This research aims to explore the challenges faced by Arabic language teachers in instructing non-native speakers in the twelfth grade in Zakho schools, a multilingual region within the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In this environment, Kurdish serves as the mother tongue for students. Understanding these challenges from the teachers’ perspective is essential, as they are the cornerstone of the educational process, possessing firsthand knowledge of the classroom dynamics, student proficiency levels, curriculum effectiveness, and instructional methodologies.The study employs a descriptive-analytical approach, which is well-suited for observing and analyzing educational and linguistic phenomena as they exist in real-world settings. This approach enables the identification and examination of the educational challenges encountered by teachers with the objective of formulating practical solutions. A total of 60 Arabic language teachers from twelfth-grade schools in Zakho were selected, and a questionnaire was distributed to gather data. The subsequent analysis of the collected responses yielded several significant findings:

• Inadequate curricula that fail to sufficiently address the learning needs of non-native Arabic speakers.


• Limited specialized training in teaching Arabic as a foreign language.


• Weak usage of formal Arabic in classrooms dominated by Kurdish-speaking students.


• Insufficient professional incentives and institutional support for teachers.