AI is a branch of computer science that aims to develop systems and programs that can simulate human intelligence. There are many definitions of artificial intelligence. [36] defined it as “the process of simulating human intelligence using computer software that has complex algorithms to monitor human behavior and reactions in different situations, and is capable of learning, collecting and analyzing data, and making decisions” (p. 22).

AI is also defined as: “The field of science and technology that relies on sciences such as computer science, biology, psychology, linguistics, mathematics, and engineering. AI aims to understand the nature of human intelligence, simulate intelligent human behavior through computer programs, and provide computers capable of thinking, seeing, hearing, walking, speaking, and feeling” ([29]).

The researcher believes that AI is computer technologies developed to perform several tasks that mimic human intelligence, such as thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making, to complete the tasks smoothly and successfully.

AI has emerged as an applied computer science concerned with studying, understanding, and simulating human intelligence to create a new generation of intelligent computers capable of performing many tasks that require high capabilities, such as inference, deduction, and perception ([38]).

The aims of AI include developing technologies that help improve human life, support human decisions, increase efficiency, and facilitate processes in various fields. [39] stated that AI aims to:

1. Understand the nature of human intelligence by creating computer programs that can simulate intelligent human behavior.

2. Process information in a way that is closer to the human way of solving problems through parallel processing, where several commands are executed at the same time.

[9] also believes that one of the goals of AI is to simulate the nature of human intelligence and methods of solving problems, making decisions, and performing other tasks.

AI is of great importance worldwide, especially in this era. It is used in various fields to improve performance and simplify processes. Therefore, it is a fundamental pillar for improving people’s lives and supporting innovation in many sectors.

The importance of AI in education lies in its advantages, as mentioned in [41] study, which are as follows:

1. Explain the study material and provide feedback on the answers.

2. Enable students to find a lot of information more quickly and from one source.

3. Reducing the routine workload of teachers and administrators.

4. Save time and solve problems more efficiently.

5. Improving teachers’ professional competences while maintaining their essential role within the educational institution.

6. It helps students choose good questions, and it also provides them with an outlet.

It allows students’ information to be collected and analyzed to help them improve their academic performance.

AI can be divided into several types that differ in terms of intelligence level, capabilities, and uses ([36]; [24]; [14]; [28]) have divided AI into the following:

1. Narrow AI: This is the simplest type of AI and is programmed to perform specific functions within a specific environment. The machine lacks the ability to think. Examples include Google search, speech recognition, and image recognition programs.

2. Strong AI: This type of AI is characterized by the ability to collect and analyze information and utilize it for planning, inference, and prediction. This type is important in developing AI to make machines as intelligent as humans. Examples include self-driving smart cars, personal assistants, and smart chatbots.

3. Superintelligence: This represents a level of AI that exceeds human capabilities in all areas, including creativity, problem-solving, and decision-making. It has the ability to learn, plan, communicate automatically, and make judgments. Therefore, it is necessary to adhere to the ethics of AI regarding the relationship between humans and machines. It is still under experimentation and is viewed as a hypothetical case, such as in movies and science fiction books, where machines are able to control the world.

There are many uses of AI applications in the educational process, which have been mentioned in much educational research and literature, such as: [9], [21], [43], [31], and [35], which can be detailed as follows:

1. Intelligent chatbots: These are among the most important AI applications used in education. They are computer programs that intelligently simulate real-life conversation. Interaction between the user and the program occurs through text or voice messages.

2. Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS): One of the most common applications of AI in education, they provide step-by-step personalized educational lessons for each student across several topics in specific fields and are used to simulate individual human teaching.

3. Intelligent adaptive learning: Using computer algorithms based on learners’ responses to questions to tailor the educational materials, offer learning activities that best suit learners’ cognitive needs, and provide feedback.

4. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR): Virtual reality is an interactive computer simulation of actual reality that allows the user to experience different things. This technology helps learners develop their abilities and understand complex scientific concepts.

As for Augmented Reality (AR) technology, it is a synchronous technology that adds an information layer in multi-dimensional forms, transporting the learner into a two- or three-dimensional view of their surroundings, and providing learners with a range of educational experiences, such as simulating surgical operations.

5. AI-based educational robots: Robots that cultivate learners’ innovative spirit and scientific ability, integrating human and interdisciplinary knowledge through machine learning.

6. Smart educational games: These are computer-programmed games that achieve a specific educational goal. They are characterized by excitement, challenge, imagination, and competition. They are designed to stimulate mental activity and increase concentration. Examples include the Kahoot app.

7. Smart assessment: Computer programs that assess higher-order thinking skills, grade homework, test language development levels, and perform complex tests automatically. Examples include Google Forms.

Naturally, the use of AI applications in the educational process is of great importance, and there are obstacles that limit the use of AI in education. The results highlighted by previous studies recommended the need to expand the use of AI applications and to create qualification programs to train male and female teachers to develop their experience and knowledge of how to use AI applications in teaching. Additionally, the study highlights the need to integrate these applications into educational curricula as one of the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and to provide factors such as establishing infrastructure that suits AI applications in educational institutions ([17]; [20]; [7]; [16]).

Figure 1 briefly illustrates the applications of AI used in education:

Figure 1. Applications of AI in education.

AI is one of the technologies that has played a significant role in developing the use of the Arabic language in many fields, particularly regarding the challenges it faces in natural language processing due to its linguistic specificity in terms of word formation, parsing, and derivation.

The impact of AI in enhancing Arabic language education is clear in how it can revolutionize the way Arabic is taught by providing interactive materials, automated educational programs, and practical curricula that support learners based on their needs and levels ([30]).

[40] stated that AI can be used to create interactive educational applications that help learners learn Arabic grammar and vocabulary and provide immediate feedback on their linguistic performance. Thus, this will contribute to making the process of learning the Arabic language more meaningful and interactive for students.

The Arabic language teacher has many advantages, such as their varied professional performance and extensive experience in their field of specialization, which enable them to deal with their professional responsibilities effectively, keep up with developments that benefit them, and seek to obtain various new tools that help them in their educational practices ([32]).

In light of the above, specialists in the field of Arabic language education have confirmed that AI and its applications play a tangible role in serving the Arabic language by activating linguistic planning, reforming the language structure, sounds, and functions, in addition to standardizing writing and its rules, building dictionaries, and preserving and enriching the Arabic vocabulary. They also recommended the necessity of training Arabic language teachers in the skills of using AI applications ([23]; [1]).

The use of AI applications in teaching the Arabic language is an important step in improving the educational process. By using voice recognition and pronunciation analysis technologies, students can develop their linguistic abilities and improve their pronunciation. It also helps in learning grammatical rules through practical applications that enhance understanding and provide a comprehensive explanation of the rules with practical application. It also contributes to improving listening skills through exercises based on text listening and audio simulation, so that students can understand vocal expressions and how to apply them in different contexts ([2]).

“Teaching and Learning Arabic: Visions and Practical Experiences” is a seminar that was held by the Ministry of Education from April 22 to 24, 2024. The seminar resulted in a set of recommendations, including activating AI applications and empowering teachers by offering training programs for Arabic language teachers to improve the technical skills needed to deal with AI applications that support Arabic language teaching.

By reviewing the above-mentioned theoretical aspects of the study, which dealt with the concept of artificial intelligence, its objectives and importance in education, its types, the most important applications and uses in the educational process, and the role of AI in teaching the Arabic language, the efforts of the Ministry of Education in the Sultanate are tangible in training and qualifying teachers on teaching competencies in planning, implementation, and evaluation, whether through numerous courses and workshops conducted by Ministry employees during field visits, or through bulletins and guidelines issued to teachers. To keep up with the technological era, the Sultanate is making great efforts to overcome the challenges teachers face in order to employ AI applications in the educational process. The efforts are exemplified by conferences, workshops, guides, and programs related to this field. Despite this, there remains a major challenge in how to employ these applications and the necessary resources to use them during teaching. This requires intensifying efforts and striving to meet this challenge. The researchers noted, through reviewing previous studies that examined the employment of AI applications in teaching competencies, that the current study corresponded with them in terms of the methodology and tool used, which was represented by the descriptive approach. The questionnaire was used as a tool, such as in the studies of [20], [13], and [22], but it differed from them in the sample, as the previous studies took teachers as a sample, while the current study took supervisors as the sample for the study.

[3] defines AI applications as: “Software and tools used to provide diverse educational content, evaluate students’ performance, and provide personalized guidance based on their individual needs. These applications include smart learning tools, natural language processors, and interactive teaching systems” ([11]).

The researchers define it as a list of smart tools and software, such as interactive chat, qualitative learning, electronic tests and their tools, and electronic games and competitions that are used by Arabic language teachers in the teaching competencies of planning, implementation, and evaluation for Arabic language lessons.

An educational officer at the General Directorate of the Ministry of Education, affiliated with the Directorate of Education in the governorate, supervises schools. He is assigned a set of supervisory and instructional tasks to ensure the quality of education in the Arabic language.

This study employed a descriptive approach by analyzing quantitative data to achieve its objective, which is to explore supervisors’ perceptions of the degree to which Arabic language teachers employ AI applications in teaching competencies related to Arabic language instruction.

The study population consists of all Arabic language supervisors distributed across the education directorates in the various governorates of the Sultanate, numbering (68) supervisors, according to the statistics of the Educational Statistics Yearbook for the year (2023/2024). The study sample consisted of (30) supervisors from the education directorates in the various governorates of the Sultanate of Oman; the response rate was (100%). These are (Muscat Governorate, Al Batinah, Al Dakhiliyah, Al Sharqiyah, Al Dhahirah, and Dhofar), and they were selected randomly. Participants were selected using simple random sampling. The procedure was as follows:

1. A list was prepared of eligible members of the study population.

2. Members were numbered sequentially from 1 to 68.

3. Thirty (30) randomly selected, non-duplicate numbers, without regard to gender, were chosen from among the representative numbers of the population.

4. After completing the random selection and reviewing the sample characteristics, it was found that the sample consisted of 14 males (47%) and 16 females (53%), bringing the total number of participants in the study to 30. The following table illustrates the distribution of the sample.

To assess the level of employing AI applications in planning competency, means and standard deviations for each statement in this domain were calculated, as shown in Table4.

Table 4. Arithmetic means and standard deviations of planning competency items.

Table 4 shows that the arithmetic means of the study sample’s responses to the phrases in the field of cognitive competencies for e-learning ranged between (2.73 - 3.56) with an average availability level for all competency phrases. The seventh phrase came in first place, which reads “Designing interactive e-learning activities using AI applications to enhance learning of the Arabic language,” with an arithmetic mean of (3.73). This may be due to the lack of experience of Arabic language teachers in designing interactive activities due to not receiving sufficient training and the lack of sufficient awareness of how to employ AI applications in a manner consistent with the specified educational objectives. Despite the advantages of interactive activities in helping students interact, making learning more attractive, saving time and effort, and providing quick feedback to students, their design requires sufficient experience in planning and technology, which poses a major challenge for some teachers. The second and eighth statements came in last place, which stated as follows: “Using AI applications in preparing semester study plans for the Arabic language curriculum” and “Using AI applications in determining the objectives of the language lesson and its expected outcomes,” with an arithmetic mean of (2.73). This may be attributed to the limited knowledge of Arabic language teachers in employing AI applications in lesson planning, especially in creating educational tools, preparing attractive educational media for the language lesson, as well as in preparing the lesson plan and determining appropriate behavioral objectives for it, in addition to their lack of knowledge in determining appropriate teaching strategies for lesson topics.

The arithmetic mean of the phrases all together was (3.19) with a medium availability level. This may be attributed to the Arabic language teachers’ reliance on traditional methods in preparing the lesson plan, determining its objectives, and also in choosing appropriate means during teaching the Arabic language, in addition to their lack of knowledge of the concept of AI in the educational process, and their lack of knowledge of employing AI applications in the process of preparing for the language lesson.

Table 5. Arithmetic means and standard deviations of implementation competency items.

Table 5 shows that the arithmetic means of the study sample’s responses to the competency statements are as follows: The implementation ranged between (3.50 - 2.86), with an average level of availability across all items in the field. The thirteenth phrase received the highest score, which stated, “Using interactive chat technology to answer students’ inquiries,” with an arithmetic mean of (3.50). This may be due to the lack of sufficient knowledge in using interactive chat applications such as ChatGPT or other similar applications effectively, and the lack of training programs that enable teachers to use these tools appropriately. Also, some schools or educational institutions have poor internet connectivity to run this type of application. Some teachers may think that using interactive chat technology may reduce direct interaction between them and students, so they avoid using it. The fourteenth, “Using virtual environments based on AI to explain language activities to students,” ranked last among all the phrases with an arithmetic mean of (2.86). This may be attributed to the lack of familiarity of some Arabic language teachers with using virtual environments due to a lack of technical experience, which makes it difficult to apply them in implementation. Furthermore, using virtual environments to design interactive activities requires teachers to possess expertise not only in teaching competencies and the educational domain but also in technology, a reality that poses a significant challenge for many educators.

The arithmetic mean of the whole phrases was (3.23) with an average availability level. This may be attributed to the fact that Arabic language teachers possess an average level of the technological skills necessary to use AI applications and their lack of familiarity, alongside their lack of sufficient experience in employing technology in education, which requires holding training workshops on employing AI applications and benefiting from them in the future.

Arithmetic means and standard deviations were used for each phrase of the third field, and Table 6 shows this in order to reach the level of employing AI applications among Arabic language supervisors in the primary education stage.

Table 6. Arithmetic means and standard deviations of assessment competency.

Table6 shows that the arithmetic means of the study sample’s responses to the evaluation adequacy field statements ranged between (2.53 - 3.63), with a medium availability level for all field statements except for the twenty-first statement, “Encouraging students to find technical solutions to employ AI applications to solve educational problems related to language skills.”, which came in first place with an arithmetic mean of (3.63) and a high availability level. This may be due to the feedback provided by teachers to students via AI and their direct communication with students. Moreover, there is a culture among Arabic language teachers regarding the importance of using artificial intelligence applications in teaching Arabic. The seventeenth statement, “Using AI applications to automate student grades.” shows the lowest score with an arithmetic mean of (2.53) and a low availability level. This may be due to the lack of adequate training for teachers in using them. Furthermore, adapting specialized AI programs to automate student grades requires extensive preparation, workshops, and intensive capabilities from teachers to master this skill, and its absence leads to their reliance on traditional methods. Moreover, the use of automated AI grading applications requires strong technical support and a robust infrastructure to facilitate this process easily. This result is consistent with [20] study.

The arithmetic mean of the combined statements was (2.96), indicating a moderate level of availability. This could be because this axis shows that teachers rely on traditional assessment methods that focus on memorization and recall, and they do not properly incorporate AI applications into the educational process. Additionally, some teachers are unaware that certain applications analyze students’ results and provide feedback, and that identifying linguistic strengths and weaknesses is considered an AI application, especially when using the Microsoft Form application.