Analyzing Active Tasks in Jordanian Primary Arabic Textbooks: Teaching Strategies and Skill Development Implications

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the active tasks incorporated in Arabic language
books for primary school students in Jordan. The focus was on the content,
questions, and tasks within the books. A rubric consisting of 34 tasks and
applications was used for data collection By utilizing a descriptive analytical
approach, content analysis was executed using sentences and paragraphs as units
of analysis. The results demonstrate that Arabic language books for 4th, 5th, and
6th-grade students contain 28 linguistic tasks and questions. Of these, 14 tasks are
found within the paragraphs of the text, with a concentration rate of less than 1%.
Meanwhile, 18 tasks are located within the questions, with a concentration rate of
less than 3%. Conversation, dialogue, and description were identified as the most
common types of tasks. It was also observed that there is a similarity between the
paragraphs of the text and its questions concerning the total number of repetitions.
The findings of this study bear significant implications for enhancing the
development of active tasks in classrooms. They provide valuable insights for
educational decision-makers about the quality of tasks within Arabic language
books for primary students. Moreover, they pave the way for improving student
skills in critical reading, creative writing, dialogue communication, reading, and
drawing by promoting interactive teaching strategies that cater to the
developmental needs of students. As a result, the study proposes several
recommendations for enhancing these active tasks.