English Review: Journal of English Education
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UNDERSTANDING AND IMPLEMENTATION OF DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION BY ENGLISH TEACHERS AT VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS IN PARIAMAN
Get PDFAbstract: For the past four years, English teachers in Indonesia have been required to adopt Differentiated Instruction in their lessons to make their learning more adaptable for students' needs as a result of modifications to a new curriculum known as Merdeka Curriculum. However, there were limited studies conducted to investigate English teachers’ understanding and implementation of Differentiated Instruction at vocational high schools’ level. The purpose of this research is to fill this gap through qualitative research. This study is intended: (1) to investigate English teachers’ understanding of Differentiated Instruction , (2) to explore how English teachers use Differentiated Instruction as a teaching approach in the classroom. Five English teachers from SMK 1 and SMK 2 Pariaman participated in this research. The data were gathered from observation checklists and interviews. The results suggested that the teachers understood the concept of Differentiated Instruction and knew how to identify their students’ needs but they lacked knowledge of how to differentiate interests in teaching process especially regarding the content differentiation. The implementation of the approach in the classroom showed that teachers differentiated the content based on students’ ability level and learning styles, while in the process, it was differentiated according to students’ ability level and product was differentiated based on students’ learning styles and interests.Keywords: differentiated instruction ; DI understanding; DI implementation.
PRONUNCIATION VARIABILITY OF ENGLISH DENTAL FRICATIVES AMONG SUNDANESE LEARNERS IN DIFFERENT ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES
Get PDFClear pronunciation is a critical component of successful communication, essential for developing both speaking and listening skills. However, pronunciation challenges often arise due to differences between written and spoken forms of a language, as well as the influence of a speaker's native language. This study examines the production of English dental fricative consonant sounds by Sundanese students from English and non-English departments at Widyatama University, Indonesia. The study aims to identify common pronunciation errors and their causes, comparing students who have extensive English training with those who do not. A qualitative descriptive method was employed, supported by content analysis, to analyze the pronunciation of 10 students—five from each department. The findings reveal significant differences in pronunciation accuracy between the two groups, with English Department students generally performing better. Common errors include the substitution of dental fricatives with alveolar stops and labiodental fricatives with bilabial plosives. The primary causes of these errors are attributed to insufficient practice, lack of phonetic awareness, and interference from the native Sundanese language. This research highlights the need for targeted pronunciation training and increased phonetic awareness to improve English pronunciation skills among non-English majors
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN WRITING ANXIETY AMONG EFL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS: A SURVEY STUDY AT UNIVERSITAS JAMBI
Get PDFWriting is a skill that is necessary for success in the academic world. Writing is a necessary activity in education that fosters significant growth in both teaching and learning. However, good writing requires a variety of skills, including a wide vocabulary, the capacity for contextual understanding, analytical strength, the capacity for inference, the capacity for critical thought, and much more. This skill is unquestionably difficult to acquire, especially when writing in English, which naturally puts more pressure and anxiety on students. This study was designed to investigate the types and levels of writing anxiety experienced by EFL students taking an academic writing course at an English department at a university in Jambi, regardless of their gender. The instrument of this study was a close-ended questionnaire that was adopted from Cheng (2004). It consists of 22 statements about different types of anxiety (cognitive, somatic, and avoidance behavior). There were 225 students who participated in the study. Majority of them 82.2% (185 students) were female and only 17.8% (40 students) were male. The results of the study indicated that there are differences in the level of anxiety experienced by male and female students. The highest score of the two genders is in the somatic anxiety type; namely, women have a mean score of 3.36 and men have a mean score of 3.07. Although both have high levels, there is a slight difference in numbers, so women experience higher levels of anxiety than men, and the type of anxiety they have is somatic anxiety
INDONESIAN EFL LEARNERS AND SPEAKING ANXIETY: INSIGHTS FROM A META-SYNTHETIC ANALYSIS
Get PDFThis study presents a comprehensive meta-synthetic analysis of speaking anxiety among Indonesian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Speaking anxiety is a common challenge that significantly impacts the language acquisition process, affecting learners' confidence, performance, and overall proficiency. The meta-synthesis method was employed to integrate and interpret findings from multiple qualitative and quantitative studies conducted in the Indonesian context. The analysis reveals several key factors contributing to speaking anxiety, including fear of negative evaluation, lack of confidence in language proficiency, and cultural influences on communication styles. Additionally, the study highlights the role of educational environments and teacher-student dynamics in exacerbating or alleviating anxiety. The findings suggest that targeted interventions, such as supportive teaching practices, anxiety-reducing classroom activities, and the development of a positive learning environment, can effectively mitigate speaking anxiety. This meta-synthesis provides valuable insights for educators, policymakers, and researchers aiming to enhance EFL education in Indonesia by addressing the psychological barriers to effective language learning. By synthesizing diverse perspectives and empirical evidence, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of speaking anxiety in the Indonesian EFL context and offers practical recommendations for fostering a more conducive learning atmosphere for language learners
CODE SWITCHING AS POLITENESS STRATEGIES IN EFL CLASSROOM INTERACTION
No full textCode switching and Politeness strategy are elements of communication that significantly influence classroom interaction. This paper was to reveal code switching including the reason of code switching as well as how it functions as politeness strategy in EFL classroom interaction. This study adopted a qualitative descriptive method. This research was based on the observation conducted in Universitas Negeri Makassar, in 2022. The research subject was 2 English Education classes that employed group presentation as the learning strategy. It consisted of 31 students for each class. To collect the data, the researcher recorded the classroom presentation. The recordings were then transcribed and analyzed by using discourse analysis approach. The reason of code switching was analyzed based on the theory by Hoffman (1991), and the politeness strategy was based on the rule of Politeness strategy by Brown and Levinson (1987). The result showed that code switching was used by students as politeness strategy during group presentation, and it was reflected in some maxims that were maxim of manner, maxim of relation, quality maxim, and quantity maxim. Finding of this research was significant in expanding ideas and insight about code switching that is actually can be used as politeness strategy in classroom interaction, particularly in group presentation
EXPLORING THE REALIZATION OF COHESION AS A RESOURCE OF TEXT TEXTURE ON UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC WRITING
No full textThis study aimed to explore the realization of cohesion as text texture resource on undergraduate students’ academic writing. The researchers were aware that students’ writing might be affected by their understanding of what had been learned before. To write an academic writing was not easy for them since they should integrate knowledge either the content being writing or grammar including text texture. Texture of text were realized in cohesion devices namely reference, conjunction, ellipsis and lexical organization. In order to do this study, the researchers applied qualitative method, the population was academic writings texts that were written by students in 2021. Purposive random sampling strategy were applied to get the 12 samples of theses writing specified only texts related to teaching and learning English. Data gained were identified and classified based on the view of resources of cohesion realization and then be analyzed and interpreted to get its result about the text texture. Based on the analysis it was found out that the realization of cohesion as resources of text texture were in reference that covered to personal, demonstrative and comparative references; conjunctions, ellipsis, substitution and lexical organization It was found out that cohesion resources were realized in reference, conjunction and repetition were mostly used. This fact might because of text types and students’ limitation of using varieties realization of substitution, ellipsis and other lexical cohesion. It is hoped that the result of this study can give contribution to the English lecturers, especially to the lecturers of writing and grammar
THE IMPACT OF DOCUMENTARY DIGITAL STORYTELLING ON CRITICAL THINKING AND READING SKILLS IN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS
Get PDFThis study aims to evaluate the effect of a digital storytelling-based documentary video method in developing critical thinking skills on reading comprehension of secondary school students, considering learning style as a moderator. The method was applied to the experimental group, while the control group used the conventional method. The pretest results showed that the experimental group had an average score of 84.7, higher than the control group, which had an average score of 81.36. After the treatment, the experimental group showed a significant improvement with an average posttest score of 87.63, compared to the control group, which had an average score of 83.7. ANOVA analysis showed that learning style had a significant effect on critical thinking ability (sig = 0.036), while membership in the treatment or control group showed no significant effect (sig = 0.581). No significant interaction between learning style and group was found (sig = 0.171), indicating that the effect of learning style on critical thinking development was independent of the treatment group. This study confirmed that customizing learning methods according to students' learning styles can improve critical thinking skills in reading comprehension. However, the effectiveness of this method was not significantly affected by membership in the treatment or control group. Further research is needed to explore how this method can be optimized for different groups of students
CHALLENGES FOR INDONESIAN EFL STUDENTS IN ENGLISH ACADEMIC WRITING
Get PDFThis research aims to examine the challenges faced by Indonesian EFL students in academic writing, specifically the errors they made while writing scholarship application essays. The study focused on identifying syntactical and morphological errors and understanding their sources and reasons. The data consisted of 20 essays from third-semester students in an academic writing course at a private Indonesian university. Two English language lecturers reviewed the essays twice to identify the errors. The findings revealed that syntactic errors were the most common, with 132 instances (61.69%), followed by punctuation and capitalization errors with 50 instances (23.37%), and morphological errors were the least frequent with 32 instances (14.94%). Interlingual, or native language interference, was found to be the primary source of these errors. The main factor of making errors is the lack of previous experience and knowledge about the conventions of academic writing and the expectations of the institution they are studying at. This study offers teaching recommendations for EFL teachers, emphasizing the importance of considering the impact of learners' native language besides providing appropriate grammar instruction as the key to effective teaching for ESL teachers
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LANGUAGE PROGRAM TOWARDS STUDENTS SPEAKING SKILL IN UNIVERSITY
No full textThis study examines the impact of a language program on the speaking skills of students at UIN SYAHADA Padangsidimpuan. With English proficiency being crucial for global communication, the research aimed to assess the program's effectiveness in improving students' speaking abilities. Using an ex post facto research design, 43 English department students were assessed. Speaking tests were administered at the start and end of the semester, and the data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test. Findings showed a modest increase in mean scores, indicating some positive effect of the program. However, greater variability in post-test scores and a Wilcoxon test significance value of 0.146 suggested no statistically significant enhancement in speaking skills. This study underscores the necessity for customized interventions and enhanced teaching strategies to improve the efficacy of language programs in universities
VARK LEARNING STYLES AND SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE IN EFL CONTEXTS: INSIGHTS FROM TERTIARY-LEVEL STUDENTS
No full textThe integration of social media into EFL learning has become increasingly popular, fostering greater student engagement, collaboration, resource innovation, and personalized learning experiences. This study examines the usage patterns of social media and their alignment with VARK (Visual, Auditory, Read/write, Kinesthetic) learning style among tertiary-level EFL students in the English Language Education Study Program at Universitas Brawijaya. Utilizing a quantitative survey design, data were gathered from 100 undergraduate students of the 2023 cohort, all of whom had used social media for EFL learning for over a year. Analysis through Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Microsoft Excel revealed that audio-based platforms, such as those featuring English songs and podcasts, are particularly favored by auditory, kinesthetic, and auditory-kinesthetic learners. YouTube emerged as the most preferred platform, with the highest mean score (3.64), selected by 31% of respondents. However, the findings indicate that students' social media preferences for EFL learning do not always align with their individual learning styles, suggesting a disconnect between preferred platforms and learning modalities. The study underscores the importance of selecting appropriate social media platforms tailored to diverse learning preferences in EFL education. These findings can guide educators in designing more effective EFL teaching strategies, leveraging the potential of social media to meet varying learner needs