Script Journal: Journal of Linguistic and English Teaching
Not a member yet
157 research outputs found
Sort by
Optimizing Machine Translation to Overcome Mechanical Engineering Vocational Education Students Difficulties in Academic Writing
Full text linkBackground:
Machine translation has been proved to be a favourable style to execute. However, some research evidence difficulties indicates that its focus is on students' difficulties in academic writing, not on how to overcome them by using machine translation. As a result, this research aims to determine how machine translation might be optimized to help mechanical engineering vocational education students with academic writing difficulties.
Methodology:
The data was collected from 27 second-semester mechanical engineering vocational education students currently enrolled in an English college course at one of the Universities in Jakarta. Questionnaires online were used to obtain the data, which was analyzed and interpreted descriptively. Questionnaire 1 is used to determine whether or not the subject utilized machine translation and, if so, what type of machine translation they used most frequently. Question 2 was split into two sections. PART A was modified from Xiao & Chen (2015), who described students' challenges with academic writing. It comprises 12 items that were delivered to 27 students via Google Form. Meanwhile, the findings of Lee (2020) have been adapted into PART B.
Findings:
The result of this study revealed that 27 students of mechanical engineering vocational education in one of the Universities in Jakarta encountered several academic writing difficulties such as grammar (construct grammatically correct sentences, the use of appropriate tenses), expressions (discourse markers, part of speech), and vocabulary (proper vocabulary choices and finding synonyms). Grammar problems are the most challenging, followed by vocabulary and phrases. The optimization of machine translation was also discovered to be the most effective way of overcoming vocabulary issues followed by grammar and expression.
Conclusion:
Academic writing issues emerge in the classroom. According to the findings, the most difficulties students encountered fell into the grammar aspect. On the other hand, the students considered that machine translation would be the most helpful in overcoming their vocabulary challenges. Although machine translation helps deal with academic writing difficulties like developing vocabulary skills, increasing knowledge of grammar rules in context, and finding more authentic expression, teachers should also guide them in writing academically.
Keywords: optimizing machine translation; academic writing difficulties; grammar; vocabulary; expressions
Text-Based Language Teaching in the New-Normal Era to Achieve Communicative Competence: Challenges for EFL Teachers
Full text linkAbstract
Background:
To live in this communicative era, people need to have communicative competence. The main aim of ELT is to enable the students to communicate or to produce a text. Thus, EFL teaching needs to facilitate them to achieve communicative competence so that they can participate actively in their communities. EFL teachers can utilize text-based teaching to realize this. Text-based teaching involves the use of texts, which are context bases for achieving communicative competence. This paper is a reflection, describing the teachers' common problems in implementing text-based teaching, especially under the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methodology:
This study is qualitative survey research to gain in-depth information about the topic of the study. The goal of this study is to describe the teachers' perception of Text-Based Approach in ELT and to describe their challenges to implement text-based online teaching. Open-ended survey questions were delivered to 15 research participants. To get a comprehensive understanding of the research participants' opinions, the researchers followed up their answers with an interview via a telephone call.
Findings:
The questionnaire, interview, and teachers’ self-written reflection revealed the teachers’ common problems in implementing text-based teaching, i.e. in selecting texts, in adapting or in modifying texts, in designing tasks, in overcoming students’ boredom, besides the problems of online teaching.
Conclusion:
The main root of the problems is the teachers' lack of knowledge of text-based approach. Thus, updating the teachers' knowledge can be one of the solutions to the problems
Experiential Meaning Breadth Variations of the English-Bahasa Indonesia Alice in Wonderland Movie Texts
Full text linkResearch on experiential meaning breadth of bilingual analysis is rarely performed. The research aims at describing (1) the experiential meaning breadth variations of Alice in Wonderland English- Bahasa Indonesia movie texts, (2) the contextual factors that motivate the occurrence of meaning and realization variations, and (3) the contextual effects of the meaning and realization variations in question on the context in reference to the target readers of the texts. The research used descriptive qualitative approach to make the interpretation and the research findings. The data were taken from Alice in Wonderland (2010) movie texts then measured and validated in terms of quantitative research then analyzed through several steps: classifying the data into realized and unrealized expressions, classifying the data into the categories or degrees of variations, classifying the higher degree of each clause compared, giving number of clauses and their process type, contrasting each analysis result, and drawing conclusions. Research results indicate that the most prominent degree of experiential meaning breadth variations falls into the “lowest†category of variation with 57.54%. This means that the Target Text is closely related to the Source Text and/ or the translator of Target Text applied source- based translation as regards experiential meaning breadth complexity. It is also strengthened by the average degree in each of the analysis falling in “very low†category. The contextual factors that motivate the occurrence of the variations consist of inter- textual and situational context (field, mode, and tenor). The contextual effects in reference to the target readers are related to two aspects; the readability and the purpose of creating the texts. The Target Text is readable for the target readers of the text, target readers feel entertained by interpreting the text. The purpose for creating the Target Texts is for education and gives effects for the target readers to enrich their vocabularies and improve their English skills
Visually Impaired Novice Translators in Using Translation Techniques
Full text linkBackground:
This study aims to determine the translation techniques used by visually impaired translators in translating popular scientific texts. Visually impaired translators were used as the subjects of this study because when compared to sighted translators, visually impaired translators had a different way of doing translation activities. The difference in this performance is influenced using text-to-speech tools they use. Apparently, this phenomenon has not been discussed by various specialized translation research previously and by involving blind translators as research subjects directly, translation techniques can be expected to be identified naturally.
Methodology:
Using popular scientific texts in the field of psychology, two visually impaired translators were assigned to translate 24 sentences in a translation experiment. To analyze the data that was collected, the researchers used analytical techniques consisting of a domain, taxonomy, and componential analysis.
Findings:
Since they are too dependent on text-to-speech aids, visually impaired translators use a lot of literal and discursive creation translation techniques. The appearance of these two techniques in their translation implies that the resulting translation cannot match the context of the sentence. This happens because text-to-speech applies word-for-word reading.
Conclusion:
It is important for visually impaired translators to understand the weaknesses of their translation. Translators should minimize the use of literal and discursive creation translation techniques when translating popular scientific texts. One way is to improve their translation competence.
 
Evaluative Language Maintenance and Shift on Vice-Presidential Candidates Reportage: Translation Analysis of ‘The Conversation’ Political News
Full text linkBackground:
This paper seeks to shed some light concerning on evaluative language maintenance and shift at translation phenomenon of online news. Though this translation issue is frequently discussed in academic discourse, little has been concerned on comprehending to what extent the evaluation used in political news has been retained of shifted in their target texts.
Methodology:
Three political news articles published on ‘The Conversation’ online media were selected for the analysis. For doing so, appraisal system and translation technique theory-based concepts were adopted to guide the analysis as well as the discussion. We employed a noteworthy move in terms of data collection technique, that is focus-group discussion by involving a number of experts who are engaged in the field of linguistics and translation studies.
Findings:
This research findings can be understood as evaluative language maintenance dominating the data compared to translation shift. Translators attempted to bridge Indonesian readers by rendering some ideologically news, with the aim of knocking language distance down between English and Indonesian texts. Meanwhile, a plenty of translation techniques encourage translator awareness to take position upon rendering ideological news, in case of retaining, altering, as well as omitting the constructed meanings.
Conclusion:
It is pivotal, as a consequence, to increase news translators’ awareness of understanding attitude constructed in political news. Otherwise, there will be reframing phenomena as the cause of translators’ intervention depriving readers’ rights to understand mass media attitude.
Keywords: evaluative language; translation; political new
QR Codes Utilization in EFL Classroom: Affective Language Learning Attributes in Writing
Full text linkBackground:Numerous positive gains have been reported on the use of technology in language learning. The current survey of published journal articles reveals a lack of research on its integration to language teaching and learning in graduate language classrooms in EFL settings. In this study, the use of QR codes in the graduate EFL classroom has been investigated concerning its relatedness to affective language learning attributes (herein referred to as ALLAs) including anxiety, engagement, motivation, self-esteem, among others during the lesson on the process of writing. Three objectives were sought (1) to know students’ perceptions on ALLAs before and after the use of QR codes, (2) to establish the relationship between students’ perceived ALLAs and language performance, and (3) to understand specific situations that trigger positive or negative reactions.Methodology:The students were asked to indicate their perceptions concerning ALLAs by using a survey questionnaire before and after the activity. They were also asked to do the QR codes activity to create an essay outline. Further, an open-ended questionnaire was provided to indicate their negative or positive reactions to specific situations during the QR-coded activity.Findings:Results suggest the following (1) there are significant differences in the students’ perceived ALLAs before and after the activity, (2), there is a significant positive correlation between ALLAs and language performance, and (3) twelve specific situations were found to provoke dynamic ALLAs reactions.Conclusion:It is suggested that the use of available technological innovations must be introduced to graduate language teachers as its impacts on ALLAs are overwhelmingly beneficial
Make a Match Learning for English Conversation Skills of Students with Intellectual Disabilities
Full text linkBackground:This research aimed to discover the effectiveness of Make-A-Match model in improving the English conversation skills of students with intellectual disabilities. The participants of this research were 7th-grade students in Class C of SMPLB (Junior High School for Special Needs) JambiMethodology:The data in this applied action research were obtained by using observation, interviews, and notes. This research was conducted in 3 cycles using four steps: planning, acting, observing, and reflecting in each cycle.Findings:The result showed that using the contextual approach to Make-A-Match model was sufficient to improve English conversation skills of students with intellectual disabilities. The students were more active, enthusiastic, and confident in uttering expressions without being anxious about making mistakes because the classroom atmosphere was relaxing and fun. This model also made students worked well together.Conclusion:through this model, the teacher succeeds in encouraging students to apply English in their daily conversation
Process Approach in the Teaching of Writing for Undergraduate EFL Students
Full text linkBackground:
This research aimed to investigate the implementation of a process approach for EFL undergraduate students in a private university in Bali.
Methodology:
The present study involved one lecturer and thirty students enrolled in Paragraph Writing Class. Observations were conducted in twenty-eight meetings of the total meetings to reveal - that strategies of process approach were implemented in each of the stages of writing, namely, prewriting, drafting, editing, revising and, publishing.
Findings:
The lecturer implemented all nine strategies where seven strategies were optimally conducted and all ten strategies were implemented by the students, where nine strategies were optimally conducted during the editing stage. In the publishing operation, the instructor implemented three of three strategies, and students implemented three of three strategies.
Conclusion:
Strategies of process approach were implemented by the lecturer and the students during the Paragraph Writing Course. It is implied that in an implementation of a process approach in a writing class, the lecturer and the students need to work together in most of the stages to create a good writing process
The Syntactic Functions of Conversational Implicature Utterances with Academic Context: Pragmasyntactic Studies
Full text linkBackground:
Pragmatic analysis has been widely developed through the use of an implicature. This paper tries to focus on the syntactical functions elaborated from an academic discourse as the focus of analysis. This study aimed to find the syntactic function of conversational interference spoken by speakers in academic contextual communication. The syntactical functions were identified in three parts: predicate, subject, and adverbs.
Methodology:
To achieve this objective, data in the form of oral statements with academic background were collected using note-taking techniques from 114 subjects through participant observation in lecture activities, online and offline meetings, discussions, final project consultations, and training. The data was analyzed using the Miles and Huberman flow technique through data reduction, data presentation, and the conclusion/verification of data analysis results.
Findings:
Results show that pragmatic expressions that can help the speaker to identify the intent of the speaker were positioned as fillers of predicates, subjects, and information. This pragmatic expression is the impact of the incomprehensibility or inconsistency of the narrator with the speaker who was previously the listener. For the sake of completeness, speakers add other pragmatic expressions with substitution strategies, additions, and conditional forms with an orientation that prioritizes politeness by avoiding direct speech with the negation of 'tidak (no),' 'belum (not yet),' 'bukan (not)' and 'jangan (not)
Mobile-Assisted Pronunciation Training: The Google Play Pronunciation and Phonetics Application
Full text linkBackground:
Several obstacles to pronunciation have been proposed and urged students to practice pronunciation deliberately. Regardless of these problematic, mobile applications can be a great assistant in pronunciation training. However, considering that Google Play is the most prominent android app store with 227,970 instructional devices, it is challenging to find and select pronunciation and phonetics applications. Students should be conscious of their needs by recognizing the proper mobile application for pronunciation learning. This study explores the pronunciation applications utilized by students for pronunciation learning in and out of the classroom.
Methodology:
This study administered the data with paper reports and interviews accompanying students. This study involved 41 students who were taking a pronunciation and phonetics course at the University of Kutai Kartanegara Tenggarong.
Findings:
Nine such applications, as reviewed in this study, are divided into two categories: English pronunciation special purpose (EPSP) application and English dictionary assisted pronunciation (EDAP) application. Noteworthy findings were not all of the applications fulfill the content and design approaches such the suprasegmental features, audio playback, and video camera recorder.
Conclusion:
This study endeavors to have a critical look at four applications recommended after concerning the term of Mobile Assisted Pronunciation Training (MAPT). They are AV Phonetic, English Phonetic Pronunciation, Listening Practice, English Pronunciation developed by Kepham, and U-Dictionary to assist pronunciation learning in and out of the classroom.
Keywords: Pronunciation and phonetics; mobile application; MAP