Analyzing the Insight of Students’ Needs for The Development of an Arabic Rhetoric Application Through

Rhetoric is one of the beautiful arts of expression in Arabic. Unfortunately, many students who learn Arabic Rhetoric are unable to acquire it well due to the lack of interesting materials. Past studies revealed that the mastery level of Arabic Rhetoric among secondary school students is at a moderate level. Therefore, the development of an Arabic Rhetoric application through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) should be implemented in facilitating students to understand the concept of Arabic Rhetoric more effectively. Factors such as elaboration of contents via graphics, animation, audios, videos, and texts followed by the provision of exercises may attract students to learn independently as well as to improve their performance. This quantitative study aims to analyze the need for an Arabic Rhetorical application. The respondents comprised 40 form four students enrolled in a secondary school in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia. A questionnaire with a reliability value of 0.931 was administered online via Google Form. It consisted of four sections: i) demographics, ii) Arabic Rhetoric learning approaches, iii) Arabic Rhetoric learning issues, and iv) innovation design in Arabic Rhetoric learning. The analysis of data was conducted via descriptive statistics through percentage, mean, and standard deviation. The findings show that students need innovative design in learning Arabic Rhetoric through an Arabic Rhetorical application in order to facilitate the comprehension of information.


Introduction
The subject of Al-Adab Wa Al-Balaghah (Literature and Arabic Rhetoric) was first introduced in 2017 at all Sekolah Agama Bantuan Kerajaan (SABK) (Government Aided Religious Schools) under the supervision of the Ministry of Education Malaysia. Whereas balaghah itself was taught to form four and form five students as a component of the Arabic Language subject since it was introduced in the 90s in most secondary schools throughout Malaysia. Al-Adab Wa Al-Balaghah is a subject learned by form four students who enroll in the Arabic language stream and follow the new religious curriculum, namely the Kurikulum Bersepadu Dini dan Tahfiz (KBDT) (Religious and Tahfiz Integrated Curriculum). The curriculum was introduced in 2017 (Dokumen Standard Kurikulum, 2016) and students will continue their studies up to form five to sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) (equivalent to A-level) as well as other subjects like Math, Science, and English. The new KBDT curriculum has combined the subject of Arabic Rhetoric with Al-Adab (Literature) in one textbook. Students are exposed to Arab Literature in the first part of the textbook and Arabic Rhetoric in the second part (Al-Adab Wa Al-Balaghah Textbook, 2017). Additionally, the teaching of Al-Adab Wa Al-Balaghah is divided into two, in which the theoretical component is taught during form four while the practical implementation of Arabic Rhetoric taught during form four is done in form five. Whereas students who do not follow the KBDT curriculum at religious schools have the option to learn Arabic Rhetoric at secondary schools through 'Arus Perdana' (mainstream curriculum) in the Arabic Language subject in form four and five, and the content of each curriculum is more or less the same. The Arabic Rhetoric application in this study refers to a course application that adopts the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) platform, which is free and can be accessed anytime and anywhere.

MOOC
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) is an online learning platform that is attended by many students around the world, which most of the courses are free . There are various platforms or providers offering the e-learning concept, such as Coursera, EdX, Udacity, Open Learning, and Open Education (Korableva et al., 2019;Chris Piech et al., 2013). Upon registration, students are free to enroll into any courses available. The learning component in these courses include activities such as following teaching videos, answering quizzes, doing assignments, participating in forum activities, and online discussion (Gamage et al., 2020). Teaching videos are the most important element in MOOC. There are many forms of teaching videos delivery that can be created, such as voice over slides design, animation, writing over videos, presence in full screen, and voice over videos plus presence in full screen (Rahim & Shamsudin, 2019). In short, teaching videos are considered as the main element in the courses that facilitate students' understanding towards the lesson. Several factors should be considered by MOOC developers to ensure the effectiveness of learning. Learning attitude and learning design influence students' performance significantly in their learning because students' learning behavior determines their ability to continue their learning (Mohamad et al., 2020). Difference in learning styles also affects students' success. Therefore, curriculum planning and implementation of a particular course may affect students' motivation (Qarabesh, 2020). Independent verbal type of cognitive style is closely related to learning effectiveness. From the aspect of teaching, teachers or developers need to consider appropriate teaching materials to improve students' focus when designing courses in MOOC (Chang et al., 2019). Thus, MOOC course developers should consider these elements to ensure that students are motivated to continue their learning. Furthermore, assessment is another element that requires significant attention to ensure that learning objectives are achieved in MOOC . The form of assessment in a MOOC course should comprise various levels of difficulty to suit students' level of motivation. Therefore, the development of e-assessment module will strengthen students' understanding. Among the exercises that can be executed include multiple-choice questions, crossword puzzles, fill in the blank exercises, true or false questions, and matching questions (Kamarudin, 2020).

Problem Statement
Discussion on the issue of Arabic Rhetoric mastery among school students has been a pertinent since the 90s. Past literature has reported that students generally face difficulties in mastering the subject Ibrahim et al., 2019;Hasan, 2014;Samah, 2006) particularly on topics such as haqiqah and majaz, majaz mursal, and isti'arah (Ibrahim et al., 2019). In addition, students in public universities have also recorded medium to low mastery level towards Arabic Rhetoric (Hanim et al., 2014). In response to the issue, teaching techniques and activities are found to be the most significant weaknesses to the issue (Ariffin, 1999). The teaching and learning of Arabic Rhetoric should not focus solely on memorizing definitions (Hakim & Mustafa, 2016). Furthermore, the learning strategies solely focused on the memorization of examples and concepts, and emphasized less on the application element (Rosni Samah, 2006). Abdul Hakim Abdullah (2008) reported that most students who learned Arabic Rhetoric only focused on methods rather that application in speaking and writing. Subsequently, it placed a limitation on their understanding to the information delivered by the teacher (Sopian et al., 2013;Muhammad et al., 2006). This suggests that the teaching and learning of Arabic Rhetoric should focus on the application element rather than emphasizing solely on memorizing. Furthermore, teaching materials are also crucial for students to comprehend Arabic Rhetoric lessons more effectively. According to Muhammad et al. (2006), textbook plays minimal assistance towards students' understanding of the Arabic Rhetoric subject. Samah (2006) and Abdullah (2008) found that students were lacking external materials and they perceived teaching aids that utilize the use of computer technology as more applicable and effective. Such argument thus gives support on the potential of teaching materials via computer technology to enhance students' performance in learning Arabic Rhetoric. In view of the points highlighted, students are less interested and less motivated in learning Arabic Rhetoric. This paper believes that the problems mentioned above can be overcome with the use of technology in the teaching and learning process. This is in line with Hamid (2012) who designed and developed the prototype of 'Balaghah Arab' (Arabic Rhetoric) and found that the technology-based balaghah learning was effective and satisfying. Therefore, a research needs to be conducted to design and develop an application with improved quality and efficacy to ease students' learning so that they will be able to better understand and subsequently apply balaghah (Arabic Rhetoric) in their communication.

Research Objectives
The objectives of the study are as follows: 1-To identify the learning approach of Arabic Rhetoric subject among form four students. 2-To understand issues in Arabic Rhetorical learning approach and innovation tendencies among form four students. 3-To discover the importance of innovation and the design needed in learning Arabic Rhetoric among form four students.

Methodology
A Needs Analysis survey was conducted in this study to investigate the students' needs related to the Arabic Rhetoric application. The purposive sampling comprised of 40 form four students from Sekolah Agama Menengah Tengku Ampuan Jemaah, Shah Alam. The instrument employed was a questionnaire comprising four parts, namely Part A (demographic information), Part B (learning approach of Arabic Rhetoric subject), Part C (issues in Arabic Rhetorical learning), and Part D (innovation design in Arabic Rhetoric learning). The questionnaire used a five-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (SD), disagree (D), uncertain (U), agree (A), and strongly agree (SA).
Prior to the study, the questionnaire was verified by an expert who checked the accurateness and validity of each item and construct. It was then distributed to the respondents via the Google Form application. The result showed that the reliability of this survey recorded 0.931 which is categorized as excellent (Gliem & Gliem, 2003). The data were analyzed with frequency, percentage, mean (M) and standard deviation (SD) through descriptive statistics by employing the SPSS software version 26. The interpretation of mean score was done following Nunnally and Bernstein (1994) as illustrated in Table 1 below.

Table 1
Mean Score Interpretation Mean score Level 1.00 -2.00 Low 2.01 -3.00 Medium low 3.01 -4.00 Medium 4.00 -5.00 High Note. Nunnally and Bernstein (1994) The analysis serves the purpose of determining the composition and demographic characteristics of the respondents such as gender, results of PT3 Arabic subject, and level of ICT skill.

Needs Analysis
According to McKillip (1987), needs analysis is a process of identifying issues and determining solutions for a targeted audience. Information about the problems should be gathered so that it could be identified solved successfully (p. 20). The aim of conducting a needs analysis in this study is to investigate the existing issues and the need to develop an Arabic Rhetoric application. This was achieved through the survey technique where a questionnaire was administered to the respondents in eliciting their feedback on the need to develop an Arabic Rhetoric application. The design of the application should be practical in attracting students' motivation to the Arabic Rhetoric subject through MOOC.  The results indicate that the respondents' distribution by gender is almost equal. In terms of the respondents' PT3 result for the Arabic subject, the highest percentage is 'excellent' (60%), followed by 'good' (25%), and 'medium' (15%). Meanwhile, almost all respondents are ICT literate with the majority of them are 'proficient' (always use ICT) (52.5%), followed by 'medium' (rarely use ICT) (37.5%), 'very proficient' (able to produce digital materials using ICT) (7.5%), and only one respondent (2.5%) is ICT illiterate. Table 4 contains results about the use of Arabic Rhetoric learning materials. It provides information on how students learn Arabic Rhetoric, whether by using textbooks, additional reference books, library materials, internet materials, and other resources.  Table 4 show that the use of learning materials among the respondents is at a medium level, with an overall mean value of 3.65 and a standard deviation of .539. This indicates a moderate usage of learning materials by students to support their learning. The learning material with the highest mean score of usage is textbook (M = 4.27, SD = .679) followed by notes shared by lecturers (M = 3.97, SD = .891), short notes made by students (M = 3.97, SD = .832), additional reference books (M = 3.70, SD = .911), internet materials (M = 3.58, SD = .931), and graphical notes summary (M = 3.53, SD = 1.012), computer software (M = 3.12, SD = .822), and library materials (M = 3.08, SD = .656). All items have recorded mean values of medium and high. This concludes that the majority of respondents used textbook as their learning material to learn Arabic Rhetoric.

C: Issues on Arabic Rhetoric Learning Approach
This section attempts to uncover two issues pertaining to Arabic Rhetoric learning approach (see Table 5) and innovation tendency in Arabic Rhetoric learning (see Table 6).  Table 5 above shows the data on Arabic Rhetoric learning approach, which recorded a moderate level with a mean score of 3.30 and a standard deviation of .675. All items obtained a mean average score at a medium level, with the exception of "unavailability of completed teaching aids" which recorded a medium low level (M = 2.95, SD = 0.904). The highest mean score was recorded by "complex teaching notes" (M = 3.68, SD = 0.888) followed by "limited time to delve into the topics in class" (M = 3.62, SD = 1.102). Whereas other items in this constrict had recorded medium low to medium results, namely "syllabus content is too much." (M = 3.38, SD = 1.148), "lack of online materials on the internet" (M = 3.25, 1.032), "difficulty to communicate with teachers outside the classroom" (M = 3.20, SD = 1.114), "traditional teaching (total explanation by the teacher) is insufficient to understand the content of the subject." (M = 3.18, SD = 1.152), and "high cost of obtaining additional reference materials" (M = 3.12, SD =.966). In summary, the unavailability of completed teaching aids reported in this result is in line with Muhammad et al. (2006) who stated that textbook has minimal assistance to students' understanding of Arabic Rhetoric in class. This has led Hanim (2014) to suggest on the need properly designed teaching materials that can effectively assist in achieving the learning objectives of an Arabic Rhetoric course.  Table 6 show that innovation tendency in Arabic Rhetoric learning is at a high level with an overall mean score of 4.04 and a standard deviation of .670. It indicates high tendency for students to have innovation in learning. All items obtained a mean average score at medium and high level. Items with the highest mean values are "colored materials in a subject learnt" (M = 4.43, SD = .813) and "reading information with intriguing graphics" (M = 4.30, SD = .939). This is followed by "pictorial materials in a subject learnt" (M = 4.23, SP = .733), "information written with attractive font" (M = 4.15, SD = .975), "information with audio description" (M = 3.97, SD = 1.074), "interactive learning materials" (M = 3.90, SD = .744), "information presented with animation (moving)" (M = 3.83, SD = 1.059), and "learning using multimedia technology application" (M = 3.52, SD = .816). Such finding clearly indicates that students prefer to have innovation in their learning process, subsequently urging teachers or developers to design a course properly in order to attract them in improve their level of understanding and acquisition (Chang et al., 2019).

D: Innovation Design in Arabic Rhetoric Learning
This section investigates the importance of innovation in Arabic Rhetoric learning (see Table  7) and the content design and presentation of the Arabic Rhetoric application (see Table 8).  Table 7 shows that the importance of innovation in Arabic Rhetorical learning is at a medium level with an overall mean score of 3.99 and a standard deviation of .777. Although this construct has obtained a moderate mean score, the figure is close to the high level with a marginal difference of 0.01. The researchers perceived that the figure can be rounded to 4.00, subsequently moving the importance of innovation in Arabic Rhetoric learning to the high level. All items recorded medium and high mean scores. Items with the highest mean scores are "animated Arabic Rhetoric application makes information easier to understand" (M = 4.30, SD = .823) as well as "animated videos in the application make learning more fun" (M = 4.23, SD = .974). This is followed by "animated Arabic Rhetorical application makes information more concise" (M = 4.10, SD = .900), "animated videos in the application may enhance thinking creativity" (M = 4.03, SD = .920), "animated videos in the application make learning faster" (M = 3.90, SD = .955)," animated videos in the application motivate students to study harder" (M = 3.90, SD = 1.081), "animated videos in the application make learning more focused" ( M = 3.85, SD = 1.027), and "learning through animated videos is more effective" (M = 3.63, SD = .868). Such finding thus suggests that innovation in learning is crucial to create an environment that will foster students' interest (Hat, 2013).   Table 8 above show that the content design and presentation of the Arabic Rhetoric application is at a high level with an overall mean score of 4.39 and a standard deviation of .445. All items recorded high mean scores with an exception of "choice of moving font should be easy to read" which obtained a moderate level (M = 3.80, SD = .992). Items with the highest mean scores are "videos need appropriate quality" (M = 4.65, SD = .533) and "the choice of font color, font size, icons, and graphics should be appropriate" (M = 4.60, SD = .545). This is followed by "audios need to be clearly pronounced" (M = 4.60, SD = .632), "each topic should be wrapped up with a drill exercise" (M = 4.50, SD = .716), "the layout should be attractive" (M = 4.50, SD = .679)," informative graphics are necessary to provide a good understanding" (M = 4.48, SD = .640), "possibility of respondent to ask other students in the space provided" (M = 4.40, SD = .632), and "description of video content is necessary to ease understanding" (M = 4.30, SD = .723). Meanwhile, two items obtained the same mean and standard deviation, which are "learning outcomes for each topic should be in the form of a concise text" and "possibility of respondent to ask facilitator in the comments section if the content is not understood." (M = 4.25, SD = .670). In summary, the design of content and presentation plays a vital role in Arabic Rhetoric learning. Thus, teachers and developers need to consider appropriate teaching contents when designing courses in MOOC to enhance students' focus (Chang et al., 2019).

Discussion of Results and Findings
The first objective of this study is to identify the learning approach used by form four students to learn the Arabic Rhetorical subject. Findings reported in this study indicate dominant use of textbook among students due to the fact it is the basic resource in understanding the subject. On the other hand, the use of library materials is not prominent among students probably due to the limited availability of materials. Meanwhile, the second objective delves into the issues of Arabic Rhetoric learning approach and the tendency of innovation among form four students. It was found that the issue of complex teaching notes is a main concern among students as it distorts students' learning and understanding to the Arabic Rhetorical contents. This finding is in line with Zaki et al. (2019), Ibrahim et al. (2019), and Hasan (2014) where the tendency of innovation revealed that students like colored materials in learning. Moreover, colored presentations can be created in the form of animated videos or animated infographic (Hamid et al., 2020). It plays a vital role in sustaining students' attention and aids their brain to have longitudinal memory of the lessons. The tendency of innovation in learning seems to be noticeable as its average mean score was recorded as high. Thus, it is safe to conclude that an Arabic Rhetoric application with multimedia elements will be positively received by students. Finally, the third objective is related to the importance of innovation and design in learning Arabic Rhetoric. The majority of respondents believe that the animated application makes information easier to be conceived and learning process to become more fun. In addition, videos that incorporate font color, size, icon, and graphic display must be in good quality so that it can be viewed clearly and does not disrupt students' concentration during the learning process. This finding is aligned with past literature which suggests interactive as an essential element to promote high motivation among students (Redzaudin et al., 2021).

Conclusion
In conclusion, the current study has found that the application of Arabic Rhetoric course is needed by students to promote interesting self-learning process in the form of online application with multimedia elements such as videos, audios, graphics, images, animation, and interactivity. The construct of content design and presentation of the Arabic Rhetoric application has recorded positive response compared to other constructs. The finding is in line with a number of past studies adopting multimedia applications (Sardi, 2009;Sahrir, 2011;Zulkhairi, 2012;Zainuddin, 2014;Yahya, 2016;Puasa, 2015). Following these findings, there is a need to address and overcome the problems associated with Arabic Rhetoric learning encountered by students. Thus, the application must be properly designed and developed to meet the students' needs in the learning process. If well utilized, this form of e-learning will benefit students and motivates them to delve into the lessons positively. Additionally, innovation factors such as animation and video quality video also contribute to a more meaningful learning.

Motivation and Contribution
The Arabic Rhetorical application is seen to have the ability to increase the motivation of generation Y students since it includes engaging multimedia components such as interactive and animated elements, as well as colourful learning materials. In addition, the online application will include comprehensive teaching and learning materials such as topic description videos, notes, activities, reinforcement exercises, and so on. As a result, it can assist teachers in the process of providing teaching aids.