[ARABIC] BILINGUALISM IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND ITS IMPLICATION ON RELIGIOUS UNDERSTANDING AND PRACTICES AMONG MALAYSIA STUDENT

Abstract

The mother tongue is an important factor in the life of the student. It has a key role in conveying our thoughts and feelings to others. In addition, it can help us to connect between individuals, and keep the knowledge, culture and religions.  It is also the primary language of the child, where they interact with the community around them and deal with the surrounding culture. UNESCO has stated that it is better to use the mother tongue in primary education. Moreover, teaching in the mother tongue helps children to get better results and develop their awareness and ability to learn. When the children learn two languages in the school, they are suffering from unbalanced mentality due to the differences in the use of the language inside and outside the school. As a result, this would lead to mental distraction. The modern educational theories emphasize that building the knowledge of the students (including learning new language) should be implemented based on the previous knowledge and experience of the students in their daily life outside the school. The researchers found that Arabic schools and some religious schools in Malaysia are interested in teaching Islamic education and some subjects in Arabic language for non-native speakers in the primary level. Although, this may be considered as an important factor to facilitate learning the language of Quran, it should consider the adequate foundations, theories and level of study that will be suitable for students to receive a second language. The researchers believe that teaching in two languages has negative effects on the culture of the students, the religion, and social interaction. Various studies stated the importance of preparing the student to receive knowledge in the mother tongue in early childhood and then start learning a second language and then develop the student’s tendency and motivation toward learning the language of the Quran.