Needs Analysis of Learners in Arabic for Developing Entrepreneurship Skills

تحليل حاجات الدارسين في اللغة العربية لأغراض تنمية مهارات ريادة الأعمال

Abstract

This study examines the needs of Economics and Muamalat students in learning Arabic to develop entrepreneurship skills, in response to the growing demand for the use of Arabic in professional and economic contexts. The research addresses the lack of specialized Arabic instructional units and teaching materials designed to develop entrepreneurship skills, which do not adequately meet learners' needs or the demands of the labour market. Accordingly, the study aims to analyse students' needs as a scientific basis for developing a specialized Arabic instructional unit in this field. The study adopted a quantitative descriptive research design and employed a questionnaire as the data collection instrument. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of ten students from the Faculty of Economics and Muamalat at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM). The instrument was developed based on Hutchinson and Waters' (1987) Needs Analysis Framework, which comprises three components: necessities, lacks, and wants. The findings revealed that although the students demonstrated an intermediate level of Arabic proficiency, they required further development of Arabic language competencies related to entrepreneurship, particularly in understanding entrepreneurial terminology, business communication, and professional writing. The findings also indicated a high level of interest in learning Arabic in the areas of marketing, digital business, and customer communication, reflecting a strong alignment between students' language needs and the requirements of their academic specialization. This study provides a scientific foundation for the development of an Arabic instructional unit for entrepreneurship skills, thereby enhancing the alignment of instructional content with learners' needs and labour market requirements.