The Students’ Attitude toward English Instruction on the EFL Students’ Speaking Class

In general, an English teacher uses bilingual method in teaching process. However, a native English teacher uses English only in the class. Due to the new atmosphere faced by the students, the present study aimed to investigate the students’ attitude toward English instruction on the EFL students’ speaking class. This current study employed a quantitative method and it was designed as a descriptive research. The participants of this study were 156 students of English Study Program enrolled at Speaking class, Faculty of Tarbiyah, State Islamic Institute of Parepare. A 20-item survey questionnaire related to the students’ attitude toward English instruction with a five point likert scale was assigned to obtain the data from the participants. The results of the study revealed that the students have a positive attitude toward English instruction. They agreed with teaching English by using English instruction. The students’ cognitive and affective responses showed that the students believed that English instruction could improve the students’ abilities at intermediate level. Furthermore, the students’ cognitive responses indicated that the students’ vocabularies and grammatical knowledge improved. The use of English instruction also gave the students an opportunity to learn pronunciation from the native English teacher. While, the results of affective responses indicated that the students liked to study using English instruction and they were motivated to speak in English.

The Development of Disaster Mitigation Curriculum to Improve Disaster Response Capabilities At The Elementary School In Indonesia

Disasters threaten the safety of vulnerable groups such the eldery, children and women. Based on the case of natural disasters that occurred in Indonesia, the need for a pragmatic strategy in forming the Indonesian people are aware of the dangers of natural disasters. One strategic step that taken is through the education sector. This research aims to create a disaster mitigation curriculum that has been formulated to produce disaster responsive learners. This research uses R&D (research and development method) by Borg and Gall (2003), in the stages of research and information, planning and initial product development. While for curriculum development used the Tyler model with the infusion method and block method. Data collection techniques used namely interviews, observation, and documentation. The findings of this research are based curriculum products to the stages of disaster mitigation include, 1) the concept of disaster mitigation curriculum, 2) The concept of the learning process (Intrakurikuler), 3) The concept of training process (Extracurricular, and 4) The concept of the assessment process (Evaluation). These results indicate curriculum products are made to increase disaster response capabilities of students through intracurricular and extracurricular activities as well as minimizing the impact of the disaster victims and improve disaster response capabilities for students in Indonesia. Keywords: Curriculum, Disaster Mitigation, Tyler's Model.

Exploring pronunciation teaching practice in emergency remote teaching: Lesson from Indonesian high school context

Regardless of its importance, pronunciation practice received a small portion in EFL teaching. This issue has attracted researchers to investigate how pronunciation practice is conducted in the EFL setting and what challenges are there. The results of the investigations have provided useful insights into what happens in the EFL classrooms. However, with the global pandemic outbreak that forced massive migration to emergency remote teaching (ERT), it remains unclear how pronunciation practice is carried out. This exploratory study attempts to shed light on the matter. It aims to portray the pronunciation practice during ERT and identify the challenges faced by the teachers. To limit the scope of the study, the researchers focused the investigation only on pronunciation accuracy. Data were collected through document analysis, non-participatory observation, questionnaire, and in-depth interview after gaining consent from two senior high schools English teachers in Indonesia. The collected data were then analyzed using the interactive model of analysis. This study reveals that during ERT, pronunciation practice received a small portion of attention, as earlier studies have found. The average time allocated is 10% of the total duration of learning. Most of the accuracy training was carried out with a similar pattern of activities, i.e., read aloud, listen-and-repeat, and teachers’ corrective feedback as the response of the student's errors. Presented in ERT, pronunciation accuracy training experienced several problems, and the most prominent is related to the internet connection. A poor internet connection can be disastrous for accuracy training as implementing synchronous learning or uploading and downloading audio/video requires a good and strong internet connection. Another problem is the lack of students’ engagement to study due to the difference in sensation and excitement with face-to-face learning. These imply that adequate preparation is needed in applying pronunciation accuracy instruction, apart from the material itself.

English Teachers' Reflections and Lessons Learned in Language Teaching During COVID-19 Pandemic

This study seeks to find out the English teachers' reflections and lessons learned in language teaching during the pandemic. The method used was a guided narrative frame in which the teachers from the suburban wrote down their feelings and lived experiences. The data was analysed using thematic analysis and presented in themes. The findings indicate that the teachers found it challenging at the beginning of their online teaching. Both the teachers and students faced problems including economic situations, tech problems and mental struggles. Interestingly, this finding is similar to the outskirt teachers and students' problems. Besides, the teachers have learned the most vital things during their language teaching in the early year of the pandemic. They continuously shift their teaching strategies, provide personalised feedback to support the students' engagement, and become adaptable teacher-learners. Suggestions are provided for both teachers and policymakers.

Learners’ Experiences In Using Online-Based Application During COVID-19 Pandemic In English Department

During the COVID-19 pandemic, all activities such as teaching and learning activities at college must be carried out online. This online learning activity utilizes online-based learning applications. Every students certainly have their positive and negative response and opinion about using online learning application. Therefore, this research aims to obtain and describe about learners' experiences in using online-based learning application during COVID-19 pandemic in English Department. The method of this research is qualitative descriptive study. Data collection was conducted by questionnaire and 1 questions for polling. The respondents of this research were 40 English department learners. To gain in-depth explanation, the researchers also interviewed 7 learners through WhatsApp application. The results showed that students gave positive and negative responses to the use of online-based learning applications.

The Impact of Using Task-Based Activities on Iranian EFL Learners’ Speaking Skill

This study explored the impacts of task-based activities on Iranian intermediate EFL learners’ speaking skill. To do the current study, the Oxford Quick Placement Test (OQPT) was given to 75 students and 50 intermediate participants whose scores were between 40 and 47 were selected. Then, the participants were randomly divided into two groups; one experimental group and one control group. Then they were given three topics to talk about in two minutes as a speaking pre-test. Afterwards, the experimental group received the treatment through task-based activities while the control group received a traditional instruction. The whole instruction lasted eight sessions. In the first two sessions, the OQPT and the pre-test were administered, respectively; in five sessions, the participants received the treatment, and in the eighth session, the post-test of speaking was given to the participants of both groups to measure the effects of the treatment on their speaking improvement. The collected data were analyzed through independent and paired samples t-tests and the results indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group on the post-test. In other words, there was a significant difference between the speaking post-test of the two groups. The implications, the conclusions, the limitations, and the suggestions of the research were explained.

Students' Perception of Utilizing Podcasts to Learn English Listening Skill

In this day of advanced technology, learning English can be done anywhere, not just through books, but also through the internet. Podcasts can assist in learning listening English during this pandemic since they can be listened to anywhere and at any time, and podcasts are also an enjoyable media. The purpose of this study is to find out what students think about using podcasts to learn English. The research sample was made up of ten people between the ages of 18 until 21, who filled out an online questionnaire. Podcasts are a flexible medium for learning English, according to one study. As a result of this research, it can be concluded that podcasts have become an interesting way to practice English listening skills.

The Student Perspective: The Impact of Podcasts on EFL Students Listening Comprehension

Technological developments are very beneficial for foreign language learning, even for teachers and students themselves. One of them is the podcast media which has proven to be an easy-to-use and effective means of learning English. The research sample was taken from 30 high school students in Indonesia by using a questionnaire to explore students' perceptions about learning to listen to foreign languages ​​using podcasts. The data collection of this research uses descriptive techniques, namely describing and explaining a phenomenon or case study in schools. Most of the students taken from the questionnaire strongly agreed that podcasts are something that is effective in helping improve listening skills because they are considered to have interesting and fun features that stimulate student enthusiasm and motivate students to continue learning. However, podcasts can prove to be a tool to improve students' listening skills in EFL classes and students recommend teachers to use this media.

Peer Instruction in a Flipped Learning Environment: Investigating ESL Students’ Critical Thinking Performance in Argumentative Essay Writing

Research shows that peer instruction and flipped learning help ESL/EFL students compensate for their shortcomings in their language, support the language learning process, and facilitate social interactions and collaboration between teachers and students in the class. Despite this, there has been little research into whether upper-intermediate ESL students can benefit from the use of peer instruction in a flipped learning environment in enhancing critical thinking performance in argumentative essay writing. This current study tests this hypothesis. A total of 120 English Proficiency 4 (EP4) students from a teacher education university in Malaysia were equally divided into two experimental groups (pair work and group work) and a control group (conventional teaching method). The experimental groups’ activities included a focus on different modes of peer instruction (pair work/group work) and flipped learning, while the control group’s did not. Two research instruments were employed in this study: pre- and post-tests and a holistic scoring rubric. The critical thinking aspect was adapted from Stapleton and Wu (2015) and Toulmin’s model of argumentation (2003). Descriptive and inferential statistics, namely, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was computed using IBM SPSS Statistics 26. Overall, compared to the control group, both experimental groups (pair work and group work) performed better in mean scores for critical thinking in the posttest. The result of the study suggests that the use of peer instruction in a flipped learning environment can be an alternative teaching method to enhance the students’ critical thinking in argumentative essay writing and offer implications for ESL students, language instructors, and researchers.

Challenges and Teaching Strategies of English Teachers in Industrial Revolution 4.0 Era

This study aims to investigate the challenges and teaching strategies of English teachers in District Merauke. This study is a mix-method namely the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. 16 English teachers as the participants in the study from six high schools in Merauke district namely Senior High School 1 Merauke, Senior High School 2 Merauke, Senior High School 3 Merauke, Vocational High School 3 Merauke, Senior High School YPK Merauke, and MA Al-Munawwaroh. Data collection instruments used were questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires used consisted of 40 statements and the interview consisted of 14 questions related to challenges and strategy of teaching English in the era of industrial revolution 4.0. As a result, challenges in the teaching and learning process are, especially for online learning. Mostly the students are constrained in technology facilities and motivation of students. While for the strategy in teaching English in industrial revolution era 4.0, by motivating students about the importance of English, providing variations in learning such as the use of video, audio, practice variety questions, using the online application (WhatsApp, google classroom, google translate, zoom, google meet, etc). Besides, by using discussions, question and answer directly, blended learning method, discovery learning, using image media, audio Lingual Method, TPR, GT, using voice note. Thus, by merging cognitive, affective, and psychomotor processes. Besides, for strategies in creating interesting and creative learning in the era of industrial revolution 4.0, by using jokes, games, giving advice, giving praise, and collaborating with native speakers in online learning.