Indonesian university study links contextual Kotobee multimedia to higher Arabic-learning interest, with limited generalizability

A six-week quasi-experimental study at UIN Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta found that Arabic students using interactive multimedia developed with Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) principles on the Kotobee platform showed a greater increase in reported learning interest than students receiving conventional instruction. The study involved 50 students from two intact classes at the institution’s Language Development Center, including 24 in the experimental group and 26 in the control group.

The researchers developed the multimedia through a research and development process using the ADDIE model: Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation. Needs analysis included preliminary observations and semi-structured interviews with students and lecturers. Reported problems included low motivation, difficulty understanding abstract grammatical structures, limited vocabulary mastery and weak engagement with conventional learning media. The needs analysis also found that 75% of students were dissatisfied with the instructional media then in use.

CTL provided the product’s pedagogical foundation. Its stated principles include constructivism, inquiry, modeling, learning community, reflection and authentic assessment, with instructional content connected to meaningful contexts. Previous studies cited by the researchers associated CTL with participation, communication skills and motivation, but most prior implementations were confined to conventional classrooms or low-technology materials. The new project sought to integrate those principles with a digital, interactive environment specifically designed for university-level Arabic instruction.

Kotobee, an interactive authoring platform developed by the Cairo-based company Vijua, was used to embed contextual reading texts, pronunciation audio, videos, vocabulary exercises, annotations, navigation tools and interactive quizzes. Exercises included multiple-choice, true-or-false, drag-and-drop and short-answer formats. Students could submit answers, view scores and incorrect responses, and clear answers to rework questions. Campus-related scenarios, including self-introduction and daily communication, were incorporated to place Arabic in situations relevant to students’ experience.

Because random assignment was not feasible in the institution’s regular Arabic program, the researchers used a non-equivalent control-group design. Both groups were taught by the same instructor, and learning objectives and content were standardized. The intervention lasted six weeks, with two instructional sessions of approximately 200 minutes each per week. The experimental group used the CTL-based Kotobee multimedia, while the control group received conventional instruction through printed materials, lectures and translation exercises. Classroom observations were used to monitor adherence to the planned procedures.

The main quantitative instrument was a 30-item learning-interest questionnaire covering attention, participation and willingness to engage in Arabic learning. Items used a five-point Likert scale and were reviewed by three specialists in Arabic education and educational technology. Retained item correlations ranged from 0.412 to 0.789, and the questionnaire had a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.87. Pretest scores did not differ significantly between the groups, with an independent-samples t-test yielding t(48) = 0.35 and p = 0.725.

Posttest scores were not normally distributed, so the researchers used a Mann–Whitney U test. The groups differed significantly after the intervention, with U = 95.0 and p < 0.001. The reported rank-biserial correlation was 0.70, described as a large effect, while the Hodges–Lehmann 95% confidence interval for the median difference was 8.5 to 14.2 points. N-Gain analysis placed the experimental group’s increase in the effective category and the control group’s in the ineffective category; the abstract reports respective increases of 76.64% and 41.26% in learning interest.

Experts rated the multimedia as “very feasible.” Two media experts evaluated display quality, interactivity and practicality, while one material expert assessed content and exercise quality using five-point rubrics converted to percentages. All four dimensions received ratings above 90%. The findings support the product’s technical usability and instructional suitability, but this was an expert assessment rather than a formal evaluation of student usability. The authors say informal classroom feedback, rather than a standardized end-user instrument, informed subsequent product refinement.

The results are preliminary because the study occurred at one institution, used a convenience sample of 50 students from two classes, and lasted six weeks. The design cannot establish whether the observed effect was caused solely by the digital format, the CTL design, their combination, or other classroom differences, and the short period did not allow assessment of long-term retention or proficiency development. Future studies would need to examine other institutions, learner populations, language skills and platforms, as well as use standardized student usability measures. Within those limits, the study provides evidence that a pedagogically integrated Kotobee product was associated with higher Arabic-learning interest among the participating Indonesian university students.

Subject of Research: A quasi-experimental evaluation of CTL-based Kotobee multimedia for Arabic-language learning among 50 Indonesian university students.

Article Title: Interactive multimedia for Arabic language learning based on contextual teaching and learning using Kotobee

Article References: Shodiq, M. J., & Siregar, A. F. (2026). Interactive multimedia for Arabic language learning based on contextual teaching and learning using Kotobee. Discover Education, 5(1), Article 928. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-026-02073-w

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44217-026-02073-w

Keywords: Arabic language learning, interactive multimedia, Kotobee, Contextual Teaching and Learning, learning interest, higher education, Indonesia, quasi-experiment, Interactive, multimedia, Arabic, language