English Language Teaching Department Research Articles

AN ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH WRITING ERRORS IN EFL LEARNERS’ RECOUNT TEXT

This research discusses the analysis of students' errors in writing recount texts. This study aims to analyze the types of errors made by undergraduate students’ writing scores at the English Language Teaching Department at one of the universities in Cirebon. This study focuses on writing errors taken from three categories of English proficiency levels (low, average, high). This study used the descriptive qualitative method. There were six participants. The data were taken from their recount text writing results. The results of this study show that there are four types of errors based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy by students: Omission, Addition, Misinformation, and Misordering. The result of the total number of student errors is 37 which contains 14 Omission (37.83%), three Addition (8.11%), 19 Misinformation (51.36%), and one Misordering (2.70%). The most errors were made by Misinformation, with 19 errors (51.36%). It can be concluded that the ability of undergraduate students at one university in Cirebon is still low in writing recount text.

Teaching English Grammar and Maintaining Students’ Learning Motivation through Humour Stories

English structure is one of the principal elements considered problematic by many students. Therefore, every teacher is always encouraged to use the effective teaching ways. One of the proposed ways in teaching English grammar is using media like humour stories. As suggested teaching media, humour stories require an examination. Therefore, this research attempts at finding out the effectiveness of humour stories to teach grammar and maintaining students’ learning motivation. The method employed was quasi-experimental research. The instruments used were a test, questionnaire, and field note. The participants of this study were two classes of English Language Teaching Department. The students learnt some grammar topics such as past simple, present perfect, passive voice of past tense, passive voice of present perfect, passive voice of present simple, passive voice of present continuous, passive voice of present future, relative clause, and noun clause. The results reveal that humour is an effective teaching media for grammar. The significance of 2-tailed (0.035) was lower than 0.05. There is a significant difference between control and experimental group. Furthermore, the result of the questionnaire shows that the usage of humour positively influenced the learners’ motivation. The observation results also reveal that the teaching atmosphere in the experimental class is getting better in each meeting.<p> </p>

TEACHING METHODS USED BY LECTURERS IN TEACHING LISTENING IN THE SECOND SEMESTER AT ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

The purpose of this study are to know the appropriate teaching methods used by the lecturers in teaching listening II at an English Language Education Department. This study is conducted due to the reality that students are not interested in listening classes because they face challenging times understanding the audio. This research used descriptive qualitative research. In this case, teaching listening II was investigated by the researcher to explore the teaching methods used by the lecturers. The data of the study were analyzed to report the teaching methods used by the lecturers. The instruments to collect the data were observation, questionnaire, and interview. The result of the analysis of teaching methods showed that the lecturers used different methods in teaching listening II. The methods used by the lecturers are: Direct Method, Audio Lingual Method, Grammar Translation Method, and Task-Based Learning. Those methods are appropriate for teaching listening because there are some characteristics and goals in those methods that make the students interested in listening class.

Program evaluation of English language learning for EYL curriculum development in Indonesia: teachers’ perception, challenges, and expectation

Didi Sukyadi is a Professor at the English Language Education Department, Faculty of Language and Literature, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia. His research interests include linguistics, applied linguistics, and language teaching.

Innovative Teacher: From the Perspectives of Pre-Service Foreign Language Teachers

The aim of this study is to determine and describe the features of innovative teachers from the perspective of pre-service teachers. For this purpose, this study took a qualitative approach and included 139 pre-service teachers studying at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades in the English Language and German Language Teaching Departments in the Education Faculty of a Public University. The data obtained via an open-ended survey form developed by researchers in the context of this study. The data obtained was analyzed with the content analysis method and then interpreted. The results of the analysis showed that pre-service teachers created 90 metaphors classified under seven different themes: "current," "open to change", "guide", "creative", "open to learning", "student-centered instruction," and "building positive relationships" to describe innovative teachers. Then, the pre-service teachers described the qualities of innovative teachers with their views classified under seven categories, which were in line with the themes obtained from metaphor analysis. For the last dimension of the study, they expressed their views regarding their needs to be able to be innovative teachers. According to their views, they need to have the knowledge and improve themselves in the following six categories: pedagogical content knowledge, digital competencies, professional content knowledge, communication skills, interdisciplinary knowledge, and knowledge of instructional technologies and material design. The themes were presented and discussed in a way of unity, so suggestions were made within the scope of the study. The aim of this study is to determine and describe the features of innovative teachers from the perspective of pre-service teachers. For this purpose, this study took a qualitative approach and included 139 pre-service teachers studying at the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades in the English Language and German Language Teaching Departments in the Education Faculty of a Public University. The data obtained via an open-ended survey form developed by researchers in the context of this study. The data obtained was analyzed with the content analysis method and then interpreted. The results of the analysis showed that pre-service teachers created 90 metaphors classified under seven different themes: "current," "open to change", "guide", "creative", "open to learning", "student-centered instruction," and "building positive relationships" to describe innovative teachers. Then, the pre-service teachers described the qualities of innovative teachers with their views classified under seven categories, which were in line with the themes obtained from metaphor analysis. For the last dimension of the study, they expressed their views regarding their needs to be able to be innovative teachers. According to their views, they need to have the knowledge and improve themselves in the following six categories: pedagogical content knowledge, digital competencies, professional content knowledge, communication skills, interdisciplinary knowledge, and knowledge of instructional technologies and material design. The themes were presented and discussed in a way of unity, so suggestions were made within the scope of the study.

PRE-SERVICE ELT TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES OF LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT IN EMERGENCY DISTANCE EDUCATION

In the realm of education, and especially in English language teaching (ELT) field, the relationship between teaching strategies and the assessment process is very close. Like instructional strategies, current events like COVID-19 may have an immediate impact on assessment procedures. In order to better understand how traditional and alternative assessment types in emergency distance education relate to in-class instruction, this research sought to interview pre-service language teachers. Students from the ELT department in the 2nd (N: 60) and 4th (N: 66) grades participated in the study. A semi-structured interview was used in this mix-type study to triangulate the quantitative data after the participants completed a Likert-type questionnaire. Four key themes emerged from the independent sample t-test and content analysis: (a) Pre-service teachers for the 2nd and 4th grades differed significantly, and students in the latter grade are more accustomed to using alternative assessment methods; (b) Since 2nd grader students were largely unfamiliar with alternative assessment, there were statistical differences in the perspectives on traditional assessment; (c) 4th grade pre-service teachers favored skill-based assessment more than 2nd grade students; and (d) when it came to the integration of alternative and traditional assessment, there was no discernible difference between the students. In light of the study findings, it was proposed that alternative assessment types be included into the present ELT curriculum at earlier grade levels.

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ON A MULTIMODAL DIGITAL STORYTELLING BOOK USE IN A WRITING CLASS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This study aimed to describe the students’ perceptions toward the use of a multimodal digital storytelling book in the writing class during COVID-19 pandemic. This research used a descriptive qualitative design. Meanwhile, the participants of this study were twenty students in the second semester of an English language education department in a private university located in East Java. The data were collected through the closed-ended questionnaires which were shared through Google Form. These questionnaires consisted of seven statements related to the use of a multimodal digital storytelling book in their writing class. After all the data were collected, then, the data were tabulated and calculated its frequency for each questionnaire item. The results of questionnaire analysis revealed that more than 85% of the students gave positive perceptions toward the use of a multimodal digital storytelling book in their writing class. Hopefully, the results of this study can become a reference for English teachers especially and language teachers generally when they teach writing online.

Effectiveness of the Project-Based 6E Learning Model

Abstract This research aims to determine the effectiveness of the Project-based 6E (engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, extension and evaluation) Learning Model. The researchers created the model by combining the basic features of project-based learning with an understanding of the learning cycle. The pre-test/post-test semi-experimental design, in which no control group is included, was used in the study. The study group in the research consisted of junior students studying at the Turkish Teaching and English Language Teaching departments of the Faculty of Education, Düzce University, in the fall semester of the academic year 2020–2021. The experimental process was structured according to the Project-based 6E Learning Model. Two different types of data, namely, qualitative and quantitative, were collected to determine the effectiveness of the experimental process. It was concluded that the students found the model efficient, effective and attractive. The model positively changed students’ perceptions of values and values education. It was also seen that the model enables students to realise their values, review and question the values, reinforce them, complete their deficiencies and gain new values. Due to the effect of the learning model, students positively experienced significant changes in their teaching perception.

The Role of Translation in English Language Teaching Departments’ Curriculum: The Case of Universities in Turkey

Yabancı dil öğretimi ile çeviri arasında uzun yıllardır süregelen tartışmalı bir ilişki vardır. Çevirinin dil öğretimindeki yeri ve hatta bir yöntem olarak kullanılması geçmişten günümüze birçok çalışmaya konu olmuş ve bu alanda farklı fikirlerin ortaya çıkmasına neden olmuştur. Yapılan birçok araştırmaya göre teoride dil öğretiminde, özellikle de modern öğretim yöntemlerinde, çeviri kendine önemli bir yer bulamasa da pratikte öğrenciler tarafından sıklıkla kullanıldığı düşünülmektedir. Bu varsayımdan yola çıkarak, ülkemizde de yabancı dil öğretiminde çevirinin bir öğretim yöntemi olarak olmasa da zaman zaman bir araç olarak kullanıldığı fikrine ulaşılabilir. Bu bağlamda İngilizce öğretmenlerinin aldıkları lisans eğitiminde çevirinin bir yeri olup olmadığı, olmasının gerekip gerekmediği de tartışmaya açık bir konu olarak düşünülebilir. Bu bilgilerin ışığında bu çalışmanın amacı Türkiye’deki üniversitelerde bulunan 4 yıllık İngilizce Öğretmenliği bölümlerinin müfredatlarında çeviri dersinin olup olmadığını, varsa ne kadar sıklıkta ve programın hangi dönemlerinde yer aldığını incelemektir. Sonuç olarak, elde edilen verilerden yola çıkarak İngilizce Öğretmenliği bölümlerinde çeviri derslerinin olası kullanım amacı ve sıklığı konusunda fikir sahibi olmak, ayrıca gelecekte yapılacak uygulamalar için bir başlangıç noktası veya rehber niteliğinde olabilecek bir çalışma ortaya koymak hedeflenmektedir.

Initial Activities Encouraging Students’ Autonomous Learning: Faculty Teacher Training and Education Program

Initial activities become important as the stepstone to raise students’ autonomous level. The study aims to explore lecturers’ initial activities to encourage students’ autonomous learning. Autonomous learning is a process to be apprehensive of taking control of literacy. This study used a case study and a content analysis in the qualitative exploration. The English teacher educators at the English language education department, the faculty of teacher training and education in Pekanbaru became the research samples. A qualitative approach is chosen as exploration design with the help of Nvivo 12 Apps since interviews come as the main instrument. Some interview points questioned how lecturers help learners comprehend the material, determine their particular pretensions, chancing out supporting coffers. The study reveals that the lecturer's exertion as the initial activities were giving the material explanation, giving information about the course figure, giving assignments, giving what students need, giving provocation or motivation, sharing experiences, making personal approach, exercising, being a Model, making agreement letter, warning, having a concession, having references of material, participating gests, checking students’ appreciation by reviewing, giving question and test. Yet, giving assignments collectively or in collaboration, systems or incidental test becomes a proposed exertion in the initial process to enhance learners’ autonomous.
 
 
 

The Use of Ome-TV Application as a technological medium to Practice English Speaking Skills

In this modern moment, a plethora of applications are available to students seeking to enhance their English-speaking proficiency. One such platform is Ome-TV, which facilitates students' engagement with individuals from various regions around the English-speaking world. The objectives of this study were to investigate the benefits of utilizing the Ome-TV program as a tool for students to enhance their English-speaking abilities. Additionally, the study attempted to uncover any limitations associated with the use of the Ome-TV application for students' English-speaking practice. The present study employed a qualitative approach utilizing a descriptive qualitative design, with a sample size of six English Language Education Department (ELED) students who served as participants. The researchers employed interviews as a method for data collection. The findings revealed that the benefits of utilizing the Ome-TV application for English Language Education Department (ELED) students' English oral proficiency include becoming effective media for practicing English speaking skills, providing a supportive and entertaining environment for language exposure, meeting mutually respectful fellows to speak English with, providing interactive pronunciation drills in real-time, enhancing lexical proficiency, and receiving a substantial amount of input on grammatical knowledge. Meanwhile, the limitations of utilizing the Ome-TV application for English Language Education Department (ELED) students' English oral proficiency consist of inappropriate use of English as a formal language, substantial use of unfavorable language, and utilizing diverse ethnic accents.

Indonesian undergraduate students' perceptions of problem-based learning implementation in an ELT class: A small-scale survey

This study aimed at identifying Indonesian undergraduate students’ perceptions of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) implementation in an English language education department at a private university in Indonesia. Using total population sampling, 74 students who were taking a language classroom management course in which PBL was implemented through collaborative work were involved in this survey study. The data were collected using a 21-item questionnaire from Jaeger and Adair (2014) that was based on Senocak (2009). The data were then analyzed statistically to identify the participating students’ perceptions of PBL implementation by interpreting the patterns of the data. Based on the results of this study, the participants tended to perceive that PBL helped them become more self-directed. However, many of them felt that the collaborative work implemented in PBL was more a difficulty than an ease. The implication of this study is also discussed.DOI: 10.26905/enjourme.v7i2.9032

Self-Regulated Learning Strategies on Academic Writing: Differences Between Genders

Six categories—motivation, method, timing, performance, physical environment, and social environment—are used to classify self-regulated learning (SRL) processes in academic writing. Due to the more difficult academic papers, they must write in English, university students may adopt SRL methods when generating academic writing. Students who are male or female may have various preferences when it comes to using SRL techniques in academic writing. The purpose of this study is to examine the aspect of SRL that English Language Education Department (ELED) students use the most frequently and to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference in the attitudes of male and female ELED students toward the usage of SRL tactics in academic writing. The research design for this study is a survey, and it uses a quantitative methodology. 112 ELED students from the 2019 batch participated in this study and answered the “The six dimensions of SRL in academic writing” questionnaire, which was adapted from Abadikhah, Aliyan, and Talebi (2018). The results showed that students implement all six aspects equally, with the social environment dimension having the highest mean (M=3.76, SD=.60) and the time dimension having the lowest mean (M=3.09, SD=.65). The t-test result is.439. This means that the significance level is less than 0.05 (2-tailed). Therefore, it may be inferred that attitudes concerning the use of SRL methods in academic writing are similar for both male and female students.

Past, Present, and Future of Language Assessment: An Interview with Dr. Hossein Farhady

Professor Hossein Farhady is an outstanding English Language Teaching (ELT) scholar in the field of applied linguistics, in general, and aspects of language testing and assessment, in particular with the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL). He has been teaching various courses on language testing and assessment, research methods, and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) at MA and Ph.D. programs for the last four decades in Iran, the USA, Canada, Armenia, and Turkey. He has also been a prolific writer, publishing papers and books in prestigious international journals and publishing houses and presented numerous speeches and papers at national and international seminars and conferences. Moreover, he has supervised more than 80 MA theses and Ph.D. dissertations. His widely used book about research methodology for applied linguistics commonly known as “Hatch and Farhady” (1982) has served as the basic textbook at both undergraduate and graduate levels since the early 1980s. He has, additionally, been a curriculum developer and test developer in Iran and other parts of the world. He worked as a senior scholar and project manager for several organizations such as Ordinate and Lidget Green Corporations in California, Avant Assessment, and Second Language Testing, INC., in Rockville, Maryland. He has also received research grants and awards from organizations such as Pearson, Educational Testing Service (ETS), and International Language Testing Association (ILTA) in scoring and validating language tests. Currently, he is a faculty member at the English Language Teaching (ELT) Department at Yeditepe University in Istanbul, Turkey.

Perceptions of the Lecturers on the Use of Translanguaging in Teaching English for the University Students

The ideology that the First Language (L1) of an individual improves the competence in a foreign or a Second Language (L2) gave rise to various bilingual pedagogies. Translanguaging (TRL) is the latest concept that was coined to the field as a result. The concept, TRL involves of switching between languages and it always revolves around a systematic use of two or more languages in language teaching pedagogy. Perceptions of lecturers engaged in teaching English language to the first year students of the Buddhist and Pali University were examined with reference to the purpose of application of TRL in English Language teaching. The investigation aimed to figure out the purpose behind the use of TRL. The participants of the study were seven lecturers who work in the capacity of permanent and visiting lecturers attached to the Department of English Language Teaching in Buddhist and Pali University in Sri Lanka. The results showed that the lecturers’ perceptions of the use of TRL were positive in most of the occasions where they use L1 as a TRL technique but they seem to be reluctant to allow the students to use L1 in the form of TRL technique.

Gender-based Analysis of Differences in IDLE Activities (Undertaken by EFL Students)

In recent years, there has been an increase in the availability of research on informal digital learning of English (IDLE); however, the significant difference between IDLE activities undertaken by male and female students was currently unexplained. The purpose of this study was to see if there was a significant difference between EFL male and female students' use of Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE). This study used a quantitative approach with an ex-post-facto design to address the research goal. The questionnaire was distributed to 656 students (181 males and 475 females) from the English Language Education Department at an Indonesian public university. The questionnaire data was then analyzed using descriptive statistics and parametric statistics, specifically the independent sample t-test. As a result, the findings indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between male and female students' participation in IDLE activities. There were 6 significant items with p-values less than 0.05 (p<0.05) among the 24 items. As a result of the current study's findings, EFL male and female students perform differently in IDLE activities, in which, male students outnumbered females in 5 IDLE activities.

EFL Undergraduate Students’ Cognitive Strategies in Process-Based Writing

Even though process-based writing has been extensively researched and implemented in higher education, little is known about how cognitive strategies are implemented in process-based essay writing. This study investigated how EFL undergraduate students used writing strategies in English essays. The process of writing was investigated by using cognitive theory in this semi-structured interview qualitative research. The two participants were English language education department batch 2019 students from a private university in Yogyakarta who had completed their processes-based essay writing final project when the study was conducted. The findings revealed that Rara and Kevin (the participants' pseudonyms) used different writing strategies in the essay writing process planning stage. Rara organised her writing using the outline, whereas Kevin used keywords to organise his writing. This study implied that when teaching process-based essay writing, a language teacher or lecturer should be aware of the different stages of the student's cognitive strategies, especially during the planning stage.

EFL Learners’ Attitude toward Educational Technology-: A View from the Appraisal Theory

This study cultivated students’ attitudes toward educational technology through the appraisal theory. To achieve this aim, data were collected from the written responses of the open-ended questionnaire written by 40 students majoring in English Language Education Department in one of state university in Bali taking Strategy and Learning Design Course. The collected data were analyzed qualitatively by following Martin White' s (2005) framework of appraisal theory. The findings revealed that the EFL students had a positive attitude toward the educational technology used in the classroom. It is evident from their positive reaction-appreciation and valuation-appreciation of the education technology. It is also apparent from their capacity-judgment about their capability and learning performance and their positive emotional reactions to educational technology. Another point highlighted is the connection between their attitude and principles of technology and pedagogy. The results suggest lecturers integrate educational technology with the educational principles for effective teaching.

Investigating EFL Students’ Tense Errors in Writing Narrative Text

A narrative text should have a generic structure and language feature. Simple past tense is a language feature of the text. In writing an English narrative text, EFL students commonly make errors related to using the simple past tense. Therefore, this research aims to discover EFL students’ types of errors in writing narrative text using simple past and to determine EFL students’ dominant errors in writing narrative text using the simple past tense. The design of this research is a mixed-method. The respondents are ten third-semester EFL students of the English Language Education Department of Universitas Teknologi Yogyakarta. Research data were documents, EFL students' narrative text writing-related Cross-Cultural Understanding, taken from the subject's lecturer. Data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The results of this research show that EFL students made four types of errors: omission, addition, misformation, and misordering, in writing narrative text using the simple past tense. This research reveals 123 EFL students’ errors in writing narrative text using the simple past tense. Misformation was the most dominant error with 100 errors (81%), followed by addition with 12 errors (10%), omission with 9 errors (7%), and misordering with 2 errors (2%). This research has a small scope, limited to analyzing third-semester EFL students’ errors in writing narrative text using simple past tense at Universitas Teknologi Yogyakarta. Therefore, further researchers are expected to conduct wide-scope research, such as Indonesian EFL students using a different research design, e.g., experimental research on the effective technique used to decrease EFL students’ errors in writing narrative text using the simple past tense.

The Effect of English Admission Test and Various Variables on Foreign Language Skills of Students

This study compares students' foreign language proficiency according to several criteria and the role of the English Admission Test (EAT). The predictive correlational research design, one of the quantitative research methods, was used in this study. The study group consisted of 81 undergraduate students studying in the English Language Teaching Department of a state university in southern Turkey. The English Proficiency Test (TELP) developed by the researchers and the EAT scores were used as data collection tools. The validity and reliability analyses of the test were conducted using jMetrik, a data analysis software for classical test theory and item response theory, and the item difficulty and discrimination values, as well as the KR-21 reliability coefficients, were calculated. In line with the findings, it was concluded that the relevant test is a reliable and valid measurement tool. According to the findings, the English Admission Test scores predicted students' total TELP and reading test scores but not their listening, writing, or speaking scores. Besides, the students who received the English preparatory training performed better on the speaking and listening tests than those who did not. Finally, male students outperformed female students on both the total of English Proficiency Test and the reading test but not on other tests. In parallel with the results of the research, some suggestions were put forth. Accordingly, a test that successfully measures four basic language skills is needed in order to fully measure the target language skills of the students who will study in the field of language education. For this purpose, the content of the Foreign Language Test (YDT), which is currently in use, can be expanded to make multidimensional measurement and questions measuring different language skills can be added to the test. In order to facilitate the transition process and prepare the infrastructure, language skills can be added to the test gradually or multidimensional question types that measure more than one skill can be used.