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Mobile augmented reality application for early Arabic language education-:

ARabic

Conference Paper · May 2017

DOI: 10.1109/ICITECH.2017.8079942

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2017 8th International Conference on Information Technology (ICIT)

Mobile Augmented Reality Application for Early

Arabic language Education-: ARabic
Nurhazarifah Che Hashim, Nazatul Aini Abdul Majid, 1Haslina Arshad, Siti Soleha Muhammad Nizam, Haekal
Mozzia Putra
Center for Artificial Intelligence Technology (CAIT)
Faculty of Information Science and Technology
National University of Malaysia ,UKM
Selangor, Malaysia
1
haslinarshad@ukm.edu.my

Abstract— Technology nowadays has grown rapidly and has
led to the widespread use of technology in every sector that exists
throughout the world whether in agriculture, business, research
or education. Previous studies have shown lack of approach in
Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) based application specifically
in Arabic language education. The main objective of this work is
to develop a MAR application (ARabic) for teaching and learning
early Arabic language and study its effectiveness. This application
has been developed using ADDIE methodology which includes the
analysis, design, development, implementation and testing phases.
The application has two main modules; Learning and Exercise
Module which combine the elements of animation, 3D objects,
video, audio and graphics to keep the students interest. Based on
the user testing, it shows that users are very interested in ARabic
and learned the modules quickly.
Keywords— Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR); Arabic
Language; Early Arabic Education
I. INTRODUCTION
Technology in education is something that is growing
rapidly and widely. AR is a technology that has been integrated
into the educational sector. Compared with the others, AR
technology is something new and is being sought to expand into
the field of education. AR represents a new approach in
education to implement the concept of 'edutainment' that can
attract students. AR is an emerging technology with great
potential for use in education now [1]. New Media Consortium
(NMC) also reported the same in the latest Horizon Reports [2],
that AR is one of the latest technologies that may potentially
have a positive impact on teaching and learning. The use of
multimedia in teaching and learning Arabic was more in
accordance with current trends in the use of technology
compared to innovate utilized by users in this area [3]. In
addition, AR is a technology that can be use and apply by
teachers to make the learning environment more interactive and
interesting [4].
AR is a technology that combines virtual objects into real
three-dimensional environment [5]. Even AR term given
different interpretation by researchers but the above definition
is a definition which is often used as a reference by researchers
and other researchers. Virtual reality Continuum provided by
[5] is shown in Fig. 1. Another frequently used definition is a
definition by [6] which describes the three principles of AR
which is AR is a combination of real and virtual worlds, run
interactively in real time and are registered in three dimensions.
AR has a feature that can help learning Arabic language
which is multimedia elements such as graphic, 3D object,
video, audio and animation. Therefore, by integrating AR in
learning Arabic language is expected to motivate children in
learning the language. Since Arabic is gaining attention at
school in Malaysia, parents viewed it difficult to teach them
Arabic at home because Arabic was not a primary language
here. In addition, Arabic language is often seen as difficult
language for some children who their first language is not
Arabic. To attract the human visual and audio senses, use of
attractive graphics in the teaching of English vocabulary is very
helpful [7].
The problems with research shows that lack of learning
systems based approach to mobile applications and AR for
Arabic [8], lack of mobile application based on AR for Arabic
language, lack of attractive features in teaching materials
because it is static, problem in pronunciation, sounding and
spelling words in Arabic correctly. The objectives for this
research are to develop an AR mobile application based on
Arabic learning module and Arabic text book for primary
school students and to evaluate the effects of the application to
students. The project was developed for children aged 5 to 7
years so that they can learn interactively using image, sound and
touch [9].

978-1-5090-6332-1/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE

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2017 8th International Conference on Information Technology (ICIT)

Weakness A lot of text No audio Navigation Limited

elements and animation.
instructions
are less
clear.

A MAR application called “ARabic” was developed in this

research to help Malaysian children in learning Arabic language
using the provided textbook in the government school. AR
application can be considered as an application that is able to
Fig. 1. Literature Mixed Reality Continuum (redrawn from [5]) increase the child’s interest in learning sessions because it
contents 'edutainment' features. In addition, the cost for AR-
II. REVIEW based application is also low because it only requires with a
The comparison of some existing applications for Arabic computer with a web camera or a smartphone. The main focus
language is shown in TABLE I. All of these applications are of this “ARabic” application is to assist in literacy process for
not integrated with AR technology. Most of the applications early childhood education.
have some multimedia elements such as video, audio and
III. METHODOLOGY
animation. Happy Animal Arabic application includes a
translation from Arabic into English language and this can The ADDIE model has been used as the research methodology
assist children that are good in English. However, there is still in this work. In this model, there are five main phases which are
lack of applications that help children whose first language is analysis, design, Development, Implementation and
not English to learn Arabic. In Malaysia, school children at age Assessment/Testing.
7 have an Arabic language subject. Therefore, adding A. The Analysis Phase
multimedia elements with Malay translation using AR is
expected to assist these children to learn Arabic language at Analysis of the need and viability of the project has been
school. As stated by [1], AR is a new technology that promises done to ensure the development of a systematic and planned
great potential for use in education now. project after the title has been agreed. Gantt chart was
developed to clarify the expected duration of each thing that
TABLE I. COMPARISON OF EXISTING APPLICATIONS happens during the development of this project. First, the
problems will be identified in the study, the objectives and
Feature Happy Animal Alifbaba ABC EZ-Arabic
Arabic scope of the study will be designed to meet the definition of a
Arabic for problem that has been declared. Hardware and software are also
Kids discussed in this phase. The study about the problems and
Theme -Letter/Word - -Letter/ Letter/Wor Arabic objectives of the research that has been done in the analysis
Animals Word d learning phase will be filtered again so that applications that will be
names. -Animals based on developed will meet every scope specified. Fig. 2 shows the
names. textbook
components related to this application which are mobile phone
Intermediat English and Arabic. Arabic. English
e language Arabic. and with camera, marker and virtual information. In the analysis
Arabic. phase, the content of the application was selected based on
Navigation Good Good Moderate Good Topic 1 in Arabic textbook.
Edutainme Yes No Yes Yes
nt
Graphic Many graphic Limited Limited Many
elements. graphic graphic graphic
elements. elements. elements
Video Yes No No Yes
Animation 2D animation 2D No No
Fig. 2.
on animals. animation.
Text Concise and Unattractive Limited Many text
compelling text text elements Fig. 3.
text.
Audio Yes No Yes Yes Fig. 4.
Interactive Very Medium Medium Medium
interactive Fig. 5.
Platform Android Android Android Website
Strength 1. English Colorful and Arabic Children's
translation easy to nasyid animated
included. understand included. story is
2. Attractive text available
interface. elements in Arabic. Fig. 2. Application components

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2017 8th International Conference on Information Technology (ICIT)

B. Design Phase
Physical sketch will be produced based on elements that
have been identified in the analysis phase. Next, the storyboard
will be sketch in order to make it easier for development process
and the overall picture or flow of the development of
applications. This phase will also describe the overall operation
in detail. Screen layout will be shown in the form of a prototype
or storyboard. Interfaces for each application will also be
sketched in this phase.
This application was designed based on five layers:
application, the application programming interface, Vuforia Fig. 3. Learning Module Topic 1
software development kit (SDK) and operating system. The
first layer focuses on user interface and logic operation. Next
Fig. 4. Learning Module Topic 2 Fig. 5. Learning Module Topic 3
layer involves Vuforia SDK which included capturing, tracking
and rendering. Image will be capture from the textbook,
tracking component will process the image as a marker and
multimedia elements will appear on a mobile phone screen
during rendering.
This application was designed into two modules which are
learning module and exercise module:
I) Learning Module
The learning module is a main module that has been
developed based on the Arabic textbook. This module contains
a section on the topics contained in the Arabic textbook. The
module is equipped with some elements that are more
'edutainment' and able to attract children such as text, graphics,
3D, animation, audio and video. This module simplifies the
process for students to revise Arabic subject at home with their
parent. The application also makes it easy for parents because II) Exercise Module
they contain translations from Arabic to Malay. So, it can help The exercise modules have been developed to enable
parents who may not understand Arabic language. students to revise what they have learned in the learning
Fig. 3 shows learning module for Topic 1 and Topic 3 based module. This part is developed to ensure students remember
on Arabic textbook. When the user points the phone’s camera what they have learned in previous modules.
onto the marker, the 3D model with audio button will appear. Fig. 6, Fig. 7, Fig. 8 and Fig. 9 show the exercise module
When the user clicks the audio button, the sound will appear for this application. This module also emphasizes the virtual
with Arabic content and it translation in Malay language. button function. There are four sections in the exercise module.
Fig. 4 shows learning module for Topic 2 which video will Students can choose to make the exercise of the related topics.
appear when user point the camera on the marker. The play This exercise module is designed to reinforce the learning
button allow user to play the video when it was pressed. process of children. It involves the process of finding objects
Fig. 5 emphasizes the function of virtual button. When the that have been studied in the learning module. Students are
camera detects the marker, the virtual button which cannot be required to follow the given instructions given. If the student
seen by the user is actually appeared. The user needs to touch answers the questions correctly, 3D elements marked 'right'
the words contains on the marker and the virtual elements will along with audio stating that the student choose the correct
be overlaid on the mobile phone‘s screen. The virtual objects answer will be displayed. If the answer chosen by the student is
are shown based on the selected virtual button that has been wrong, 3D elements marked 'wrong' along with audio stating
pressed by users. that the student choose wrong answers will be appeared.

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2017 8th International Conference on Information Technology (ICIT)
Fig. 6. Exercise Module 1
Fig.7. Exercise Module 2
Fig. 8. Exercise Module 3 Fig. 9. Exercise Module 4
C. Development Phase
In this phase, an application based on a storyboard drawn in
the design phase will be developed using a number of hardware
and software such as Unity 3D, Vuforia, computers and mobile
devices with android operating system. The application will be
developed based on module contains two main button which is
learning and exercise button. When the user clicks the learning
button, the topic button will appear. If the user click exercise
button, list of exercise will appear.
D. Implementation Phase
Applications that have been developed will be implemented
in this phases. Implementation phase is to identify whether the
developed application meet the objectives and scope of the
project that has been determined. Any problems identified in
this phase will be refurbished and redeveloped according to
previous phases until the objectives are achieved.
E. Assessment/Testing Phase
Procedure, abilities and effectiveness of using this
application will be viewed and judged to consumers. Image or
marker will be provided, then the camera will point on the
image and elements will be generated as 3D objects together
with sound or audio. Improvements will be made if there is an
error in this application. Students will be selected to assist the
process of testing these applications to ensure that the
objectives are achieved. All the feedback and reaction from
users of this “ARabic” application will be recorded.
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A. Results
Testing of “ARabic” application involved teachers, parents
and 16 students at Kafa Sri Addin, Bangi, Malaysia. The
demonstration was shown as in Fig. 10 to the students to ensure
that they were properly understood the “ARabic” application
before allowing students to use this application.
Questionnaire was given to the parents and teachers to see how
effective is the system and their respond to this application. 16
respondents have been selected to answer this questionnaire.
The questionnaire was divided into five categories which
included content, usefulness, ease of use, satisfaction and
usability of this application. The questionnaire was conducted
based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) that has been
modified into the context of this study which is AR for Arabic
language in educational use. The questionnaire is shown in
TABLE II.
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2017 8th International Conference on Information Technology (ICIT)

this application. This result showed that the application is

actually easy to use.
IV) Satisfaction
For user’s satisfaction, it showed that the respondents
were strongly agreed that AR is a very interesting
technology for students (mean value of 4.60) and they also
disagree that this application is boring and not impressive
(mean value both 1.73).
V) Usability
Usability testing for this applications showed that the
instructions for this applications are easy to understand
(mean value of 4.20). Respondents also stated that the
features in this application were well integrated and this
applications itself is easy to understand (mean value of
4.40). 100% of the respondents stated that this application
is very suitable to be used in the future.

TABLE II. QUESTIONNAIRE

Item Questions Mean
A1 Have you heard about AR before? 1.73
A2 Have you try any application related to AR before. 1.60
A3 AR is a technology that is suitable for teaching and 4.40
learning process.
A4 What do you think about AR as a whole? 5.00
B1 Children are active while using this app. 4.46
Fig. 10. Testing of ARabic application B2 Curiosity of children grows. 4.40
B3 Feedback from children is very positive. 4.40
B4 This application helps children remember the topic 4.27
well.
I) Content C1 This application is difficult to use. 2.67
C2 I need the professional’s support to use this 2.27
For this part, the respondents have been asked about application.
their knowledge in AR. 11 respondents already heard about C3 I need to learn a lot of things to use this application. 2.33
AR before and 60 % of them have tried some applications D1 Do you think AR is a technology that is interesting 4.60
for students?
related to AR before. Most of them said that AR is a D2 Do you think the AR can help speed up the learning 4.40
technology that is suitable for use in the future (mean value process?
of 4.40). Other than question in form of scale, respondents D3 Children are more focused when using this 4.40
were also given open-ended questions that allow them to application.
D4 This application is boring. 1.73
give their own opinion regarding AR. One of the teacher D5 This app is fun to use. 4.13
stated that “AR can facilitate students to pronounce the D6 This application does not impress me. 1.73
words and make them interested in learning Arabic”. E1 Features in this application are well integrated. 4.00
E2 The instructions given are easy to understand. 4.20
II) Usefulness E3 This application is easy to understand. 4.00
E4 This application is suitable for use in the future. 5.00
For perceived of usefulness, the respondents agreed
that students become more active during class when using
this “ARabic” application (mean value of 4.46).
Respondents also agreed that this application increase the B. Discussion
curiosity of the students in their study (mean value of 4.40). The users’ feedbacks for all five categories in this
During the testing, the feedbacks from the students were questionnaire were positive. Feedbacks from respondents were
also positive. studied and recorded. The results showed that the application
was suitable to attract students’ interest in learning Arabic
III) Ease of Use language. The study also showed that students responded
In terms of ease of use, the respondents did not agree positively to the application. This application also can help the
that this application was difficult to use (mean value of student to remember the topic well. This is based on the
2.67). The respondents also stated that they did not need any evidence that the students can answer the questions related to
professional’s support to use this application and they also the topic. Observations during the testing showed that this
did not agree that they need to learn a lot of things to use application was appealing. In addition, it also shown that the

765
2017 8th International Conference on Information Technology (ICIT)
students’ curiosity and their focus were increased during the
testing session of this application.
The students impressed by the appearance of the 3D models
during the testing. It proved that the students were attracted to
the 3D models including the animation and audio that appeared
during the testing. With the help of the audio in the application,
the students can easily revise the topic that they have studied at
school and at the same time can improve their Arabic
pronunciations.
C. Benefit of ARabic
This “Arabic” application combines multimedia elements
such as video, audio, graphics, text and 3D which is interesting
and 'edutainment'. It helps the children's to understand the
subject and increase their interest towards the subject. This
“Arabic” application can also be a reference and can help
parents to teach Arabic at home because the Malay translation
is included in the application. This application is user-friendly
because the given instructions are very clear, easy to understand
and meets consumer needs. The interface is attractive that
suitable for children. It is easy to access because it does not
require internet connection. Malaysian students do not using
Arabic as their first language so this “Arabic” application will
help them to explore and to be more engaged in learning the
Arabic language.
V. CONCLUSIONS
The developed application is practical to use because
it is beneficial to users, especially on the scope of the primary
user which are seven-year-old students, parents and teachers.
This application can attract students to learn Arabic language
because it integrates the printed textbook with digital
information. Features contained in this application are practical
for children, with the combination elements of animation, 3D
objects, video, audio and graphics. It is 'edutainment', which
can keep children to be more interested and motivated in
learning Arabic language. This application can also help parents
to teach their children Arabic at home. This is because, it is a
complete learning system that used the teaching modules in
school and it comes with Malay translation that is believed to
be helpful for parents.
In addition, this application was also flexible and easy
to use. Based on the testing, the children can learn using the
application quickly after the demonstration of the application.
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The responses from parents and teachers also indicated that the
application is easy to use. Furthermore, this application has the
potential to be expanded. This is because, the support shown by
parents in the questionnaire showed that this application should
be further developed, especially in education. Furthermore, this
application only uses Arabic Textbook as a marker and it makes
easier for students to review the materials at home.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work is supported by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Research Grant : GUP-2015-008 and TD-2016-003. We would
like to thank the management at Kafa Sri Addin, Bangi,
Malaysia for their excellent cooperation and commitment
during the testing process of this “ARabic” application.
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