THE TECHNOLOGY GAP IN ARABIC LANGUAGE LEARNING ACROSS SCHOOLS IN BRUNEI DARUSSALAM.

ABSTRACT : Arabic schools have been integral to Brunei’s education system for over seven decades, beginningwith the first public Arabic religious school in 1941. However, students in these schools continue to facechallengesin developing communication skills, particularly in the digital era, as highlighted by Titah (2016). Thisresearch aims to explore gaps in teaching and learning with technology in Brunei’s Arabic schools. Focus groupdiscussions(FGDs) were conducted with teachers,students, and parentsto gatherinsights. The data were analyzedusing open, axial, and selective coding, with constant comparative methods (CCM) to identify key themes.Findings reveal significant challenges, including difficulties in accessing and effectively using technology, lackof student- teacher engagement, and insufficient integration of technology into the curriculum. These resultshighlight the need for a collaborative technology model (CTM) that unites various technological tools into acohesive platform. Such a model could improve Arabic communication skills— speaking, writing, reading, andlistening—across all proficiency levels, helping students thrive in the digital age.

KEYWORDS: Arabic communication skills, Qualitative need analysis, Collaborative Technology Model (CTM).