APPLICATION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN TEACHING OF ARABIC LANGUAGE: A QUALITATIVE EXPLORATION OF OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

This study investigates the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in teaching and learning Arabic language, exploring its benefits and challenges faced in the adoption process. We adopted qualitative study and purposive sampling was to select six Arabic/Islamic schools distributed across Ilorin Metropolis. The researchers selected three Arabic teachers per school, making a total of 18 teachers. We used the same selection process to select students who voluntarily participated in the study, have a total of 18 students. Semi-structured interview was used for data collection. The interview questions were validated by two independent experts in the field of Arabic Language through contents validity to ensure accuracy and consistency. Our study adhered to all ethical considerations guiding the ethics of research. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data via NVivo 14. We found that technical and poor accessibility barriers were widely reported, with teachers noting unstable internet, limited device availability, and lack of institutional infrastructure. This study concludes that artificial intelligence plays an increasingly significant role in the teaching and learning of Arabic, offering meaningful opportunities while presenting notable challenges. AI tools enhance engagement, personalize learning, and support language acquisition through instant feedback, pronunciation assistance, and adaptive vocabulary development. Our study calls strengthening teacher training, developing Arabic-specific AI policy, and improving infrastructure for effective AI integration.