Arabic Language Teaching Methods in Primary Schools in Kaduna State: A Comparative Assessment

The effectiveness of Arabic language instruction at the primary level significantly determines learners' long-term proficiency and attitude towards the language. This study compares the teaching methods employed in Arabic language education across selected public and private primary schools in Kaduna State, assessing their effectiveness in promoting communicative competence among pupils. Using a mixed-methods research design, the study observes Arabic lessons in 20 schools distributed across Kaduna North, Kaduna South, and Chikun local government areas. Observation checklists, structured teacher interviews, and pupil oral assessment tasks constitute the primary data collection instruments. The study benchmarks observed teaching approaches against established communicative language teaching principles and recent empirical findings in Arabic as a foreign language pedagogy. Findings indicate a predominance of grammar-translation methods in public schools, with limited use of communicative activities, while private Islamic schools demonstrate greater methodological diversity including audio-lingual drills and contextualised vocabulary instruction. Teacher training deficits, large class sizes, and inadequate teaching aids emerge as cross-cutting constraints. The study recommends adoption of learner-centred approaches, provision of audio-visual materials, and mandatory pre-service Arabic pedagogy modules in teacher education programmes in Kaduna State. The findings contribute practically to curriculum development discussions at the state and local education authority levels. Keywords: Arabic language teaching, primary education, communicative competence, pedagogy, Kaduna State.