Analisis Kesulitan Belajar Bahasa Arab pada Pemula dan Solusinya dalam Perspektif Cognitive Load Theory

Abstract

Initial difficulties faced by novice learners in mastering Arabic are frequently misidentified as intellectual limitations; in reality, this condition stems from instructional designs that exceed the students' cognitive capacity. This study aims to investigate the primary causes of students' cognitive overload when learning Arabic, while offering lighter teaching solutions based on Cognitive Load Theory. This study adopts a qualitative approach through a library research design, utilizing content analysis on books and journal articles published from 2019 to 2026. The results reveal two main barriers in the classroom. First, intrinsic barriers originating from the Arabic language itself, such as dynamically changing visual letter shapes and the demand to process word morphological variations (sharf) and sentence final-sound rules (i'rab) simultaneously. Second, extrinsic barriers arising from inappropriate teaching designs, including overextended one-way lectures, text-dense presentation slides, and the requirement to memorize numerous words detached from meaningful context. To address these issues, this study proposes a more brain-friendly teaching redesign, which includes breaking down complex topics into smaller segments, providing step-by-step worked examples, balancing explanations through combined audio and visual channels, and connecting lessons with students' daily prayers. The findings emphasize that the key to successfully teaching Arabic to beginners is not to dilute its authentic rules, but to restructure the delivery methods so that the students' working memory does not quickly experience fatigue.