<![CDATA[Qur’anic memorization provides sustained exposure to Arabic phonology, lexical forms, and recurrent structures, yet stored textual knowledge does not necessarily become spontaneous speech. This study examined whether institutional memorization level and mastery of Qur’anic language were associated with Arabic speaking performance among female students in Islamic higher education and explored the conditions that explain the observed statistical pattern. A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design was used with 69 students at Aisyah Bint Abu Bakr College, Bogor, Indonesia (29 at level VIII and 40 at level II), followed by interviews and observation involving eight students, an Arabic lecturer, and the college head. Level VIII students obtained higher speaking scores than level II students (M = 84.17 vs. 74.88), Welch’s t(59.08) = 4.25, p < .001, d = 1.04. Qur’anic-language mastery was high overall (M = 29.75/35) but was not significantly associated with speaking performance (Spearman’s ρ = −.174, p = .152) and did not independently predict speaking in the regression model (b = −.105, p = .569). The two predictors explained 21.8% of speaking-score variance. Qualitative evidence indicated that memorization supported pronunciation, lexical familiarity, and sensitivity to Arabic patterns, whereas spontaneous speaking additionally required rapid retrieval, functional reformulation, repeated interaction, confidence, and a supportive language environment. The findings support an instructional pathway from memorization through understanding and functional use to retrieval practice and communicative competence, while the observational design precludes causal inference.]]>
