This study examines the pronunciation variations and adaptations of cross-cultural students from Java, Nusa Tenggara, and Papua in learning English as a foreign language. The study aims to analyze what the differences of pronunciation variations among the three groups of students are and explore how they adapt their native language pronunciation to standard English pronunciation. This study used a qualitative descriptive design with data collection through audio recordings, observations, and semi-structured interviews with students taking English subject. The variation analysis focused on segmental and suprasegmental aspects, including word stress, intonation, and speech rhythm. The results show clear pronunciation variations: Javanese students tend to place word stress stably, Nusa Tenggara students display dynamic intonation influenced by their regional phonological patterns, while Papuan students exhibit a syllable-timed rhythm with a tendency to add vowels at the end of words. Despite their differences, all groups were able to gradually adapt to standard English pronunciation through conscious imitation, listening practice, and increased prosodic awareness. These findings support the theory of interlanguage phonology (Selinker) and the principle of intelligibility (Jenkins) which states that successful pronunciation learning is determined more by clarity of communication than by similarity to a native speaker's accent. The implications of this research emphasize the need for pronunciation instruction that integrates prosodic practice and cross-cultural awareness to improve intelligibility while maintaining students' linguistic identity.

Although many studies have examined the contrastive analysis of Ilmu Ma'ani in Arabic and Indonesian styles, few have analyzed it from the perspective of students at Islamic universities in Indonesia. Therefore, this study aims to examine students' perceptions of Islamic universities in Indonesia regarding the comparison between Islamic science in Arabic and Indonesian styles. Using the theory of Sheikh Ahmad bin Abdurrahman ad-Damanhuri in Arabic and the theory of Jusuf Sjarif Badudu in Indonesian, along with content analysis and unstructured interviews, the results of this study show that (1) there are similarities between the eight chapters in ma'ani science and the eight discussions in Indonesian language style, including isnad, which is similar to a clause, musnad ilaih which is similar to the subject, musnad which is similar to the predicate, muta'alliqatul fi'li which is similar to the object, al-qashr which is similar to the contradiction interminus, al-insya' (al-amr, al istifham and al tamanni) which is similar to the interactive, interrogative, assumption, al-washl and al fashl which are similar to sidenton, asidenton, and al-ithnab, al-jaz and al musawah which are similar to ellipsis, redundancy (2) Students' perceptions show that the discussion of ma'ani in Arabic is similar to the discussion of Indonesian style. Indonesian in terms of definitions and examples, but in both discussions, there are very significant differences in terms of division, application in text, and depth of discussion, including the clarity of Arabic sentence meaning and the existence of Arabic sentences that cannot be adequately represented by Indonesian, either in translation or in rules. The results of this study imply that the eight chapters in ma'ani science have equivalents in Indonesian stylistics, but there are also differences between the two discussions because they originate from two different languages.

Gamification has emerged as a transformative approach in language education, especially for digitally native senior high school students who thrive in interactive and engaging environments. This study presents a comparative empirical analysis of four gamified online interactive quiz platform (Blooket, Quizizz, Kahoot, and Wordwall) in their effectiveness for Arabic language learning at senior high school. Leveraging a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design, thirty-eight students were divided into experimental and control groups based on existing classes. After a five-session intervention, a 30-item posttest was administered, and the results were statistically analyzed using paired sample t-test and one-way ANOVA. The results showed no significant differences in post-test scores across the four platforms, indicating comparable effectiveness in supporting student learning outcomes. However, t-test results revealed a greater score improvement with Blooket, a finding consistent with students’ strong preference for this platform. The higher engagement offered by Blooket’s varied and complex gamification features suggests that platform design may substantially influence learner motivation and performance, in line with existing literature on gamified learning environments. This study enriches the discourse on game-based learning (GBL), emphasizing the value of digital tools in fostering effective and enjoyable classroom experiences.

EFL learners often hesitate to communicate in English, especially during in-class activities, because they fear making mistakes. In contrast, students active in IDLE activities are more willing to communicate in English. However, development processes beyond their willingness to communicate (WTC) in informal digital learning of English (IDLE) have not been sufficiently addressed. This study explored how Indonesian EFL learners develop their WTC in English from receptive- and productive-IDLE. This study employed a narrative study. To gain a deep understanding of the stories, we purposely recruited five university EFL learners who regularly practice IDLE. The data included learning diaries and in-depth interviews with stimulus recall. Our qualitative content analysis revealed that students who participated in fan practices initially engaged with WTC, influencing various factors, including the degree of acquaintance, formality of the situation, number of people present, topic of discussion, degree of evaluation, knowledge of the subject, language of discourse, and the language proficiencies of public figures. Our findings also conformed to the pyramid model of willingness to communicate based on students’ IDLE activities. As they gradually developed their confidence and English communication skills, it took a long time, during which some of them began in junior high school and continued their studies at university. Educators may consider explicit supports to tailor in-class and out-of-class IDLE activities, which provide more qualitative and quantitative exposure to the authentic use of English.

Political speeches influence the formation of public opinion, the construction of ideological narratives, and the direction of international diplomacy. This study aims to identify and analyze the illocutionary acts in U.S. President Joe Biden’s Oval Office address on the Israel–Hamas conflict and to examine how language is used to articulate political stance and strategic diplomatic positioning. Using Searle’s typology of assertive, directive, commissive, expressive, and declarative acts, this research employs a descriptive qualitative method based on the official transcript published by The New York Times and the corresponding video released by Sky News. The findings show that assertive acts dominate the speech, functioning to reinforce factual claims, establish credibility, and clarify the United States’ foreign policy orientation. Commissive and expressive acts appear frequently to project moral commitment, empathy, and alignment with selected stakeholders, while directive and declarative acts are used sparingly to encourage support without demanding immediate action. These results indicate that Biden’s speech employs speech acts strategically to balance assertive leadership with humanitarian rhetoric in a high-stakes diplomatic context. The study contributes to pragmatic research on political discourse by demonstrating how speech acts operate as strategic tools for managing international crises. Future research may extend this analysis by examining audience reception and the perlocutionary effects of such political communication.

This study examines the specific challenges Indonesian EFL students encounter when constructing Passive Voice sentences, an area where structural differences between Indonesian and English often lead to systematic errors. The research focuses on identifying the most difficult tense in passive transformation, analyzing dominant error types, and explaining the linguistic factors underlying these errors. Using a descriptive quantitative design, data were collected from 35 students of the English Education Program at IAIN Parepare through a grammar test and a diagnostic questionnaire. The results show that the Simple Past Tense presented the greatest difficulty, indicating learners’ challenges in applying tense markers absent in Indonesian. Misordering emerged as the most frequent error type (57.81%), reflecting limited syntactic awareness and confusion in determining subject-object positions during active-to-passive transformation. Other error types included Selection, Omission, and Addition, each revealing gaps in students’ understanding of participle formation, auxiliary verb usage, and sentence structure. These patterns suggest that L1 interference and insufficient mastery of morphological forms significantly affect learners’ accuracy. The study underscores the need for targeted instructional support, particularly explicit tense-focused instruction and guided practice in sentence transformation. Strengthening learners’ syntactic awareness and verb-form recognition is essential for improving their proficiency in constructing Passive Voice structures

This study aims to investigate students’ perceptions of the “Black Box” technique and its influence on their Willingness to Communicate (WTC) in an EFL classroom. Prior to examining students’ perceptions, their WTC levels were identified using WTC indicators adapted from Weaver’s work (2015). Data were collected through a close-ended questionnaire, reflection questions, and semi-structured interviews. The results indicate that the students were at moderate and high levels of WTC. Five major themes were identified using Braun and Clarke’s (2017) thematic analysis: general impression and awareness of Black Box, engagement and interest, learning experience, learning impact, and challenges and benefits of implementation. Findings reveal that both moderate- and high-WTC students perceived the use of Black Box positively, although in slightly different ways. The technique appeared to foster students’ psychosocial states, such as confidence, reduced anxiety, and a sense of security during communication, which in turn encouraged them to speak more willingly in English. Overall, the Black Box can serve as an alternative pedagogical approach to enhance students’ communicative participation. However, the results are context-specific and limited to one classroom setting; therefore, broader generalizations should be made with caution.

This study investigates the effectiveness of asynchronous learning via TikTok in teaching ESP, specifically Business English, among 112 undergraduate students at Universitas Islam Malang. Motivated by the growing role of digital platforms in language education, quantitative research design was employed, quantitative data collected through structured questionnaires and analyzed using SPSS. The results revealed high to very high student agreement across key variables: perceived ease of use (M = 4.45), learning comfort (M = 4.25), oral English practice effectiveness (M = 4.35), and confidence in language learning (M = 4.40), alongside positive ratings for creative engagement (M = 4.30) and collaborative learning potential (M = 4.15). These findings demonstrate that TikTok, as an asynchronous educational tool, supports language proficiency development, learner autonomy, and interactive engagement in ESP contexts. The study contributes to practice by providing empirical support for integrating familiar, student-centered technologies into ESP instruction, and to theory by extending digital pedagogy frameworks to include mobile social media as effective platforms for fostering self-directed and interactive language learning. Implications are offered for educators and policymakers aiming to innovate language instruction through contextually relevant digital tools.

This study investigates how students reimagine the Indonesian folk tale Jaka Tarub within a contemporary Korean drama framework, highlighting reimagination as both a cultural and pedagogical practice. Unlike prior research that largely examines professional adaptations, this study focuses on student-led reimagination, emphasizing the creative and interpretive decisions made in an educational setting. Adopting a qualitative descriptive design, data were collected from student-produced narratives and follow-up interviews. Analysis applied Spradley’s ethnographic model, Hutcheon’s adaptation theory, and Purnomo et al.’s typology of mutation and presentness, supported by Dolmaya’s translation frameworks. The findings reveal three major functions of reimagination: stylistic (genre shifts into Korean drama conventions), methectic (reader immersion through emotional engagement), and cultural (symbolic translation, e.g., “rice” becoming “cellphone data”). These functions were accompanied by markers of mutation and presentness across textual, visual, and operative dimensions. The study contributes originality by documenting how emerging authors creatively bridge local heritage and global pop culture, demonstrating narrative reimagination as a form of transadaptation that preserves thematic essence while recontextualizing symbols for modern relevance. Pedagogically, the research shows that reimagination enhances cultural, narrative, and media literacies, while fostering intercultural awareness and critical engagement with tradition. It positions student-led adaptation not merely as a classroom exercise, but as a strategy for cultural revitalization and an innovative approach to literature teaching.

This study aims to analyze the quality of Arabic language online test items at the University of Darussalam Gontor using the standards of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) as a reference for item quality analysis. The item analysis was conducted on three main Arabic language skills: listening, reading, and writing. The University of Darussalam Gontor was selected as it is one of the Islamic higher education institutions in Indonesia that is committed to the development of Arabic language. This study employed a descriptive quantitative method. Data were collected through student score documents from Arabic online tests at the University of Darussalam Gontor, consisting of 20 items for the listening test, 29 for the reading test, and 29 for the writing test. The sample was selected using random sampling: 135 students for writing, 127 for listening, and 129 for reading. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results revealed that in terms of validity, the reading skill test showed the highest validity rate at 86%. In terms of reliability, the writing skill test demonstrated the highest reliability. The discrimination index analysis showed that the writing test had the best quality, while the difficulty index analysis indicated that the listening test had a fairly balanced distribution: 50% of items at a medium level, 33% easy, and 17% difficult. Furthermore, the analysis of test items based on ACTFL standards showed that items at the intermediate level still predominated.