Definitely Foreign ... Absolutely Arabic The Difficulties Encountered by Foreigners Learning Arabic as a Foreign Language

Abstract

The study of phonological differences encountered by foreigners learning Arabic as a foreign language is crucial in understanding the complexities of language acquisition in a bilingual or multilingual context. Arabic, a Semitic Language, exhibits a distinct phonetic system characterised by emphatic, pharyngeal, and guttural sounds. This unique phonological system can lead to significant challenges, such as mispronunciation and difficulty in recognizing similar sounds. This research aims to examine the perception and production of consonant contrasts among non-native speakers of Arabic, and it investigates the different sounds that seem challenging for speakers of other languages, mainly native speakers of English and French. Through a triangulation method, interviews were conducted with teachers of Arabic to speakers of other languages in Turkey. NVIVO software was used to analyse the interviews’ transcripts. A questionnaire was designed for learners of Arabic as a foreign language in several institutions in Jordan, Egypt, and Turkey, besides a quasi-experiment held at the Department of Foreign Languages at Tahri Mohamed University Bechar. International students have been recorded, and their recordings were analyzed using PRAAT software. The findings revealed that AFL learners face difficulties producing pharyngeal and emphatic sounds with different levels of difficulty. This research contributes to the understanding of phonological challenges in learning Arabic as a foreign language. It offers practical recommendations for teachers and learners to enhance the learning and teaching process.