Development of Audiolingual Digital Audio Materials for Maharah Istima' at Sunan Drajat Islamic Boarding School

Abstract

Listening skills (maharah istima') serve as the fundamental receptive competence in Arabic language acquisition; however, instruction in Islamic boarding schools frequently encounters constraints due to limited standardized audio resources and electronic device restrictions. This study aims to develop, validate, and evaluate the effectiveness of audiolingual-based printed teaching materials integrated with digital audio media for ninth-grade students at Sunan Drajat Islamic Boarding School. Employing the Borg and Gall Research and Development (R&D) model across ten systematic stages, the instructional product was realized as an A5 drill-focused pocketbook synchronized with native-speaker audio recordings accessed through centralized computer and dormitory facilities. Expert appraisal confirmed high product validity, with an average score of 88.8% (material experts: 92.0%, language experts: 86.5%, and design/media experts: 88.0%). An operational field trial with 20 students demonstrated significant improvement in listening proficiency, as indicated by a paired sample t-test (tcalculated = 14.82 > ttable = 2.093; p = 0.000 < 0.05). Student learning outcomes rose from a pre-test mean of 61.75 to a post-test mean of 86.25, yielding an N-gain score of 0.64 (moderate-to-high effectiveness). Practicality was further corroborated by 93.8% positive student responses. In conclusion, this instructional package provides a viable, practical, and effective pedagogical solution for enhancing contextual Arabic listening comprehension in boarding school environments.