JEELS (Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studies)

Examining the Effectiveness of Teaching Strategies for Alleviating EFL Students’ Writing Anxiety: A Mixed-Method Study

2023-07-28T01:00:48+00:00

At higher education, students at the end of the study are required to write a final project. Writing English papers is challenging and might create writing anxiety. Therefore, it is necessary to look at what strategies are used by the teachers and their effect on anxiety levels and performance. Furthermore, it is also crucial to accommodate students’ perceptions of the strategies so that students’ voices provide valid information on how the classroom should be. This research uses a mixed-method methodology to analyze lecturers' anxiety-reduction strategies and students' perceptions of them. Three instruments were used to collect data, namely a Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI), open-ended questions about the perception, and students’ writing scores. A paired sample t-test was used to compare students' writing anxiety and performance before and after treatment. Content analysis was used to assess student opinions of the strategies. The statistics showed that students' writing anxiety fell from high (71.35) to moderate (66.47). Meanwhile, students' writing grade rises from 72.00 to 79.03. SPSS analysis showed that anxiety-reducing strategies significantly affect writing anxiety and student performance (p = 0.000). Consequently, this study's findings should be beneficial in writing classes.

The Representation of Environmental Issues in an EFL Module for Primary School: A Multimodal Analysis

2023-02-24T06:20:22+00:00

By using a qualitative textual analysis with a multimodal approach, this study explores how environmental issues are depicted in the relations of verbal and visual texts of an EFL module for primary school. The data were obtained from an EFL module for the fifth grade made by the EYL Course Design course students at one university in Bandung. In analysing the data, this study utilized three frameworks: Halliday and Mathiessen’s (2014) Transitivity system, Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) Visual Grammar, and Royce’s (1998) Intersemiotic Complementarity. The findings show that, by using a story, the module represents three points of drought-related environmental issues: the causes, the effects, and the solutions. The causes are mostly depicted visually by Transactional Action processes in which the Actors use water as the Goal or the Means in excess. The effects are mostly depicted verbally by Mental, Existential, and Relational processes that indicate human need for water. Meanwhile, the solutions are mostly depicted verbally by Material processes in which water (Goal) becomes an element to be saved by the Actors. In terms of complementarity, most of the elements of verbal and visual texts are completed by each other. Hence, encouraging students’ comprehension of the module, especially related to environmental issues, could be expanded by identifying both texts as a single whole.

Moral Values Representation through Speech Acts in Indonesian EFL Textbooks: A Critical Discourse Analysis

2024-02-17T06:57:22+00:00

Abstract: In the last ten years, studies of the representation of moral values in English textbooks have been growing. However, little empirical evidence reveals the use of speech acts to represent moral values through utterances. This study aims to investigate the representation of moral values depicted through utterances in English textbooks for elementary school grades 2 and 5 in Indonesia. By adopting a socio-cognitive critical discourse analysis (Van Dijk, 2015) framework integrated with Searle’s (1969) speech acts, this qualitative study elucidates the representation of moral values only in the verbal text. The data were analyzed by applying several steps, including unitizing, sampling, recording/coding, reducing, inferring, and narrating. The findings of this study showed that curiosity, honesty, and friendliness are the most dominant moral values depicted in two English textbooks for elementary schools in Indonesia. Dialogue/conversation, chapter cover, and instruction for students’ activity are the strategies to promote moral values in the textbooks. This study implies that teachers and textbook writers should provide students with more examples of moral values, particularly those related to daily life communication.

Profiling Vocational School Students' Word Knowledge Level: A Study in Jakarta Timur

2023-09-10T09:07:41+00:00

students are expected to acquire 2,000 to 3,000-word levels for general communicative purposes and 4,000 to 5,000-word levels or more for academic purposes. Nevertheless, only a few studies are refocusing on vocational school students. Therefore, this study descriptively analyzed the word knowledge level of vocational school students. This study was conducted online with 173 vocational school students in grades 10th and 11th. The result shows that above 70% of 173 participants successfully answered the 4,000 up to 5,000-word level, equivalent to K4 and K5 in vocabulary level. In contrast, the rest participants can answer the 1,000 up to 3,000-word level. The results indicate that the participants passed the requirements for communicative and academic purposed. This study also proposed the relevance of VLT results through post-graduate plans and gender diversity. The relevance becomes teachers’ consideration and recommendation to create meaningful and valuable teaching and learning materials based on their goals and needs.EFL students must acquire 2,000 to 3,000-word levels for general communicative purposes and 4,000 to 5,000-word levels or more for academic purposes. With such an enormous number of words, teachers must examine students’ word knowledge levels through the Vocabulary Level Test (VLT) before teaching and learning to determine relevant learning materials based on students’ needs and goals. Many related studies focus on senior school students. However, this study draws on vocational school students as they commonly work after graduation, and the ability to communicate with the English language is needed. Therefore, this study descriptively analyzed the result of the Vocabulary Level Test in 173 vocational school students majors. The result shows that more than in all 70% of participants successfully answered the 4,000 up to 5,000word level. Meanwhile, the rest of the participants could answer 1,000 to 3,000 words. The relevance of this study is the teachers’ consideration and recommendation to create meaningful and valuable teaching and learning materials based on their needs, as well as the students’ scores in VLT.

Minimizing EFL Learners’ Speaking Anxiety in the Post-Pandemic Era

2024-02-17T07:27:45+00:00

The COVID-19 pandemic, which lasted for more than 2 years, had a tremendous impact in Indonesia. One of its impacts on the education sector that is still affecting the post-pandemic period is learning loss. Learning loss is a phenomenon where students lose their knowledge and skills due to certain conditions. Learning loss also affects students’ psychology. In speaking learning, anxiety is one of the students' obstacles to speaking fluently. This study aimed to investigate the strategies employed by students to mitigate speaking anxiety in the post-pandemic era. The case study design was used to do an in-depth investigation of complex problems regarding students' speaking anxiety in a school. The study involved six students in grade seven at a junior high school in West Java, Indonesia, as participants. The participants selected were those representing different speaking abilities based on their speaking test results. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The findings show that students employ several strategies to mitigate their speaking anxiety, including preparation, relaxation, positive thinking, and peer-seeking. In other words, those strategies reflect students’ resilience to deal with learning loss in the post-pandemic era. This study is intended to serve as a valuable resource for educators and EFL learners by providing strategies to alleviate speaking anxiety effectively.

(Un)silencing the Silence: EFL Students’ Speaking Anxiety in Answering Lecturers’ Questions

2024-01-30T07:26:06+00:00

This study attempts to explore the factors and strategies of EFL students' speaking anxiety in answering the lecturer's questions. A qualitative design using a case study method was employed to gather information about individual experiences. This study examined EFL students' speaking anxiety when responding lecturers' questions at a Jambi public university. The researchers selected 10 active EFL students who had finished all courses, were accessible, and eager to engage in this research. The researchers collected data through interviews and supervisor notes. The findings were analyzed thematically. Linguistics and knowledge issues (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and lack of knowledge), psychological issues (fear of making mistakes, lack of confidence, and lack of motivation), and performance issues (lack of preparations, environmental conditions, and time pressure) were identified. This study also found that EFL students reduce anxiety through self-management (practice and preparation, learning from mistakes), self-psychology (relaxation and motivation), and help from others (friends and family).

The Effect of Group-Individual Collaborative Testing on Primary Students’ Achievement in Reading Test

2024-03-06T05:13:12+00:00

Collaborative testing—a two-stage testing modality in which students do tests as a group and individually—has been extensively researched and found to improve learning. However, most collaborative testing research has focused on non-English language learning. Therefore, this study examines the effects of group-individual collaborative testing (GICT) on English reading test achievement and student views of GICT. This sequential explanatory mixed-methods study gathered quantitative data from both treatment and control groups, primarily comprising students' correct answers, followed by qualitative insights derived from students' reflections on their learning experiences. Quantitative data demonstrates that GICT had a significant effect on students' reading achievement tests. While the qualitative data reveals that students considered GICT was a good reading testing modality, with some notes on the scoring method. Practice and research implications include 1) using GICT to test other language skills, 2) diversifying group composition, 3) giving more weight to the individual part score because students will retrieve more information during this stage, and 4) instilling collaborative learning values before testing.

Promising novelty in articles: How authors publishing in Sinta and Scopus-indexed journals differ or resemble

2023-08-01T02:44:54+00:00

Many academics have studied niche establishment tactics in journal articles, but none have studied two or more sets of journal articles in language studies. This study identifies how Scopus and Sinta English Language Teaching journal authors niche their research paper abstracts and introductions. Niche Establishment techniques in Sinta and Scopus-indexed journals were examined using qualitative and quantitative methods. This analysis used 100 Scopus- and Sinta-indexed research articles. From randomly selected journals' newest issues, research article parts were extracted. Most authors in the two sets of research publications define a niche in the introduction, but few do in the abstracts. Scopus-index journals use Strategy 2 (insufficient research) and Strategy 5 (suggesting solutions) the most, while Sinta-indexed journals use Strategy 2 and Strategy 1. For rookie authors and postgraduate students, this study proposes niche establishment tactics in research paper abstracts or introductions to improve writing.

A review on synchronous, asynchronous, and blended learning on ELT in Indonesian context

2024-03-20T04:40:31+00:00

This study analyzes Indonesian EFL teachers' synchronous, asynchronous, and blended learning implementation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Numerous articles have been published this trend. Unfortunately, the early search only found implementation or student/teacher perspectives research. One-article works on other learning modes are preferable. Thus, using PRSIMA's Systematic Literature Review (SLR) design, the researchers chose 32 of 82 related papers from qualified publications approved by SINTA 1, 2, and 3. The study addresses six key points: implementation of the three learning modalities, urban-rural contrasts, most used platforms, students' and teachers' opinions, obstacles they face, and solutions. After COVID-19 broke out, researchers became more interested in these learning modalities, highlighting their importance. This review also analyzes how teachers used digital platforms to engage students throughout synchronous, asynchronous, and blended learning courses. Even though students and teachers faced classroom management, technological issues, platform unfamiliarity, and internet limits, they still liked the learning modes. They liked the modalities' practicality, adaptation, and flexibility, especially for English acquisition. EFL teachers, educators, researchers, and policymakers can use this review to gain a comprehensive understanding of synchronous (virtual real-time activity), asynchronous (learning at different times), and blended learning.

Translanguaging in academic writing classroom: A case study of EFL pre-service teachers's perception

2024-03-13T03:10:05+00:00

This case study explores the perceptions of translanguaging in the academic writing process of pre-service teachers. Drawing upon the theories of forms translanguaging (Baynham & Lee, 2019; Garcia & Lin, 2016; Hua & Wei, 2022) and the stages of writing proposed by Hyland (2003), this research delves into how pre-service teachers perceive and utilize translanguaging in their writing. The study integrates observations, interviews, and artifact analysis involving pre-service teachers to understand their engagement with translanguaging as both a communicative and pedagogical strategy. The findings show that pre-service teachers not only view translanguaging as a method for effective communication but also as a crucial tool for enhancing their engagement with academic content, particularly in the stages of topic selection, pre-writing, writing, and feedback. In addition, the significant use of translation, code-mixing, and code-switching underscores their linguistic adaptability in a multilingual academic context. This research contributes to the academic discourse by providing insights into the role of translanguaging in the academic writing process and its implications for future teaching practices.

Complexity, accuracy and fluency (CAF) OF EFL college learners’ writing : The CLIL AND non-CLIL classes

2024-01-25T06:51:40+00:00

This study was designed to compare the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of EFL written text in CLIL and Non-CLIL classes. The study enrolled two groups of undergraduate students from the State University of Malang, Indonesia: an experimental CLIL class (N = 50 students; 22 males and 28 females) and a non-CLIL as control class (N = 50 students; 19 males and 31 females). Students' essays were evaluated quantitatively using some aspects of linguistic proficiency, such as complexity, accuracy, and fluency. The errors were classified as syntactic, morphological, lexical, lexicogram, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. The findings indicated that both CLIL and non-CLIL methods produced comparable complexity, accuracy, fluency, syntactic, morphological, lexicogram, and spelling scores in two groups of students. Meanwhile, for complexity and lexical values, the CLIL and Non-CLIL methods produced significantly different average scores, with the application of the non-CLIL method being higher. On the punctuation variable, the CLIL method can significantly improve the assessment. Several possible explanations for the increase in complexity, accuracy, and fluency include a preference for the English standard, the course's assessment criteria, and practice effects. The findings of this study also provide additional pedagogical implications.