Revisiting the Importance of Arabic Language Learning in Pesantren-Based Universities: Evidence from Universitas Riyadlul 'Ulum Tasikmalaya Indonesia

Abstract

Purpose of the study: This study examines the strategic importance, the challenges, and the development of Arabic language learning in a single pesantren-based university, Universitas Riyadlul Ulum Tasikmalaya, and asks how communicative competence, pesantren academic culture, and students’ global competencies relate within one institutional case. Methodology: A qualitative case study was conducted with thirteen purposively selected participants: three Arabic lecturers, eight undergraduate students, and two program administrators. Data from semi-structured interviews, non-participant classroom observations, and institutional documents were analysed using the Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña interactive model and triangulated to ensure trustworthiness. Main Findings: Arabic supported access to Islamic sources, sustained pesantren academic culture, and opened global academic and professional pathways. However, grammar-oriented instruction, limited communicative practice, a weak bi’ah lughawiyah, and minimal digital integration constrained students’ communicative competence; grammar-dominated teaching was the most frequently referenced barrier across the interviews. Novelty/Originality: Rather than applying a ready-made model, the study derives, from this single case, an integrative framework linking communicative competence, pesantren academic culture, and global competence. It argues that such simultaneous integration, still rarely examined together, is a case-grounded proposition that requires validation across multiple institutions.