Arabic Speaking Skills Development through the Direct Method among New Santri in an Islamic Boarding School

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of the Direct Method (Thariqah Mubasyarah) in improving the Arabic speaking skills of new santri at Mambaus Sholihin Islamic Boarding School. A quantitative quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent pretest-posttest control group was employed. Sixty-four new santri were involved and divided into an experimental group (n = 32) and a control group (n = 32). The experimental group received sixteen Direct Method sessions over eight weeks, emphasizing Arabic-only classroom interaction, question-and-answer exchanges, demonstration, guided dialogue, vocabulary contextualization, and intensive oral practice, while the control group received conventional instruction. Speaking performance was assessed using an analytic rubric covering pronunciation, vocabulary, fluency, grammatical accuracy, and comprehension. The groups showed comparable pretest scores (M = 55.90 vs. 54.26; p = 0.396). After treatment, the experimental group achieved a higher posttest mean (M = 76.08, SD = 10.77) than the control group (M = 66.13, SD = 8.32). The mean gain difference was statistically significant, t(62) = 5.15, p < 0.001, with a large effect size (Cohen's d = 1.29). The findings indicate that the Direct Method was effective for accelerating the oral development of beginner santri, particularly through immediate target-language exposure, repeated interaction, and contextualized speaking practice. The study recommends integrating the Direct Method with sustained bi'ah lughawiyah and structured formative speaking assessment.