Traditional or Digital? Inspiring Teachers’ Preferences in Arabic Language Primary Education in Malaysia

Abstract

Digital transformation in education has become increasingly crucial in the 21^st century, particularly in multilingual contexts like Malaysia where Arabic language education faces persistent resource gaps and uneven technology implementation despite supportive policy frameworks. This mixed-methods study investigates primary Arabic language teachers’ anticipated acceptance of a proposed Arabic interactive module (AIM) in Malaysia using an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) framework. With 290 teachers participating in cross-sectional surveys and five teachers in semistructured interviews after AIM usage, the research examined expected usefulness (EU), expected ease of use (EEU), and perceived awareness (PA) through PLS-SEM analysis and thematic analysis. Results revealed that PA serves as a critical predictor of technology acceptance, showing exceptionally strong relationships with EU (β = 0.800, p < 0.001) and moderate influence on EEU (β = 0.288, p = 0.002), while demographic factors showed unexpected patterns, with male teachers perceiving lower ease of use (β = −0.225, p = 0.025) and experienced teachers showing reduced perceived usefulness (β = −0.072, p = 0.023). Qualitative findings identified three key themes: perceived effectiveness in achieving learning outcomes, enhanced student motivation and interest, and significant support for teaching processes, particularly in addressing Arabic language resource scarcity through multimedia integration and interactive elements. The study extends TAM theory by demonstrating awareness as a foundational antecedent to technology acceptance in educational contexts and suggests that successful digital transformation in Arabic education requires comprehensive awareness-building initiatives, differentiated training approaches, and pedagogically grounded interactive tools that thoughtfully integrate traditional and digital methods to inspire teachers and enhance learning outcomes.