Challenges in learning Arabic poetry and prose among Malay students: a descriptive analytical study in Arabic as a foreign language

Arabic poetry and prose occupy a central position in Arabic language and literature programmes, serving as key vehicles for linguistic development, cultural transmission, and aesthetic appreciation. However, for non-native learners of Arabic, particularly Malay students in Malaysian higher education institutions, literary texts often represent a significant pedagogical challenge. While previous research on Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL) has focused largely on grammar, vocabulary, and communicative competence, comparatively limited attention has been given to learners’ engagement with Arabic literary genres. This study addresses that gap by examining the challenges faced by Malay students in learning Arabic poetry and prose. Adopting a qualitative descriptive-analytical approach, the study draws on semi-structured interviews and classroom observations to explore students’ and instructors’ experiences in an Arabic language and literature programme. The findings reveal that students’ difficulties are multidimensional, encompassing linguistic complexity, limited cultural and historical knowledge, and pedagogical practices that insufficiently scaffold literary interpretation. The study further demonstrates that these challenges vary according to learners’ proficiency levels and stages of literary development. In particular, challenges related to figurative language, rhetorical devices, and culturally embedded meanings hinder students’ progression from surface comprehension to analytical literary engagement. The study argues that effective Arabic literature pedagogy for non-native speakers requires an integrated approach that combines linguistic support, cultural contextualisation, and learner-centred instructional strategies. By explicitly foregrounding learner experience, this research contributes an empirically grounded perspective to AFL literary pedagogy and offers pedagogical implications for non-Arab contexts.