International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE)

Vol. 8, No. 1, March 2019, pp. xx~xx

ISSN: 2252-8822, DOI: 10.11591/ijere.v8.i1.ppxx-xx ❒ 101

ABS student speaking skill assessment: techniques and results

Budi Sanjaya1, Wahyu Hidayat2

1
UIN Sulthan Thaha Saifuddin Jambi
2
IAIN Parepare

Article Info ABSTRACT (10 PT)

Article history:
Received Jun 9, 2018
Revised Nov 20, 2018
Accepted Dec 11, 2018
Keywords:
Assessment techniques and
results, Speaking Skills.
This study aims to describe the teaching techniques of Arabic subjects and
the results of the evaluation of the students' Arabic speaking proficiency.
This study involved 51 teaching teachers of Arabic Language Subjects and
395 students of MAN Jambi Province. This study uses a combined approach
to obtain quantitative and qualitative data. The research instrument used a
questionnaire, check list and oral test. Data were analyzed descriptively,
namely frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation using SPSS
version 25 software. Qualitative data were analyzed qualitatively
descriptively. The results showed that the speaking skill assessment
technique from the students' perceptions was at a sufficient level (mean =
2.66; SD = 0.74). Likewise, the speaking skill assessment technique from the
teacher's perception was at a sufficient level (mean = 3.26; SD = 0.71). The
results of observations about speaking skills assessment techniques show that
the teacher uses assessment techniques that do not require prior preparation.
The students' speaking skills in Arabic were at a sufficient level (mean =
3.09; SD = 0.64).
Copyright © 2019 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science.
All rights reserved.

Corresponding Author:
Wahyu Hidayat,
Faculty of Tarbiyah, IAIN Parepare, Amal Bakti Street 08, Parepare, South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Email: wahyuhidayat@iainpare.ac.id

1. INTRODUCTION (10 PT)

Language is a key element in human life. Language is an important characteristic that distinguishes
humans and animals. Sariyan (1998) states the fact that language is an innate faculty which is a general and
universal charasteristics for humans, no matter what society, advanced or backward race and in what part of
the world humans live. The giving of innate abilities to humans proves the human need for it. Mustafa Hj.
Daud, (2000) states that language is the main and earliest basic need. The importance and need for language
exceeds the human need for food, clothing and shelter.
Language is also a tool of human communication, communication occurs through human speech
(Ismail, 2008). Nik Mohd (2005) stated that language is what is agreed upon by a group of speakers and uses
language as a communication tool between community members. The language of communication between
communities is speech, speech, sounds spoken by humans that become words, word chains, sentences,
whatever is written, polite manners. From this explanation, it can be seen that speech is the main thing which
includes sounds, words and sentences that become a medium of communication between members of a
community.
In language learning, the main goal is mastery of language skills. Language skills refer to skills
related to the use of language in communication. With language skills, a person can express his thoughts and
feelings to others which is the main goal of language learning as a form of communication. In linguistic
studies, language skills are concrete and refer to the actual use of language, in spoken form that can be heard
or in written form that can be read (Rosyidi, 2009).
Arabic has a very strong relationship with Islam, because all the teachings of Islam are found in the
Qur'an and are equipped with explanations of Al-Hadith. To be able to study and deepen the teachings of

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Islam, one must study the Qur'an and Al-Hadith, and to be able to study the Qur'an and Al-Hadith one must
be able to speak Arabic (Makruf 2009). Allah SWT with His word (Yusuf: 2):

Translation :
“Indeed, we have sent it down as the Qur’an in Arabic, so that you may understand it.”

Makruf (2009) states that Arabic is also the language of science. There are many classic books
written by previous scholars in Arabic. Until now, the works of these classical scholars are still widely
known as the "yellow book".
These books not only discuss about fiqh, moral beliefs, and other religious sciences, but also discuss
philosophy and other sciences. So it is clear that Arabic has a very important position in science.
In addition, Arabic is also an interethnic language, this language is officially spoken by about 20 countries in
Asia and Africa. In Africa, Arabic is the official language of Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt
and Sudan. In the Arabian Peninsula, Arabic is also spoken by Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and further north, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine (Arsyad,
2004). According to Karim (2009) Arabic was first introduced to the Indonesian people since Islam came
and was adopted by the Indonesian people. Islam was widely embraced by the Indonesian people in the 13th
century.
The age of Arabic education in Indonesia has been studied for more than 7 centuries. Because the
meeting of Indonesian Muslims with Arabic is in line with their meeting with Islam. Arabic in Indonesia is
learned much earlier than other foreign languages, such as: English, Dutch, Mandarin, German, and
Japanese. Although it has been studied previously, the development of learning Arabic does not seem too
exciting, there are still many people in Indonesia, who are predominantly Muslim, prefer to learn English
rather than Arabic. Arabic as the language of the Qur'an has not been able to motivate Muslims to be eager
to learn it.
Arabic is a compulsory subject taught in a formal religious education institution. In this case Madrasah
Aliyah is a State or Private Madrasah Aliyah. Madrasah Aliyah in Jambi of course need a good learning
design, so that it has an impact on the quality of its students.
In learning speaking skills, there are several basic problems, especially from the linguistic and non-
linguistic aspects (Saifuddin, 2014). The linguistic aspects include basic things in the use of Arabic such as
the sound system, vocabulary mastery, grammar (sorf), and language structure. Meanwhile, non-linguistic
aspects include student interest and motivation towards Arabic itself, learning methods, teacher competence,
learning tools, effectiveness of learning time and language environment (Hamad, 2013; Hizbullah &
Mardiah, 2015; Fahrurrozi, 2014).
The achievement of students' speaking skills is still relatively low (Fuad, 2019; Sulastri, 2016). This
is caused by the low quality of teaching carried out by teachers. In the teaching process, teachers only use
lecture, translation, and memorization methods (Ahmed, 2015; Hamad, 2013; Rosiyana et al., 2017; Saeed
Al-Sobhi & Preece, 2018).
Skills in Arabic subjects (MPBA) are considered to be an important issue that needs to be studied
because the Arabic curriculum makes speaking skills as the second goal in MPBA learning after listening
skills. MPBA needs to be taught in combination so that students can master language skills simultaneously
in each learning session.
Mastery of these skills is an important aspect that determines the success of the teaching and
learning process of a second or foreign language (Nunan, 1991; Brown, 2000) also characterizes speaking
skills as a sign of a successful level of language proficiency. When someone speaks, the listener will give a
specific response to the personality and attitude (Louma, 2004).
Speaking skills are needed and important skills to be taught, trained, and sharpened so that students
become proficient (Jamaliah Mohd Ali, 1988). Speech using this language is the main activity in human
communication. Speech is also a consistent language system and is very useful for conveying meaning
through the sounds of the language. Teaching speaking skills must be done systematically so that students
can be helped to master these skills well.
There are several important aspects of speech that must be considered in speaking skills, namely
designation, stress, intonation, tone, mora, pause, grammar, smoothness, fluency and language lara (Brown,
2000). In the assessment technique, the teacher can perform several techniques including strong reading,
send from recordings, interviews, small group discussions, memorization, speeches or choirs, debates, acting
and seminars (Najuah et al., 2016)
One of the problems in teaching foreign languages is in equipping students who have the ability to
use language to communicate, many people who learn languages feel that speaking skills in the language
they are learning is more difficult than other skills (Bailey, 2005; Bygate, 2003). Students' speaking skills in

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the classroom are often very different because exposure and interaction in a second language outside the
classroom tends to vary widely, from extensive. Students may also have differences in learning goals and
expectations that can affect their willingness to participate in oral activities. In addition, speaking is one of
the skills that involves the ability to display public in the classroom, and anxiety has also been shown to be
closely related to speaking skills compared to other skills (Saeed Al-Sobhi & Preece, 2018).
So far, many studies related to Arabic have been carried out, but few have made Arabic speaking
skills the main focus of research. Research does not focus much on students' ability to master Arabic
language skills for communication (Najuah et al., 2016; Saifuddin, 2014; Zaini et al., 2017).

2. METHODS

This study uses a two-step mixed method approach. The first step, we use a quantitative approach
to obtain quantitative data. The second step, we use a qualitative approach to obtain qualitative data. This
study was carried out in Madrasah Aliyah Negeri (MAN) in eight districts and municipalities in Jambi
Province, excluding Kerinci District and Sungai Full City due to the limited time and logistics of this study.
The total number of MAN involved is 26 MAN. The number of samples of Arabic teachers who carry out
Arabic subjects in 26 MA in Jambi Province is 51 people. The number of teachers for the twenty-six
madrasas that are the study sites is only between one and three people for each Madrasa. Therefore, all
Arabic language teachers were involved as participants in this study. This is in accordance with his opinion
(Arikunto, 2002) if the population is less than 100, then the method that can be taken is to use the entirety of
the population. Meanwhile, the number of student participants involved in this study was 395 students. The
researcher also studied 8 teachers to explore quantitative data.
The profile of the Arabic language teacher includes information about gender, age, last education,
area of expertise, and experience in teaching Arabic. All these findings can be seen in table 1.

Table 1. MPBA Teacher Respondent Profile

No Item f %
1 Gender Male 24 47.1
Female 27 52.9
2 Age < 25 years 15 29.4
25 – 35 years 9 17.6
36 – 45 Years 18 35.3
> 45 years 9 17.6
3 Last Education Diploma 3 5.9
S1 42 82.4
S2 6 11.8
4 Areas of Expertise Arabic 39 76.5
Language
Education
Arabic 6 11.8
Literature
Etc 6 11.8
5 Arabic Teaching < 5 years 18 35.3
experience 5 – 10 years 9 17.6
11- 15 years 12 23.5
16 – 20 years 3 5.9
> 20 years 7 17.6

Of the 51 teachers who taught Arabic subjects at the MA, 24 or 47.1% were male teachers, while 27
or 52% were female teachers. This shows that female teachers are more than a male teacher who teaches
Arabic subjects at MA. The teacher who became the respondent in this study consisted of four age groups,
namely less than 25 years, between 25 and 35 years, between 36 and 45 years and more than 45 years. Of the
51 teachers, only 9 teachers over 45 years or 17.6% of teachers, while most teachers are teachers between 36
and 45 years or 35% of teachers, teachers less than 25 years old, as many as 15 teachers. or 29,4% of the total
respondents, while teachers between 25 and 35 years as many as 9 teachers or 17.6%.
The educational background of teachers found that 82% or 42 teachers had undergraduate academic
qualifications, while 6 teachers or 11.8% had master's degrees, and it was found that 3 teachers still had

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diplomas. Findings in the field of majors in the last education of teachers found that 76% or 39 teachers had
majors in Arabic language education, 11.8% or 6 teachers majored in Arabic literature, and 11.6% or 6
teachers who were not educated in Arabic education or Arabic literature.
The findings of the teacher profile show that the majority of teachers who implement the curriculum
are teachers aged 36-45 years, but for teaching experience there are still many teachers who only have
teaching experience of less than 5 years, namely 35.3%.
Experience in teaching is an important aspect to determine the success of curriculum
implementation. Experienced teachers will be able to implement the curriculum more effectively.
Weaknesses in the aspect of teaching experience can be offset by the superiority of academic qualifications in
the field of Arabic language education obtained by teacher respondents.
Profiles of student respondents are divided by gender and experience of learning Arabic before
entering Madrasah Aliyah. These findings can be seen in table 2 below.

Tabel 2. Student Respondent Profile

No Item f %
Male 165 41
1 Gender
Female 230 58
Ever 315 79.7
2 Experience learning Arabic
Never 80 20.3

From table 2 it is known that there are more female student respondents than male respondents,
namely 58% for female respondents and 41% for male respondents. From the table above, it is known that
most of the students or 79.7% had experience learning Arabic at Madrasah Tsanawiyah before entering
Madrasah Aliyah, while the other 20.3% had never studied Arabic at the previous education level.
In general, students who enter MA have experience learning Arabic, the experience of these students
can support the teacher in implementing the Arabic curriculum that he will teach, especially for the
implementation of teaching speaking skills.
The research instrument used a questionnaire that was distributed to teachers and students, then we
did an in-depth study using observation guidelines in the form of a check list. The data collected was then
analyzed using descriptive statistics, namely frequency, percentage, average and standard deviation. To
facilitate data analysis, we used SPSS Version 23 software. While qualitative data from observations were
analyzed descriptively qualitatively.

3. RESULT AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Speaking Skills Assessment Techniques from Teachers' Perceptions
Table 3 below shows the frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation and mean interpretation
for each item of the speaking skill assessment method carried out by the teacher in the process of learning
speaking skills in Arabic subjects. The overall mean for the speaking skill assessment method is 3.26 and the
standard deviation of 0.71 is moderate.

Table 3. Techniques for Assessment of Speaking Skills from Teacher

Perception

No Learning TP J KK S SS
approaches
1 Strong reading 3 (5,9%) 6 3 (5,9%) 36 3 (5,9%)
(11,8%) (70,6%)
2 Send from 6 6 12 12 15
recording (11,8%) (11,8%) (23,5%) (23,5%) (29,4%)
3 Various Situation 12 3 (5,9%) 15 21 0 (0%)
(23,5%) (29,4%) (41,2%)
4 Interview 6 6 15 21 3 (5,9%)
(11,8%) (11,8%) (29,4%) (41,2%)

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5 Small group 0 (0%) 9 30 9 100

discussion (17,6%) (58,8%) (17,6%) (25,3%)
6 Memorization 3 (5,9%) 6 15 24 3 (5,9%)
(11,8%) (29,4%) (47,1%)
7 Chorus speech 3 (5,9%) 6 3 (5,9%) 27 12
(11,8%) (52,9%) (23,5%)
8 Debate 6 9 12 12 12
(11,8%) (17,6%) (23,5%) (23,5%) (23,5%)
9 Acting 9 3 (5,9%) 6 24 9
(17,6%) (11,8%) (47,1%) (17,6%)
10 Seminar 12 18 9 3 (5,9%) 9
(23,5%) (35,3%) (17,6%) (17,6%)

Table 3 above shows that there are three items that get the mean
interpretation at a high level, namely chorus speech (mean = 3.76; SD = 1.12) with 39
teacher respondents stating that they often and very often use this assessment
technique, to powerful reading items. getting an average of 3.58 and a standard
deviation of 0.98 with 39 respondents, the teacher stated that they often and very
often use this assessment technique in the process of learning speaking skills, and for
items delivered from tape recording (mean = 3.47, SD = 1,42) with a total of 27
teacher respondents stating that they often and very often use this assessment
technique in the process of learning speaking skills.

The other six items received an average interpretation at a moderate level,

namely acting (mean 3.41; SD = 1.34), memorization (mean 3.35, SD = 0.97), small
group discussion (mean -mean = 3.11; SD = 0.76), debate or debate (mean = 3.29; SD
= 1.33), interviews (mean = 3.17; SD = 1.10), and various situations ( mean = 2.88; SD
= 1.19). Meanwhile, other items got the mean interpretation at a low level, namely
seminars (mean = 2.58; SD = 1.38) with 12 teacher respondents stating that they
often and very often use this assessment technique in the process of learning
speaking skills in Arabic subjects.

A. Techniques for Assessment of Speaking Skills from Students' Perceptions

The average of all items on the technique of assessing speaking skills from
students' perceptions is 2.66 and the standard deviation is 0.74 with the mean
interpretation being at a moderate level. There is only one item that has a high mean

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interpretation, namely chorus speech with a mean of 3.15 and a standard deviation of
1.34 with 54.4% of student respondents stating that teachers often and very often
apply this assessment technique in the process of learning speaking skills.

Table 4 below shows that there are four items that get an average
interpretation at a moderate level, namely strong reading items (mean = 3.15; SD =
1.45), memorization (mean = 3.07, SD = 1, 28), small group discussion (mean = 2.68),
SD = 1.22) and debate or debate (mean = 2.65; SD = 1.38). The strong reading item is
the highest item to obtain an average interpretation at this moderate level with
46.9% of student respondents stating that teachers often and very often use this
method in assessing speaking skills.

While the other five items obtained mean interpretations at a low level,
namely submissions from tape recordings (mean = 2.36; SD = 1.38), various
situations (mean = 2.36; SD = 1.31), acting (mean = 2.30, SD = 1.26), interviews
(mean = 2.27, SD = 1.32) and seminars (mean = 2.22, SD = 1.26). Seminar is the item
with the lowest mean interpretation with only 100 student respondents stating that
teachers often apply this assessment method.

Table 4. Techniques for Assessing Speaking Skills from students’ Perception

No Techniques of TP J KK S SS
assessment
1 Strong reading 85 45 80 95 90
(21,5%) (11,4%) (20,3%) (24,1%) (22,8%)
2 Send from 165 65 40 105 20 (5,1%)
recording (41,8%) (16,5%) (10,1%) (26,6%)
3 Various situation 165 40 80 100 10 (2,5%)
(41,8%) (10,1%) (20,3%) (25,3%)
4 Interview 175 55 55 100 10 (2,5%)
(44,3%) (13,9%) (13,9%) (24,3%)
5 Small group 100 65 105 110 15 (3,8%)
discussion (25,3%) (16,5%) (26,6%) (27,8%)
6 Memorization 65 60 100 115 55
(16,5%) (15,2%) (25,3%) (29,1%) (13,9%)
7 Chorus speech 50 40 90 100 115
(12,7%) (10,1%) (22,8%) (25,3%) (29,1%)
8 Debate 125 55 85 90 40
(31,6%) (13,9%) (21,5%) 22,8% 10,1%
9 Acting 185 35 55 110 (27, 10 (2,5%)
(56,8% 8,9% (13,9%) 8%)

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10 Seminar 180 45 70 100 0 (0%)

(45,6%) (11,4%) (17,7%) (25,3%)

B. Observations on Speaking Skills Assessment Techniques

Observation findings on speaking skills assessment techniques in learning Arabic

language indicate that teachers use assessment techniques that do not require prior
preparation, this can be seen from assessment techniques that are often found in
observations made, teachers only use assessment, namely direct assessment without
any prior preparation.

Table 5. Speaking Skill Assessment Techniques in Observation

No Teknik Penilaian P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8
1 Strong reading √ √ √ √
2 Send from recording
3 Various situation
4 Interview
5 Small group discussion √
6 Memorization √ √
7 Chorus speech √ √ √ √ √ √
8 Debate
9 Acting √ √
10 Seminar

Assessment is often done by the teacher at the end of the lesson, but for acting
techniques the teacher does it at the beginning of the lesson and the teacher
combines it with rote assessment. The following example of observation shows the
teacher using two assessment techniques, namely memorizing and acting. In this
example the teacher asks students to memorize the dialogue in groups in the
previous meeting and practice it at the meeting held in that session.

"The teacher asks students to move to the front of the class in groups to practice
the conversations that have been assigned to be memorized in the previous
lesson". (PM3)
"After the teacher gives the induction device, then the teacher asks the students
to memorize the words that have been memorized directly with the students next
to them". (PM4)

Choir speeches are also carried out by teachers in their teaching, as in the
following example of observation:

"The teacher writes a question on the blackboard, then asks students to answer
the question correctly, after getting the correct answer, then the teacher asks
students to read the answer aloud. ". (PM1)
C. Evaluation of Arabic Speaking Skills Outcomes of MAN Jambi Students

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The results of MA students' achievement in Arabic speaking skills. A speech test was
conducted to obtain data on outcome components by involving 150 MAN students at
the research location who had completed student questionnaires. The results of the
assessment can provide a clear picture of the actual abilities of those who have
followed the Arabic curriculum at MAN Jambi City.

This speech test has seven main items. For each item represents each major aspect in
speaking skills. Key aspects of this speaking test include fluency, pronunciation,
stress, intonation, grammar, vocabulary and comprehension.

Table 6 below shows the mean, standard deviation, percentage, frequency, and mean
interpretation of the speech tests that have been performed. The overall average of
speaking skills of MAN students covering seven items found in the speaking skill
aspect was 3.09 and the standard deviation was 0.64 on the mean interpretation.

In detail, table 4.48 shows that none of the items on the speech test obtained a mean
at a high or very high level, all items received an average interpretation at a moderate
level (2.61 - 3.41). The highest average obtained was the aspect of clear
pronunciation (mean = 3.22; SD = 0.68) with a good and very good percentage of
45.4% and the number of good and very good students as many as 53 student
respondents. While the lowest average achievement was recorded in the
grammatical aspect (mean = 2.87; SD = 0.61) with only 36% of student respondents
getting a good score.

The intonation aspect also shows an average of 3.23 and a standard deviation
of 0.64 with 75 or 50% of students at a good level, 46 students at a moderate level, 29
students at a weak level and no students at a very weak level. The fluency aspect
shows an average of 3.16 and a standard deviation of 0.57 with the percentage of
students being very good and good 9.4%, moderate 57.3% and weak 33.3% and there
are no students who are at the very weak and very good level. good. From the stress
aspect, it was noted that 50% of students were at a good level, 30.7% were moderate,
19.3% were weak and there were no students at a very weak level.

The aspect of understanding recorded student achievement at a good level of

46%, moderate 38.7%, weak 15.3%, and none at a very good and very weak level.

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Meanwhile, from the vocabulary aspect, 46 students were at a good level, 66 students
at a weak level, 30 students at a weak level, 8 students at a very weak level and no
students at a very good level.

This finding shows that students who take Arabic subject class X (ten) in MA
have poor Arabic speaking skills and have not reached the level outlined in the Arabic
curriculum. From the evaluation of these results, it shows that the students' speaking
ability is at a critical level and has a very significant weakness. Students have not
been able to master speaking skills as referred to in the aims and objectives of the
MPBA. A very significant weakness in terms of grammar and vocabulary, these two
aspects were found to have the lowest min results compared to the other five aspects
even though the other five aspects were also at a moderate level and none of the
aspects were at a high and very high level.

D.
Table 6. Student Speaking Skill Achievement

No Aspects of Speaking SL L S B C
Skill
1 Smoothness 0 (0%) 50 86 7 (4,7%) 7
(33,3%) (57,3%) (4,7%)
2 Clear designation 0 (0%) 31 66 46 7
(20,7%) (44%) (30,7%) (4,7%)
3 Pressure 0 (0%) 23 96 31 0 (0%)
(15,3%) (64%) (20,7%)
4 Intonation 0 (0%) 29 46 75 0 (0%)
(19,3%) (30,7%) (50%)
5 Grammar 8 (5,3%) 30 58 54 0 (0%)
(20%) (38,7%) (36%)
6 Vocabulary 8 (5,3%) 30 66 46 0 (0%)
(20%) (44%) (30,7%)
7 Understanding 0 (0%) 23 58 69 0 (0%)
(15,3%) (38,7%) (46%)

Assessing the result is assessing an achievement obtained students after

following a program or learning process in the curriculum. Outcome evaluation is
used to determine the extent to which the educational program or curriculum
achieves the stated goals. Achievement obtained by students is a benchmark that can
determine the success and effectiveness of a program or curriculum.

The outcome assessment in this study was to assess the achievement and
Arabic language skills of MA students in Jambi Province after they took Arabic
language subjects. Attainment of speaking skills Arabic learners are at a modest stage.

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This is based on the overall average score for the tests that have been carried out at a
moderate level.

This situation shows that students' Arabic learning outcomes need more
attention because students' abilities have not met the standards set by the Ministry of
Religion of the Republic of Indonesia.

If detailed further into the aspects contained in speaking skills, the findings
show that there are no aspects that are at a high or very high level. All aspects are at
a moderate level and a very critical aspect is the grammatical aspect, this aspect
shows that students have not been able to use proper grammar in the speech test.

The results showed that the aspects of pronunciation, fluency and

understanding were better than other aspects even though the interpretation of the
mean was still at a moderate level. The pronunciation aspect recorded the highest
average score. This is in line with the findings of interviews and document analysis
which found that teachers in their teaching focused more on aspects of clear
pronunciation.

Critical aspects in speaking skills are aspects of grammar and vocabulary. These
two aspects need more attention so that the improvements made will have an impact
on the successful implementation of learning speaking skills Arabic subjects

Conclusion
Assessment technique is a major component that cannot be separated in a
teaching and learning process. Assessment is also useful for determining the success
of a goal in a learning topic before starting a new topic, assessment also serves to find
out the problems faced by students in a topic, to know the level of student
achievement, and so on.
The results of the two questionnaires from the teacher and students showed
that the assessment techniques implemented in learning speaking skills were at a
sufficient level. While the study findings through teacher observations often carry
out speech assessments simultaneously in groups) compared to other methods.
Assessments that are more concerned with direct responses such as debates or
discussions and seminars have never been used by the teacher when the observations
were carried out to assess students' speaking skills.
This finding is in accordance with the study of Ismail (2008) and Maimun et al.,
(2014) which found that teachers only used the easiest assessment technique to
implement, while the assessment technique that was more concerned with direct
responses was actually less implemented by the teacher. This needs to be reassessed
whether the techniques implemented by the teacher are in accordance with the

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objectives of the curriculum implemented. Teachers also need to enrich the

assessment techniques they use so that students' ability to speak Arabic can improve
and be in accordance with curriculum objectives (Fahrurozi, 2014; Saifuddin, 2014)
The achievement and ability to speak Arabic for MA students in Jambi
Province after they take Arabic subjects (MPBA) is at a sufficient level. This situation
shows that the results of students' Arabic speech require more attention because
students' abilities do not meet the standards set by the Indonesian Ministry of
Religion. One of the factors according to Yusri et al., (2010) is shyness as a form of
inhibiting the use of Arabic in students' spoken language.
The speaking skill assessment technique from students' perceptions was at a
sufficient level (mean = 2.66; SD = 0.74). Likewise, the speaking skill assessment
technique from the teacher's perception was at a sufficient level (mean = 3.26; SD = 0.71).
The results of observation on speaking skills assessment techniques showed that teachers
used assessment techniques that did not require prior preparation. The students' Arabic
speaking skills were at a sufficient level (mean = 3.09; SD = 0.64

1.1 Definition of Entreprenuership: An Islamic Insight

By definition, Davis (2013) explained that entrepreneurship is coined from the word entrepreneur
(English) and entreprendre in French which means to undertake; to launch; to begin. In modern world,
‘entrepreneurship’ is also defined as ‘the action of being an entrepreneur: one who undertakes innovation.’ In
1990, Cohen and Levintal (as cited in Davis [2013]) stated that: ‘Innovation within the context of
entrepreneurship is the development of new customers value through solutions that meet new needs,
inarticulate needs, or old customer and market needs in value adding new ways.’
Not only that, innovation itself signifies the business activity as entrepreneurial (Katz and Green,
2009 as cited in Davis [2013]). In fact, based on literature by Stevenson and Jarillo (1990), they outlined the
term entrepreneurship as follows: ‘Entrepreneurship is a process by which individuals—either on their own
or inside organizations—pursue opportunities without regard to the resources they currently control’ (p. 23).
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Hence, entrepreneurship is a deed that enable a person to pursue any opportunities in order to meet one’s
need no matter he himself is working with other people (employed by an organization or company) or he
himself is an entrepreneur through any means of innovation (products, services, goods, etc.).
All around the world, the issue of employability especially among the graduates is an overwhelmed
discussion. In view of the Malaysian landscape, many sectors are actively involved in managing this issue;
whereby, several facts have been discovered in the contribution of the graduates’ employability (Koe, 2018;
p. 69). For instance, some of the causes are linked to these factors; namely, poor graduates’ attributes
(Hanapi&Nordin, 2014); issues with personal attitudes and employability skills (McMurray et al., 2016); as
well as other essential skills such as soft skills, problem-solving skills, and functional skills (Finch et al.,
2013).Noteworthy, significance correlation is also found between employability and entrepreneurialism. In
other words, graduates with these attributes i.e. risk taking, innovativeness, and proactiveness, keen to have
employed easily compared to those who lack of these characters (Koe, 2018).
Islam sees the activity of entrepreneurship as part of religion and above all, it blends perfectly with
Islamic preaching. The roles of Anbiya’ (prophets) in the Holy Quran manifested that their entrepreneurial
activities were very related to the dakwah call and known as entrepreneurial dakwah (Ripin and Mohd Yusof,
2018). In fact, prophet Muhammad pbuh is the greatest role-model for humankind as mentioned in the Quran
(33:21) through the word Uswah (exemplary) and some defines it as Sunnah which refers to prophet’s deed,
speech, physical appearance, attitude, lifestyle, etc (Nordin, 2016, p. 4).
For Muslim believers, the Sirah (history or biography) of Prophet Muhammad pbuh itself is a source
of knowledge and wisdom to be understood and hence practiced in their daily lives. Literally, the Oxford
Dictionary of Islam mentioned that Sirah is known as:

“Literary genre that developed out of narrative histories of Muhammad 's life and activities…Sirah
chronicles the creation and history of the world up through the time of Muhammad, showing Muhammad's
life and work as the fulfilment of divine revelation and providing a basis for Muslim views of history…Used
as sources for models for interacting with non-Muslims, processes of conversion, correct behaviour in the
face of adversity, and a guide for social and legal reforms.”

1.2 Prophet Muhammad’s Entrepreneurship framework

Intriguingly, the biography of Prophet Muhammad pbuh himself is a good manifestation of

entrepreneurship model to be studied and characterized. Figure 1 simplified the Sirah of Prophet Muhammad
pbuh starting from his childhood age up to his 40-year-old age before he was divinely revealed to focus his
life wholly on Islamic preaching and ceased all entrepreneurial activities thereafter.

Figure 1. The important phases of Prophet Muhammad’s entrepreneurship acumen before He became a
successful entrepreneur at the age of 40

This great Sirah, in particular to the 3 early phases of his lifetime journey, is a remarkable
inspiration to leverage the entrepreneurial talents among the children and students. Based on the Prophet’s

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biography, which in this paper is focusing merely on the 3 early phases of Prophet’s life, Akademi Bakat
ABS was developed and successfully operates till today.
As mentioned, Akademi Bakat ABS caters the need of children from the age of 7 up to 17. Looking
at the model (Figure 1), the Prophet managed to get a contract in managing the livestock of the rich as early
as 8 years old. He took about 4 years of service managing this project until he reaches the age of 12.
Akademi Bakat ABS follows this model by implementing the ‘learning-by-doing’ module for the students at
the age of 7 up to 12 years old. This is to ensure that the entrepreneurship mind set could be nurtured and
therefore, becomes a behaviour. Eventually, the 6 entrepreneurship values that starts from having a correct
entrepreneurship mind set could be found in these students’ behaviour during their elementary period of
learning. Activities in the learning process includes those in the development of universal skills and also
upgrading the executive skills, besides practising a high standard of Malay language and its civilization
knowledge at all time. Having all these attributes reveal that the first phase completes successfully.
The second phase as referring to the model in Figure 1, is the phase in which, these students are
exposed to the reality of entrepreneurship activities. During the age of 12, Prophet Muhammad pbuh became
the intern to his uncle’s business i.e. Abu Talib. It took almost 6 years of internship before he started his own
trading business. In Akademi Bakat ABS, this phase reflects the secondary level of learning. Equipped with
the correct mindset and behaviour of a genuine entrepreneur, the students at the age of 10 to 14 are given
with some entrepreneurship tasks such as managing micro-scale projects, inventing things, and so forth.
Thereafter, by the age of 15 to 17, these students will involve directly in the entrepreneurship related tasks
such as managing and administering the community or social organizations, starting their internship with
companies or organizations, and take the lead of their own start-up business. During this phase, the talents’
profiling could be characterized. In short, what they would like to be or go after completing their secondary
examination (SijilPelajaran Malaysia and/or IGCSE) are clearly manifested in this phase.
The ultimate phase for these students is after graduating from Akademi Bakat ABS. This is where
the third phase of Prophet’s entrepreneurship model applied in Akademi Bakat ABS. As early as 18 years old
(same goes to Prophet Muhammad’s track record), these graduates can choose to either continue on their
academic or professional excellence in any universities they intend to or else, they can enrol in Akademi
Bisnes ABS (the tertiary level of learning) in order to begin with their own start-ups and getting professional
certificates under this academy. The latter form of learning is similar to what Prophet Muhammad’s
entrepreneurship talent model. Whereby, at this stage, the Prophet has begun his business partnership with
Khadijah and started his own trading business using the capital in terms of trading goods supplied by
Khadijah. Intriguingly, Abu Talib who was the Prophet’s employer previously, gave an outstanding
recommendation of his intern to Khadijah prior to the Muhammad-Khadijah business partnership. All these
values are proof that this model (Figure 1) supports the need of business and entrepreneurship acumen in
children’s life if a correct learning ecosystem is built up, particularly in view of Malaysian education
landscape.
3. AKADEMI BAKAT ABS: LEVERAGING THE ENTREPRENEURSHIP TALENTS

Located in Bangi, Selangor, the Akademi Bakat ABS started its pilot school way back in 2016 with
only 19 students enrolled. This year, a total of 50 students and 6 teachers proudly accommodate the school
which is obviously a non-ordinary mainstream school particularly in Malaysian education landscape. The
other name for Akademi BakatABS itself is ‘Sekolah Usahawan’ (Entrepreneur School); whereby, the
principle of each segment of the curriculum is based on the prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him; pbuh)
acumen in managing and governing businesses. Ultimately, the model of Muhammad-Khadijah’s partnership
also underlies its vision and mission to uphold the status of Entrepreneur School. Overall, the sirah (history)
of prophet Muhammad pbuh has been the pillar to the Akademi Bakat’s direction in confronting the future
education, especially when the nation is moving to the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0) or Digital
Economy.
Prophet Muhammad pbuh’s business acumen has inspired the Akademi BakatABS to sketch out 6
values of entrepreneurship as the basis for them to confront the future education. They are namely, social
intelligence, integrity, altruism, creative and innovative, diplomacy, and righteousness. The cultivation of
these values is found in their unique curriculum, approach, and eco-system in the school. In Akademi Bakat
ABS, it starts by cultivating the students with the business acumen’s mindset like Prophet Muhammad pbuh.
This will eventually serve as the stepping stone to nurture the prophecy entrepreneurial behaviour and culture
through a unique and systematic approach of learning i.e. by developing and implementing an in-house
Standard Operating Procedure (S.O.P.) for them to be accessed throughout their daily course.
Having to be significantly different from other mainstream schools in Malaysia particularly for not
being an examination-oriented school, Akademi BakatABS believes that learning-by-doing is the best way to

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uphold the 6 values of entrepreneurship as outlined above. Hence, 75% of the designated teaching and
learning in the school is carried out through learning-by-doing means. As there is no right or wrong answer
as opposed to the examination-oriented school, the tool for the students’ assessment is via a designated rubric
that is developed based on the 6 values of entrepreneurship’s principle. Moreover, the in-house S.O.P. eases
the assessment for the students as well as the teachers.
Ultimately, the involvement of parents in the Akademi Bakat’s eco-system and vision has been the
greatest motivation for the school to go further in confronting the 21st century education, IR4.0, and also the
Digital Economy era. Having said that, to enrol as a student in the Akademi Bakat ABS itself, the parents are
first screened and not the children. As such, only the parents that could follow and accept the system applied
by Akademi BakatABS will be considered to enrol their children(s) into Akademi Bakat ABS. It is essential
to have a very strong bonding and trust between parents and the school in order to achieve the school’s
aspiration to be an Entrepreneur School (SekolahUsahawan) especially in the Malaysian education landscape.

4. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Viewing Akademi Bakat ABS as one of the industrial players in the Malaysian education landscape,
the challenges in operating a non-mainstream school in Malaysia are nevertheless bountiful. To name a few,
it includes the funding and financial capacity, role of the teachers in facilitating the students in their daily
learnings, training for the teachers in order to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge required
by Akademi Bakat ABS, the support system from the parents, society, government agencies as well as the
private sectors, and many more. These challenges, however, are earnestly taken into consideration by the
ASB Education’s group from time-to-time to overcome them and provide holistic and unique solutions to
each problem based on Prophet Muhammad’s undoubted wisdom in business acumen that serves as the
underlying foundation for the Akademi Bakat’s direction and guidance.
Akademi Bakat ABS strongly believes, despites all the challenges, the setting-up of this type of
alternative school could overcome and reduce the unemployability issue that is faced by Malaysian graduates
for years. Some of the major factors are due to lacking of human capital skills such as communication skills,
image branding, and so forth. Thus, leveraging the entrepreneurship talents based on Prophet Muhammad’s
business acumen—in particular in the early age of the children—is a good option to accelerate employability
among the graduates in any organizations. More than that, the graduates could even form their own
businesses and eventually generate their own income or wealth to sustain their life. By virtue of this,
Akademi Bakat ABS views the future education and employment, especially in Malaysia, greatly require the
incorporation of a holistic approach in developing human capital skill in line with the technological and
innovation advancements in these challenges’ era..

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The Education and Development Model of the Prophet’s Talent as depicted in Figure 1 is developed and
owned by ABS Ainon Holdings. Reprinted or reused by permission

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (10 PT)

I would like to thank you funding for this research. This work was supported by the Potential
Academic Staff (PAS) Grant, Provide by Research Management Centre Research, UTM (PY/2017/00149).

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