Gender-Based Utilization of Indirect Language Learning Strategies Among Non-Native Arabic Speakers at a Malaysian Public University

This quantitative study aims to investigate the indirect language learning strategies among non-native Arabic speakers employed by 116 Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) students who have enrolled in the Arabic Language course for one semester in the year 2022. Data collection for this study utilized the Strategies Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) questionnaire, developed by Oxford in 1990. Descriptive statistics were employed to discern the preferred prevailing indirect language learning strategies favoured by male and female students in the Arabic Language course. Additionally, the independent sample t-test was applied to scrutinise potential significant differences in the utilization of indirect learning strategies between male and female learners. The study’s findings underscore the prevalence of metacognitive strategies as the predominant learning approach among these students, with affective strategies and social strategies following closely in popularity. Furthermore, the mean scores for indirect learning strategy variables among both male and female learners suggest that there are no noteworthy distinctions in the application of metacognitive, cognitive, and social learning strategies during their Arabic language learning journey. Hence, the study recommends that social learning strategies can be considered as part of improving the Arabic learning language process.