Daur al-Mashhad as-Sīmiyā’ī fī Binā’ al-Bī’ah al-‘Arabiyyah fī Ma‘had at-Tibyān: Dirāsah Nau‘iyyah

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the role of the semiotic landscape in shaping students’ everyday Arabic language environment at Al-Tibyan Islamic Boarding School in Deli Serdang. It adopts the view that language is a social practice shaped not only by classroom instruction but also by the physical and symbolic spaces where students live and interact. The study employed a qualitative case study design, with data collected through field observations, semi-structured interviews, and analysis of institutional documents and linguistic signs displayed throughout the school environment. The findings reveal that Arabic is widely present in classrooms, dormitories, corridors, mosques, joglo spaces, and public facilities through place names, schedules, instructions, regulations, announcements, and motivational expressions. These findings indicate six interconnected functions of the semiotic landscape: enhancing the visibility of Arabic, supporting repeated language exposure and habituation, directing behavior and language practices, integrating with language policy and institutional systems, shaping linguistic meaning and identity, and contributing to the development of an integrated everyday Arabic environment. The study concludes that the semiotic landscape constitutes a material and symbolic dimension that supports the Arabic language environment by connecting language, space, behavior, practice, and identity, without assuming a direct causal effect on language proficiency.