The Effectiveness of Pegon Media Based on the Hikayat Tanah Hitu Manuscript of Maluku on the Arabic Text Reading Ability of Eighth-Grade Students at MTs Al-Islam Telaga Biru

Muhamad Aprianda Masilu; Fauzi Fathur Rizky; Adtman A. Hasan

Authors

Muhamad Aprianda Masilu IAIN SULTAN AMAI GORONTALO
Fauzi Fathur Rizky LIPIA Jakarta
Adtman A. Hasan IAIN Sultan Amai Gorontalo

Keywords:

Pegon Arabic Script, Reading Ability, Instructional Media, Islamic Literacy, Islamic Secondary School

Abstract

This study aims to examine the effect of using the Pegon Arabic script as an instructional medium on students’ ability to read Arabic texts. The research was conducted at MTs Swasta Al-Islam Telaga Biru with a sample of 60 students divided into an experimental group and a control group. A descriptive quantitative method with a pretest–posttest design was employed to measure changes in reading ability before and after the implementation of Pegon-based materials. Statistical analysis included mean scores, standard deviation, and inferential tests. The findings show a substantial improvement in the experimental group, with the average pretest score increasing from 62.063 to 75.032 on the posttest, reflecting a gain of 12.969 points. The paired samples t-test confirms the significance of this improvement (t(59) = –8.440, p = 0.000), while the independent samples t-test shows a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the posttest (t(58) = 6.514, p = 0.000). These results demonstrate the effectiveness of Pegon in facilitating grapheme–phoneme decoding and supporting students’ comprehension through cultural familiarity and local Islamic identity. The study further highlights Pegon as an adaptive and contextually relevant medium for teaching Arabic reading skills and suggests that integrating local scripts can strengthen students’ Islamic literacy within the context of Arabic language education in Indonesia.

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