Pathology of Teaching Reading Skill in Arabic Language and Literature Departments of Iranian State Universities

Reading skill is one of the most important language skills that play a special role in learning a second language. Success in learning reading skill depends on proper teaching strategies and methods being used by professors. Since this skill does not have a specific course in Arabic Language and Literature program, it is often seen that teaching reading skill is neglected and the students do not acquire this skill well. Therefore, the present study uses a descriptive-analytical method and a survey method to study teaching reading skills in the Arabic language and literature departments of Iranian state universities at M.A. level. The statistical sample of this study is composed of 22 teachers (classes) of literary texts and 124 undergraduate students in the Arabic Language and Literature Department of 12 Iranian State universities. The data gathering tools used in this study are observation, interview and test. The results show that the teachers pay "little" attention to teaching reading skills and using modern strategies for teaching, and often use conference strategy to teach.