, learner responses, and reflective evidence. The mean listening comprehension score increased from 62 on the pre-test to 86 on the post-test, representing an absolute gain of 24 points and a relative improvement of 38.71%. The normalized gain (N-gain) was approximately 0.63, indicating a moderate level of improvement. This finding is interpreted as a preliminary indicator of learning improvement rather than inferential evidence of causal effectiveness or generalizability, given the small sample size and the absence of individual-level dispersion data. The study contributes a practical framework for integrating YouTube into Arabic listening instruction through active listening, metacognitive strategies, purposeful repeated listening, and meaning reconstruction.

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