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Studies in English Language and Education (journal)

Universitas Syiah Kuala Banda Aceh, Study Program of English Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Journal

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STUDIES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND EDUCATION

Studies in English Language and Education (SiELE) is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Study Program of English Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Its purpose is to outstretch scholarly information to academics, researchers, practitioners, other professionals and students on research and development in the field of, but is not restricted to, teaching and learning of English, specifically to foreign learners in Asia and beyond. It further welcomes related research articles that consider linguistic, educational development, policy and cultural issues in education. There are two issues a year, appearing in March and September.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Authors must strictly follow the submission guidelines of the journal (go to http://www.jurnal.unsyiah.ac.id/SiELE/about/submissions#authorGuidelines). To submissions that do not adhere to the guidelines provided, they will be RETURNED FOR CORRECTIONS. Please submit your manuscript to: sielejournal@gmail.com

Please visit our website for further information: http://www.jurnal.unsyiah.ac.id/SiELE

For further inquiries, please email: sielejournal@gmail.com
Address: Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia

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Papers by Studies in English Language and Education (journal)

Character Metaphors in George Orwell's Animal Farm

Animal Farm was written by George Orwell in 1944 to criticize the Soviet Union leaders and their ... more Animal Farm was written by George Orwell in 1944 to criticize the Soviet Union leaders and their administration represented by animal characters. The objective of this study was to find out the resemblances between the character of Soviet Union leaders at the time the novel was written and those depicted in the novel. In analysing the objective of this study, content analysis was used. The data are the dialogues and other information in the novel concerning the metaphors of characters between the Soviet Union leaders of the 20th century and those in Animal Farm. The writer finds out that Jones metaphors Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russian Monarchy, Old Major with his speech metaphors Karl Marx with his Communist Manifesto, Napoleon as Stalin, Snowball as Trotsky, Squealer as Pravda, the Russian Newspaper at that time, Frederick as German and Boxer as the type of gullibility proletariat. Indeed, George Orwell’s timeless work reminds us that totalitarianism could be harmful to one society.

The Matters in Teaching Reading Comprehension to EFL Students

The purpose of this study was to find out the efforts that were being made by certified English t... more The purpose of this study was to find out the efforts that were being made by certified English teachers in teaching reading since reading is considered as one of the determiners of academic success. Descriptive qualitative research was used in this study; the subjects were two English teachers in Banda Aceh and the instrument was an interview guide. The interview questions were adapted from Fletcher, et al. (2012) that focused on curriculum, teacher preparation, teaching methodology, teaching instructions, authentic teaching materials, teachers' perceptions toward reading attitudes of learners, barriers in teaching reading, and teaching strategies for helping ineffective readers. The interviews revealed that the efforts made by the teachers played a pivotal role at assisting students to achieve reading competency. The attitude of students toward reading was also important in the teaching-learning process. The strategies of the teachers towards the students who were not reading effectively were not in line with the strategies as suggested by some experts: that the teacher should teach the students the strategies of how to read with interest, how to predict meanings, how to develop knowledge about the topic and so forth. These strategies were not implemented due to the situation and condition of the teaching environment. In brief, proper efforts by teachers to improve the learning environment could assist students to achieve better reading competency.

Efforts to Improve Writing Skills of High School Students

Writing in English is one of the language skills that are taught in the context of learning Engli... more Writing in English is one of the language skills that are taught in the context of learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Indonesian senior high schools. According to previous studies, most of the students consider writing is the most difficult of the four skills. This research was aimed at finding out the main difficulties in writing faced by the grade XI students at SMA Negeri 10 Fajar Harapan, Banda Aceh, and the efforts made by their teacher to overcome those problems. The design of this study was a descriptive qualitative study. To obtain the data, the writers used document collection and interviews. The results from the document collection showed that the highest percentages of problems faced by the students were in the aspect of language use and the least problems were in the aspect of content. The results from the interviews showed that the most common correcting efforts made by the teacher were giving written feedback for all aspects of writing i.e. language use, mechanics, vocabulary, organization, and content. Likewise, teachers need to develop systemized forms of feedback and make it clear to students what the feedback means and what they are to do with them to assist students in improving their writing skills.

Problems with Section Two ITP TOEFL Test

This study was designed to investigate (1) the difficulties faced by EFL university students with... more This study was designed to investigate (1) the difficulties faced by EFL university students with section two of the ITP, and (2) whether part A or part B was more difficult for them and why. A number of 26 students from two different universities, Syiah Kuala University and the State Islamic University Ar-Raniry were the samples for the test. The data was obtained from a multiple choice questionnaire test consisting of 46 questions, each with 4 answers to choose from. The results showed that inversions (12%), subject-verb agreements (10%), adverb clause connectors (7%), passives (6%), reduced adjective clauses (5%), parallel structures (5%) and use of verbs (5%) were the most difficult questions for the students. Furthermore, they felt that part B was more difficult than part A, as finding an error in a sentence was harder than completing a sentence from a multiple choice. Furthermore, the length of questions in part A did not affect the amount of time the students spent to complete part A and did not cause them to panic. Also, unfamiliar words in part A were not regarded as a problem by the students. Hence, TOEFL teachers and trainers are highly encouraged to pay more attention to doing study exercises for the seven topics with the highest percentages above in part A and also to more practice for part B.

Life Style Education: Are We Prepared for Changes?

by Studies in English Language and Education (journal) and Qismullah Yusuf

The public should be aware of the sudden change of life style of some people that makes their lif... more The public should be aware of the sudden change of life style of some people that makes their life completely different from their previous ones. All of us must be ready to face any circumstances from this manifestation in the future. The rich, wealthy and famous should be made aware that that type of life style is not wrong, but they should also be taught how to follow a normal way of life. Proper guidance and counselling on how to live normally needs to be provided with especially designed lectures and classes. Bringing these " students " to remote villages where the poor and the disadvantaged live may help them to understand the hardships of life around them. Having a short intern period within such a community will help them further understand the real life of the majority in their country. Furthermore, if they are always taught in an environment of luxury and are never faced with a normal education system and style of life, a major problem arises: if, in the future, our country is led by such graduates, who never went through our normal education system or lived a normal style of life, how can they understand and lead the majority in our country? This paper discusses this phenomenon.

Problems in Writing Spoof Texts

by Studies in English Language and Education (journal) and nurma dhona

A spoof tells a story with a humorous twist or an unpredictable and usually funny ending. It is u... more A spoof tells a story with a humorous twist or an unpredictable and usually funny ending. It is usually a story that could have happened in the past which has a social function to entertain and give a moral message to the readers/listeners. This research used a mix method to find out students' problems in writing spoofs, especially problems with text organization and language features. The results are expected to be useful for other teachers and for students faced with writing a spoof. The population for this study was the third year students at a high school in Padang and the sample two classes were selected by using a stratified cluster random sample technique. The researcher used a writing task as the research instrument to obtain the data. Based on the data, it was found that more than 50% of the students in the sample had problems in writing a spoof. It can be suggested that writing comprehension and characteristic of texts should be taught in various techniques and strategies so that the students are able to understand and apply them in a good writing.

Retaining Literature in the Indonesian ELT Curriculum

This article presents serious independent arguments why literature needs to be retained in the In... more This article presents serious independent arguments why literature needs to be retained in the Indonesian ELT (English Language Teaching) curriculum. In general, ELT curriculum nowadays seems to neglect the importance of literature since the introduction of the communicative approach. Three aspects are presented in connection with why the notion may need immediate application: (1) literature brings many advantages to Indonesian ELT learners; (2) literature can be used to teach critical thinking skills; and (3) critical thinking can be used to promote tolerance. This article is developed based on mainly the ideas of literature teaching proposed by Collie and Slater (1987), Lazar (1993), and Ghosn (2002). Hence, critical thinking and tolerance are values not getting serious attention in educational processes in this country even though these values have been included in the National educational objectives for Indonesia.

Impromptu: Great Impromptu Speaking is Never just Impromptu

Great impromptu speaking, reciting and singing are never just an isolated impromptu act. It is th... more Great impromptu speaking, reciting and singing are never just an isolated impromptu act. It is the result of endless practice to perfect performance that can then be given impromptu. One of the main objectives of learning English as a Second Language (ESL) is to be able to speak English impromptu, not just on the stage or in front of an audience but also in a casual meeting, on the street or during a formal meeting in a board-room. In fact to be able to speak “impromptu” should be the Holy Grail of teaching and learning ESL, more important than reading, writing and listening. So how come it is not given the priority it deserves – and how come it seems such a difficult goal? We believe it is because teachers and learners neglect to emphasize and practice the key to learning impromptu speaking. That key we believe is practice, practice and more practice. We can remember songs from our kindergarten years and we can still sing them because we practiced, practiced and practiced them. We believe that the teaching of ESL often overlooks the critical importance of lots of practice to create depth of learning and that creative methods of practicing need to be taught and practiced in ESL courses until such methods become deeply habitual, in fact they become a new personal paradigm. If our students aim to become great at ESL, they, too, must take continuous never-ending practice to heart.

A Study on Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension using the Numbered Heads Together Technique

by Studies in English Language and Education (journal) and Rosnani Sahardin

This study deals with improving the reading comprehension of junior high school students through ... more This study deals with improving the reading comprehension of junior high school students through the Numbered Heads Together (NHT) technique. The objective is to find out if cooperative learning using NHT can improve the reading comprehension of the students. The data for this research was obtained from a field study using an experimental research design at a middle school in Aceh Besar with a one group time series design. From the study, it was found that the students’ mean scores from the pre-test and the post-test were different. The mean score of the students’ post-test was higher than the pre-test scores. To find out if the two mean scores were significantly different, they were tested using the t-test statistical procedure. The result showed that they were significantly different (df = 8, alpha 0.05, t-table 17.550 > 2.0452). This indicated that Ha was accepted and Ho was rejected as hypothesized. Thus, cooperative learning using the NHT technique can improve the reading comprehension skills of middle school students.

Theoretical and practical reviews of the Indonesian translated “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” novel

This paper investigates the results of translation of the English novel “Harry Potter and the Sor... more This paper investigates the results of translation of the English novel “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” into Indonesian. The Indonesian version of the novel was compared with the English original one to find the translation practices used by the translator. The translation was analysed by focusing on the strategies the translator used in translating the text from the Second Language into the Target Language. It was found that the translator of the novel used four strategies: foreignization and domestication, cultural equivalences, zero-translation, and pragmatic translation. Furthermore, the cultural differences and new words which were created by the original author were the most difficult ones to find equivalences for in Indonesian. The translator tended to use original words from the source text un-translated into the TL. As a result, the target text does not read smoothly, or naturally, and may sound “foreign” to readers. It is suggested that translators should attempt to translate literary works by applying proper translation theory and practice.

The Effects of Immersive Multimedia Learning with Peer Support on Speaking Skill among Male and Female Students

This study investigated the effects of immersive multimedia language learning technique on perfor... more This study investigated the effects of immersive multimedia language learning technique on performance in English in terms of oral production skills in reading and speaking that involved six measures, namely, pausing, phrasing, stress, intonation, rate, and integration without the mediation of the first language of the students amongst both males and females. A quasi-experimental design was employed for the study. Eighty first-year university students enrolled in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) course were selected for this study and the teaching treatment was followed for eight sessions with one session per week. Data were analysed using one-way ANOVA. The findings showed that following the immersive multimedia learning, male students in the immersive multimedia group with peer support performed significantly better in four of the six measures of reading skills, namely, phrasing, stress, intonation, and integration as compared to their counterparts in the non-peer supported groups and there were no significant differences for pausing and rate. On the other hand, female students in the immersive multimedia learning with peer support group performed significantly better in all six measures of oral production for reading and speaking than their counterparts in the groups without peer support. These findings showed that the immersive multimedia technique with peer support reduced the use of code-switching strategies by the students and enabled them to develop oral production skills in English approaching the patterns of native speakers especially amongst the female students.

Improving Reading Comprehension through Reciprocal Teaching Method

This study is aimed at discovering the benefits of the Reciprocal Teaching Method (RTM) in the re... more This study is aimed at discovering the benefits of the Reciprocal Teaching Method (RTM) in the reading classroom, finding out the achievements of students after four comprehension training sessions of using RTM, and exploring the perceptions of students on the use of RTM. This method uses four comprehension strategies: predicting, questioning, clarifying, and summarizing, to help learners monitor their development of reading comprehension by themselves. Students work in groups of four or five and the members are divided into five roles which are the leader, predictor, clarifier, questioner, and summarizer. The subjects were 24 students from the twelfth grade at a high school in Banda Aceh. Observations, tests, documents and interviews were collected to get the data. The results showed that the students were more active and productive in the reading classroom after RTM sessions and their reading proficiency improved. They learnt how to apply several of the strategies from RTM while reading. The results also showed that they preferred this method for teaching-learning reading compared to the conventional one. Therefore, teachers are suggested to consider using this method for teaching reading that instils the students on how to apply the four comprehension strategies used in reading.

Social Semiotics Evaluation of English One by Gender

Textbooks receive focal attention in every educational setting. In 2013, the English text books u... more Textbooks receive focal attention in every educational setting. In 2013, the English text books used in Iranian schools were changed and new books, the Prospect series, were introduced. The older English text books are not used for teaching anymore. One of these was English One which was used for teaching the first grade at junior high school. As far as the researchers know, there was no previous research using this book in terms of gender from a semiotic point of view. Therefore, the researchers tried to investigate it in terms of social semiotics as defined by Kress and van Leeuwen (2006). Their findings showed that males are more often present in the images, and both genders are seen as collaborating with the readers of this book. Their findings also showed that both genders are trying to encourage the readers toward establishing communication by more often showing gaze towards each other in the images. This study has implication for students of linguistics, for course designers and for English teachers as well.

Exploring Teachers’ Beliefs and the Teaching Profession in Aceh

Formal teaching is an intentional activity that requires teachers to have beliefs and experiences... more Formal teaching is an intentional activity that requires teachers to have beliefs and experiences. Teachers’ beliefs are defined by Johnson (1994) as something that is formed early in life as a result of a person’s education and experience. Strong beliefs about learning and teaching are well established by the time a student completes schooling. This study intends to find out the beliefs of teachers of English at junior and senior high schools in Aceh. The study surveyed three qualified teachers as participants (in which one is also a vice-principal of his school) and used 15 questions to ascertain their techniques, beliefs and career paths. The results show that teachers’ beliefs are related to the teaching methodologies that they use. According to the teachers’ beliefs, the teaching methodologies should be varied from time by time according to the situation and the curriculum. Besides, each participant has committed to a career in the teaching profession persistently despite facing many obstacles and challenges during teaching and learning. The participants dreamt of being teachers since they were children. The authors suggest other researchers might see applications of this research for studying the benefits and weaknesses of different teaching methodologies based on teachers’ beliefs.

Attitudes of Acehnese People towards Acehnese Proverbs in Relation to Education

by Studies in English Language and Education (journal) and Chairina Nasir

This study is aimed at describing proverbs from the Acehnese society and explaining the attitudes... more This study is aimed at describing proverbs from the Acehnese society and explaining the attitudes of people towards those proverbs in relation to education. The methodology applied was ethnographic using a questionnaire to obtain data. A number of 14 respondents who varied across ages, educational background and occupations participated in this study. These respondents included three housewives, two university students, one fresh graduate, one junior high school and two senior high school students, one trader, two senior citizens, one teacher and one civil servant. Based on the findings, the attitude nowadays of the Acehnese has changed radically. Out of eight adults, only three were actively using proverbs in their daily lives and teaching their children those proverbs. All of the young people, who ranged from fourteen to twenty three years old, did not use proverbs. In relation to education, proverbs are used to teach the society about courtesy, advices (e.g. for choosing companions and friends in life, child rearing, socializing/conversing, and not to mind other people’s business), and shyness as part of faith. Furthermore, a significant language shift has occurred in Aceh which has impacted Acehnese oral literature whereby more parents today prefer Indonesian to be taught as their children’s first language (Alamsyah, et al., 2011). Consequently this has put the Acehnese proverbs under the threat of becoming extinct in their own society.

Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition Technique for Improving Content and Organization in Writing

by Studies in English Language and Education (journal), Faisal Mustafa, and nanda marlina

This study examines the Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) technique for impro... more This study examines the Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) technique for improving students’ English writing skills, specifically in content and organization when focused on writing recount texts. This experimental research used random sampling and random assignment to determine the control group (CG) and the experimental group (EG). Pre- tests, treatment or teaching and post-tests were done to both groups. The study was conducted with 60 second year students from a junior high school in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Students’ mean scores for the pre-test in the CG were 40.76 and 60.76 for the post-test, meanwhile students’ mean scores for the pre-test in the EG were 40 and 72.69 for the post-test. Thus, the t-test between both groups was 9.39 and the t-table was 2.056 which used 0.05 as the level of significance for this research. Because the t-test value was higher than the t-table (9.39 > 2.056), Ha was accepted and Ho was rejected. Therefore, the CIRC technique can improve the content and organization of students’ writing in doing recount texts. In addition, because students work in groups, they have more opportunity to learn and share their ideas with other students to produce better writing.

Students’ Learning Strategies for Developing Speaking Ability

by Studies in English Language and Education (journal) and dian fajrina

This study was done to study the learning strategies used by both low and high performance speaki... more This study was done to study the learning strategies used by both low and high performance speaking students in developing their speaking skills as well as the differences between the learning strategies used by both groups of learners. The reason for conducting this research was the fact that the competency of many students in speaking English was still considered unsatisfactory in Banda Aceh. We postulated that one aspect involved in the process of developing speaking skills was the learning strategies used by the learners. In this study, the data was collected through field research by means of documents, questionnaires, and interviews. The result of this study indicated that high performance speaking students had better balance in using all kinds of learning strategies (memory, cognitive, compensatory, metacognitive, affective, and social) for enhancing their speaking skills; the same could not be found with low performance speaking students. Besides, the high performance students employed more learning strategies consciously and appropriately compared to the low performance students. Based on the research results, it is suggested that students should be trained to be more aware of their own speaking learning strategies. They should use appropriate language learning strategies more consciously, purposefully, and frequently to be more successful in developing their speaking skills.

The Application of Portfolios to Assess Progress in Writing of EFL Students at Secondary Schools in Banda Aceh

Portfolios are one of the alternatives that can be used for writing assessment. Portfolios are no... more Portfolios are one of the alternatives that can be used for writing assessment. Portfolios are not common in the curriculum. The lack of dissemination to language teachers have made portfolios disregarded. In order to encourage teachers to use portfolios for assessment of writing, they need to have adequate information about portfolios, how they can be used for assessment as well as the benefits of using them for assessment. This study discusses why teachers do not use portfolios for assessing writing done by senior high school students. It focuses on English teachers at Islamic senior high schools in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar, and also looks at alternatives to help teachers use portfolios for assessment. The 26 teachers who participated in this study were given a questionnaire in order to find out their background knowledge related to portfolios and the difficulties they faced as teachers. Data from the questionnaire was supported by observations made by the researcher whilst monitoring their teaching. The results of this study showed that a large percentage of teachers found it difficult to design a rubric/set of instructions for using portfolios for writing assessment, whilst from the observation it was revealed that the complexities of correcting portfolios discouraged them from using portfolios as one of their means of assessment.

Assessing Writing: A Review of the Main Trends

As a language skill, writing has had, still has and will continue to have an important role in sh... more As a language skill, writing has had, still has and will continue to have an important role in shaping the scientific structure of human life in that it is the medium through which scientific content is stored, retained, and transmitted. It has therefore been a major concern for writing teachers and researchers to find a reliable method for evaluating and ensuring quality writing. This paper addresses the different approaches to scoring writing and classifies them into a priori scoring systems (including holistic and analytic scoring), and a posteriori trait-based scoring systems (including primary-trait and multiple-trait scoring).

Managing an Effective English Language Laboratory in a Polytechnic

Polytechnic graduates are required to have applied skills as well as communication skills in Engl... more Polytechnic graduates are required to have applied skills as well as communication skills in English. In most of the polytechnics in Indonesia, English courses are served as compulsory courses for students and in some institutions language laboratories are established in order to support their students. To run an effective language laboratory there are, at least four aspects that need to be considered, namely lab facilities, standard operating rules, students, and lab coordinators. Of all the agents, lab coordinators are classified as internal factors that can easily be empowered by the institutions in the management of the language lab. This paper aims to discuss leadership and management roles in improving an English Language Laboratory. The discussions are based on literature reviews, personal experiences and observations gained by the author whilst working at Politeknik Negeri Lhokseumawe for the last decade plus perceptions of teachers and administrators who have worked in the lab. Regarding the leadership and management in the language laboratory there are four items that should be improved: management of leadership, professional development, rewards, and the concept of educational management.

Character Metaphors in George Orwell's Animal Farm

Animal Farm was written by George Orwell in 1944 to criticize the Soviet Union leaders and their ... more Animal Farm was written by George Orwell in 1944 to criticize the Soviet Union leaders and their administration represented by animal characters. The objective of this study was to find out the resemblances between the character of Soviet Union leaders at the time the novel was written and those depicted in the novel. In analysing the objective of this study, content analysis was used. The data are the dialogues and other information in the novel concerning the metaphors of characters between the Soviet Union leaders of the 20th century and those in Animal Farm. The writer finds out that Jones metaphors Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russian Monarchy, Old Major with his speech metaphors Karl Marx with his Communist Manifesto, Napoleon as Stalin, Snowball as Trotsky, Squealer as Pravda, the Russian Newspaper at that time, Frederick as German and Boxer as the type of gullibility proletariat. Indeed, George Orwell’s timeless work reminds us that totalitarianism could be harmful to one society.

The Matters in Teaching Reading Comprehension to EFL Students

The purpose of this study was to find out the efforts that were being made by certified English t... more The purpose of this study was to find out the efforts that were being made by certified English teachers in teaching reading since reading is considered as one of the determiners of academic success. Descriptive qualitative research was used in this study; the subjects were two English teachers in Banda Aceh and the instrument was an interview guide. The interview questions were adapted from Fletcher, et al. (2012) that focused on curriculum, teacher preparation, teaching methodology, teaching instructions, authentic teaching materials, teachers' perceptions toward reading attitudes of learners, barriers in teaching reading, and teaching strategies for helping ineffective readers. The interviews revealed that the efforts made by the teachers played a pivotal role at assisting students to achieve reading competency. The attitude of students toward reading was also important in the teaching-learning process. The strategies of the teachers towards the students who were not reading effectively were not in line with the strategies as suggested by some experts: that the teacher should teach the students the strategies of how to read with interest, how to predict meanings, how to develop knowledge about the topic and so forth. These strategies were not implemented due to the situation and condition of the teaching environment. In brief, proper efforts by teachers to improve the learning environment could assist students to achieve better reading competency.

Efforts to Improve Writing Skills of High School Students

Writing in English is one of the language skills that are taught in the context of learning Engli... more Writing in English is one of the language skills that are taught in the context of learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Indonesian senior high schools. According to previous studies, most of the students consider writing is the most difficult of the four skills. This research was aimed at finding out the main difficulties in writing faced by the grade XI students at SMA Negeri 10 Fajar Harapan, Banda Aceh, and the efforts made by their teacher to overcome those problems. The design of this study was a descriptive qualitative study. To obtain the data, the writers used document collection and interviews. The results from the document collection showed that the highest percentages of problems faced by the students were in the aspect of language use and the least problems were in the aspect of content. The results from the interviews showed that the most common correcting efforts made by the teacher were giving written feedback for all aspects of writing i.e. language use, mechanics, vocabulary, organization, and content. Likewise, teachers need to develop systemized forms of feedback and make it clear to students what the feedback means and what they are to do with them to assist students in improving their writing skills.

Problems with Section Two ITP TOEFL Test

This study was designed to investigate (1) the difficulties faced by EFL university students with... more This study was designed to investigate (1) the difficulties faced by EFL university students with section two of the ITP, and (2) whether part A or part B was more difficult for them and why. A number of 26 students from two different universities, Syiah Kuala University and the State Islamic University Ar-Raniry were the samples for the test. The data was obtained from a multiple choice questionnaire test consisting of 46 questions, each with 4 answers to choose from. The results showed that inversions (12%), subject-verb agreements (10%), adverb clause connectors (7%), passives (6%), reduced adjective clauses (5%), parallel structures (5%) and use of verbs (5%) were the most difficult questions for the students. Furthermore, they felt that part B was more difficult than part A, as finding an error in a sentence was harder than completing a sentence from a multiple choice. Furthermore, the length of questions in part A did not affect the amount of time the students spent to complete part A and did not cause them to panic. Also, unfamiliar words in part A were not regarded as a problem by the students. Hence, TOEFL teachers and trainers are highly encouraged to pay more attention to doing study exercises for the seven topics with the highest percentages above in part A and also to more practice for part B.

Life Style Education: Are We Prepared for Changes?

by Studies in English Language and Education (journal) and Qismullah Yusuf

The public should be aware of the sudden change of life style of some people that makes their lif... more The public should be aware of the sudden change of life style of some people that makes their life completely different from their previous ones. All of us must be ready to face any circumstances from this manifestation in the future. The rich, wealthy and famous should be made aware that that type of life style is not wrong, but they should also be taught how to follow a normal way of life. Proper guidance and counselling on how to live normally needs to be provided with especially designed lectures and classes. Bringing these " students " to remote villages where the poor and the disadvantaged live may help them to understand the hardships of life around them. Having a short intern period within such a community will help them further understand the real life of the majority in their country. Furthermore, if they are always taught in an environment of luxury and are never faced with a normal education system and style of life, a major problem arises: if, in the future, our country is led by such graduates, who never went through our normal education system or lived a normal style of life, how can they understand and lead the majority in our country? This paper discusses this phenomenon.

Problems in Writing Spoof Texts

by Studies in English Language and Education (journal) and nurma dhona

A spoof tells a story with a humorous twist or an unpredictable and usually funny ending. It is u... more A spoof tells a story with a humorous twist or an unpredictable and usually funny ending. It is usually a story that could have happened in the past which has a social function to entertain and give a moral message to the readers/listeners. This research used a mix method to find out students' problems in writing spoofs, especially problems with text organization and language features. The results are expected to be useful for other teachers and for students faced with writing a spoof. The population for this study was the third year students at a high school in Padang and the sample two classes were selected by using a stratified cluster random sample technique. The researcher used a writing task as the research instrument to obtain the data. Based on the data, it was found that more than 50% of the students in the sample had problems in writing a spoof. It can be suggested that writing comprehension and characteristic of texts should be taught in various techniques and strategies so that the students are able to understand and apply them in a good writing.

Retaining Literature in the Indonesian ELT Curriculum

This article presents serious independent arguments why literature needs to be retained in the In... more This article presents serious independent arguments why literature needs to be retained in the Indonesian ELT (English Language Teaching) curriculum. In general, ELT curriculum nowadays seems to neglect the importance of literature since the introduction of the communicative approach. Three aspects are presented in connection with why the notion may need immediate application: (1) literature brings many advantages to Indonesian ELT learners; (2) literature can be used to teach critical thinking skills; and (3) critical thinking can be used to promote tolerance. This article is developed based on mainly the ideas of literature teaching proposed by Collie and Slater (1987), Lazar (1993), and Ghosn (2002). Hence, critical thinking and tolerance are values not getting serious attention in educational processes in this country even though these values have been included in the National educational objectives for Indonesia.

Impromptu: Great Impromptu Speaking is Never just Impromptu

Great impromptu speaking, reciting and singing are never just an isolated impromptu act. It is th... more Great impromptu speaking, reciting and singing are never just an isolated impromptu act. It is the result of endless practice to perfect performance that can then be given impromptu. One of the main objectives of learning English as a Second Language (ESL) is to be able to speak English impromptu, not just on the stage or in front of an audience but also in a casual meeting, on the street or during a formal meeting in a board-room. In fact to be able to speak “impromptu” should be the Holy Grail of teaching and learning ESL, more important than reading, writing and listening. So how come it is not given the priority it deserves – and how come it seems such a difficult goal? We believe it is because teachers and learners neglect to emphasize and practice the key to learning impromptu speaking. That key we believe is practice, practice and more practice. We can remember songs from our kindergarten years and we can still sing them because we practiced, practiced and practiced them. We believe that the teaching of ESL often overlooks the critical importance of lots of practice to create depth of learning and that creative methods of practicing need to be taught and practiced in ESL courses until such methods become deeply habitual, in fact they become a new personal paradigm. If our students aim to become great at ESL, they, too, must take continuous never-ending practice to heart.

A Study on Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension using the Numbered Heads Together Technique

by Studies in English Language and Education (journal) and Rosnani Sahardin

This study deals with improving the reading comprehension of junior high school students through ... more This study deals with improving the reading comprehension of junior high school students through the Numbered Heads Together (NHT) technique. The objective is to find out if cooperative learning using NHT can improve the reading comprehension of the students. The data for this research was obtained from a field study using an experimental research design at a middle school in Aceh Besar with a one group time series design. From the study, it was found that the students’ mean scores from the pre-test and the post-test were different. The mean score of the students’ post-test was higher than the pre-test scores. To find out if the two mean scores were significantly different, they were tested using the t-test statistical procedure. The result showed that they were significantly different (df = 8, alpha 0.05, t-table 17.550 > 2.0452). This indicated that Ha was accepted and Ho was rejected as hypothesized. Thus, cooperative learning using the NHT technique can improve the reading comprehension skills of middle school students.

Theoretical and practical reviews of the Indonesian translated “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” novel

This paper investigates the results of translation of the English novel “Harry Potter and the Sor... more This paper investigates the results of translation of the English novel “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” into Indonesian. The Indonesian version of the novel was compared with the English original one to find the translation practices used by the translator. The translation was analysed by focusing on the strategies the translator used in translating the text from the Second Language into the Target Language. It was found that the translator of the novel used four strategies: foreignization and domestication, cultural equivalences, zero-translation, and pragmatic translation. Furthermore, the cultural differences and new words which were created by the original author were the most difficult ones to find equivalences for in Indonesian. The translator tended to use original words from the source text un-translated into the TL. As a result, the target text does not read smoothly, or naturally, and may sound “foreign” to readers. It is suggested that translators should attempt to translate literary works by applying proper translation theory and practice.

The Effects of Immersive Multimedia Learning with Peer Support on Speaking Skill among Male and Female Students

This study investigated the effects of immersive multimedia language learning technique on perfor... more This study investigated the effects of immersive multimedia language learning technique on performance in English in terms of oral production skills in reading and speaking that involved six measures, namely, pausing, phrasing, stress, intonation, rate, and integration without the mediation of the first language of the students amongst both males and females. A quasi-experimental design was employed for the study. Eighty first-year university students enrolled in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) course were selected for this study and the teaching treatment was followed for eight sessions with one session per week. Data were analysed using one-way ANOVA. The findings showed that following the immersive multimedia learning, male students in the immersive multimedia group with peer support performed significantly better in four of the six measures of reading skills, namely, phrasing, stress, intonation, and integration as compared to their counterparts in the non-peer supported groups and there were no significant differences for pausing and rate. On the other hand, female students in the immersive multimedia learning with peer support group performed significantly better in all six measures of oral production for reading and speaking than their counterparts in the groups without peer support. These findings showed that the immersive multimedia technique with peer support reduced the use of code-switching strategies by the students and enabled them to develop oral production skills in English approaching the patterns of native speakers especially amongst the female students.

Improving Reading Comprehension through Reciprocal Teaching Method

This study is aimed at discovering the benefits of the Reciprocal Teaching Method (RTM) in the re... more This study is aimed at discovering the benefits of the Reciprocal Teaching Method (RTM) in the reading classroom, finding out the achievements of students after four comprehension training sessions of using RTM, and exploring the perceptions of students on the use of RTM. This method uses four comprehension strategies: predicting, questioning, clarifying, and summarizing, to help learners monitor their development of reading comprehension by themselves. Students work in groups of four or five and the members are divided into five roles which are the leader, predictor, clarifier, questioner, and summarizer. The subjects were 24 students from the twelfth grade at a high school in Banda Aceh. Observations, tests, documents and interviews were collected to get the data. The results showed that the students were more active and productive in the reading classroom after RTM sessions and their reading proficiency improved. They learnt how to apply several of the strategies from RTM while reading. The results also showed that they preferred this method for teaching-learning reading compared to the conventional one. Therefore, teachers are suggested to consider using this method for teaching reading that instils the students on how to apply the four comprehension strategies used in reading.

Social Semiotics Evaluation of English One by Gender

Textbooks receive focal attention in every educational setting. In 2013, the English text books u... more Textbooks receive focal attention in every educational setting. In 2013, the English text books used in Iranian schools were changed and new books, the Prospect series, were introduced. The older English text books are not used for teaching anymore. One of these was English One which was used for teaching the first grade at junior high school. As far as the researchers know, there was no previous research using this book in terms of gender from a semiotic point of view. Therefore, the researchers tried to investigate it in terms of social semiotics as defined by Kress and van Leeuwen (2006). Their findings showed that males are more often present in the images, and both genders are seen as collaborating with the readers of this book. Their findings also showed that both genders are trying to encourage the readers toward establishing communication by more often showing gaze towards each other in the images. This study has implication for students of linguistics, for course designers and for English teachers as well.

Exploring Teachers’ Beliefs and the Teaching Profession in Aceh

Formal teaching is an intentional activity that requires teachers to have beliefs and experiences... more Formal teaching is an intentional activity that requires teachers to have beliefs and experiences. Teachers’ beliefs are defined by Johnson (1994) as something that is formed early in life as a result of a person’s education and experience. Strong beliefs about learning and teaching are well established by the time a student completes schooling. This study intends to find out the beliefs of teachers of English at junior and senior high schools in Aceh. The study surveyed three qualified teachers as participants (in which one is also a vice-principal of his school) and used 15 questions to ascertain their techniques, beliefs and career paths. The results show that teachers’ beliefs are related to the teaching methodologies that they use. According to the teachers’ beliefs, the teaching methodologies should be varied from time by time according to the situation and the curriculum. Besides, each participant has committed to a career in the teaching profession persistently despite facing many obstacles and challenges during teaching and learning. The participants dreamt of being teachers since they were children. The authors suggest other researchers might see applications of this research for studying the benefits and weaknesses of different teaching methodologies based on teachers’ beliefs.

Attitudes of Acehnese People towards Acehnese Proverbs in Relation to Education

by Studies in English Language and Education (journal) and Chairina Nasir

This study is aimed at describing proverbs from the Acehnese society and explaining the attitudes... more This study is aimed at describing proverbs from the Acehnese society and explaining the attitudes of people towards those proverbs in relation to education. The methodology applied was ethnographic using a questionnaire to obtain data. A number of 14 respondents who varied across ages, educational background and occupations participated in this study. These respondents included three housewives, two university students, one fresh graduate, one junior high school and two senior high school students, one trader, two senior citizens, one teacher and one civil servant. Based on the findings, the attitude nowadays of the Acehnese has changed radically. Out of eight adults, only three were actively using proverbs in their daily lives and teaching their children those proverbs. All of the young people, who ranged from fourteen to twenty three years old, did not use proverbs. In relation to education, proverbs are used to teach the society about courtesy, advices (e.g. for choosing companions and friends in life, child rearing, socializing/conversing, and not to mind other people’s business), and shyness as part of faith. Furthermore, a significant language shift has occurred in Aceh which has impacted Acehnese oral literature whereby more parents today prefer Indonesian to be taught as their children’s first language (Alamsyah, et al., 2011). Consequently this has put the Acehnese proverbs under the threat of becoming extinct in their own society.

Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition Technique for Improving Content and Organization in Writing

by Studies in English Language and Education (journal), Faisal Mustafa, and nanda marlina

This study examines the Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) technique for impro... more This study examines the Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC) technique for improving students’ English writing skills, specifically in content and organization when focused on writing recount texts. This experimental research used random sampling and random assignment to determine the control group (CG) and the experimental group (EG). Pre- tests, treatment or teaching and post-tests were done to both groups. The study was conducted with 60 second year students from a junior high school in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Students’ mean scores for the pre-test in the CG were 40.76 and 60.76 for the post-test, meanwhile students’ mean scores for the pre-test in the EG were 40 and 72.69 for the post-test. Thus, the t-test between both groups was 9.39 and the t-table was 2.056 which used 0.05 as the level of significance for this research. Because the t-test value was higher than the t-table (9.39 > 2.056), Ha was accepted and Ho was rejected. Therefore, the CIRC technique can improve the content and organization of students’ writing in doing recount texts. In addition, because students work in groups, they have more opportunity to learn and share their ideas with other students to produce better writing.

Students’ Learning Strategies for Developing Speaking Ability

by Studies in English Language and Education (journal) and dian fajrina

This study was done to study the learning strategies used by both low and high performance speaki... more This study was done to study the learning strategies used by both low and high performance speaking students in developing their speaking skills as well as the differences between the learning strategies used by both groups of learners. The reason for conducting this research was the fact that the competency of many students in speaking English was still considered unsatisfactory in Banda Aceh. We postulated that one aspect involved in the process of developing speaking skills was the learning strategies used by the learners. In this study, the data was collected through field research by means of documents, questionnaires, and interviews. The result of this study indicated that high performance speaking students had better balance in using all kinds of learning strategies (memory, cognitive, compensatory, metacognitive, affective, and social) for enhancing their speaking skills; the same could not be found with low performance speaking students. Besides, the high performance students employed more learning strategies consciously and appropriately compared to the low performance students. Based on the research results, it is suggested that students should be trained to be more aware of their own speaking learning strategies. They should use appropriate language learning strategies more consciously, purposefully, and frequently to be more successful in developing their speaking skills.

The Application of Portfolios to Assess Progress in Writing of EFL Students at Secondary Schools in Banda Aceh

Portfolios are one of the alternatives that can be used for writing assessment. Portfolios are no... more Portfolios are one of the alternatives that can be used for writing assessment. Portfolios are not common in the curriculum. The lack of dissemination to language teachers have made portfolios disregarded. In order to encourage teachers to use portfolios for assessment of writing, they need to have adequate information about portfolios, how they can be used for assessment as well as the benefits of using them for assessment. This study discusses why teachers do not use portfolios for assessing writing done by senior high school students. It focuses on English teachers at Islamic senior high schools in Banda Aceh and Aceh Besar, and also looks at alternatives to help teachers use portfolios for assessment. The 26 teachers who participated in this study were given a questionnaire in order to find out their background knowledge related to portfolios and the difficulties they faced as teachers. Data from the questionnaire was supported by observations made by the researcher whilst monitoring their teaching. The results of this study showed that a large percentage of teachers found it difficult to design a rubric/set of instructions for using portfolios for writing assessment, whilst from the observation it was revealed that the complexities of correcting portfolios discouraged them from using portfolios as one of their means of assessment.

Assessing Writing: A Review of the Main Trends

As a language skill, writing has had, still has and will continue to have an important role in sh... more As a language skill, writing has had, still has and will continue to have an important role in shaping the scientific structure of human life in that it is the medium through which scientific content is stored, retained, and transmitted. It has therefore been a major concern for writing teachers and researchers to find a reliable method for evaluating and ensuring quality writing. This paper addresses the different approaches to scoring writing and classifies them into a priori scoring systems (including holistic and analytic scoring), and a posteriori trait-based scoring systems (including primary-trait and multiple-trait scoring).

Managing an Effective English Language Laboratory in a Polytechnic

Polytechnic graduates are required to have applied skills as well as communication skills in Engl... more Polytechnic graduates are required to have applied skills as well as communication skills in English. In most of the polytechnics in Indonesia, English courses are served as compulsory courses for students and in some institutions language laboratories are established in order to support their students. To run an effective language laboratory there are, at least four aspects that need to be considered, namely lab facilities, standard operating rules, students, and lab coordinators. Of all the agents, lab coordinators are classified as internal factors that can easily be empowered by the institutions in the management of the language lab. This paper aims to discuss leadership and management roles in improving an English Language Laboratory. The discussions are based on literature reviews, personal experiences and observations gained by the author whilst working at Politeknik Negeri Lhokseumawe for the last decade plus perceptions of teachers and administrators who have worked in the lab. Regarding the leadership and management in the language laboratory there are four items that should be improved: management of leadership, professional development, rewards, and the concept of educational management.