Arabic 1 Teacher License Test Content: 6 Domains, 17 Standards and Weights
Content of the Arabic 1 teacher license test for primary teachers: the six domains and weights (grammar and morphology 32%, teaching methods 22%), all 17 standards, and ETEC's question style.
- Questions and time
- 88 questions · 120 minutes
- Pass mark
- 50%
- Exam fee
- SAR 100 for the subject test
Start with 10 free questions to find what needs more work. No sign-up, with answer explanations.
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Start with 10 free questions to find what needs more work. No sign-up, with answer explanations.
Try 10 free questions and see your levelLast verified: 31 October 2026. Our sources are the candidate guide for the Teachers' Professional License test in Arabic Language 1 and the Arabic Language 1 teacher standards, both published by the Education and Training Evaluation Commission (ETEC) (1441 AH / 2020 edition; the latest edition, and the guide is a trial edition). This guide is independent: it is not affiliated with ETEC, Qiyas (the National Center for Assessment), the Ministry of Education or any government body.
In short: the Arabic 1 test is for primary school teachers and covers 17 standards in six domains. Grammar and morphology are 32% of the questions and teaching Arabic in primary school is 22%, which makes 54% together. Then literature and appreciation 18%, receiving language 10%, producing language 10% and language 8%.
Who is this test for?
ETEC offers two separate Arabic tests, each with its own guide and standards. Arabic 1 is the one aimed at primary school teachers (ETEC guide, p. 4).
- Arabic teacher in primary school: the Ministry of Education's guide to specialisations for teaching posts (2025, p. 8) ties this post to a professional license in Arabic Language (1).
- Lower-primary (early grades) teacher: the same guide (p. 8) says the license subject is "Early Grades", so this teacher does not sit Arabic 1.
- Intermediate and secondary school teacher: sits Arabic 2, which has its own content guide on this site (its standards are on ETEC's site).
Arabic 1 and Arabic 2
| Item | Arabic 1 (this page) | Arabic 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Stage | Primary | Intermediate and secondary |
| Domains and standards | 6 domains, 17 standards | 8 domains, 25 standards |
| Syntax and morphology | One domain, 32% | Syntax 28%, morphology 6% |
| Literature | Literature and appreciation 18% | Literature and criticism 17% |
| Rhetoric and prosody | Not separate domains | Rhetoric 13%, prosody and rhyme 3% |
| Teaching methods | 22% | 17% |
The Arabic 1 weights come from Figure 1 and the table on pages 6 and 7 of its guide.
Test format
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Number of questions | 88 questions |
| Question type | Multiple choice with four options; each question measures one indicator of one standard |
| Duration | 120 minutes (two hours) |
| Delivery | Paper or computer depending on the subject, shown in your profile |
| Language | Arabic |
| Calculator | Not allowed |
| Scoring | Criterion-referenced; wrong answers carry no penalty |
| Score levels | 50 Practitioner Teacher, 70 Advanced Teacher, 80 and above Expert Teacher (Professional License Regulations, Article 4) |
The six domains and their weights
These weights come from Figure 1 and the table on pages 6 and 7 of the candidate guide.
| Domain | Official weight | Standards | Questions out of 88 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grammar and morphology | 32% | 8 | 28 |
| Language and vocabulary | 8% | 1 | 7 |
| Literature and appreciation | 18% | 2 | 16 |
| Receiving language | 10% | 1 | 9 |
| Producing language | 10% | 1 | 9 |
| Teaching Arabic in primary school | 22% | 4 | 19 |
| Total | 100% | 17 | 88 |
Each question measures one indicator, and the test does not have to cover every indicator.
All 17 standards, one by one
Standard names follow the standards document, and the "What it tests" column is our summary of its indicators. The document writes the numbers like this: 1.36.6 to 17.36.6, and we write them 6.36.1 to 6.36.17.
Grammar and morphology (32%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.36.1 | Parts of speech, verb types, declension markers and definiteness | Noun, verb or particle and the marker of each; the three kinds of verb; declinable vs indeclinable words; original vs secondary case markers; definite vs indefinite and the kinds of definite noun |
| 6.36.2 | Nominative nouns and their main rules | Subject and predicate of the nominal sentence and their markers in singular, dual and plural; the kana and inna groups and their effect; agent and passive agent |
| 6.36.3 | Accusative nouns and the differences between them | The object, absolute object, object of purpose and how it differs from the absolute object; adverbs of time and place; comparing the circumstantial accusative (hal) and specification (tamyiz) |
| 6.36.4 | Genitive nouns and their main rules | Spotting a genitive noun and its governor; meanings of the main prepositions; the construct (idafa) and what is dropped because of it |
| 6.36.5 | Moods of the imperfect verb | Indicative, subjunctive and jussive of the imperfect verb; the main particles that put it in the subjunctive or jussive and their effect |
| 6.36.6 | Followers: conjunction, adjective and emphasis | The conjoined noun and its antecedent and the common conjunctions; adjective and the noun it describes; the two kinds of emphasis |
| 6.36.7 | Grammatical constructions | Exception; negation vs prohibition; questions; conditions; the vocative; the comparative; numbers; warning, urging and specification; praise and blame; exclamation |
| 6.36.8 | Morphology: analysing word structure | Root and augmented forms; sound and weak verbs; deletion, vowel change and assimilation; fixed vs derived verbs; verbal nouns; the morphological scale; derived nouns; sound, extended, defective and shortened nouns; dual, plural, relative adjective and diminutive |
Language and vocabulary (8%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.36.9 | Language: concept, features, dictionaries and sounds | The concept and features of language; finding a word's meaning in a dictionary; synonyms and antonyms; points of articulation of Arabic sounds and their features |
Literature and appreciation (18%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.36.10 | Periods of Arabic literature, writers and genres | The literary periods and their features; the main writers of each period; the common genres of each |
| 6.36.11 | Appreciating literary texts: imagery and rhetoric | Spotting a simile and its elements; literal vs figurative use; statement vs non-statement sentences; verbal and semantic embellishments; interpreting a text and showing what makes it beautiful |
Receiving language (reading and listening) (10%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.36.12 | Receiving language: reading and listening | The concept, kinds and purposes of reading; the concept and kinds of listening; reading strategies and what each does; main and secondary ideas; drawing values and attitudes from a text; giving reasoned judgements on its ideas |
Producing language (speaking and writing) (10%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.36.13 | Producing language: speaking, writing and spelling | Elements of oral communication and effective speaking; the naskh and ruq'a scripts; punctuation; letters added or dropped in some words; look-alike letters (ta' marbuta, ta' and ha'; alif and alif maqsura; dad and za'); the types of hamza; functional vs creative writing |
Teaching Arabic in primary school (22%)
| Standard | Name | What it tests |
|---|---|---|
| 6.36.14 | Teaching listening and speaking to beginners | Listening and speaking skills for beginners and the main strategies for teaching each, and how to use them |
| 6.36.15 | Teaching reading | Skills for teaching beginners to read; the analytic and synthetic methods; strategies for reading comprehension; strategies for teaching concepts and vocabulary (classification, pictures, examples, role play, games, stories) |
| 6.36.16 | Teaching writing | Skills for teaching beginners to write; comparing the methods of teaching Arabic writing in the early stage; strategies for teaching handwriting, spelling and composition; copied, visual and test dictation and how each is run |
| 6.36.17 | Teaching grammar to beginners | Skills for teaching grammar to beginners; weighing the deductive and inductive methods; strategies for teaching grammar |
The style of questions in ETEC's guide
The guide shows ten sample questions with the reasoning behind each answer, then fifteen practice questions with an answer key that links each question to its standard and indicator. They show the pattern of the test:
- Grammar and morphology: which group is all definite nouns, the silent ta' of feminine as a marker that belongs to the past verb only, the correct form of "mu'allimu al-madrasa" (the nun is dropped because of the construct), and the sound verb among "sa'ala", "qala", "rama" and "wa'ada".
- Language: the meaning of the verb "taqahqara" (retreated), and the synonym of "al-himam" in a line of verse (death).
- Literature and appreciation: the thing compared to (mushabbah bihi) in a line that uses "yudari' laylan", and the sentence where "al-asad" is the animal itself, not a figure of speech.
- Producing language: which sentence has no spelling errors, with joining and cutting hamza.
- Teaching methods: describing pictures as a strategy for teaching speaking, and the dictation in which words are shown, then hidden, and students are asked to write them (visual dictation).
ETEC itself notes that the guide's examples do not cover every aspect of the test and do not reflect how easy or hard the real questions are.
How to use this table when you study
- Start with the free questions to see which domains are weakest for you.
- Order your time by weight: grammar and morphology first, then teaching methods, then literature. The eight-week plan is built on these weights.
- Do not neglect receiving language and producing language. Together they are 20% of the questions (about 18), and you will rarely find them in the recall sets.
- Parse every grammar example yourself before reading the explanation of the options, because the test asks for the ruling, not the bare rule.
Your score on our questions is an estimate of readiness, not an official result. Each unit in unit practice is one of these six domains, so if the free questions show a weakness in teaching methods or literature, you can practise that domain on its own.
Finished reading? Try a set of questions
Start with 10 free questions to find your weakest units. Keep practising with the full question bank and mock exams from SAR 26.
Sources and references
- ETEC – Professional License Test for Educational Professions (dates, scoring, FAQ and e-services) etec.gov.sa
- ETEC – Candidate guide for Arabic Language 1 teachers (2020 trial edition): domains, weights and sample questions media.etec.gov.sa
- ETEC – Subject standards for Arabic Language 1 teachers (1441 AH / 2020) media.etec.gov.sa
- ETEC – Professional License Regulations for Educational Jobs (1445 AH revision) media.etec.gov.sa
- ETEC – Subject standards for Arabic Language 2 teachers (1441 AH / 2020) media.etec.gov.sa