AI Chatbots, Learner Perception, and Linguistic Reliability in Arabic Language Learning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21580/alsina.8.2.32844Keywords:
AI chatbots, Arabic language learning, generative AI, learner autonomy, teacher mediationAbstract
Learning Arabic in Indonesia remains difficult: students regard the language as rigid and memorisation-based, independent speaking practice is scarce, and classroom instruction offers little individual feedback. The Society 5.0 agenda positions intelligent technology as a partner to learning rather than a replacement for it, raising the question of what role conversational artificial intelligence can appropriately play in Arabic education. This study characterises AI chatbots as learning media for Arabic in the Society 5.0 era and identifies the obstacles and possible solutions associated with their use. A qualitative descriptive design was adopted in the Arabic Language Education programme at the State Islamic Institute of Curup, Indonesia, between February and May 2026, with two lecturers and thirteen sixth-semester students, using interviews, classroom observations, and an open-ended questionnaire analysed thematically. The study suggests that AI chatbots may serve as pedagogically bounded partners, most plausibly in expanding independent practice and supplying immediate feedback on form, vocabulary, and pronunciation, but such benefits are unlikely without teacher mediation and explicit attention to verification, digital literacy, and academic integrity. These implications are offered tentatively, given the single-site design, and point to a need for research measuring proficiency outcomes and how reliably models handle Arabic morphology.
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