Celtic

Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics

Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics is

published biannually every June and December (P-ISSN: 2356-0401, E-ISSN: 2621-9158)
presenting articles on culture, English language teaching, literature, and linguistics.
Contents include analysis, studies, application of theories, research reports, material
development, and book reviews. Celtic was first published in June 2014.

Chief Editor
Bayu H. Wicaksono, M.Ed., Ph.D., University of Muhammadiyah Malang

Editors
Lazuar Azmi Zulferdi, M. App.Ling., Ahmad Dahlan University, Indonesia
Sri Rejeki Murtiningsih, Ph.D., University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta, Indonesia
Tono Suwartono, Ph. D., University of Muhammadiyah Purwokerto, Indonesia
Dr. Moh. Hasbullah Isnaini, M.Pd., University of Brawijaya, Indonesia
Puji Sumarsono, M.Pd. University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Santi Prastiyowati, M.Pd. University of Muhammadiyah Malang,
Indonesia

Reviewers
Willy Renandya, Ph.D, Nanyang Technology University, Singapore
Dr. Ana Belén Mansilla Pérez, Universidad de Murcia, Spain
Dr. Yudhi Arifani, University of Muhammadiyah Gresik, Indonesia
Dr. Ikhsanuddin, Tanjung Pura University, Indonesia
Healty Susantiningdyah, M.AppLing., University of East Kalimantan, Indonesia
Merina Devira, M.A., Samudera University, Indonesia
Firqo Amelia, M.A., Abdurrachman Saleh University, Indonesia
Saefurrohman, Ph.D., University of Muhammadiyah Purwokerto, Indonesia
Eka Listianing Rahayu, M. App.Ling., State Polytechnic of Malang, Indonesia
Dr. Estu Widodo, M.Hum., University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Dr. Fardini Sabilah, M.Pd., University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Dwi Poedjiastutie, M.A., Ph. D., University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Dr. Sudiran, M.Hum., University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Rina Wahyu Setyaningrum, M.Ed. University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Riski Lestiono, M.A., University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Alimin Adi Waluyo, M. App.Ling., University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Rafika Rabba Farah, M.Ed., University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Adityo, M.A., University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Rosalin Ismayoung Gusdian, M.A., University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Agista Nidya Wardani, S.S., S.Pd. M.A., University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Bramy Biantoro, M.Ed., University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia

Managing Editors
Nina Inayati, M.Ed., University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
Triastama Wiraatmaja, M.Si. University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia
 Copy Editor
Masyhud, M. Pd., University of Muhammadiyah Malang, Indonesia

Website & Cover Designer

Prihadi Dwi Nurcahyanto, M.Pd.

Correspondence:
Address: Celtic Editorial Team, English Language Education Department, Faculty of Teacher
Training and Education, University of Muhammadiyah Malang. Jl. Raya Tlogomas No. 246
Malang 65144, East Java, Indonesia. Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +62-341-464318 Ext. 121. Fax no: +62-341-460435

Published and Copyright by UMM Press, Malang © 2022

Celtic P-ISSN: 2356-0401
E-ISSN: 2621-9158
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics

1 THE INCORPORATION OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN PUBLIC

SPEAKING COURSE SYLLABUS AT ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION
STUDY PROGRAM
Luthfia Putri Utami, Siti Drivoka Sulistyaningrum.….…………………. 1-20
2 EXPLORING THE USE OF DRAMA WAYANG FOR ESP SPEAKING
ACTIVITIES
Dwi Wahyuningtyas, Adelia Savitri.………………………………………. 21-38
3 EFL POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ CRITICAL THINKING BELIEFS AND
THEIR ABILITY IN WRITING RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Arima Azwati, Slamet Setiawan, Oikurema Purwati…………....……. 39-52
4 IMPROVING STUDENT’S SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH CLIL IN TOURIST
GUDING ONLINE CLASS
Novitasari, Noverita Wahyuningsih, Hiqma Nur Agustina…………. 53-68
5 SPEAKING EXPRESSION: THE SOCIODRAMA TECHNIQUE IN ENHANCING
STUDENTS SPEAKING SKILL
Rahmiati, Iskandar Abdul Samad…………….……..……………….............. 69-81
6 EFL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ONLINE SELF-REGULATED
LEARNING STRATEGIES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Genti Putri Dwi Redjeki, Astri Hapsari……………………………………… 82-96
7 ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES LEARNERS’ NEED ANALYSIS:
LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN
ETHIOPIA
Sileshi Chemir, Tamene Kitila…………………………………………………. 97-119
8 ENGLISH STUDY CLUB: HOW STUDENS’ MENTAL ATTRIBUTES REFLECT
THEIR MOTIVATION
Siti Maria Ulfa Mattarima, Nur Afifi, Rezki Suci Qamaria……………. 120-134
9 ASSERTIVE ILLOCUTIONARY ACTS ON INTERRUPTION BY JOE BIDEN IN
THE 2020 FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Fania Yulistiana, Widyastuti……………………………………………… 135-148

Celtic Volume 9, Number 1, pp. 1-148 Malang, June 2022

 1

THE INCORPORATION OF COMMUNICATION

SKILLS IN PUBLIC SPEAKING COURSE SYLLABUS
AT ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY
PROGRAM

Luthfia Putri Utami, Siti Drivoka Sulistyaningrum*

Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia

ABSTRACT
Communication skills have been considered as an essential skill and element of
employability in the 21st-century, because these skills are needed for workplace
adaptability competitiveness. Therefore, it also affects the field of education and
integrating communication skills in the curriculum are urgently needed. Hence,
this study aimed to explore the extent to which communication skills are
incorporated, along with the syllabus components that have been incorporated
into communication skills. To conduct this content analysis, the statements
(words, phrases, and sentences) in the syllabus were collected and 12 out of 35
indicators of communication skills are employed. The data source of this study
was the syllabus for the 4th semester of public speaking course in 2020 at
E-ISSN: 2621-9158 University X in Jakarta. It was found that 11 out of 12 indicators were
P-ISSN:2356-0401 incorporated into the syllabus. Moreover, it turned out the indicators appear to
be incorporated in 7 out of 12 components of syllabus, which are: Course
Identification, Course Description, Learning Outcomes, Course Goal, Materials,
*Correspondence: Learning Methods, and Task Description. The result reveals that the
[email protected] communication skills are already incorporated but still limited and the syllabus
needs further revisions in order to meet the communication skills indicators.
Submitted: 4 October 2021
Approved: 29 March 2022 Keywords: Communication Skills; Public Speaking Course; Syllabus
Published: 6 June 2022
ABSTRAK
Keterampilan komunikasi telah dipandang sebagai keterampilan dan elemen
Citation: penting dalam dunia kerja di abad ke-21 karena keterampilan ini diperlukan
Utami, L. P., & Sulistyaningrum, S. D.
guna kemampuan beradaptasi dan berkompetisi di tempat kerja. Maka dari itu,
(2022). The Incorporation of
Communication Skills in Public hal ini juga mempengaruhi bidang pendidikan, sehingga mengintegrasikan
Speaking Course Syllabus at English keterampilan komunikasi dalam kurikulum sangat dibutuhkan. Oleh karena itu,
Language Education Study penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui sejauh mana keterampilan
Program. Celtic: A Journal of komunikasi dimasukkan, beserta komponen-komponen silabus yang telah
Culture, English Language Teaching, dimasukkan keterampilan komunikasi. Untuk melakukan analisis isi ini,
Literature and Linguistics, 9(1),1-20. pernyataan (kata, frasa, dan kalimat) dalam silabus dikumpulkan dan 12 dari 35
Doi: 10.22219/celtic.v9i1.18281. indikator keterampilan komunikasi digunakan. Sumber data penelitian ini adalah
silabus mata kuliah public speaking semester 4 tahun 2020 di Universitas X yang
berada di Jakarta. Ditemukan bahwa 11 dari 12 indikator telah masuk ke dalam
silabus. Selain itu, indikator-indikator tersebut tergabung dalam 7 dari 12
komponen silabus, yaitu: Identifikasi Mata Kuliah, Deskripsi Mata Kuliah,
Capaian Pembelajaran Mata Kuliah (CPMK), Sub-CPMK, Materi, Kegiatan
Pembelajaran (Metode), dan Deskripsi Tugas. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan
bahwa keterampilan komunikasi sudah dimasukkan ke dalam silabus namun
masih diperlukan revisi lebih lanjut untuk memenuhi indikator keterampilan
komunikasi.

Kata Kunci: Keterampilan Komunikasi; Mata Kuliah Public Speaking;

Silabus

INTRODUCTION
In recent years, the pace of change in the 21st century is moving rapidly
toward various sectors of life, including the education sector (Schwab, 2017). How
people communicate has changed drastically with the advent of emerging
technology in the 21st century. It is well recognized that incorporating 21st-century

Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index
Luthfia Putri Utami, Siti Drivoka Sulistyaningrum
The incorporation of communication skills
in public speaking course syllabus at English language education study program

skills, especially communication skills, into the classroom are key to success
(Bolstad, Gilbert, McDowall, Bull, Boyd & Hipkins, 2012). Kaburise (2016) also
stated that communication skills have been identified as vital soft skills and a
contributing factor to employability in the 21st-century. Communication skills are
considered as critical skills in the workplace because it is one of the skills needed
in order to be able to survive and adapt in the workplace (ATC21S, 2012). It is
generally accepted that communication skills are a core essential of the 21st-
century skills needed in this fourth industrial revolution and needed to be
incorporated into the curriculum. Fadel, Bialik and Trilling (2015) found, there are
four specific skills were considered the most essential, all of which were
categorized as learning and innovation skills in Partnership for 21st Century’s
framework. These skills were then deemed as key skills for 21st century education
and became collectively referred to as 4Cs, consisting of critical thinking and
problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation.
Radifan and Dewanti (2020) highlight how 4Cs, such as communication skills, are
incorporated into senior high school English lesson plans, as well as investigating
the lesson plan components in which those skills are incorporated. Another
researcher, Kaushal (2018) did a study on incorporating employability skills in
engineering education, their analysis focused on the syllabus and teaching
methods used in communication skills classes in the colleges. However, there are
still a limited number of studies that investigated how communication skills are
incorporated into the syllabus of public speaking in university. The communication
skills in this public speaking course are expected can be applied into the real
world.
Furthermore, language education in the 21st century according to Eaton
(2010) is no longer based on grammar, memorization, and rote learning. Instead, it
focuses more on using language and cultural understanding to interact and engage
with people all over the world. As a result, educators are being pushed to find ways
to incorporate these established skills into the lessons. In that way, students have
enough time to practice and master these skills in the course of their daily
routines. According to Marinho, Medeiros, Gama and Teixeira (2017), 63,9% of the
students have a fear of public speaking and 89,3% of the students would prefer
their undergraduate program to include lessons to enhance public speaking. In
response to this matter, prior studies have been conducted by some researchers
regarding how communication skills are incorporated into the syllabus. One such
study is by Zuwanda, Sumarni and Sulistyaningrum (2021), which conducted a
study that used a qualitative descriptive method. Their analysis focused on
designing life and career skills-incorporated speaking syllabuses for English
Language Education Study Program by conducting a need analysis of life and
career skills, including oral communication skills, towards nineteen syllabuses for
speaking courses from six universities in Indonesia. The findings reveal that life
and career skills have been incorporated implicitly and explicitly into speaking
syllabuses and oral communication competence mainly appeared in the course
description, learning objectives, learning outcomes, materials, and teaching
method.
Kaushal (2018) also did a study on incorporating employability skills in
engineering education, their analysis focused on the syllabus and teaching

2
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

methods used in communication skills classes in the colleges. It was found that on
reviewing the syllabi, most of the contact time was allotted to the theory of
communication and very little activity or discussion, interaction time was
reserved. In conclusion, the communication skills which are mostly taught to
engineers through the chalk and talk method have failed to yield results. The
researcher suggests some changes in the methodology of teaching communication
skills to engineering students and the syllabus can be substantiated by some team-
based activities like making a group presentation or a group discussion on some
challenging topic.
Furthermore, Menggo, Suastra, Budiarsa and Padmadewi (2019) focused
their analysis on the types of learners’ target needs and learning needs for material
development in the academic English-speaking course. The study’s findings
revealed that the students’ wants strongly indicated that material design must be
able to promote 21st-century skills. Students' desires for course design included
communication and collaboration. Discussion as a technique is sought, group work
as a classroom setting, and active communicator as the learners' role. Wicaksono
(2015) also did a study regarding group work for tertiary students learning, it
revealed that group work could facilitate students in working effectively and
actively through a strong engagement in group discussion.
However, even though there have been studies on teachers’ comprehension
and implementation of 21st-century skills, there appears to be a limited of studies
that investigate the incorporation of communication skills in the syllabus, despite
their importance. Zuwanda et al. (2021) found oral communication competence
mainly appeared in five components of the syllabus, which are: course description,
learning objectives, learning outcomes, materials, and teaching method. According
to that, this study should investigate further in which components of syllabus that
incorporated communication skills in this public speaking course syllabus.
Moreover, Kaushal (2018) analysed the syllabus made based on the teacher’s
thinking. It was stated that the most common method used for teaching
communication skills was lecture mode due to a shortage of time and a lengthy
syllabus. Meanwhile, this is contrary to the findings of a study from Menggo et al.
(2019) which says that students need more practical learning methods. It is said
that students want a strong material design that must be able to promote 21st-
century skills, including communication skills, such as speaking tasks, discussions,
and group work. This gap has led the researchers to further investigate this study,
especially in the public speaking course syllabus at English Language Education
Study Program as the initial purpose of this study was conducted.

Communication Skills
Researchers from the Assessment and Teaching of 21st Century Skills
(ATC21S) stated that 21st-century skills may be divided into four categories: ways
of thinking, ways of working, tools for working, and skills for living in the world.
Based on that, communication and collaboration skills are included in ways of
working. Both of these skills are two important skills in the workplace because it is
two skills needed to survive and adapt in the workplace. As Figure 1 shows how
many of the 21st-century skills identified by ATC21S can be captured by the
taxonomy, the exceptions are communication, collaboration, and ICT literacy.

3
Luthfia Putri Utami, Siti Drivoka Sulistyaningrum
The incorporation of communication skills
in public speaking course syllabus at English language education study program

Figure 1. Mapping of 21st Century skills (ATC21S conceptualization) onto Anderson and
Krathwohl’s (2001) revised hierarchy of Bloom’s cognitive domain

Table 1 shows the four broad categories of 21st-century skills grouped by

ATC21S (2012). Within these categories, they identified ten skills as encapsulating
all others and accommodating all approaches. From the Table 1 shows that
ATC21S, Partnership for 21st-Century Skills, Lisbon Council, ISTE NETS, and ETS
iSkill emphasize communication skills include in ways of working. In other words,
it is implicate that communication skills can be incorporated in curriculum
(syllabus).

Table 1. Categories of 21st-Century Skills based on ATC21S (2012)

ATC21S 21st-century skills reviewed by ATC21S
21 -
st 21 -century
st Partnership Lisbon ISTE NETS ETS iSkill
century skills for 21st- Council (2013) (2013)
skill century skills (2007)
category (2013)
creativity & creativity & creativity & creativity &
innovation innovation innovation innovation
critical critical problem critical critical
thinking thinking solving thinking thinking
problem problem problem problem
Ways of
solving solving solving solving
thinking
decision decision decision
making making making
learning to
learn
metacognition
Ways of communication communication communication communication

4
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

ATC21S 21st-century skills reviewed by ATC21S

working collaboration collaboration collaboration collaboration
Tools information information information information information
for literacy literacy literacy literacy literacy
working media literacy
ICT ICT operation ICT operation ICT operation ICT operation ICT operation
literacy and concepts and concepts and concepts and concepts and concepts
citizenship
life and career e.g. initiative flexibility initiative
Living in flexibility adaptability self-direction
the leadership
world personal and
social
responsibility

Furthermore, Partnership for 21st Century (2019) stated successful

communication necessitates not only the capacity to successfully convey thoughts
and ideas but also the ability to properly listen to and understand context, as well
as the ability to communicate effectively in a variety of settings. To have
communication skills, one must be able to employ a variety of media and
technology, as well as identify their efficacy, analyze their impacts, and predict
their efficacy a priori. Trilling and Fadel (2009) also defined communication skills
as the ability to effectively express thoughts and ideas using oral, written, and
nonverbal communication skills, listen effectively to decipher meaning, including
knowledge, values, attitudes, and intentions, use communication to inform, advise,
inspire, and convince, use various media and technologies, and interact effectively
in a variety of situations. In line with that, Hymes (1972) in Schriffin, Tannen and
Hamilton (2001) also said that being communicatively skilled meant knowing
when to speak, to whom to speak, where to speak, and how to speak in suitable
linguistic ways. Furthermore, Metusalem, Belenky and DiCerbo (2017) also stated
that effective communication requires skills that support the successful conveying
of meaning and, ultimately, the achieving of desired outcomes.

Syllabus
According to Slattery and Carlson (2005), the syllabus is a ubiquitous aspect
of the teaching process that encourages teaching and learning by communicating
the general pattern of the course, so that a course does not feel like a series of
disjointed tasks and events, but rather a well-planned and substantive path.
Richards (2001) also defined a syllabus as a document that specifies the content of
a course of instruction and defines what will be taught and tested. Another
researcher, Gannon (2018) defined syllabus as a kind of promise for students to
show them what they will be able to do after taking a particular course. It could be
concluded that a syllabus is a document in academic settings to which contents
such as assignments and activities as part of the teaching-learning process are
specified and organized. A syllabus, in other words, is more detailed and concrete
than a curriculum, and a curriculum may comprise many syllabi.
Table 2, illustrates components of syllabus according to Gannon (2018),
Richards (2001), Sinor and Kaplan (2012), Slattery and Carlson (2005), and

5
Luthfia Putri Utami, Siti Drivoka Sulistyaningrum
The incorporation of communication skills
in public speaking course syllabus at English language education study program

National Standard for Higher Education by Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan

(2020).

Table 2. Components of Syllabus

No. Concept/Theory of Syllabus Components of Syllabus
1 Gannon (2018); Sinor & Kaplan Course identification; consist of course title, name
(2012); National Standard for Higher of the study program, total credits hours,
Education by Menteri Pendidikan lecturer’s name, and a description of how the
dan Kebudayaan (2020) course will be conducted.
2 Gannon (2018); Slattery & Carlson Lecture’s contact details; includes lecturer’s office,
(2005) contact information, operational hours, method of
contacting lecturer.
3 Sinor & Kaplan (2012); Slattery & Course description; it gives an idea of the course
Carlson (2005) content and objectives.
4 Gannon (2018); Richards (2001); Learning outcomes; it describe the overall aim of a
Slattery & Carlson (2005); National syllabus, assist students understand to which
Standard for Higher Education by extent the course will help them develop their
Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan knowledge and skills, it also specify what students
(2020) will be able to do as a result of taking the course.
5 Gannon (2018); Richards (2001); Course goal; it describes the purposes indicated in
Slattery & Carlson (2005); National the learning outcomes in greater detail.
Standard for Higher Education by
Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan
(2020)
6 Gannon (2018); Richards (2001); Materials; consist of a list of materials that will be
Sinor & Kaplan (2012); Slattery & used in the course, it can be in form of printed
Carlson (2005); National Standard materials such as textbooks, non-printed
for Higher Education by Menteri materials such as video, or materials that can be
Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan (2020) classified as both, such as online course as well as
ways to access them.
7 Richards (2001); National Standard Learning methods; describes the steps taken to
for Higher Education by Menteri help the learning process to achieve the learning
Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan (2020) outcomes.
8 Slattery & Carlson (2005); National Task description; it consists of the statements of
Standard for Higher Education by scope for each of the project activities to be done
Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan by the students for the whole semester.
(2020)
9 Gannon (2018); Richards (2001); Assessment criteria; included a grading scheme
Slattery & Carlson (2005); National and scale. It help the students to assist them
Standard for Higher Education by develop (formative) and to assess their
Menteri Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan achievement.
(2020)
10 Gannon (2018); Sinor & Kaplan Course policies; this section covers topic such as
(2012) attendance, late or missing assignments and
exams, and academic honesty.
11 National Standard for Higher List of references for the course.
Education by Menteri Pendidikan
dan Kebudayaan (2020)
12 Gannon (2018); Sinor & Kaplan Course schedule; a description of what happening
(2012); Slattery & Carlson (2005); each week in class and what students will be
National Standard for Higher expected to complete during certain class
Education by Menteri Pendidikan sessions, when quizzes and/or exams will be
dan Kebudayaan (2020) offered, and when papers, projects, and other
assessments will be submitted. It is include time
allocation for each learning process.

6
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Public Speaking Course

Public speaking is a compulsory subject for student of English Language
Education Study Program at University X, because speaking is one of the subjects
given to students as a way of improving student’s competencies through language.
Moreover, public speaking is a vital means of communication; it is a part of talk as
performance, which includes aspects such of audience and setting, structure
construction, language formality, and method of delivery. Furthermore, public
speaking requires students to think critically and logically, distinguish between
facts from opinions, judge the credibility of statements, and evaluate the
soundness of evidence. It teaches students how to give a speech that is both
coherent and cohesive, as well as how to think clearly and accurately while
arranging their thoughts into a good arrangement (Lucas, 2009).
There are two ways of distinguishing the tasks according to Lucas (2009);
from its purpose of speech delivery and the methods of speech delivery. Speech
delivery tasks in public speaking are divided into two categories depending in their
purposes: (a) Speaking to inform; and (b) Speaking to persuade. Aside from the
purposes, one aspect that is important to know for public speaking practice is the
method of speech delivery. Some methods of speech delivery are: (a)
Extemporaneous speaking; (b) Impromptu speaking; and (c) Manuscript reading.
As public speaking becomes a required skill that every student should master
as its essence for their future career, this study should further investigate whether
this public speaking course syllabus has met the ideal public speaking and
incorporated communication skills. In addition, Regulation of Minister Education
and Culture of Republic of Indonesia Number 3 year 2020 concerning National
Standard of Higher Education highlights the curriculum adjustment in order to
incorporate the 21st century skills in all elements of course design in higher
education. Hence, additional studies of the incorporation of communication skills
as one of the core essential skills in the 21st century into the syllabus are needed.
In brief, this study intended to explore the extent to which communication
skills are incorporated and also to identify the components of syllabus that has
been incorporated into communication skills in the public speaking course
syllabus at English Language Education Study Program. Therefore, the research
questions for this study were formulated as follow: (a) To what extent are
communication skills incorporated into the public speaking syllabus at English
Language Education Study Program?; (b) In which syllabus components are the
communication skills incorporated into the public speaking course syllabus at
English Language Education Study Program?

METHOD
Research Design
This study uses qualitative research, specifically content analysis as the
methodology of the research. The material to be analyzed in this study is in a form
of document, specifically syllabus of public speaking course. Content analysis was
selected for this study because it can organize and elicit meaning of textual data
from syllabus, particularly for communication skills indicators. As Mayring (2014)
defines content analysis as a technique to analyze the data with a rule guided the
research process.

7
Luthfia Putri Utami, Siti Drivoka Sulistyaningrum
The incorporation of communication skills
in public speaking course syllabus at English language education study program

Data Source and Data

Data were collected for a specific purpose by selecting one university in
Jakarta. The data source of the study were the syllabus of Public Speaking Course
at English Language Education Study Program in University X. The data gathered
through statements (words, phrases, and sentences) in syllabus components
highlight communication skills indicators in the planned teaching-learning
process. This research used the notions of communication skills framework by
Hymes (1972) in Schriffin et al. (2001) and Metusalem et al. (2017) supported by
the theory of communication skills from Partnership for 21st Century (2019) and
Trilling and Fadel (2009). Whereas the notion of public speaking was used the
framework by Lucas (2009).

Research Instrument and Data Collection Techniques

The research instrument for this study was the communication skills
indicators which present in Table 3. Table 3 illustrates the 12 indicators of
communication skills to conduct the analysis of this study according to the analysis
conducted on the concept of communication skills from Hymes (1972) in Schriffin
et al. (2001) and Metusalem et al. (2017) supported by the theory of
communication skills from Partnership for 21st Century (2019) and Trilling and
Fadel (2009) and also considering the concept of public speaking by Lucas (2009).

Table 3. Indicators of Communication Skills

Indicator Indicators of Communication Skills
Code
CS1 Incorporates conveying thoughts and ideas effectively using oral communication
skills (Partnership for 21st Century (2019); Trilling & Fadel (2009)).
CS2 Incorporates conveying thoughts and ideas effectively using nonverbal
communication skills (Trilling & Fadel, 2009).
CS3 Incorporates employing a variety of media (Partnership for 21st Century (2019);
Trilling & Fadel (2009)).
CS4 Incorporates employing a variety of technology (Partnership for 21st Century
(2019); Trilling & Fadel (2009)).
CS5 Incorporates analyzing their impacts (Partnership for 21st Century, 2019).
CS6 Incorporates using communication to inform (Trilling & Fadel, 2009).
CS7 Incorporates using communication to convince (Trilling & Fadel, 2009).
CS8 Incorporates the knowledge of the sounds and their pronunciation (Hymes
(1972) in Schriffin et al., 2001).
CS9 Incorporates the way that meaning is conveyed through language (Hymes (1972)
in Schriffin et al., 2001).
CS10 Incorporates knowing how to use language appropriately depends on the topic
(Hymes (1972) in Schriffin et al. (2001); Metusalem et al. (2017)).
CS11 Utilize the most appropriate communicative channel (Metusalem et al., 2017).
CS12 Incorporates analyzing speech critically (Metusalem et al., 2017).

To gather the data, the researchers, first, collect data syllabus from the
authorized lecturer of Public Speaking Course in English Language Education
Study Program from University X. Secondly, highlight the statements (words,
phrases, and sentences) in the components of the syllabus; which are course
identification, lecturer’s contact details, course description, learning outcomes,

8
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

course goal, materials, learning methods, task description, assessment criteria,

course policies, list of reference, and course schedule. Thirdly, present each
statement (words, phrases, and sentences) into the table of the syllabus
components identification and present the statements that indicate
communication skills into the table of analysis of communication skills
incorporated according to which indicator they belong to and to which
components they belong to.

Data Analysis Procedures and Techniques

The data analysis procedure will be based on data gained from the data
collection process. The content analysis by Mayring (2014) is used to analyze this
study. As cited, there were some steps of analysis conducted in this study. First, the
researchers establish categories by defining concepts from theory, other studies or
previous research. Secondly, the researchers code the indicators of communication
skills and statements of communication skills in the syllabus by marking the text
passage and marking the category which the data in. Thirdly, the researchers
analyze the data and interpret the findings. Fourthly, the researchers conclude the
discussion. Lastly, expert pedagogical judgments are used to verify and evaluate
the findings. Since this study was limited to only one syllabus and one university in
Jakarta, the findings cannot be generalized to all higher education in Jakarta.

FINDINGS
After formulating and analyzing the data qualitatively, the analysis result of
existing syllabus in public speaking course at English Language Education Study
Program from University X, found the following questions.

The Extent to Which Communication Skills are Incorporated in the Syllabus

The results of the analysis indicate that communication skills indicators
incorporated into the existing syllabus as 11 out of 12 indicators were fulfilled.
Table 4 illustrates the indicator of communication skills which are analyzed,
components of syllabus which are found incorporated into communication skills
indicator, as well as the statements that indicates communication skills in the
components of the syllabus.

Table 4. Analysis of Communication Skills in the Syllabus

Indicators of Syllabus Statements (Sentences/words/phrases)
Communication Components
Skills
CS1 (13%) Learning Able to demonstrate text features (social function, text
outcomes structure, and lexicogrammatical elements) of ceremonial
speech, informative speech, and persuasive speech.
Course goal Able to explain the text features of expressing feelings &
hopes, describing objects/things, and making satisfaction
section & practical steps.
Learning Presentation.
methods Group and class discussion.
CS2 (13%) Learning Able to demonstrate text features (social function, text
outcomes structure, and lexicogrammatical elements) of ceremonial
speech, informative speech, and persuasive speech.
Course goal Able to explain the text features of expressing feelings &

9
Luthfia Putri Utami, Siti Drivoka Sulistyaningrum
The incorporation of communication skills
in public speaking course syllabus at English language education study program

Indicators of Syllabus Statements (Sentences/words/phrases)

Communication Components
Skills
hopes, describing objects/things, and making satisfaction
section & practical steps.
Learning Presentation.
methods Group and class discussion.
CS3 (9%) Course goal Able to explain the text features of giving visual aids and
using statistics & quoting experts.
Learning Presentation.
methods
CS4 (4%) Course In this course, students can learn about ceremonial speech,
description scientific (informative) speech, and persuasive speech.
Students learn to compare various types of speech texts to
carry out social functions with clear goals, cohesively and
coherently, with appropriate and acceptable
lexicogrammatical elements according to the context of the
situation, based on good mental and social attitudes, also
utilizing information and communication technology.
CS5 (0%) - -
CS6 (9%) Course In this course, students can learn about ceremonial speech,
description scientific (informative) speech, and persuasive speech.
Students learn to compare various types of speech texts to
carry out social functions with clear goals, cohesively and
coherently, with appropriate and acceptable
lexicogrammatical elements according to the context of the
situation, based on good mental and social attitudes, also
utilizing information and communication technology.
Materials Material: Informative Speech
Sub-Materials: Introduction, describing objects/things,
giving visual aids, quoting the experts, conclusion.
CS7 (9%) Course In this course, students can learn about ceremonial speech,
description scientific (informative) speech, and persuasive speech.
Students learn to compare various types of speech texts to
carry out social functions with clear goals, cohesively and
coherently, with appropriate and acceptable
lexicogrammatical elements according to the context of the
situation, based on good mental and social attitudes, also
utilizing information and communication technology.
Materials Material: Persuasive Speech
Sub-Materials: Introduction, problems, statistics and experts,
satisfaction section & practical steps, appealing closing.
CS8 (9%) Course In this course, students can learn about ceremonial speech,
description scientific (informative) speech, and persuasive speech.
Students learn to compare various types of speech texts to
carry out social functions with clear goals, cohesively and
coherently, with appropriate and acceptable
lexicogrammatical elements according to the context of the
situation, based on good mental and social attitudes, also
utilizing information and communication technology.
Learning Able to understand, demonstrate, and distinguish text
outcomes features (social function, text structure, and
lexicogrammatical elements) from ceremonial speech,
informative speech, and persuasive speech.
CS9 (9%) Course In this course, students can learn about ceremonial speech,
description scientific (informative) speech, and persuasive speech.

10
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Indicators of Syllabus Statements (Sentences/words/phrases)

Communication Components
Skills
Students learn to compare various types of speech texts to
carry out social functions with clear goals, cohesively and
coherently, with appropriate and acceptable
lexicogrammatical elements according to the context of the
situation, based on good mental and social attitudes, also
utilizing information and communication technology.
Learning Able to demonstrate text features (social function, text
outcomes structure, and lexicogrammatical elements) of ceremonial
speech, informative speech, and persuasive speech.
CS10 (4%) Task Assignment 1/2/3 Method: Identify the main topic of each
description paragraph.
CS11 (4%) Course Room: LMS Microsoft Teams.
identification
CS12 (17%) Course In this course, students can learn about ceremonial speech,
description scientific (informative) speech, and persuasive speech.
Students learn to compare various types of speech texts to
carry out social functions with clear goals, cohesively and
coherently, with appropriate and acceptable
lexicogrammatical elements according to the context of the
situation, based on good mental and social attitudes, also
utilizing information and communication technology.
Learning Able to understand, demonstrate, and distinguish text
outcomes features (social function, text structure, and
lexicogrammatical elements) from ceremonial speech,
informative speech, and persuasive speech.
Course goal Able to identify the text features of introduction.
Able to identify the text features of giving metaphor, simile,
repetition & alliteration.
Able to identify the text features of expressing feelings &
hopes.
Able to identify the text features of closing.
Task Analysis of ceremonial speech.
description Analysis of informative speech.
Analysis of persuasive speech.

Table 4 shows that the public speaking syllabus is incorporated with

communication skills. The communication skills indicators found in different
syllabus components, from course description to task description. The most
commonly seen is CS12 as the syllabus incorporates analyzing speech critically by
17% (4 out of 12 syllabus components were incorporated into the indicators),
which is by comparing variety types of speech (ceremonial speech, informative
speech, and persuasive speech) and can understand, apply, and distinguish the
feature could encourages students to analyzing it critically. CS12 is incorporated in
the course description, learning outcomes, course goal, and task description.
CS1 and CS2 on the other hand, are only seen in the learning outcomes,
course goal, and learning methods. Both of them incorporate conveying thoughts
and ideas effectively using oral and nonverbal communication skills by 13% (3 out
of 12 syllabus components were incorporated into the indicators). By explaining
text features, such as describing objects/thoughts, students can think critically and
logically like the purpose of speech delivery in public speaking, which is speaking

11
Luthfia Putri Utami, Siti Drivoka Sulistyaningrum
The incorporation of communication skills
in public speaking course syllabus at English language education study program

to inform. Students also can convey their thoughts and ideas using oral
communication skills in presentation or class/group discussion. In line with the
purpose of persuasive speech, which is to persuade the audience, it is important to
use nonverbal communication skills like eye contact, facial expressions, and
gestures because it can help to convince the audience.
As for CS3 where the syllabus incorporates employing a variety of media, it
only be seen by 9% in course goal and learning methods (2 out of 12 syllabi can
components were incorporated into the indicators). As in informative speech and
persuasive speech, it is necessary to use media that can attract the attention of
audiences in order to inform and persuade audiences, it is stated in the course goal
that there are a feature text about giving visual aids in informative speech and also
using statistics in persuasive speech. The use of these media can further convince
the audience about the ideas given by the speakers. The speakers can also use
presentation as stated in the learning methods.
Furthermore, CS6 and CS7, which mean the syllabus incorporates using
communication to inform and convince, are also included by 9% in course
description and materials (2 out of 12 syllabus components were incorporated into
the indicators). This syllabus uses informative speech and persuasive speech as
materials, as stated in course description and materials. From these materials,
students can learn how to use communication to inform and convince, in line with
the purposes of speech delivery in public speaking, which is speaking to inform
and speaking to persuade the audience.
Other indicators, CS8 and CS9, which mean the syllabus incorporates the
knowledge of the sounds and their pronunciation and incorporates the way that
meaning is conveyed through language, also can be seen by 9% (2 out of 12
syllabus components were incorporated into the indicators). This syllabus stated
lexico-grammatical in course description and learning outcomes which includes
lexis and grammar. Lexis has an important role in expressing meaning. This
includes sources of words expression as pronounced sounds, sources of intonation
to realize grammatical choices directly, as well as sources of rhythm and
articulation of syllabi and phonemes.
Moreover, CS4 is found only in course description, which means only by 4%
(1 out of 12 syllabus components were incorporated into the indicators). It is
stated explicitly in the course description, the class utilizing information and
communication technology. Also, because the class is held online, the use of
technology is ensured in the classroom. Other indicators, CS10 and CS11 also
found by 4% (1 out of 12 syllabus components were incorporated into the
indicators). CS10 was incorporated in task description, containing the activity
where students need to identify the main topics contained in each paragraph to
find out how to use language appropriately depends on the topic. Next, CS11 was
incorporated in course identification, suggesting that teaching and learning
activities are held through the LMS Microsoft Teams platform due to an
unexpected situation.
Lastly, it can be seen that CS5 is not incorporated in any syllabus
components, which means this syllabus does not incorporates the students to
analyzing their impacts of speaking or communication. However, to do public
speaking, students should know the impacts of their speech to the audiences. It is

12
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

in line with the purposes of speech delivery in public speaking, which is speaking
to inform and persuade.

Syllabus Components Incorporating the Communication Skills

The findings from the analysis of communication skills in the existing public
speaking syllabus found that communication skills were integrated into 7 out of 12
syllabus components, i.e., the course identification, course description, learning
outcomes, course goals, materials, learning methods, and task description which
are shown in Table 3. It shows the syllabus components and the statements
(sentences/words/phrases) in the syllabus components which incorporated with
the communication skills.
Table 3 shows that the existing public speaking syllabus explicitly and
implicitly incorporated communication skills in the aforementioned syllabus
components. The dominant component of the syllabus which is incorporated into
communication skills is the course description, because 6 out of 12 indicators of
communication skills were incorporated. Surprisingly, 5 out of 12 syllabus
components did not incorporate in any indicators of communication skills, i.e., the
lecturer’s contact details, assessment criteria, course policies, list of references,
and course schedule. It is because the lecturer’s contact details are not present in
the syllabus, while another component of the syllabus, the course schedule, is not
included because what is in the course schedule is also included in the course goal,
materials, assessment criteria, learning methods, and task description. While the
time allocation contained in the course schedule is not incorporated with
communication skills.

DISCUSSION
With regard to the first research question, the extent of communication skills
indicators incorporated in the syllabus showed that 11 out of 12 indicators were
incorporated into the syllabus. While one indicator, which is CS5, did not
incorporate in the syllabus, which means the students did not analyze the impacts
of their speech. Furthermore, the result also revealed that the 11 indicators found
in the 7 out of 12 syllabus components, i.e., the course identification, course
description, learning outcomes, course goals, materials, learning methods, and task
description. Moreover, the lecturer’s contact details, assessment criteria, course
policies, list of references, and course schedule did not incorporate in any
indicators of communication skills.
Thus, the result of the present study contradicts with a previous study by
Zuwanda et al. (2021) which claimed that the communication competence mainly
appeared in five components of the syllabus, i.e., the course description, learning
objectives, learning outcomes, materials, and teaching method. While Sumiati,
Lustyantie and Iskandar (2020) claimed that the communication skills only
integrated into four components of the syllabus, i.e., the learning outcomes,
materials, the method of teaching, and the assessment and evaluation. However,
Gannon (2018), Richards (2001), Sinor and Kaplan (2012), Slattery and Carlson
(2005), and National Standard for Higher Education by Menteri Pendidikan dan
Kebudayaan (2020) categorize 12 core components in the syllabus, such as course
identification, lecturer’s contact details, course description, learning outcomes,

13
Luthfia Putri Utami, Siti Drivoka Sulistyaningrum
The incorporation of communication skills
in public speaking course syllabus at English language education study program

course goal, materials, learning methods, task description, assessment criteria,

course policies, list of references, and course schedule. Thus, the components of
syllabus that are being examined are those that are part of the core component.
The first component is course identification. Course identification consists of
course title, name of the study program, total credits hours, lecturer’s name, and a
description of how the course will be conducted. The result of the analysis in the
course identification found that there was only one communication skills indicator,
namely CS11. It shows that the incorporation of communication skills in the
syllabus, especially the course identification section is limited. Moreover, the
second component is lecturer’s contact details. Lecturer’s contact details did not
incorporate into any of communication skills indicators, because lecturer’s contact
details only includes lecturer’s office, contact information, operational hours,
method of contacting lecturer as stated by Gannon (2018), Sinor and Kaplan
(2012), and National Standard for Higher Education by Menteri Pendidikan dan
Kebudayaan (2020). Furthermore, the third component is course description.
Course description is gives an idea of the course content and objective. The result
of the analysis in the course description found that there were six communication
skills indicator, namely CS4, CS6, CS7, CS8, CS9, and CS12. Because the course
description explains the course content, the communication skills indicator can be
seen in this section.
In line with the component of syllabus, the other components worth deeper
looking are the learning outcomes, course goal, and materials. Learning outcomes
describe the overall aim of a syllabus, assist students understand to which extent
the course will help them develop their knowledge and skills, it also specify what
students will be able to do as a result of taking the course. The result of the
analysis found that there were five communication skills indicators incorporate
into the components of syllabus, namely CS1, CS2, CS8, CS9, and CS12. While
course goal describes the purposes indicated in the learning outcomes in greater
detail. The result found that there were four communication skills indicators
incorporated, namely CS1, CS2, CS3, and CS12. Materials which consist of a list of
materials that will be used in the course also incorporate in two communication
skills indicators, it is CS6 and CS7. Other components of syllabus that connected
were learning methods, task description, and assessment criteria. Learning
methods describes the steps taken to help the learning process to achieve the
learning outcomes.
Furthermore, when learning outcomes are incorporated with communication
skills, so are learning methods. According to the result of analysis, there were three
indicators incorporated, it is CS1, CS2, and CS3. Moreover, task description consists
of the statements of scope for each of the project activities to be done by the
students for the whole semester. It is connected to another component, which are
assessment criteria. Assessment criteria included a grading scheme and scale.
When the task description contains an explanation of the tasks given and includes
communication skills, then in the assessment criteria there must also be an
assessment related to communication skills. Based on the analysis, task description
incorporate two communication skills indicators, namely CS10 and CS12. While
assessment criteria did not incorporate in any of component of syllabus. Another
component of syllabus that did not incorporate was course policies, list of

14
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

references, and course schedule. It is because course policies covers topic such as
attendance, late or missing assignments and exams, and academic honesty. While
list of references only state the references. The last is course schedule, what is in
the course schedule is also included in the course goal, materials, assessment
criteria, learning methods, and task description. While the time allocation
contained in the course schedule is not incorporated with communication skills.
From the findings, it also appeared that the possible reason that can make the
previous study difference with the present study may vary. One key reason is that
because of the different learning areas. Sumiati et al. (2020) analyzed the syllabus
in the translation course. Another possible explanation is that the indicators used
to examine the communication skills in the syllabus are different. The study by
Zuwanda et al. (2021) used the learning and career skills indicators by the
National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) (2019), Binkley et al.
(2012), and Partnership for 21st Century Skills (2009). While the study by Sumiati
et al. (2020) used the indicators from Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the
indicators of translator’s competences by PACTE and Nord. However, it is found
out that the incorporation of life and career skills or 21st-century skills, including
communication skills, is pertinent in the syllabus. Accordingly, this study still has
to be analyzed further. These findings are contradicting with the previous study by
Kaushal (2018) which claimed in his study that the incorporation of
communication skills in their syllabus has failed.
Furthermore, the study claimed that it is because most of the contact time
was allotted to the theory of communication and very little activity or discussion,
interaction time was reserved (Kaushal, 2018). The researcher of the previous
study suggests some changes in the syllabus be substantiated by some team-based
activities like making a group presentation or a group discussion on some
challenging topic. Based on the problems stated above, it is explained that team-
based activities are also important and needed to be included in teaching and
learning so that there is an interaction that creates communication skills. In
dealing with those problems, this present study revealed that the syllabus has
included either presentation or group/class discussions in every meeting and it
can be proven in the components of syllabus, course schedule and learning
methods. These findings are in line with Menggo et al. (2019) that it is also
necessary to consider the learners’ needs to incorporate the communication skills
into the syllabus.
In terms of learners’ needs, Menggo et al. (2019) finds students need more
practical learning methods. It is said that students want strong material design
such as speaking tasks, discussions, and group work. According to the previous
study, this current study has already involved activities such as presentation
(which includes oral speaking) and group/class discussions (which also need
group work). However, the statements in the components of the syllabus are not
explained further how the presentation and group/class discussion will be
conducted in the teaching and learning activities. This finding confirmed research
found by Kaushal (2018) with the idea that suggests some changes in the syllabus
to be substantiated by some team-based activities.
It can be concluded that the public speaking course syllabus has been
incorporated with communication skills. However, it has limitations that only look

15
Luthfia Putri Utami, Siti Drivoka Sulistyaningrum
The incorporation of communication skills
in public speaking course syllabus at English language education study program

at the incorporated communication skills in one syllabus. In terms of learners'

needs, it should be stated in more detail in the syllabus about the activities that
must be done. Uploading speeches video to YouTube, Facebook, or other platforms
might make students more confident to speak in front of audiences. It is confirmed
the idea of Mafruudloh and Fitriati (2020), that making a video that contains some
material that they had learn and share their project on their social media account
could help the students to accomplish the learning outcomes in speaking class.
Thus, the researchers of the present study suggest that there should be further
descriptive research which represents actual teacher and student behavior in the
actual (non-virtual) classroom to investigate the skill of communication
incorporated in the activity, because this present study was conducted during the
circumstance of emergency remote teaching.

CONCLUSION
The necessity of acquiring communication skills for higher education students
is inevitable. Therefore, higher education has sought to incorporate communication
skills into their syllabus in order to meet the demands of the 21st-century. Bearing
this in mind, the researchers aimed to find out the extent to which communication
skills are incorporated and to identify the components of the public speaking course
syllabus at English Language Education Study Program from University X. In the
contrary, the evidence from this study reveals communication skills have
incorporated into the syllabus but not wholly incorporated and still limited.
Based on the findings from highlighted statements (words, phrases, and
sentences) in syllabus components that indicate communication skills, the results
revealed that 7 out of 12 components of the syllabus are incorporated. It is possible
to incorporate the communication skills into the public speaking course syllabus by
accommodating those skills in the components of the syllabus: course identification,
course description, learning outcomes, course goal, materials, learning methods,
and task description.
As for the communication skills in which are incorporated, 11 out of 12
indicators appear to be incorporated in the syllabus. The indicators of
communication skills involving are encourages students to conveying thoughts and
ideas effectively using oral and nonverbal communication skills, employing a
variety of media and technology, using communication to inform and convince,
having the knowledge of the sounds and their pronunciation, knowing the way that
meaning is conveyed through language, knowing how to use language
appropriately depends on the topic, utilize the most appropriate communicative
channel, and analyzing speech critically. In conclusion, the public speaking course
syllabus at English Language Education Study Program from University X has been
incorporated into communication skills. However, it is still necessary to improve
the syllabus in order to adapt with the ongoing 21st-century.
The research found some limitations, the findings cannot be generalized to all
public speaking course syllabuses in higher education because this study was
limited to only one public speaking course syllabus in one university. The result of
this study also has a number of implications. Based on the findings, it needs much
consideration to provide a clear and detailed statement on the learning method
components. If the component statement is clarified again, it will be easier to know

16
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

that learning methods are an important part of communication skills. In the

meantime, the analysis of communication skills in this study was limited only to one
particular course in English Language Education Study Program and specific only
on the syllabus. Therefore, further study is needed to examine the incorporation of
communication skills in English classrooms by means of observation as well. In this
way, future study can compare the differences between how the communication
skills are incorporated in the syllabus and how they are carried out in the classroom
interaction. A variety of research instruments also should be employed to gain
depth insight about the skill’s incorporation in this course as well as other courses
of English Language Education Study Program.

REFERENCES
ATC21S. (2012). Assessment and teaching of 21st century skills. Springer
Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2324-5
Bolstad, R., Gilbert, J., McDowall, S., Bull, A., & Hipkins, R. (2012). Supporting future-
oriented learning and teaching: A New Zealand perspective.
http://openrepository.aut.ac.nz/handle/10292/12336
Eaton, S. E. (2010). Global trends in language learning in the 21st century. Onate
Press. http://www.eatonintl.com/
Fadel, C., Bialik, M., & Trilling, B. (2015). Four-Dimensional education: The
competencies learners need to succeed. Center for Curriculum Redesign.
Gannon, K. (2018). How to create a syllabus. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Kaburise, P. (2016). Improving soft skills and communication in response to youth
unemployment. International Journal of African Renaissance Studies, 11(2),
87–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/18186874.2016.1248061
Kaushal, U. (2018). Integrating employability skills in engineering education.
Journal of Advanced Research in Social Sciences and Humanities.
https://doi.org/10.26500/JARSSH-03-2018-0503
Lucas, S. E. (2009). The art of public speaking 11th edition. McGraw-Hill.
Mafruudloh, N., & Fitriati, R. (2020). The effect of project based learning to the
students’ speaking ability. Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language
Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, 7(1), 57–64.
https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v7i1.12203
Marinho, A. C. F., Medeiros, A. M. de, Gama, A. C. C., & Teixeira, L. C. (2017). Fear of
public speaking: Perception of college students and correlates. Journal of
Voice. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2015.12.012
Mayring, P. (2014). Qualitative content analysis: Theoretical foundation, basic
procedures and software solution. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum:
Qualitative Social Research.
Menggo, S., Suastra, I. M., Budiarsa, M., & Padmadewi, N. N. (2019). Needs analysis
of academic-English speaking material in promoting 21st century skills.
International Journal of Instruction, 12(2), 739–754.
https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2019.12247a
Metusalem, R., Belenky, D. M., & DiCerbo, K. (2017). Skills for today: what we know
about teaching and assessing communication. In Executive Development.
Pearson London.
Peraturan menteri pendidikan dan kebudayaan Republik Indonesia nomor 3 tahun

17
Luthfia Putri Utami, Siti Drivoka Sulistyaningrum
The incorporation of communication skills
in public speaking course syllabus at English language education study program

2020 tentang standar nasional pendidikan tinggi, Menteri Pendidikan dan

Kebudayaan RI (2020).
Partnership for 21st Century. (2019). P21 framework for 21st century learning
definitions. Battelle for Kids.
Radifan, M. F., & Dewanti, R. (2020). The incorporation of 4C skills in senior high
school english teachers’ lesson plans. Stairs, 1(1), 42–54.
Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge
University Press.
Schriffin, D., Tannen, D., & Hamilton, H. E. (2001). The handbook of the analysis
discourse. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
https://doi.org/10.1111/b.9780631205968.2003.x
Schwab, K. (2017). The fourth industrial revolution. New York: Crown Publishing
Group.
Sinor, J., & Kaplan, M. (2012). Creating your syllabus. In Center for Research on
Learning and Teaching.
Slattery, J. M., & Carlson, J. F. (2005). Preparing an effective syllabus: Current best
practices. College Teaching, 53(4), 159–164.
https://doi.org/10.3200/CTCH.53.4.159-164
Sumiati, A., Lustyantie, N., & Iskandar, I. (2020). Integrating 21st century skills into
translation classroom: A brief perspective on its syllabus. International Journal
of Language Education and Cultural Review (IJLECR).
https://doi.org/10.21009/IJLECR.062.11
Trilling, B., & Fadel, C. (2009). 21st century skills, enhanced edition: Learning for
life in our times. Choice Reviews Online, 47(10).
https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.47-5788
Wicaksono, B. H. (2015). Promoting listening strategies and group work for
tertiary students learning of listening comprehension. Celtic: A Journal of
Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, 2(2), 1–15.
https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v2i2.3755
Zuwanda, M. E., Sumarni, S., & Sulistyaningrum, S. D. (2021). Designing life and
career skills-integrated speaking syllabuses for English language education
study program. SAGA: Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied
Linguistics, 2(2), 145–162. https://doi.org/10.21460/saga.2021.22.84

APPENDIX

Original Indonesian Version of Table 4. Analysis of Communication Skills in the

Syllabus

Indicators of Syllabus Statements (Sentences/words/phrases)

Communication Components
Skills
CS1 (13%) Learning Mampu mendemonstrasikan fitur teks (fungsi sosial, struktur
outcomes teks, dan unsur leksikogramatika) dari ceremonial speech,
informative speech, and persuasive speech.
Course goal Mampu menjelaskan fitur teks bagian expressing feelings &
hopes, describing object/things, and making satisfaction
section & practical steps.

18
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Indicators of Syllabus Statements (Sentences/words/phrases)

Communication Components
Skills
Learning Presentasi.
methods Diskusi kelompok dan diskusi kelas.
CS2 (13%) Learning Mampu mendemonstrasikan fitur teks (fungsi sosial, struktur
outcomes teks, dan unsur leksikogramatika) dari ceremonial speech,
informative speech, and persuasive speech.
Course goal Mampu menjelaskan fitur teks bagian expressing feelings &
hopes, describing object/things, and making satisfaction
section & practical steps.
Learning Presentasi.
methods Diskusi kelompok dan diskusi kelas.
CS3 (9%) Course goal Mampu menjelaskan fitur teks bagian giving visual aids and
using statistics & quoting experts.
Learning Presentasi.
methods
CS4 (4%) Course Pada mata kuliah ini mahasiswa dapat belajar tentang pidato
description seremonial, pidato/orasi ilmiah (informatif), dan pidato
persuasif. Mahasiswa belajar membandingkan berbagai jenis
teks pidato untuk melaksanakan fungsi sosial dengan tujuan
yang jelas, secara kohesif dan koheren, dengan unsur
leksikogramatika yang tepat dan berterima sesuai dengan
konteks situasinya, didasari sikap mental dan sosial yang
baik, serta memanfaatkan teknologi informasi dan
komunikasi.
CS5 (0%) - -
CS6 (9%) Course Pada mata kuliah ini mahasiswa dapat belajar tentang pidato
description seremonial, pidato/orasi ilmiah (informatif), dan pidato
persuasif. Mahasiswa belajar membandingkan berbagai jenis
teks pidato untuk melaksanakan fungsi sosial dengan tujuan
yang jelas, secara kohesif dan koheren, dengan unsur
leksikogramatika yang tepat dan berterima sesuai dengan
konteks situasinya, didasari sikap mental dan sosial yang
baik, serta memanfaatkan teknologi informasi dan
komunikasi.
Materials Pokok Materi: Informative Speech
Sub-Materi: Introduction, describing objects/things, giving
visual aids, quoting the experts, conclusion.
CS7 (9%) Course Pada mata kuliah ini mahasiswa dapat belajar tentang pidato
description seremonial, pidato/orasi ilmiah (informatif), dan pidato
persuasif. Mahasiswa belajar membandingkan berbagai jenis
teks pidato untuk melaksanakan fungsi sosial dengan tujuan
yang jelas, secara kohesif dan koheren, dengan unsur
leksikogramatika yang tepat dan berterima sesuai dengan
konteks situasinya, didasari sikap mental dan sosial yang
baik, serta memanfaatkan teknologi informasi dan
komunikasi.
Materials Pokok Materi: Persuasive Speech
Sub-Materi: Introduction, problems, statistics and experts,
satisfaction section & practical steps, appealing closing.
CS8 (9%) Course Pada mata kuliah ini mahasiswa dapat belajar tentang pidato
description seremonial, pidato/orasi ilmiah (informatif), dan pidato
persuasif. Mahasiswa belajar membandingkan berbagai jenis
teks pidato untuk melaksanakan fungsi sosial dengan tujuan
yang jelas, secara kohesif dan koheren, dengan unsur

19
Luthfia Putri Utami, Siti Drivoka Sulistyaningrum
The incorporation of communication skills
in public speaking course syllabus at English language education study program

Indicators of Syllabus Statements (Sentences/words/phrases)

Communication Components
Skills
leksikogramatika yang tepat dan berterima sesuai dengan
konteks situasinya, didasari sikap mental dan sosial yang
baik, serta memanfaatkan teknologi informasi dan
komunikasi.
Learning Mampu memahami, menerapkan, dan membedakan fitur teks
outcomes (fungsi sosial, struktur teks, dan unsur leksikogramatika)
dari ceremonial speech, informative speech, dan persuasive
speech.
CS9 (9%) Course Pada mata kuliah ini mahasiswa dapat belajar tentang pidato
description seremonial, pidato/orasi ilmiah (informatif), dan pidato
persuasif. Mahasiswa belajar membandingkan berbagai jenis
teks pidato untuk melaksanakan fungsi sosial dengan tujuan
yang jelas, secara kohesif dan koheren, dengan unsur
leksikogramatika yang tepat dan berterima sesuai dengan
konteks situasinya, didasari sikap mental dan sosial yang
baik, serta memanfaatkan teknologi informasi dan
komunikasi.
Learning Mampu mendemonstrasikan fitur teks (fungsi sosial, struktur
outcomes teks, dan unsur leksikogramatika) dari ceremonial speech,
informative speech, dan persuasive speech.
CS10 (4%) Task Metode Pengerjaan Tugas 1/2/3: Mengidentifikasi topik
description utama tiap paragraf.
CS11 (4%) Course Ruang: LMS Microsoft Teams.
identification
CS12 (17%) Course Pada mata kuliah ini mahasiswa dapat belajar tentang pidato
description seremonial, pidato/orasi ilmiah (informatif), dan pidato
persuasif. Mahasiswa belajar membandingkan berbagai jenis
teks pidato untuk melaksanakan fungsi sosial dengan tujuan
yang jelas, secara kohesif dan koheren, dengan unsur
leksikogramatika yang tepat dan berterima sesuai dengan
konteks situasinya, didasari sikap mental dan sosial yang
baik, serta memanfaatkan teknologi informasi dan
komunikasi.
Learning Mampu memahami, menerapkan, dan membedakan fitur teks
outcomes (fungsi sosial, struktur teks, dan unsur leksikogramatika)
dari ceremonial speech, informative speech, dan persuasive
speech.
Course goal Mampu mengidentifikasi fitur teks bagian introduction.
Mampu mengidentifikasi fitur teks bagian giving metaphor,
simile, repetition & alliteration.
Mampu mengidentifikasi fitur teks bagian expressing feelings
& hopes.
Mampu mengidentifikasi fitur teks bagian closing
Task Analisa pidato seremonial.
description Analisa pidato informatif.
Analisa pidato persuasive.

20
 21

EXPLORING THE USE OF DRAMA WAYANG FOR

ESP SPEAKING ACTIVITIES

Dwi Wahyuningtyas*, Adelia Savitri

Law Department, Faculty of Law, UPN Veteran Jawa Timur, Indonesia

ABSTRACT
Drama is among English teaching and learning activities that can
improve students' communication and speaking skills. However, only a
few studies documented the integration between local culture and
drama for English teaching and learning activities. This study aims at
exploring the use of drama wayang in the English for Specific Purposes
Speaking activities. A descriptive qualitative study was employed as the
study design, with observation, documentation, and questionnaire as
methods of data collection. The subjects of this study were first-semester
university students from the Indonesian Language and Literature
E-ISSN: 2621-9158 Department. Findings showed that students were enthusiastic about
P-ISSN:2356-0401 performing drama wayang and could perform it well. Furthermore,
drama wayang can be integrated into English teaching and learning
*Correspondence: activities to improve activity variety and attract students’ interest in
[email protected] learning speaking. This study also implies that drama wayang can be
.id developed into an ESP teaching method combined with Indonesia's local
culture and serves as an innovative and contextual ESP teaching method.
Submitted: 17 August 2021
Approved: 16 April 2022 Keywords: Drama; ESP; Teaching Method
Published: 6 June 2022
ABSTRAK
Citation:
Wahyuningtyas, D., & Savitri, A. Drama merupakan salah satu kegiatan belajar mengajar bahasa Inggris
(2022). The Use of Drama Wayang yang dapat meningkatkan kemampuan komunikasi dan berbicara siswa.
in ESP Speaking Class Final
Namun, ada beberapa penelitian yang mendokumentasikan integrasi
Assignment. Celtic: A Journal of
Culture, English Language Teaching, antara budaya lokal dan drama untuk kegiatan belajar mengajar bahasa
Literature and Linguistics, 9(1), 21- Inggris. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengeksplorasi penggunaan
38. Doi: 10.22219/celtic.v9i1.17767 drama wayang dalam kegiatan English for Specific Purposes Speaking.
Penelitian kualitatif deskriptif digunakan sebagai desain penelitian,
dengan observasi, dokumentasi, dan kuesioner sebagai metode
pengumpulan data. Subjek penelitian ini adalah mahasiswa semester I
Jurusan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan
bahwa siswa sangat antusias dalam menampilkan drama wayang dan
dapat menampilkan drama dengan baik. Selanjutnya, drama wayang
dapat diintegrasikan ke dalam kegiatan belajar mengajar bahasa Inggris
untuk meningkatkan variasi kegiatan dan menarik minat siswa dalam
belajar berbicara. Kajian ini juga menyiratkan bahwa drama wayang
dapat dikembangkan menjadi metode pengajaran ESP yang dipadukan
dengan budaya lokal Indonesia. Drama wayang sebagai metode
pengajaran ESP yang inovatif dan kontekstual juga terbukti di penelitian
ini.

Kata Kunci: Drama; ESP; Metode Pembelajaran

Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index
Dwi Wahyuningtyas, Adelia Savitri
The Use of Drama Wayang in ESP Speaking Class Final Assignment

INTRODUCTION
English language teaching comprises two main aspects: language structure
and production, to help students use the language more communicatively. One
teaching method that enables students to learn English more communicatively is
drama. Drama integrates grammatical structures into the actual practice of
language use in the forms of mutual conversations among the actors. (Raquel,
2013). The role of drama in speaking activities was also strengthened by Vygotsky
(1978), who states that a connection between words and signs elicits emotions in
drama. This statement aligns with the role of drama in speaking activities that
require the students to evoke their emotions. Language teaching is indeed
inextricable from culture teaching. In the Indonesian context, with English as a
foreign language (EFL), lecturers should be cautious that Indonesian learners
might encounter an impediment in their intercultural communication (Nugroho,
2019). One of its causes is students' lack of knowledge of cultural values and norms
of the targeted language. Octactepe (2012), stated that some institutions,
especially at the higher education level, have already noted this by including some
Cross-Cultural Understanding contents into their English curriculum. This
statement aligns with Hermayawati (2020), who asserted the importance of cross-
cultural understanding in teaching English. Also, it is stated by Poedjiastuti,
Mayaputri, and Arifani (2021) that nowadays, the English language employs
cultural exchange as one of its missions and purposes. Therefore, it is suggested
that the lecturers should insert local culture besides targeted language culture in
English language teaching. Also, in Cultural Language Learning Approach (CLLA),
learners' culture acquisition takes part in language learning. It means the lecturer
can integrate the culture where the learners come from with the language learned
(Hermayawati, 2020). Students' engagement means students' active participation
and learning activities. They take part in the activities in the classroom. This means
that the learning activities designed by the lecturer are thriving as the students are
willing to actively participate in the activities (Rahayu, 2018). One of the ways to
teach English, especially in speaking activities is drama.
In English language teaching (ELT), drama has long been dubbed one of the
English teaching methods and activities. There are some functions of drama that
can be found in ELT activities. As asserted by Idogho (2018), drama enables
students to be more communicative. They are given spaces to communicate with
other students and practice their conversations and dialogues in real-life
communication. Through drama, students are expected to learn about language
skills and arts, music, and culture. Drama is deemed unique for its criteria as it
combines students’ performance and learning, so the students can also express
their ideas and expressions in the drama that is performed (Schechner, in Jacobs,
2016). Despite its unique criteria, however, drama might be less practiced because
there are some challenges in doing it. Alasmari and Alshae’el (2020) asserted that
drama offers some challenges. The first challenge is the classroom situation as
students started to get noisy once the teacher announces a drama activity, which
means they have to work with their friends for the drama. The next challenge is
their first language as students usually turn to use their first language more than
English. Finally, the inequality of students’ roles in a drama is apparent because
not all students can have a role and portion in the drama. This is caused by the lack

22
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

of classroom control owned by the teacher. These challenges might become the
considerations faced by a teacher while using drama in the classroom.
A drama performance enables students to exchange information and culture.
Through this activity, students can more persuasively and confidently speak as this
activity reflects what happens in real-life contexts and situations (Alasmari and
Alshae’el, 2020). The lecturer's role in the drama is also significant, as the lecturer
is needed to help students perform the drama. Nurhayati (2016) suggested that
English lecturers motivate and accommodate the students to be creative in making
a drama by following the steps in making a drama: scriptwriting, script
consultation, and drama performance.
Furthermore, teaching English is also inseparable from teaching the native
culture when the language is taught, in this case, Indonesia. Some issues underlie
English teaching in Indonesia, one of which is culture. As stated by Suryanto
(2014), in ELT, cultural context plays an important role, and it may influence the
results of ELT. In addition, Nanda and Susanto (2021) said that ethnic languages
and stories can be inserted in drama activities in ELT classes strengthened it.
Therefore, in this study, the researcher tried to combine drama with one cultural
performance that also contains dramatic representations of events that can be
combined with drama, namely wayang.
Wayang is an art performance that originally comes from Indonesia. This
definition follows Grahita, Banung, Komma, and Toshihiro (2014, p. 40) who states
that “an Indonesian traditional theatre art that originated on Indonesia Island of
Java”. Wayang has some types, differentiated from how they are made such as
wayang kulit (made from buffalo skin), wayang suket (made from grass), and
wayang orang (a theatrical performance that tells the stories in wayang). On
November 7, 2003, UNESCO (Widiyastuti, Rohidi, & Sumaryanto, 2018) has
declared wayang as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Wayang has many stories to tell and types to perform. In Indonesia, the most
popular stories are Ramayana and Mahabharata. These stories are still often
performed in some types of wayang, one of which is wayang orang. Wayang orang
is one type of wayang that has been popular for a long time ago. It was created in
the 18th century and became more popular in Surakarta Palace, Solo. It became
more popular when a commoner called Gan Kam began to make a wayang orang
commercial, performed it in public, and made it more accessible to be enjoyed by
the public in the 1890s (Puguh and Utama, 2018), bringing the story of Ramayana
and Mahabharata. Wayang orang then inspires the existence of drama wayang that
later becomes the discussion in this study.
Currently, students' interest in wayang stories has been low. As stated by
Widyastuti (2013), recently, wayang is seen as an art that has been outdated, old,
and not relevant to today's modern culture and era. However, some studies have
suggested the use of Wayang in language learning. For example, Hermayanti
(2020) integrated wayang stories and language learning. She integrates wayang
stories with English language learning activities to make her students use the
language more communicatively. She was convinced that using a language
communicatively has been a focus of language learning. Therefore, students are
expected to use the language communicatively at the end of the language learning
process. She also mentioned that wayang stories could be used as character

23
Dwi Wahyuningtyas, Adelia Savitri
The Use of Drama Wayang in ESP Speaking Class Final Assignment

education that successfully attains affective, psychomotor, and cognitive aspects in

language learning. Halimah, Arifin, Yuliariatiningsih, Abdillah, and Sutini (2020)
also asserted that wayang stories can support character education development.
Their study used wayang golek as a medium to promote character education
values to young learners.
Ramadani, Rufinus, and Rosnija (2018) also implemented wayang stories in
their speaking class. Their findings revealed that integrating wayang stories in
speaking activities was proven effective. The students could retell and narrate the
story more communicatively. The students were less stressed in retelling the story,
and their speaking skills could also be improved. In wayang stories, there is also a
storytelling aspect that can be applied in teaching speaking. Amalia (2018)
asserted that storytelling could promote students’ speaking activities and moral
values and lessons.
By combining drama and wayang, this study integrated drama wayang with
English teaching and learning activities, mainly speaking skills. Drama wayang is
one type of wayang orang which is performed in a modern way. It is also the
combination of a modern and traditional art performance that puts theatrical
performance in it. It was first created by Swargaloka Foundation, a foundation
founded in Yogyakarta in 1997 by a legendary wayang orang artist and dancer,
Dewi Sulastri, who served as a civil servant with Suryandoro (Swargaloka, Wadah
Bagi Para Seniman Untuk Berkarya, 2022). It focuses on preserving Indonesian arts
such as wayang orang and traditional Indonesian dances. Drama wayang itself was
created in 2013 to make wayang more recognized by younger generations, and
many more people can understand and like wayang, even non-Javanese people
because the language used is Bahasa Indonesia. Swargaloka also did some
improvisations in storylines and songs to make them more modern and attract
more viewers. This study contends that drama wayang is an Indonesian culture
that can be integrated into English teaching and learning activities. In particular,
this present study attempts to comprise drama and wayang blended into English-
speaking activities.
In addition, this study was conducted in the English for Specific Purposes
(ESP) course, where English contents taught to students were adjusted with their
study fields. In higher educational institutions in Indonesia, students are usually
taking English adjusted with their study field and specific purposes based on the
students’ projected professions. For example, those doing medical studies will be
taught English for Medical Studies that equips students with the English terms,
texts, and other English learning sources related to medical studies. Hutchinson
and Waters (1987) identified ESP as a language teaching approach whose contents
and methods rely on students’ need to learn English. Some essential factors play a
significant role in developing ESP, one of which is students’ different needs for
English. Students have different needs of English depending on their study field,
English proficiency level, and the growth in linguistics and educational psychology
fields (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). In Indonesia, ESP is targeted to achieve
academic and professional purposes (Agustina, 2014). Therefore, the ESP
curriculum often targets higher education students as its learners. The university
where this study was conducted divided ESP courses into four courses; listening,
reading, speaking, and writing. In this study, drama wayang is used in ESP

24
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

speaking subjects for Indonesian Language and Literature Department which has a
close relation with drama wayang in the study program.
This department offers students some Indonesian cultural studies subjects.
To fulfill students' English needs that are still related to the study field, the lecturer
tried to insert and collaborate wayang contents and their English subjects,
specifically speaking skills. Speaking was analyzed in this study as it belongs to the
productive skill where most students found difficulties and problems; lack of
vocabulary, being confused to talk, and lack exposure in English (Ratnasari, 2020).
It was worsened that students need to know specific terms in English related to
their study field in ESP class. Consequently, it makes the lecturer more careful in
selecting the teaching methods and materials to suit the students' needs,
objectives, and study fields. The selection of drama wayang to be used in English
teaching and learning activities in this course are expected to enable the students
to learn English while at the same time also learning terms related to their study,
Indonesian language, and literature, through drama wayang.
This study elaborated and combined three fields of ELT; language, literature,
and education. However, most studies mentioned above have not discussed the
insertion of drama, wayang, and English Language Teaching activities. Most of
them only discussed the integration of wayang stories and English language
teaching activities. On the other hand, some previous studies also claimed that
drama could promote students’ English skills. Therefore, this study then
collaborated drama, wayang, and English language teaching activities, in the form
of speaking. This study aims to analyze the implementation of drama wayang in
ELT activities.
Based on the above description, the researcher conducted a study to explore
the implementation of drama wayang in the ESP Speaking class activities. The
overarching research question is: “How was drama wayang implemented in the
final assignment of ESP Speaking class?”

METHOD
Research design
This study employed a descriptive qualitative study. It matches the theory of
qualitative study asserted by Corbin and Strauss (2015). They stated that in a
qualitative study, statistical procedures and calculative methods are not used in
formulating the findings. It is chosen because it best fits the study aims to analyze
the implementation of drama wayang in ESP speaking class activities.

Study subjects
The subjects of this study were the 1st semester students of the Indonesian
Language Education Department in a private university in Malang, East Java. There
were 18 students, who later were divided into three groups for this study. This
class was chosen because it was the only class receiving an Indonesian literature
course.
The preliminary observation showed that students in this class had an
adequate understanding of wayang heritage and Indonesian local culture. It was
shown through their drama activities and performances. Hence, the researcher
was convinced that the subjects could perform the drama wayang well, which later

25
Dwi Wahyuningtyas, Adelia Savitri
The Use of Drama Wayang in ESP Speaking Class Final Assignment

can prove the integration of drama wayang in ELT. These students have already
got cultural subjects in their department, most of them were also a little bit
familiar with the story of wayang as they are mostly Javanese, where wayang
stories in Indonesia mostly come from. Also, they had been exposed to wayang
stories through televisions and social media. Therefore, wayang's stories were not
something new to them. The lecturer introduced them to wayang stories a few
weeks before the main research activity started. They were very enthusiastic about
listening and discussing the stories of wayang with the lecturer. They also asked
the lecturer to tell them the story before the Speaking class started every week.

Data collection
The data were collected through observation, documentation (field notes and
photos), and a questionnaire. The study investigator was also the lecturer of the
subjects where she knew the students’ learning progress. The possibility of bias
was inevitable so another study investigator was recruited to help in the
assessment of the ESP speaking final assignment that became the main agenda of
this study. The combination of multiple instruments mentioned above was also
used to avoid biases in the findings.
The study was conducted on 20 December 2019. First, the lecturer observed
the students' drama performances. During the performances, the students wore
traditional clothes to represent Indonesian culture as part of the performance.
Regarding the final assignment activity, the students had prepared their
performance a month before after. The lecturer gave them the guidelines on how
to do the drama. The guidelines were as follows.
1. The drama wayang can be in the form of musical drama.
2. One group consists of 5-6 students.
3. All members must take part.
4. Narration is a must.
5. The stories must be about wayang.
6. Must include the lesson materials taught (Ex. News Report, Procedure,
Etc.)
7. The duration must be 15-20 minutes.
8. Moral value is a must.
9. The use of costumes, accessories, and furniture may vary.
10. The script should be consulted at least two – to one week before the
performance.
11. The performance should be three weeks after the announcement is made.
12. Show your creativity.
13. Should you have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
14. There are some aspects of speaking to assess in students’ drama: fluency,
accuracy, expressions, gestures, vocabulary, grammar.

The teacher also initially made three groups that consisted of four to five
students each. The students could consult their drama script every week, starting
from one week after the guidelines were given until one week before the drama
was performed. The drama wayang was conducted during the class session, so
there was no additional session for the students to perform the drama. The

26
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

questionnaire was taken after the drama was performed; while the documentation
was taken during the drama was performed. All students who participated in the
drama were asked to fill out the questionnaire distributed a week after the drama
was performed so that the students could still remember it. The documents were
collected during the drama. The researcher was helped by other students and the
audience to document the drama, so the researcher could focus on analyzing the
drama more.
The obtained data were analyzed through the ADDIE approach. It is an
instructional model widely employed by teachers and lecturers to obtain an
effective teaching design (Aldoobie, 2015). ADDIE stands for Analysis, Design,
Development, Implementation, and Evaluation. The design models used are
explained as follows:
1. Analysis
At this stage, the researcher analyzed the learners’ needs to decide suitable
activities and assessments for the course. The analysis included learners’
speaking skill progress, obstacles, and course objectives. Upon analysis, the
researcher decided on the possibility of the students performing a drama.
When it was possible, the forms of drama were structured following the
students’ needs.
2. Design
This phase allowed researchers to design activities and assessments for the
students, select a course form, and make an instructional design. Therefore,
during the drama performance, the researcher assessed some aspects of
drama such as story, script, costume, language, and expression. In regards
to a course form, a few weeks before coming to the drama performance, the
lecturer gave students some materials and necessary information. As the
activity is drama, the students were also required to perform some role
plays or short conversations, a few weeks before the drama was assigned to
them. In the design phase, the researcher also explained the objectives of
the activity, the aspects of drama performance that the students are
required to do and motivate them that they can perform the drama well.
The activity and materials were also designed by the curriculum so that
they can match the study objectives.
3. Development
During the development, the researchers developed the materials and
activities. Some sources from books, magazines, and the internet were
added to the materials to be adjusted with the learning objectives. The
costumes and stories of the drama were also adjusted with the theme of the
drama. The students could also give their opinion, ideas, and suggestions in
formulating the topics and materials of the drama.
4. Implementation
The implementation gave opportunities to researchers and participants to
perform the drama. During this step, the researcher observed and
documented the drama performance carefully. During the observation and
documentation, the students were also required to give their opinion about
the drama performance.
5. Evaluation

27
Dwi Wahyuningtyas, Adelia Savitri
The Use of Drama Wayang in ESP Speaking Class Final Assignment

At this final stage, the researchers evaluated the drama performance. The
evaluation was indicated by the distribution of the questionnaire and
assessment results. The result of the questionnaire and assessment was
then analyzed and discussed to identify the implementation of drama
wayang performance. This phase also becomes a reflection and stepping
stone for the researcher to develop and elaborate the topic and study fields
for future research.

FINDINGS
During the main agenda of the study, each group was given the same amount
of time to perform their drama wayang, around 15 minutes. The errors that the
students made were still tolerated during the performances, although, in their
speaking, pauses, and repetitions were still encountered. Their stories were also
still closely related to the topic, wayang stories, although there were some
modifications. Below are further explanations of the findings.

Table 1. The result of the questionnaire

No. Statement Strongly Agree
Agree

1. You enjoyed doing drama wayang performance 83% 17%

2. You prepared your performance well 55% 45%

3. You were confident of performing in front of the 66% 34%

class

4. You got the information about the assignment 55% 45%

clearly

5. You had already known the story of wayang before 66% 34%
the assignment was given to you

6. You had liked the story of wayang before the 33% 67%
assignment was given to you

7. You were motivated to give your best performance 83% 17%

8. You could easily understand the instructions given 89% 11%

by the lecturer related to the assignment

9. You thought that the assignment already covered 88% 12%

the materials or topics that had been taught

10. You liked the assignment 94% 6%

11. You could deliver your best performance 89% 11%

12. Your got compliments from your lecturer because 83% 17%
of your performance

13. You got many ideas about the assignment 83% 17%

28
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

14. You got many difficulties while doing the 39% 61%
assignment

Results of the questionnaire found that most students had favorable

impressions of the drama wayang as a speaking activity, in this case as a final
assignment. Of 18 students in the class who filled out the questionnaire, most
students (83%) said they strongly agreed that they enjoyed their drama
performances, while 17% said they ‘generally’ agreed to the use of drama wayang.
The students were also confident and motivated to deliver their best performance,
indicated by 66% and 83% respectively from the total respondents who strongly
agreed with this statement. They also prepared the drama well; 55% of students
said that they had already prepared the drama performed well during the
preparation period, while the rest, 45%, generally agreed to this notion. Most of
them also strongly agreed that they got the information about the assignment
clearly from the teacher regarding the drama wayang for the ESP speaking final
assignment. When it comes to the information regarding the wayang story or their
previous affection toward wayang, most of them answered "Agree" that they knew
or ever heard wayang stories.
Regarding the instructions given by the lecturer, most of them (89%)
strongly agreed that the information given by the lecturer was clear and they could
understand them. Most of them (88%) also strongly agreed that the assignment
covered the topics taught that semester. Next, most of them (94%) strongly agreed
that they liked their performances as they could deliver their best performances
and got compliments from the lecturer. On the other hand, they also strongly
agreed (78%) that they got critics from the lecturer about their performances.
Because of the assignment, too, they strongly agree that they got ideas to develop
(83%), yet 61% agreed that they found difficulties as this assignment was also
challenging.
From the students' questionnaire results, it can be identified that all
students chose the option strongly agree and agree; none of them opted for
disagreeing, strongly disagree, or N/A. Most chose the "Strongly Agree" box
regarding their impressions and opinions towards the drama wayang assignment.
However, when they were asked about their previous knowledge about wayang,
most of them chose "Agree," as most of them only have ever heard moderate or
little information about wayang. Thus, although students still knew a little about
wayang, they were still enthusiastic about performing drama wayang.

Table 2. The assessment result of the drama wayang performances

GROUP STORY SCRIPT COSTUME LANGUAGE EXPRESSION
A Rama Average Good Good Good
and
Shinta
B Drupadi Good Good Good Good
C 5 Very Good Good Good Very good
Pandawi

29
Dwi Wahyuningtyas, Adelia Savitri
The Use of Drama Wayang in ESP Speaking Class Final Assignment

Notes:
Script
Very good : the story is very interesting to follow, and there are some
modifications of the story
Good : the story is interesting enough to follow
Average : the story is ok, but there are no new things that attract the
audience’s attention

Costume
Very good : the students were quite creative in designing and matching
the costumes. In addition, the costumes still fit the theme and story.
Good : the costumes still match the story, but there is no new thing
that catches the audience’s attention.
Average : the costumes still need to be improved to match the theme
and story.

Language
Very good : the students can speak English well, are fluent, and have
clear pronunciation.
Good : the students make some errors in speaking but can be still
understood.
Performance average : the students make many errors and some utterances
cannot be understood clearly.
Expression
Very good : the students could act very well, and bring the characters
alive
Good : the students could act, but at some points miss the
characteristics of the characters played
Average : the students still gave fat expressions and had difficulties in
acting

It can be seen from the table that the best result was achieved by group C (5
Pandawi). They could perform the story well. They could also act well. Their
expressions were on point and they could enliven the characters they played. The
second best group was group B (Drupadi). They could present the stories well and
could also act well, although not as good as group C. They were also fluent in
speaking. The last group was group A. They should have developed the stories
better, as there are no new aspects in their story that caught students’ attention.
Results of the Observation and Documentation of the Students’ Drama
Wayang Performance as ESP Speaking Final Assignment
Regarding the aspects to assess in their drama performance, it could be
identified that overall, students could perform pretty well on their drama, although
their fluency, grammatical accuracy, expressions, gestures, and content/story
should be developed more. Below is the complete assessment of the drama wayang
performance.

30
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Figure 1. Group 1 performed their drama entitled ‘Rama and Shinta’

The‘’ first group performed Rama and Shinta, which told about the struggle of
Rama Wijaya to save his wife, Shinta, who was kidnapped by a giant king, Rahwana.
Accompanied by her brother, Laksmana, and a troupe of monkeys led by Hanoman,
Rama defeated Rahwana. The first group performed drama wayang in 15 minutes.
As the lecturer allowed the students to develop the story, the students added some
new storylines and jokes in the drama.
Overall, the students could perform the drama well, although there were
some parts that they forgot to say. That was because they were nervous or the
dialogues were too long. Besides the story, the students also conveyed moral
values such as "do not give up" and "be brave if you feel you are right." The groups
still made some errors in pronunciation, such as "upon" and words ended with "-
ed." However, the errors did not affect the meaning. The dialogues and messages
were still understandable. The students still, however, had to improve their acting
and expressions. Some students from this group also admitted that they were shy
to perform the drama in front of the public and could not concentrate fully as
students from other classes also watched them.

Figure 2. Group 2 performed their drama with the title ‘Drupadi’

31
Dwi Wahyuningtyas, Adelia Savitri
The Use of Drama Wayang in ESP Speaking Class Final Assignment

The next group, group 2, performed a drama wayang entitled Drupadi. The
story told about the birth of a princess named Drupadi. She was the oldest
daughter of King Drupada. Drupadi had a younger sister named Srikandi. The
second group offered a slightly different performance from the first group as the
second group worked intensively on make-up and costumes. Their costumes
resembled the costumes of Javanese princes. Group 2 performed the drama
successfully. They also improved the story by adding the character of the princess
maid, who was very loyal to Princess Drupadi. Group 2's performance felt more
serious compared to the previous group performance. The jokes they put in the
drama were less prominent compared to the first group. However, the dialogue
felt more intense, and the change from one scene to another was in a good
sequence. Like group 1, group 2 still had to work on expressions and gestures, as
some were still shy to act, and some of them forgot the dialogues. In addition, they
were also quite fluent in speaking.

Figure 3. Group 3 performed their drama with the title ‘5 Pandawi’

The last group to present their drama was group 3 which performed a drama
wayang with the title 5 Pandawi modified from the story 5 of Pandawa, the famous
five knights in wayang stories. The story told about five siblings who were called
Pandawi, the female version of Pandawa. Group 3 developed the story and added
new stories to it. Therefore, the story was about 5 Pandawi who wanted to get
married and asked their father to find the right men for them. Meanwhile, that
kind of story did not exist in wayang, so it can be concluded that group 3 changed
and developed the story. Of all groups that performed their drama, group 3 was
the most expressive. They enjoyed their performance and acted well, although
they forgot some dialogues and improvised their conversations and dialogues.
However, they still made some errors in producing words, and at times, they were
not fluent in speaking the dialogues. In short, group 3 was the most expressive and
explorative compared to the two previous groups. Similar to other groups, this
group also wore their modified traditional costumes. Therefore, this group could
also enliven the audience.

32
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

From the assessment, this group was then decided to be the best group. To
document it, group 3 performance was also recorded and uploaded on the
YouTube channel of the lecturer so that it can be an example for other drama
groups and classes that also want to perform a drama.

Figure 4. The best group performance was then uploaded on the lecturer's
YouTube channel

After all, groups performed their drama, the lecturer gave them feedback and
heard their opinion regarding their drama performance. After the students
performed the drama, they discussed with the lecturer, talking about their drama
performances. Then, they were required to give their friends feedback. After that,
the lecturer also gave them some feedback. These sessions were written on the
lecturer's notes. During the discussion, the students said they enjoyed their
performances and learned to be more confident. They also learned wayang stories,
some that they had hardly heard before. Thus, besides learning to speak, they also
learn Indonesian culture through the wayang stories.
Overall, they still should practice being more natural and improvising with
the story and the dialogues of the drama. At first, the students were quite nervous
about performing the drama. However, they could overcome that as they played,
became more confident, and enjoyed their performances. They also learned how to
develop and modify a story. After performing the drama, the students were more
interested in knowing about wayang. They could also learn cultural and character
values represented in wayang stories. Later, they are expected to be more
explorative and creative in developing drama wayang in their ways and styles
while still preserving the cultural values of wayang and adjusting them with the
current development.
It can be concluded that the students enjoyed playing the drama wayang. All
of them worked enthusiastically in this drama result of the observation and
documentation showed that the final speaking test in drama wayang format came
out successfully. From the documentation and observation, it can be concluded
that some students found difficulties in memorizing and pronouncing the dialogues
and scripts. To overcome that, they then improvised the dialogues using their own
words.

33
Dwi Wahyuningtyas, Adelia Savitri
The Use of Drama Wayang in ESP Speaking Class Final Assignment

The result indicates that the students had good impressions of drama
wayang as part of their Speaking class activities. They reacted well when the
lecturer announced this activity for them. In addition, from the questionnaire, it
can be revealed that they prepared the drama well and were confident about it.
Their responses to their drama wayang performances were also positive. Despite
the critics and feedback they got from the lecturer and some challenging parts that
exist, such as the new theme, their performance in the form of the public, and their
speaking skill, they could still deliver their drama performance well. They could
also be more practical and communicative in practicing English, especially in
speaking skills. During the feedback and discussion session after the performance,
they said they were happy and quite satisfied during their drama performance. In
short, this activity can be done well and enjoyed by the students in their speaking
class.

DISCUSSION
This drama performance is set to make students enjoy the Speaking class as
the primary goal of the ESP speaking activity in the first semester is to make
students love and be interested in English. Therefore, as long as the students
enjoyed the activity and their creativity was also facilitated, the lecturer allowed
them. However, the lecturer assessment still relies on the aspects of drama
assessment, such as students' presentations and their speaking performance. In
line with Richards (2009), a speaking activity that requires talk as performance
includes clarity of presentation and use of discourse markers, repetition, and
stress to emphasize important points. In addition, Iwashita, Brown, Mc Namara,
and O'Hagan (2008) stated that vocabulary, fluency, grammatical accuracy, and
pronunciation also take part as the aspects of speaking assessment that impact the
overall speaking score, wherein this part also applies to students' drama
performance. As it is a drama performance, other aspects have to be considered,
such as the expression, story, creativity, costumes, and other aspects. These
aspects became the consideration for the lecturer to assess students' drama
performance.
Regarding the integration of culture in this activity, the students could
insert cultural values in their performances. For example, in group 2, there was a
scene when Prabu Drupada, Srikandi's parent, made an offering to God. Thus, the
procession performed by the students resembled the Hindu procession of making
an offering to God. The other thing that should be appreciated as the students tried
to present the traditional costumes. They wore their creation of traditional
Indonesian costume that also resembles the story they were telling. This part
indicates that integrating cultural values and English as a second and foreign
language teaching is inseparable. Dewi (2017) asserted that integrating cultural
values in second language teaching could motivate the learners, raise their
nationalism, and gain cultural awareness. In line with the findings of this study, the
students are also expected to know and understand more about Indonesian arts
and culture besides finding an exciting way to learn English.
What should also be highlighted during the drama wayang is that the
students could speak in English more naturally and communicatively. They did not
think about the grammar or patterns that they were using. Instead, they just said

34
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

what they wanted to say, and their partners could also understand what they were
saying. They could also learn the context of language use, as in drama, the situation
represents a real-life situation. This could improve students' speaking skills as they
can be more confident to speak English, and the more frequently they speak
English, the more fluent they are in speaking English. This result is in line with
Samantaray (2017), who asserted that students could directly practice their
English in the real world and contexts in drama. It is also stated that the socio-
affective requirements of the students can also be fulfilled. Besides, it can
encourage students' self-confidence and esteem and increase their participation in
class which was also proven in this study.
Although overall their drama was rated good, as not all students have good
speaking skills during the performances. Some of them were still not fluent in
English but fortunately could be covered up by their teammates and did not affect
much. In short, by performing a drama as part of their assignment, the students
could improve their speaking proficiency level and immediately practice it in
actual life situations. In addition, by integrating wayang stories into drama,
students are expected to know more about wayang as a part of their local culture.
The lecturer can also insert discussion during the process. The discussion
part is expected to make students more creative and confident. The lecturer should
also ensure that the students have already been capable in English skills such as
speaking, writing, listening, and reading as requirements to prepare and perform a
drama properly. This is in line with Jacobs (2016), who asserted that a lecturer
works as a lecturer-assessor who accommodates the activity and assesses
students' work in drama.

CONCLUSION
This study attempted to investigate the integration of drama and wayang in
ELT activities. The findings have shown that drama wayang could be implemented
in speaking activities. It weaves two ways of ELT aspects, particularly in language
and culture. In this study, the drama was performed successfully. The students
could find some enjoyment that motivated their learning. They felt more relaxed
and contented during the speaking activities, and they did not consider the English
speaking class as a dull session anymore. In addition, the researcher chose the
theme of drama wayang because the researcher wanted the students to recognize
their own Javanese culture while making Speaking activities more attractive. In
this study, the students learned English while at the same time learning
Indonesian cultural arts and culture, which is one of the focuses in their English
for Specific Purposes (ESP) course. Later, it is expected that drama wayang can be
developed further to teach speaking skills, which means there is an integration of
English language teaching activities and cultural values. The findings of this study
imply that there are positive effects of the use of drama wayang as an innovative
and contextual ESP teaching method to combine English learning and Indonesian
local culture and values.

35
Dwi Wahyuningtyas, Adelia Savitri
The Use of Drama Wayang in ESP Speaking Class Final Assignment

REFERENCES
Agustina, T. (2014). English for specific purposes (ESP): An approach of English
teaching for non-English department students. Beta: Jurnal Tadris
Matematika, 7(1), 37–63. Retrieved from
https://jurnalbeta.ac.id/index.php/betaJTM/article/view/43
Alasmari, N., & Alshae’el, A. (2020). The effect of using drama in English language
learning among young learners: A case study of 6th grade female pupils in
Sakaka City. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 8(1),
61. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.8n.1p.61
Aldoobie, N. (2015). ADDIE model. American International Journal of
Contemporary Research , 5(6), 68-71.
Amalia, A. R. (2018). Teaching English with storytelling method in early childhood
education lecturers. A Journal of Culture English Language Teaching
Literature & Linguistics, 5(2), 1.
https://doi.org/10.22219/celticumm.vol5.no2.1-7
Corbin, J. M., & Strauss, A. L. (2015). Basics of qualitative study: Techniques and
procedures for developing grounded theory. Thousand Oaks: Sage
Publications.
Dewi, N. S. (2017). Cultural values integration in English language learning for
young Indonesian learners. Script Journal: Journal of Linguistic and English
Teaching, 2(2), 145. https://doi.org/10.24903/sj.v2i2.131
Grahita, Banung, Komma, & Toshihiro (2014). Identification of the character
figures visual style in wayang beber of Pacitan painting. International
Journal of Asia Digital Art and Design, 18, 40-47.
Halimah, L., Arifin, R. R., Yuliariatiningsih, M. S., Abdillah, F., & Sutini, A. (2020).
Storytelling through “wayang golek” puppet show: Practical ways in
incorporating character education in early childhood. Cogent
Education, 7(1),
1794495. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186x.2020.1794495
Hayatinnufus, A. (2018). A study on speaking skill activities in Ar-rohmah English
community program in SMA AR-Rohmah Malang. Celtic: A Journal of
Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, 3(1), 30-
44. https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v3i1.7857
Hermayawati. (2020). Exploring integrated language in use for undergraduate
English learners through wayang stories. ADJES (Ahmad Dahlan Journal of
English Studies), 7(2), 81-95. https://dx.doi.org/10.26555/adjes.v7i2.13851
Hermayawati. (2021). Cultural language learning approach (CLLA): An approach
for learners’ integrated language use acculturation. International Journal of
Learning, Teaching and Educational Study, 20(2), 104-
120. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.20.2.6
Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes, a learning
centered approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Idogho, J. (2018). Teaching English as second language through drama for effective
communication skills: A pragmatic perspective. Journal on English Language
Teaching and Linguistics, 3, 259-273.
https://dx.doi.org/10.21462/jeltl.v3i3.156

36
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Iwashita, N., Brown, A., McNamara, T., & O'Hagan, S. (2007). Assessed levels of
second language speaking proficiency: How distinct? Applied
Linguistics, 29(1), 24-49. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amm017
Jacobs, R. (2017). The challenge of drama performance assessment. Drama Study:
International Journal of Drama in Education, 7(1), 2-17.
Margana, M., Rohendi Rohidi, T., Iswidayati, I., & Sony Kartika, D. (2018). Values of
character education contained in wayang beber Pacitan performance. The
Journal of Educational Development, 6(1), 67-78.
https://doi.org/10.15294/jed.v6i1.20734
Nanda, D. S. & Susanto, S. (2021). Using drama in EFL classroom for exploring
students’ knowledge and learning. English Review: Journal of English
Education, 9(2), pp.285-292.
https://doi.org/10.25134/erjee.v9i2.4353
Nugroho, A. (2019). Request realizations of Indonesian ESP lecturers. A Journal of
Culture English Language Teaching Literature & Linguistics, 6(1), 1.
https://doi.org/10.22219/celticumm.vol6.no1.1-13
Nurgiyantoro, B. (2019). The wayang story in modern Indonesian fictions
(Reviews on Mangunwijaya and Sindhunata’s novels). LITERA, 18(2), 167-
184. https://doi.org/10.21831/ltr.v18i2.24997
Nurhayati, D. (2016). Using local drama in writing and speaking: EFL learners’
creative expresssion. Journal of English Language Teaching and
Linguistics, 1(1), 51. https://doi.org/10.21462/jeltl.v1i1.13
Octactepe, D. (2012). The development of conceptual socialization in
international students: A language socialization perspective on conceptual
fluency and social identity (advances in pragmatics and discourse
analysis). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Poedjiastutie, D. (2020). A closer look at qualitative study. Malang: UMM Press.
Poedjiastutie, D., Mayaputri, V., & Arifani, Y. (2021). Socio-cultural challenges of
English teaching in remote areas of Indonesia. TEFLIN Journal - A
publication on the teaching and learning of English, 32(1),
97. https://doi.org/10.15639/teflinjournal.v32i1/97-116
Puguh, D., & Utama, M. (2018). Peranan pemerintah dalam pengembangan wayang
orang panggung. Jurnal Sejarah Citra Lekha, 3(2), 133.
https://doi.org/10.14710/jscl.v3i2.19961
Rahayu, A. S. (2018). Engaging the students with styles in EFL perspectives. Celtic:
A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and
Linguistics, 3(1), 15-29. https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v3i1.7856
Ramadani, T. K., Rufinus, A., & Rosnija, E. (2018). Retelling story with wayang in
teaching speaking skill. Jurnal Pendidikan dan Pembelajaran, 7(3), 1-9.
https://jurnal.untan.ac.id/index.php/jpdpb/article/download/24273/756
76575927
Ratnasari, A. (2020). EFL students' challenges in learning speaking skills: A case
study in mechanical engineering department. Journal of Foreign Language
Teaching and Learning, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.18196/ftl.5145
Raquel, M. R. (2013). Towards a framework for assessing the second language
through drama: A dynamic assessment approach [Special Issue]. Asia
Pacific Journal for Arts Education, 11(7), 159-183.

37
Dwi Wahyuningtyas, Adelia Savitri
The Use of Drama Wayang in ESP Speaking Class Final Assignment

Richards, J. (2009). Teaching listening and speaking. SEAMEO Regional

Language Centre.
Samantaray, P. (2014). Dramatization as a method of developing spoken English
skill. International Journal of Language & Linguistics, 1(70).
https://doi.org/10.30845/ijll
Suryanto, Suryanto. (2014). Issues in teaching English in a cultural context: A case
of Indonesia. Journal of English Literacy Education. 1. 75.
Swargaloka, Wadah Bagi Para Seniman untuk Berkarya. (2022, January 23).
Https://Www.Eventori.Id/Swargaloka-Wadah-Bagi-Para-Seniman-Untuk-
Berkarya. Retrieved February 3, 2022, from
https://www.eventori.id/swargaloka-wadah-bagi-para-seniman-untuk-
berkarya
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological
processes. Harvard University Press.
Wahyuni, E. (2017). Exposing literature into language teaching and learning. Celtic:
A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and
Linguistics, 1(2), 63-74. https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v1i2.4668
Widyastuti, S.H. (2013). Menumbuhkan minat dan mengembangkan bakat anak
terhadap seni pewayangan. Dinas Kebudayaan Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta.

38
 39

EFL POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ CRITICAL

THINKING BELIEFS AND THEIR ABILITY IN
WRITING RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
1Arima Azwati*, 1Slamet Setiawan, 1Oikurema Purwati
Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia

ABSTRACT
The need to think critically is essential in this era and people must be
competent in analyzing, evaluating, and problem-solving to stay afloat.
This study aims to know the level of postgraduate students' critical
thinking beliefs and their performance in writing the research
methodology section of the research proposal. The study was a mixed-
method study in which the quantitative method was applied to calculate
the level of critical thinking belief by using a questionnaire, and qualitative
data to analyze the draft of postgraduate students’ writing. The
questionnaire was distributed to the participants (five EFL postgraduate
E-ISSN: 2621-9158 students), and documentation of their final project was collected. The
P-ISSN:2356-0401 study found that the EFL postgraduate students’ critical thinking beliefs
were on the level of valuing and less on confidence in critical thinking. The
*Correspondence: level of valuing critical thinking meant EFL postgraduate students realized
[email protected] that critical thinking is a crucial ability they should master. However, they
cannot implement it consistently for their study or social problems in
daily life. The result of the content analysis of writing (research
Submitted: 9 February 2022
Approved: 20 June 2022 methodology) varies widely: some students were proficient in
Published: 27 June 2022 communication and problem-solving, and some were not, and
synthesizing abilities became the lowest achievement of students' skills in
writing.
Citation:
Azwati, A., Setiawan, S & Purwati, O
(2022). EFL Postgraduate Students Keywords: Critical thinking belief; EFL Postgraduate Students; Research
Critical Thinking Beliefs and Their Methodology; Writing
Ability in Writing Research
Methodology. Celtic: A Journal of
ABSTRAK
Culture, English Language Teaching,
Literature and Linguistics, 9(1), 39- Pada abad 21, orang - orang hidup di era modern dimana semua
52. Doi: 10.22219/celtic.v9i1.20166 tekhnologi dan informasi berkembang dengan sangat pesat. Kebutuhan
untuk berfikir kritis sangat diperlukan untuk menjalani kehidupan sehari-
hari. Semua orang harus pandai dalam menganalisa, mengevalusi, dan
melakukan pemecahan masalah untuk tetap bertahan jika mereka tidak
ingin tertinggal oleh zaman. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan tujuan untuk
mengetahui tingkat berfikir kritis oleh mahasiswa pascasarjana dan
kemampuan mereka dalam menulis methodologi penelitian. Penelitian ini
menggunakan metode mix method. Kuesioner dibagikan kepada para
partisipan dan dokumentasi tugas akhir mereka telah dilakukan. Hasil
dari penilitian ini menunjukan bahwa mahasiswa pascasarjana mendapat
nilai 4.20 dalam kategori valuing in critical thinking dan mereka lemah
dalam confidence in critical thinking. Kemampuan mereka dalam menulis
research methodology juga bervariasi. Beberapa dari mereka bagus
dalam memberikan informasi, sebagian lagi tidak. Lalu, mereka
mendapatkan nilai yang rendah dalam kegiatan mensintesiskan
informasi.

Kata Kunci: Kepercayaan berfikir kritis; Mahasiswa pascasarjana;

Research methodology; Tulisan

Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index
Arima Azwati, Slamet Setiawan, Oikurema Purwati
EFL Postgraduate students’ Critical Thinking Beliefs
and Their Ability in Writing Research Methodology

INTRODUCTION
Critical thinking is one of competencies that should be mastered and
practiced in daily activities. Salahshoor and Rafiee (2016) expressed that critical
thinking was considered as an ability for a lifetime that people need in their
academic and social lives. Why is critical thinking considered as a crucial
competence for a lifetime? Haseli and Rezaii (2013) argued that critical thinking
should be developed to face the changes of the 21st century and solve complicated
societal problems. Critical thinking skills encourage someone to think deeply about
information they get to avoid misconceptions, including biased persuasion,
prejudice, irrational attitude, or ideas (Ratnadewi & Yunianti, 2019). Critical
thinking is not only about the perception that people can answer the question
quickly and correctly but how their minds can think and process the information
logically, argue and solve the problems, and know the factual information based on
the source. Due to the importance of critical thinking, it must be introduced and
taught to the students in any subject, such as the English language, as early as
possible to expand their potentials.
In the Indonesian context, English has been taught and used as a foreign
language (Marlina, 2012). It has a challenge for the teachers’ and students’ selves in
the context of teaching and learning. Sulistiyo (2016) stated that most English
teachers faced challenges in the form of low-motivated students and an
environment that does not support them in learning the English language. Thus, EFL
students should make a big effort to think critically in terms of understanding the
context and structure of the language. Allison et al. (1998) argued that students who
do not use English as their first language might need assistance and guidance to
hone their critical thinking in arguing and understanding the context of the
language. EFL students' critical thinking can be reflected through one of the
language skills, namely writing (Indah, 2017), via idea development, reasoning,
persuading, and so on. In addition, reading can be a support to enrich knowledge
with various kinds of reliable information to think even more critically by absorbing
all the information, experience, and ideas provided in books ( Wijayanti et al., 2015).
Additionally, it is also believed that reading can help the EFL students find many
new vocabularies, be familiar with the grammar and punctuation, and understand
the meaning of the sentence.
In higher education level, students must practice their critical thinking in
many aspects. Critical thinking should not be just another option for their level but
rather an indispensable ability to confront tremendous amounts of information on
how they can solve and cover the problem well (Angeli & Valanides, 2009). The big
phase they should confront is the process of writing their final project, namely
Research Proposal (RP). RP is the formal document written by postgraduate
students which describes detailed information about the proposed program. Yamin
and Purwati (2020) presented that writing an RP should be supported by the self-
ability to organize mindset, thought, idea, fact, and problem that should be
formulated into the research problem. It also needed problem-solving ability to set
the appropriate methodology and instrument to get easy onwards. The quality of
their final product or RP depends on how they read much information, analyze it,
give their further argument, and then compile those became the unity of their ideas.
Butterworth and Thwaites (2013) suggested that the core activities of critical

40
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

thinking are analysis, evaluation, and further argument. Those activities are needed
and should be implemented in writing RP, especially in the research methodology
section.
In writing RP, the writer should deal with three chapters; introduction or
background of the study, literature review, and research methodology (philips,
2013). Each chapter should begin with a brief introduction to guide the reader into
the fundamental substance of that part. Then, it should end with a summary
capturing the main points that have been discussed in that chapter. The complex one
is on writing research methodology. Igwenagu (2016) said that the research
methodology offers the theoretical underpinning for understanding which method,
set of techniques, or best practices can be applied to specific cases, for instance, to
ascertain a particular outcome. In designing research methodology, the students
should be able to handle the problem, create an appropriate design, look for the
possibilities of the unpredictable case, and many more. Thus, the ability of critical
thinking is critical since it has a crucial role to progress significantly in finishing an
RP. Less critical thinking could affect how they compile the information and source
in a paragraph because the ability of writing and thinking are interconnected
(Rahmat et al., 2020).
Several studies (such as Kumar & Refaei, 2017; Mbato, 2019; Rahmawati,
2018; Sabu & Vernandes, 2019; Strakov & Cimermanov, 2018; and Devira & Westin,
2021) showed their point of view related to the existences of critical thinking in
education. First, Kumar and Refaei (2017) found that university students in a
second-year writing course needed more practice in developing their writing ability
to establish the significant topic they were writing. It means that the university
students could not write the ideas to give any information to the readers well.
Second, the research on the ability of critical thinking in speaking skills was
conducted by Rahmawati (2018) in one of senior high schools in Majalengka,
Indonesia. She found that the students’ ability to think critically in speaking
activities was relatively low. Then, Mbato (2019) researched the area of critical
thinking in reading skills among university students in the English Education Study
Program. The result implied that the students were yet confident in implementing
critical thinking strategies in reading. Sabu and Vernandes (2019), on the other
hand, invited the second-year university students of the English department to join
the study and revealed that the university students’ ability in critical thinking in
writing an argumentative essay was average. Another study about students' critical
thinking beliefs was also conducted by Straková and Cimermanová (2018) which
involved students’ teachers and found that they were homogeneous on valuing
critical thinking rather than on confidence in critical thinking. Recently, Devira and
Westin (2021) found that the students in the Introductory Academic Program (IAP)
at the University of Adelaide, South Australia, needed a guide to improve their
confidence and more scaffolding to support the development of their ability in
academic writing.
Based on the previous studies, it can be highlighted that most students had
difficulty in applying the ability of critical thinking, especially if it was linked to the
language skills such as writing, speaking, and reading. The result of earlier studies
showed that the students were low in writing in terms of establishing the significant
topic, lacked in associating critical thinking with speaking, and were not confident

41
Arima Azwati, Slamet Setiawan, Oikurema Purwati
EFL Postgraduate students’ Critical Thinking Beliefs
and Their Ability in Writing Research Methodology

enough in reading. All cases were taken at the level of undergraduate students.
Slightly different from the previous studies, the current study makes a breakthrough
by including participants from a higher level (EFL postgraduate students) where
they have previous experience in writing and measuring their critical thinking
beliefs. The current study focuses on knowing the level of EFL postgraduate
students’ critical thinking beliefs and how they manifest their critical thinking in
writing research proposal, specifically on chapter 3 (research methodology).

METHOD
The mixed-methods is used as the research design of this study. Ary et al.
(2010) described the mixed method as a blended technique of quantitative and
qualitative in particular ways, with each approach adding something to the
comprehension of the peculiarity. The mixed-method can be used to understand
connections or contradictions between qualitative and quantitative data (Shorten &
Smith, 2017). The purpose of this study was to know the level of EFL postgraduate
students’ critical thinking beliefs and the quality of students’ writing an RP,
especially in designing the research, so the use of mixed methods was applicable for
the study. The quantitative method was applied for calculating data of critical
thinking belief and for participant selection by using stratified random sampling.
Maheshwari (2017) stated that stratified random sampling is a method that involves
the division of a population into smaller groups. Then, basic interpretative studies
represented the qualitative studies were applied to analyze the writing of
postgraduate students for deep analysis.
There were two research instruments in this study. First, a critical thinking
questionnaire adapted from Stupple et al. (2017) consists of 27 items. It measured
the level of critical thinking beliefs of EFL postgraduate students. Critical thinking
belief was the postgraduate students’ motivation and willingness to avoid the
process of fast answers. The questionnaire consisted of three factors, namely
confidence in critical thinking (17 items), valuing in critical thinking (6 items), and
avoidance and/or misconception of critical thinking (4 items). Confidence in critical
thinking correlates with the power to override ones’ convictions while thinking
about the strength of value toward something; valuing in critical thinking refers to
both the power to override belief and also the power to assess argument strength,
while misconception is negatively connected with the ability to assess argument
strength but more likely to guess or rush in making a decision. The questionnaire
scale was modified to become 1-5 to make it easy for the participants to decide their
answers. Then, the term psychology in question four of the questionnaire was
changed became the term English Language, where the discipline was matched
between the areas of the study. Second, documentation was done to collect the data
on postgraduate students’ writing RP.
Next, to measure the critical thinking in writing, the rubric of critical thinking
skills from College (2011) was adapted. It consists of critical thinking aspects such
as communication, analysis, problem-solving, evaluation, and synthesis. Then, the
aspects of reflection on its rubric were removed because it does not have role play
to write the research design of RP. The aspect of communication means the ability
to serve the appropriate information, analysis was the skill to define which
appropriate participants or methodology for their research, problem-solving was

42
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

the ability to select one of the available solutions they found while finishing the
research, evaluation referred to the ability for identifying the strength or weakness
of cases on their study, and synthesize was how the student found and combined the
detail information to be reliable information.
The participants of this study were five EFL postgraduate students in the
third semester. The participants were selected based on several reasons (1) they
had taken English major as their discipline at their undergraduate level, meaning
that they had experienced writing RP using the English language, (2) They are at the
same university, so they have the same treatment in a course, (3) They are English
teachers where critical thinking is crucial to support their performance as teachers.
Firstly, the critical thinking questionnaires were distributed via a link (google
form). After the participants accessed the link, they read guidance on how they
should fill out the questionnaires correctly. Secondly, documentation was done by
collecting the postgraduate students’ final projects in the course of Research
Proposal. Thirdly, data reduction. The data needed on this study was chapter 3 of
the research proposal, hence the data reduction would remove the introduction and
literature review sections.

FINDINGS
EFL Postgraduate Students’ Critical Thinking Beliefs
After the data from thequestionnaire of the Critical Thinking was obtained,
the analysis was done by using IBM SPSS Statistics 25, revealing that the sample
distribution was normal (for all three variables) as shown in the result of the
analysis table below:

Table 1. Descriptive statistics for variables Confidence in Critical Thinking (CCT), Valuing in Critical
Thinking (VCT), and Misconception (MIS)

Statistics
CCT VCT MIS
N Valid 5 5 5
Missing 0 0 0
Mean 3.00 4.20 3.20
Median 3.00 4.00 3.00
Mode 3 4 3a
Std. Deviation .000 .447 .837
Minimum 3 4 2
Maximum 3 5 4
a. Multiple modes exist. The smallest value is shown.

Table 1 shows the result of EFL postgraduate students' critical thinking

beliefs. The mean score of confidence in critical thinking (CCT) was 3.00. This was
the lowest score between valuing in critical thinking (VCT) and Misconception
(MIS). Then, followed by the level of Misconception with 3.20. Next, the highest
mean score was 4.20 on the level of valuing in critical thinking (MIS). The data
confirmed that EFL postgraduate students' critical thinking beliefs were at the level
of valuing in critical thinking. However, they were low on confidence in critical
thinking.

43
Arima Azwati, Slamet Setiawan, Oikurema Purwati
EFL Postgraduate students’ Critical Thinking Beliefs
and Their Ability in Writing Research Methodology

The following is the frequency table of the critical thinking belief levels. The
result of each table did not compare to another table; it was only seen for the
frequency in each scale.
Table 2. Frequency table of confidence in critical thinking (CCT)

CCT
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 3 5 100.0 100.0 100.0

Firstly, the categorization of confidence in critical thinking (CCT) was to

measure the students’ ideas and feelings that was represented the positive value.
Confidence in critical thinking is the highest level in critical thinking belief,
unfortunately, the EFL postgraduate students prefer to choose the safe answer
(neutral). One of the statements on the level of confidence in critical thinking (CCT)
was:
“I can express my critical thinking well in my written work”.
Then, based on the analysis presented in Table 2, all participants chose 3
(neutral). No one chose the scale of agree or disagree as their responses from their
ability in writing. Different from expectation, this study found that EFL postgraduate
students were less in expressing their ideas in writing.
Table 3. Frequency table of Valuing in Critical Thinking (VCT)

VCT
Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid 4 4 80.0 80.0 80.0
5 1 20.0 20.0 100.0
Total 5 100.0 100.0

Table 3 shows the frequency score of valuing in critical thinking. The number
of scales ranges from agree to strongly agree. At this level, EFL postgraduate
students show positive value in their perception of critical thinking. One of the
statements on the level of valuing in critical thinking was:
“Critical thinking is essential in higher education”
Based on Table 3, the EFL postgraduate students agreed with the statement.
The scale they chose was strongly agree and the rest answered agree with the
percentage of 80%.
Table 4. Frequency table of Misconception (MIS)

MISS
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid 2 1 20.0 20.0 20.0
3 2 40.0 40.0 60.0
4 2 40.0 40.0 100.0
Total 5 100.0 100.0

44
 Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Table 4 describes the data calculation of misconception. The scale range of

this level was more varied, which was around 2-3-4. The data showed that 20% of
participants chose disagree, followed by 40% of participants who chose neutral, and
40% chose agree. One of the statements in this level was:
“I prefer to do things where there is a quick answer”
This statement received a varied scale range. One EFL postgraduate student
disagreed about the statement, two students were neutral, and the rest agreed with
the statement. This result confirmed that the EFL postgraduate students preferred
practical things and ignored depth thinking to decide something. The level of
misconception was the negative value in the category of critical thinking beliefs.
In conclusion, the mean score of EFL postgraduate students showed that they
were at the level of valuing in critical thinking with 4.20. It was the highest score
compared to the level of confidence in critical thinking and misconception. It
indicates that the post graduate students did not have enough confidence in critical
thinking and preferred safe mode answer.

EFL Postgraduate Students’ Ability in Writing

Based on the content analysis, the EFL postgraduate students’ abilities in
writing are spread into five categories, namely exemplary, proficient, developing,
emerging, and not present. Then, the rubric of critical thinking, as described in the
Method section, was adapted by considering the reason why this framework can
function as a measuring tool for critical thinking skills implemented in the current
project through the students’ academic writing. In addition, the original rubric
consisted of some aspects needed in analyzing the students’ academic writing such
as Communication, Analysis, Problem-Solving, Evaluation, Synthesis, and Reflection,
but the aspect of critical thinking in terms of reflection was removed because it was
not appropriate to analyze the research methodology section. Those aspects of
critical thinking related to the intrinsic or extrinsic aspects had been applied to this
recent study.
In the following, Table 5 presents the result of the content analysis of the EFL
postgraduate students in writing research methodology:
Table 5. EFL Postgraduate Students’ Performance on Critical Thinking

Performance Exemplary Proficient Developing Emerging Not Present

Critical Thinking
Skills
Respondents 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
Communication + + + + +
Analysis + + + + +
Problem Solving + + + + +
Evaluation + + + + +
Synthesis + + + + +

The analysis result found that five postgraduate students have diverse
tendencies in performing the critical thinking. The explanations are below:

45
Arima Azwati, Slamet Setiawan, Oikurema Purwati
EFL Postgraduate students’ Critical Thinking Beliefs
and Their Ability in Writing Research Methodology

Respondent 1 (R1)
The Communication skill of R1 was in the emerging level. R1 only provided
simple ways by stating the research design method only. Adding the reference after
the information about research methods' explanation did not make the statement
preferable because there was no the writers' argument. The statement of
communication or explanation R1 served “Qualitative study will be conducted in
finishing this research”. This statement should be followed by the writers’ argument
or logical thinking about the benefit of a qualitative method for his research, then
the writer can use references to support the argument. The Analysis skill was
shown in identifying the participants. R1 showed that he did not choose the
participants randomly; there was another sense which was taken into consideration
even though it was not explained in detail. The sample of writing “The participants
of this study were the nonnative-teachers and nonnative-students of certain secondary
schools. The use of non-native teacher as the participants is because both the teachers
and the students will share the similar politeness value.”
Then, another skill performed by R1 was Problem Solving which was on
proficient category. He determined that the technique used to collect the data was
appropriate and had been adjusted to the situation during the pandemic which was
carried out online. The writer did not use one online platform only, but several
online platforms that were accessible for the participants. Next, the performance of
Evaluation, R1 was on developing. He was less in-depth evaluation and detail in
giving information to the readers. The performance included in synthesis skill was
found when he combined the data to answer the first research question, then
connected it into the data to answer the second research question. So, the data
obtained were sustainable to answer the research question.

Respondent 2 (R2)
Based on Table 5, R2 achieved the Proficiency level four of the core skills of
critical thinking. The Communication skills showed when the writer was able to
serve the information to the readers in the sequence where the writers' arguments
and ideas were supported by the references. R2 wrote “This study employs a
descriptive qualitative method that collects, analyzes, and interprets a comprehensive
narrative data……” then followed by the supporting sentences which contain the
reference. Then, in the ability of Analysis Skill, the respondent used logical
reasoning to decide an appropriate method for research design. The sample of
analysis “Hence, the method is applied in this study to find out the contributing factors
in the field of SLA that account for the transfer of collocation use in EFL students’
spoken productions”.
Another skill was Problem Solving which had been done by the researcher
as well. R2 anticipated the process of collecting data by finding another option. So,
the target of the data collection can be collected completely. The ability of
Evaluation was showed when the writer evaluated the criteria of the subject of the
research. The drawback was the writer evaluated and analyzed the condition of the

46
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

research setting without explaining the benefits or correlations for the research
study. In the performance of synthesizing skill, R2 was in the proficient category,
which means his ability in providing the information to the readers was good
enough. He was linking the crucial information to make the information easy to
understand. “During the time being of the pandemic, all classroom activities are done
remotely through online platforms. Therefore, the observation method will also be
conducted online by ……..”. Based on writings’ sample above, R2 indicated that he was
able to serve the information with a successive explanation.

Respondent 3 (R3)
The performance skills for critical thinking of the third student was
categorized on proficiency level. The performance of Communication was good. R3
explained the information systematically and succeeded in synthesizing the ideas
from the research question to the research design. Among four students, the
explanation about research design was done in detail by R3. She wrote, “This study
pays attention to the natural phenomenon that happens in the classroom so that
descriptive qualitative is elected as a suitable research design". The performance of
Analysis showed in the way she analyzes the benefits of choosing an English teacher
who taught English to Mentally Retarted students. R3 gave sequence information by
stating the case at the beginning and giving affirmation at the end. This is the sample
of analysis performance “Moreover, the subjects of this study involved one English
teacher who taught English for Mentally Retarded students.………. This is to make sure
that the teacher has enough experience in teaching”.
Next, the Evaluation skill took place when she wrote the ideas about how
the naturalistic approach should play in research. Then, Problem Solving was done
by R3 in deciding appropriate data and source of data to answer each research
question. She considered what kinds of data should be taken to get it rich and
efficient. R3 wrote “This study needs selection to determine the appropriate data to
answer two research questions. The first data is….., The second data for the second
research question is……..”. Then, in synthesis skill, she did well in explaining items'
function in each instrument where she combined the items' function of the
instrument and supported that statement with the references, which made the
information even more powerful. R3 also initiated to serve the table of research
methods to conclude the steps needed in conducting research methods for easy
understanding by the readers.

Respondent 4 (R4)
The lowest category of performance-critical thinking was obtained by R4.
The performance of Problem Solving and Synthesize could not be found in her
writing. Then, the performance of Communication, Analyze, and Evaluation was at
the emerging level. To give the information to the readers, R4 directly stated "This
research is the qualitative method" without creating another creative way to serve
the explanation for the readers better. Another performance on Analyses was
shown when she decided to participate in the study where the short statement was
presented like “The English pre-service teachers are the subject of this research”.

47
Arima Azwati, Slamet Setiawan, Oikurema Purwati
EFL Postgraduate students’ Critical Thinking Beliefs
and Their Ability in Writing Research Methodology

Another performance of Evaluation that she stated "Those institutions are chosen
because the lectures give the peers to provide the presenters feedback about their
performance". Among four postgraduate students, R4 has limited information to be
presented, starting from the research design, setting, subject, data, source of the
data, etc. The coherence among the paragraph and the unity of the ideas cannot be
found since R4 only wrote short statements/information in her writing.
Respondent 5 (R5)
To explain the reason for using a particular approach in the study, R5 was
good at serving the information to the readers. The performance of communication
skill was at a proficient level. R5 wrote the main ideas of using qualitative research,
followed by an explanation of why it was an effective approach for the study. This
was the example of the writing “Due to its emphasis, the qualitative research is
appropriate to describe teachers’ instruction which cover Higher Order Thinking Skill
(HOTS) in….” Then, the Analysis performance was on a developing level where it can
be found when she analyzed the criteria of the research subject she took. She stated
the criteria was as usual and some points also sound like personal opinions. This
was the samples’ writing which points out the personal opinion “While this study
prefers to the experienced teacher since the longer the teacher teach, the more
professional they are”.
Next, the performance of Problem-solving could not be found as a critical
thinking skill in her writing. There was no indication or statement which pointed
out to solve the problem. The performance of Evaluation skills appeared when R5
evaluated the time required for data collection to get the rich data. Short information
to explain the information made the evaluation skill’s performance develop. Then,
the example of short evaluation was “As the teaching and learning process is using
online learning platforms, the researcher will participate in the classroom and observe
the teaching process. It will occur four times in order to get completed data
observation”. Synthesize skill covered on the performance when R4 identified and
explained three stages for qualitative data analysis using references. The ability was
on a developing level because she could not correlate well between the main ideas
of the reference and her opinion to give logical information.

DISCUSSION
Confidence in critical thinking is the highest level of critical thinking belief
ability. Stupple et al. (2017) stated that confidence in critical thinking corresponded
with the ability to override one's convictions while thinking about the strength of
contention. In addition, Eardley et al. (2017) also suggests that postgraduate
students should be confident in critical thinking because they were designed around
three pillars namely knowledge, skills, and behaviors to direct them to be successful
in their studies. Unfortunately, the EFL postgraduate students in this study did not
show the ability of confidence in critical thinking. They were inclined toward the
level of valuing in critical thinking, which means that the EFL postgraduate students
still need guidance and more practice so their critical thinking ability can be formed
and implemented appropriately. Putri and Sulistyaningrum (2021) stated that
students must acquire higher-order thinking to help them adapt to the difficulties in

48
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

this global era such as global economic expansion, innovative progression,

globalization, etc. Thus, the EFL postgraduate students must increase their
capability to practice deep thinking in identifying, analyzing, evaluating, and
problem-solving.
In addition to critical thinking, the EFL postgraduate students also need to
improve their ability in academic writing. Vayyey (2010) stated that students should
be good at writing since it contributes to improving their competence in
communication. It means that the writers cannot not only communicate complex
viewpoints more effectively and structurally, but they can also practice their
persuasive ability to influence the readers about what they think. The writing
activity can increase students' productivity since it needs other supporting abilities
like reading, thinking, expanding the knowledge, and comparing one information
with another to find accurate and appropriate information. However, it would be
difficult to achieve if the students did not put in the effort to hone their skills. In fact,
Wahyuni and Inayati (2020) revealed that most of the students in their study had
difficulty generating the ideas on topic development, theoretical framework
identification, trusted source evaluation, research ideas, and relevant theory
connection, as well as problem and theory assessment.
Furthermore, Kotamjani et al. (2018) found that international postgraduate
students who graduated from non-English medium instruction universities should
be supported in terms of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), critical thinking
skills, and language-related skills to become self-directed in learning to write.
Regarding this research finding, the EFL postgraduate students also need the
guidance and motivation to synthesize, identify, and evaluate the information
needed to write well. Aydin and Baysan (2018) claimed that the most challenging
sections in writing RP were the section of "the introduction" and "literature review".
Additionally, Ratnadewi and Yunianti (2019) argued that the ability of students’
teacher critical thinking reached a high level in communication, analysis, and
synthesis skill. However, they were at a low level of reflection skills because they
were not accustomed to observing their analysis. Devira and Westin (2021)
discovered the ability of students’ critical review in academic writing were in an
unequal distribution of positive and negative evaluation, indicating that the students
were lack of confidence in criticizing the work of established scholars. However, this
current research also showed that EFL postgraduate students had difficulty in
writing a research methodology. The common obstacles are in analyzing, evaluating,
and synthesizing. Some of the EFL postgraduate students were good in problem-
solving. They were able to read the schema of what they needed in collecting data
so that all the data or information they targeted would be achieved well. The EFL
postgraduate students were not only good at problem-solving but also in
communicating to the readers in terms of providing relevant information. However,
they are weak in several aspects, such as analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing.
They still need guidance and more practice to improve their ability.

CONCLUSION
This research focused on the level of EFL postgraduate students’ critical
thinking beliefs and the quality of their writing, particularly in research
methodology. The findings of this study showed that the EFL postgraduate students’

49
Arima Azwati, Slamet Setiawan, Oikurema Purwati
EFL Postgraduate students’ Critical Thinking Beliefs
and Their Ability in Writing Research Methodology

critical thinking beliefs were on the level of valuing in critical thinking and less on
confidence in critical thinking. The level of valuing in critical thinking meant the EFL
postgraduate students admitted that critical thinking is an essential ability they
should master, yet, they cannot implement it consistently either for their studies or
social problem in their daily life. The result of the content analysis of writing
research methodology varies widely. Some students were proficient in
communication and problem-solving, while some others were not. Synthesis
abilities became the low achievement of the students' skills in writing.
This study has a limited scope in terms of participants because it involved
only postgraduate students in the same university and study program, namely the
postgraduate students of English Language Education Department. Other than that,
the critical thinking belief can be combined with other basic language skills such as
reading, speaking, or listening to identify to what extent the performance of critical
thinking belief can affect the language skills. Since the study focuses on the
postgraduate students' critical thinking beliefs, it is possible for the future research
to add interview as a data collection technique to get additional data about
perceptions or feelings in applying critical thinking, including difficulties, confusion,
or convenience. In addition, another field, such as the final project in students'
analysis or reflection, can also be used to obtain data related to the performance of
the critical thinking skills.

References
Allison, D., Cooley, L., Lewkowicz, J., & Nunan, D. (1998). Dissertation writing in
action: The development of a dissertation writing support program for ESL
graduate research students. English for Specific Purposes, 17(2), 199–217.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0889-4906(97)00011-2
Angeli, C., & Valanides, N. (2009). Instructional effects on critical thinking:
Performance on ill-defined issues. Learning and Instruction, 19(4), 322–334.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2008.06.010
Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., & Sorensen, C. (2010). Introduction to research in education.
Wadworth: Cengage Learning.
Aydin, G., & Baysan, S. (2018). Perceptions of postgraduate students on academic
writing skills: A metaphor analysis study. Journal of Language and Linguistic
Studies, 14(2), 212–239.
Butterworth, J., & Thwaites, G. (2013). Thinking skills: Critical thinking and problem
solving (second edi). Cambridge University Press.
College, S. P. (2011). Assessment rubric for critical thinking assessment (ARC): Third
scoring session workshop summary.pdf. Academic Effectiveness and
Assessment, 1–30.
Devira, M., & Westin, E. (2021). A genre and appraisal analysis of critical review texts
in academic writing from a systemic functional linguistic perspective. Journal of
Research in Applied Linguistics, 12(2), 22–36.
https://doi.org/10.22055/RALS.2021.17007
Maheshwari, P. (2017). Sampling techniques in quantitative research. Retrieved from
http://www.vkmaheshwari.com/WP/?p=2455#:~:text=Probability methods
include random sampling,sampling error can be calculated.
Dyan. V. L. (2010). Improving Writing Skill through Guided Writing (A Classroom

50
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Action Research at the Third Year of SMU Negeri I Karanganyar). Unpublished

Thesis, Sebelas Maret University. Retrieved from
https://digilib.uns.ac.id/dokumen/download/14398/MjkyMTA=/Improving-
writing-skill-hrough-guided-writing-a-classroom-action-research-at-the-
third-year-of-SMU-Negeri-I-Karanganyar-in-the-Academic-Year-of-20092010-
abstrak.pdf
Eardley, I., Reisman, Y., Goldstein, S., Kramer, A., Dean, J., & Coleman, E. (2017).
Existing and future educational needs in graduate and postgraduate education.
Journal of Sexual Medicine, 14(4), 475–485.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2017.01.014
Hanim Rahmat, N., Aripin, N., Maizura Lin, N., Whanchit, W., & Khairuddin, Z. (2020).
Exploring the connection between critical thinking skills and academic writing.
International Journal of Asian Social Science, 10(2), 118–128.
https://doi.org/10.18488/journal.1.2020.102.118.128
Haseli, Z., & Rezaii, F. (2013). The effect of teaching critical thinking on educational
achievement and test anxiety among junior high school students in Saveh.
European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 2(2), 168–175.
http://www.european-science.com168
Igwenagu, C. (2016). Fundamentals of research methodology and data collection.
LAP Lambert Academic Publishing, June, 4.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303381524_Fundamentals_of_res
earch_methodology_and_data_collection
Indah, R. N. (2017). Critical thinking, writing performance and topic familiarity of
Indonesian EFL learners. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 8(2), 229.
https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.0802.04
Kotamjani, S. S., Samad, A. A., & Fahimirad, M. (2018). International postgraduate
students’ perception of challenges in academic writing in Malaysian public
universities. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature,
7(7), 191. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.7n.7p.191
Kumar, R., & Refaei, B. (2017). Problem-based learning pedagogy fosters students’
critical thinking about writing. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based
Learning, 11(2), 5–10. https://doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1670
Marlina, L. (2012). Learning english as foreign language in Indonesia through
english children’s literature. International Journal of Literacies, 19(4), 41–51.
https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-0136/cgp/v19i04/48801
Mbato, C. L. (2019). Indonesian EFL learners’ critical thinking in reading: Bridging
the gap between declarative, procedural and conditional knowledge. Jurnal
Humaniora, 31(1), 92. https://doi.org/10.22146/jh.v31i1.37295
Philips J. C. (2013). Contents of a good research proposal. 7–8.
https://www.msm.nl/IManager/MediaLink/935/89617/14423/1841061/
Putri, R. N., & Sulistyaningrum, S. D. (2021). Incorporating higher-order thinking
skills in English lesson plans for senior high school. Celtic: A Journal of Culture,
English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, 8(2), 164–176.
https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v8i2.18330
Rahmawati, A. (2018). EFL students’ critical thinking in speaking activities: A
descriptive study at English Conversation Club (ECC) in SMAN 1 Maja. Journal
of English Language Learning (JELL), Vol.2 No.2, 17-34, 2(2), 17–34.

51
Arima Azwati, Slamet Setiawan, Oikurema Purwati
EFL Postgraduate students’ Critical Thinking Beliefs
and Their Ability in Writing Research Methodology

Ratnadewi, D., & Yunianti, S. (2019). Indonesian student teachers’ critical thinking
skills in text analysis with CDA approach. Humanities and Social Sciences
Reviews, 7(3), 424–431. https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2019.7362
Sabu, V., & Vernandes, B. (2019). An analysis of student’s critical thinking skills in
writing argumentative essay. Vivid: Journal of Language and Literature, 8(2),
59–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.25077/vj.8.2.59-69.2019
Salahshoor, N., & Rafiee, M. (2016). The relationship between critical thinking and
gender: A case of Iranian EFL Learners. Journal of Applied Linguistics and
Language Research, 3(2), 117–123.
Shorten, A., & Smith, J. (2017). Mixed methods research: Expanding the evidence
base. Evidence-Based Nursing, 20(3), 74–75. https://doi.org/10.1136/eb-2017-
102699
Strakov, Z., & Cimermanov, I. (2018). Critical thinking development: A necessary step
in higher education transformation towards sustainability.
https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103366
Straková, Z., & Cimermanová, I. (2018). Critical thinking development: A necessary
step in higher education transformation towards sustainability. Sustainability
(Switzerland), 10(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103366
Stupple, E. J. N., Maratos, F. A., Elander, J., Hunt, T. E., Cheung, K. Y. F., & Aubeeluck,
A. V. (2017). Development of the Critical Thinking Toolkit (CriTT): A measure
of student attitudes and beliefs about critical thinking. Thinking Skills and
Creativity, 23, 91–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2016.11.007
Sulistiyo, U. (2016). Learning English as a foreign language in an Indonesian
University: a study of non-English department students’ preferred activities
inside and outside the classroom. IJET (Indonesian Journal of English Teaching),
5(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.15642/ijet2.2016.5.1.1-26
Wahyuni, S. E., & Inayati, N. (2020). The problems of generating ideas faced by
English language students in research proposal writing. PIONEER: Journal of
Language and Literature, 12(2), 88.
https://doi.org/10.36841/pioneer.v12i2.633
Wijayanti, Sutarsyah, C., & Huzairin. (2015). The correlation between students’
critical thinking and their reading comprehension ability. Doctoral Dissertation,
FKIP, 1–9. Retrieved from https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/291529929.pdf
Yamin, M., & Purwati, O. (2020). Enhancing critical writing towards undergraduate
students in conducting research proposal. Arab World English Journal, 11(2),
142–153. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol11no2.10

52
 53

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS

THROUGH CLIL IN TOURIST GUIDING ONLINE
CLASS

1Novitasari*, 1Noverita Wahyuningsih, 1Hiqma Nur Agustina

Politeknik Negeri Malang, Indonesia

ABSTRACT
Tourist Guiding is a compulsory subject that aims to prepare students to
be a prospective Tour Guide (TG) with excellent English mastery,
especially speaking. Two-year observation showed that the students have
the low ability in speaking skills. They did not speak fluently because they
lacked knowledge and vocabulary in tourist guiding. This study was a
Classroom Action Research (CAR) which was carried out by implementing
Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), as a dual-educational
approach that uses additional languages to learn and teach both content
and language, in an online Tourist Guiding class. Participated by 28
E-ISSN: 2621-9158 students, this research followed stages of CAR. Additionally, pre-test and
P-ISSN:2356-0401 post-test were conducted to investigate students’ different performances
before and after CLIL was implemented, while questionnaires were
*Correspondence: distributed to obtain the data about the students’ voices about CLIL
[email protected] implementation. The findings revealed that the quality of teaching and
learning in the Tourist Guiding class improved after the implementation
of CLIL. In addition, CLIL could enhance both students’ language skills
Submitted: 14 April 2022
Approved: 21 June 2022 (especially speaking) and tourist guiding competency. Teachers should
Published: 27 June 2022 both understand the subject content very well and have a very good
mastery of English so that CLIL can be implemented successfully.
Citation:
Novitasari, Wahyuningsih, N., & Keywords: CLIL, speaking, Tourist Guiding
Agustina, H.N. (2021). Improving
students speaking skills through ABSTRAK
CLIL in tourist guiding online class. Tourist Guiding merupakan mata kuliah wajib yang bertujuan untuk
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English
mempersiapkan mahasiswa menjadi calon pemandu wisata dengan
Language Teaching, Literature and
Linguistics, 9(1), 53-68. Doi: penguasaan bahasa Inggris yang sangat baik, terutama berbicara.
10.22219/celtic.v9i1.20903 Observasi yang dilakukan selama 2 tahun di kelas menunjukkan bahwa
mahasiswa mempunya kemampuan berbicara yang rendah dalam bahasa
Inggris. Mereka tidak bisa berbicara dengan lancar karena kurangnya
penguasaan pengetahuan dan kosa kata di bidang pemanduan wisata.
Penelitian Tindakan Kelas ini mengimplementasikan Content and
Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), pembelajaran dengan fokus ganda
yaitu pada pengetahuan dan bahasa, pada pada kelas Tourist Guiding
dalam jaringan (daring). Dengan melibatkan 28 mahasiswa, penelitian ini
menggunakan pre-test dan post-test untuk mengetahui perbedaan hasil
belajar sebelum dan sesudah penerapan CLIL. Selanjutnya kuisioner
dibagikan kepada mahasiswa untuk mngetahui kesan mahasiswa dengan
implentasi CLIL. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa penerapan CLIL
dapat meningkatkan kualitas belajar mengajar di kelas Tourist Guiding.
Selain itu, hasil dari penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pendekatan CLIL
dapat meningkatkan kemampuan bahasa mahasiswa (terutama
berbicara) dan kompetensi pemanduan wisata. Guru harus memahami
konten dan menguasai bahasa Inggris dengan sangat baik sehingga CLIL
dapat diterapkan dengan sukses.

Kata Kunci: CLIL, berbicara, pemanduan wisata

Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index
Novitasari, Noverita Wahyuningsih, Hiqma Nur Agustina

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH CLIL IN TOURIST GUIDING ONLINE CLASS

INTRODUCTION
The travel and tourism industry has become the most important sector of the
world economy. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) defines
tourism as the activities of people who have been out of the normal environment for
leisure, business, or other purposes and have not been there for over a year.
Tourism activities have contributed high income to the countries from money spent
by visitors. Stauberg (2011) stated that tourism is one of the fastest-growing
industries in the world and is an important source of employment in both high-
income and developing countries. Hence, tourism must be taken seriously to
produce high-qualified workers.
Many kinds of occupations or professions play an important part in the
tourism industry, one of which is a Tour Guide (TG). Ratminingsih et al. (2018)
believed that the role of TGs in tourism cannot be separated. A TG is a person who
is responsible to guide a tour and give some information about the tourist
destinations to the visitors. According to Kristiana et al. (2018), a TG is someone
who has passed a professional examination certificate from an official tourism
agency or institution and has an identification card or badge, allowing him/her to
organize travel guidance and provide information about culture, natural resources,
and the aspirations of life of residents of an area, either individually or in a group. A
TG must be able to communicate and master the information in tourist attractions
very well. With the development of international travel nowadays, English as an
international language has become increasingly fundamental in the tourism
industry to make a visit insightful and comfortable. The development of the tourism
sector in Indonesia should be accompanied by the development of tourism
competencies, one of which is English proficiency for tourism practitioners
(Suprayogi & Pranoto, 2020)
Having foreign language skills is an important requirement for TGs because
they will often meet foreign tourists. All tourist guides should get ready and be
prepared to increase tourists’ satisfaction. The experience of tourists must be
enhanced by having qualified tourist guides. A good TG will establish a better
interpretation of knowledge transfer to tourists so they will have an unforgettable
experience. Harpe and Sevenhuysen (2018) affirmed that tourists desire an
engaging experience both physically and intellectually. Foreign languages that must
be mastered by a TG are English and other languages that can help including
Chinese, Japanese, and French. A TG can serve as a 'cultural broker,' bridging
language hurdles and explaining local culture to curious visitors (Holloway et al.,
2009). Rabotić (2010) also mentioned that the role of professional guides consists
of two components: social and cultural mediation. Tourist guides provide
information and interpret the local heritage, vibrant culture, and socio-cultural
identity of a destination and therefore represent cultural mediators. They also serve
as intermediaries who give tourists access to tourist attractions and deliver
information and knowledge about the destinations. Therefore, lectures are expected
to get the students ready to speak in English in the real world outside the classroom.
It is the educators' job to enhance students to high-quality and suitable
professionalism (Sheldon & Fesenmaier, 2015). The educational program and
course should offer the necessary knowledge and allow more practices to establish

54
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. X, No. X, June 2021
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

a high quality of prospective employees in the tourism industry. Liu and Schänzel
(2019) mentioned that the tourism industry needs well-prepared workers. Hence,
universities have a significant role to prepare students to be ready to work in the
future
Tourist guiding is one of the compulsory subjects at D3 English for Translation
and Hospitality Industry. The objective of this subject is to accommodate students
with guiding skills and speaking skills so they will be good tourist guides for English-
speaking tourists. Speaking is often considered the most important skill needed in
the tourism and hospitality industry. Having good speaking skills allows students to
communicate effectively and it becomes an essential qualification in the tourism
industry. Saragih et al., (2022) stated that students must master good
communication skills to be employable in the future. Therefore, students' speaking
skills are given much attention and portion. Afrizal (2015) stated that students are
required to be able to communicate effectively in a variety of circumstances in order
to transmit information, thoughts, and feelings while also building social
relationships. Lumbangaol and Mazali (2020) stated that mastering speaking skills
are necessary because students will be able to communicate with others, deliver
thoughts, exchange information, express their emotions, and give an opinion to
other people. Argonawan and Ma’mun (2021) also state that students who have
good speaking skills will be better at expressing and delivering information in the
working field.
Despite its importance, the teaching of speaking has several challenges and the
teaching of speaking tends to be involving activities such as only repetition of drills
or memorization of dialogues. Afrizal (2015) found that conventional teaching
method like translating and memorizing conversation is still applied in speaking
class so that students have low ability in speaking. The researcher also found some
problems faced in tourist guiding class. Based on the pre-test conducted in the
tourist guiding class, the students got low scores. In addition, based on the
observations conducted in Tourist Guiding classes in the past two years, the
researchers found some issues related to the teaching process. Many of the students
have the low ability in speaking skills. They did not feel confident when they were
asked to perform a guiding task in English. They did not speak fluently because they
lack vocabulary and did not master some specific English terms in guiding. They also
did not have enough knowledge about the (historical, cultural, and technical)
contents of performing a tourist guide.
Teachers must prepare the students to be able to speak English very well in
real situations. The students in tourist guiding class need a teaching approach that
can accommodate them to learn language and subject area at the same time. Hence,
this study implemented CLIL to improve students’ speaking skills. CLIL is an
educational approach with a dual-focus objective that has some particular features
in which an extra language is used for learning and teaching. In using CLIL, the focus
is on both content and language (Mehisto et al., 2008). This CLIL approach concerns
with two learning goals, namely content and language. Mukminatien et al. (2020)
also stated that CLIL allows students to study language while also learning their
topic area expertise. It is believed that CLIL gives the students opportunity to learn
content and language of the subject at the same time.

55
Novitasari, Noverita Wahyuningsih, Hiqma Nur Agustina

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH CLIL IN TOURIST GUIDING ONLINE CLASS

Hanesova (2014) studied the development of critical and creative thinking

skills in CLIL. She put forward the idea that CLIL courses might be a good
opportunity for schools to implement effective, efficient, activating ways of learning
which aim for the development of both critical and creative thinking skills in the
context of a specific subject as well as of communicative language skills. Based on
her research, she emphasized that the idea of CLIL methodology focused on learners.
Integrating content knowledge as well as language skills are not merely an illusion
but rather a feasible option for schools.
Coyle (2005) described CLIL as an educational strategy that uses various
language-supportive methodologies which leads to a dual-focus form of instruction
where both the language and the content are the centre point. This CLIL approach is
concerned with three learning goals, namely content, language, and learning skills.
By covering these three goals, one of the important benefits of CLIL is that CLIL can
foster creative and critical thinking. Hapsari (2016) believed that CLIL can be an
innovative approach which integrates both language and content. CLIL gives
advantage to develop students' higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and problem-
solving ability which add to Indonesian students' competitive values in the global
market.
For the students, teachers, and schools, the implementation of CLIL is
beneficial (Dale et al., 2012). There are advantages of implementing CLIL, such as
increasing the students’ learning motivation, cognitive ability because their brains
work harder, and communication skills. It also encourages whole school
development and innovation as a result of the CLIL teachers’ enthusiasm to think
and discuss learning, curriculum development, and materials. In this study, CLIL is
applied to improve students' speaking skills in tourist guiding class by reinforcing
content and language mastery. By having good mastery of content and speaking
skills, students will be able to get jobs easily and can serve better in their working
field, especially in the travel and tourism industry.

METHOD
This research is a Classroom Action Research (CAR), as Burns (2009) argued
that action research is a self-analytical, systematic, and evaluative approach to an
enquiry by participants who are involved in the research community. It aims to
identify the particular issue and is conducted to make changes. This research aims
to improve students' speaking skills in Tourist Guiding class. The research setting
was in D3 English for Translation and Hospitality Industry especially in Tourist
Guiding Class from 15 February to 7 May 2021. The teaching process was done
online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 28 participants of the research were the
students of Tourist Guiding in class 2C.
Burns (2009) mentioned that CAR involves four stages; namely, planning,
acting, observing, and reflecting. Kemmis et al., (2014) stated that action research is
a self-reflective spiral of cycles of planning, acting and observing, reflecting, and then
replanning in a series of improvement cycles. This study also implemented four
stages in a cycle which consist of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. In the
planning phase, the researchers analyzed the problem or situation and prepared an
instrument to collect data. In the action step, the researchers planned the action to
solve the problem. This step includes the preparation of the lesson plan, materials,

56
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. X, No. X, June 2021
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

and method for teaching the students. Additionally, this research used some
techniques to obtain both qualitative and quantitative data. The techniques are:
1. Conducting Pre-test and Post-test
This research used tests to measure the students’ improvement in their speaking.
The students were asked to perform their speaking skills in guiding. There were two
types of tests used; a pre-test to find out students’ speaking ability before the
implementation of the actions, and a post-test to measure their speaking skills
improvement after the implementation. The results of the tests were evaluated by
both the researchers and collaborator to propose the next action and draw the
conclusion of the research.
2. Observing the classroom
The observation was carried out to observe and document the CLIL implantation of
the action in the class. The objects of observing were all sequences of the
implementation process including the situation in the class, the interaction between
teacher and students, students’ activities and involvement, and the problems or
obstacles found in the class. The collaborator as the observers also gave notes
through an observation checklist and field notes.
3. Distributing questionnaire
The questionnaire was used to collect students' responses to the CLIL
implementation. From the result of the questionnaire, the researchers evaluated the
actions and drew conclusions. As the problems were already solved in one cycle, it
was not necessary to conduct the next cycle.
Data of this research consist of quantitative and qualitative data. The
quantitative data were obtained from the result of tests and close-ended
questionnaire, while qualitative data were acquired from the result of observation
and open-ended questionnaire. While the quantitative data were analyzed using
statistic descriptive and presented in the percentage table, the qualitative data were
analyzed using qualitative descriptive.
For trustworthiness this research employed triangulation. Triangulation
means using two or more methods for collecting data to get a comprehensive
understanding of the issue and increase the validity and credibility of research
findings. The action is stopped after fulfilling the criteria of success. Criteria of
success are determined by whether the student succeeds or not. Affective and
cognitive aspects were used to determine the criteria of success in this study.
1) Affective
It is about 75% of students who are actively involved in learning. They are motivated
to follow all the activities in the class. They also enjoy and give positive responses
toward the implementation of CLIL
2) Cognitive
The students are able to improve their speaking skills. The mean score after
implementing CLIL is at least 75

FINDINGS
The data of this study were derived from tests result, observation checklist,
field notes, and questionnaires result. The result of tests showed an improvement in
the students' speaking skills in guiding. Field notes and the observation checklist
described students’ involvement and activities in the teaching and learning process.

57
Novitasari, Noverita Wahyuningsih, Hiqma Nur Agustina

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH CLIL IN TOURIST GUIDING ONLINE CLASS

The questionnaires’ results revealed the students’ positive perception after CLIL
was implemented and also suggested positive impacts on students’ motivation in
using CLIL. In implementing CLIL, the researchers also found the effectiveness of
this approach in the classroom to improve speaking skills which can be seen from
every stage of the cycle. The stages of AR cover planning, implementing the action,
observing, and then reflecting on the action which can be described as follows.
1. Planning
In this stage, the instruments were prepared before implementing the action,
such as lesson plans, the material used in implementing the action, supporting
media, and also pre-test and post-test to measure the improvement of students’
skills in speaking performance.
Before CLIL was implemented, the researchers conducted a pre-test to find out
to what extent students' mastery of materials that were taught. The students should
perform as TGs, explaining about Malang. There were 28 students who joined the
pre-test. From the pre-test, the students’ mean score was 64.03. The following is the
detailed score of the pre-test results.

Table 1. The Result of Pre-Test

NO Students CONTENT LANGUAGE DELIVERY CREATIVITY TOTAL

(30%) (30%) (30%) (10%)
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1 S1 3 3 3 2 73
2 S2 3 3 3 3 75
3 S3 3 2 3 2 65
4 S4 2 3 3 2 65
5 S5 3 3 3 2 73
6 S6 3 3 2 3 68
7 S7 3 3 3 2 73
8 S8 3 3 3 2 73
9 S9 3 3 3 3 75
10 S10 3 3 3 3 75
11 S11 2 3 2 1 55
12 S12 2 2 2 2 50
13 S13 2 3 2 1 55
14 S14 3 3 3 3 75
15 S15 3 3 3 2 73
16 S16 2 2 2 2 50
17 S17 3 2 1 1 48
18 S18 2 3 3 2 65
19 S19 3 2 2 1 55
20 S20 2 3 3 2 65
21 S21 3 3 2 2 65
22 S22 3 2 2 2 58
23 S23 3 2 2 2 58

58
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. X, No. X, June 2021
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

24 S24 2 3 3 2 65
25 S25 2 3 3 2 65
26 S26 3 2 3 2 65
27 S27 3 2 2 2 58
28 S28 3 2 2 2 58
Total Score 1793
Mean 64.03

1793 (Total Score of Students)

Mean = = 64.03
28 (Total Numbers of Students)

2. Acting
The second stage was implementing the action. The researchers followed the
series of action as planned in the lesson plan. In this stage, the researcher applied
CLIL in teaching online Tourist Guiding class. This action stage involved the
implementation of several CLIL activities in the teaching-learning process to
support creative and critical thinking in CLIL. The activities include comparing,
triggering, and role-playing. These three activities were adopted from Mehisto et al.,
(2008). In each of those activities, the teacher tried to always make it more student-
centred, although there were some parts which required explanation and further
instructions. The role of the teacher was as the facilitator to give more opportunities
for students to perform their English-speaking skills. The students were expected to
be actively involved in the teaching-learning.
In the Acting stage, each of the three activities was described further below,
and each of them involved some aspects, such as the aims of the activity, the
language focus of the lesson, and the procedures of the lesson. The procedures
included three parts, namely; warm-up, steps, and follow up.

Comparing
The aims of the lesson cover the aim regarding the content, the language, and
the learning skills. Regarding the language, the aim was to understand appropriate
expressions and conjunctions used for welcoming visitors. In terms of content, the
lesson aimed to know the essential components of welcoming tourists that a Tour
Leader (TL) should remember. Related to learning skills, the lesson aimed to
compare and contrast, to identify similarities and differences of 3 (three) ways of
welcoming tourists from 3 different video clips by using a checklist handout.
The language focus of the Comparing technique is (a) the use of conjunctions
both...and… to express similarity and however and but to express contrast; (b) the
use of some verbs that are commonly used by a TG or a TL in welcoming tourists;
and (c) the introduction of some vocabulary which are related to welcoming
tourists. Some of those verbs and vocabulary include introducing bus crew, informing
some reminders, making a headcount, pointing using the palm, mentioning rules and
regulations, raising a flag, blowing a whistle, saying good wishes, etc.
The procedures of implementing CLIL by using comparing activity comprises
three parts: the warm-up, the steps, and the follow-up. In the warm-up, the students

59
Novitasari, Noverita Wahyuningsih, Hiqma Nur Agustina

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH CLIL IN TOURIST GUIDING ONLINE CLASS

were asked to fill in word bubbles with any words that come into their minds when
they heard the word TOUR, and then explained the relationship of each of those
particular words with the tour. Meanwhile, the steps of the activities were as
follows:
a. The teacher provided a handout of the procedure in welcoming tourists in
random order and then elicited students’ opinions about what the correct
order could be.
b. The teacher informed that the students were to watch 3 (three) different
video clips and to observe the similarities and differences of the essential
components of welcoming tourists that they could observe in the video clips.
c. Using the checklist provided in the handout, the students mentioned the
similarities and differences. Then, together with the students, the teachers
discussed the correct answer to Task 1.
d. The students were asked to continue with Task 2, observe non-verbal
communication that a TL/TG used in the video clips, and compare among the
three. Then, together with the students, the teachers discussed the correct
answer to Task 2.
As a follow-up, the teachers challenged the students to perform a short
presentation by employing those nonverbal communications to
support/compliment the verbal language.

Triggering
Triggering is something that sets off another thought or an event. The aims
of the lesson cover the aim regarding the content, the language, and the learning
skills. Regarding the language, the aim was to understand appropriate expressions
and adjectives used for describing a tourist attraction spot/object in a bus tour. In
terms of content, the lesson aimed to know the important elements of describing a
tourist attraction spot/object that a TG should mention in a bus tour. Related to
learning skills, the lesson aimed to describe a tourist attraction spot/object in a bus
tour in an interesting way based on clues and triggers.
Moreover, the language focused of the lesson were (a) the use of adjectives
to modify and strengthen information about a tourist attraction spot; and (b) the use
of passive construction to describe a tourist attraction spot in a bus tour. Some of
the expressions were those such as:

On the left, you can see...

On your right, there is…
We are now approaching...

The procedures of the Triggering were divided into three sessions: the
warm-up, the steps, and the follow-up. In the warm-up, the teachers conducted a
communication game namely Dos and Don’ts. The teachers mentioned a statement
that was related to tips to be a good TG, and the students decided whether the
statement was a Do or a Don’t. If it was a Do, then the students were to raise their
hands and shake them happily; whereas if it was a Don’t, then the students were to
shrug and turn their shoulders.
Meanwhile, the steps of the activities were as follows.

60
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. X, No. X, June 2021
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

a. The teacher inductively discussed some characteristics that made a good TG

according to the statements that were mentioned in the warm-up session.
This was carried out by asking the students to recall and make a list of the
characteristics.
b. Next, the teacher introduced some adjectives that were useful for describing
a tourist attraction spot/object. The students were triggered to produce
appropriate adjectives by using an initial letter of the adjective.
c. The teacher provided a picture and some clues about a particular tourist
attraction (in the world, and especially in Malang). The clues could be some
facts about the tourism spot/object.
d. The students were asked to describe the tourist attraction spot/object based
on the picture and clues as a trigger.
As a follow-up, the students were asked to perform a pair work activity about
describing a tourist spot in a bus tour. Student A provided a clue, student B described
the spot.

Role-Playing
Roleplaying here refers to thinking like someone else and communicating
and acting as that person would. The aims of the lesson cover the content, the
language, and the learning skills. Regarding the language, the aim was to understand
polite expressions and imperatives used for transferring in. In terms of content, the
lesson aimed to know the important procedures of transferring that a TG should
remember. Related to learning skills, the lesson aimed to play a simulation with the
role of a TG doing a transfer-in from the airport to the hotel.
The language focuses of the Role-playing technique were (a) the use of
transition signals in the tourist guiding presentation; and (b) the use of past tense
in describing history or historical facts.
The procedures of the Role-playing were divided into three sessions: the
warm-up, the steps, and the follow-up. In the warm-up, the teacher conducted a
matching game, in which she mentioned a description of a particular
term/vocabulary related to the airport, and the students guessed what the term
was. The Steps of the Role-playing technique consisted of 3 parts - at the start,
during the tour, and at the end. At the start, the teacher asked the students to watch
an example presentation of a TG in a video, then she asked them to play the role of
a professional TG. The student as a TG firstly welcomed the passenger and
introduced him/herself and the driver as well as the bus crew. Then, he/she briefly
explained the tour and some highlights. Next, s/he made sure that all passengers
were safe and comfortable.
During the tour, the TG should do the following activities. He or she made a
series of short talks simulating the transfer-in, from the airport until they arrived at
the hotel. At the end of the tour, before the TG thanked the passengers and wished
them a pleasant evening, he or she conducted a quick evaluation of the tour, asking
the passengers things that they liked during the tour and things that they thought
still needed to be improved.
As a follow-up, the teacher asked the students to make peer evaluations and
give constructive comments on their friends’ presentations as a TG. The students
were then given a take-home assignment to make a video recording of them doing a

61
Novitasari, Noverita Wahyuningsih, Hiqma Nur Agustina

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH CLIL IN TOURIST GUIDING ONLINE CLASS

transfer-in from the airport to the hotel, by using the procedures that have been
discussed.

3. Observing
The third stage of the AR was observing the action. Observation data were
collected using observation checklist. The collaborator observed students' and
teachers' activities during the teaching and learning process when CLIL was
implemented. Then, she gave a score for students' activities while the students were
having material from the teacher. The collaborator also gave a score of the teacher’s
activities in managing the teaching and learning process. The result of the
observation can be shown in the table below.
Table 2. Students’ Activity Checklist
No Activities Level
1 2 3 4
1. Students pay attention to the teacher’s v 3
explanation
2. Students give responses to teacher questions v 4
3. Students actively involved in the discussion v 4
4. Students do their tasks based on the teacher’s v 3
instruction
5. Students present their speaking performance v 4
Total Score 18
Mean 3.6

Table 3. Description of Checklist

Valuation Categories
1 very poor
2 poor
3 good
4 very good

From the table, it can be seen that many students took good participation in
the teaching and learning process. Based on the result of the observation, they paid
attention and gave a response to the teacher. They also did and presented the task
based on the teacher's instruction.

Table 4. Teacher’s Activity Checklist

No Activities Level
1 2 3 4
1. The teacher gives warming up at the beginning of class v 4
2. The teacher encourages students to be actively involved in the v 4
learning process
3. The teacher gives the instructions clearly v 4
4. The teacher manages the class very well v 3
5. The teacher summarizes the material at the end of class v 4
Total Score 19
Mean 3.8

62
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. X, No. X, June 2021
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Table 5. Description of Checklist

Valuation Categories
1 very poor
2 poor
3 good
4 very good
From the table, it can be concluded that the teacher was good at delivering the
material. She could encourage the students to be active and manage the class even
though it was online.

4. Reflecting
In this phase, the researcher evaluated the actions and drew conclusions about
what needed to do in the next cycle. The instruments used to collect information
about the improvement were obtained from questionnaires and tests. The following
is the result of the questionnaire distributed after the implementation.
Table 6. The Result of the Questionnaire
No Statements Percentage (%)
1 2 3 4 5
1. I enjoyed the lesson about Transfer In and Transfer Out 6.3 21.9 71.9
2. I was given adequate time and opportunities to sharpen my 3.1 25 71.9
observing/observation skills
3. I was given the chance to work and collaborate with other 9.4 15.6 75
students
4. I was allowed to take active participation in the learning 6.3 25 68.8
process
5. I can improve my (English) language for Tourist Guiding after 6.3 18.8 75
attending the lesson
6. I can improve my knowledge of Tourist Guiding procedure 15.6 84.4
after attending the lesson
7. I learn new skills after attending the lesson 3.1 18.8 78.1

Table 7. Description of Questionnaire

Valuation Categories
1 Very disagree
2 Disagree
3 Neither agree nor disagree
4 Agree
5 Very agree
From the table, it can be seen that most of the students enjoyed the lesson,
were actively involved in the teaching process, and gained knowledge and skills in
guiding. The researcher also got some feedback from open-ended questionnaire
about students' attitudes toward the implementation of CLIL. Most of them gave a
positive attitude when CLIL was implemented in the tourist guiding class. These are
some of the students' feedback:

“I enjoy the lesson about transfer in and transfer out” (S1)

“I like all of the things in this lesson today” (S2)
“I like the media and topic today. also, Ms. Ririet telling us about the experienced that
makes us inspired when she in Japan and Singapore” (S3)

63
Novitasari, Noverita Wahyuningsih, Hiqma Nur Agustina

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH CLIL IN TOURIST GUIDING ONLINE CLASS

“So far so good, there’s nothing that I don’t like because I really enjoy the lesson
today because I got lots of new things” (S4)
From the result of the questionnaire, it can be concluded that most students
were satisfied with the material given by the teacher. They enjoyed the lesson and
felt that their English and knowledge improved after attending the lesson. The
researcher also used tests to measure the improvement in students' speaking skills
performance after implementing CLIL. The result of the student's score can be seen
below:
Table 8. The Result of Post-Test
NO Students CONTENT LANGUAGE DELIVERY CREATIVITY TOTAL
(30%) (30%) (30%) (10%)
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
1 S1 4 3 3 3 83
2 S2 4 3 4 4 93
3 S3 4 2 3 3 75
4 S4 3 3 4 3 83
5 S5 4 3 3 3 83
6 S6 4 3 2 3 75
7 S7 4 4 3 3 90
8 S8 4 3 3 3 83
9 S9 4 3 4 4 93
10 S10 4 4 3 4 93
11 S11 3 3 3 2 73
12 S12 3 3 3 2 73
13 S13 3 3 2 3 68
14 S14 3 4 4 3 90
15 S15 4 3 3 3 83
16 S16 2 2 2 3 53
17 S17 3 2 3 3 68
18 S18 2 3 3 3 68
19 S19 3 3 3 3 75
20 S20 2 3 3 3 68
21 S21 3 3 3 3 75
22 S22 3 3 3 2 73
23 S23 3 2 3 2 65
24 S24 2 3 3 2 65
25 S25 4 3 3 2 80
26 S26 3 2 3 3 68
27 S27 4 2 2 2 65
28 S28 3 3 3 3 75
Total Score 2128
Mean 76

64
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. X, No. X, June 2021
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

2128 (Total Score of Students)

Mean = = 76
28 (Total Numbers of Students)

Based on the result of the post-test in the cycle, it is clear that the mean of
students’ score is 76 so it has improved compared to the result of the pre-test which
has the mean score of only 64. Therefore, from the analysis of students' test result
in the cycle, it can be said that the mean score was better than the previous one.
There was an improvement in the cycle. The researchers concluded that the
problems have been solved by using CLIL in one cycle so that it is not necessary to
conduct the next cycle. The principle of CAR is to take "therapeutic" actions on the
result of the initial reflection that is considered "sick". The action starts from
planning, implementation, and reflection (which in CAR is called a "cycle"). If once
treatment has produced good results in accordance with the target, the next cycle is
not required as Burns (2010) stated that when action researchers are satisfied with
the result, they can decide to stop. Therefore, the cycle in this study can be stopped
in one cycle because it has already met the criteria of success.

DISCUSSION
After analyzing the whole research findings, it is clear that CLIL is very
significant for teaching speaking. Moreover, the students’ speaking skills have
improved by implementing this approach. They were confident, actively involved,
and also enthusiastic in the teaching process. Delliou and Zafiri (2016) conducted
action research on developing the speaking skills of students through CLIL. The
findings of their research indicated a positive impact of CLIL on the development of
the speaking skills of the students. The components of the speaking skills that they
observed and showed improvement were on pronunciation and intonation, lexical
range and choice of words, grammatical accuracy, fluency, use of communication
strategies, as well as cohesion, and coherence. Moreover, they also found that the
students revealed a positive attitude towards CLIL, namely the tasks, the lessons,
and the learning of both language and subject contents. This current study, which
implemented CLIL in an online Tourist Guiding class, is in line with those findings.
The implementation of CLIL could improve students' speaking skills in Tourist
Guiding class.
Alasgarova (2018) also conducted action research on implementing CLIL in
history class. The findings showed the same results; the students were more
engaged, active, and motivated during the classes with CLIL strategies. Lecture-like
presentations notably reduced the active mental involvement of the students. The
implementation of CLIL techniques can have a positive influence on the
comprehension of the content as well as reinforce students’ participation in class
activities.
Ratminingsih et al., (2018) mentioned that based on their need analysis
study, TGs need more contextual-based training materials to improve their English-
speaking skills. Training materials that were provided within a context would be
meaningful when what they have learned was able to be used in real situations. In
this current study, such aspects were also put into consideration and it was found
that when the materials of Tourist Guiding topics were presented in a clear context,

65
Novitasari, Noverita Wahyuningsih, Hiqma Nur Agustina

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH CLIL IN TOURIST GUIDING ONLINE CLASS

the students found it useful, could understand better, and thus felt motivated in
learning.
Argonawan and Ma’mun (2021) reported their experience in training for TGs
by using communicative games to improve TGs’ speaking skills. Although the
current study did not emphasize the use of communication games, their study also
underlined the importance of communicativeness in the training/teaching speaking
likewise in online Tourist Guiding class.
Straková et al., (2014) also studied the development of critical and creative
thinking skills in CLIL. She put forward the idea that CLIL courses might be a good
opportunity for education institutions to apply effective, efficient, activating ways of
learning which have the goal to develop both students’ critical and creative thinking
skills in the context of a specific subject area as well as of communicative language
skills. Based on her research, she emphasized that the idea of CLIL methodology
focused on learners, combining the knowledge of content and skills as well as
language skills.
Hapsari (2016) revealed the challenge of communication and cognition
aspects of CLIL in Indonesia. She mentioned several challenges for CLIL teachers in
delivering the content subject in English and it is likewise the teacher’s experience
in implementing CLIL in the current study. She also found some challenges in
teaching ESP due to a lack of pedagogy content knowledge. Lo (2020) stated it is
critical in assisting CLIL instructors to recognize and accept their role in teaching
both subject and language. For instance, CLIL topic subject specialists must be aware
of the need of incorporating language education into their content classes. Hence,
CLIL should be supported by offering appropriate bilingual education for instructors
who will be teaching international standard courses, as well as conducting
educational linguistic research that assesses students' affordance to English.
To implement CLIL successfully, teachers should both understand the subject
content very well and have a very good mastery of English. CLIL instructors are
accountable not only for ensuring that their students understand the desired topic
knowledge but also for assisting them in communicating that information in a
subject-specific language in an L2. Such implications also apply in the case of
teaching speaking in online Tourist Guiding class. The teachers should not only have
excellent mastery of English as the medium of teaching but also have a very good
knowledge and understanding of the subject content in Tourist Guiding class.
Therefore, a teacher professional development such as a workshop or BNSP
certification on schemes related to Tourist Guiding is strongly recommended for the
CLIL teachers.

CONCLUSION
Students’ speaking skills through CLIL in Tourist Guiding online class are
really useful to apply in this field cause it attracts students to learn Tourist Guiding
even if not in the real practice. The students got motivated and also enjoyed using
CLIL. Moreover, their spirit to develop their ability and skills to know more about
tourist guiding aspects was successfully established.
The teachers as role models also need to learn more about CLIL before
teaching and giving the material to the students. They have to integrate the duties
of content and L2 teachers and should ideally be knowledgeable in both fields.

66
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. X, No. X, June 2021
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Furthermore, the teachers need to have professional development such as

workshops or BNSP certification related to Tourist Guiding. These capabilities will
influence the way they are teaching using CLIL in the class.
As an implication, in order to have a successful implementation of CLIL in the
Tourist Guiding online class, teachers are expected to have mastery of both the
English language and the content of Tourist Guiding. Furthermore, CLIL is also
recommended to be implemented in the teaching of other subjects, and more
research on that are also recommended to be carried out.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This research was supported by a DIPA research grant, State Polytechnic of
Malang.

REFERENCES
Afrizal, M. (2015). A classroom action research: Improving speaking skills through
information gap activities. English Education Journal (EEJ), 148, 148–162.
http://jurnal.unsyiah.ac.id/EEJ/article/view/2578
Alasgarova, R. (2018). Implementing CLIL techniques to history classes: Action
research. Journal of Education in Black Sea Region, 4(1), 146–154.
https://doi.org/10.31578/jebs.v4i1.161
Argonawan, A. D., & Ma’mun, N. (2021). Facilitation a local tour guide in mastering
English. Undergraduate Conference on Language, Literature, and Culture
(UNCLLE), 1(1), 161–171.
http://publikasi.dinus.ac.id/index.php/unclle/article/view/4734
Burns, A. (2009). Action research in second language teacher education. In J.
Richards & A. Burns (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to second language teacher
education (pp. 289–297). Cambridge University Press.
https://www.academia.edu/36024949/Action_Research_in_Second_Language
_Teacher_Education
Burns, A. (2010). Doing action research in English language teaching. Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203863466
Coyle, D. (2005). Planning tools for teachers (White Paper). University of
Nottinghamhttps://www.scribd.com/document/85341173/CLIL-Planning-
Tools-for-Teachers-Do-Coyle-Edited-Version
Dale, L., Tanner, R., Thornbury, S., Dale, L., Tanner, R., & Thornbury, S. (2012). CLIL
activities. Cambridge University Press.
Delliou, A., & Zafiri, M. (2016). Developing the speaking skills of students through
CLIL. Proceedings of The 5th Electronic International Interdisciplinary
Conference, 5(October), 48–53. https://doi.org/10.18638/eiic.2016.5.1.517
Hanesova, D. (2014). Development of critical and creative thinking skills in CLIL.
Journal of Language and Cultural Education, 2(2), 33–51.
https://jolace.webnode.sk/_files/200000127-b21d1b317f/JoLaCE 2014-2-
Hanesova.pdf
Hapsari, A. (2016). English bilingual education: The challenge of communication and
cognition aspects of content language integrated learning (CLIL) in Indonesia.
Journal of English and Education, 6(2), 12–20.
https://doi.org/10.20885/jee.vol6.iss2.art2

67
Novitasari, Noverita Wahyuningsih, Hiqma Nur Agustina

IMPROVING STUDENTS’ SPEAKING SKILLS THROUGH CLIL IN TOURIST GUIDING ONLINE CLASS

Harpe, M. de la, & Sevenhuysen, K. (2018). The experience of the tourist in a

technologically-driven age: A continuum between the tourist guide and
technology. Journal of Tourismology, 4(2), 129–142.
https://doi.org/10.26650/jot.2018.4.2.0008
Holloway, J. C., Humphreys, C., & Davidson, R. (2009). The business of tourism (Eight
Edit). Pearson Education Limited.
Kemmis, S., McTaggart, R., & Nixon, R. (2014). The action research planner. In Action
Research. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-4560-67-2
Kristiana, Y., Sinulingga, P., & Lestari, R. (2018). Kunci sukses pemandu wisata.
Deepublish.
Liu, C., & Schänzel, H. (2019). Tourism education and Asia (C. K. Lattimore & P. Mura
(eds.)). Springer. http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-981-13-2613-4
Lo, Y. Y. (2020). Who are CLIL teachers and what do they need? In Lawrence (Ed.),
Professional development of CLIL teachers (pp. 15–23). Springer International
Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2425-7
Lumbangaol, R. R., & Mazali, M. R. (2020). Improving students’ speaking ability
through simulation. Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching,
Literature and Linguistics, 7(2), 163–172.
https://doi.org/10.30630/celtic.v6i1.14
Mehisto, P., Friqols, M. J., & Marsh, D. (2008). Uncovering CLIL: Content and language
integrated learning and multilingual education . Macmillan.
Mukminatien, N., Yaniafari, R. P., Kurniawan, T., & Wiradimadja, A. (2020). CLIL
audio materials: A speaking model for library science department students.
International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning, 15(7), 29–42.
https://doi.org/10.3991/IJET.V15I07.13223
Rabotić, B. (2010, March 4-5 ). Tourist guides in contemporary tourism.
International Conference on Tourism and Environment.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337843300_TOURIST_GUIDES_IN
_CONTEMPORARY_TOURISM
Ratminingsih, N. M., Suardana, M., & Martin, A. A. N. Y. (2018). English for tour guide:
A need analysis of a contextual-based language teaching. SHS Web of
Conferences, 42, 00012. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20184200012
Saragih, D., Batubara, O. P., Halawa, V. P. A., & Sipayung, S. R. (2022). Strategies to
improve speaking skill for tourism students. AKSELERASI: Jurnal Ilmiah
Nasional, 4(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.54783/jin.v4i1.492
Sheldon, P. J., & Fesenmaier, D. R. (2015). Hospitality higher education: A
multidisciplinary approach to liberal values, hospitality, and hospitableness. In
D. Dredge, D. Airey, & J. Gross (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Tourism and
Hospitality Education (pp. 73–84). Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203763308
Stauberg, M. (2011). Religion and tourism : Crossroads, destinations and encounters
(1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1177/0008429813515615g
Suprayogi, S., & Pranoto, B. E. (2020). Virtual tourism exhibition activity in English
for tourism class: Students’ perspectives. Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English
Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, 7(2), 199–207.
https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v7i2.14064

68
 69

SPEAKING EXPRESSION: THE SOCIODRAMA

TECHNIQUE IN ENHANCING STUDENTS'
SPEAKING SKILL
1Rahmiati*, 2Iskandar Abdul Samad
1 Universitas Samudra, Indonesia*
2 Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia

ABSTRACT
This research aimed to apply Sociodrama Technique in teaching speaking.
The study's objective was to investigate whether there is a significant
difference in speaking scores between learners treated by Sociodrama
and those who were not. The methodology of this study was an
experimental research method with a significance level of α=0.05. The
samples of this study were 70 students in the 7th grade at one of the
private junior high school in Lhokseumawe, Indonesia. These students
were grouped into experimental and control groups, 35 students each.
The instrument used was a test administrated in the form of pre-test and
E-ISSN: 2621-9158
P-ISSN:2356-0401 post-test. The data were analyzed using SPSS 20, the statistical package for
social science. The data were considered normal and homogenous. From
the t-test, the result showed that the critical area was higher than 2.00.
*Correspondence: Corresponding
[email protected] The tcount value from the post-test between the Experimental and Control
class is 2.54, which undoubtedly lies within the critical area. In conclusion,
Submitted: 28 February 2022
the sociodrama technique improved students' speaking ability.
Approved: 23 June 2022
Published: 27 June 2022 Keywords: EFL students; English language teaching; Sociodrama;
Sociodrama technique; Speaking skills
Citation:
ABSTRAK
Rahmiati & Samad, I. A. (2022).
Speaking expression: The Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengaplikasikan Teknik sosiodrama untuk
sociodrama technique in enhancing meningkatkan skill berbicara. Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk
students' speaking skill. Celtic: A meneliti apakah ada perbedaan yang signifikan pada nilai skor siswa yang
Journal of Culture, English Language
menggunakan teknik sosiodrama dengan siswa yang tidak menggunakan
Teaching, Literature and Linguistics,
9(1), 69-81. Doi: teknik sosiodrama. Metode penelitian ini menggunakan metode
10.22219/celtic.v9i1.20366 penelitian kuantitatif dengan level signifikan α=0.05. Penelitian ini
dilaksanakan di MTs Swasta Yapena Arun, Lhokseumawe dengan jumlah
sampel sebanyak 70 siswa. Siswa tersebut dibagi kedalam dua kelompok
yaitu kelas kontrol dan kelas eksperimen yang masing-masing kelompok
terdiri dari 35 siswa. Intrumen yang digunakan pada penelitian ini
menggunakan tes yang dibuat dalam bentuk Pre-test dan Post-test. Data
diolah menggunakan SPSS 20 setelah didapati data tersebut normal dan
homogen. Berdasarkan hasil T-test, diperoleh hasil kritik lebih tinggi dari
2,00. Nilai tcount post-test antara kelas kontrol dan kelas eksperimen adalah
2.54 yang masih berada di critical area. Kesimpulan dari penelitian ini
adalah Teknik sosiodrama meningkatkan kemampuan bicara siswa.

Kata Kunci: Pengajaran bahasa Inggris; sosiodrama; skill berbicara; siswa

EFL; Teknik sosiodrama

INTRODUCTION
Indonesian curriculum requires students to perform well in English using
receptive and productive skills. Concerning this issue, teachers need to examine
deeper the techniques used in teaching to evaluate the students' absence in ability.

Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index
Rahmiati, & Iskandar Abdul Samad
“Speaking expression”: The sociodrama technique in enhancing students’ speaking skill

The teachers can also generate students' interest and attitude in class through the
best technique. The lecturer's innovations can be used to catch students' attention
and promote their interest and motivation to learn (Lumbangaol & Mazali, 2020). In
addition to mastering the four language skills of speaking, reading, listening, and
writing, students should also understand other aspects of English, including lexicon,
syntax, spelling, and pronunciation. All these components will be necessary and
valuable for the students to implement later for speaking purposes. It indicates that
the goal of English teaching is for students to be able to communicate fluently in
English.
Theoretically, Derakhshan, Khalili, and Beheshti (2016), in line with Byrne
(1997), argued that speaking skill covers practice and production stages. The
practice stage focuses on sounds, vocabulary, spelling, grammatical items, or
functions, while the production stage focuses on speaking fluency. It means that the
students who have passed the practice stage are encouraged to continue to the
production stage. However, due to the lack of knowledge of English, the students
experience difficulty practicing and producing the language themselves. They also
fear making mistakes when expressing ideas or sentences. Meanwhile, in speaking,
every student must be able to express ideas, practice dialogues, respond to the
interviews, or tell stories.
In line with the Indonesian curriculum for junior high school, it requires
students to process, present, and reason logically in concrete and abstract ways
(Depdiknas, 2016), one of which is via teaching spoken expressions. Speaking
expression is a spontaneous utterance and act based on the situation. It is the
speaker's ability to process vocabulary into words and phrases to respond naturally
in the actual situation. The expression is composed of a set of words compounded
instead of interpreted by the meanings of the individual words that make it up
(Akhmad & Amiri, 2018). Phrase is used to communicate thoughts, feelings, and
experiences as responses to others so that the conversation can happen. It is
essential because, typically, a human spends much more time interacting through
oral rather than writing (Satria, 2020)
Based on the description above, the researcher conducted a preliminary study
on 4 of may at one of private Islamic junior high schools (MTs) in Lhokseumawe,
th

Aceh Province, Indonesia, and found two contradictory facts. Firstly, most students
at this school appeared to have difficulty speaking English. In oral communication,
they frequently struggled to explain their thoughts, feelings, and experiences
because of the lack of ability to use expressions. English is only spoken in class but
not in society, so they were not accustomed to speaking in English. In addition, their
speaking style sounded more like reading rather than speaking, resulting in the
accuracy and fluency of speaking in English is challenging for them. They lacked of
vocabulary and did not know enough about intonation, pronunciation, tone of voice,
and word stress.
Regarding the gap between the curriculum and the reality, the researcher
conducted the study at one private MTs in Lhokseumawe to deal with the problem.
The MTs is one of the Islamic Boarding Schools in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, Indonesia,
where most students experienced the Pidie Jaya earthquake in 2016. During the
research, the researchers suggested a technique in speaking called Sociodrama
Technique. The Sociodrama technique was firstly introduced by Jacob Levy Moreno,

70
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

a psychiatrist from America. Moreno used this technique to heal the children's
trauma during World War II through the experiential procedure for social
exploration and intergroup conflict transformation. It works through showing
expressions by allowing the thoughts, feelings, and hopes of all participants to rise
to the surface. The effectiveness of this technique makes most global researchers
apply it to the role plays in education, business, therapy, and theatre. In Education,
sociodrama was adopted by the teacher in teaching history and social studies,
literature, psychology, medicine and nursing, and language (Sternberg & Garcia,
2000; Fleury et al., 2015). The development of sociodrama in teaching language
grew and became a teaching technique, especially in speaking. This technique trains
the students to communicate in real situations and express their feelings and
thoughts based on their condition. Further, sociodrama is a method that allows the
students to play a specific role (Rosy, 2017). It is a technique that enhances students'
ability to express their deepest affections and manage emotions (Kellermann, 2007;
Alawiyah, Taufiq, & Hafina, 2019).
In this case, the researchers tried to reinforce the students’ expressions of
sympathy. Shortly, such as a role-play, in sociodrama, students are trained to be
competent in enacting their manner or facial expression and social relation among
human beings. In sociodrama, a group of students should be the actors/actresses,
while other groups who are not performing should be the audience and give
feedback about the problem performed in the drama (Browne, 2005; Baile &
Walters, 2013). Therefore, all students are required to be active in this technique.
There are several guidelines for the sociodrama method, including simple,
revealing, and detailed explanations of the instructions. Kellermann (2007) and
Rosy (2017) have detailed and simplified the sociodrama method instruction into
six stages as explained in the following:
a) Introduction and Warm-up
In this stage, the students are informed about the topic and the time they
should spend when doing the sociodrama. Besides, the character introduction is also
introduced in this phase. Before starting the action, the teacher should create a
comfortable classroom condition by depicting the characters' situations in the story
to the student. The teacher might also open a question or expressing-aspiration
session.
b) Reenactment
In this phase, the students perform their actions. To stregthen the students'
actions, teachers can also do the Playback, which is displaying the action through
certain media to the students so that they can feel and personify powerfully with the
incidents.
c) Cognitive reprocessing
This stage promotes the trauma back to the classroom by sharing
experiences and perspectives about the incidents. The class may discuss what has
been done and what should have been done. Weber (2012) adds that the students
should be able to see things differently if they happened differently, but they still
have to face what has happened and live with it.

71
Rahmiati, & Iskandar Abdul Samad
“Speaking expression”: The sociodrama technique in enhancing students’ speaking skill

d) Emotional catharsis
In the fourth stage, all emotions attached to trauma are drained away. The
students will have opportunities to share their feelings nonjudgmentally and in a
supportive way. Everyone should also show their respective manner.
e) Sharing and interpersonal support
This phase appears more similar to the previous phase. What differs is that,
in this phase, students can state their support and advice to each other.
f) Closure and rituals
In the last phase, the teacher and the students pray or conduct other ceremonials
showing that whatever happened has been designed by God. And most importantly,
those who survive and continue their lives need to make transitions and adjust to
the new living condition with the traumatic experience.
Several previous studies about sociodrama technique and the testimony can
be seen in the following. First, a study by Sugiarti (2011) to the second graders at
MAN Blora, Central Java, Indonesia. After the teaching treatment using Sociodrama
technique for six meetings, the students’ speaking ability rose not only in the ability
to reveal the expressions but also in their speaking sub-skills, namely vocabulary,
accuracy, fluency, and pronunciation. Second, research by Kearins (2011) that gave
sociodrama treatment to 173 Aboriginal students in Australia. The result showed
that after six weeks, the students could get mentally involved when speaking English
instead of their native language. Lastly, a sociodrama study by Afana (2012) on the
ninth-grader Palestinians in Palestine. All students there have trauma with the
conflict. The findings indicated that the students' speaking skill increase after six
weeks (covering 21 hours) of meetings. So, the study recommended teaching
speaking using educational drama or sociodrama since it could bring better
outcomes to students' speaking ability.
Based on the explanation, the population, sample, background, and experience
researchers faced differ from the other researchers. So, the researchers were eager
to research Using Sociodrama Technique in Teaching Speaking to prove whether
this technique is effective to apply at one private MTs in Lhokseumawe, Aceh,
Indonesia. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate whether the sociodrama
technique could enhance students’ speaking skills, particularly in comprehensibility
and fluency.

METHOD
This research was mainly quantitative research. It presented the data collected
by the statistical procedure. Creswell (2009), Dimitrov (2008), and Pratisti and
Yuwono ((2018) state that pre-experimental, true-experimental, quasi-experimental,
and single-subject designs are the four categories of experimental designs. Doing
true-experimental research requires the researcher to study experimental and
control groups and provide intervention during the experiment. Furthermore, true-
experimental research may be designed with the groups randomly assigned. In this
research, there is a difference in selecting the subject of study. The researcher used
one class of experiment and one class of control group, one of the true-experimental
design types. The independent variable of this study is sociodrama technique, and
the dependent variables are comprehensibility and fluency in speaking.

72
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

The current study's population is students at one private junior high school
(MTs) in Lhokseumawe, Aceh, Indonesia, consisting of 314 students. Nevertheless,
the main target was the 8th graders counted 102 students. Then, the researchers
took 70 students as the sample using random sampling. The respondents were two
(2) classes, 35 students, which were grouped as the experimental and control
groups. The researchers used this sampling technique as Hamied (2017) stated that
the most significant and practical way to categorize variables is as independent and
dependent variables.
The procedure followed the one as suggested by Acharya, Prakash, Saxena, and
Nigam (2013); the first-grade teachers as representatives of each class drew a
lottery from a bag which two of the folds will have been written "EG" (for
experimental group) and "CG" (for control group), meanwhile, other folds will be just
empty. So those who took the fold with the written phrase gave their classes as the
sample of this study.
The instrument used in collecting the data was a test. In the experiment class,
the researcher used pictures. The students were asked to speak and video-recorded
as the source of a set of data. The test asked them to respond to a condition seen in
a picture. So, there were two pictures, and the student had to verbalize their
expression based on these pictures using the expression of sympathy. They were
given 3-4 minutes to prepare and 2-3 minutes to describe each picture. In the control
class, the teaching technique referred to the conventional teaching method regularly
practiced by the English teacher at the private MTs in Lhokseumawe, Aceh. This
term was used to differentiate between the technique used by the researchers in
teaching the experimental class and the one used by the regular teacher in the
control class.
In collecting data, the researchers conducted a total of eight meetings for the
experimental class. A pre-test was administered during the first meeting, then
continued with the implementation of the sociodrama technique from the second
meeting until the seventh. Finally, a post-test was conducted after that meeting. All
stages are described in the following paragraphs.
In the first meeting, the researchers gave the pre-test for experimental and
control classes with the same test. The researchers gave two pictures to the students
to describe. The pictures were about Pidie Jaya earthquake and refugee camps
whose houses were attacked by a particular disaster. Moreover, the students had 3-
4 minutes to prepare and 2-3 minutes to describe the pictures. The students’
description was recorded to be later graded by using the rubrics suggested by
Heaton (1989).
After compiling the score, the second meeting was held on the next day. In the
experimental class, the researchers explained sociodrama and the procedures that
the students needed to follow. To start the teaching process, the researchers first
asked about the topic “Pidie Jaya Earthquake”. She asked questions such as “How
would you feel if you were there?”, “What would you do?”, “What can you do to help
from here?”, and so forth. This was the introductory and warm-up stage. After some
students answered and revealed their feelings of sympathy toward the condition,
the researcher brought the students into the re-enactment phase. It was group 1’s
turn to act. Group 1 acted while others were observing their performance. After 20
minutes, the performance finished, and the class applauded. The class encountered

73
Rahmiati, & Iskandar Abdul Samad
“Speaking expression”: The sociodrama technique in enhancing students’ speaking skill

the third phase, i.e., cognitive processing. In this phase, the class discussed what had
been done and what should have been done about the tragedy. The class also
analyzed the problem causing this situation. Later, the phases of emotional catharsis
and sharing support were carried out. The students revealed their feelings of
sympathy toward the tragedy, and they also felt blessed that their country and
region were in good condition. The last stage was closure and rituals. In this stage,
the whole class, guided by the researcher, prayed for the victims in Pidie Jaya and
wished that their condition would get better very soon.
For the control group, the researchers taught the class by implementing the
conventional method used regularly at the school: textbook-based teaching. First,
the researchers introduced the same topic: the earthquake. Then she wrote several
sympathy expressions on the whiteboard and asked the students to repeat them
after she read the expressions. After several repetitions, she asked the students to
take notes of the expressions she wrote on the whiteboard. Later, they were asked
to read a passage about war. Three students were appointed to read the passage
aloud before the whole class should translate the passage. After doing the
translation, the students were asked to sit in a group of 5 and write dialogue about
the passage they read involving the use of showing sympathy expressions. Then,
each group was assigned to come to the front of the class to demonstrate their
dialogues. They were not asked to memorize, so they only read from their
notebooks. Finally, the researchers ended the class.
The researchers did the same activities for the third until seventh meetings but
with different topics. The topics discussed were “9/11 Terrorist Attack”, “bullying”,
“cancer”, and “poverty”, which were discussed in both classes. In the last meeting,
the researchers did the post-test the same way as the pre-test. For post-test, there
were also two pictures. The first picture showed about “Gazan War”. In the picture,
there is a heavily damaged street. Furthermore, the second picture shows a group
of children who are the victims of war. The students were also given 3-4 minutes to
prepare and 2-3 minutes to describe their feelings toward the pictures they saw in
the research instrument.
The data were separated into five steps for analysis. The first step is to
determine the weight of each correct answer; the second step is to determine the
normality; the third step is to determine the homogeneity; the fourth step is to
determine the standard deviation; and the last step is to determine the t-test. In
analyzing the data obtained from the data collection, the researcher used several
formulas taken from Arikunto (2009). First, the data normality and homogeneity
were investigated. Then, the mean score and standard deviation were calculated
when the data were judged normal and homogeneous. Finally, the t-count was
determined using the last analysis so that the researcher could establish whether
the hypothesis was accepted or denied.

FINDINGS
Normality and Homogeneity Tests
The Normality test and Homogeneity test from the pre-test data of the
Experimental Group and Control Group are initially provided below as this is vital
for further data analysis. The result of the normality test can be seen in the following
table.

74
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Table 1. Tests of Normality

Kolmogorov-Smirnova
Statistic df Sig.
pretestEG .139 35 .065
pretestCG .143 35 .066
From the table, we can see that the data are normal. The data are considered
normal if the significant value is higher than α=0.05. From the table, we can learn
that the significant value of the experimental group pre-test is 0.065, which is higher
than α=0.05. And the significant value of the control group is 0.066, which is also
higher than α=0.05. In conclusion, the data distribution of both groups is normal.
The next step is testing the homogeneity. The data from both groups could be
claimed homogeneous if the significant value is also higher than 5% (α =0.05).
Below is the result of the homogeneity test:
Table 2. Test of Homogeneity
Levene df1 df2 Sig.
Statistic
1.343 2 33 1.54

The table above shows that the significant value of the pre-test score from both
the experimental and control group is 1.54. This value is higher than α=0.05. In
conclusion, besides normal, the data were also homogeneous. Since the data were
both normal and homogeneous, these two groups have a guarantee to be compared.

Hypothesis Testing
The following are four tests used to test the hypothesis.

Pre-test Experiment Group and Pre-test Control Group

Table 3. Hypothesis Testing 1

Group Mean t
Experimental 54 -2.2
Control 57

The calculation above found that the t-table for degree of freedom (df) 68 and
in the level of significant 0.05 was higher than 2.00. Thus, because -2.2 is not higher
than 2.00, the Ha is rejected, and the Ho is accepted.
The hypothesis was rejected because there was no treatment for both groups.
So, their speaking ability was scored from their natural ability. Teaching speaking
techniques can make students aware of the strategies they can use during the
transactions.

Pre-test Experiment Group and Post-test Experiment Group

Table 4. Hypothesis Testing 2

Group Mean t
Pre-test Experimental 54
2.9
Post-test Experimental 67

75
Rahmiati, & Iskandar Abdul Samad
“Speaking expression”: The sociodrama technique in enhancing students’ speaking skill

From the table above, we can see that the t-table for the degree of freedom (df)
68 and level of significant 0.05 was higher than 2.00. Therefore, since 2.9 is higher
than 2.00, the Ha is accepted, and the Ho is rejected.
The hypothesis is accepted because there has been a treatment of sociodrama
for the experimental group. After the treatment, the students can use their word
choice effectively in expressing sympathy and make students more expressive in
delivering their feelings.

Pre-test Control Group and Post-test Control Group

Table 5. Hypothesis Testing 3

Group Mean t
Pre-test Control 57
-1.90
Post-test Control 59

The calculation above found that the t-table for the degree of freedom (df) 68
and level of significant 0.05 was higher than 2.00. It was found that the t-count was
-1.90. Thus, it is clear that -1.90 is not higher than 2.00, so the Ha is rejected, and the
Ho is accepted.
The hypothesis is rejected because there was no treatment of sociodrama
technique for the control group. Instead, they were taught using the regular
technique, which was the technique of memorizing dialogues and expressions. This
kind of technique employs more activities for teachers instead of students. Whereas
the technique which is good for enhancing students' speaking skills is learner-
centred, not teacher-centred.

Post-test Experiment Group and Post-test Control Group

Table 6. Hypothesis Testing 4
Group Mean t
Experimental 67
2.54
Control 59

The calculation above found that the t-table for the degree of freedom (df) 68
and level of significant 0.05 was higher than 2.00. The t count found was 2.54, and it
is clear that this value is higher than 2.00. So that the Ha is accepted and the Ho is
rejected. This testing is the core testing used as proof of the alternative hypothesis.
The hypothesis is accepted because the technique of sociodrama has been
implemented in the experimental group but not in the control group, as seen from
the post-test’s final score. In other words, the sociodrama technique helped students
with share their emotional expressions. Before, emotional sharing could be a
problem in communicating effectively. However, the technique can promote the
fluency of emotional sharing realized through the speaking score increase. Below is
the result of students' comprehensibility and fluency in speaking skills.
Table 7. Students' Comprehensibility and Fluency in Speaking Skills
No. Variable Pre-test average level Post-test average level
1 Comprehensibility 1 3
2 Fluency 1 2

76
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

The table above reveals that the learners' comprehensibility in the pre-test
was at level one. Level one of comprehensibility is where there is practically
anything that the speaker states can be understood. Even if the listener makes an
excellent attempt to interrupt, the speaker has yet to clarify what he seems to have
said. This level increased after the implementation of the technique to level three.
At level three, the listener comprehends most of what is said but constantly seeks
clarification. As the result, the listener cannot comprehend many of the speakers’
more complicated or lengthy statements.
Then, concerning the students' speaking fluency, it also increases from level
one to level two. Students' speech is marked by prolonged and unnatural pauses and
an extremely halting and fragmentary delivery in level one. Sometimes, the speaker
surrenders to make an effort because of the limited range of expression. After the
technique implementation, the fluency level was raised to level two. In level two, the
speaker's speech has long pauses while they search for the desired meaning. In
addition, there is frequently incomplete and halting delivery. Most of the time, the
speaker almost makes an effort at times but does not.

DISCUSSION
The current study was conducted to determine whether there is a significant
achievement difference between students who are taught speaking using the
sociodrama technique and those who are taught speaking using the regular
approach, which is dialogue memorization method. The goal of the memorization
method is to increase vocabulary and assist them in remembering pronunciation,
lexis, and usages (Chen et al., 2016). However, this method still cannot make
students speak spontaneously in an actual situation.
Regarding the improvement that the students achieved after implementing the
sociodrama technique, the data were analyzed using SPSS 22. The data were normal
and homogenous, and these two are the requirements to continue the process of
hypothesis testing. After the normality and homogeneity test, the data obtained
from the experimentation were normal and homogenous. So that the data can be
processed further to prove the hypothesis. These steps were taken to ensure that
the starting point for both classes was the same (Arikunto, 2009).
The symbol of H0 as the null hypothesis and Ha as the alternative hypothesis
were used in hypothesizing such technique proposition. A null hypothesis declares
that no correlation exists between two variables (Mourougan & Sethuraman, 2017). At
the significance level of 5% or α=0.05, there were four testings in hypothesis
testings. The df is 68 since this is a one-tailed hypothesis. The advantage of doing a
one-tailed test is that it increases the ability to reject the null hypothesis if it is false
(Ruxton & Neuhauser, 2010; Hernandez, Andres & Tejedor, 2018). The tcount value
has to reach above the ttable value. The ttable value for df 68 is 2.00, so the tcount value
must be higher than 2.00. Testing 1 reveals that H0 is accepted and Ha is rejected.
The t-value for Testing 1 is -2.2, which is not higher than 2.00.
In contrast to Testing 1, in testing 2, H0 is rejected, and Ha is accepted. The t-
value of this testing was 2.9, which is higher than the critical area, so H0 is rejected.
However, in Testing 3, the t-value is -1.90, making the Ha is rejected, and H0 is
accepted. Lastly, in Testing 4, H0 is rejected, and Ha is accepted since the t-value of
this testing is 2.54, which is higher than the critical area, namely 2.00. This result is

77
Rahmiati, & Iskandar Abdul Samad
“Speaking expression”: The sociodrama technique in enhancing students’ speaking skill

known as the True Positive (TP); the reason for labelling it ‘positive’ is tied to the
unequal validity of a hypothesis test because rejecting H0 when H0 is incorrect is
more informative than accepting H0 when H0 is accurate (Emmert-Streib & Dehmer,
2019).
Hypothesis testing 4 is the most crucial test because, in testing4, the post-test
between both groups is compared to see whether the technique implementation
works in the experimental group. Indeed, it is proven that there is a significant
difference in students' achievement between students who speak in expressing
sympathy by using sociodrama technique and those taught speaking by using the
conventional method at the private MTs in Lhokseumawe. This result relates to
research by Tristiantari (2017), who found that there was a difference in speaking
skills between the students who followed the sociodrama approach with students
who followed the traditional teaching method.
This fact suggests that speaking using sociodrama technique, especially in
teaching how to express sympathy, is more effective than speaking using the
traditional technique used by their teacher at the school. Some factors are
considered essential in this process, as it was also found in the previous studies cited
in the earliest chapter. Initially, in the study by Sugiarti (2011), after the treatment
with sociodrama technique, students at MAN Blora were better not only in revealing
their expressions but also in their speaking sub-skills, namely vocabulary, accuracy,
fluency, and pronunciation. Next, Kearins (2011) found that the students she taught
improved in getting involved mentally while speaking English. This also shows that
the technique builds strong emotions so the students can be good at revealing
expressions. Another study by Tristiantari (2017) that gave the treatment to the
primary school in Buleleng was proven to improve students’ language skills in
listening, reading, writing, and speaking. The last study by Afana (2012) revealed
that the students' speaking skills increased after six weeks, which was covered in 21
hours. Therefore, it can be inferred that the result of the current study is in line with
the result of previous studies.
Finally, based on the result of the current study, the students' score increases
after the treatment because of some factors. First, sociodrama technique can
enhance their motivation for their speaking skill (Sweeney, 1993; Baile & Walters,
2013). Secondly, this technique also helps students deliver their condolences as they
can feel intensely other people's conditions (Scheiffele, 2003).

CONCLUSION
Speaking is one of the language skills that every high school student should
master. However, speaking is not only about practice but also about production
stages. Students must be able to speak according to the context and respond
spontaneously. Therefore, teachers must be able to develop speaking teaching
techniques that can hone students' abilities in expressing thoughts in everyday life.
One of the techniques in teaching speaking is sociodrama. Sociodrama can be
applied to all speaking lessons, but in this study, the researchers focused on
speaking expressions, especially expressions of sympathy. This technique trains the
students to speak in actual situations and express their feelings and thoughts based
on their condition. Therefore, the implementation of the sociodrama technique is

78
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

considered adequate because the students have social awareness when practicing
with the sociodrama technique based on their knowledge and language use.
In this research, the implication of sociodrama in teaching speaking was
proven to increase the students' ability to express their sympathy. It can be seen
from the significant increase in the students who were taught using the sociodrama
technique compared to the control group who were not. More specifically, the
students' speech increased in both comprehensibility and fluency. The
comprehensibility increased from level one to level three, while the speech fluency
increased from level one to level two.
The finding of the study is expected to make a real contribution to theoretical
and practical benefits. Theoretically, the result of this study could be beneficial to
support other theories or available concepts in doing similar studies or conducting
further studies. In practice, the finding of this study would be useful information for
English teachers and other researchers to give valuable feedback for improving their
speaking classroom activities and as a reference for further research in the same
field.

REFERENCES

Acharya, A. S., Prakash, A., Saxena, P., & Nigam, A. (2013). Sampling: Why and how
of it? Indian Journal of Medical Specialities, 4(2).
https://doi.org/10.7713/ijms.2013.0032
Afana, S. M. (2012). The Impact of Educational Drama Intervention on Palestinian
Ninth Graders’ English language Speaking Skills at Gaza UNRWA Schools
(Unpublished Thesis). https://mobt3ath.com/uplode/books/book-59892.pdf
Akhmad, Z., & Amiri, I. N. R. (2018). Analysis of students’ understanding in using
formal and informal expression. Al-Lisan: Jurnal Bahasa (e-Journal), 3(2).
http://journal.iaingorontalo.ac.id/index.php/al
Alawiyah, I. T. A., Taufiq, A., & Hafina, A. (2019). The effectiveness of sociodrama to
improve students’ anger management skills. Islamic Guidance and Counseling
Journal, 2(2), 56–65. https://doi.org/10.25217/igcj.v2i2.397
Arikunto, S. (2009). Dasar-dasar Evaluasi Pendidikan. Bumi Aksara.
https://scholar.google.co.id/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Z
YhYmFcAAAAJ&citation_for_view=ZYhYmFcAAAAJ:NaGl4SEjCO4C
Baile, W. F., & Walters, R. (2013). Applying sociodramatic methods in teaching
transition to palliative care. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 45(3),
606–619. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2012.03.002
Browne, R. (2005). Towards a framework for sociodrama.
http://www.psybernet.co.nz/files/psychodrama/theses/104.pdf
Chen, W.-C., Yang, M.-C., & Lin, K.-M. (2016). A Study of Applying Memorization
Method to Enhance Primary School Students’ English Oral Ability. Journal of
Economics, Business and Management, 4(11), 627–631.
https://doi.org/10.18178/joebm.2016.4.11.464
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed methods
Approaches (Third Edition). SAGE Publications, Inc.

79
Rahmiati, & Iskandar Abdul Samad
“Speaking expression”: The sociodrama technique in enhancing students’ speaking skill

https://www.ucg.ac.me/skladiste/blog_609332/objava_105202/fajlovi/Cres
well.pdf
Depdiknas. (2016). Kompetensi inti dan kompetensi dasar sekolah menengah
pertama/ madrasah tsanawiyah (SMP/MTs).
https://simpuh.kemenag.go.id/regulasi/permendikbud_24_16.pdf
Derakhshan, A., Khalili, A. N., & Beheshti, F. (2016). Developing EFL Learner’s
Speaking Ability, Accuracy and Fluency. English Language and Literature
Studies, 6(2), 177. https://doi.org/10.5539/ells.v6n2p177
Dimitrov, D. M. (2008). Quantitative research in education : intermediate & advanced
methods. Whittier Publications, Inc.
Emmert-Streib, F., & Dehmer, M. (2019). Understanding Statistical Hypothesis
Testing: The Logic of Statistical Inference. Machine Learning and Knowledge
Extraction, 1(3), 945–961. https://doi.org/10.3390/make1030054
Fleury, H. J., Marra, M. M., & Knobel, A. M. (2015). Social Psychotherapy in Brazil. In
International Journal of Group Psychotherapy (Vol. 65, Issue 4).
https://cehd.gmu.edu/assets/dimitrovbook/CONTENTS.pdf
Hamied, F. A. (2017). Research methods: a guide for first-time researchers. UPI Press.
Heaton. J. B. (1989). Writing english language tests. Longman.
https://octovany.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/ok-writing-english-language-
tests-j-b-heaton.pdf
Hernández, M. Á., Andrés, A. M., & Tejedor, I. H. (2018). One-tailed asymptotic
inferences for the difference of proportions: Analysis of 97 methods of
inference. Journal of Biopharmaceutical Statistics, 28(6), 1090–1104.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10543406.2018.1452028
Kearins, H. (2011). What Makes Sociodrama Work as a Methodology for Owning Our
Own Racism and Moving beyond It - as a Step towards Reconciliation between
White Australians and Aboriginal People? (Unpublished Thesis) [Daw Park:
Australia and New Zealand Psychodrama Association Institute].
https://aanzpa.org/wp-content/uploads/theses/125.pdf
Kellermen, P. F. (2007). Sociodrama and Collective Trauma. Jessica Kingsley
Publishers.
https://www.academia.edu/38684521/_Peter_Felix_Kellermann_Sociodrama
_and_Collective_BookFi_org_
Lumbangaol, R. R., & Mazali, M. R. (2020). Improving students’ speaking ability
through debate technique. Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language
Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, 7(2).
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v7i2.13674
Mourougan, S., & Sethuraman, Dr. K. (2017). Hypothesis Development and Testing.
IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 19(05), 34–40.
https://doi.org/10.9790/487x-1905013440
Pratisti, W. D., & Yuwono, S. (2018). Psikologi eksperimen: Konsep, teori, dan aplikasi.
Muhammadiyah University Press.
https://books.google.co.id/books?hl=en&lr=&id=BJV5DwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg
=PR3&dq=Pratisti,+W.+D.,+%26+Yuwono,+S.+(2018).+Psikologi+eksperimen:

80
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

+Konsep,+teori,+dan+aplikasi.+Muhammadiyah+University+Press.&ots=9Njg
YNIMOh&sig=KZr2-
yEeC3AZ7dypAZJDvjfCGAM&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
Rosy, B. (2017). Sociodrama Method; Stimulate the Development of Attitudes,
Knowledge and Skills of Students in Excellent Service Learning. Jurnal
Pendidikan Bisnis & Manajemen, 3(1).
https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.17977/um003v3i12017p025
Ruxton, G. D., & Neuhäuser, M. (2010). When should we use one-tailed hypothesis
testing? Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 1(2), 114–117.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-210x.2010.00014.x
Satria, V. R. (2020). English speaking teaching method for elementary school student
at Kampung Inggris pontianak. Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language
Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, 7(2), 183–190.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v7i2.14248
Scheiffele, E. (2003). Alterations of Consciousness during Psychodrama and
Sociodrama, Psychology - Consulting, Therapy, GRIN. British Journal of
Psychodrama and Sociodrama, 18(2).
http://moreno.com.au/sites/default/files/Eberhard%20-
%20Alterations%20to%20consciousness.pdf
Sternberg, P., & Garcia, A. (2000). SOCIODRAMA: who’s in your shoes? (Second
Edition). Praeger.
Sugiarti. (2011). The Experimental Study of Improving Speaking Skill Through Socio
Drama at The Second Year Students of MAN Blora in the Academic Year of
2010/2011 (Unpublished Thesis) [IAIN Salatiga]. http://e-
repository.perpus.iainsalatiga.ac.id/id/eprint/7318
Sweeney, T. E. (1993). The mastery of public speaking skills through sociodrama
techniques: attitudes and ability DEVELOPMENT. New York University Press.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED367001.pdf
Tristiantari, N. ketut D. (2017). An Effect of Sociodrama Method Implementation in
Students Language Skill at Fourth Grade Elementary School in Cluster XII of
Buleleng District 45. Journal of Education Technology, 1(1), 45–50.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.23887/jet.v1i1.10083
Weber, N. B. (2012). Vocabulary interventions for emergent bilinguals during
sociodramatic play and project investigations (Unpublished Thesis). State
University of New York. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12648/315

81
 82

EFL UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ONLINE SELF-

REGULATED LEARNING STRATEGIES DURING
COVID-19 PANDEMIC
1Genti Putri Dwi Redjeki, 1Astri Hapsari*
Universitas Islam Indonesia, Indonesia

ABSTRACT
This research aims to identify online self-regulated learning strategies of
EFL undergraduate students during the COVID-19 pandemic. This
research involved 81 EFL undergraduate students batch 2020 majoring in
English Language Education in a private university in Indonesia. The
Online Self-Regulated English Learning (OSEL) questionnaire adapted
from (Zheng et al., 2016) was chosen as the instrument of this research.
The questionnaire consists of 21 items. The findings reveal that EFL
undergraduate students’ online self-regulated learning strategies employ
five domains, namely (1) goal setting (M= 3.800, SD= 0.890), (2)
E-ISSN: 2621-9158 environment structuring (M= 4.015, SD= 1.033), (3) task strategies and
P-ISSN:2356-0401 time management (M= 3.365, SD= 1.062), (4) help-seeking (M= 3.827, SD=
1.081), and (5) self-evaluation (M= 3.784, SD= 0.968). EFL undergraduate
students also perform high self-regulated learning strategies in the
*Correspondence: domain of environment structuring, particularly in arranging and
[email protected]
determining the right place that supports learning English. However, they
have low self-regulated learning strategies in task strategies and time
Submitted: 12 May 2022 management domains, particularly in preparing questions when learning
Approved: 27 June 2021 English. Further researchers are recommended to look into the
Published: 30 June 2022 relationship between the amount of time undergraduate students spend
learning English and their self-regulated learning strategies.
Citation:
Keywords: English as Foreign Language (EFL), Online Self-regulated
Redjeki, G.P.D., & Hapsari, A. (2022).
EFL Graduate Students’ Online Self- Learning Strategies, Survey Study
Regulated Learning Strategies
during COVID-19 Pandemic. Celtic: A ABSTRAK
Journal of Culture, English Language Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi strategi pembelajaran
Teaching, Literature and Linguistics,
9(1), 82-96. Doi:
online dengan regulasi diri mahasiswa S1 EFL selama pandemi COVID-19.
10.22219/celtic.v9i1. 21066 Penelitian ini melibatkan 81 mahasiswa S1 EFL angkatan 2020 jurusan
Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris di salah satu perguruan tinggi swasta di
Indonesia. Kuesioner Online Self-Regulated English Learning (OSEL) yang
diadaptasi dari Zheng et al (2016) dipilih sebagai instrumen penelitian ini.
Kuesioner terdiri dari 21 item. Temuan mengungkapkan bahwa profil
strategi pembelajaran mandiri online dari 5 domain adalah (1) penetapan
tujuan (M= 3.800, SD= 0.890), (2) penataan lingkungan (M= 4.015, SD=
1.033), (3) strategi tugas dan manajemen waktu (M= 3.365, SD= 1.062), (4)
mencari bantuan (M= 3.827, SD= 1.081), dan (5) evaluasi diri (M= 3.784,
SD= 0.968). Temuan ini juga menunjukkan bahwa partisipan yang
mempelajari bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa asing (EFL), memiliki strategi
pembelajaran dengan regulasi diri yang tinggi dalam domain penataan
lingkungan, terutama dalam mengatur dan menentukan tempat yang
tepat yang mendukung pembelajaran bahasa Inggris. Walaupun
demikian, mereka memiliki strategi pembelajaran dengan regulasi diri
yang rendah dalam domain strategi tugas dan manajemen waktu,
terutama dalam mempersiapkan pertanyaan saat belajar bahasa Inggris.
Untuk penelitian selanjutnya, peneliti menyarankan peneliti lain untuk
melakukan penelitian untuk mengetahui hubungan antara lama belajar

Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

bahasa Inggris mahasiswa S1 dan strategi pembelajaran online dengan

regulasi diri.

Kata Kunci: Bahasa Inggris sebagai Bahasa Asing, Strategi pembelajaran

online dengan regulasi diri, Studi Survei

INTRODUCTION

The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the teaching and learning process from
offline to online. As a result, teachers and students face new challenges on the field.
Previous research has revealed that online learning has a number of flaws. Adedoyin
& Soykan (2020) report the first issue, arguing that online learning is dependent on
technology and a good internet connection. As a result, students with poor internet
connections struggle to attend classes and follow the teaching and learning process.
According to Bdair (2021) online learning is difficult for students who live in rural
areas because internet networks are unstable and sometimes there is no signal. The
second issue is distractions from home, such as loud noises that cause students to
lose focus on their studies. The final issue, as reported by Barnard-Brak et al (2010),
is a lack of interaction, not only between teachers and students, but also between
students. As a result, students must be more autonomous and learn self-regulation
so that their learning outcomes do not suffer.
To overcome these challenges, students should alter their learning patterns
in order to promote a more independent learning system and thus improve their
learning. They can, for example, collaborate to solve learning problems, watch
videos to repeat lessons, and search for additional materials from online resources.
It means they can't rely on their teachers as their primary source of information. As
a result, in order to manage their learning, students must improve their self-
regulation. The ability to self-regulate one's learning is essential in differentiated
instruction Tanjung & Ashadi (2019), for example. Indriani & Widiastuti (2021) discovered
that in an online English learning environment using Moodle as a learning
management system (LMS), students' positive attitudes grew in tandem with their
increasing recognition of the Moodle application and their ability to self-manage
their learning. It has also been noticed that their positive attitudes toward learning
have an effect on gradually improving learning achievements.
During this pandemic period, EFL undergraduate students can practice and
develop self-regulation skills in order to become independent learners through
online learning. According to Yot-Domínguez & Marcelo (2017), independent students
tend to choose and be responsible for their own desires without being pressured by
others. These students take responsibility for determining which activities are
beneficial to their academic achievement and selecting appropriate learning
strategies. They also organize and direct themselves to achieve satisfactory learning
outcomes.
The ability to self-regulate learning is also known as self-regulation learning
(SRL). Zheng et al. (2016) argued that by implementing independent learning, self-
regulation plays an important role in increasing learning effectiveness. One of the
goals for students trying to develop independent learning abilities for academic
success is to develop self-regulation (Yot-Domnguez & Marcelo, 2017). Students will
learn how to manage time, such as when, where, and how they learn online, and they

83
Genti Putri Dwi Redjeki, Astri Hapsari
EFL Graduate Students’ Online Self-Regulated Learning Strategies
during COVID-19 Pandemic

will know their level of understanding of learning material and what to do to achieve
optimal learning outcomes (Barnard et al, 2009).

LITERATURE REVIEW

Self-Regulated Learning (SRL)

Self-regulated learning is the action or initiative of students to control
themselves by setting independent learning goals that engage students in
metacognition, time management, motivation, and behavior control (Zimmerman,
2015). Students choose an independent learning method to apply their self-
regulation skills, such as measuring their abilities, evaluating themselves, setting
learning goals, finding sources of information that support learning, and controlling
thoughts, behavior, and others in themselves to achieve success in the learning
process (Kirmizi, 2014). Self-regulation is critical for improving student learning
outcomes both online and in person Barnard et al. (2009). Another opinion from
Cho et al. (2017) defines that self-regulated learning (SRL) is a process where
students manage their learning systems to motivate and as a reflection of students
achieving their learning goals. Thus, students need to improve their skills in
metacognition, time management, and effort.
Some studies have shown that self-regulated learning can have a positive
impact on student learning. Shih et al. (2019) stated that online learning allows
students to be actively involved by self-regulating and motivating themselves to
have a willingness to achieve learning goals and get satisfying learning outcomes.
Broadbent and Poon (2015) examined the effect of self-regulated learning (SRL) on
academic achievement in higher education students. This study found that self-
regulated concepts in the form of metacognition, time management, effort, and
thoughts had a positive impact on improving students’ learning outcomes. Not only
that, Barnard et al. (2009) argued that self-regulation has a positive impact on
students to practice their abilities and independence such as how to manage time
such as when, where, and how students learn online. The self-regulated work
system is a system description of how students manage their learning during online
learning by being responsible and disciplined learners. In this study, the
measurement of SRL in online and mixed learning environments is conceptually and
operationally divided into several indicators by Barnard et al. (2009). These
indicators include goal setting, environment structuring, task strategies, time
management, help-seeking, and self-evaluation.
Goal Setting
Goal setting or goal orientation refers to a set goal to take steps to achieve
the desired results. Goal setting concerns the extent to which students are involved
and participate in preparing for their activities such as doing assignments, studying,
or other activities based on their desire to achieve their learning goals (Pintrich et
al., 1991). Goals serve as criteria for individuals to judge how they are doing in a
situation of achievement and help them decide whether they should continue to
regulate their activity as they are or make changes(Wigfield et al., 2015)
Environment Structuring

84
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Environment structuring refers to setting the environment or an ideal place

for learning in a calm condition and free from things that interfere with learning
concentration (Pintrich et al., 1991). Environmental structuring is students’
initiative to choose or find a place to learn and use media that support instruction
such as computers or laptops and other tools that support learning. During the
pandemic, students study online and blended learning in schools. With these
conditions, students spend a lot of time studying at home, however, most of the
students are still uncomfortable and lack concentration when studying because of
many disturbances such as crowds, noise, or poor signal constraints. To overcome
these problems, it is important to apply environmental structuring of self-regulation
so that students manage their learning environment, either at home or in other
comfortable places and make them focus on learning and support their learning
activities Lynch et al (2004).
Task Strategies and Time Management
Independent learners not only set the place or learning environment but also
set the task strategy and learning time. The process of task strategy in self-
regulation is to analyze and choose the right method or strategy for successful
learning (Zimmerman, 2011). Time management is an action or process that
involves planning and scheduling time to carry out an activity that develops
effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity (Zimmerman, 2011). Not only setting a
schedule for studying, but also managing the amount of time needed during studying
or completing tasks, including things that are important for fluency and success in
learning. Students who use their time efficiently in studying allow them to superior
and achieve better than students who cannot manage their study time (Lynch et al.,
2004) Independent learners who have time management skills know how to
manage time and are aware of the deadlines needed to do or complete each activity
because they are aware of the needs of the time they spend (Zimmerman, 2015).
Help-seeking
Another component of self-regulation is help-seeking which is the ability to
seek academic help or support from others for academic success (Lynch et al., 2004)
Zimmerman (2011) argues that help-seeking in the self-regulation process is the
process of choosing instructors, teachers, or people who have high knowledge, even
choosing books for reference and helping them in learning. Several studies show
that help-seeking facilitates the learning process so that it runs well. Lynch et al
(2004) investigated help-seeking in the self-regulation process in online learning.
Students in online learning can still ask for help from friends or teachers via
WhatsApp, email, or other media if they encounter difficulties or have questions.
Even if they do not meet face-to-face, interaction can be done remotely using today's
sophisticated technology, so there is no need to be concerned if there are obstacles
to learning, and this also trains students' self-regulation skills. Meanwhile, Gonida
et al. (2019) found that when experiencing difficulties in learning, students who
perform self-regulated learning strategies know how to look for someone who will
help them in overcoming problems such as help from friends, teachers, or
instructors. Students with high performance goals were more likely to perceive
help-seeking costs, whereas students with low goal orientations were less likely to
perceive help-seeking benefits and seek instrumental assistance. Won et al (2021))
also found that students with high performance goals were more likely to perceive

85
Genti Putri Dwi Redjeki, Astri Hapsari
EFL Graduate Students’ Online Self-Regulated Learning Strategies
during COVID-19 Pandemic

help-seeking costs, whereas students with low goal orientations were less likely to
perceive help-seeking benefits and seek instrumental assistance.
Self-evaluation
Self-evaluation is assessing or evaluating oneself on the effectiveness of an
activity related to learning activities (Kirmizi, 2014). Self-evaluation relates to
measuring their performance on the quality of the activities they have done
(Zimmerman, 2011). Students who evaluate the results of their work are referred to
as independent learners because after carrying out an activity such as completing
an assignment, they will re-check errors and things that must be corrected. Getting
used to doing so can improve self-regulation skills because they independently
identify and evaluate their mistakes and try to correct them (Kitsantas et al., 2004)
Giving students the opportunity to see the results of their performance and
evaluation has a positive impact on students, encouraging them to be even more
active in improving and improving their performance (Horner & Shwery, 2002).

Relevant Studies
Several researchers have conducted research related to online self-regulated
learning by using the Online Self-regulated Learning Questionnaire (OSLQ)
developed by (Barnard et al., 2009). Barnard-Brak et al. (2010) examined the
relationship between self-regulated, researchers investigated the self-regulation
skills of students in online learning during the first semester. This study aims to
determine the development of students' online self-regulated skills and whether
there are changes from time to time during online learning. There were 209 public
university students in the southwestern United States and 101 students completed
the pre-survey. This study uses a quantitative method using the Online Self-
regulated Learning Questionnaire (OSLQ) (Barnard et al., 2009) questionnaire used
to measure self-regulated online learning which consists of 24 items with a five-
point Likert type response format. The findings showed that students' self-regulated
online skills did not change significantly in online learning over time. Researchers
conclude that online learning needs to look at ways to develop self-regulated skills
because these skills do not automatically coexist with students' online learning
experiences.
Shih et al. (2019) studied the relationship between students' online self-
regulated learning (SRL) and students' perceptions of Flipped classrooms (FC).
There were 576 undergraduates or graduates from 32 northern to southern Taiwan
universities. This study used two questionnaires, the Online Self-regulated Learning
Questionnaire (OSLQ) developed by Barnard et al. (2009) and the Reverse
Perception Questionnaire (PFCQ), adapted by Shih et al. (2019). The findings show
that students who can self-regulate in their learning will .\assume that many
benefits can be taken from online learning activities and they tend to have
experience and get good results in online learning.
Schwam et al (2021) conducted quantitative research to identify students'
readiness and self-regulation toward online learning. There were 477 respondents
from state universities in the southeastern United States in this study. After
analyzing the Online Self-regulated Learning Questionnaire results, developed by
Barnard et al (2009), the results revealed that self-regulated learning strategies
support student learning. However, many students are still uncomfortable with

86
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

online learning platforms that hinder the learning process and are less prepared to
face online learning due to a lack of ability to design self-regulated learning.
Although several studies have been conducted on online self-regulated
learning (Barnard-Brak et al (2010); Zheng et al (2016); Shih et al (2019); Schwam
et al (2021)), to the best of the authors’ knowledge when the study was conducted,
there was no study which describes students' self-regulated learning strategies in
online learning in Indonesia context at the time of COVID-19 pandemic. To fill the
gap, this research was intended to identify EFL undergraduate students' online self-
regulated learning strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conceptually, this
study intends to add new insights and knowledge for readers regarding online self-
regulated learning strategies for EFL undergraduate students during the COVID-19
pandemic. In practice, this research intends to raise EFL undergraduate students'
awareness of online self-regulated learning strategies so that they can help
themselves to optimize their learning to be better and more successful during the
COVID-19 pandemic.

METHOD
This survey was conducted at one of Yogyakarta's private universities with
the goal of identifying participants' online self-regulated English learning strategies
during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants enrolled in online learning design for
communication skills in English courseworks from September 2020 to March 2022
as part of the university's fully online learning policy. Google Classroom, Zoom,
WhatsApp groups were the course delivery format online learning service for this
institution. Google and Zoom were purchased by institutions of higher education for
the purpose of blended learning and online learning, either synchronous or
asynchronous learning mode. The participants were first year students who
enrolled at the university at the time when the university set online learning as the
online learning mode due to COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Creswell (2014) , the aim of a survey study is to generalize from
a sample about the population’s attitudes, behavior, and characteristics and draw
inferences of the population. The population consists of 101 English Language
Education undergraduate students registered in class of 2020 in the Department of
English Language Education. In terms of sample size, the researchers decided to use
the Slovin formula as the primary reference in calculating the sample size, and 81
students who were willing to participate in this study and completed the survey
were obtained. The Slovin formula was used by the researchers because the
researchers needed a minimum number of samples to allow for the possibility of
making an error with a margin of error of 0.05. All participants were freshmen, with
27 males and 54 females taking English skills courses.
In this study, the researchers used the Online Self-regulated English Learning
(OSEL) questionnaire developed by Zheng et al (2016). OSEL consists of 21 items
with a 5-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (do not agree at all) to 5 (strongly
agree). Each of these items refers to the domain of online self-regulated learning in
online learning: Goal setting (5 items), Environment structuring (4 items), Task
strategies and time management (5 items), Help seeking (3 items), and Self-
evaluation (4 items). The OSEL questionnaire by Zheng et al (2016) was tested valid
in a previous study and has an alpha coefficient of around 0.76-0.86 for each factor

87
Genti Putri Dwi Redjeki, Astri Hapsari
EFL Graduate Students’ Online Self-Regulated Learning Strategies
during COVID-19 Pandemic

(overall alpha = 0.91), so it is classified as a consistent reliability instrument.

However, the first author also retested the questionnaire adapted through SPSS V.23
to find out the consistency of the instrument from this study. The results show that
this instrument has a Cronbachs Alpha of 0.90. In this study, the OSEL questionnaire
from Zheng et al. (2016) was translated into Indonesian and content validity was
discussed with the supervisor (second author) to make it easier for participants to
understand the contents of each questionnaire item.
To facilitate distribution of the questionnaire, it was created using a Google
form. Because the conditions did not allow for the distribution of questionnaires
directly to participants and online learning was still being implemented, the
questionnaires were distributed in the form of a link to participants via WhatsApp
groups and personal chat participants. The use of an Internet survey and its
administration online has been discussed in the literature Sue & Ritter (2012). If there
are multiple answers, the collected data is transferred to a Google spreadsheet for
selection. Data proceeded with Google Spreadsheets and SPSS. The mean and
standard deviation of the variables are determined using descriptive statistics. The
results are then displayed in graphs and tables.

FINDINGS

Figure1. The Overall Survey Result

According to the findings, the majority of participants choose environment

structuring as a strategy to support online English learning (M= 4.015, SD= 1.033).
Meanwhile, students in online English learning used the fewest strategies in the
domain of task strategies and time management (M= 3.365, SD= 1.062).

Table 1. The Overall Survey Result

Domains of self-regulation N Minimum Maximu Mean SD
m
Goal setting 81 1,60 5,00 3,800 0,890
Environment structuring 81 1,00 5,00 4,015 1,033
Task strategies and time management 81 1,00 5,00 3,365 1,062
Help-seeking 81 1,33 5,00 3,827 1,081
Self-evaluation 81 1,75 5,00 3,784 0,968

88
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Goal setting
Table 2. Result of goal-setting domain
Item Statement N Mean SD
Number
2 I set standards for my assignments when learning 81 4.111 0.790
English online.
3 I keep a high standard for my learning in my online 81 3.963 0.797
English course.
4 I set goals to help me manage study time for my online 81 3.95 0.864
English learning.
1 I set short-term (daily or weekly) goals as well as long- 81 3.753 0.859
term (monthly or for the semester) goals when learning
the English course online.
5 I don't compromise the quality of my work in the English 81 3.222 1.14

There are 5 items regarding the domain goal setting in items 1 to 5. Based on the
table above, the most widely used strategy by students was found in item Q2 (M=
4.111, SD= 0.79) with the statement “I set standards for my assignments when
learning English online”. Then the least strategy used by students was found in item
Q5 (M= 3.222, SD= 1.14) with the statement “I don't compromise the quality of my
work in the English”. The mean score for items in the goal setting domain (M= 3.800,
SD= 0.890).

Environment structuring
Table 3. Result of environment structuring domain
Item Statement N Mean SD
Number
6 I choose a good location for learning English online to 81 4.308 0.903
avoid too much distraction.
7 I find a comfortable place for learning English online. 81 4.012 1.078
9 I choose a time with few distractions when studying 81 4.00 0.948
English online.
8 I know where I can learn English online most efficiently. 81 3.74 1.201

Item 6 to 9 is domain environment structuring. Item Q6 is the most widely

applied strategy by students in learning English online (M= 4.308, SD= 0.903) with
the statement “I choose a good location for learning English online to avoid too much
distraction”. Then the strategy that is least used by students in this domain is found
in item Q8 (M= 3.74, SD= 1.201) with the statement “I know where I can learn English
online most efficiently”. The mean score for items in the environment structuring
domain (M= 4.015, SD= 1.033).

Task Strategies and Time Management

Table 4. Result of task strategies and time management domain
Item Statement N Mean SD
Number

89
Genti Putri Dwi Redjeki, Astri Hapsari
EFL Graduate Students’ Online Self-Regulated Learning Strategies
during COVID-19 Pandemic

13 I allocate extra study time to learning English online 81 3.518 0.95

because I know it is time-consuming.
14 I try to schedule the same time every day or every week 81 3.506 1.001
to learn English online, and I observe the schedule.
12 I do extra online exercises in addition to the assigned 81 3.444 1.095
ones to master the course content.
10 I read aloud the English instructional materials posted 81 3.185 1.184
online to fight against distractions.
11 I prepare my questions before learning instructional 81 3.172 1.081
materials online.

Students chose Q13 in the domain of task strategy and time management as the
strategy most used by students in learning English online (M= 3.518, SD= 0.950) with
the statement “I allocate extra study time for learning English online because I know
it is time-consuming”. Then the students slightly chose a strategy on the Q11 item
(M= 3.172, SD= 1.081) with the statement “I prepare my questions before learning
instructional materials online”. The mean score for items in the task strategies and
time management domain (M= 3.365, SD= 1.062).

Help-seeking
Table 5. Result of help-seeking domain
Item Statement N Mea SD
Number n
16 I share my problems with my classmates online so we 81 4.061 0.991
know what we are struggling with and how to solve our
problems.
15 I find someone who is knowledgeable in online English 81 3.728 1.084
language learning so that I can consult with him or her
when I need help.
17 If needed, I try to meet my classmates face-to-face and 81 3.691 1.168
discuss problems when learning English online.

The help-seeking domain above shows that many students choose Q16 as a
strategy that can help them in learning English online (M= 4.061, SD= 0.991) with the
statement “I share my problems with my classmates online so we know what we are
struggling with and how to solve our problems”. Then the students slightly chose a
strategy on item Q17 (M= 3.691, SD= 1.168) with the statement “If needed, I try to
meet my classmates face-to-face and discuss problems when learning English online”.
The mean score for items in the help-seeking domain is: (M= 3.827, SD= 1.081)
Self-evaluation
Table 6. Result of self-evaluation domain
Item Statement N Mean SD
Number
21 I communicate with my classmates to find out what I am 81 3.987 0.955
learning that is different from what they are learning.
20 I communicate with my classmates to find out how I am doing 81 3.74 1.104
with my online English learning.
19 I ask myself a lot of questions about the course material when 81 3.716 0.925
studying for an online course.
18 I summarize my online English learning to examine my 81 3.691 0.889
understanding of what I have learned.

90
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

In the self-evaluation domain, students chose Q21 as the most widely applied
strategy in online English learning (M = 3.987, SD = 0.955) with the statement “I
communicate with my classmates to find out what I am learning that is different from
what they are learning”. Then the students chose a little strategy on the Q18 item
(M= 3.691, SD= 0.889) with the statement “ I summarize my online English learning
to examine my understanding of what I have learned". The mean score for items in
the self-evaluation domain (M= 3.784, SD= 0.968).

DISCUSSION
The current study attempted to identify EFL undergraduate students’ online
self-regulated learning strategies, especially freshmen who are taking courses that
focus on English skills during the COVID-19 pandemic. The identified English online
self-regulation includes 5 domains that have the same domain structure as revealed
by previous research (e.g., Barnard et al. (2009); Zheng et al. (2016); Kirmizi (2014))
namely goal setting, environment structuring, task strategy, time management, help
seeking, and self-evaluation. Then this study has a satisfactory or consistent
Cronbach’s alpha reliability value and has the same tested valid instruments as
previous studies.
Based on the results of descriptive statistics, the majority of students chose
the environmental structuring domain (M= 4.015, SD= 1.033) as the most widely
used strategy by students in online English learning. The findings of this study
revealed that the environmental structuring domain, particularly the determination
of the right place and away from distractions (M= 4.308, SD= 0.903) in item 6, is a
strategy that is commonly used by EFL students when learning English online with
concentration and without distractions (M= 4.308, SD= 0.903). This demonstrates
that freshmen have strong self-regulation abilities in organizing and determining
the best location for English language learning, ensuring that it runs smoothly.The
findings in this study revealed that the environmental structuring domain,
especially regarding the determination of the right place and away from distractions
(M= 4.308, SD= 0.903) in item 6 is a strategy that is mostly used by EFL students
when learning English online with concentration without any distractions. This
shows that freshmen have high self-regulation abilities in organizing and
determining the right place that supports English language learning thus that it runs
well. Similar to previous research,Zheng et al. (2016) revealed that the
environmental structuring domain is the most widely applied strategy, respondents
can determine and choose the right place to avoid disturbing things when learning
English online. With the development of the times, the results of this research will
be different from previous research and there will be developments and changes
from previous research. (Kirmizi, 2014) had different findings, the researcher found
that self-regulation in the goal-setting domain was relatively higher. Therefore, it
can be said that students' self-regulation ability in Kirmizi (2014) research on goal
setting is an important strategy for them to achieve satisfactory learning outcomes
when learning online.
Furthermore, this study's findings are consistent with previous studies (e.g.,
Zheng et al. (2016); Kirmizi (2014) that the task strategies and time management
domain in self-regulation is the least used strategy by students learning English
online (M= 3.365, SD= 1.062). When learning English online, students can still

91
Genti Putri Dwi Redjeki, Astri Hapsari
EFL Graduate Students’ Online Self-Regulated Learning Strategies
during COVID-19 Pandemic

manage their time well, try to make schedules, practice spelling questions, and
reread materials independently, according to the findings. However, many students
still do not prepare questions for online learning (M= 3.172, SD= 1.081) in item 11.
This demonstrates that students' self-regulation ability in preparing for learning is
still lacking, as most students do not study the material prior to class. As a result,
students rarely prepare questions or even don't want to ask when there is still
material that is unclear and they appear to understand the material presented by
the teacher. This makes the class passive, and many students do not understand the
material, which is detrimental to the next learning process. According to previous
research by Kirmizi (2014), students' self-regulation abilities in time management
were quite good because students could divide their time with other activities so
that it did not interfere with learning time. However, students' ability to self-
regulate in task strategies has yet to be demonstrated; most students stated that
they did not think about the course or class content prior to the learning activity, so
most students did not prepare questions. Students must first know something,
specifically by studying the material prior to class, in order to know what they do
not know and prepare questions to ask in class. However, as shown in the data,
there are still many students who are unconcerned about this.

CONCLUSION
The purpose of this study was to identify EFL undergraduate students' online
self-regulated learning strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. 81 EFL
undergraduate students batch 2020 from the Department of English Education have
filled out and completed the questionnaire. The findings of this study reveal that EFL
undergraduate students have a high ability to self-regulated learning strategies in
the domain environment structuring. However, EFL undergraduate students have
low ability for self-regulated learning strategies in the task strategies and time
management domain. Therefore, applying self-regulation provides a very important
contribution to the teaching and learning process. Students become more
independent by changing their learning patterns and making learning strategies to
achieve the planned learning objectives and support learning success. For
pedagogical implications, a workshop on task strategies and time management may
help freshmen to have better online self-regulated English learning strategies. For
further research, the researcher recommends other researchers investigate the
relationship between the length of time undergraduate students learn English and
their self-regulated learning strategies. This study also still has limitations in terms
of the target population which only covers freshmen from one major in a private
university. Future research may involve larger numbers of participants from all the
departments in the faculty for more insight into online self-regulated English
learning strategies.

REFERENCES

Adedoyin, O. B., & Soykan, E. (2020). Covid-19 pandemic and online learning: The
challenges and opportunities. Interactive Learning Environments, 1–13.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2020.1813180

92
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Barnard, L., Lan, W. Y., To, Y. M., Paton, V. O., & Lai, S.-L. (2009). Measuring self-
regulation in online and blended learning environments. The Internet and
Higher Education, 12(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2008.10.005
Barnard-Brak, L., Paton, V. O., & Lan, W. Y. (2010). Self-regulation across time of first-
generation online learners. ALT-J, 18(1), 61–70.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09687761003657572
Bdair, I. A. (2021). Nursing students’ and faculty members’ perspectives about
online learning during COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study. Teaching and
Learning in Nursing, 16(3), 220–226.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2021.02.008
Broadbent, J., & Poon, W. L. (2015). Self-regulated learning strategies & academic
achievement in online higher education learning environments: A systematic
review. The Internet and Higher Education, 27, 1–13.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2015.04.007
Cho, M.-H., Kim, Y., & Choi, D. (2017). The effect of self-regulated learning on college
students’ perceptions of community of inquiry and affective outcomes in online
learning. The Internet and Higher Education, 34, 10–17.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2017.04.001
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research-design_qualitative-quantitative-and-mixed-
methods-approaches. https://fe.unj.ac.id/wp-
content/uploads/2019/08/Research-Design_Qualitative-Quantitative-and-
Mixed-Methods-Approaches.pdf
Gonida, E. N., Karabenick, S. A., Stamovlasis, D., Metallidou, P., & Greece, the C. T. Y.
(2019). Help seeking as a self-regulated learning strategy and achievement
goals: The case of academically talented adolescents. High Ability Studies, 30(1–
2), 147–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598139.2018.1535244
Horner, S. L., & Shwery, C. S. (2002). Becoming an engaged, self-regulated reader.
Theory Into Practice, 41(2), 102–109.
https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4102_6
Indriani, K. S., & Widiastuti, N. M. A. (2021). Students’ attitudes towards English
online learning through Moodle during the COVID-19 pandemic. Celtic: A
Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, 8(2),
190–205.
Kirmizi, O. (2014). Self-regulated learning strategies employed by regular, evening,
and distance education English language and literature students. The
Anthropologist, 18(2), 447–460.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09720073.2014.11891563
Kitsantas, A., Robert, A. R., & Doster, J. (2004). Developing self-regulated learners:
goal setting, self-evaluation, and organizational signals during acquisition of
procedural skills. The Journal of Experimental Education, 72(4), 269–287.
https://doi.org/10.3200/JEXE.72.4.269-287
Lynch, R., Korea, S., & Dembo, M. (2004). The Relationship between self-regulation
and online learning in a blended learning context. International Review of
Research in Open and Distance Learning, 5(2).

93
Genti Putri Dwi Redjeki, Astri Hapsari
EFL Graduate Students’ Online Self-Regulated Learning Strategies
during COVID-19 Pandemic

Pintrich, P. R., Smith, D. A. F., García, T., & McKeachie, W. J. (1991). A manual for the
use of the motivated strategies questionnaire (MSLQ).
Schwam, D., Greenberg, D., & Li, H. (2021). Individual differences in delf-regulated
learning of college students enrolled in online college courses. American Journal
of Distance Education, 35(2), 133–151.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2020.1829255
Shih, M., Liang, J.-C., & Tsai, C.-C. (2019). Exploring the role of university students’
online self-regulated learning in the flipped classroom: a structural equation
model. Interactive Learning Environments, 27(8), 1192–1206.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10494820.2018.1541909
Sue, V. M., & Ritter, L. A. (2012). Conducting online surveys (2nd ed.). Sage.
Tanjung, P. A., & Ashadi, A. (2019). Differentiated instruction in accommodating
individual differences of efl students. Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English
Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, 6(2), 63–72.
https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v6i2.9941
Wigfield, A., Klauda, S. L., & Cambria, J. (2015). Influences on the development of
academic self-regulatory processes. In Handbook of self-regulation of learning
and performance. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203839010.ch3
Won, S., Hensley, L. C., & Wolters, C. A. (2021). Brief research report: Sense of
belonging and academic help-seeking as self-regulated learning. The Journal of
Experimental Education, 89(1), 112–124.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2019.1703095
Yot-Domínguez, C., & Marcelo, C. (2017). University students’ self-regulated learning
using digital technologies. International Journal of Educational Technology in
Higher Education, 14(1), 38. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-017-0076-8
Zheng, C., Liang, J. C., Yang, Y. F., & Tsai, C. C. (2016). The relationship between
Chinese university students’ conceptions of language learning and their online
self-regulation. System, 57, 66–78.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2016.01.005
Zimmerman, B. J. (2011). Motivational sources and outcomes of self-regulated
learning and performance. In B. J. Zimmerman & D. H. Schunk (Eds.), Handbook
of self-regulation of learning and performance (pp. 49–64). Taylor Francis.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2015). Self-Regulated learning: Theories, measures, and
outcomes. In International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (pp.
541–546). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.26060-1

94
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

APPENDIX
Online self-regulated English Learning (OSEL) by Zheng (2016)
Item Statement Domains
1 I set short-term (daily or weekly) goals as Goal setting
well as long-term (monthly or for the
semester) goals when learning the
English course online.
2 I set standards for my assignments when
learning English online.
3 I keep a high standard for my learning in my
online English course.
4 I set goals to help me manage study time for
my online English learning.
5 I don't compromise the quality of my work in
the English
6 I choose a good location for learning English Environment
online to avoid too much distraction. structuring
7 I find a comfortable place for learning English
online.
8 I know where I can learn English online most
efficiently.
9 I choose a time with few distractions when
studying English online.
10 I read aloud the English instructional Task strategies
materials posted online to fight against and time
distractions. management
11 I prepare my questions before learning
instructional materials online.
12 I do extra online exercises in addition to the
assigned ones to master the course content.
13 I allocate extra study time to learning English
online because I know it is time-consuming.
14 I try to schedule the same time every day or
every week to learn English online, and I
observe the schedule.
15 I find someone who is knowledgeable in Help-seeking
online English language learning so that I can
consult with him or her when I need help.
16 I share my problems with my classmates
online so we know what we are struggling
with and how to solve our problems.
17 If needed, I try to meet my classmates face-to-
face and discuss problems when learning
English online.

95
Genti Putri Dwi Redjeki, Astri Hapsari
EFL Graduate Students’ Online Self-Regulated Learning Strategies
during COVID-19 Pandemic

18 I summarize my online English learning to Self-evaluation

examine my understanding of what I have
learned.
19 I ask myself a lot of questions about the
course material when studying for an online
course.
20 I communicate with my classmates to find out
how I am doing with my online English
learning.
21 I communicate with my classmates to find out
what I am learning that is different from what
they are learning.

96
 97

ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES LEARNERS'

NEEDS ANALYSIS: LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES
ENCOUNTERED BY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN
ETHIOPIA

Sileshi Chemir*, Tamene Kitila

Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia

ABSTRACT
The study sought to uncover the English language barriers that tertiary
students faced while studying their academic courses in Ethiopia. The
survey involved 421 participants (72 in the pilot research and 349 in the
main research). To collect the relevant data, the researchers used a mixed-
method technique. The study used probabilistic and purposive sampling
techniques to choose samples from the target populations. The findings
indicated that students had difficulties (e.g., in academic reading, writing,
listening, and speaking) in studying their academic courses in English. The
participants also indicated that current English language courses failed to
E-ISSN: 2621-9158 encourage first-year students to improve their academic language
P-ISSN:2356-0401 competency to continue their studies. This happened due to a lack of
thorough examination of learners' needs before creating any language
*Correspondence: curriculum. As a result, needs analysis should be viewed as the first phase
[email protected] to examine learners’ academic language difficulties and design EAP
syllabus that caters academic language requirements of the students both
in the target and learning situations.
Submitted: 21 March 2022
Approved: 20 June 2022
Published: 30 June 2022 Keywords: Academic Language Skills; Difficulties; EAP; Higher Education;
Needs Analysis

Citation: ABSTRAK
Chemir, S & Kitila, T. (2022). Studi ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis hambatan bahasa Inggris yang
English for academic purposes dihadapi oleh mahasiswa saat belajar program akademik mereka di
learners' needs analysis: Language
difficulties encountered by
Ethiopia. Survei ini melibatkan 421 peserta (72 dalam penelitian
university students in Ethiopia. percontohan dan 349 dalam penelitian utama). Untuk mengumpulkan
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English data yang relevan, peneliti menggunakan teknik metode campuran.
Language Teaching, Literature and Penelitian ini menggunakan teknik probabilistik dan purposive sampling
Linguistics, 9(1), 97-119. Doi:
10.22219/celtic.v9i1.20646
untuk memilih sampel dari populasi sasaran. Temuan menunjukkan
bahwa siswa mengalami kesulitan (misalnya, dalam membaca akademik,
menulis, mendengarkan, dan berbicara) dalam mempelajari kursus
akademik mereka dalam bahasa Inggris. Para peserta juga menunjukkan
bahwa kursus bahasa Inggris saat ini belum berhasil mendorong siswa
tahun pertama untuk meningkatkan kompetensi bahasa akademik
mereka untuk melanjutkan studi mereka. Hal ini terjadi karena kurangnya
pemeriksaan menyeluruh terhadap kebutuhan peserta didik sebelum
membuat kurikulum bahasa apa pun. Akibatnya, Analisis Kebutuhan
harus dilihat sebagai fase pertama untuk memeriksa kesulitan bahasa
akademik pelajar dan merancang silabus EAP yang memenuhi
persyaratan bahasa akademik siswa baik dalam target dan situasi belajar.

Kata Kunci: Analisis Kebutuhan; EAP; Keterampilan Bahasa Akademik;

Kesulitan; Pendidikan Tinggi

Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index
Silesi Chemir, Tamene Kitila
English for academic purposes learners' needs analysis:
Language difficulties encountered by university students in Ethiopia

INTRODUCTION
English for Academic Purposes (EAP) is introduced because many EFL/ESL
students in higher learning institutions need to develop their English academic
proficiency. Without mastery of academic language skills, students face difficulties
while studying their disciplinary fields (Kustati et al., 2020). Wubalem (2013), for
example, argued that mastering academic language skills is one of the most reliable
approaches to achieving academic success and job advancement in the globalized
world. Therefore, the focus of the University English language is based on
developing the academic proficiency of learners for the fulfilment of study
objectives.
In addition, English prepares the students for scientific communication,
international exchanges, education, and independent work with English-language
resources (Wubalem, 2013). Therefore, English is seen as an asset both for the
learners and the teachers that should be mastered for education purposes
(Suprayogi & Pranoto, 2020). This can be achieved by setting EAPs as a central
element of the university English Language Teaching (ELT) curriculum through
learners' needs analysis. However, according to Masyhud (2018), there are various
issues with teaching and studying ESP/EAP since most learners believe that learning
English has little to do with their academic subject of study.
Needs analysis (NA) plays a significant part in language education planning
before anything else (Benesch, 2001; Berman & Cheng, 2001). English for Academic
Purposes, therefore, follow NA procedures to design and tailor appropriate
materials and approaches for EAP learners (Zand-Moghadam et al., 2018). As a
result, ESP/EAP professionals determine what their students are likely to demand
to listen, speak, read, and write. Furthermore, several researchers and authors have
stressed the vital role of NA in syllabus design, particularly in EAP (Albassri, 2016;
Chatsungnoen, 2015; Ji, 2021; Kustati et al., 2020). Consequently, needs analysts
should frequently use a "present-to-target-situation” needs analysis to develop a
clear picture of a specific group of learners (Gholaminejad, 2020).
According to Gholaminejad (2020), needs analysts should include issues of
potential academic language skills and sub-skills that learners require while
conducting a survey of needs analysis. This means that needs analysis investigation
includes determining "what learners already know"(Dudley-Evans & St John., 1998,
p. 124), "what tasks and activities learners are or will be using English for" (Dudley-
Evans & St John, p. 125), and "what the learner needs to know to function effectively
in the target situation" (Dudley-Evans & St John, p. 126). NA is an essential
component of ESP/EAP because it allows practitioners and curriculum designers to
evaluate the needs of students in a specific academic setting.
English is the medium of teaching in Ethiopia, from high school to colleges
and universities. As a result, mastering the English language in such a context is
critical for learners studying their disciplinary subjects via English textbooks and
lectures (Biniam et al., 2015; Hyland, 2006). Under the harmonized curriculum,
Ethiopian universities currently teach Communicative English Skills I & II to all
freshmen before they enrolled in disciplinary courses. The Communicative English
skills (I & II) course books, as prescribed by the course designers (professionals
from various universities), emphasize that students enrolled in the Freshmen
English (Communicative skills I & II) program must listen to lectures, read books,

98
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

take notes, speak (communicate in various situations), and write exams, projects, or
assignments in English.
Numerous authors, particularly in EAP, have emphasized the importance of
NA because it is frequently dealing with unique needs that must be identified
precisely (e.g., Freddi, 2015; Thompson & Diani, 2015). It considers the unique
contexts and academic cultures of various subject areas. A Needs Analysis focuses
on the language and skills that must be taught. Additionally, it attempts to capture
the target needs of students, what they need to be able to perform as a result of the
course, their challenges (Target Situation Analysis) and deficiencies, their existing
proficiencies (Present Situation Analysis) and aspirations, and what learners wish
to learn (cf. Flowerdew and Peacock 2001; Hyland 2006; Flowerdew 2013, Freddi,
2015).
A small number of research on the academic language needs of
undergraduate students have been conducted in the local context (e. g., Aklilu, 2015;
T. Biniam, 2013; T. G. Biniam et al., 2015; Jha, 2013; Medihanit, 2010; Yenus, 2017).
However, studies on TSA and PSAhave not provided enough information about
undergraduate students' needs, wants, lacks, and views about their language
challenges and future academic language needs. In particular, in Ethiopian higher
education, the difficulties that students have in learning English are frequently
overlooked or inadequately investigated based on learners' needs analysis. The
researchers could further claim that the English courses appear to be offered solely
to fulfil course requirements rather than to assist students in improving their
English skills while studying discipline-specific subjects and performing scientific
research.
Therefore, the current study examines potential areas of academic language
skills difficulties that students encounter over their academic careers. The study, in
particular, intends to address the following research question: “What academic
language difficulties do first-year Ethiopian university students face while learning
their academic courses in English?”
The study aims to address academic language skills that undergraduate
students need by identifying their potential difficulties. Even though it is
recommended that involving learners in NA process plays a key role (Hyland, 2006;
Long, 2005), it is not easy to get comprehensive NA study of Ethiopian university
students, particularly regarding learners’ language difficulties. Therefore, the current
study attempts to inform the importance of students' voices while designing EAP
materials through exploring learners’ academic language difficulties. More
importantly, the primary aim of this research is twofold: first, to identify the major
academic language skills perceived as problematic; second, to examine the sub-skills
or language aspects that obstruct students' academic success in the university.

EAP Needs Analysis and Academic Language Skills

Ji (2021) asserts that conducting a needs analysis is critical for developing
foreign language education policies. Language curricula that are designed using a
needs analysis approach can effectively meet students' needs and desires while also
facilitating the teaching and learning process. Thus, this section discusses the EAP
needs analysis regarding the academic language skills (speaking, listening, reading,
writing) and components (vocabulary and structure).

99
Silesi Chemir, Tamene Kitila
English for academic purposes learners' needs analysis:
Language difficulties encountered by university students in Ethiopia

Academic Listening Skills

The importance of academic listening comprehension has been highlighted
in second (L2) or foreign language (FL) acquisition literature (Supeno, 2018). Thus,
the primary goal of academic listening instruction at the university is to help
students develop skills such as note-taking, lecture comprehension, listening to
informational instructions, listening to presentations, and participating in and
succeeding in academic or academic-related discourse (Goh, 2013). So, EAP
students are required to have excellent note-taking and listening comprehension
skills to grasp lectures and communicate with others in the university (Ibid).
Needs analysis studies on academic listening have been conducted in a
variety of contexts, including Iran (Rahimirad & Moini, 2015; Zohoorian, 2015), and
the United States (Zohoorian, 2015; Quintus et al., 2012). For instance, Rahimirad
and Moini (2015) examined difficulty of listening to lectures in an EAP class with a
group of Iranian learners. They discovered that EAP students encountered
significant challenges to grasp lectures delivered in English. The findings also
suggested the necessity of language teachers to devote sufficient attention to the
strategic use of listening tasks in EAP classrooms to enable their students to extract
content information from input.
Quintus et al. (2012) examined the 'Effect of the Cornell Note-Taking Method
on Students' Performance in North Dakota State University'. They found that taking
notes during listening is a challenging task but an essential skill during lectures in
the college. Additionally, they noted that by teaching students a structured
technique for taking notes, the problems associated with note-taking during lecture
can be solved.
According to Ali (2011), among the main problems were difficulties in
understanding and identifying the meaning of words while taking notes and
listening to lectures; he also suggested the need to improve the quality of lecturing
to enhance students' listening proficiency. Yurekli (2012) also conducted a study on
'Analysis of Curriculum Renewal in EAP context' in Turkey. She found listening
incompetence due to vocabulary and accents has become the most weaknesses in
linguistics and academic skills. Consequently, she suggested that attention should
be given to help learners improve the basic comprehension problems they
encounter in their studies. Therefore, it is more helpful to design an EAP curriculum
based on students' academic language needs to attain their perceived and desired
comprehension skills for their academic success (Goh, 2013).

Academic Speaking Skills

Academic speaking skills allow students to practice speaking tasks and
activities in different situations while studying at the university. This means
students should be engaged in these tasks and activities on both cognitive and
affective level. However, many English learners struggle to express themselves
orally; they frequently encounter difficulties when attempting to use a foreign
language (English). Gan (2012) noted that one of the problems is shortage of
terminology, which in many cases is the most significant obstacle to oral skills. For
instance, learners may pause speaking when they are unable to discover the
appropriate words and expressions. Additionally, students frequently have

100
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

communication difficulties while doing internships, apprenticeships, or actual

career after graduation.
Research findings into academic speaking show that both learners and
teachers face difficulties while dealing with oral communications. This is because
speaking in academic and professional settings occurs both in formal and
informal situations. Regarding to this, learners are expected to be confident and
have knowledge of pertinent vocabulary and language functions to communicate in
various situations.

Academic Reading Skills

According to Grabe (2009) and Syafi (2021), reading is the most critical skill
required in intercultural settings, in academic learning, and in self-study
circumstances. Similarly, academic reading skill is regarded as an essential skill for
university students to acquire knowledge about their field of study in higher
education. Widowati and Kurniasih (2018) state that through critical reading, the
students can gather much information and evidence or data related to the topic
given by the instructor.
Despite the fact that reading is generally seen as the easiest of the four
language skills, research indicates that reading difficulties are indeed addressed in
EAP/EFL situations (Chatsungnoen, 2015). According to the author, engineering
students in Thailand have expressed difficulty comprehending their field
related publications, office paperwork, project or lab reports, and manuals
pertaining to engineering. Brooks (2015) further notes that the absence of a
systematic examination of the nature of academic reading practices research is
extremely problematic in higher education because knowing the source of students'
reading difficulties is necessary for developing an appropriate instructional
response.

Academic Writing Skills

Learners require academic writing skills to pursue a successful study career
(Kao & Reynolds, 2017). According to Yelay (2017), the ability to write academic
papers is commonly recognized as a hallmark of graduates from higher education;
university students must be able to write clearly on academic and research-related
issues. Student academic writing, according to Coffin et al. (2005), is at the heart of
learning and instruction in higher education. Learners are evaluated mostly on the
basis of their written work and must master both general academic standards and
disciplinary writing requirements to thrive in higher education. Additionally,
studies reveal that in EAP, considerable percentages of participants reported having
writing needs for notes, essays, memos, e-mails, formal letters, and reporting and
interpreting tables (e.g., Coffin et al., 2005; Yelay, 2017).
Furthermore, the areas in which participants felt a need for improvement
were developing arguments, joining sentences and paragraphs, writing well-
developed paragraphs, writing introductory and body paragraphs, and arranging
ideas (Yelay, 2017). However, Yelay (2017) also stated that students studying
English as a second (L2) or foreign language (FL) sometimes struggle to create
academic papers of sufficient quality to satisfy university requirements. Academic
language issues are not the only difficulties; students also lack familiarity with the

101
Silesi Chemir, Tamene Kitila
English for academic purposes learners' needs analysis:
Language difficulties encountered by university students in Ethiopia

academic writing conventions in English (Ibid). Moreover, reports on students'

academic writing point out that the writing performance of adolescents is of great
concern (e.g., Aisyah & Wicaksono, 2018) in higher education.
As a result, academic writing is perhaps the most problematic area in tertiary
education. This is because writing activities range from writing short responses in
examinations to producing essays, reports, dissertations, theses, and journal
articles. Moreover, this area of EAP is especially significant for first-year students as
they come from different backgrounds in many respects. As a result, academic
writing is consistently regarded as the most challenging of the four academic
language skills, as it requires complex mental processes such as analysis, synthesis,
and evaluation. As a result, writing is frequently overlooked in favor of academic
reading, speaking, and listening by both learners and EAP instructors, considering it
as time-taking when writing and marking it (Kao & Reynolds, 2017).

Academic Vocabulary
Vocabulary is likely the most visible component of language item. In a variety
of settings, shortage of word knowledge is considered as an impediment to student
academic achievement (Nagy et al., 2012). For example, Alemu (1994) indicated that
adequate vocabulary knowledge is indispensable to achieving communicative
objectives in foreign language learning. Yopp et al. (2009) further confirmed that
knowledge of vocabulary is a good indicator of academic achievement for several
years. This may imply that vocabulary is a feature that demands further attention
from course designers and curriculum architects, as it provides the foundation for
all other skills. We consider both general academic terms (i.e., terminologies that are
used across disciplines and that are more frequently used in academic language than
in non-academic) and discipline-specific academic terms (e.g., terminologies that
are typically unique to individual academic discipline).
However, academic vocabulary acquisition is frequently a considerable
challenge for EFL learners in general, and university students in particular. Hyland
(1997), Evans and Green (2007), and Ying Ho Ha and Hyland (2017) conducted
extensive research and found that one of the most significant obstacles
undergraduate learners in Hong Kong faced is the acquisition of professional
vocabulary. Thus, academic vocabulary is crucial for EAP students since it enables
them to develop subject competence. Nonetheless, EAP teachers typically face
shortage of specialized knowledge essential to develop effective instructional
materials for technical terminology and therefore feel uneasy in this area (Ying Ho
Ha & Hyland, 2017)). On the other hand, comprehending technical vocabulary
serves as a precursor to subject area of teaching and learning (Chung & Nation,
2004).

Academic Grammar
According to Chatsungnoen (2015) and Ouafa (2019), learners who do not
learn grammar lessons appear to be incapable of expanding their language
proficiency. Thus, grammatical knowledge is a fundamental aspect of English,
particularly in universities where scientific communications prevail. Yurekli (2012)
also underlined the inherent integration of Grammar and Academic Vocabulary into
all skills. Notably, some grammar elements are commonly seen in scientific

102
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

discourses, and such rhetorical elements emerge on multiple levels in published

papers (for example, in science or technology).
Haregewain (2008) examined the Impact of Communicative Grammar on
Academic Writing Accuracy among Ethiopian students and found that students
generated more efficient and correct writing when communicative grammar
activities were used to improve writing skills. Similarly, Ouafa (2019) carried out a
study on 'First Year Master Students of Computer Science Department in Algeria'. He
discovered that the in-house materials are likely to have a variety of structures with
varying difficulty, as well as references to the past, present, or future tenses, and
active and passive voices; he also concluded that to write effectively in academic
settings, university students should be taught grammar structures such as present
tense, past tense, and perfect tenses.

METHOD
The study employed a mixed-methods approach in order to elicit key insights
and considerations on the difficulties learners encounter while studying at
university or college. In addition, the researchers used a combination of quantitative
and qualitative procedures. A mixed-method strategy is a design that integrates
quantitative and qualitative approaches to extract comprehensive evidence and a
thorough understanding of the research topics (Aisyah & Wicaksono, 2018;
Creswell, 2003).

Participants and Sample Size

The study was carried out at Wachemo University, located in Southern
Nations, Ethiopia, about 230 kms from the capital Addis Ababa. A total of 421
participants were involved in the research (72 samples participated in pilot study
and 349 samples participated in main study). The subjects were first-year students
in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities who studied Communicative
English skills course during the first and second semesters of the academic year. The
instructors were full-time EA teachers and major subject areas teachers from the
same college in the university under study.
The sample size is critical for any inquiry in which the objective is to deduce
information about the population from a sample. The sample size determination
procedure is a method for determining the number of observations to include in the
sample. Thus, in the current study, 324 student participants were systematically
sampled from among 1106 of the total population. When this study was undertaken,
the sample comprised nearly 30% of the student population enrolled in the
academic year of 2021 in the Social Sciences and Humanities College. On the other
hand, the study recruited a sample of forty-one teachers from same College (CSSH)
using a complete enumeration technique. That means the teachers were included by
the census technique, which allowed for the inclusion of all sample participants due
to their small number for the questionnaire data.

Data Collection Instruments

Considering the complexity of needs assessment, Hutchinson and Waters
(1987) suggest multidimensional techniques for Needs Analysis. Basturkmen
(2010) and West (1994) also indicate that an essential step in NA is selecting an

103
Silesi Chemir, Tamene Kitila
English for academic purposes learners' needs analysis:
Language difficulties encountered by university students in Ethiopia

information-gathering instrument to determine the quality of the information to be

gathered. Various investigators have also recommended some common techniques
for Needs Analysis, although each technique has pros and cons. From the
comparison of those techniques, it is indicated that questionnaires, interviews, and
observations are the three most common ones. However, Astika (2015) emphasized
the importance of questionnaires and interviews as two frequently used techniques
for needs assessments. Therefore, structured questionnaires and semi-structured
interviews were used to collect data from student and teacher samples.

Questionnaire
Questionnaires are commonly used in needs analysis. Questionnaires can be
used with large numbers of study participants to obtain information that is easy to
organize and analyze (Cohen et al., 2000 & 2007). The questionnaires had the items
on academic English language skills and sub-skills difficulties that students
encounter in their course in the university. Two types of questionnaires (i.e., one for
freshman students and one for EAP and core course instructors) were prepared and
used as data gathering instruments. The questionnaire had a similar format and
purpose. The purpose of the questionnaire was to collect data on the learners’
learning and target needs for EAP. The questionnaire were prepared based on
previous empirical studies (Alfehaid, 2011; Alkutbi, 2018; Chatsungnoen, 2015;
Jordan, 1998; Qotbah, 1990; Richards, 2001). The questionnaire had also been pilot-
tested.
In this study, the questionnaire served as the primary data gathering
technique for getting information. The information from the survey questionnaire
would help the researchers determine students' language needs and the difficulties
they face when learning academic English language skills, in particular, situation
(e.g., learning situation). The questionnaire was divided into language skills and
components to examine the students' academic language difficulties when studying
their major courses.

Interview
Interview allows for optional follow-up questions that may vary from
participant to participant. According to Grinnell and Unrau (2005), interview has
the advantage of getting data in a natural setting to increase adaptability and
enhance the ability to regulate the setting in which the interview takes place. When
combined with the questionnaire, the interview provides a compelling argument for
their utilization as contrasted to the survey questionnaire. Interview also increases
potentials to explore and obtain additional information from the participants, which
is beneficial.
Thus, in conjunction with the questionnaire, semi-structured interviews
were used in this research to elicit additional data to complement the questionnaire.
The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews to better understand the
problematic areas of academic English language skills in the EAP program.
Therefore, semi-structured interview questions were developed and provided to
both student and teacher participants during the research process. Finally, the data
from the interviews were qualitatively analyzed based on Miles et al. (2014) by
using the representative quotes in the results and discussion section. Due to the

104
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

multilingual background of the student participants, English was used during the
interview process.

Reliability Test
According to Dörnyei (2007), data collection tools should score not less than
0.60 to be considered reliable. Table 1 shows the instruments for the reliability test.
Table 1. Reliability Test
Instrument Cronbach's alpha Number of items reliability
Students’ questionnaire 0.87 92
Instructors’ questionnaire 0.83 92
Source: Survey data (2021)

As indicated in Table 1, the analysis revealed that the two instruments were
reliable or internally consistent to measure the underlying construct.

Data Collection Procedures

There were 20 sections consisting of between 54 and 58 students in each
section. The number of samples systematically selected in each section was between
18 and 19 students. The surveys were then distributed to the student participants,
who were responsible for filling in the information. As far as data collection
procedures of teacher respondents are concerned, informal and formal discussions
were made during February 2021 academic year with department heads and
instructors at their respective offices. The researchers negotiated with the sample
teachers to participate in the research. In general, the respondents expressed their
interest to participate in the study. The questionnaires were then distributed to all
teachers, as census sampling had been used in the process. However, only 41 of the
respondents completed the surveys and returned them to the researchers, either in
person or through their department heads (a response rate of 64 %). And, the
remaining 23 respondents did not return the survey questionnaire, which yielded a
non-response rate of 36%. In general, from 421 total samples, 72 (53 freshman
students and 19 instructors) participated in pilot study, whereas 349 samples (i.e.,
308 freshman students and 41 EAP and subject/course instructors) took part in the
main study.
Regarding the interview data, the questions were designed in conjunction
with the questionnaire data (L. Richards, 2009) to ensure reliability and validity.
Accordingly, before the interview, the researchers made talks with the study
participants. Consequently, the interviewees agreed on the consent about their
voices to be captured using a phone recorder device. The interview protocols were
extensively discussed with the participants. For example, Flexi-schedules were
implemented to leave space for the interview participants to talk freely on the
phone, as there was no eye contact or gestures to give indications. Finally, the
communications were held smoothly and carefully with the individuals.

Data Analysis Techniques

105
Silesi Chemir, Tamene Kitila
English for academic purposes learners' needs analysis:
Language difficulties encountered by university students in Ethiopia

Because the initial data processing stage comprises converting subjective

data to numerical values via 'coding techniques,' data from the questionnaire were
coded into SPSS 20.0 (Dornyei, 2007). As a consequence, statistical techniques such
as percentages, mean, standard deviation, and sample size (n) were used to quantify
academic English challenges faced by the EFL learners.
Concerning the spacing between the five points of the Likert scale, Nyutu et
al. (2021) reveal that the five positions may or may not have an equal interval. Thus,
while the space between "not difficult at all/not problematic at all" and "slightly
difficult/somewhat problematic" is equal, the interval between
"difficult/problematic" and "neutral/no idea" is not equal (see Table 2)

Table 2. Qualitative Interpretation of 5-Point Likert Scale Measurements

Scale Likert-Scale Description Likert scale interval
1 Not difficult at all/not problematic 1.00-1.80
2 Slightly difficult /somewhat problematic 1.81-2.60
3 Difficult/problematic 2.61- 3.40
4 Very difficult/very problematic 3.41- 4.20
5 Extremely difficult/extremely problematic 4.21-5.00
Source: Nyutu et al. (2021)

Descriptive statistics were calculated for the aggregate data for the primary
analysis (frequencies, percentage, means, and standard deviation). Therefore, the
aggregate mean values were interpreted as follows: the mean values of 3.41 and
above show as 'for' (i.e., agree with the items), and the mean values below 2.61, show
'against' (i.e., disagree with the items). Finally, 2.61- 3.40 shows no idea or is labelled
as neutral.
The coded data were interpreted by employing descriptive statistics to verify
and summarize the individual responses to each questionnaire item. However, only
measures of central tendency were employed in the results and discussions section.
According to Dornyei (2007), the most consistently reported basic statistics are the
mean (M), the standard deviation (St. D), and the sample size (n). The mean values
represent information about the participants' scores. The standard deviation (St. D.)
is an index of the average disparity among the scores to indicate the average
distance of the scores from the mean. Furthermore, the participants' numbers (n)
represent the total sample of the respondents who participate in the study.
Next, qualitative analysis was used to examine the interview data. To do this,
the interview data were analyzed in three stages: preparation, analysis, and
summary (Alfehaid, 2011). Then, the audio-recorded interviews were verbatim
transcribed and transformed into shapes for ease of navigation. Unfinished
sentences, phrases, expressions, and pauses were transcribed during the
transcribing process. Following that, the interview data were evaluated to examine
students' EAP needs and difficulties they encountered to corroborate the
questionnaire results. Finally, representative quotes for the findings and discussion
sections were chosen.

FINDINGS

106
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

This subsection summarizes the findings and discussions that were

conducted to address the research topic: “What academic language skills and sub-
skills difficulties do university students face while learning their academic courses?”
The following section indicates the students' academic English language difficulties
as rated by the respondents. Thus, the respondents were asked to rate the items
from the extremely problematic (4) to not problematic (1) areas on a five-point
Likert scale, and it is presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Academic language skills and components perceived as problematic areas

Instructors Students
Items Mean SD N Mean SD N
Academic Listening skills 3.32 1.31 41 2.84 1.39 308
Academic Speaking skills 3.68 1.33 41 3.07 1.33 308
Academic Reading skills 2.85 1.40 41 2.64 1.42 308
Academic Writing skills 3.29 1.49 41 2.70 1.38 308
Academic Grammar 3.61 1.41 41 3.08 1.27 308
Academic Vocabulary 3.51 1.21 41 3.08 1.23 308
Pronunciation 3.71 1.31 41 3.12 1.27 308
Overall mean 3.42 1.35 41 2.93 1.33 308
Source: Survey data (2021)

In this study, to obtain data on how difficult the major academic English skills
were, the respondents were given lists of EAP components to rank order from
'extremely problematic' (5) to 'not problematic' (1). As can be noticed from Table
4.1, the instructor and student respondents rated all of the items (academic
language skills) as 'problematic'. However, the degree of difficulty varies from skill
to skill. For instance, the respondents rated pronunciation as the most problematic
area, with an overall mean score of (n= 41, M= 3.71 and n= 308, M= 3.12).
On the other hand, the findings revealed that both groups of respondents
perceived speaking skills (n= 41, M= 3.68 and n= 308, M= 3.07) as a problematic
area. Additionally, students' lack of confidence to speak English, their limited
English background, and insufficient time allocation to speaking skills in class were
identified as problems in the open-ended questions; getting little or no opportunity
to communicate in English in real-life contexts and the inappropriateness of
textbooks (modules) to students' speaking needs are also the most common
problems.
Grammar and vocabulary were rated the third most difficult language
aspects next to pronunciation and speaking skills. Poor listening comprehension
and poor writing skills were also considered as problematic areas for learners'
academic studies. The open-ended questions result also showed that listening is
problematic for the learners because of their inability to concentrate on the central
idea of the lecture, their unfamiliarity with listening skills in lower grades, and lack
of vocabulary and pronunciation problems. In addition, the unconducive
environment for teaching listening skills was also indicated as problematic.
In general, instructors' opinions of learners' English learning difficulties
surpassed students' perceptions with overall means score of (n= 41, M= 3.42, and
n= 398, M= 2.93) respectively. The stronger the mean score for 'pronunciation'
(M=3.42) rated by the teachers, the weaker the mean score for 'reading skill' (M=
2.64) ranked by the student respondents. In addition, respondents were required to

107
Silesi Chemir, Tamene Kitila
English for academic purposes learners' needs analysis:
Language difficulties encountered by university students in Ethiopia

indicate their perceptions about each language's sub-skill difficulty levels. As a

result, descriptive statistics on participant responses from both groups (instructors
and students) are provided in the tables below to illustrate the problematic areas of
each sub-skill. The findings are presented as mean values to illustrate the students'
academic English language proficiency. The difficulty levels were
'extremely difficult' (4.20-5.00),'very difficult' (3.41-4.20), 'difficult' (2.61-
3.40),'slightly difficult' (1.81-2.60), and 'not difficult at all (1.00 -1.80).

Table 4. Perceptions about the difficulty level of academic listening and speaking sub-components
Instructors Students
Items Mean SD N Mean SD N
Listening to instructions 2.90 1.34 41 2.57 1.38 308
Listening to presentation 3.32 1.37 41 2.67 1.38 308
during lectures
Listening to youtube and other 3.15 1.37 41 2.83 1.30 308
English media
Overall average 3.12 1.36 41 2.69 1.36 308
Talking to audiences 3.37 1.45 41 2.88 1.23 308
Asking and answering 3.10 1.43 41 2.61 1.27 308
questions during discussion
Introducing oneself and others 3.15 1.49 41 2.56 1.32 308
in a variety of contexts
Giving presentations 3.49 1.43 41 2.73 1.31 308
Stating opinions or ideas 3.37 1.41 41 2.77 1.29 308
during discussions
Speaking to foreigners 3.73 1.38 41 3.09 1.29 308
Pronunciation 3.71 1.52 41 2.88 1.32 308
Overall average 3.42 1.44 41 2.79 1.29 308
Source: Survey data (2021)

As revealed in Table 4, the participants expressed their perceptions of the

sub-components difficulties students face when studying their courses. Even though
the respondents have shown different estimates for the statements in each sub-
skill/component, both respondents perceived that these sub-components are
difficult areas for the student's learning. It means that student participants rated the
sub-skills as 'difficult' with an overall mean score (M= 2.69 for listening sub-skills
and M= 2.79 for speaking sub-skills), while the instructor respondents rated the sub-
skills as 'difficult' (M= 3.12 for listening sub-skills and 'very difficult' (M= 3.42) for
speaking sub-skills. The instructors' responses had a higher overall mean value than
the students' responses to indicate the difficulty level of the sub-skills components.
None of the respondents rated the sub-skills as 'not difficult at all,' except for a few
respondents who rated the sub-skills as 'slightly difficult'.
According to the authors, the listening problem may refer to the difficulty of
understanding the spoken language, and the language problems may imply
difficulties of vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, etc. Therefore, data obtained
from both groups of respondents in the present research imply that the sub-
skills/components are difficult for students' academic study and require further
improvement.
In general, higher mean value (n= 41, M= 3.12 & n=308, M= 2.69 for academic
listening and n=41, M= 3.42 & n=308, M= 2.79 for academic speaking sub-

108
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

skills/components) means the respondents reported that learners face challenges

in learning their academic courses due to inadequate academic language capability.
These academic language sub-skills/components (Table 4) were identified as
problematic by both groups of participants.

Table 5. Perceptions about the difficulty level of academic reading and writing sub-
skills/components
Instructors Students
Items Mean SD N Mean SD N
Reading laboratory reports 3.17 1.43 41 2.68 1.37 308
Reading exercise/test questions 2.63 1.36 41 2.50 1.47 308
Reading textbooks 2.49 1.36 41 2.36 1.52 308
Reading academic journal 3.07 1.46 41 2.44 1.40 308
articles/papers
Reading manuals and instructions 2.76 1.22 41 2.41 1.38 308
Searching the Internet English 2.46 1.14 41 2.40 1.38 308
resources
Reading handouts 2.51 1.17 41 2.33 1.36 308
Reading signs, rules, and notices in 2.80 1.35 41 2.52 1.36 308
a laboratory
Overall mean average 2.74 1.31 41 2.46 1.41 308
Writing research papers or 3.15 1.37 41 2.69 1.32 308
articles
Writing research papers or 3.17 1.32 41 2.81 1.35 308
articles
Writing examination answers 3.07 1.39 41 2.53 1.41 308
Writing notes from spoken or 2.95 1.45 41 2.65 1.36 308
reading sources
Describing diagrams, tables and 3.27 1.34 41 2.65 1.25 308
graphs through writing
Writing summary 3.20 1.47 41 2.80 1.30 308

Overall mean average 3.24 41 41 2.69 1.38 308

Source: Survey data (2021)

In Table 5, the data are presented in relation to the perceptions of

participants about a variety of academic reading and writing sub-skills. A scale
ranging from 5 ('very difficult') to 1 ('not difficult at all') was used to assess the level
of difficulty that the participants perceived with various portions of academic
reading. Despite the fact that mean values are distributed across a very limited
range, it is clear that respondents consider the information processing at the
micro/sub level to be comparably challenging as the information processing at the
macro/major skills level. As a result, the participants’ responses to these
skills/components are summarized in Table 5 in the form of mean values (in
descending order difficulty level).
Consequently, according to the mean values as regards to instructor
respondents, 'Reading laboratory reports' (M= 3.17), 'Reading academic journal
articles/ papers' (M= 3.07), 'Reading signs, rules, and notices in a lab.' (M= 2.80),
'Reading manuals and instructions' (M= 2.76) and 'Reading exercise/test questions'
(M= 2.63) were ranked as 'difficult' tasks. On the other hand, 'Reading textbooks (M=
2.49), 'Reading handouts' (M= 2.51) and 'Searching internet English resources' (M=
109
Silesi Chemir, Tamene Kitila
English for academic purposes learners' needs analysis:
Language difficulties encountered by university students in Ethiopia

2.46) were ranked 'slightly difficult' tasks. Hence, as demonstrated in the Table 4.2,
the mean values showed the instructor respondents perceived that most (five out of
eight) of the items were considered 'difficult' skills for students' academic study.
Regarding the student responses, the areas that the respondents perceived
'slightly difficult' were 'Reading signs, rules, and notices in a laboratory' (M= 2.52),
'Reading exam/test questions' (M= 2.50), 'Reading academic journal
articles/papers' (M= 2.44), 'Reading manuals and instructions' (M= 2.41),
'Searching internet for English resources' (M= 2.40), 'Reading textbooks' (M= 2.36),
and 'Reading handouts' (M= 2.33). The only item rated as 'difficult' was 'Reading
laboratory reports,' which received (M= 2.68) mean score. It might be because the
respondents thought that reading skills might be easy to acquire when compared
with other academic language skills. There is also a consensus among the items that
were indicated approximately still close to overall mean scores between (M= 2.74
and M= 2.6) for instructors and students, respectively.
The mean values presented in Table 5 showed participants' agreement on
students' difficulties concerning the academic writing sub-skills. The overall mean
scores for the academic writing components were M= 3.24 & M= 2.69 for instructors
and student respondents, respectively. In connection with specific writing
components, 'describing diagrams, tables and graphs through writing' had 3.27,
'writing summary had 3.20, writing research papers or articles' had 3.17, 'writing
laboratory reports or assignments' had 3.15, 'writing exam answers' had 3.0 7,
'writing notes from spoken or reading sources' had 2.95 mean value as rated by the
instructors while the mean values of, 'writing research papers or articles', 'writing
summary', 'laboratory reports or assignments', 'writing notes from spoken or
reading sources', 'describing diagrams, tables and graphs through writing', and
'writing exam answers', were rated 2.81, 2.80, 2.69, 2.65, 2.65, and 2.53 respectively
by the student respondents.
If we understand a mean of 2.60 or greater denotes a certain level of
difficulty, participants generally agreed that students face major difficulties in
academic writing sub-skills—with the exception of a sub-skill- writing exam
answers (i.e., 2.53 mean value), where the mean value is less than 2.60 (i.e., Slightly
difficult).
In Table 6, the findings show that both groups of sample respondents
indicated that the three vocabulary items as 'difficult,' with an overall mean score of
(M= 3.26 for instructors & M= 2.93 for students). In particular, ‘vocabulary meaning
guessing or contextual clues’ had (n= 41, M= 3.29), ‘the ways of learning new
vocabularies’ had (n= 41, M= 3.22), and ‘technical terms/ teaching
disciplinary/specific vocabulary’ had (n= 41, M= 3.29), exhibiting higher mean
scores than student responses. The instructors perceived the items as 'difficult' for
students' academic study; thus, these aspects of vocabulary may require due
attention in needs analysis situations. However, the student respondents rated the
items: 'the ways of learning new vocabularies' had a mean score of (n= 308, M=
2.95), 'vocabulary meaning guessing or contextual clues' had a mean score of (n=
308, M= 2.93), followed by 'technical terms/ teaching disciplinary/specific
vocabulary' which had a mean score of (n= 308, M= 2.92).

110
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Table 6. Perceptions about the difficulty level of academic vocabulary and Grammar aspects
Instructors Students
Items Mean SD N Mean SD N
Vocabulary meaning guessing or 3.29 1.29 41 2.93 1.30 308
contextual clues
Ways of learning new vocabularies 3.22 1.28 41 2.95 1.23 308
(e.g., collocations)
Technical terms or teaching 3.29 1.37 41 2.92 1.25 308
disciplinary or specific vocabulary
Overall average 3.26 1.31 41 2.93 1.26 308
Using grammar in the context or 3.41 1.29 41 3.01 1.28 308
situation
Grammatical structure for general 3.29 1.29 41 2.92 1.34 308
communications e.g., tenses,
aspects modality, etc.
Grammar structures common in 3.32 1.39 41 3.08 1.37 308
scientific discourse include
present participles, passives, and
conditionals
Overall average 3.34 1.32 41 3.00 1.29 308
Source: Survey data (2021)

In the second section (Table 6), the selected grammar items were given to
assess respondents' perceptions of these items. According to the table, both teacher
and student respondents rated those grammar issues as 'difficult' for academic
study, with mean scores of M= 3.34 and M= 3.00, respectively, indicating high mean
scores. Moreover, 'Grammar structures frequently used in scientific discourse, such
as present participles, actives, passives, and conditionals' (3.01), 'Grammar
structures for communications, e.g., tenses, aspects modality' (3.29), and 'Grammar
structures frequently used in scientific texts, e.g., present participles, actives,
passives, and conditionals' (3.41), accounted for higher mean scores from the
sample instructors.
On the other hand, the students rated the items as 'difficult' tasks, with
smaller mean values than the sample instructors. For example, 'Grammar structures
frequently used in scientific discourse, e.g., present participles, passives,
conditionals' had a mean score of 3.08 and 'Using grammar in context' had a mean
score of 3.01, followed by 'Grammar structures frequently used in scientific texts,
e.g., present participles, passives, conditionals' had a mean score of 2.92. The
difference between teachers' and students' views of the statements may occur due
to their awareness of the difficulty levels of grammar teaching and learning. The
teachers believe that the difficulties encountered due to grammar items negatively
affect the learners' communication competence.
Student participants in this study also explained the difficulties they face in
the university due to academic language skills. Participants stated that
students encountered difficulties such as difficulty comprehending the lesson, an
inability to communicate in English, and a restricted vocabulary. Additionally,
participants agreed that a lack of proper practice impeded students’ ability to
improve their language skills. Difficulties related to motivation, lack of active
participation, shortage of time to practice the language/skill, and the way exams are
prepared among the challenges stated. Finally, the other participant also remarked

111
Silesi Chemir, Tamene Kitila
English for academic purposes learners' needs analysis:
Language difficulties encountered by university students in Ethiopia

on his inadequate grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation of academic language

skills. He stated that
…there are many problems. When I joined university... from high
school…I faced difficulty to explain things..., here in the university also I
faced difficulties when I learned communicative English such as
vocabulary, grammar…pronunciation. Most of the listening and reading
topics are not interesting and challenging for students to understand;
the method of explaining and clarifying the lessons is not…
The participant said that he had difficulties in different academic language
skills and components when studying his courses. Only three hours a week are
allocated to the communicative classes regarding the class time. It leaves little time
for students to practice; so, they cannot get enough English input.
The current study establishes a link between students reported academic
English language challenges and their academic achievement. As a result, it would
appear that their EAP instruction should put an emphasis on oral abilities such as
asking and responding questions, participating in debates, and delivering
presentations. Academic writing skills need to include essay tests, assignments, field
or project reports, and other forms of formal academic writing, all of which are
acknowledged to be difficult by many of them. Grammar, vocabulary, and
pronunciation are also critical components of academic studies at the university
level.

DISCUSSION
In this section, the researchers elaborated the results to answer the research
question. The findings, therefore, answered the research questions of the study. It
includes the findings of Table 3 through Table 6.
First and foremost, Table 3 shows both groups of respondents thought that
academic writing is a difficult activity due to learners' lack of grammatical standards
and adequate vocabulary for academic writing. This is consistent with Al-Ta’ani
(2018), who discovered that writing is the most difficult skill for EFL learners to
master due to considerable vocabulary limitations. Similarly, Lumbangaol and
Mazali (2020) also stated that someone who is unable to communicate orally would
have difficulty to express their thoughts to others. Furthermore, Fatimah (2019),
who conducted a qualitative study on students' research writing challenges,
revealed that ESL/EFL students obviously require assistance from their instructors
in completing research writing assignments; they need clear and explicit
instructions on tasks to complete; and that individual guidance is crucial in
lecture communication across the learning process.
Moreover, the data obtained from both groups of respondents confirmed that
academic reading is one of the problematic areas for students learning, although it
contained moderate mean scores compared with the other academic skills. The
mean score of this was nearly average mean (i.e., n= 41, M= 2.85 & n=308, M= 2.64).
This could indicate that respondents were enthusiastic about academic reading
since reading is frequently seen as the least difficult of all the language skills
(Chatsungnoen, 2015). For example, from the local point of view, Paulos's (2015)
study indicated that a fourth of students looked at reading skills as important to
some extent, but they gave less attention to it as they did not use what they knew

112
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

already before and after reading in the English classroom. His study also confirmed
that very few students face difficulties using the reading task to develop their
reading skills easily. On the other hand, a large number of university teachers are
concerned with the question of why students are unable to read English texts
relevant to their field of study.
On the other hand, the results indicated in Table 4 showed that academic
listening sub-skills are less concerned for the participants than academic speaking
sub-skills. When comparing academic listening sub-skills to academic speaking sub-
skills, participants reported a certain level of comfort with the academic listening
sub-skills assessed. In line with the findings of Evans and Green (2007), who
discovered that Hong Kong students perceived themselves as relatively proficient in
their capacity to understand lectures presented in English rather than in their ability
to communicate in English.
The findings also revealed that academic reading sub-skills are among the
challenging tasks in learners’ course of study. However, the student respondents
rated as 'slightly difficult' sub-skills. This finding accords with Sharndama et al.'s
(2014) opinion. They noted that listening skill difficulty in EAP is a combination of
listening and language problems. In the contrary, since instructors think that
academic reading abilities are the most significant in the EAP class, most of them
ranked the academic reading sub-skills/components as challenging for students to
learn, which is in harmony with Chatsungnoen (2015) and Solikhah (2015) findings.
The findings also lend support to the findings reported by Eroğlu (2005). According
to the findings, most students have difficulty reading English texts for academic
purposes, and they want to improve their comprehension and writing skills through
EAP classes.
Likewise, the findings of Table 5 describe the respondents' perceptions of or
experiences with Academic Writing sub-skills. Thus, academic writing is the most
likely crucial language skill at higher education since grades are mainly decided by
students' performance on written works, tests, and examinations (Elsaid
Mohammed & Nur, 2018). Furthermore, a recent study revealed writing is the
primary cause of difficulties for Hong Kong undergraduates (Bhatia, 2002;
Mohammed & Nur, 2018). Consequently, the current research emphasizes the
importance of academic writing skills and the difficulties learners' face with it in the
university.
According to Table 6, the findings of data obtained from both groups of
participants implied that students had difficulties in vocabulary, especially in
learning the meanings and collocations. The instructors also confirmed that these
difficulties could affect students' performance, particularly in their specific
disciplines. According to Evans and Green (2007), vocabulary is not the only
language resource that perceive problematic; grammatical resources are also
deemed insufficient to meet the demands imposed on students when completing
academic assignments at the university.
Also as reported by respondents, EFL learners face difficulty with grammar,
and these difficulties are also evident in many EAP classes. For instance,
Chatsungnoen (2015) discovered that Thai university students struggled with
grammar, specifically relative clauses. Evans and Green (2007) also explored the
linguistic difficulties of Cantonese-speaking students at a university in Hong Kong,

113
Silesi Chemir, Tamene Kitila
English for academic purposes learners' needs analysis:
Language difficulties encountered by university students in Ethiopia

China, that is predominantly English-medium. The results indicated a sizable

proportion of students struggled to study their courses in English; this was mostly
due to insufficient receptive and productive abilities, as well as a lack of vocabulary
knowledge (Ibid). Additionally, this study corroborates Atai and Shoja (2011) who
discovered that both EAP teachers and Iranian undergraduate students indicated
learners' difficulties with reading comprehension, general vocabulary, technical
terms, and grammar. As the findings indicated, even though most Ethiopian students
have been learning English for about 12 or so years, academic language skills
remain big challenges for them to meet their academic requirements (Anh, 2019).

CONCLUSION
The data suggest that many students would benefit from English for
Academic Purposes (EAP) teaching following their admission to their studies
program. Language difficulties can have particularly detrimental effect on learners'
confidence, which in turn affects their attitudes and academic success. On the other
hand, literature has also suggested that academic English proficiency requires
learners to rely on different opportunities, understandings, and individual value
judgments.
Thus, in the context of language learning, learners' needs can be studied from
two distinct perspectives: target and learning needs. The learning needs is linked
with learners' difficulties. For instance, one study asserts that present or learning
needs are derived from affective and cognitive factors such as personal confidence
and attitudes, expectations, and learning strategies. On the other hand, literature
suggests that all accurate information about the learners, such as language
difficulties, language proficiency, and use of language in real life situation, is used to
collect data about target/objective needs. In contrast, all cognitive information
about the learner, such as expectations, confidence, and attitude, are used to collect
data on present/learning needs of the learners.
Accordingly, the findings suggest that the Social Sciences and Humanities
students face much more academic language difficulties in their academic studies.
As revealed in the discussion section, the participants generally perceived that it is
difficult for students to communicate their ideas properly, precisely, and smoothly
either through written or spoken language. In addition, data from the questionnaire
survey and interview revealed academic grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation
are the main concern for students' academic study in university. The finding was in
line with a previous research study which indicated that most ESL/EFL learners
experienced significant difficulties in their university education due to academic
language limitations.
The findings also indicate that students' problems with academic reading
registered comparatively low mean. Furthermore, the participants' perceptions on
vocabulary, grammar, and academic writing difficulties are consistent with the
perceptions of tertiary students and teachers in previous studies.
Moreover, the current Communicative English course syllabus in Ethiopia
partially achieves the goals and objectives set forth in the course description. Hence,
a thorough needs analysis study should be carried out to improve EAP quality in ELT
programs in Ethiopian higher education institutions. Finally, the way university

114
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

students try to overcome language difficulties is beyond the focus of this study but
should be an area of further investigation.

REFERENCES
Aisyah, A., & Wicaksono, B. H. (2018). Pre-Service Teachers’ Belief on Professional
Development: A study on ESP Teacher. Celtic : A Journal of Culture, English
Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, 5(2), 8–17.
https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v5i2.7614
Aklilu, G. (2015). An Investigation of the Present Situation Communicative Needs
in an ESP Context: Civil Engineering Students in Focus. English for Specific
Purposes World, 48(16), 1–19. http://www.esp-world.info
Albassri, I. A. (2016). Needs-Analysis-Informed Teaching for English for Specific
Purposes [California State University].
https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd/274
Alemu, H. (1994). High School Teachers’ Attitudes towards an Awareness-Raising
Approach to Vocabulary Teaching [Unpublished M.A. Thesis]. Addis Ababa
University.
Alfehaid, A. F. T. (2011). Developing an ESP Curriculum for Students of Health
Sciences through Needs Analysis and Course Evaluation in Saudi Arabia.
University of Leicester.
Ali, A. A. (2011). A needs analysis for designing an ESP syllabus for the students of
Sudan Naval Academy. Al Neelain University.
Alkutbi, D. (2018). Bridging the Gap: A Study of Academic Language-Learning Needs
of Saudi International Students. Victoria.
Al-Ta’ani, M. H. (2018). Integrative and Instrumental Motivations for Learning
English as a University Requirement among Undergraduate Students at Al-
Jazeera University/Dubai. International Journal of Learning and Development,
8(4), 89. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijld.v8i4.13940
Anh, D. T. N. (2019). EFL Student’s Writing Skills: Challenges and Remedies. IOSR
Journal of Research & Method in Education, 9(6), 74–84.
https://doi.org/10.9790/7388-0906017484
Astika, G. (2015). The Role of Needs Analysis in English for Specific Purposes.
TEFLIN Journal - A Publication on the Teaching and Learning of English, 10(1),
1–17.
Atai, M. R., & Shoja, L. (2011). A Triangulated Study of Academic Language Needs of
Iranian Students of Computer Engineering: Are the Courses on Track? RELC
Journal, 42(3), 305–323. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688211419392
Basturkmen, H. (2010). Developing Courses in English for Specific Purposes.
Palgrave Macmilan.
Benesch, S. (2001). Critical English for academic purposes: Theory, politics, and
practice. L. Erlbaum Associates.
Berman, R., & Cheng, L. (2001). English academic language skills: Perceived
difficulties by undergraduate and graduate students, and their academic
achievement. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4(1–2), 25–40.
Bhatia, V. K. (2002). Applied genre analysis: Analytical advances and pedagogical
procedures. In A. M. Johns (Ed.), Genre in the classroom: Multiple perspectives.
NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates., 279–284.

115
Silesi Chemir, Tamene Kitila
English for academic purposes learners' needs analysis:
Language difficulties encountered by university students in Ethiopia

Biniam, T. (2013). English Language Need Analysis of Medical Students in Relation

to Academic Requirements at Haramaya University [Unpublished M.A. Thesis].
Haramaya University.
Biniam, T. G., Adinew, T. D., & Nelson, D. (2015). English for University Students in
Ethiopia: Implications of the Needs Analysis at Haramaya University, Ethiopia.
American Journal of Educational Research, 3(1), 86–92.
Brooks, M. D. (2015). “It’s Like a Script”: Long-Term English Learners’ Experiences
with and Ideas about Academic Reading. 49(4), 385–406.
Chatsungnoen, P. (2015). Needs analysis for an English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
course for Thai undergraduates in a Food Science and Technology programme
[Doctoral thesis]. Massey University.
Coffin, C., Curry, M. J., Goodman, S., Hewings, A., Lillis, T., & Swann, J. (2005).
Teaching Academic Writing. A toolkit for higher education. Routledge.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203994894
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2000). Research Methods in Education. (5th
ed.). Routledge.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, L. (2007). Research Methods in Education. (Sixth
edition). Routledge.
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research Methods in Applied Linguistics: Quantitative,
Qualitative and Mixed Methodologiies. Oxford University Press.
Dudley-Evans, T., & St John., M. J. (1998). Developments in English for Specific
Purposes. A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. Cambridge: CUP.
Elsaid Mohammed, A. S., & Nur, H. S. M. (2018). Needs analysis in English for
academic purposes: The case of teaching assistants at the University of
Khartoum. HOW, 25(2), 49–68. https://doi.org/10.19183/ how.25.2.409.
Eroğlu, N. A. (2005). Academic Reading Expectations in English for First-Year
Students at Hacettepe University. Bilkent University.
Evans, S., & Green, C. (2007). “Why EAP is necessary: A survey of Hong Kong
tertiary students.” Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 6(1), 3–17.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2006.11.005
Fatimah, N. (2019). Students’ Needs for Academic Writing at the English Education
Department. English Language Teaching Educational Journal, 1(3), 161–175.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334944313_Students'_Needs_for_
Academic_Writing_at_the_English_Education_Department
Freddi, M. (2015). Text and Corpus: Mixing Paradigms in EAP Syllabus and Course
Design. In English for Academic Purposes: Approaches and Implications (pp.
285–316). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Gan, Z. (2012). Understanding L2 Speaking Problems: Implications for ESL
Curriculum Development in a Teacher Training Institution in Hong Kong.
Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 37(1).
https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2012v37n1.4
Gholaminejad, R. (2020). What do Iranian Undergraduate Students of Social vs.
Natural Sciences Say about Their Language Needs? International Journal of
Research in English Education, 5(1), 104–115.
http://dx.doi.org/10.29252/ijree.5.1.104
Goh, C. C. M. (2013). ESP and Listening. In The Handbook of English for Specific
Purposes. (pp. 56–76). John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

116
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Grinnell, R. M., & Unrau, Y. A. (2005). Social work research and evaluation:
Quantitative and qualitative approaches (7th ed). Oxford.
Haregewain, A. (2008). The Effect of Communicative Grammar on the Grammatical
Accuracy of Students’ Academic Writing: An Integrated Approach to TEFL
[Unpublished PhD Thesis]. Addis Ababa University.
Hutchinson, T., & Waters, A. (1987). English for Specific Purposes—A learning-
centred approach. In English for Specific Purposes (pp. 55–63). Cambridge
University Press.
Hyland, K. (2006). English for Academic Purposes. An advanced resource book.
Routledge.
Jha, S. K. (2013). English in Eastern Ethiopia is Learnt; Not Mastered. English
Language Teaching, 6(4), 42–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/elt.v6n4p42
Ji, T. (2021). A Needs-Analysis-Based Survey of the Curriculum Design for
Undergraduate Translation Majors: Exemplified by Qinghai Normal University.
Open Journal of Modern Linguistics, 11(04), 555–565.
https://www.scirp.org/journal/ojml
Jordan, R. R. (1998). English for Academic Purposes (EAP) and Needs Analysis:
Implications and Implementation. Manchester.
Kao, C.-W., & Reynolds, B. L. (2017). A Study on the Relationship among Taiwanese
College Students’ EFL Writing Strategy Use. English Teaching and Learning,
41(4), 32–67. https://doi.org/10.6330/ETL.2017.41.4.02
Kustati, M., Hallen, Qismullah Yusuf, Y., Al-Azmi, H., & Hanifa, D. (2020). EAP Need
Analysis for Lecturers: The Case of a State Islamic University in Padang,
Indonesia. Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews, 8(3), 64–75.
https://doi.org/10.18510/hssr.2020.838
Long, M. (2005). Methodological issues in learner needs analysis. In M.H. Long (ed.),
Second language needs analysis. (pp. 19–76). Cambridge University Press.
Lumbangaol, R. R., & Mazali, M. R. (2020). Improving Students’ Speaking Ability
through Debate Technique. The Journal of English Literacy Education, 7(2), 92–
100. http://dx.doi.org/10.36706/jele.v7i2.12521
Masyhud, M. (2018). Promoting Lesson Study at English for Specific Purposes
(ESP): Teacher’s Best Practice Context. CELTIC: A Journal of Culture, English
Language Teaching, Literature & Linguistics, 5(2), 36–44.
https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v5i2.7618
Medihanit, B. (2010). Students Perception towards Technical Report Writing Course.
[Unpublished M.A. Thesis]. Bahir Dar University.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A
methods sourcebook (Third edition). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Nagy, W., Townsend, D., Lesaux, N., & Schmitt, N. (2012). Words as Tools: Learning
Academic Vocabulary as Language Acquisition. International Literacy
Association and Wiley, 47(1), 91–108. https://doi.org/10.1002/RRQ.011
Nyutu, E. N., Cobern, W. W., & Pleasants, B. A.-S. (2021). Correlational study of
student perceptions of their undergraduate laboratory environment with
respect to gender and major. Nternational Journal of Education in Mathematics,
Science, and Technology (IJEMST), 9(1), 83–102.
https://doi.org/10.46328/ijemst.1182

117
Silesi Chemir, Tamene Kitila
English for academic purposes learners' needs analysis:
Language difficulties encountered by university students in Ethiopia

Ouafa, O. (2019). Theoretical and Pedagogical Applications of English for Specific

Purposes Courses: Evaluation and Implementation of Some Effective Procedures.
[Doctoral thesis, Mohamed Ben Ahmed University of Oran]. https://ds.univ-
oran2.dz:8443/handle/123456789/3115?mode=full
Paulos, G. G. (2015). Analysis of Reading Activities: The Case of Grade 11 Text Book
[Unpublished M.A. Thesis]. Addis Ababa University.
Qotbah, M. A. (1990). Needs Analysis and the Design of Courses in English for
Academic Purposes: A Study of the Use of English Language at the University of
Qatar. [PhD Thesis]. University of Qatar.
Quintus, L., Borr, M., Duffield, S., Napoleon, L., & Welch, A. (2012). The Impact of the
Cornell Note-Taking Method on Students’ Performance in a High School Family
and Consumer Sciences Class. Journal of Family & Consumer Sciences Education,
30(1), 26–38. http://www.natefacs.org/JFCSE/v30no1/v30no1Quintus.pdf
Rahimirad, M., & Moini, M. R. (2015). The Challenges of Listening to Academic
Lectures for EAP Learners and the Impact of Metacognition on Academic
Lecture Listening Comprehension. SAGE Open, 5(2), 1–9.
Richards, J. C. (2001). Curriculum Development in Language Teaching. Cambridge
University Press.
Richards, L. (2009). Handling Qualitative Data: A Practical Guide (SECOND
EDITION). SAGE.
Sharndama, E. . C., Samaila, Y., & Tsojon, Y. I. (2014). English for Academic Purpose:
A Tool for Enhancing Students’ Proficiency in English Language Skills.
International Journal of English Language Teaching, 1(2), 14–20.
https://doi.org/10.5430/ijelt.v1n2p14
Solikhah, I. (2015). Reading and Writing as Academic Literacy in EAP Program of
Indonesian Leaners. DINAMIKA ILMU, 15(2), 325.
https://doi.org/10.21093/di.v15i2.261
Supeno. (2018). Rhetorical Analysis of English Students’ Business Expressions: A
Research Paper. CELTIC: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching,
Literature & Linguistics, 5(2), 58–66.
https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v5i2.7621
Suprayogi, S., & Pranoto, B. E. (2020). Virtual Tourism Exhibition Activity in
English for Tourism Class: Students’ Perspectives. Celtic: A Journal of Culture,
English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, 7(2), 199–207.
https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v7i2.14064
West, R. (1994). “Needs analysis in language teaching”. Language Teaching, 27(1),
1–19. https://libgen.li/edition.php?id=27549924
Widowati, D. R., & Kurniasih. (2018). Critical Reading Skill and Its Implication to
Speaking Ability in Multicultural Classroom. Celtic : A Journal of Culture, English
Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics, 5(2), 8–13.
https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v5i2.7615
Wubalem, Y. A. (2013). Fostering Academic Genre Knowledge of EFL Learners
through Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL). International
Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 1(2), 133–144.
http://www.ijscl.net/article_2736_469f741a544241658447e6e3128ed590.pd
f

118
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Yelay, B. (2017). Assessment of the qualities of academic writing in senior essays of

English graduates: The case of Dire Dawa University. International Journal of
English and Literature, 8(8), 102–114.
https://doi.org/10.5897/IJEL2015.0777
Yenus, N. (2017). Analyzing the English Language Needs of University Law
Students. The Internet Journal Language, Culture and Society, 43, 46–56.
http://aaref.com.au/en/publications/journal/
Ying Ho Ha, A., & Hyland, K. (2017). What is technicality? A Technicality Analysis
Model for EAP vocabulary. Journal of English for Academic Purposes (ELSVIER),
28, 35–49.
Yopp, H. K., Yopp, R. H., & Bishop, A. (2009). Vocabulary instruction for academic
success. Corinne Burton, Shell Education.
Yurekli, A. (2012). An Analysis of Curriculum Renewal in EAP Context.
International Journal of Instruction, 5(1), 50–68.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267846929
Zand-Moghadam, A., Meihami, H., & Ghiasvand, F. (2018). Exploring the English
Language Needs of EAP Students of Humanities and Social Sciences in Iran: A
Triangulated Approach. Issues in Language Teaching (ILT), 7(1), 135–164.
https://doi.org/10.22054/ILT.2019.47351.434
Zohoorian, Z. (2015). A Needs Analysis Approach: An Investigation of Needs in an
EAP Context. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 5(1), 58–65.
http://dx.doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0501.07

119
 120

ENGLISH STUDY CLUB: HOW STUDENTS'

MENTAL ATTRIBUTES REFLECT THEIR
MOTIVATION

Siti Maria Ulfa Mattarima*, Nur Afifi, Rezki Suci Qamaria

Institut Agama Islam Negeri Kediri, Indonesia

ABSTRACT
This study focuses on investigating the main motivation of students in the
English club and testing the level of motivation based on the aspects of
learning motivation that have been developed by Worell and Stilwell. This
study aims to reveal the difference in motivation between on-campus
clubs and English clubs using quantitative descriptive methods on the
E-ISSN: 2621-9158
subjects of students in the second semester to the final semester of the
P-ISSN:2356-0401 English Department. The data was collected through a questionnaire and
analyzed using a non-parametric test, Mann-Whitney. This study indicates
no significant difference between student learning motivation on campus
*Correspondence:
[email protected]
and the English Club from the average of six aspects of learning
motivation. However, the English club was superior in terms of feedback
and goals as the primary motivation for students. From these results, it is
known that the English club contributes well to the mental attributes of
Submitted: 4 December 2021
Approved: 27 Juni 2022 students in practicing English proficiency.
Published: 30 Juni 2022
Keywords: English as a Foreign Language; English Study Club; Learning
Motivation
Citation:
Mattarima, S.M.U., Afifi, N., &
Qamaria, R. S. (2021). English ABSTRAK
Study Club: How Are Students' Penelitian ini difokuskan pada investigasi motivasi utama mahasiswa
Mental Attributes Reflecting Their pada klub Bahasa Inggris dan menguji level motivasinya berdasarkan
Motivation? Celtic: A Journal of
Culture, English Language Teaching, aspek motivasi belajar yang telah dikembangkan oleh Worell and Stilwell.
Literature and Linguistics, 9(1), 120- Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk melihat perbedaan motivasi antara klub di
134. Doi: kampus dan klub Bahasa Inggris dengan menggunakan metode deskriptif
10.22219/celtic.v9i1.18975
kuantitatif pada subyek mahasiswa semester dua sampai semester akhir
Jurusan Bahasa Inggris. Data penelitian ini dikumpulkan melalui angket
yang dianalisis menggunakan uji non parametrik yaitu Mann-Whitney.
Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa tidak terdapat perbedaan yang
signifikan antara motivasi belajar mahasiswa di kampus dan Klub Bahasa
Inggris dari rerata enam aspek motivasi belajar. Namun, kelompok klub
Bahasa Inggris ternyata lebih unggul pada aspek umpan balik dan tujuan
daripada kelompok kampus. Kedua aspek inipun menjadi motivasi utama
mahasiswa dalam belajar bahasa Inggris di Klub Bahasa Inggris. Dari hasil
ini, diketahui bahwa klub bahasa inggris memberikan kontribusi yang
baik pada atribut mental mahasiswa dalam melatih kecakapan bahasa
Inggris.

Kata Kunci: Bahasa Inggris sebagai Bahasa Asing; Klub Bahasa Inggris;
Motivasi Belajar

Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

INTRODUCTION
In 2020, Education First (EF) released the results of an English learning
index survey from 100 countries in the world. Unfortunately, the survey results
show that Indonesia is ranked 74th out of 100 countries or is in a low category
(EPI, 2020). It is undoubtedly a significant homework in the world of national
education. It is undeniable that this condition is inseparable from the motivation
to learn English in human resources in Indonesia.
Motivation is a tendency that mentally encourages someone to do
something to achieve something (Legault, 2016). The factors behind the
motivation itself support this. No wonder motivation can bring success to
individuals or groups in various fields, such as economics, business, sports, and
education. Several Educational studies have claimed that in the learning process,
awareness of the value of motivation is vital for students to encourage the
achievement of learning targets (Turabik & Baskan, 2015).
Motivation and learning are two things that influence each other (Uno, 2014).
Learning is a state of behavior change that is relatively permanent and can occur
due to strengthening exercises based on achieving specific goals called motivation.
Learning motivation also refers to a value and desire to learn (Wlodkowski & Jaynes,
2004). Another opinion concludes that learning motivation is the overall driving
force in students that creates, ensures continuity, and gives direction to learning
activities to achieve the expected goals. Therefore, it can be concluded that learning
motivation is a desire that motivates individuals to direct individual behavior
towards learning activities so that learning objectives can be achieved. (Sudirman,
2011)
Learning motivation is generally divided into motivation from within or
intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation (Turabik & Baskan, 2015). In the
case of students or college students, intrinsic motivation is the motivation formed
from a person's self-awareness that makes them feel interested and happy to
learn; for example, a child learns English without any external coercion. At the
same time, extrinsic motivation is the motivation that grows within a person
because he wants to meet external factors such as parents, peers, and the
environment (Legault, 2016). Another opinion suggests that learning motivation
arises because of internal factors, namely the desire and desire to succeed and the
encouragement of learning needs, hopes, and ideals. In addition, learning
motivation comes from external sources, namely awards, a conducive learning
environment, and exciting learning activities (Uno, 2014).
There are six aspects of learning motivation that have been developed by
Worell and Stilwell, including responsibility, diligence, effort, feedback, time, and
goals (Amanillah & Rosiana, 2017). The aspect of responsibility is the student's
intuition to do the task without ignoring or leaving it; students who have low
motivation will tend to be indifferent to their assignment; this also impacts the
second aspect, namely being diligent. Diligent is when students can learn
gradually and continuously for a reasonably long time, do not give up quickly, and
have a very high concentration level. Then the effort aspect refers to the student's
initiative to complete the tasks that have been given, study hard, and use the time
for extra learning activities such as visiting the library (Amanillah & Rosiana,
2017).

121
Siti Maria Ulfa Mattarima, Nur Afifi, & Rezki Suci Qamaria English Study Club: How students' mental
attributes reflect their motivation

In addition to the above aspects, there is also a feedback aspect: students

are happy with constructive inputs in praise, suggestions, and criticism. Students
who get feedback will feel that what they have done feels more meaningful and
not in vain (Namaziandost et al., 2019). On the other hand, there is also the time
aspect, where students will use the time to study and complete assignments as
much as possible. The last aspect is goals, referring to the primary reasons why
students want to master the lesson and what they want to achieve after learning
the material, such as wanting to pass a test, be praised by parents, gain new
knowledge or develop their existing potential (Galishnikova, 2014).
With the motivational aspects above, learners make efforts to achieve their
target in learning English. In the last five years, many studies have revealed the
positive impact of motivation on students' English skills in various contexts, such
as informal education from elementary school to university level. Motivation
positively impacts students' English performance at the elementary school level
(Sumanti & Muljani, 2021). Even students majoring in English want to learn it
because it is influenced by intrinsic and extrinsic factors (Nuraeni & Aisyah,
2020).
By joining an English club, the desire to learn English can be
accommodated through informal education. An English club is a group created by
several people who share the same interest and need for the English language. An
English club focuses on practicing spoken language skills such as speaking and
listening (Malu & Smedley, 2016). They also say that clubs like English clubs are
gatherings of individuals who hold voluntary meetings on an informal and regular
basis (Afia, 2006). In addition, the club is a less formal group experience that
emphasizes exposure to English without a strict set of English skills rules.
English Club is essential as a place for extra learning. College students only
have a few hours per week, which is enough to memorize vocabulary, grammar, and
writing, but they have little time to practice speaking. Community-based English
clubs are one way to close the gap (Malu & Smedley, 2016). The English club
provides students with an English language environment for teachers and students
to maintain their English language skills. They cover topics related to standards
issues so that they can relate their previous knowledge to English. In addition, the
explanation of the problem can also enrich the experience of members more
broadly.
It is important to know that the English club has essential elements, namely
the activity leader, members, and meeting place (Malu & Smedley, 2016). According
to Malu and Smedley (2016), a leader is essential to creating a thriving English
community. This individual does not necessarily have a good knowledge of English.
The essentials for a leader are qualified leadership, collaboration, and strong
interpersonal and organizational skills. The role of the leader is to recruit and invite
as many members as possible to join and encourage them to do the same; establish
membership, community rules, plan, organization, and lead activities. Next up are
members. The criteria for becoming a club member are not very specific. They may
be a student, student, lecturer, worker, housewife, or parent. The point is they must
come regularly and consistently to meetings. The existence of members is vital to
support the activities organized by the leader. Members should be open and friendly
to everyone, respect and encourage each other. The last one is the place of

122
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

practicing. An English club needs space to hold meetings. Leaders or members can
attend activities by utilizing public places such as parks, schools, and mosque
grounds. In some cases, a member's house may be an option. In essence, this place
can be accessed by all types of transportation so that the presence of members will
be maximized.
English club is one of the determinants of student motivation (Alizadeh,
2016). English Club is a forum that facilitates students to build and increase
motivation in practicing their English (Bage et al., 2021). Students from SMPN 1
Makale also feel that the English club activities help them build confidence through
collaboration and communication in practicing their English (Rachel et al., 2020). In
addition, the English club contributes to improving students' English skills (Elnadeef
& Abdala, 2019).
However, this does not rule out the possibility of demotivation in learning.
Low learning motivation is a condition where students do more work outside their
learning activities or, in other words, avoid academic activities. Students with
common learning motivation will quickly give up if given a challenge in doing
assignments and immediately feel satisfied with their learning activities (Kenneth,
2016). Low learning motivation will impact the individual's learning process
(Wright, 2012). For example, working on an individual task will be challenging to
complete, even if avoiding working on and completing the assigned task. In addition
to impacting the learning process, the low motivation of individuals also affects
individual learning outcomes. The learning outcomes obtained with motivation are
not optimal even though the individual can achieve maximum learning outcomes. It
is also supported by research conducted by Reiss (2009) that low learning
motivation will make individuals not driven to achieve the best results so that the
learning outcomes will be lower (Reiss, 2009). Students who have low academic
performance can be caused by a low level of motivation as well. Ironically again, this
case happened to students who graduated from English education. The study results
also show that this condition is due to external factors such as family and teachers
(Mauliya et al., 2020).
The facts above still leave a big question mark regarding students' primary
motivation in learning languages at the English club compared to on-campus and
how the level of motivation is from the aspect of learning motivation. Related
research is urgently needed to contribute to the development of psycholinguistic
education. Psycholinguistic theories have helped a lot in the language learning
process (Purba, 2018). It has become a reference in determining learning
strategies and improving the quality of English that are much more effective and
keep up with the times.
To respond to the problem above, the researcher will research the mental
attributes of students studying in English clubs. Researchers will measure
students' level of motivation on campus and in English clubs using the Likert scale
as the most basic psychometric tool in social science research and education
(Joshi, Kale, Chandel, & Pal, 2015). This study aims to investigate the primary
motivation of students in English clubs and examine the level of motivation based
on the aspects of learning motivation that have been developed by Worell and
Stilwell so that this study can also see the difference in reason between motivation
on campus and the English Club. Therefore, this study comes with the formulation

123
Siti Maria Ulfa Mattarima, Nur Afifi, & Rezki Suci Qamaria English Study Club: How students' mental
attributes reflect their motivation

of the problem: "What is the main motivation for students to study at the English
Club, and how high is the level of motivation compared to students on campus
based on the aspect of learning motivation?".
For this research to make a new contribution to psycholinguistics, the study
draws several considerations different from previous research. A similar study was
conducted by Bage, Aderlaepe, and Agustina (2021), namely the similarity in
comparative subjects, namely students who joined English learning clubs and those
who did not. In addition, the data analysis method that researchers will use is also
the same. That is using SPSS in the form of a Sample T-Test formula. On the other
hand, the difference lies in the collection of data and the focus of the discussion. The
above study collected data through oral tests to investigate students' speaking skills.
At the same time, this research used a questionnaire to reveal student motivation
that affects students' English performance.
Other related research was conducted by Ulfa and Bania (2019). The
similarities are in the use of questionnaires to test student learning motivation.
However, the difference lies in the objectives, questionnaire references, and
research subjects. This study aims to determine students' motivation in a regular
classroom setting. In this study, the researchers examined students who were and
studied in English study clubs. Previous research also used a questionnaire based
on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, while this research was based on aspects of
learning motivation. In addition, the subjects of the previous study were junior high
school students, while this study was university students.
The research that is quite mainstream in education is appointed by Elnadeef
and Abdala (2019) and Melviza et al. (2017). These studies have something in
common in discussing how English language clubs strongly encourage students'
motivation to practice their English (Speaking) or reveal the contribution of English
study clubs to students' English practice. However, the difference lies in the research
method, questionnaire development, and objectives. Previous studies used a
qualitative descriptive method, while this study used a quantitative descriptive
method. Furthermore, the study applied ten items adapted from Kasmalinda.
Instead, the researcher designed 30 question items based on Worell and Stilwell's
six aspects of learning motivation. In addition, these studies investigate motivation
by analyzing students' perceptions, while this study uses a questionnaire to analyze
students' motivation levels.
The final consideration is in Al Munawwarah's research (2018) on student
learning motivation in learning English as a Foreign Language. The study explored
the types of students' EFL learning motivation and identified the factors that
motivate them in the learning process. This research is a descriptive study using a
quantitative and qualitative design involving a class in one of the Vocational High
Schools. Through closed questionnaires, open questionnaires, and interviews, data
were collected, and data were drawn about the instrumental factors that play a
significant role in the learning motivation of EFL students. It is in line with this
research which analyzes the high motivation of students in the context of the English
Studies club or the British community. The difference between the two is the
purpose of using the instrument. This study aims to reveal the types and factors of

124
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

EFL learning motivation, while this study uses aspects of learning motivation to
determine the level of student learning motivation.

METHOD
This study uses a quantitative descriptive method to investigate student
learning motivation in English learning clubs and uncover the main aspects of their
learning motivation. In addition, this method is used to test specific theories by
examining the relationship between the variables to be measured. Generally, testing
is done using instruments to obtain research data numbers and analyzed based on
statistical procedures (Creswell, 2010).

Participant
In this study, the researcher determined participants through a non-
probability sampling technique, quota sampling, where not all populations can be
selected as samples (Basri, 2007). This study attracted 35 respondents who met the
research qualifications, namely students actively studying on campus and
participating in English language clubs off-campus from semesters 2 to 8. As a
comparison, the researchers also attracted 35 students with the same qualifications
but did not participate in club activities. English. Thus, this study's total participants
or respondents were 70 active students from the English Department of Education,
University of Muhammadiyah Makassar.

Instrument
The instrument in this study uses a questionnaire because of the large number
of respondents. The scale used is the Likert scale. There are five options: "strongly
agree" with a score of 4, "agree" with a score of 3, "neutral" with a score of 2,
"disagree" with a score of 1, and "strongly disagree" with a score of 0. The Likert
scale is a psychological measurement instrument used to reveal data about mental
attributes. Disclosure is done by looking at the pros and cons, positive and negative
attitudes, and agreeing and disagreeing with the attitude object (Azwar, 2007). The
researcher developed thirty statement items on the learning motivation scale
questionnaire covering six aspects of learning motivation with the details shown in
Table 1.
Tabel 1. Blueprint instrument

Aspect No. Item Items

No
Favorable unfavorable Total
1 Responsibility 1, 2, 3, 5 4 5
2 Diligence 6,7,8,9,24 25 6
3 Effort 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,16 7
4 Feedback 17 18 2
5 Time 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 5
6 Aim 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 5
Statements Total 30

125
Siti Maria Ulfa Mattarima, Nur Afifi, & Rezki Suci Qamaria English Study Club: How students' mental
attributes reflect their motivation

Procedure
In the process of collecting and analyzing data, the researcher carried out
several procedures: (1) The researcher validated the instrument to the expert and
tested the validity and reliability test using SPSS, (2) The researcher gave a
questionnaire on the learning motivation scale to respondent groups A and B, (3 )
The data analysis technique or statistical test used to test the research hypothesis is
non-parametric statistical analysis. Due to the types of data in this study being two
independent samples with insufficient normal data, the researchers used non-
parametric Mann-Whitney analysis as an alternative comparative test (Wahana,
2011).
FINDINGS
From the results of the application of statistical tests in SPSS, it was found
that the sample gave a normal contribution to Kolmogorov-Smirnov if the value of
Sig. More than 0.05. The data for the campus group and the English club group were
not normally distributed. In this study, comparative test researchers researched
with non-parametric data analysis, namely Mann-Whitney U.
In the homogeneity test, the value of Sig. Based on the Mean for the learning
motivation variable is 0.492. Because the Sig value is 0.492> 0.05, it is concluded
that the variance of the learning motivation data for the campus group and the
English club group is homogeneous or similar.
Refer to the findings of "descriptive statistics". There are 35 people or
samples for each group. The average student motivation for the campus group is
90.57, while for the English club group, it is 91.17. Therefore, it can be concluded
that there is a difference in the average learning motivation of students on campus
and English clubs.
Based on the Mann-Whitney U test results, the U value is 575,500, and the W
value is 1205,500. If the U and W values are converted to Z values, then the range is
-.435. significant value or P-value is 0.664>0.05. H0 or hypothesis 0 will be accepted
if the P-value is more than the critical limit of 0.05 or. Sig.> 0.05 and H1 will be
accepted if the critical limit is below 0.05 or Sig. <0.05. Then the statistical results
show that H0 is accepted and H1 is rejected. In conclusion, there is no significant
difference between the motivation to study on campus and in the English club.

Campus Group
From all statements, students chose Strongly Agree (SA) 409 times or
38.95%, and students chose Strongly Disagree (SD) only 29 times or 2.76% as
shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Results of motivation to study on campus

Answer Positive
No Aspect
SD D N A SA response
1 Responsibility 4.57 % 8% 8% 37.41% 41.71% 79.12%
2 Diligence 3.33% 10.95 % 12.85% 36.66% 36.19% 72.85%
3 Effort 1.22 % 9.38 % 8.97 % 46.12 % 34.28% 80.40%
4 Feedback 10 % 12.85 % 5.71 31.42 40 % 71.42%
5 Time 0.57 % 10.28 % 14.28 % 40.57 % 34.28 % 74.85%
6 Aim 2.28 % 6.85 % 12.57 % 28.57 % 49.71 % 78.28%

126
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Responsibility
The table above shows students' learning motivation on campus
based on the aspect of responsibility. Of the five statements, students chose
strongly agree 73 times and agree 66 times, which means 79.42% of
students' learning motivation rises from responsibility.

Diligence
The diligence aspect of students on campus shows good numbers. Of
the six statements, students chose strongly agree 67 or 36.19% times and
agree 77 or 36.66%. At the same time, 23 decided not to settle, and seven
students tended to disagree, meaning that 72.85% of students' learning
motivation rose from the diligent aspect.

Effort
Based on the business aspect, student learning motivation on campus
has a reasonably high percentage. There are seven statements, and students
chose strongly agree as much as 84 times or 34.28% and agree as much as
113 times or 46.12%. Twenty-two students' answers tended to be neutral,
while 23 students chose to disagree and three strongly disagreed, which
means that 88.57% of students' learning motivation comes from the business
aspect.

Feedback
The feedback aspect contributes 62% to student learning motivation
on campus. There are two statements, students chose strongly agree 28 times
or 40% and agree 22 times or 31.42%. Four student answers are neutral,
while nine students answered disagree, and seven voted strongly against the
statements.

Time
Referring to the time aspect, student learning motivation on campus
is 74.85%. Based on the five available statements, 60 students answered
strongly agree, and 71 answered agree. Twenty-five answers are neutral,
while 18 students' responses are disagreeing and one strongly disagreeing.

Aim
Table 2 above explains student learning motivation on campus based
on objectives with five statements, students choose strongly agree 87 times
or 49.71% and agree 50 times or 28.57%. Twenty-two students' answers
were neutral, while 12 students answered they disagreed or 6.85% and
2.28% strongly opposed, which means 78.28% of students' learning
motivation comes from goals.

English Club Group

After thirty-five students filled out the questionnaire, students chose
Strongly Agree (SA) 449 times from all statements, or 42.76% answered the
information positively. In contrast, they answered Strongly Disagree (SD) 46 times
or 4.38%. Detailed findings are described in the following table.

127
Siti Maria Ulfa Mattarima, Nur Afifi, & Rezki Suci Qamaria English Study Club: How students' mental
attributes reflect their motivation

Table 3. The results of the motivation to study at the English Club

Answer Positive
No Aspect
SD D N A SA response
1 Responsibility 8.57 % 6.28 % 6.28 % 30.85 % 48 % 78.85%
2 Diligence 5.71 % 7.61 % 15.71 % 30 % 40.95 % 70.95%
3 Effort 0.81 % 5.30 % 15.51 % 41.63 % 36.73 % 78.36%
4 Feedback 12.85 % 8.57 % 10 % 25.71 % 42.85 % 68.56%
5 Time 0.57 % 5.14 % 21.14 % 37.71 % 35. 42 % 73.13%
6 Aim 4% 4% 11.42 % 25.14 % 55.42 % 80.56%

Responsibility
The first point describes student learning motivation based on the
aspect of responsibility. There are five statements; students strongly agree
with 84 times or 48%, and 54 agree or 30.85%. A total of 11 votes stated
neutral while 11 student answers said disagree or 6.28%, and 15 votes
strongly disagree or 8.57%, which means 78.85% of student learning
motivation comes from responsibility.

Diligence
The second point describes the students' learning motivation for
diligently studying at the English learning club with six statements; students
chose strongly agree 86 times or 40.95%, and 63 times to agree or 30%. A
total of 33 votes stated neutral while 16 student answers disagreed or 7.61%,
and 12 the majority strongly disagreed or 5.71%, which means 70.95% of
student learning motivation arises from the diligent aspect.

Effort
Table 3 above describes students' learning motivation in the effort
aspect of English learning clubs with seven statements; students chose
strongly agree 90 times or 36.73% and 102 times agree or 41.63%. A total of
38 votes stated neutral while 13 students' answered to disagree and two
votes strongly disagree or 0.81%, which means that the effort aspect affects
78.36% of students' learning motivation at the English club.

Feedback
Student learning motivation is based on the aspect of feedback. It
consists of two statements. Students chose strongly agree 30 times or
42.85%, and 18 times agree or 25.71%. 10% of the total votes were neutral,
while six students' answered to disagree, and nine voted strongly disagree,
which means that the feedback aspect contributes to 68.54% of students'
learning motivation in the English club.

Time
Of the five statements, the time aspect affects 73.14% of student
learning motivation in the English club. Students chose strongly agree 62
times or 35.42%, and 66 times agree or 37.71%. 37 or 21.14% of the total

128
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

votes are neutral, while nine students answered disagree and one majority
strongly disagree, which means that the time aspect affects 73.14% of
students' learning motivation in English clubs.

Aim
The learning motivation of English club students in the aspect of
objectives or aims consists of five statements. Students chose strongly agree
97 times or 55.14%, and 44 times agree or 25.14%. A total of 20 votes stated
neutral, while 4% of student answers indicated that they disagreed and
strongly disagreed or meant that the objective aspect affected 80.56% of
students' learning motivation at the English club.

DISCUSSION
This discussion aims to review the findings in-depth to answer the previous
problems.

Students on Campus VS English Club

Based on the findings, the researchers understand that the differences in
student learning motivation in the campus environment and English clubs exist in
all aspects. For the element of responsibility, the campus group is higher than the
English club group by less than one percent (see Table 2). Furthermore, the diligence
aspect shows that the campus group is almost two percent superior to the English
club group. Then the time aspect also indicates that the English Club group is lower
than the campus group even though the difference in numbers is not too significant
or less than two percent. There are pretty surprising facts in the effort aspect, where
the campus group got the highest score with a difference of around ten percent from
the English club group. In short, the campus group appears to be superior in several
aspects of learning motivation compared to the English club group.
However, the English Club group also has more contributions than the
campus group. It is contained in two aspects, namely feedback and goals, where each
element has an average difference of five percent. These two aspects indicate that
students have a certain tendency towards English clubs.
Based on the results of the SPSS application, this research was carried out
non-parametrically with the Mann-Whitney test. The results of this test showed that
there was no significant difference between the two groups. So it can be said that
both the campus and the English club have their respective roles in growing student
motivation. Studying on campus certainly has its curriculum to support students'
academic values, while the English club can be regarded as a forum for informal
learning. Although its members do not get certificates that support educational
administration, they can build relationships and language skills trained while
studying. It is in line with the results of Efendi's research (2019), where the English
club as an extra off-campus activity greatly enriches students' hard and soft skills
(Efendi, 2019).

Student Learning Motivation on Campus

Based on the six aspects in Table 2, the researcher found that students were
well-motivated on campus. The element of responsibility greatly influences

129
Siti Maria Ulfa Mattarima, Nur Afifi, & Rezki Suci Qamaria English Study Club: How students' mental
attributes reflect their motivation

students' learning motivation. This influence is even more significant than the goal
aspect.
The responsibility aspect refers to the attitudes of students in facing the
challenges of learning on campus. The questionnaire results (see Table 2) show that
almost all respondents admit that they always try to complete tasks independently.
Meanwhile, they acknowledge that learning English on campus can increase their
scientific insight in terms of goals.
From the results of descriptive statistics, the average student motivation on
campus is relatively high. Therefore, students do not experience significant
difficulties in motivation while studying English at university because the data
shows that students are well motivated. This condition is quite reasonable,
considering that the demands of students on campus have become an initial
commitment before taking education. No wonder if meeting the target value
becomes a big motivation in learning. Hi, this is the same as the results of previous
studies that the biggest motivation of students in participating in learning on
campus is to meet the passing grade (Anas & Aryani, 2014).
In addition to achieving the passing grade target, other external motivations
that support the enthusiasm and quality of student learning are outside parties such
as family, relatives, friends, and the environment. It is very much needed by today's
students, who are classified as the millennial generation. It is in line with the results
of related research that parental intervention in providing support to children can
foster good learning motivation so that learning targets can be achieved optimally.
The role of parents is often also called external motivational factors (Sumanti &
Muljani, 2021). In addition, this millennial generation tends to make the family the
center of consideration and decision-makers ( Badan Pusat Statistik, 2018).

Main Aspects of Student Learning Motivation in the English Community

From the results of the data analysis of the six aspects of learning motivation
in the English club above, the researcher concludes that the objective element gives
the highest contribution to the student's motivation to learn in the English club.
Then the second significant aspect is occupied by the effort aspect, which
contributes quite well.
In terms of goals, students claim to study English at the English club to
process international-based information and make it easier to operate up-to-date
technology; those who train in English at the study club are also motivated to have
the provisions for registering. Scholarships and study abroad. Apart from the in-
depth statement above, most of them also admit that they are interested in English.
From the aspect of the effort itself, this is very integrated with the condition
of the English club, where students feel happy to meet friends who are also learning
English; while practicing, they do not feel awkward interacting with anyone using
English. They also agree that they have used their free time to practice their English
skills by interacting with anyone. The English club trains language skills and fosters
tolerance, cooperation, and adaptability in new environments (Efendi, 2019).
Unfortunately, the feedback aspect is not prominent in the English club group
even though the average is still above fifty percent (see Table 3). Almost half of the
respondents objected and were annoyed if they had to be corrected when they made
a mistake. This fact is quite surprising considering the aspects of effort and purpose

130
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

show that they are among those who are not afraid to make mistakes in learning.
The researcher also assumes that the differences in student orientation in the
English club are pretty varied. The English club is a non-formal education forum, so
it is not surprising that the members prioritize fluency over language accuracy
(accuracy). However, this does not rule out other reasons from students, so the
researcher hopes that this point needs to be reviewed again in future research.
Apart from the inequality in the feedback aspect above, all aspects show that
students' learning motivation in English clubs is relatively high with two dominant
elements, namely goals and efforts. Furthermore, aspects of plans and actions
contain instrumental statements, so these two factors include instrumental factors
in motivation. The role of these two aspects is also in line with the results of previous
research, which states that instrumental factors play a significant role in EFL
students' learning motivation, which affects the high motivation of students in the
English Study club or English community (Al-Munawwarah, 2018).
From the findings above, the researcher realizes that there are still
limitations in generalizing the results of this study to similar cases. It is due to
certain things in the implementation of this research. First, the subject of this
research is still within the scope of English education students. Second, the
participants' limitations in answering the questionnaire on aspects of learning
motivation may not represent every respondent's condition. It is hoped that further
research can take a much larger sample to produce more saturated data. And thirdly,
this research was conducted in a brief period, namely three months, which could
allow for an imbalance between students who have been joining the English study
club for a long time and those who have just joined.

CONCLUSION
Based on the findings and discussion above, the researcher concludes from
formulating the problem that there is no substantial difference between these two
groups. Both groups gave an excellent contribution to motivation, although the
difference was not significant. Of the six aspects of motivation, student effort in
learning English on campus is higher than in the English club. However, students'
primary motivation in the English club is goals and feedback. These two aspects
make students in the English club superior to those on campus. It is essential to
know that the English Club has its role in building the mental attributes of students
in practicing their language skills.
In this research process, researchers have developed a student learning
motivation questionnaire based on six aspects of learning motivation
(responsibility, diligence, effort, feedback, time, and purpose). The development of
this questionnaire has passed validation and reliability tests, so it is expected to
contribute to other learning motivation studies in the future. The researcher also
suggests that further research can investigate students' perceptions specifically
about the role of English clubs in influencing their learning motivation and how
these mental attributes impact students' language skills.

131
Siti Maria Ulfa Mattarima, Nur Afifi, & Rezki Suci Qamaria English Study Club: How students' mental
attributes reflect their motivation

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We thank Dr. Eny Satrina (the lecturer of Muhammadiyah University) and
Reski Suci Qamaria M.Psi (the lecturer of State Islamic Institute of Kediri) for their
help towards the authors and all suggestions put during the process of this research.

REFERENCES

Afia, J. B. (2006). English Clubs Introducing English to Young Learners. ENGLISH

TEACHING FORUM; 44 (2), 20-21.
Alizadeh, M. (2016). The Impact of Motivation on English Language Learning.
International Journal of Research in English Education; 1 (1), 11-15.
Al-Munawwarah, F. S. (2018). Students' Motivation In Efl Learning. TELL-US
Journal, Vol. 4, Issue 2, 107-119.
https://doi.org/10.22202/tus.2018.v4i2.2779.
Amanillah, S., & Rosiana, D. (2017). Hubungan School well-being dengan motivasi
belajar pada siswa kelas XI MA x. Prosiding Psikologi; 2 (2), 532-543.
http://dx.doi.org/10.29313/.v0i0.7365
Anas, M., & Aryani, F. (2014). Motivasi Belajar Mahasiswa. Jurnal Penelitian
Pendidikan INSANI, Vol.16, No 1, 41-46. https://doi.org/10.26858/ijes.v16i1
Azwar, S. (2007). Metode Penilitan. Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar.
Badan Pusat Statistik. (2018). Statistik Gender Tematik: Profil Generasi Milenial
Indonesia. Kementerian Pemberdayaan Perempuan dan Perlindungan Anak.
Bage, R. S., Aderlaepe, A., & Agustina, S. (2021). A Comparative Study of Speaking
Ability between Students who Joined English Conversation Club and Those
Who Did Not; A Case of English Department at Halu Oleo University. Journal
of Teaching of English; 6 (1), 70-76.
Basri, M. (2007). Fundamental of Language Research Methodology. Jakarta Pusat:
Guna Darma Ilmu.
Creswell, J. (2010). Research Design: Pendekatan Kualitatif, Kuantitative, dan Mixed.
Yogyakarta: Pustaka Pelajar.
Efendi, D. (2019). Pemanfaatan English Club Pada Fakultas Bahasa Universitas
Muara Bungo Sebagai Upaya Penguatan Hard Skill dan Soft Skill Mahasiswa.
Krinok: Jurnal Lingustik Budaya, Vol 4, No 1 , 1-8.
http://dx.doi.org/10.36355/krinok.v4i1.256
Elnadeef, E. A., & Abdala, A. H. (2019). The Effectiveness of English Club as Free
Voluntary Speaking Activity Strategy in Fostering Speaking Skill in Saudi
Arabia Context. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and
Translation (IJLLT); 2(1), 230-235 DOI: 10.32996/ijllt.2019.2.1.28.
EPI, E. (2020). EF EPI Indeks Kecakapan Bahasa Inggris EF. Jakarta Pusat: EF.co.id.
Galishnikova, E. M. (2014). Language learning motivation: A look at the additional
program. ERPA 2014 (pp. 1137-1142). Amsterdam: Elsevier Ltd.
Joshi, A., Kale, S., Chandel, S., & Pal, D. K. (2015). Likert Scale: Explored and
Explained. British Journal of Applied Science & Technology; 7(4), 396-403.
https://doi.org/10.9734/BJAST/2015/14975.
Kenneth, S. (2016). Classroom Problem Solver: Lack of Motivation. New Jersey:
Education World.

132
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Legault, L. (2016). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. In V. Zeigler-Hill, & T. S.

(eds.), Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences, (pp. 1-4). New
York: Springer International Publishing AG.
Malu, K. F., & Smedley, B. (2016). Community-Based English Clubs: English Practice
and Social Change Outside the Classroom. English Teaching Forum; 54 (3),
10-23.
Mauliya, I., Relianisa, Z. R., & Rokhyat, U. (2020). Lack of Motivation Factors
Creating Poor Academic Performance in The Context of Graduate English
Department Students. LINGUISTICS: Journal Linguistics and Language
Teaching; 6 (2), 73-85.
Melviza, Z., Ys, B., & Erdiana, N. (2017). Students' Perception Toward English Club
Activities. Research in English and Education (READ); 2(2), 101-109. 101 E-
ISSN 2528-746X.
Namaziandost, E., Neisi, L., Kheryadi, & Nasr, M. (2019). Enhancing oral proficiency
through cooperative learning among intermediate EFL learners: English
learning motivation in focus. Cogent Education, 6: 1683933, 1-15,
https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2019.1683933.
Nuraeni, N., & Aisyah, S. (2020). Understanding EFL Students' Motivation to Learn:
Why Do You Study English? Jurnal Bahasa Lingua Scientia; 12 (1), 51-70.
https://doi.org/10.21274/ls.2020.12.1.51-70.
Purba, N. (2018). The Role of Psycholinguistics in Language Learning and
Teaching. Tell Journal; 6 (1), 47-54.
http://dx.doi.org/10.30651/tell.v6i1.2077.
Rachel, R., Sirande, N., & Linggi, M. (2020). Motivation and Demotivation for The
Students of SMPN 1 Makale in Joining English Club. Jurnal Andi Djemma |
Jurnal Pendidikan; 3 (2), 74-83. E-ISSN: 2622-8513.
Reiss, S. (2009). Six Motivational Reasons for Low School Achievement. Journal of
Child Youth Care Forum; 38(4), 219-225, DOI:10.1007/s10566-009-9075-9.
Sudirman. (2011). Interaksi & Motivasi Belajar Mengajar. Jakarta: PT. Raga
Grafindo Persada.
Sumanti, C., & Muljani, R. (2021). Parents' Involvement And Its Effects On English
Young Learners' Self-Efficacy. Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language
Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 8, No. 1, 78-89.
https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v8i1.14632.
Turabik, T., & Baskan, A.,. (2015). The Importance of Motivation Theories in Terms
Of Education Systems. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 186 . 5th
World Conference on Learning, Teaching and Educational Leadership, WCLTA
2014, 1055 – 1063.
Ulfa, M., & Bania, S. A. (2019). EFL Students' Motivation in Learning English in
Langsa, Aceh. Studies in English Language and Education; 6 (1), 163-170.
https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v6i1.12860.
Uno, H. B. (2014). Teori Motivasi Belajar dan Pengukurannya: Analisis di Bidang
Pendidikan. Jakarta: Pt. Bumi Aksara.
Wahana. (2011). Pengolahan Data Statistik Penelitian Dengan SPSS 18. Semarang:
Alex Media Komputindo.
Wlodkowski, R., & Jaynes, J. (2004). Learning Motivation. Jakarta: Cerdas Pustaka.

133
Siti Maria Ulfa Mattarima, Nur Afifi, & Rezki Suci Qamaria English Study Club: How students' mental
attributes reflect their motivation

Wright, J. (2012). Six Reasons Why Students Are Unmotivated (and What Teachers
Can Do). Central New York: Intervention central.

134
 135

ASSERTIVE ILLOCUTIONARY ACTS ON

INTERRUPTION BY JOE BIDEN IN THE 2020
FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
1Fania Yulistiana*, 1Widyastuti
Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Indonesia*

ABSTRACT
In a debate, interruption is a vital element because its utterance carries a
distinct meaning. This study aims to demonstrate the presence of
assertive illocutionary acts in Joe Biden's interruptions in the 2020 First
Presidential Debate by identifying the type of interruption and assertive
function contained within each interruption. This study utilizes the
theory of assertive illocutionary acts by Searle and interruptions by
Ferguson. The data were derived from Joe Biden's remarks in the 2020
First Presidential Debate. The results indicate that Joe Biden's
interruption contains all functions of assertive illocutionary acts that aid
E-ISSN:
E-ISSN:
2621-9158
2621-9158 in communicating the meaning of his utterances. The outcomes reveal
P-ISSN:2356-0401
P-ISSN:2356-0401 that Joe Biden performed 21 interruptions, with the most parts being
overlap interruptions (13 times), followed by simple interruptions (6
*Correspondence:
*Correspondence: times), and the fewest being butting-in interruptions (2 times). In the
[email protected] interruption conducted by Joe Biden, assertive illocutionary speech acts
were found with stating being the most dominant type (11 times),
followed by claiming (5 times), complaining (2 times), reporting (1
Submitted: 3 April 2021 time), explaining (1 time), and suggesting (1 time).
Approved: 3 April 2021
Submitted:
Published:263May
April2022
2021 Keywords: Assertive Illocutionary Acts; Interruption; Joe Biden;
Approved: 29 June 2022 Pragmatics; Presidential Debate
Published: 30 June 2022
Citation:
Inayati, N. (2021). The Template of
ABSTRAK
CELTIC Journal 2021. Citation:
Celtic: A Dalam sebuah debat, interupsi merupakan elemen vital karena
Yulistiana,
Journal of F.,
Culture,
& Widyastuti
English Language
(2022). ucapannya membawa makna tersendiri. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk
Teaching,
Assertive
Literature
illocution
and Linguistics,
acts on menunjukkan adanya tindak ilokusi asertif dalam interupsi Joe Biden
interruption by Joe8(1),
Biden
1-21.
in the
Doi:
2020 10.22219/celtic.v9i1.
first presidential debate.
xxxx
dalam Debat Presiden Pertama 2020 dengan mengidentifikasi jenis
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English interupsi dan fungsi asertif yang terkandung dalam setiap interupsi.
Language Teaching, Literature and Penelitian ini menggunakan teori tindakan ilokusi asertif oleh Searle dan
Linguistics, 9(1), 135-148. Doi: interupsi oleh Ferguson. Data tersebut didapat dari pernyataan Joe
10.22219/celtic.v9i1.21208
Biden dalam Debat Presiden Pertama 2020. Hasil penelitian
menunjukkan bahwa interupsi Joe Biden mengandung semua fungsi
tindak ilokusi asertif yang membantu dalam mengkomunikasikan makna
ucapannya. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa Joe Biden melakukan 20
interupsi, dengan sebagian besar interupsi tumpang tindih (13 kali),
diikuti oleh interupsi sederhana (6 kali), dan interupsi mengikut (2 kali).
Pada interupsi yang dilakukan oleh Joe Biden, ditemukan tindak tutur
ilokusi asertif dengan tipe dominan menyatakan (11 kali), mengklaim (5
kali), mengeluh (2 kali), melaporkan (1 kali), menjelaskan (1 kali), dan
menyarankan (1 kali).

Kata Kunci: Debat Presiden; Ilokusi Asertif; Interupsi; Joe Biden;

Pragmatik; Tindak Tutur

Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9, No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index
Fania Yulistiana, Widyastuti
Assertive Illocutionary Acts on Interruption
by Joe Biden in the 2020 First Presidential Debate

INTRODUCTION
The United States of America (USA) exerts major influence throughout the
world, not just in economic, military, and foreign policy matters. A presidential
election is also a critical event that the entire world should follow, especially when
leadership is the approach by which an individual influences others to accomplish
goals collectively (Osnos, 2020;Merrita, 2021). A political campaign is critical in an
election because it informs the public about the candidates' ideologies (Suwandi &
Thoriqussuud, 2021). In addition to Merrita (2021), the attitude and value of
nationalism is an important scourge for a country's leader. The presidential debate
is one in a series of campaigns in which presidential candidates present their self-
image and attempt to elicit sympathy from potential voters. The United States (US)
has become the focus of global attention, including determining presidential
candidates, because the political policies of the President of the United States
significantly impact numerous countries, allies, and adversaries (Sartika, 2021).
Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on November 20th, 1942 with the name
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., Joe Biden is the current president who won his election
over Donald Trump in 2020 and was elected in January 2021. He was confidently
known as the fifth youngest senator in history when he was elected back in 1972
(Osnos, 2020). After decades of dedicating himself to the laws, he finally pursued
the presidential chair in 1988 as he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination
(Allen & Parnes, 2021). He was then elected as Barack Obama’s vice-president in
2008, doing an astonishing job by playing an active role in the administration
(Krames, 2022). After two terms of working with Obama as the vice-president, he
stayed in the public’s eyes as one of the front-runners in the Democratic party
primaries. Nominated as the Democratic party presidential nominee, he won in the
2020 presidential election over the former-then president, Donald Trump. Biden
had notably managed to maintain the government aid to low-income communities,
being somewhat ambitious on several points, such as the climate change
legislation, affordable child care, and the expansion of the federal health insurance
plans (Krames, 2022). Each utterance made by Joe Biden in response to a question
during the presidential debate had a contextual and situational significance. During
the presidential debate, candidates create sentences with the intent of eliciting
future action. A context must be viewed in terms of the general state of the public.
Context and circumstance contribute to a clear understanding of the utterances
(Husain et al., 2020).
There is a widespread belief that debate is fraught with interruptions and
that participants frequently "talk over one another," failing to listen to what the
other is saying (Sidnell, 2010). The failure to listen and understand what the other
person is saying may be due to the fact that people communicate in diverse
manners depending on their beliefs, ethnicity, and gestures, all of which influence
their language use and comprehension (Hidayah, 2021). The majority of
interruptions are accepted as part of social interaction's natural give-and-take
(Crystal, 2020). Zimmerman and West (1975) asserted that interruption
demonstrates strength and dominance. This was also conveyed by Zhang (2010)
that men are more likely to deprive other individuals of the right to speak by
employing specific male dominance strategies. Interruption is an encroachment, a

136
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9 No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

trampling on another's right to the floor, an attempt to exert dominance, and to

signal the lack of interest or support or the current speaker (Tannen, 1990; Zhang,
2010). Additionally, Tannen stated that interruption violates someone's right to
speak (1990). Equally, Zhao (2011) stated the majority of interruptions are viewed
as competitive since the interrupters are proactive to stop the other’s speech and
seize the floor. In addition, Yule (1996) stated that actions carried out through
utterances are commonly referred to as speech acts. Levinson added that
utterances are not merely a carrier of meaning but also, in a literal sense, perform
or carry out actions (Levinson, 2016). According to Searle (1969), speaking or
using a language entail engaging in speech acts, which include making statements,
giving commands, asking questions, and making promises. Pérez-Hernández
(2021) stated that people can and frequently do attempt to influence the behavior
of others primarily through the use of language and the action can be encouraged
by their interests (by advising or warning them), our own interest (by
commanding, demanding, or begging them), or mutual benefit (by suggesting a
typical course of action). The theory of speech acts takes a holistic video of
utterances, capturing the speaker's intentions, the utterance's meaning, the
speaker's attitude, and the actions elicited by the utterances.
As reported by Austin (1975), Speech Acts are classified as locutionary,
illocutionary, or perlocutionary. A locutionary act is one that involves the
production of an utterance. Illocutionary acts are the primary focus of any theory
of speech acts, and they are identified explicitly through performatives. Meanwhile,
the perlocutionary act refers to the impact or influence that a speech act has on the
listener's feelings, thoughts, or actions. Searle (2002) asserts that there are five
fundamental primitive forms of an illocutionary act, namely assertive, directive,
commissive, expressive, and declaration. Only the assertive type of illocutionary
act will be used for analysis purposes in this study. The assertive illocutionary act
tell people the truth about how things are (Searle, 1979). It suits this study because
politicians are expected to be able to provide statements, explanations, and
assurances that they will do everything conceivable to improve the situation. A
study conducted by Khodijah (2020) reveals that presidential candidates
frequently used facts in their assertions to demonstrate their assertiveness. The
assertive point or purpose is to commit the speaker (in varying degrees) to
something being true, to the expressed proposition's truth (Searle, 1979). As
stated by Searle (1979), assertive acts commit the speaker to the expressed
propositional truth. The use of assertive has a truth value that binds the speaker to
the veracity of the conveyed propositions (Pérez-Hernández, 2021; Putra et al.,
2019). Several verbs that can be used to create assertive acts, are claim, state,
complain, suggest, explain, and report.
Several researchers have critically examined the studies on interruptions and
assertive illocutionary acts. Rohmah and Suwandi (2021) analyzed the
interruptions made by Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, concluding that Trump
engaged in all types of interruptions to a much greater degree than any other
candidate. Tymbay (2021) examined interruptions as a reflection of the speaker's
identity in the presidential debate in a related study. In addition, Atusaadah and
Idris (2021) conducted a study to determine the most frequent illocutionary acts

137
Fania Yulistiana, Widyastuti
Assertive Illocutionary Acts on Interruption
by Joe Biden in the 2020 First Presidential Debate

in President Joe Biden's speech. Furthermore, Nguyen studied on the persuasive

characteristics of Clinton and Trump's assertive speech acts (2022). Although
previous researchers have extensively discussed interruptions and illocutionary
acts, studies on the type of assertiveness on interruption during the presidential
debate have not been explored in detail yet.
In this regard, this present study examined how Joe Biden's interruptions
during the 2020 First Presidential Debate employed the assertive illocutionary act.
With the exception of the four studies mentioned and their findings, there has been
only few study that discusses the various forms of assertiveness in interruption
during the presidential debate. As such, the objective of this study is to
characterize the various forms of assertiveness in interruption that emerge during
the presidential debate. Congruent with the explanation provided, this study
makes a significant contribution to the field of linguistics by providing new
information and knowledge about assertive illocutionary acts especially in
interruptions during a presidential debate for future readers and researchers. This
study formula aims to answer two research questions, specifically (1) What are the
types of interruptions performed by Joe Biden during the 2020 First Presidential
Debate?, (2) How is the assertive illocutionary act used in Joe Biden's interruption
during the 2020 First Presidential Debate? Based on the formulation of two
research questions, the title of this study is Assertive Illocutionary Acts on
Interruption by Joe Biden in the 2020 First Presidential Debate.

METHOD
This study is a descriptive qualitative study to determine Joe Biden's
assertive illocutionary act in interruptions during the 2020 First Presidential
Debate by identifying the types of interruption and assertive functions contained
within each interruption (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The data of this study are
the utterances in the forms of words, phrases, or sentences that are taken from a
video titled "First Trump-Biden presidential debate moderated by Fox News' Chris
Wallace | FULL" which was extracted from the Fox Business YouTube channel. The
transcript is downloaded from an online website, speakwrite.com.
The data for this study were gathered through the use of qualitative
audiovisual and digital materials. In accordance with Litosseti (2010), there are
five techniques for gathering data those are observation, interview, questionnaire,
test, and the last one is documentation. This present study used documentation in
the form of audio as a data collection technique to collect the data. In terms of
instruments, the checklist for applying the theory serves as the instrument for
eliciting responses to the research questions. The researcher also used the data to
explain, provide data, and interpret the intent and purpose of the data being
managed. For the research technique used in this study, note-taking and
observation techniques in recording things were chosen to process the data.
The data analysis technique for this qualitative research consisted of five
steps (Creswell & Creswell, 2018, pp. 268–270). First, preparing the video used as
the data. This step consisted of downloading the transcription of the presidential
debate and organizing the data according to the information sources. Second,
reading all of the data while watching the presidential debate video. Third,

138
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9 No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

classifying the data by taking notes, highlighting, and labeling each utterance with
the types of interruption and their assertive function by using the types of
interruptions theory by Ferguson (1975) and assertive illocutionary acts theory by
Searle (1979). Fourth, processing the data by applying the theories that have been
prepared. Fifth, representing the data in a descriptive narrative way. This step
includes describing the types of interruption done by Joe Biden and the assertive
illocutionary act contained in the interruption.

FINDINGS
This part of the study presents a detailed description of the data analysis. In
this section, the two research questions pertinent to this study are answered. The
first research question concerns Joe Biden's interruption types during the 2020
First Presidential Debate.
Types of Interruption
The first research question concerns the type of interruption. As classified by
Ferguson (1975), there are four types of interruption particularly simple
interruption, butting-in interruption, overlap interruption, and silent interruption.
Among 20 interruptions that can be found from Joe Biden's utterances, overlap
interruptions are the most frequent 13 times. Followed by simple interruption four
times and butting-in interruption two times. Only the silent interruption was not
found during the debate. Further explanations and examples are shown in the
description below.
Overlap Interruption
The occurrence of exchange of turns indicates overlap interruptions. There is
a simulated speech present from both parties, and the first speaker can complete
his utterances (Beattie, 1982). Joe Biden made 13 overlap interruptions during his
utterance in the 2020 First Presidential Debate. The overlapping interruptions by
Joe Biden primarily extended for more than a clause (3 words or more).
Nevertheless, the first speaker completed the utterance, resulting in a buildup of
utterances that are classified as overlapping. The example overlap interruption
below shows Joe Biden interrupting Donald Trump's response to Chris Wallace
about homicides in America.
(01) Donald Trump : “… But if he ever got to run this country, and they ran it the way he
would want to run it, we would have [our suburbs would be] gone.
By the way, our suburbs would be gone.”
(02) Joe Biden : “[We would run it the way] …”
Source: Biden & Trump (2020)

Overlap interruption by Joe Biden contains incomplete sentences as shown in

data (02) in response to what Donald Trump said about homicides. The overlap
interruption can be seen in how Joe Biden managed to give Donald Trump a six-
word interruption, and the overlap interruption did not prevent Donald Trump
from completing his utterance.

139
Fania Yulistiana, Widyastuti
Assertive Illocutionary Acts on Interruption
by Joe Biden in the 2020 First Presidential Debate

Simple Interruption
Simple interruptions are indicated by the exchange of turns, the presence of
simultaneous speech, and the incomplete utterance of the first speaker's turn
(Beattie, 1982). In the debate, Joe Biden made 6 simple interruptions. This simple
interruption is easily identified by the utterance of the first speaker, which is
syntactically, semantically, phonologically, and sometimes intonationally
incomplete (Ferguson, 1975). The example below shows Joe Biden interrupting
Donald Trump's answer regarding the issue of vaccines that will be distributed to
the public.
(03) Donald Trump : “… We have our military that delivers soldiers, and they can do
200,000 a day. They’re going to be delivering the [vaccine] …”
(04) Joe Biden : “[This is the same man] who told you by Easter, this’d be gone
away. By the warm weather, it’d be gone, miraculous, like a
miracle.”
Source: Biden & Trump (2020)

Joe Biden made a simple interruption, indicated by the first speaker, Donald
Trump, not finishing his utterance as shown in data (03). Joe Biden's simple
interruption (04) demonstrated that there was a rebuttal or argument that casts
doubt on Trump's response regarding the vaccine provided.
Butting-in Interruption
Butting-in interruption happens in simultaneous speech present in which
there was no exchange of turn (Beattie, 1982). Joe Biden made 2 butting-in
interruptions in his utterance during the 2020 First Presidential Debate. The
butting-in interruption by Joe Biden were dominated by incomplete vocal sounds
and short utterances such as but, no, it is not, not true, oh, and yes. The example
below is a part of the butting-in interruption that Joe Biden made when Trump
answered Chris Wallace's question regarding the free-market approach and his de-
regulation.
(05) Donald Trump : “… Also, they took over something that was down here. All you
had to do was turn on the lights, and you picked up a lot, but they
[had the] slowest economic recovery since 1929. …"
(06) Joe Biden : “[but-]”
Source: Biden & Trump (2020)

Butting-in interruption is a form of response that Joe Biden wanted to make.

In this case, the butting-in interruption is indicated by the absence of an exchange
of turns, similar to what Joe Biden did when interrupting Trump. Donald Trump
did not give Joe Biden the floor to continue his interruption and continued his
simultaneous speech in response to a question from Chris Wallace.
Assertive Illocutionary Acts
The second research question of this study deals with the assertive
illocutionary acts contained in the interruptions from by Joe Biden. Based on what
Searle (1979) explained, there are six verbs that can be used to create assertive
acts, for instance claim, state, complain, suggest, explain, and report. Of the 21
interruptions that can be found in the utterance data by Joe Biden, the assertive

140
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9 No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

function of stating is the most dominant, appearing 11 times. In this study, these
six assertive functions will be explained along with examples in the data presented
below.
Stating
Stating is a function to express information in a specific and formal form.
Status can be known through the process of predicate accomplishment,
achievement, and activity (Crystal, 2008, p. 451). There were 11 times stating as an
assertive function in Joe Biden's interruption. In the example below, it is a part of
Joe Biden's interruption which contains an assertive function stating that Joe
Biden's response to Donald Trump's utterance.
(07) Donald Trump : “Joe, you’ve had 308,000 military people dying because you
couldn’t provide them proper healthcare in the military. So, [don’t
tell me about this].”
(08) Joe Biden :“[I’m happy to talk about this]”
Source: Biden & Trump (2020)

In the part of the example shown, data (08) shows Joe Biden performing an
overlap interruption with the indication that the first speaker, Donald Trump,
successfully finished his utterance even though Joe Biden interrupted at the
midpoint. In the overlap interruption, there is a stating function which is specified
by Joe Biden responding that he is happy to talk about proper healthcare in the
military.
Claiming
Claims can also be referred to as argumentative that express a claim to the
truth made by the speaker or hearer. The claim in an argument is a logical belief
that will help or support the speaker's argument (Leech, 1983, p. 224). A total of 5
claims can be found in the interruptions made by Joe Biden. In the example shown,
Joe Biden clearly claimed a number of deaths, which he did during Donald Trump's
speech.
(09) Donald Trump : “Well, you didn’t do very well on the swine flu. H1N1, you were a
disaster. Your own [chief of staff said you were a disaster. A
very far less lethal disease, by the way].”
(10) Joe Biden : “[14,000 … 14,000 people died, not 200,000. There was no
economic recession].”
Source: Biden & Trump (2020)

The example section above shows Joe Biden doing overlapped interruptions
to Donald Trump, indicated by the fact that although Joe Biden interrupted Trump,
Trump still finished his utterance. As for the overlap interruption performed by Joe
Biden, there is an assertive function in the form of a claim shown in data (10) by
highlighting the numerical fatalities.
Complaining
Complaining is an assertive function that shows dissatisfaction or annoyance.
In Joe Biden's utterance, there were no verbs that indicate annoyance. The
existence of complaining as an assertive function can be seen in Joe Biden's

141
Fania Yulistiana, Widyastuti
Assertive Illocutionary Acts on Interruption
by Joe Biden in the 2020 First Presidential Debate

intonation when pronouncing the utterance. Two complaints were found as

assertive functions in the interruptions made by Joe Biden. Below is an example
that shows Joe Biden complaining about Donald Trump's remarks.
(11) Donald Trump : “Look what happened in Oakland. Look what happened in
Baltimore. Look what happened … Frankly, it was more violent
than what I’m even seeing [now].”
(12) Joe Biden : “[Oh my lord].”
(13) Donald Trump : “But the reason [is the Democrats that run these cities, don’t]
want to talk, like you, about law and order.”
(14) Joe Biden : “[This is ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous].”
Source: Biden & Trump (2020)

The form of complaining expressed by Joe Biden is contained in the category

of overlap interruptions to Donald Trump. This can be seen from how Donald
Trump managed to finish his speech even though Joe Biden made a complaint.
Regarding the complaining in his interrupt, data (12) and (14) show that Joe Biden
is annoyed and feels that Donald Trump's answer is a silly thing.
Suggesting
Suggesting is one of the assertive functions which presents something to
consider. The indications of the suggesting function in Joe Biden's utterance are the
forms will you, should, and can you. A total of 1 suggestion was found in the
interruptions made by Joe Biden.
(15) Donald Trump : “Why wouldn’t you answer that question? You want to put a lot of
new [Supreme Court Justices]. Radical left.”
(16) Joe Biden : “[Will you shut up, man?]”
Source: Biden & Trump (2020)

Joe Biden's utterance is in the form of overlap interruption which contains a

suggesting function. Joe Biden in data (16) emphatically advised Donald Trump to
stop answering and keep quiet. However, Donald Trump ignored Joe Biden's
interruption and continued his utterance.
Reporting
Reporting has the meaning of reporting, informing, and notifying about a
specific thing by a speaker. In the utterance spoken by Joe Biden, reporting
indications can be found using the verbs inform, state, mention, and point out.
There was one reporting function in the interruptions made by Joe Biden.
(17) Donald Trump : “Not [by much].”
(18) Joe Biden : “[I beat him a whole hell of a lot].”
Source: Biden & Trump (2020)

Reporting is one part of the assertive illocutionary act which shows the
existence of information or things that have been done. In the data above, Joe
Biden performeds a simple interruption which is marked by Donald Trump, who
continues his answer after Joe Biden's interruption ends. A simple sentence in data
(18) showing the reporting function in Joe Biden's interruption as part of notifying
that Joe Biden had won against Bernie Sanders.

142
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9 No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Explaining
One of the functions of assertive illocutionary acts found in Joe Biden's
speech is explaining. Explaining is the act of expressing an idea, concern, or issue
to the hearer in a more precise and comprehensive manner by describing or
revealing pertinent facts and ideas.
(19) Donald Trump : “Socialized medicine ….”
(20) Chris Wallace : “[Mr. President] ….“
(21) Joe Biden : “[Well, I tell] you what. He is not for any help for people needing
healthcare. [Because –]”
(22) Donald Trump : “[Who isn’t? Bernie?]”
(23) Joe Biden : “Because he, in fact, already has cost 10 million people their
healthcare that they had from their employers because of his
recession, [number one.]”
(24) Donald Trump : “[Oh, oh, yeah. Yeah.]”
(25) Joe Biden : “Number two, there are 20 million people getting healthcare
through Obamacare now that he wants to take it away. He won’t
ever look you in the eye and say that’s what he wants to do, take it
[away.]”
(26) Donald Trump : “[No], I want to give you better healthcare –”
Source: Biden & Trump (2020)

In a presidential debate, telling information in detail as part of assertive

functions is one of many crucial factors. This is due to the fact that explaining is the
first step in illustrating to the public the extent to which a candidate can explain
things, ranging from simple concepts to matters of general interest. In the data
(21), (23), and (26), Joe Biden initially engaged in overlap interruptions in which
he interrupted Chris Wallace when Wallace caught the attention of Donald Trump
who is constantly talking. The context of Joe Biden's response was his belief that
Donald Trump was not the right person to assist individuals in need of healthcare.
Joe Biden provided two reasons why Donald Trump was not the right candidate
during his interruption, first in (23) and the second in data (25).
DISCUSSION
This study answers two questions that have been explained in the findings
section. Regarding the first research question concerning Joe Biden's interruptions
during the 2020 First Presidential Debate, the findings firstly showed that Joe
Biden performed three of the four types of interrupts proposed by Ferguson
(1975). Overlap interruption is the most dominant type used by Joe Biden (13
times). The results of this analysis are different from the findings of Rohmah and
Suwandi (2021). In the previous study, it was stated that the most common type of
interruption was butting-in interruption. This difference in result was possibly due
to the fact that people have different interruption styles as well as possible
differences in understanding context. The same gender factor is another possibility
that might lead to this difference, that men are more likely to interrupt women
than they are to interrupt men (Miller & Sutherland, 2022). In accordance with
Opina (2017), males utilize more interruption than females do, whereas the latter’s
utterances manifest verbal fillers, and the gender of the interlocutor indeed
influences same-gender interaction. For instance, in data (21) to (26), Donald
Trump and Joe Biden took turns uttering utterances that indicate the reluctance of

143
Fania Yulistiana, Widyastuti
Assertive Illocutionary Acts on Interruption
by Joe Biden in the 2020 First Presidential Debate

the interlocutor to take over their floor. In a case, when one speaker thinks that the
information conveyed by another speaker is wrong or contradictory, then he will
use an interruption by conveying an assertive that is considered correct. Apart
from that, long pauses in the middle of a conversation often trigger interruptions,
which allows someone to easily convey what they want to convey by repeating or
changing previous information (Shalaby, 2006).
However, this study not only found the types of interruption but also the
function of assertive illocutionary act. The results show that in the 21 interruptions
made by Joe Biden, the assertive function that appeared the most is stating which
is mostly in the form of imperative sentences. This is in line with an earlier study
by Ashfira and Harjanto (2020) who also found that the assertive function was the
most dominant in their study. In this study, for example data (04) and (08), stating
becomes the most dominant function arises because it is used to express
information in a specific and formal form. In proportion to Sofian (2021), the use of
stating is to convey the messages of a political speech. This study proves that
stating as an assertive illocutionary act is a function that works necessary to
ensure the hearer could accept Joe Biden’s interruption message. Data (04)
displays Joe Biden's interruption related to Donald Trump, who said he would
distribute vaccines to the public. Joe Biden's statement mentioned Donald Trump
as the same person who said that COVID would be wiped out by Easter. Stating as
an assertive function is an indicator that in his interrupting sentence, Joe Biden
conveyed the message that Donald Trump was a liar.
Furthermore, the presence of an assertive illocutionary act on Joe Biden's
interruption is part of how he expresses his ideas, information, opinions, and facts
in his debate responses. Leech (1983) reveals that a claim is a verb with the
proportion as belonging to or a claim that can support the speaker's position. In
data (10), Joe Biden showed the existence of claiming function by stating the
number of deaths. In which the proportion of these claims supported Joe Biden in
presenting his argument. The form of a factual statement that mentions numerals
is one form of t evidence in an argument that is acceptable to the hearer (Ericson et
al., 2003, p. 24). The explanations made by Joe Biden as attached to the data (21),
(23), and (25) are evidence that was conveyed his way of explaining information.
In this case, the information related to the issue of Donald Trump being the wrong
person to assist individuals in need of healthcare. The existence of evidence for the
assertive function of explaining in Joe Biden's interruption is in line with what is
stated by Atchison (2017, p. 83) that explaining can be crucial evidence for an
intricate phenomenon that may have an impact in the future.
The outcomes of this study's data result are settled that Joe Biden interrupted
as a component of his argument defense during the debate. While the interruption
situation appeared only in glimpses during the entire debate, it has its own
meaning within the realm of communicative interaction (Kyrychenko, 2017). In
agreement with that, the function of assertive illocutionary acts aids the public in
understanding what Joe Biden's interruption actually conveyed. The existence of
an illocutionary act assertive function helps to classify the meaning of Joe Biden's
interruption, which is able to support the hearer in addressing problems of
understanding (Rahayu et al., 2018; Sacks et al., 1974).

144
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9 No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

CONCLUSION
This study examines Joe Biden's assertive illocutionary act on interruptions
during the first presidential debate of 2020. It was discovered that Joe Biden uses
three out of four types of interruptions, with overlap interruptions being the most
common followed by simple interruptions, and butting-in interruptions being the
least common. This fact demonstrates that Joe Biden has no qualms about using
overlap interruptions to express what he believes to be true. Moreover,
overlapping interruptions indicate that neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump
wishes to be interrupted while presenting their arguments. In Joe Biden's
interruptions, all functions of the assertive illocutionary act were found. The
distribution is in the form of stating, claiming, complaining, reporting, explaining,
and suggesting. The findings and discussion show that Joe Biden was able to use
the assertive function in his interruptions during the presidential debate. Joe Biden
influenced potential voters by providing evidence and including his ideas and
opinions in his argument. Assertive illocutionary act on interruption influenced
people’s decision to choose Joe Biden by showing his self-image during the
presidential debate.
This study only focused on assertive illocutionary acts on interruptions done
by Joe Biden in the 2020 First Presidential Debate. Therefore, in future studies
should add other aspects of illocutionary acts in the presidential debate in order to
know the significant function of each illocutionary act type in the presidential
debate. It also suggested that Joe Biden's remarks and speeches should be
discussed more using the assertive illocutionary act and interruption theory.
Additionally, in future studies, the researcher could also add or combine different
significant functions of each speech acts, including the locutionary acts and
perlocutionary acts.

REFERENCES
Allen, J., & Parnes, A. (2021). Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency.
Crown Publishing.
Ashfira, K. D., & Harjanto, T. D. (2020). Assertive Speech Acts in Donald Trump’s
Presidential Speeches. Lexicon, 7(1), 24–39.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.22146/lexicon.v7i1.64574
Atchison, J. (2017). The Art of Debate: Course Guidebook. The Great Courses.
www.thegreatcourses.com
Atusaadah, M. R., & Idris, Z. (2021). Illocutionary Acts in President Joe Biden’s
Speech. Seminar Nasional Ilmu Sosial Dan Teknologi - SANISTEK, 73–80.
https://prosiding.politeknikcendana.ac.id/index.php/sanistek/article/view/2
6
Austin, J. L. (1975). How to Do Things with Words (2nd ed.). Harvard University
Press. https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674411524
Beattie, G. W. (1982). Turn-taking and interruption in political interviews:
Margaret Thatcher and Jim Callaghan compared and contrasted. Semiotica,
39(1–2), 93–114. https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.1982.39.1-2.93
Biden, J. R., & Trump, D. J. (2020). 2020 Election First Presidential Debate.
https://speakwrite.com/transcripts/presidential-debate-2020-01/

145
Fania Yulistiana, Widyastuti
Assertive Illocutionary Acts on Interruption
by Joe Biden in the 2020 First Presidential Debate

Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative,

and Mixed Methods Approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publication, Inc.
https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/research-design/book255675
Crystal, D. (2008). A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics (6th ed.). Blackwell
Publishing.
Crystal, D. (2020). Let’s Talk: How English Conversation Works. In Oxford
University Press (1st ed.). Oxford University Press.
https://www.davidcrystal.com/GBR/Book-Detail/?bookId=79
Ericson, J. M., Murphy, J. J., & Zeuschner, R. F. (2003). The Debater’s Guide (3rd ed.).
Southern Illinois University Press.
Ferguson, N. (1975). Interruptions: speaker-switch nonfluency in spontaneous
conversation [Edinburgh University].
https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/17288
G. Opina, K. (2017). Verbal Communication Behaviors: How Male and Female
University Students Interact in Gendered Talks. International Journal of
Language and Linguistics, 5(5), 135.
https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20170505.13
Hidayah, P. N. (2021). The Use of Un/Marked Code To Show Politeness Among
Multilingual Customers. Celtic: A Journal of Culture, 8(2).
https://doi.org/10.22219/celtic.v8i2.16692
Husain, A., Hamamah, & Nurhayani, I. (2020). Commissive Speech Act in
Indonesian Presidential Debate. OKARA: Jurnal Bahasa Dan Sastra, 14(1), 81–
98. https://doi.org/10.19105/ojbs.v14i1.3141
Khodijah, S. (2020). Illocutionary Act in Political Debate. Journal of Language
Intelligence and Culture, 2(2), 141–158. https://doi.org/10.35719/jlic.v2i2.39
Krames, J. A. (2022). The Joe Biden Way: How to Become a Bold and Emphatic
Leader. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://lccn.loc.gov/2021028036
Kyrychenko, T. (2017). A communicative-pragmatic analysis of interruption
realisation in modern English dialogical discourse. Lege Artis: Language
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, 2(1), 169–209. https://doi.org/10.1515/lart-
2017-0005
Leech, G. (1983). Principles of Pragmatics (1st ed.). Taylor & Francis.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315835976
Levinson, S. C. (2016). Speech Acts. In Y. Huang (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of
Pragmatics. Oxford University Press.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110214260.373
Litosseliti, L. (Ed.). (2010). Quantitative Methods: Concepts, Frameworks and
Issues. In Research Methods in Linguistics. Continuum.
Merrita, D. (2021). Nationalism Ideology: Critical Discourse Analysis of Joko
Widodo’s Speech in Indonesian Presidential Election. Celtic: A Journal of
Culture, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.2219/celtic.v8i1.16474
Miller, M. G., & Sutherland, J. L. (2022). The Effect of Gender on Interruptions at
Congressional Hearings. American Political Science Review, 1–19.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055422000260
Osnos, E. (2020). Joe Biden: The Life, the Run, and What Matters Now. Scribner.
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Joe-Biden/Evan-
Osnos/9781982174026

146
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature and Linguistics Vol. 9 No. 1, June 2022
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

Pérez-Hernández, L. (2021). Speech Acts in English: From Research to Instruction

and Textbook Development. In Cambridge University Press. University of
Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108677073
Putra, A. H. W., Nababan, M. R., & Marmanto, S. (2019). Speech Acts Found in the
Movie “The Good Doctor.” International Journal of Multicultural and
Multireligious Understanding, 6(5), 840–848.
https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.18415/ijmmu.v6i5.1150
Rahayu, F. N., Arifin, M. B., & Ariani, S. (2018). Illocutionary Act in the Main
Characters’ Utterances in Mirror Mirror Movie. Jurnal Ilmu Budaya, 2(2), 175–
187. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.30872/jbssb.v2i2.1065
Rohmah, Z., & Suwandi, A. F. (2021). Donald Trump’s and Hillary Clinton’s
Interruptions in Presidential Debates. JEELS (Journal of English Education and
Linguistics Studies), 8(1), 97–118.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.30762/jeels.v8i1.2359
Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. A., & Jefferson, G. (1974). A Simplest Systematics for the
Organization of Turn-Taking for Conversation. Language: Linguistic Society of
America, 50(4), 696–735.
Sartika, T. (2021). Critical Discourse Analysis of Donald Trump’s and Joe Biden’s
Language in Use in The 2020 United States Presidential Debates. Proceedings
International Conference on Education of Suryakancana 2021, 1, 412–417.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.35194/cp.v0i0.1379
Searle, J. R. (1969). Speech Acts. Cambridge University Press.
Searle, J. R. (1979). Expression and Meaning: Studies in the Theory of Speech Acts
(1st ed.). Cambridge University Press.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511609213
Searle, J. R. (2002). Speech Acts, Mind, and Social Reality (G. Grewendorf & G.
Meggle (Eds.); Vol. 79). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-
94-010-0589-0
Shalaby, M. M. (2006). Interruption As a Measure of (Lack of) Conversational
Power: a Gender – Dominance Analysis of Interruptions in Egyptian Tv Talk
Shows. The Proceedings of the 8th International Symposium on Comparative
Literature, 351–386.
Sidnell, J. (2010). Conversation Analysis: An Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell
Publishing.
Sofian, E. S. (2021). Speech Acts Analysis in Joe Biden’s Victory Speech.
International Journal of Arts and Social Science, 4(5). www.ijassjournal.com
Suwandi, A. F., & Thoriqussuud, M. (2021). A Study of Systemic Functional
Linguistics: Political Ideology of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in First
Presidential Debate. Journal of English and Teaching, 5(1), 166–187.
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.33369/jeet.5.2.166-187
Tannen, D. (1990). You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation. In
Paper Knowledge . Toward a Media History of Documents. Ballantine Books.
Thanh, N. T. T. (2022). Assertive speech acts of persuasion in English presidential
election speeches. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 30, 666–675.
https://doi.org/https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6750-0136
Tymbay, A. A. (2021). Interruption as a reflection of speaker’s identity in the 2020
US presidential debates. Suvremena Lingvistika, 47(92), 283–306.

147
Fania Yulistiana, Widyastuti
Assertive Illocutionary Acts on Interruption
by Joe Biden in the 2020 First Presidential Debate

https://doi.org/10.22210/suvlin.2021.092.08
Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics. Oxford University Press.
Zhang, H. (2010). Who dominates the class, boys or girls?: A study on gender
differences in English classroom talk in a Swedish upper secondary school
[Kristianstad University]. http://www.diva-
portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A394795&dswid=-6322
Zhao, F. (2011). An Analysis of Gender Differences in Interruption based on the
American TV series Friends [Kristianstad University]. http://www.diva-
portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A395161&dswid=-8776
Zimmerman, D. H., & West, C. (1975). Sex Roles, Interruptions, and Silences in
Conversation. In Language and Sex: Difference and Dominance (pp. 105–129).

148
 AUTHOR INDEX

Afifi, Nur 120 Rahmiati 69

Agustina, Hiqma Nur 44 Sulistyaningrum, Siti Drivoka 1

Azwati, Arima 39 Samad, Iskandar Abdul 69

Chemir, Sileshi 97 Savitri, Adelia 21

Hapsari, Astri 82 Slamet, Setiawan 39

Kitila, Tamene 97 Utami, Luthfia Putri 1

Mattarima, Siti Maria Ulfa 120 Wahyuningtyas, Dwi 21

Novitasari 53 Wahyuningsih, Noverita 53

Purwati, Oikurema 39 Widyastuti 135

Qamaria, Rezki Suci 120 Yulistiana, Fania 135

Redjeki, Genti Putri Dwi 82

 SUBJECT INDEX

A
Academic Language Skills L
97, 98, 107, 110, 111, 114 Learning Motivation 120, 121, 123,
Assertive Illocutionary Acts 137, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130,
138, 139, 140, 143, 144, 145 131
ADDIE 27
M
B Mutual Conversations 22

N
C Needs Analysis 97, 98, 99, 100, 103,
Communication Skills 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 104, 110, 114
8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19,
20 O
Critical Thinking 39, 40, 41, 42, 43,
44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50 P
CLIL 53, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62, 63,64, Pandemic 82, 83, 85, 87, 91, 92
65, 66, 67 Postgraduate Students 39, 40, 42, 43,
45, 48, 49, 50
D Presidential Debate 136, 138, 139,
Difficulties 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 103, 143, 145
104, 106, 107, 108, 110, 111, 112, Public Speaking 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12,
113, 114, 115 13, 15, 16
Dramatic Representations 23

E
EAP 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 104,
105, 106, 107, 112, 113, 114, Q
EFL 82, 83, 84, 87, 91, 92, 124, 131

R
F S
Self-regulated Learning Strategies
82, 85, 86, 87, 91, 92
G Sociodrama 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 76, 77,
78, 79
Sociodrama Technique 69, 70, 71,
H 72, 73, 76, 77, 78, 79
Higher Education 97, 101, 102, 113, Speaking 53, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 62,
114 64, 65, 66
Study Club 120, 124, 130, 131
I Syllabus 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11,
Interruption 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20
141

J T
Tourist Guiding 53, 55, 56, 59, 61, V
63, 65, 66,
Traditional Theatre 23
Traditional art 24 Z

W
Writing Research Methodology 39,
41, 45, 50
 Call for Paper
Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching, Literature, & Linguistics is a peer
reviewed academic journal managed by the English Language Education Department,
Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, University of Muhammadiyah Malang. It is
published twice a year, in June and December. We welcome articles in the form of
research reports or library research on English Language Teaching, Literature, Linguistics,
and Culture. Generally, all manuscript received between December-May are allocated for
June Edition, while those received between June-November are for December Edition. ISSN
2356-0401 (print), 2621-9158 (online); the article submission and publication are free of
charge. CELTIC has been indexed in SINTA (Sinta 3), DOAJ, Google Scholar, BASE, Crossref,
Garuda, Dimension, ROAD, and Harvard Library.

Check our Author Guide below for details on how to submit.

AUTHOR GUIDELINES

I. Author Guide

Authors are required to submit their manuscripts electronically by using the CELTIC
online submission and review website. New authors are required to register first before
they can send their manuscript at
https://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/user/register. Existing authors can submit
their manuscript after logging in to the website. Any questions related to the online
submission can be emailed to [email protected].
Submission of a manuscript implies that the paper is the author(s)’ own work which
has not been previously published, nor is it under consideration for publication elsewhere
and that if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in English or in other languages. To
verify originality, your article will be checked using the originality detection service
Turnitin.
Authors are encouraged to carefully consider the list and order of authorship before
submitting their manuscript. Addition, deletion or rearrangement of authorship should be
made only before the manuscript is accepted—such a request will not be processed after
the work is accepted for publication. The request should be made in written and emailed to
[email protected].
Authors are required to acknowledge the financial support received for conducting
the research and to briefly describe the roles of the sponsors, if any, in the study. See
‘Template’ for the funding acknowledgment information. As a peer-reviewed academic
journal, CELTIC requires its authors to strongly uphold academic ethics when conducting
and reporting their research for publication.
 II. Manuscript Preparation Guidelines

General Format
The manuscript should be between 5000 – 10,000 words, typed in MS Word .doc
format, single spaced and single column, using 12 point Cambria font, on A4-size paper
with 3 cm margins (all sides). and given bottom-center page number. A one-paragraph
abstract (100 – 200 words) written in both English and Indonesian should be included.
The manuscript should be uploaded to CELTIC system and arranged in CELTIC
standard format; Title, Authors, Affiliation and Email, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction,
Findings, Discussion, Conclusion, and References.

Manuscript Title
The title should accurately describe the content (Maximum 14 Words, Center Alignment,
All Capital, Bold, Cambria 14, Single Space).

Authors
The manuscript has the main author and, if any, co-authors with the full name of the author
and co-authors (no abbreviation, no title), includes affiliation of each author and email
address(es) clearly. Denote the corresponding author clearly by giving star(*) right after
the name.

Abstracts
The abstract should be informative and completely self-explanatory, provide a clear
statement of the problem, the proposed approach or solution, and point out major findings
and conclusions. The Abstract should be 100 to 200 words in length. Abbreviations should
be avoided and no literature should be cited. Abstract is provided in English and
Indonesian languages.

Keywords
The keywords should avoid general, plural terms and multiple concepts. Do not use words
or terms in the title as keywords. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.
Keywords should be 3-5 words or phrases arranged in alphabetical order. Keywords are
written right after Abstract and are provided in English and Indonesian languages.

Introduction
The introduction should provide a clear background, a clear statement of the problem, the
relevant literature on the subject, proposed approach or solution, and clearly present the
novelty of research or the latest innovation. It should be understandable to colleagues from
a broad range of scientific disciplines.

Method
This section describes the way the research was conducted. This should include (1)
research design; (2) population and samples; (3) data collection techniques and instrument
development; and (4) data analysis techniques.
Findings
This section should present the results of research and at the same time give
comprehensive discussion. The presentation can be made in sub-sections based on the
research question(s). Results can be presented using figures, graphs, tables, and other
visual aids to help readers understand easily. The unit of measurement used should follow
the prevailing international system. All figures and tables placed separately at the end of
manuscript pages and should be active and editable by the editor. See our Template.

Discussion
The discussion section should present the highlights and significance of the findings. For
that, deep interpretation about the results are expected. Ensure that all research questions
are addressed and relate the findings to the existing literature. Profound exploration of
theoretical significance related to findings and recommendation for further research and
research implications are also expected in this section.
When combined, Findings and Discussion sections should cover about 40-50% of the paper
with balanced portion of both.

Conclusion
The conclusion should be explained clearly. Suggestion placed after the conclusion contains
recommendation based on the research done or inputs that can be used by potential
beneficiaries or future research.

Acknowledgment (optional)
Acknowledgment of supporting parties (i.e. sponsors), if any, should be written here. The
acknowledgment must be written briefly and clearly, avoid hyperbole acknowledgment.

References
The main references are international journals and proceeding. All references should be to
the most pertinent and up-to-date sources. The references mentioned should be the ones
used in the paper. Citation and referencing must be written based on APA style 7th Edition
which is organized by using referencing tools. CELTIC recommends using the latest version
of Mendeley(See Mendeley User Guidelines).
 III. Celtic Template

TITLE - CAMBRIA 14, BOLD, SPACING 1, NO MORE

THAN 14 WORDS, ALL CAPITAL

Author 1 Full Name*, Author 2 Full Name

Author 1 affiliation (Department, Faculty), Country (Corresponding*)
Author 2 affiliation (Department, Faculty), Country (if different)
(Contact Person: Preferably WhatsApp number; which will be deleted
upon review process and publication)

ABSTRACT
Abstract is approximately 100-200 words and written in single
space. Make sure to include your research aims, methods, findings
and implications of the study.

Keywords: 3—5 keywords; Cambria 10; italic; alphabetically

arranged

ABSTRAK
E-ISSN: 2621-9158 Provide a translation of abstract in Indonesian Language. (Overseas
P-ISSN:2356-0401
authors may opt to leave this blank and leave it to the journal
manager)
*Correspondence: Corresponding
author email
Kata Kunci: 3—5 kata; cetak miring; disusun alfabetis
Submitted: 3 April 2021
Approved: 3 April 2021 INTRODUCTION
Published: 3 April 2021
The manuscript should be between 5000 – 10.000 words, typed
in MS Word .doc format, single-spaced, including references and
Citation:
Inayati, N. (2021). The Template
appendices. Indent the first lines of all the paragraphs by 1 cm and do
of CELTIC Journal 2021. Celtic: A not leave a space between paragraphs. Use A4 paper, margins 3 cm,
Journal of Culture, English Language
Teaching, Literature and Linguistics,
Cambria 12 font.
8(1), 1-21. Doi: Present a comprehensive background of the study, followed by
10.22219/celtic.v9i1. xxxx
current and update literature review. Minimum 2 research papers
from previous CELTIC journal publication must be cited either in this
section or in Discussion Section. End this section by highlighting the
novelty of the study, clearly stating the specific aims of the study,
including the literature gap and the significance of the study.
METHOD
Subheading Level 1
Subheading Level 2

FINDINGS
Subheading Level 1(Research Question #1)
Subheading Level 2

Subheading Level 1(Research Question #2)

Subheading Level 2

Table 1. Table format

Table Column Head
Table Head
Table column subhead Subhead Subhead
copy More table copy a

a.
Sample of a Table footnote. (Table footnote)

Instead of inserting figures or graphics

directly, it is suggested to use text box
feature in MS. Word to make them stable
towards the format changes and page
shifting.

Figure 1. Example of image information

DISCUSSION
Please refer to the Author Guideline in CELTIC website for the detail of the
contents of each sections.

CONCLUSION
This part provides the summary of results and discussion which refers to the
research aims. Thus, the new principal ideas, which are essential part of the research
findings, are developed.
Conclusions should answer the objectives of the research. Tells how your work
advances the field from the present state of knowledge. Without clear Conclusions,
reviewers and readers will find it difficult to judge the work, and whether or not it merits
publication in the journal. Do not repeat the Abstract, or just list experimental results.
Provide a clear scientific justification for your work, and indicate possible applications and
extensions. You should also suggest future experiments and/or point out those that are
underway.
The suggestions, which are arranged based on research discussed-findings, are also
written in this part. These should be based on practical activities, new theoretical
development, and/or advance research.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
If any, indicate sources of funding or significant assistance received in carrying out
the study and/or preparing the manuscript before the references.

REFERENCES
Use APA Style 7th Edition for in-text citations (Author, year) and the reference list. If there
are “direct quotes, then provide the page number” (Author, 2021, p. 24). If you are citing
more than one reference, put them in alphabetical order (Alpha, 2020; Beta, 2021).
Secondary Citations are limited to two (2). Do not use footnotes. Every in-text
citation must correspond to an entry in the reference list and vice-versa. CELTIC
strongly recommends using the latest version of Mendeley Referencing Manager.
Minimum 30 references are required with 80% taken from current (within 10 year)
research papers (Journal), and 50% from reliable research papers (e.g. Wos/Scopus
indexed or Sinta 2 and above). Please also note to cite and quote relevant papers in
the previous CELTIC publications available in the ‘Archive’ section of CELTIC Website
http://ejournal.umm.ac.id/index.php/celtic/index

REFERENCES (Examples)
Ansori, M. (2019). This is an example of a reference taken from an online journal paper:
Always include the DOI. Celtic: A Journal of Culture, English Language Teaching,
Literature, & Linguistics, 6(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.20961/ijpte.v2i1.18254
American Psychological Association. (2021). This is an example of a reference taken from a
website. Retrieved from http://apa.org/ethics/code/index.aspx
Brown, A. J. (2019, October 21). This is an example of a reference taken from a periodical
such as online newspaper. Time. Retrieved from
http://www.time.com/article/0,8599,00.html
Creswell, J. (2020). This is an example of a reference taken from a book (4th ed.). Boston:
Pearson Education Inc.

APPENDIX
(If any)