Studies in English Language and Education
Studies in English Language and Education (SiELE) is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Department of English Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The journal presents research and development in the field of teaching and learning of English language, general linguistics and literature. Authors must register to this journal before submitting their work and they must follow the Author Guidelines of the journal. Submissions that do not adhere to the guidelines provided will be rejected. Please submit your article through the online submission of this journal. You may address further inquiries to the Editor at sielejournal@usk.ac.id. From 2014-2020, SiELE Journal published twice a year, in March and September. From 2021 onwards, it publishes three times a year in January, May, and September. The journals have a policy of “Zero Tolerance on Plagiarism”. We recommend that authors check their articles with plagiarism prevention tools (ithenticate.com, turnitin.com, etc.) before submission.
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The strategy of Two Stay Two Stray to improve EFL students’ reading skill
Diana Fauzia Sari;
Siti Sarah Fitriani;
Sevty Emafetery
Studies in English Language and Education Vol 6, No 1 (2019)
Publisher : Universitas Syiah Kuala
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DOI: 10.24815/siele.v6i1.13057
The objectives of this study are to figure out whether the use of Two Stay Two Stray (TSTS) strategy could improve Grade 8 EFL students’ reading skill in a junior high school in Banda Aceh and to find out the students’ perspective about the use of this strategy. One class was randomly chosen as the sample in this study. The data were collected by using tests and questionnaire. The data were both analyzed by using statistical formulas. The results show that the use of TSTS in teaching reading to the Grade 8 students was successful. It can be seen from the mean scores of the experimental class that was 84.70. Moreover, the t-score (6.81) was higher than t-table (2.021), and this indicates that the students in the experimental class who were taught using TSTS got better improvement than before they were taught using this strategy. The results from the questionnaire also revealed that the students’ have positive responses in relation to the use of TSTS because this strategy offered a positive relationship between teacher-students and students-students, and further increase their interest in learning. This led the students to escalate their self-confidence, social interaction, individual accountability, and group skills. A better understanding of the materials taught was also attained because they could learn together as a team.
Analysis of error sources in L2 written English by Indonesian undergraduate students
Burhansyah Burhansyah
Studies in English Language and Education Vol 6, No 1 (2019)
Publisher : Universitas Syiah Kuala
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DOI: 10.24815/siele.v6i1.6659
This study investigates second language learners’ production in writing, aiming to understand common problems the learners frequently have with English. The study focuses on the analysis of errors in 100 essays written by 50 Indonesian undergraduate students of English, which is aimed at identifying the commonly occurring errors, classifying them according to a linguistic category, and explaining the causes of the occurring errors. The study shows that a large number of the occurring errors resulted from intralingual sources, the proportion of which account for more than 60% of the total errors. The results conform to a number of earlier studies in this research field which concluded that the majority of errors L2 learners make stem from intralingual interference. Another possible explanation for the phenomena is that because the subjects participating in this study are university students majoring in English, they had at least mastered the basics of English when entering university. As a result, they are more likely to make fewer interlingual errors than students at elementary level who tend to rely more on their native language when dealing with the aspects of the target language which they have not yet mastered.
Male vs. female EFL students: Who is better in speaking skill?
Nira Erdiana;
Syamsul Bahri;
Cut Nurul Akhmal
Studies in English Language and Education Vol 6, No 1 (2019)
Publisher : Universitas Syiah Kuala
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DOI: 10.24815/siele.v6i1.13024
This research is aimed to investigate whether or not female EFL students' ability in speaking skill is better than male students. It deals with the hypothesis that mentions female students are better than male students in speaking skill. The method applied is the descriptive quantitative approach in which ten male and ten female students of the first grade of one of the high schools in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, become randomly the samples. The speaking test is done in order to collect the data and it is conducted to identify the male and female ability in English speaking skill, especially in the five aspects of speaking skill: pronunciation, grammar, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. The results show that the females actually dominate the higher scores in all aspects of speaking, however, the mean scores of male and female students are relatively similar, female students reach 68.5 while male students reach 63.3. The t-test is lower than t-table (-1.671.72), which means that the alternative hypothesis (Ha) of this study is rejected and the null hypothesis (Ho) is accepted. Therefore, it can be inferred that the first-grade female students of the high school under study have better performance in speaking skill than the male students, despite the difference is trivial.
Developing supplementary reading materials for grade 11 students at a multimedia study program
Nunun Nuki Erfiani;
Ngadiso Ngadiso;
Suparno Suparno
Studies in English Language and Education Vol 6, No 1 (2019)
Publisher : Universitas Syiah Kuala
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DOI: 10.24815/siele.v6i1.11667
This research is aimed at developing a supplementary reading material to fulfill students' need in one of the multimedia study program at Mangelang, Indonesia, for learning reading. The design of this research is Research and Development. This research was oriented to the product development, and it was conducted in two main stages; (1) exploration stage and (2) product development stage. The exploration stage includes (1) literature review, (2) field study, and (3) need analysis. Meanwhile, the product development stage describes (1) the prototype development, (2) experts’ judgment, and (3) pilot. This research was conducted in a vocational secondary school involving an English teacher, two material experts, and students. The findings show that the existing textbook used to teach reading contains general English material and it is less specific to be used for the students at the program. Therefore, it implies that there should be supplementary reading materials for the teacher to develop reading to meet the needs of these students.
Teaching language through literature: George Orwell’s ‘Shooting an Elephant’ in the EFL classroom
Molla Azizur Rahman
Studies in English Language and Education Vol 6, No 1 (2019)
Publisher : Universitas Syiah Kuala
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DOI: 10.24815/siele.v6i1.13055
This article intends to show how an English language teaching material can be developed using a literary text. It is a qualitative study, and I have used the content analysis method. Here the first and the second paragraphs of the essay, “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, are explored for bringing out potential linguistic features to be taught to undergraduate level students who learn English as a foreign language (hereafter, EFL). All the four basic skills of English language are emphasized in this teaching material. Different items like comprehension questions, guessing the meaning from the context, identification of phrases and identification of ironic expressions are set to develop and test students’ comprehension level. Items, like breaking up long sentences into smaller ones, changing sentences, rewriting sentences and writing paragraphs, are designed to develop the writing skill of the students. Similarly, items for developing listening and speaking skills of the learners are also retained in this material. It is shown that an essay can also be a potential source for developing language teaching material only if the selection is properly made. Further studies may test the effectiveness of the material for teaching both basic language skills and language areas.
Vocational college students’ common errors in EFL speaking performance
Naria Fitriani;
Said Iskandar Zulkarnain
Studies in English Language and Education Vol 6, No 1 (2019)
Publisher : Universitas Syiah Kuala
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DOI: 10.24815/siele.v6i1.12131
This research aims to find out the common errors made by students studying at one of the vocational colleges in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The students’ opinions on their experiences of learning English, particularly in speaking, were also explored. This qualitative-quantitative research design was conducted by collecting some recordings of the students’ speaking performance, and distributing questionnaires on the process of teaching and learning EFL to be filled in by the participants. In the analysis, the data from the recordings were coded, transcribed, described and displayed in accordance with the students’ error items. Meanwhile, the analysis of the questionnaire employed a simple percentage calculation. From the speaking performance, the students in the speaking class produced two types of common errors, i.e. pronunciation and grammar errors. The common errors in their English pronunciation vary between the vowel and the consonant. The errors in vowel production were produced the most. Meanwhile, 70% of the students made errors in grammar on language tense and some on plural morphemes. From the questionnaire, it was revealed that even though the students tried to speak English well, all of them were aware and agreed that they made grammatical errors when speaking English.
Using content-based and task-based teaching in a critical thinking setting to improve EFL learners’ writing
Hamid Marashi;
Samira Mirghafari
Studies in English Language and Education Vol 6, No 1 (2019)
Publisher : Universitas Syiah Kuala
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DOI: 10.24815/siele.v6i1.11745
The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of content-based and task-based instruction in a critical thinking setting on EFL learners’ writing. Accordingly, 60 female learners out of a total number of 90 intermediate learners studying at a language school in Tehran were selected after taking a piloted sample of the Preliminary English Test (PET) for homogenization prior to the study. Subsequently, they were put into two experimental groups: 30 learners in the content-based teaching group and 30 learners undergoing the task-based teaching treatment. Both experimental groups experienced the two teaching approaches in a critical thinking setting. A sample PET writing was administered as the post-test of the study after 16 sessions of treatment spanning nine weeks. A comparison of the mean scores of the two groups on this post-test through an independent samples t-test revealed that there was no significant difference between the two groups at the post-test. The probable reason for this result together with the pedagogical implications of this study and the suggestions for further research are elaborated extensively in the paper.
Autonomous learning and teacher guidance: Towards the improvement of EFL students’ prepared talk in speaking practice
Yusnimar Yusnimar
Studies in English Language and Education Vol 6, No 1 (2019)
Publisher : Universitas Syiah Kuala
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DOI: 10.24815/siele.v6i1.10080
This study was aimed to investigate the role of autonomous learning (hereafter, AL) with the teacher guidance approach in enhancing the performance and ability of students in practicing their English speaking skill. Pre-test and post-test were given to 22 first year university students to measure the improvement of their ability in the prepared talk before and after the learning strategy was implemented in the classroom. The questionnaires were also gathered to know their perception of this learning strategy. The questionnaires were in the form of closed-ended questions. Results of the pre-test and post-test were analyzed using Tableau software, meanwhile, the data from the questionnaire were calculated for frequency and percentage. From the results, the average score the students' post-test was higher than the average score they got in the pre-test, 83 and 62.2, respectively. The improvement was obvious; here, 16 students got the scores of 80-95 in their post-test, while others got a minimum of 75 and 60. The students' perception obtained from the questionnaires, in overall, received positive responses on the use of this learning strategy. It can be concluded that AL with the teacher guidance approach played a prominent role in improving the students' performance in English prepared-talk.
The practice of authentic assessment in an EFL speaking classroom
Nurul Inayah;
Endang Komariah;
Abdin Nasir
Studies in English Language and Education Vol 6, No 1 (2019)
Publisher : Universitas Syiah Kuala
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DOI: 10.24815/siele.v6i1.13069
The implementation of Curriculum 2013 has inserted the authentic assessment as the measurement method to evaluate students’ learning objectives and achievements in the classroom. In this curriculum, the application of authentic assessment requires teachers to evaluate students’ in three competencies: attitude, knowledge, and skill. Most teachers claim that speaking is the most difficult skill to be assessed by using the authentic assessment, considering the complex features of the assessment. This research was aimed at describing the application of authentic assessment in a speaking classroom which relates to the types of the assessment and the scoring rubric. The subjects of the study were an English teacher and 28 students of a class at one of the junior high schools in Banda Aceh. Under the descriptive qualitative approach umbrella, the data in this study was obtained from observation and document analysis. The results of the study revealed that the teacher used several types of activities to assess students’ speaking skills: (1) attitude assessment (teacher observation), (2) knowledge assessment (teacher interview/short answer question), and (3) skill assessment (narrating sequences). The result of this study indicates that authentic assessment is a feasible way to assess students’ speaking skill and it should be employed in assessing other skills as well for learning languages.
Investigating demotivational factors in Indonesian EFL classrooms: The case of madrasa students
Af'idatul Husniyah
Studies in English Language and Education Vol 6, No 1 (2019)
Publisher : Universitas Syiah Kuala
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DOI: 10.24815/siele.v6i1.12210
Compared to motivation, demotivation is still a relatively new topic in the field of language learning. This present study aims to investigate demotivational factors among Madrasa (religious educational institution) students in the Indonesian EFL context. This study employed a mixed-methods approach with an explanatory design in which the quantitative phase was conducted before the qualitative phase. A 25-close-ended questionnaire along with one open-ended question were filled by 190 Madrasa students. To expand the results of the questionnaire, interviews with two students were conducted. Through a descriptive analysis and thematic analysis, five key demotivators were revealed, they are a) the nature of the target language, b) lesson-specific factors, c) learning materials, d) teacher-related factors, and e) the learning environment. The results also indicated some factors which are not included in the questionnaire, they are a) lack of self-confidence, b) lack of intrinsic motivation, c) lack of learning community, and d) teacher gender. Although previously students’ religious beliefs were said to affect the students’ demotivation, it appeared that half of the students did not consider them to be demotivating. Instead of religious beliefs, the students found the nature of English as the most demotivating factor, which contradicts the findings of previous demotivation studies that found teachers as the main demotivating factor.