The Role of Audio-Visual Tools in Enhancing Secondary School Students’ Proficiency in Arabic Reading

This study examines the role of audio-visual tools in enhancing Arabic reading proficiency among secondary school students. Traditional reading instruction often struggles to sustain student interest, while technology-based approaches are believed to activate multiple senses and foster more interactive learning. Adopting a quantitative survey design, data were collected from 92 Form Two students in a state-funded Islamic secondary school in Perak, Malaysia. A structured nine-item Likert-scale questionnaire, validated by experts and demonstrating excellent reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.989), was used to capture students’ perceptions. Descriptive analysis using SPSS revealed highly positive evaluations, with mean scores ranging from 3.95 to 4.22. Audio-visual tools were found to increase motivation, engagement, and diligence, while also improving comprehension, pronunciation accuracy, and memory retention. These findings align with global evidence that multimedia materials are effective in supporting 21st-century learning. From a pedagogical perspective, the results highlight the need for systematic integration of audio-visual tools into Arabic reading instruction, supported by teacher training and institutional infrastructure. However, the study was limited to one school and did not include a control group, which restricts the generalizability and causal strength of the findings. Future research should employ experimental or longitudinal designs, include multiple schools, and explore the impact of audio-visual tools on other language skills such as writing and speaking. Overall, this study contributes to the growing discourse on technology-based pedagogy by demonstrating the potential of audio-visual resources to improve Arabic reading instruction at the secondary school level.