Implementing Arabic Vocabulary Instruction to Improve Speaking Skill at Pondok Pesantren Al-Amanah, Baubau

Abstrak

Vocabulary mastery is often seen as the foundation of speaking skill, yet many Islamic educational institutions in Indonesia face a persistent paradox: students memorise thousands of words but cannot produce fluent oral discourse. This study analyses the implementation of vocabulary-based Arabic language learning aimed at improving speaking skills at Pondok Pesantren Al-Amanah, Baubau Regency, Southeast Sulawesi, with particular attention to the mechanism that converts passive vocabulary into active vocabulary. Employing a qualitative approach with an embedded single-case design, the study integrates fieldwork with a systematic synthesis of thirty-two reputable journal articles published within the last decade. Primary data were gathered through participant observation over six months, semi-structured interviews with eighteen informants, focus group discussions, curricular documentation, and an analytic speaking rubric used as descriptive supporting data. Analysis followed the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldana, validated through source triangulation, technique triangulation, member checking, and an audit trail. Findings reveal that implementation unfolds across five interlocking stages: presentation, consolidation, controlled deployment, communicative use, and evaluation. The passive-to-active conversion ratio reached sixty-nine per cent, sustained mainly by concrete nouns and formulaic expressions, while abstract nouns barely converted. The mean speaking score rose from 41.5 to 74.6 over six months, with interactional courage improving most sharply and structural accuracy lagging behind. The novelty lies in formulating the Tadarruj al-Mufradat li al-Kalam model and in identifying a productive lexical threshold of roughly 450 to 500 active words as the tipping point for spontaneous speech.