Pattern recognition of the foreign learner (FL) in teaching Arabic as a foreign language (TAFL); a cognitive and neurolingquistic approach to the efficacy of phonological-morphological correlations, al-ishtiq?q and ?ilm al-ta?r?f ABSTRACT: Research in cognitive- and neuroscience/neurolinguistics related to working/short-term memory as well as pattern recognition data from AI studies should be applied to TAFL given the highly consistent phonological-morphological and (categorical) semantic correlations in Arabic, which activate the ‘back cortex’, facilitate learning and warrant systematic ear-training predicated on an audiological approach to ?ilm al-ta?r?f and al-ishtiq?q targeting the FL’s phonological loop and memory. The FL is typically deprived of opportunities of native-speaker children to hear and internalize the distinctive rhythmic phonological patterns of Arabic intrinsic in acquisition, comprehension and reproduction where aural-/oral phonemic awareness is primary to reading and writing--all of which activate the auditory cortex. Most pedagogical and methodological principles of Second Language Acquisition (SLA) are applicable to TAFL; however, minimal attention to form (in preferencing communicative approaches) while often warranted, is inapplicable to discrete aural-phonological- and morphological- pattern recognition training given Arabic specificity, constituting a ‘state of exception’. Interactionist approaches are vital to committing semantic associations to memory, but internalization of Arabic-specific phonological-morphological patterns is the precursor. This ongoing research using cognitive psychology methods seeks to demonstrate that intensive exposure and aural-oral conditioning with Arabic derived forms--both without and before formation of semantic linkages--facilitates acquisition impacting aural comprehension, speaking, spelling and reading. The initial object is not attaching meaning to form but engraining and activating patterns to artificially simulate phonological-/audiological background ‘knowledge’ and ‘instincts’, thereby effectively compensating for and emulating the language ‘sense’ and receptivity enjoyed by native-speakers upon entering elementary school. This audiological ‘priming’ or implanting presumes that auditory pathways, awareness, repetition and imitation are primary in learning and that such is justifiable in TAFL due to the relations obtaining between Arabic phonology, morphology and semantics, contrary to other languages where such do not obtain, as well as the fact that FLs are typically unable to accurately pronounce, read, reproduce or acquire lexical items without repeated initial phonological input. This approach is distinct from general audio-lingual methods due to its Arabic-specificity and focus on inculcating awareness of its unique forms via staged, discrete activation in conjunction with regular instruction. It does not supplant but augments existing methodologies, and research seeks to demonstrate additional support for its efficacy in the positive response of students with learning disabilities.