INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 9, ISSUE 08, AUGUST 2020 ISSN 2277-8616 496 IJSTR©2020 www.ijstr.org Developing Strategic Reading Skills Among University Students Of Arabic As A Foreign Language In Malaysia Nurazan Mohmad Rouyan, Isyaku Hassan, Nik Hanan Mustapha, Nik Farhan Mustapha, Mohd Nazri Latiff Azmi Abstract: Many learners of Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL) in Malaysia lack the necessary skills and strategies to comprehend Arabic texts. It is important, thus, for Malaysian AFL learners to know how to read skilfully and to be able to deal with an Arabic text independently. Therefore, this study aims to explore the Malaysian AFL learners‘ major problems in reading Arabic texts and determine the appropriate set of design principles for effective strategic reading. The study employed a qualitative approach in which semi-structured interviews were conducted. The problems of AFL learners in reading were examined from a teaching perspective. The interview participants consist of a purposively selected sample of five Arabic language experts from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). The study found that the AFL learners‘ approach towards Arabic reading is similar to those described in the previous studies as poor comprehension and lack of reading skills. Based on these findings, design principles for effective strategic reading were developed. These design principles represent a significant contribution to the development of Arabic reading, particularly in the Malaysian context. Index Terms :Arabic, foreign language, design principles, Malaysia, reading skills, strategic reading, university students. ——————————  —————————— 1. INTRODUCTION Improving reading instruction in the AFL context is recognized as one of the serious concerns of instructors in the teaching and learning of Arabic language (Brustad, 2006). Research shows that reading ability is more important compared to other language skills (Ryding & Johnson, 2003; Krashen, 2004; Alfassi, 2004). Thus, accomplishing the reading ability is paramount as reading provides language learners with a solid background to develop language proficiency (Ṭu c aymah, 1989; Krashen, 2004). Reading is also seen as the source of language learners‘ vocabulary development, spelling competency, writing ability, as well as syntactic knowledge (Krashen, 2000). Extensive and skilful reading in a foreign language could help learners to develop proficiency of the target language (Krashen, 2000; Grabe, 2009). More emphasis is placed on the improvement of learners‘ reading abilities compared to other language skills (Ryding & Johnson, 2003; Kadah, 2005). Despite the significance of reading ability in the Arabic language learning, previous studies revealed that most AFL learners have negative attitudes toward Arabic reading (Mustapha, Mustapha, & Chik, 2006; Mohd Noor, 2009), low level of Arabic reading comprehension (Abdul Malek, 1996; Abdul Sattar, 2000; Abdullah, 2006), and poor reading comprehension (Hussin, 2003; Mustapha, Mustapha, & Daud, 2009; Mustapha, 2011). Although these studies were carried out in particular contexts that limit the findings to be generalized, they still offer important insights into the notion that many AFL learners in Malaysia have poor reading performance. Therefore, the achievement of reading abilities represents an important aspect of language proficiency, particularly for students of Islamic studies. Skilful reading of Arabic text is, therefore, paramount among AFL learners in Malaysia. A few studies were conducted to determine the level of comprehension among AFL learners (e.g., Abdul Malek, 1996; Abdul Sattar, 2000; Abdullah, 2006; Mustapha, 2011; Musa, Ahmad, & Embi, 1999; Sweedan, 2004). Most of these studies demonstrate that the teaching reading in the Arabic classroom has not focused on the improvement of the necessary reading abilities and strategies. It has been established that lessons in the AFL classroom ―reflect a primary focus on grammar as the bedrock for developing proficiency in Arabic‖ (Al -Batal, 2006, p. 332). Instructors of Arabic language often devote most of their time interpreting texts instead of the teaching the reading abilities and skills. These practices demonstrate that less consideration is given to the aspects of strategic reading and comprehension. Since many AFL learners have spent years of education without acquiring the basic skills for reading comprehension, researchers have suggested that there is a need for teachers of Arabic language to design and implement operational methods of instruction in the teaching of Arabic reading (Rouyan, Ahmed, Mustapha, & Abu Bakar, 2009; Rouyan, Ahmed, Ahmad, Zainuddin, & Abu Bakar, 2010). There is an inadequacy of research focusing on the AFL learners‘ reading abilities (Alosh, 1997; Brustad, 2006), and hence research on strategic reading in the Arabic classroom could be of great significance (Brustad, 2006). Instructors of Arabic language have not regarded the development of strategic reading as important, and therefore, many AFL learners do not possess the basic skills and strategies for the comprehension of Arabic texts (Hussin, 2003; Mustapha et al., 2009; Mustapha, 2011). The traditional approach employed by teachers has, perhaps, influence the students to become passive readers who lack the necessary abilities to read Arabic texts for comprehension. To address the abovementioned problems, this study aims to develop appropriate design ————————————————  Nurazan Mohmad Rouyan is currently a Senior Lecturer of Arabic Language in the Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin. Corresponding author: nurazan@gmail.com  Isyaku Hassan is Currently a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin.  Nik Hanan Mustapha is currently an Associate Professor of Arabic Language in the Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences, International Islamic University, Malaysia.  Nik Farhan Mustapha is currently a Senior Lecturer of Arabic Language in the Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra, Malaysia.  Mohd Nazri Latiff Azmi is currently an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Languages and Communication, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia.