Motivational Barriers Faced by Low-Motivated Imam-Hatip Middle School Students Toward Learning Arabic

The development of affective characteristics is crucial for learning foreign languages. Among these affective characteristics is motivation, which guarantees a student's interest in the language of instruction and their constant endeavor to acquire it. The main motor for starting and continuing learning a foreign language is motivation. Given its significance, this study aims to identify the motivational barriers that low-motivated students at Imam Hatip middle schools encounter when attempting to acquire Arabic as a foreign language and to provide recommendations for overcoming these barriers. An explanatory sequential mixed research model was used in the study. Students at Imam Hatip middle schools were asked to complete the "Motivation Scale for Learning Arabic" to determine their motivation levels for learning the language and to identify those who lacked it. A semi-structured interview was performed to identify the motivating barriers. The participants of the study were 34 students with “negative” and “very negative” motivation out of 434 students who filled out the scale and 9 Arabic teachers who taught these students. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that students encountered a total of 14 different motivational barriers under internal and external factors. Students' most frequent internal motivational challenges include aimlessness, low self-efficacy beliefs, difficulty in language skills, negative attitudes toward the course and language, and difficulty in cognitive perception. These findings are largely consistent with similar studies in the literature.