Volume 10 Number 2, May 2023

Studies in English Language and Education May 2023, Vol. 10, No. 2
P-ISSN 2355-2794, E-ISSN 2461-0275

Studies in English Language and Education

(SiELE)

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
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 Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief:
Prof. Dr. Yunisrina Qismullah Yusuf, M.Ling., Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia

Vice Editor-in-Chief:
Faisal Mustafa, S.Pd., M.A., Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia

Editorial Board:
Prof. Dr. Burhanuddin Yasin, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia
Prof. Dr. Stefanie Shamila Pillai, University of Malaya, Malaysia
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Assoc. Prof. Dr. Daniel Birchok, University of Michigan, U.S.A.
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Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zohre Mohamadi Zenouzagh, Islamic Azad University, Iran
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pairote Bennui, Thaksin University, Thailand
Dr. Willy A. Renandya, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Associate Editors:
Ahdi Hassan, Global Institute for Research Education & Scholarship, Netherlands
Alireza Qadiri Hedeshi, M.A., Mehryar Institute of Higher Education, Iran
Burhansyah, S.Pd., M.A., Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia
Masrizal Mahmud, S. Pd.I., M.Ed., Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia
Nurul Inayah, S. Pd., M.TESOL, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia
Rizki Ananda, S.Pd., M.App.Ling., STKIP An-Nur, Indonesia
Marisa Yoestara, S.Pd., M.A(TESL)., Universitas Serambi Mekkah, Indonesia
Nyak Mutia Ismail, S.Pd., M.Pd., Universitas Serambi Mekkah, Indonesia
Heri Apriadi, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia
Mahlil, S.Pd., M.A., Politeknik Negeri Lhokseumawe, Indonesia
Tanzir Masykar, S.Pd., M.A., Akademi Komunitas Negeri Aceh Barat, Indonesia
Sabrina, S.Pd., M.AppLing., M.Tran, Universitas Serambi Mekkah, Indonesia

Technical Support:
Dini Hanifa, S.T., M.Ed., Universitas Syiah Kuala, Indonesia

ii
 Reviewers

Prof. Dr. Ian Robottom, Deakin University, Australia

Prof. Dr. K. Ponnari Lakshmi, Narasaraopeta Engineering College, India
Prof. Dr. Usman Kasim, M.Ed, Syiah Kuala University, Indonesia
Prof. Dr. Julia Raina Sevy Biloon, Universidad Nacional de Educacion, Ecuador
Prof. Dr. Ni Made Ratminingsih, Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha Bali, Indonesia
Prof. Dr. Amrin Saragih, Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
Prof. Dr. Martin Kustati, Universitas Islam Negeri Imam Bonjol Padang, Indonesia
Prof. Dr. Teuku Zulfikar, Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry, Indonesia
Prof. Dr. Ehsan Namaziandost, Department of English, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic
Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran
Prof. Dr. Habiburrahim, Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry, Indonesia
Prof. Dr. Herlina Usman, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Indonesia
Prof. Dr. Mulyadi Mulyadi, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Indonesia
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vahid Nimehchisalem, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Heather Linville, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, United States
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Kazemi, Yasouj University, Iran
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Humaira Irfan Khan, University of Education, Pakistan
Assoc. Prof. Dr Intan Safinas Mohd Ariff Albakri, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris,
Malaysia
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Soe Marlar Lwin, Singapore University of Social Sciences, Singapore
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Oytun Sözüdoğru, University of City Island, Cyprus
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Astri Yulia, Universiti Selangor, Malaysia
Asst. Prof. Dr. Phaosan Jehwae, Fatoni University, Thailand
Asst. Prof. Dr. Abbas Pourhosein Gilakjani, Universitas Sains Malaysia, Malaysia
Dr. I Putu Indra Kusuma, Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha, Indonesia
Dr. Huan Yik Lee, The University of Queensland, Australia
Dr. Meinarni Susilowati, Universtias Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim Malang,
Indonesia
Dr. Firman Parlindungan, Universitas Teuku Umar, Indonesia
Dr. Soo Ruey Shing, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Malaysia
Dr. Noriah binti Ismail, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Johor, Malaysia
Dr. Isli Iriani Indiah Pane, Universitas Negeri Medan, Indonesia
Dr. Rusdi Noor Rosa, Universitas Negeri Padang, Indonesia
Dr. Ali Sorayyaei Azar, Management and Science University, Malaysia
Dr. Mohd. Haniff Mohd. Tahir, Universitas Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia
Dr. Hilda Delavari, Farhangian University, Iran
Dr. Revathi Gopal, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Malaysia
Dr. Mutuota Kigotho, University of New England, Australia
Dr. Roderick Julian Robillos, Khon Kaen University, Thailand
Dr. Thusha Rani Rajendra, Institut Pendidikan Guru Kampus Bahasa Melayu,
Malaysia
Dr. Wen Yi Soh, Southern University College, Malaysia
Dr. Konara M. Dissanayake, Wayamba University, Sri Lanka
Dr. phil. Saiful Akmal, Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry, Indonesia
Dr. Besral, Universitas Islam Negeri Imam Bonjol Padang, Indonesia
Dr. Rosaria Mita Amalia, Padjajaran University, Indonesia
Dr. Joko Kusmanto, Politeknik Negeri Medan, Indonesia

iii
Dr. Septhia Irnanda, Universitas Serambi Mekkah, Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Dr. Akhmad Habibi, Universitas Jambi, Indonesia
Dr. Fahmi Gunawan, M.Hum, Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN), Kendari,
Indonesia
Dr. Tono Suwartono, Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto, Indonesia
Herri Mulyono, Ph.D., Universitas Muhammadiyah Prof. Dr. HAMKA, Jakarta,
Indonesia
Khairiah Syahabuddin, Ph.D., Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry, Indonesia
Ms. Lenny Marzulina, M.Pd., Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah Palembang,
Indonesia

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Studies in English Language and Education May 2023, Vol. 10, No. 2
P-ISSN 2355-2794, E-ISSN 2461-0275

Table of Contents

Articles and authors Page numbers

Front Matter i-vii

Native experts and reputable journals as points of reference: A 562-574

study on research-article discussions
Mohammad Ali Salmani Nodoushan

Rhetorical structures, strategies, and linguistic features of 575-597

problem statement to promote a teaching writing model
Katharina Rustipa, Sugeng Purwanto, Fahrur Rozi

Citation studies in English vs. Indonesian research article 598-613

introductions (RAIs) in the history discipline
Warsidi, Andi Muhammad Irawan, Zifirdaus Adnan, Iskandar
Abdul Samad

Measuring Malaysian lower secondary learners' reading ability 614-627

on a CEFR-aligned text
Revathi Gopal, Mahendran Maniam, Kesavan Nallaluthan

A comparative study of lexical bundles in accepted and rejected 628-648

applied linguistic research article introductions
Eri Kurniawan, Zahra Fadillah Haerunisa

Effects of formative tests and communicative grammar 649-667

instruction on EFL students’ oral response ability
Hadeli, Martin Kustati, Teuku Zulfikar, Hidayat Al Azmi, Nalini
Arumugam

Eclectic approach: A search for more effective assessment ways 668-685

to meet EFL assessment principles
Nur Sehang Thamrin, Suwarsih Madya, Nur Hidayanto Pancoro
Setyo Putro, Siti Salina Mustakim, Aminuddin Hassan, Heri
Retnawati

Exploring Indonesian EFL teacher-student interactions in online 686-703

learning
Siti Mafulah, Yazid Basthomi, Bambang Yudi Cahyono, Nunung
Suryati

v
Factors affecting English performance between students residing 704-722
in tourist and non-tourist areas
Tuti Hidayati, Sari Diana, Faizatul Husna, David D. Perrodin

The use of semantic transparency and L1-L2 congruency as 723-740

multi-word units selection criteria
Maryam Barghamadi, James Rogers, Joanne Arciuli, Amanda
Müller

“Will they listen to me?” Investigating the utilization of audio 741-755

feedback in higher education
Dwi Bayu Saputra, M. Affandi Arianto, Eko Saputra

Building knowledge about language for teaching IELTS writing 756-776

tasks: A genre-based approach
Ika Lestari Damayanti, Fuad Abdul Hamied, Harni Kartika-
Ningsih, Nindya Soraya Dharma

Students’ perceptions of personality traits, presentation skills, and 777-788

audience factors in their online presentations
Norwati Roslim, Vahid Nimehchisalem, Muhammad Hakimi Tew
Abdullah, Nornadiah Mohd Razali

Students’ enjoyment and anxiety in reminiscing about mind- 789-804

mapping use in the English writing class
Ariyanti, Slamet Setiawan, Ahmad Munir

Exploring self-regulated writing strategies: A comparison 805-821

between paragraphs and essays
Ratih Novita Sari, Atik Umamah, Merliyani Putri Anggraini, M.
Affandi Arianto, Kurniasih Kurniasih, Nur Mukminatien

Negotiating the challenges in speaking English for Indonesian 822-840

undergraduate students in an ESL university
Winnie, Hugh John Leong, Ida Fatimawati Badiozaman, Alyssa
Yap

Designing Project-Based Learning in research proposal writing: 841-862

Its effect, problems, and scaffolding utilized
Ni Nyoman Padmadewi, Luh Putu Artini, Ni Made Ratminingsih,
I Putu Andre Suhardiana, Ahmad Zamzam, Putu Adi Krisna
Juniarta

Moodle and Telegram to develop students’ language performance 863-883

and knowledge co-construction in technology-enhanced CLIL
David Imamyartha, Utami Widiati, Mirjam Anugerahwati, Afendi
Hamat

884-906

vi
Assessment design, learning strategies and obstacles in facing
Computer-Based Madrasah Exam on the English subject
Bahrun, Rizki Maulana, Asnawi Muslem, Yulianti Yulianti

How do Indonesian EFL students’ writing strategies and writing 907-925

process differ from English L1 students?
Dian Fajrina, John Everatt, Jo Fletcher, Chris Astall, Amir
Sadeghi

Vocational high school students’ identity and investment in 926-942

learning English in a rural area
Nur Annisa, Soni Mirizon, Sary Silvhiany

Learners’ attitudes and perspectives towards English 943-961

pronunciation abilities with different religious backgrounds in
Thailand
Rahmah Bakoko, Budi Waluyo, Kritsadee Songkhai

English variations in ELT: A case of rural schools in North 962-980

Kalimantan, Indonesia
Aries Utomo

Request modifications by Malay speakers of English in the 981-999

workplace: A contrastive pragmatic analysis
Aizatul Aisyah Mohd Idris, Isma Noornisa Ismail

(Im)politeness employed by multilingual Indonesian EFL 1000-1021

learners in argumentative conversations
Emi Nursanti, Erna Andriyanti, Ikha Adhi Wijaya

Examining the framing of ‘COVID-19 vaccines’: A corpus-based 1022-1040

investigation of Malaysian newspapers
Norasyikin Abdul Malik, Mohamad Syafiq Ya Shak, Nurul Ain
Hasni

The language contact phenomenon in Thailand: English 1041-1061

borrowing, comprehension, and public attitudes
Wararat Whanchit, Nootchanat Sukkaew

Linguistic landscape in Malaysia: The case of language choice 1062-1083

used in signboards
Siti Salwah Mansoor, Nurul Huda Hamzah, R.K. Shangeetha

The sociopragmatic study of speech acts in Go’et Ira in the We’e 1084-1102
Mbaru cultural rite
Gabriel Fredi Daar

vii
American orientalism: A critical reading through Edgar Allan 1103-1118
Poe
Loiy Hamidi Qutaish Alfawa’ra, Jameel Ahmed Alghaberi

Back Matter 1119-1124

viii
562 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 562-574, 2023

Native Experts and Reputable Journals as

Points of Reference: A Study on Research-
Article Discussions
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Mohammad Ali Salmani Nodoushan*

Department of Humanities, Faculty of Encyclopedia Research,

Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran 19977-43881, IRAN

Abstract
The current study sought to compare the rhetorical moves and steps that
native-English-speaking and Iranian authors of research articles (RAs)
employ in writing up the ‘discussion’ sections of their RAs. It was
hypothesized that the latter group is not as proficient in writing RA
discussions as the former group. A total of 66 (N=66) RA discussions from
three reputable international academic journals and three Iranian
journals were sampled from years 2009 to 2019. This corpus was then
analyzed by three human coders who used Yang and Allison’s (2003)
rhetorical move analysis model for scoring the sampled RA discussions.
Results showed stark differences between Iranian and native RA writers;
the majority of the rhetorical moves and steps that are considered
obligatory or conventional by the native group are seen as options by the
Iranian group. With the native group and the reputable international
journals being the standard points of reference, it was concluded that
Iranian authors of RAs lack the professional knowledge and expertise
prerequisite to writing standard RA discussions. It is recommended (a) that
non-native authors of RAs receive professional training for writing
standard discussions, and (b) that journal editors be more sensitive to
rhetorical moves and steps before they accept a submission for publication.

Keywords: Academic writing, discussion, genre analysis, move analysis,

research article, rhetoric, subgenre.

*
Corresponding author, email: dr.nodoushan@gmail.com, m.nodoushan@ihcs.ac.ir

Citation in APA style: Salmani Nodoushan, M. A. (2023). Native experts and reputable journals as
points of reference: A study on research-article discussions. Studies in English Language and
Education, 10(2), 562-574.

Received December 1, 2022; Revised March 16, 2023; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023.

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.29282
 M. A. Salmani Nodoushan, Native experts and reputable journals as points of reference: A
study on research-article discussions | 563

1. INTRODUCTION

No matter how seminal, precise and ground-breaking a study and its findings
might be, it will not gain the attention it deserves if it is not presented the way it
deserves. A study may be presented in the form of a research report, a
thesis/dissertation, a conference paper, a journal article, a lecture, etc., and any of these
forms of ‘presentation’ (or genre species) is bound by its own ‘de facto’ specifications
(e.g., move structure, rhetorical organization, rules, nuts and bolts, and nuances and
intricacies) that comprise its ‘face’ validity. Attempts at converting the ‘de facto’
specifications of ‘forms of presentation’ into their ‘de jure’ specifications are not new,
and there are records of such attempts that date back even to ancient civilizations—
e.g., Enheduanna’s Mesopotamian canons of exordium, argument, peroration,
repetition, and metonymy (Hallo, 2004); Aristotle’s ethos, pathos, and logos (cf.,
Barnes, 1984); Ancient Egypt’s canons of wise silence, timing, restraint, fluency, and
truthfulness (Hoskisson & Boswell, 2004); and so forth.
This tradition of converting the de facto specifications of different genre species
into their ‘de jure’ specifications has permeated the whole history of human
scholarship. In the 20th century, for instance, people like Reid (1982, 2005; see also
Salmani Nodoushan, 2007a, 2007b, 2007c, 2016) wrote course books that have sought
to instill the ‘de jure’ specifications of five-paragraph essays in high school and college
students. More recently, people like Swales (1971, 1981, 1990, 2004) have continued
the tradition and sought to give form and shape to academic writing beyond college
level. Swales’ attempts, in specific, have turned up into what we know as modern
‘move analysis’ (although he was not the first scholar to talk about this concept).
A good number of move-analytic studies have been conducted on different
subgenres in academic writing beyond college level (e.g., Hopkins & Dudley-Evans,
1988; Rasmeenin, 2006; Yang & Allison, 2003). To my knowledge, however, no study
has compared Iranian academics’ writing of research article (RA) discussions to those
of their native-English-speaking counterparts with an eye on finding their
convergences and divergences. This is an important issue since professional native-
English-speaking authors of RAs published in internationally-renowned journals such
as Applied Linguistics or Language Testing are points of reference; they are the criteria
with whose performance less-proficient non-native authors’ performance can be
compared. This paper reports the findings of a move-analytic study that has compared
Iranian and native-English-speaking authors’ RA discussions to see if Iranian authors
possess the skill and expertise prerequisite to the writing of modest academic outputs.
The study hypothesizes that this is not the case and that Iranian authors of RA
discussions lag behind the de facto standards of professional academic writing.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Studies on the rhetorical move structure of ‘discussions’ are quite rare. This is
not surprising because move analysis is a relatively recent development in academic
writing in general, and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in specific. Swales and
Feak (1994) are perhaps the first scholars who noted that writing discussions is not an
easy task because they “vary considerably depending on a number of factors” (p.
195)—including variability in research questions, type of research design (i.e.,
564 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 562-574, 2023

qualitative quantitative, etc.), the species of genre (e.g., theses, research articles, etc.)
in which they appear, and so forth—that determine whether the ‘discussion’ should be
focused on a description of findings, solutions to problems, or other orientations (cf.,
Swales & Feak, 2003; Wilkinson, 1991). This implies, for instance, that “different
types of questions require research writers to focus on different parts of the research
such as the results section or the research methods section or the related literature in
order to support their answers” (Rasmeenin, 2006, p. 1).

2.1 Organization of the Discussion Subgenre

Variability in the organization of the ‘discussion’ subgenre is also, at least in

part, due to its relative placement in the structure of the whole genre. In a RA, for
instance, the discussion section may appear after (a) the ‘method’ section or (b) the
‘results’ section. The results and discussion subgenres or the discussion and conclusion
subgenres may even conflate into a single section. All these factors affect the move
structure of a discussion (cf., Rasmeenin, 2006; Swales & Feak, 1994). As such, it is
not an easy task to propose a unique move-structure scheme for the discussion
subgenre. Nevertheless, it would still be possible to propose such a scheme for RAs if
we controlled the variables that affect RA discussions. For instance, if two different
journals publishing quantitative RAs required that RA ‘results’, ‘discussion’, and
‘conclusion’ subgenres appear as separate sections (each with its own heading), it
would not be wrong to argue that their RAs should engage a similar move structure.
Where the discussion subgenre has been placed after the ‘results’ and before the
‘conclusion’ in a RA, readers have already read the title, the abstract, the keywords,
the introduction, the background/literature, the method, and the results before they opt
for reading the discussion. This implies (a) that a major bulk of the information
presented in those sections would be redundant in the discussion, and (b) that writers
should make certain moves (e.g., intertextual referencing, summarization, etc.) to
make sure their discussions would be simultaneously parsimonious, succinct, precise,
adequate, and effective.
Rasmeenin (2006) argued that authors may start their discussions (a) with a
summary of the results presented in the previous subgenre or (b) with answers to their
research questions. They may then highlight their main findings, interpret them, and
discuss why and how their findings have come about. Authors may also want to
compare their findings with similar other studies. Nevertheless, there is essentially no
clear criterion to tell authors how to structure their discussions, and the discussion
subgenre is not as mechanically structured as are certain other subgenres
(Sereebenjapol, 2003). This, of course, does not mean that hypothetical frameworks
for the move structure of discussions have not been developed. Yang and Allison
(2003), for instance, have attempted to develop a theoretical framework to delineate
the move structure of the discussion subgenre in applied linguistics. Others have also
made similar attempts pertaining to other scientific disciplines (e.g., Hopkins &
Dudley-Evans, 1988; Kanoksilapatham, 2005; Peng, 1987), but Yang and Allison’s
framework is by far the most comprehensive and all-inclusive model for applied
linguistics.
 M. A. Salmani Nodoushan, Native experts and reputable journals as points of reference: A
study on research-article discussions | 565

2.2 Model for the Rhetorical Move Structure of the Discussion Subgenre in
Applied Linguistics

Since the ‘type of ESP’, the ‘communicative purpose’, the ‘preferred approach’,
and the ‘language use’ in other academic communities of practice do not easily
conflate with those of applied linguistics, Yang and Allison’s framework is to be
preferred in our discipline (Kanoksilapatham, 2005; Nwogu, 1997). Compared to the
models developed by others (e.g., Hopkins & Dudley-Evans, 1988; Peng, 1987), Yang
and Allison’s framework is more adequate, precise, and comprehensive. The model
comprises seven rhetorical moves some of which, in turn, comprise a few rhetorical
steps (Salmani Nodoushan, 2012). To develop their model, Yang and Allison (2003)
analyzed a rich corpus of discussions from a rich variety of applied linguistics genres.
Table 1 summarizes their model.

Table 1. Yang and Allison’s (2003) model for the rhetorical move structure of
discussion subgenre in applied linguistics.
Move Step What happens in the move/step
Move 1 Presenting background information
Move 2 Reporting result
Move 3 Summarizing result
Move 4 Commenting on result
Step 1 Interpreting result
Step 2 Comparing result with literature
Step 3 Accounting for result
Step 4 Evaluating result
Move 5 Summarizing the study
Move 6 Evaluating the study
Step 1 Indicating limitations
Step 2 Indicating significance
Step 3 Evaluating methodology
Move 7 Deductions from Research
Step 1 Making suggestions
Step 2 Recommending further research
Step 3 Drawing pedagogic implications

As the model indicates, authors in applied linguistics may start their ‘discussion’
subgenres with the presentation of some background information. This is different
from literature review in that, here, authors usually restate their goals/aims,
hypotheses, and questions very briefly. They may or may not use meta text (e.g., ‘the
current study sought to …’, ‘this research aimed at …’, etc.) to signal this move
(Weissberg & Buker, 1990). They may then proceed to the second move in which they
present their results – often very briefly since the results may already have been
presented in the ‘Results’ section that precedes the ‘Discussion’ section. This move
engages several textual clues (including past tense, reporting verbs, figures, tables,
intertextual deixis, and so forth) that are part and parcel of data commentary. Authors
may then decide to make the third move that summarizes their results. To be able to
make this move, authors do need certain summary writing skills; précis writing,
engaging intertextual referencing, wielding noun premodifiers, and other summarizing
techniques are very useful–for more on these topics please see Allen and Mason
(1964), Hernandez (2023), Reid (1982; 2005). The fourth move is perhaps the most
566 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 562-574, 2023

important move in a discussion. Here, authors comment on their results by making

subjective judgments, providing interpretation, making comparisons with the existing
literature on similar studies, and so forth – often in the form of a succession of
rhetorical steps (i.e., interpreting the results, comparing the results with existing
literature, accounting for the results, and evaluating the results). The fifth move
involves a general summary of the whole study. Like the fourth move, the sixth move
(i.e., evaluating the study) may also include a few rhetorical steps; authors may point
out the limitations of their studies, talk about the pros and cons of their studies, or
evaluate their methodologies. Likewise, the seventh move may also involve a few steps
in which authors make certain suggestions for future research, talk about the
implications of their studies for language teaching, and so forth.
Nevertheless, enumerating the moves – as we did – may mislead the reader to
think that they must be sorted in a linear fashion, but this is not true. Authors are not
always expected to start their discussions with move 1, then proceed to moves 2, 3, 4,
5, and 6 before they arrive at move 7. In other words, a linear and consecutive sorting
of these moves gives a mechanical look to the discussion subgenre. Authors versed in
applied linguistics often avoid this form of move organization and opt for other
organization schemes that may involve the nesting of certain moves within certain
other moves. As such, writing a discussion does not need to be a mechanical skill that
can be taught through drilling; rather, it all depends on the author’s expertise and skill.
Nevertheless, it is not a bad idea if less experienced/proficient authors opt for a linear
organization which they, then, brush up with certain cohesive ties that allow them to
transit across different moves and steps smoothly (Salmani Nodoushan, 2012).

3. METHOD

The current study took Yang and Allison’s (2003) conceptual framework (see
2.2) as its move analysis framework to extract the rhetorical moves and steps that were
present in its corpus of research article (RA) discussions written by native-English-
speaking authors and non-native Iranian authors.

3.1 The Corpus

For purposes of the current study, six journals were randomly selected: three
journals published in Iran and edited by Iranian non-native speakers of English, and
three journals published by reputable academic publishers and edited by native-
English-speaking editors. The former group included Iranian Journal of Applied
Language Studies (IJALS), Journal of English Language Pedagogy and Practice
(JELPP), and Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning Studies (JELTLS),
and the latter group consisted of Applied Linguistics (AL), Language Testing (LT),
and System (SYS). Table 2 summarizes the composition of the corpus.

Table 2. The composition of the corpus.

Sets Journals Code Tokens
Native authors Applied Linguistics AL 14131
Language Testing LT 11495
System SYS 14018
 M. A. Salmani Nodoushan, Native experts and reputable journals as points of reference: A
study on research-article discussions | 567

Table 2 continued…
Iranian authors Iranian Journal of Applied Language Studies IJALS 8565
Journal of English Language Pedagogy and Practice JELPP 10516
Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning JELTLS 8028
Studies

The ‘publication range’ of the selected journals consisted of 2009 to 2019, and
from each journal, one paper was randomly selected from each year. As such, two
journal sets were included in the corpus: (1) the native set, and (2) the Iranian set. Care
was taken to include only those papers in the corpus that had been written by native
speakers of English or by Iranian non-native speakers of English. With this in mind,
11 papers were randomly selected from each journal (one paper per year). This gave
33 discussions written by Iranian non-native-English-speaking authors and 33
discussions written by native-English-speaking authors. Care was also taken to include
in the corpus only those discussions that appeared as a separate section from the
‘results’ and the ‘conclusion’ sections. In other words, each of the selected papers
included ‘results’, ‘discussion’, and ‘conclusion’ as three distinct sections, each with
its own heading. This was important for controlling the factors that might otherwise
affect the precision and validity of the data.
Some of the papers in corpus had more than one author—i.e., were co-authored.
I am aware that this might be an intervening factor if I wanted to compare native and
Iranian authors’ language proficiency levels, but the aim of this study is to compare
the static-and-objective rhetorical structures of two sets of written products, not their
producers’ language proficiency.

3.2 Procedure

Engaging Yang and Allison’s (2003) model (see Table 1), each of the three
human coders/raters—all experts in teaching academic writing with a minimum of 10
years of experience—coded each of the discussions separately. A move/step observed
in a discussion received a score of 1, and a move/step not observed a score of 0. A
rater’s 0s and 1s for all of the moved and steps were added up to obtain the overall
score assigned to each of the discussions by the rater. As such, three sets of overall
scores were obtained, one from each human coder. The sets were then correlated (using
Spearman’s rho) to see if the raters’ coding were reliable. Reliability indices were
estimated at 0.981, 0.980, and 0.967 for raters 1 and 2, raters 1 and 3, and raters 2 and
3, respectively.
Since move 4 in Yang and Allison’s (2003) model comprises four steps, and
because three raters had assigned 0s and 1s to each move and step separately, move 4
had a total score of 12—i.e., a score range of 0 to 12. Likewise, moves 6 and 7 had a
score range of 0 to 9 since each of them includes 3 steps (scored by 3 raters). Other
moves and each of the steps in moves 4, 7 and 6 had a score range of 0 to 3 (i.e., three
0s or 1s assigned by 3 raters). As such, it was necessary to scale up all of the raw scores
(for moves 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7) up to 12 (i.e., the upper score limit for move 4) so that
they could be statistically comparable to move 4. This procedure was also followed
for each of the steps in moves 4, 6, and 7; the steps were also scaled up to 12. This
procedure gave me a clean standard data set that was ready for submission to statistical
analysis.
568 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 562-574, 2023

To compare Iranian and native writers’ RA discussions in my corpus, I then used

a set of Mann-Whitney U tests (i.e., the non-parametric counterpart of the t-test for
independent samples that works with medians). It would, of course, be possible to use
parametric tests for data analysis since my Iranian and native corpora included 33
discussions each; since the number of discussions in each set was larger than 30, a
violation of the normality assumption would not cause any issues for parametric
analyses (cf., Pallant, 2016). However, I preferred the non-parametric Mann-Whitney
U test because the raters had used binary scoring (i.e., 0s and 1s) in their coding of the
RA discussions under study.
Descriptive statistics (and percentage data) were also used to pinpoint the
obligatory, conventional, and optional moves/steps in my corpus. To this end,
Rasmeenin’s (2006) criteria were used; a move/step appearing in 100% of the
discussions in the corpus was labeled ‘obligatory’, a move/step appearing in 66% to
99% of the discussions was called ‘conventional’ (i.e., de facto), and a move/step
appearing in less than 66% of the discussions was considered ‘optional’.

4. RESULTS

A Mann-Whitney U test was performed to see if Iranian and native writers of

RA discussions differed in any statistically significant way. The result showed that the
native group (MR=47.77, n=33) outperformed the Iranian group (MR=19.23, n=33),
U=73.5, z=–6.043, p=.000, r=.74 (see Table 3—last row).

Table 3. Mann-Whitney U Test results for the moves/steps in this study.

Mean Rank
Total N Native Iranian U z Sig. r*
Move1 66 33.83 33.17 533.500 -.158 .874 .02
Move2 66 43.36 23.64 219.000 -4.828 .000 .59
Move3 66 42.79 24.21 238.000 -4.377 .000 .54
Move4 66 45.32 21.68 154.500 -5.167 .000 .64
Step 1 66 37.50 29.50 412.500 -2.994 .003 .37
Step 2 66 37.50 29.50 412.500 -2.534 .011 .31
Step 3 66 41.02 25.98 296.500 -3.626 .000 .45
Step 4 66 42.47 24.53 248.500 -4.740 .000 .58
Move5 66 39 28 363.000 -3.206 .001 .39
Move6 66 38.50 28.50 379.500 -2.530 .011 .31
Step 1 66 37.42 29.58 415.000 -2.329 .020 .29
Step 2 66 33.48 33.52 545.000 .013 .990 .00
Step 3 66 37 30 429.000 -2.773 .006 .34
Move7 66 41.12 25.88 293.000 -3.374 .001 .42
Step 1 66 37.68 29.32 406.500 -2.008 .045 .25
Step 2 66 38.38 28.62 383.500 -2.663 .008 .33
Step 3 66 37.77 29.23 403.500 -2.288 .022 .28
Overall 66 47.77 19.23 73.5 -6.043 .000 .74
*(r = Z /sqrt N)

This would be considered a very large effect size using the criterion proposed by
Cohen (1988)—i.e., 0.1=small effect, 0.3=medium effect, 0.5=large effect. As for the
first rhetorical move in RA discussions (i.e., Presenting background information), the
native group (MR=33.83, n=33) and the Iranian group (MR=33.17, n=33) did not show
 M. A. Salmani Nodoushan, Native experts and reputable journals as points of reference: A
study on research-article discussions | 569

any significant difference: U=533.500, z= –1.58, p=.874, r=.02. This was also true for
the second step in the sixth rhetorical move (i.e., indicating the significance of the
study). The native group (MR=33.48, n=33) did not differ from the Iranian group
(MR=33.52, n=33): U=545.000, z= –.013, p=.990, r=.00. For all the other rhetorical
moves and steps described by Yang and Allison’s (2003) model, however, the results
revealed significant differences between the out-performing native and the low-
performing Iranian authors of RA discussion. Table 3 summarizes the results of the
study.
As indicated in Table 3, the size of the difference between the native and the
Iranian groups was large in connection to moves 2, 3, and 4 (and also step 4 of move
4). The size of the difference between the native and the Iranian groups, à la Cohen
(1988), was medium in connection to moves 5, 6, and 7, and also steps 1 to 3 in move
4, step 3 in move 6, and step 2 in move 7. By the same token, a small difference was
observed between the native and the Iranian groups in relation to step 1 in move 6 and
also steps 1 and 3 in move 7 (see Table 3).
As for the types of moves and steps (i.e., obligatory, conventional, or optional),
the frequencies of the moves and steps observed in the corpus by the three human
coders were totaled and averaged, and then their percentages were computed. The
outcome percentages were then interpreted using Rasmeenin’s (2006) criteria (i.e.,
100%=‘obligatory’; 66% to 99%=‘conventional’ or ‘de facto’; less than
66%=‘optional’). It would of course be much better if we took 50.05% to 99.94% as
the range for ‘conventional’ moves and steps since the term ‘norm’ is more often than
not defined as 50-plus% agreement among members of a community; once these
numbers are rounded, they will render a range of 50.05% to 99.90%. Anyway, for this
study, I went by the criteria set by Rasmeenin (2006).
Table 4 displays the obtained percentages and uses labels to indicate how each
of the native and Iranian author groups have approached the task of RA discussion
writing.

Table 4. Obligatory, conventional, and optional moves and steps in native and
Iranian RA discussions.
Native Iranian
Percentage Type Percentage Type
Move 1 57.58% Optional 56.57% Optional
Move 2 85.86% Conventional 27.27% Optional
Move 3 79.80% Conventional 31.31% Optional
Move 4 78.03% Conventional 42.68% Optional
Step 1 100% Obligatory 75.76% Conventional
Step 2 93.94% Conventional 69.70% Conventional
Step 3 64.65% Conventional 22.22% Optional
Step 4 53.54% Optional 3.03% Optional
Move 5 39.39% Optional 6.06% Optional
Move 6 16.50% Optional 5.39% Optional
Step 1 25.25% Optional 8.08% Optional
Step 2 7.07% Optional 8.08% Optional
Step 3 17.17% Optional 0% Optional
Move 7 42.76% Optional 19.53% Optional
Step 1 53.54% Optional 31.31% Optional
Step 2 38.38% Optional 12.12% Optional
Step 3 36.36% Optional 15.15% Optional
570 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 562-574, 2023

5. DISCUSSION

This study belongs in the tradition of rhetorical move analysis (cf., Swales, 1971,
1981, 1990, 2004). Building on the move structure framework proposed by Yang and
Allison (2003) and the criteria for move and step classification proposed by Rasmeenin
(2006), the current study sought to see if native and non-native authors of RA
discussions differed in their performance. The results of the data analysis were
presented in section 4. In this section, a discussion of the reported results is presented.
Overall, it can be argued that the two independent groups under study (i.e., native-
English-speaking authors of RA discussions versus Iranian EFL-/ESL-speaking RA
discussion authors) differ in statistically significant ways; although they do not differ
in terms of ‘presenting background information’ and ‘commenting on the significance
of their studies’ in their RA discussions, the RA authors from the native group have
clearly outperforms their Iranian counterparts in terms of (a) reporting the results of
their studies, (b) summarizing their results, (c) commenting on their results, (d)
summarizing their studies, (e) evaluating their studies by indicating their limitations
and evaluating their methodologies, (f) deducing from their researches through making
suggestions and recommending for further research as well as drawing pedagogic
implications from their studies, and (g) interpreting their results – i.e., comparing their
result with literature, accounting for their result, and evaluating their results,
Iranian and native RA discussion authors in this study have assumed (a) that the
first move (i.e., presenting background information in a RA discussion) is an option
and (b) that they may opt out of it. This stands in stark contrast to Rasmeenin’s (2006)
finding that considers this move as ‘obligatory’. Likewise, it also stands in contrast to
Salmani Nodoushan’s (2012) finding which showed that ‘presenting background
information’ is a conventional and de facto move in discussions in master’s theses.
This behavior on the part of the RA discussion authors in the current study, however,
is perhaps justifiable since background information is always presented in earlier
sections in a research article (e.g., introduction and literature review); nevertheless, it
is commendable if RA authors are advised to present a brief overview of background
information in a couple of sentences in their RA discussions since it can introduce
some form of modularity to the discussion subgenre and can also serve their
readership.
The second (i.e., reporting the results) and the third (i.e., summarizing result)
moves were considered conventional by native RA writers, but optional by Iranians.
This contradicts Rasmeenin’s (2006) findings which showed that these moves are
obligatory—Salmani Nodoushan’s (2012) findings showed that the third move is
conventional, though. One reason for this discrepancy might be the fact that the corpus
under study here included only those research articles that had separate sections for
‘results’, ‘discussion’, and ‘conclusion’. However, a reiteration of the results in a RA
discussion, if the word limits of the target journal allow, would be reasonable since it
would introduce modularity to the discussion subgenre and make it less demanding for
the readership.
Both Rasmeenin (2006) and Salmani Nodoushan (2012) have argued that the
fourth move (i.e., commenting on result) is the heart of a discussion, so it should be
considered an obligatory move. As shocking as it may seem, the Iranian RA discussion
authors in the corpus of the current study have seen it as an optional move – notice that
the percentages of steps 1 through 4 were totaled and averaged to yield the overall
 M. A. Salmani Nodoushan, Native experts and reputable journals as points of reference: A
study on research-article discussions | 571

percentage for the move. Although native RA discussion writers have considered this
move conventional, 100% of them have taken the first step (i.e., interpreting result) to
be obligatory, but the Iranian authors have seen this step as conventional (75.76%).
This finding can perhaps be accounted for if we notice that (a) the journals from which
the Iranian RA discussions were sampled for this study are edited by naive editors, (b)
the authors are mainly university students who lack professional knowledge and
expertise, and (c) professors’ names as co-authors are present in these articles by way
of courtesy.
Moves 5 and 6 were considered optional by both of the author groups under
study; this corroborates Rasmeenin’s (2006) findings although Salmani Nodoushan
(2012) found that move 5 is a conventional move in master’s theses. Nevertheless,
discussions from master’s theses might not be easily compared to RA discussions since
their genres, although overlapping, might not be considered as exact twins. As for
move 7, both Rasmeenin (2006) and Salmani Nodoushan (2012) labeled it
‘obligatory’, but this move was considered ‘optional’ by both of the author groups
under study here. This might be granted owing to the fact that RAs may normally
postpone this move for their ‘conclusion’ subgenre.
If we take the native author group as our point of reference, we can argue – based
on the findings of this study – that (a) moves 2, 3, and 4 should be part and parcel of
any RA discussion and that (b) no manuscript should be accepted for publication if its
author has failed to include these rhetorical moves in his/her RA discussion. Since the
native author group in my sample has considered step 1 (i.e., interpreting the results)
from move 4 as an obligatory move, all prospective authors of RAs should be advised
to include this step in their RA discussions. They should also be told that ‘reporting
the results’ is one thing, but ‘interpreting the results’ is a totally different story; the
former is to be presented in the ‘Results’ section of a RA, but the latter should be
reserved for the ‘Discussion’ section. Nevertheless, a longer discussion that comprises
all of the moves and steps delineated by Yang and Allison’s (2003) theoretical
framework would never hurt anyone provided that the word limits of target journals
allow prospective authors to write longer discussions. Even where journals have strict
word-limit policies, prospective authors might still be advised to be parsimonious –
for instance, through précis writing techniques (cf., Allen & Mason, 1964) – in other
sections (e.g., literature review, method, etc.) but extravagant in the discussion section.
After all, the discussion section is where green and veteran RA authors are told from
each other.
It should be noted that the present study worked with a limited sample (33 RA
discussions in the native group and 33 in the Iranian group). This delimitation was
necessary due to the fact that the current study was a project with limited resources,
funds, and time. As such, I could not practically engage a larger sample in my corpus.
Further research engaging a much larger sample and a richer range of journals might
corroborate or contradict the findings of this study. Nevertheless, the percentages
reported for the native group in Table 4 are a good point of reference for both
prospective RA author and journal editors. Since these percentages are based on a
corpus obtained from three of the most reputable journals in our field (i.e., Applied
Linguistics, Language Testing, and System), the findings reported in Table 4 might be
seen as a torch that can illuminate the path for new-coming RA authors who aspire
after a long academic career and a modest publication record.
572 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 562-574, 2023

6. CONCLUSION

This study sought to see if non-native/Iranian authors of RA discussions know

the conventions that govern the rhetorical structure of this subgenre. Based on the
findings of the study, it can be concluded that the Iranian group does not possess the
knowledge and skills prerequisite to writing succinct comprehensive RA discussions.
The obligatory and conventional rhetorical moves and steps that are an inevitable part
and parcel of any robust RA discussions had been expended by the Iranian authors of
the RA discussions randomly sampled for the corpus of the current study. An author
not engaging de facto rhetorical moves and steps in his academic writing performance
is a naive author whose manuscripts lag behind and should not be accepted for
publication.
The findings of the current study also indicate that the Iranian editors of the
Iranian journals from which part of the corpus was sampled lack professional
knowledge and skills prerequisite to journal editing. After all, journal editors are the
de facto people expected to be the de facto gate keepers of academic honesty, integrity,
and standards, but the ones in my corpus are not living up to their professional and/or
ethical responsibilities – partly because of certain ideological and/or economic
aspirations, and partly because of lack of professional skill and expertise.
All in all, we need a reform not only in our teaching programs but also in our
publication standards. University professors and graduate students need training in
writing different academic genres; they need to be (a) sensitized to the move-analytic
standards of academic writing, (b) motivated to learn the obligatory and conventional
rhetorical moves that govern different forms of academic genres as well as their
composing subgenres, and (c) expected to engage these moves and steps in their
academic written products. Journal editors and peer reviewers, in addition to being
sensitive to plagiarism (cf. Muthalib et al., 2023), also need to learn these skills and
practice them in their editing or review assignments. If we failed to live up to our
responsibilities, no one from outside of our discipline might save us.

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575 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 575-597, 2023

Rhetorical Structures, Strategies, and

Linguistic Features of Problem Statement
to Promote a Teaching Writing Model
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Katharina Rustipa*1
Sugeng Purwanto1
Fahrur Rozi2
1
Department of English, Faculty of Law and Language, Universitas Stikubank,
Semarang 50321, INDONESIA
2
Department of Economics Education, Faculty of Economics, Universitas Negeri
Semarang, Semarang 50229, INDONESIA

Abstract
Studies about rhetorical moves in the introduction section have been
widely conducted. However, the studies focusing on the research problem
statement is still limited. This current study investigated the rhetorical
structures, strategies, and linguistic features of the problem statement
written by undergraduate students, which aimed to contribute to the
teaching model in teaching academic writing. This research was a
qualitative case study belonging to genre analysis, using Swale’s CARS
model. Thirty undergraduate students’ problem statement texts were
explored, and interviewers were further conducted to collect the data. The
results indicated that nine types of rhetorical structures were employed,
most of which were characterized as incomplete. The rhetorical strategies
employed by the students were making a centrality claim, making topic
generalizations, reviewing previous research, indicating a gap,
establishing need and problem, continuing a tradition, outlining purposes,
and announcing the state of the present research. Specific linguistic
features were used in each move and step although the students admitted
that they had lack of knowledge with linguistic features. Based on the
research finding, a Critical Genre-Based model for teaching problem
statements in writing is proposed because this model has facilitative effect
on consciousness-raising of the genre’s rhetorical structure.

*
Corresponding author, email: katrin@edu.unisbank.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Rustipa, K., Purwanto, S., & Rozi, F. (2023). Rhetorical structures, strategies,
and linguistic features of problem statement to promote a teaching writing model. Studies in English
Language and Education, 10(2), 575-597.

Received December 15, 2022; Revised February 23, 2023; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online
May 31, 2023.

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.30855
 K. Rustipa, S. Purwanto & F. Rozi, Rhetorical structures, strategies, and linguistic features
of problem statement to promote a teaching writing model | 576

Keywords: CARS model, critical genre-based model, linguistic feature,

problem statement, rhetorical strategy, rhetorical structure.

1. INTRODUCTION

The important role of English in research publications has encouraged English

teachers in tertiary education to seek appropriate methods to teach academic writing
(Yusuf et al., 2019). Based on the researchers’ observation and decades of teaching
experience, most EFL undergraduate students found it difficult to perform academic
writing. Likewise, in the learning evaluation conducted at the end of every semester,
the majority of students mentioned academic writing as one of the most difficult
subjects to learn. Therefore, research on undergraduate students’ academic writing is
crucial to be conducted, especially to contribute to the teaching of academic writing.
In Indonesia, tertiary education is the institution where students formally learn
to write academic writing (Ministry of Education and Culture of Republic of
Indonesia, 2020). The students majoring in English need to write a research paper in
English as a final project. Teaching academic writing to undergraduate students helps
build a foundation that will impact their future education level. Strengthening the
foundation is crucial since writing competence facilitates academic and professional
success (Rao, 2019). Studies on graduate and postgraduate students’ research papers
revealed the problems of the papers’ rhetorical moves (Amnuai, 2019; Fazilatfar &
Naseri, 2016; Lu, Yoon, et al., 2021; Nimehchisalem et al., 2016; Tankó, 2017;
Tarvirdizdeh & Nimehchisalem, 2021). It is possible that, to some extent, the teaching
of academic writing in undergraduate education contributes to the problems. This
phenomenon is one of the reasons that inspire the researchers to investigate the
undergraduate students’ research papers.
Studies on parts of research papers (RP), especially in the introduction section
analyzing the rhetorical or communicative moves, have been widely conducted (Lu et
al., 2020; Lu, Casal, et al., 2021; Lu, Yoon, et al., 2021). The underlying rationale to
conduct this current research is the important role of introduction to win the readership.
To the best knowledge of the researchers, the study of the introduction section focusing
to reveal the rhetorical strategies of the research problem statement is rare despite the
vital role of a research problem statement for the research implementation (Ankomah
& Afful, 2019; Nimehchisalem et al., 2016; Tarvirdizdeh & Nimehchisalem, 2021).
This current research aims to fill the gap on the studies of problem statement.
Examining the rhetorical strategies of the research problem statement found in the
undergraduate students’ research papers were considered essential since the
researchers’ teaching experience showed that EFL students, as novice writers, were
often ignorant and less aware of the rhetorical moves when writing their research
problems. Their less awareness automatically reduced the quality of their research
papers.
Tarvirdizdeh and Nimehchisalem (2021) state that the systematic presentation
enables the authors to communicate the research problem. EFL undergraduate college
students must be aware of the rhetorical moves and strategies of the research problem
statement. The skill in writing problem statements (PS) will become an important
foundation for academic writing such as to write a research article, a thesis, and a
dissertation.
577 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 575-597, 2023

In academic writing, PS is the crystallization of the academic issue as to what a

researcher wants to prove. A study is generally conducted in response to a PS which
contains problem, justification, shortcoming of previous studies or practical
knowledge, and significance (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). PS section is, therefore, a
key entry to a scientific community in order to achieve readership, and it acts as the
most important part in the research paper introduction (Zainuddin & Shaari, 2017). It
is also argued that a well-structured PS section makes research meaningful (Ankomah
& Afful, 2019). Thus, good research starts with a clear flow of ideas to state the issue
of the research problem. However, it is problematic for many undergraduate, graduate,
and even post-graduate students because academic writing is culture bound in which
every culture has its own writing convention (Ankomah & Afful, 2019).
Theoretically speaking, RP is an academic genre, and PS as a part of the RP is
also a genre. Genre is defined as a staged, goal-oriented, and purposeful
communicative event which moves through stages to achieve its communicative
purpose for which each stage employs different linguistic features (Van Dijk, 2017).
Therefore, writing proficiency covers rhetorical structure and linguistic competence.
EFL writers are required to master a complete rhetorical structure to compete for their
RP to be published. This is particularly because the rhetorical structure that reflects the
logical argument varies across cultures and languages.
The communicative purpose of a PS genre is to identify, reveal, communicate,
and explain the issue(s) intended to be solved. It is achieved through moves, namely
rhetorical movements with specific intentions. Each move is realized in steps which
are strategies to achieve the move’s function; therefore, the steps are termed as
rhetorical strategies (Jalilifar et al., 2011).
Several previous studies on PS explored the students’ academic writings which
had been edited by the supervisors and editors. For example, studies investigated
undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students’ works with the supervisor’s
assistance (Ankomah & Afful, 2019; Obeso, 2019; Tarvirdizdeh & Nimehchisalem,
2021), and a study investigated journal articles with an editor’s intervention (Afshar
& Ranjbar, 2017). A study by Tarvirdizdeh and Nimehchisalem (2021) investigated
the rhetorical structures and linguistic features, the study by Ankomah and Afful
(2019) focused on ‘establishing a niche’, the study by Obeso (2019) focused on
‘presenting the present work’, and the study by Afshar and Ranjbar (2017)
investigated the rhetorical structures and strategies. All of these studies analyzed the
students’ writing with the ‘editing’ help by supervisors and editors. Thus, the corpora
were not the original texts produced by the students themselves. This indicates that the
research results did not truly reflect the writers’ real writing competence. The current
study blended the issues of the previous studies, namely investigating the rhetorical
structures, strategies, and linguistic features. Besides it also extended the previous
studies by offering a teaching model designed based on the research findings.
Referring to the background, research questions are proposed, as follows:
1. What rhetorical structures are displayed in PS of EFL undergraduate students’
research papers?
2. What rhetorical strategies are employed to achieve the communicative purpose of
each move?
3. What linguistic features are employed in each move?
4. What teaching model can be designed?
 K. Rustipa, S. Purwanto & F. Rozi, Rhetorical structures, strategies, and linguistic features
of problem statement to promote a teaching writing model | 578

Therefore, this study aimed at explaining the rhetorical structures of PS,

examining strategies used in each move of the PS, analyzing the linguistic features in
each move, and designing a teaching model based on the research findings. This study
applied a modified Create-a-Research-Space (CARS) model. The CARS model is the
metaphor of competition principle. The model, usually used to analyze the rhetorical
structure of introduction section, is modified based on the PS elements, namely (1)
presenting academic issues as a problem, (2) indicating deficiency, and (3) presenting
the goal or solution.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Problem Statement (PS)

PS is the most crucial part in RP because the research purpose(s), hypotheses,

and method are formulated based on it (Jalilifar et al., 2011; Nimehchisalem et al.,
2016; Parsa & Tahririan, 2017). It communicates the issue to be solved and is
argumentatively written based on knowledge and research gap. Students’ awareness
of the research gap and the knowledge of PS rhetorical structure will help them write
a higher-quality RP (Nimehchisalem et al., 2016; Tarvirdizdeh & Nimehchisalem,
2021).
PS aims at introducing a topic as an academic (central) issue by supporting it
with literature. Undergraduate students as novice writers are required to practice
presenting and communicating the research problem. A well-structured PS arises the
readers’ interest of the RP. Additionally, research that addresses new and relevant
problem statements could even potentially contribute to develop the body of
knowledge (Swales & Feak, 2012). In writing PS, a research topic is presented as a
problem. Then, justification is made, and finally, the achievement of the research goal
is presented (Nimehchisalem et al., 2016).

2.2 CARS (Create-a-Research-sSpace) Model

Research paper’s introduction section or RPI, in which PS is located, aims at

winning for research space and publication. To win the research publication, RPI
should be organized using the create-a-research-space model (Swales & Feak, 2012).
Based on the model, an author needs to write several moves and several steps for each
move.
CARS comprises three moves, each of which has steps. Some steps are optional
while some others are obligatory (Swales & Feak, 2012). CARS model is an influential
work to analyze genre because a lot of genre studies employed the model. Moves refer
to macrostructure, while steps refer to microstructure, namely strategies to realize the
move’s goal (Jalilifar et al., 2011).

2.3 Rhetorical Structure and Strategies

Rhetorical structure refers to the overall text structure. A text passes through
stages to a point of closure. Each stage contributes to the overall meaning that a text
will achieve (Van Dijk, 2017). Each stage has its rhetorical function or move.
579 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 575-597, 2023

Therefore, stage is also termed as move. According to Swales and Feak (2012), RPI
typically follows CARS’ rhetorical structure or pattern, consisting of three moves. The
CARS’ three moves include ‘establishing a research territory’ (M1), ‘establishing a
niche’ (M2), and ‘occupying a niche’ (M3) (Swales & Feak, 2012).
To realize a move’s function, strategies are employed. M1 presents the
background to the research topic, supported by previous studies. M2 provides the
researcher’s motivation and the main issues, leading to the need for new research to
give a solution to unresolved issues. M3 presents the focus of the current study
(Ankomah & Afful, 2019). In this case, M2 specifically presents the strategies used in
PS. The strategies utilized in M2 are generally indicating a gap, counter-claiming,
establishing need and problem, question-raising, and continuing tradition (Suryani et
al., 2018; Zainuddin & Shaari, 2017) Following CARS, PS should have three sections
(Tarvirdizdeh & Nimehchisalem, 2021) as presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Problem statement (PS) sections.

CARS model Sections of PS
M1: Establishing a research territory Section 1: Presenting academic issues as a problem
M2: Establishing a niche Section 2: Indicating deficiency
M3: Occupying a niche Section 3: Presenting the goal, solution

2.4 Move’s Linguistic Features

Each move has specific linguistic features. Words like ‘important’, ‘central’,
‘interesting’, and ‘relevant’ indicate M1. In addition, the most usual way to show a gap
in M2 is to use ‘quasi-negative’ and ‘full-negative’ vocabularies like ‘few’, ‘little’,
‘no’, ‘none’, ‘although’, and ‘however’. Furthermore, purpose statements such as
‘purpose’, ‘aim’, and ‘intend’ are used to indicate M3 (Swales & Feak, 2012).
The linguistic features in M1 in the background section is to show that the
research topic is worthy and deserves more exploration. The linguistic features in M2
in the problem statement are employed to signal the need for a new study and to
persuade readers to accept the motivation of the studies. The linguistic features in M3
in the outlining purposes section is to show that the objective of the study has been
established (Ankomah & Afful, 2019).

2.5 Genre-Based Approach

A genre is characterized by communicative purpose (goal-oriented), generic

structure (staged), and linguistic features (Agustien, 2020). Genre theory explains how
language works in a social context. It has become the object of much research
contributing to teaching practice termed a genre-based approach (GBA). Van Dijk
(2017) argues that learning a language is learning to communicate. Communicating is
producing genre, meaning that studies on genre contributes to language teaching
practice.
GBA derives from Systemic Functional Language (SFL) theory that language is
a social semiotic (Hasan, 2014). GBA promotes teachers’ intervention in the learning
process and teachers’ teaching of how genres are typically constructed. An example of
the GBA model is by Feez and Joyce (1998) with the following teaching steps: (1)
building the context, (2) modeling and deconstructing the text, (3) making joint
 K. Rustipa, S. Purwanto & F. Rozi, Rhetorical structures, strategies, and linguistic features
of problem statement to promote a teaching writing model | 580

construction of the text, (4) making independent construction of the text, (5) linking
related texts (Agustien, 2020; Feez & Joyce, 1998).

2.6 Previous Studies on PS

A study on undergraduate students’ monographs and master students’ theses

employing CARS model revealed that the majority of the samples missed the moves
and their steps, especially the research gap step (Lu, Casal, et al., 2021; Lu, Yoon, et
al., 2021; Obeso, 2019; Tarvirdizdeh & Nimehchisalem, 2021). The incomplete
rhetorical structure and the imbalanced frequency of moves and steps resulted in
failing to communicate the problem. This is particularly because the students did not
know the research gap to be filled and thus failed to propose a solution. The student’s
lack of knowledge of rhetorical aspects negatively affected PS writing ability.
A study on PS move 2 ‘establishing a niche’ and its rhetorical strategies of 26
theses and dissertations employing modified CARS found that doctorate students
employed more strategies than master students. Doctorate students employed four
strategies (indicating a gap, counter-claiming, establishing problem and need, and
continuing tradition), while master students employed only three strategies (indicating
a gap, establishing problem and need, and continuing tradition) (Ankomah & Afful,
2019). Counter-claiming was only found in dissertations (19%) because it was the
most difficult strategy as stated by Swales and Feak (2012). Only advanced students,
who usually had bravery to criticize that the previous studies were erroneous,
employed counter-claiming. The most common strategy to establish a niche is by gap
indications. Additionally, the frequency of research questions (RQ) as one strategy of
move 3 of research articles was relatively high (Afshar & Ranjbar, 2017; Rahayu et
al., 2022). This step was not problematic for student writers because most of them were
familiar with this strategy.
Furthermore, a study on rhetorical structures of social sciences article
introductions using CARS model revealed the distribution of rhetorical moves and
steps. Rhetorical and phraseological features or linguistic expression choices varied
among five social science disciplines of anthropology, applied linguistics, political
science, psychology, and sociology. These findings revealed the disciplinary variation
in the rhetorical and linguistic features of research article writing had useful
implications for academic writing pedagogy (Lu, Casal, et al., 2021; Lu, Yoon, et al.,
2021).

3. METHODS

3.1 Design of Research

This research was a qualitative case study, exploring a small scale and focusing
on one or more individuals (Creswell & Creswell, 2017; Gerring, 2017; Yazan, 2015).
It analysed academic writing genre; thus, it is a discourse or genre analysis. Discourse
analysis studies the corpus, focusing on discourse units (Flowerdew, 2013). This
current research explored the rhetorical structures, rhetorical strategies, and linguistic
features of the unpublished undergraduate students’ PS genre. The rhetorical structure
in this study was related to the rhetorical functions of the text segments. Rhetorical
581 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 575-597, 2023

strategies were steps or strategies to realize each move’s goal or function; meanwhile,
linguistic features were specific linguistic expressions used in each move and step.

3.2 Participants

The objects or corpora of this study were 30 unpublished undergraduate

students’ RAIs, produced as a final project of an academic writing class in 2022. The
researchers decided this number based on their consideration of what had been done
in the PS previous studies’ corpus, which was around 20 up to 30 corpora. The 30
corpora were taken from the academic writing lecturer, with the students’ permission.
They were RAIs of undergraduate students who were in the 7th-semester majoring in
the English language, studying at Stikubank University (UNISBANK), Semarang, in
Indonesia.

3.3 Research Procedure

As for qualitative research, researchers were the main data collectors and data
analysts to achieve the research goals (Creswell & Creswell, 2017). Documentation
and interview were used as data collection instruments. Documentation of 30
unpublished undergraduate students’ RAIs were analysed to reveal the moves, steps,
and the linguistic features. Meanwhile, the interview was conducted with some
students who faced writing problems aiming to reveal why the problems occurred.
A text consists of layers, each of which has a function to contribute to achieving
the text’s communicative purpose. To know each layer’s function, content analysis
was carried out. The data collection procedure for documentation included (1) reading
RP to know the research topic, (2) reading RPI to fully comprehend each layer’s
function as content analysis was done by grasping the content, meaning, and idea of
the layers, and (3) grasping the specific linguistic features to show the function of
move and step. Afterward, the data were analysed using the modified CARS
(Ankomah & Afful, 2019; Swales, 1990; Swales & Feak, 2012; Tarvirdizdeh &
Nimehchisalem, 2021) to reveal the rhetorical structures and strategies of the PS. The
move number and names of rhetorical structures and strategies (steps) of Swale’s
(2011) CARS were adapted in the current study findings, by considering the nature
and communicative purpose of PS as well as by adding and omitting some steps. The
step of ‘establishing problem and need’ identified in the data was added. Meanwhile,
the steps of ‘announcing principal findings’ and ‘indicating RA structure’ that were
not necessary for PS were omitted. Besides, steps of ‘counter-claiming’ and ‘question-
raising’ which were not found in the data were also omitted.

M1: Presenting M2: Indicating M3: Presenting the goal

academic issues as a deficiency and solution
problem

• Step1: Making a • Step 1A: Indicating a • Step 1A: Outlining

centrality claim gap (obligatory) purposes (obligatory)
• Step2: Making a • Step 1B: Establishing • Step 1B: Announcing
topic generalization need and problem present research
• Step3:Reviewing of • Step 1C: Continuing
previous research a tradition
(obligatory)

Figure 1. The modified CARS model.

 K. Rustipa, S. Purwanto & F. Rozi, Rhetorical structures, strategies, and linguistic features
of problem statement to promote a teaching writing model | 582

Figure 1 shows the modified CARS. This is based on the literature review that
revealed that PS is a problem-solution text, aiming to introduce a problem as the main
reason to conduct the research (Ankomah & Afful, 2019; Swales & Feak, 2012). The
structure of PS is as follows: M1 focuses on the current capacity; M2 focuses on the
problem; and M3 focuses on the solution (Swales & Feak, 2012).
The researchers analysed the documentation data manually. Afterward, an expert
in applied linguistics (not a researcher member), as an independent analyst, validated
the findings in data analysis. The moves and the steps found were then coded and
tabulated. Additionally, the typical linguistic expressions in each move were bolded.
The coding used in the moves and steps found in this current study was as the
following: M1 (S1, S2, S3), M2 (S1A, S1B, S1C), and M3 (S1A, S1B). For example,
M1S3 signifies ‘reviewing previous research’. Besides, some additional abbreviations
were also used in coding the findings, for example, PSs stands for problem statement
sample, and Obl. stands for obligatory. Some steps were obligatory while some others
were optional. The rhetorical structure was characterized as complete (C) when it had
all the obligatory steps (M1S3, M2S1A, M3S1A), while it was categorized as
incomplete (IC) when it lacked one or more of the obligatory moves.
The interview used as the instrument in this current study consisted of six open-
ended questions related to rhetorical strategies and language features. Three questions
were addressed to the students who faced problems with M1S2, M1S3, M2S1A
strategies, aiming to reveal why the problems occurred. One question was addressed
to the students who preferred to use M2S1B ‘establishing problem and need’ strategy
that was identified in the research finding, but did not exist in Swales’ (2011) CARS.
One question was addressed to the students who preferred to use M2S1C ‘continuing
a tradition’ strategy, which according to Swales and Feak (2012) was a weaker option
for ‘establishing a niche’. One question was addressed to the students to check their
awareness of the linguistic features in each move and step.
The interview data was analysed by content analysis. The way to analyse the
interview were (1) coding the interview results, (2) reading the excerpt, (3) grasping
what were conveyed by the interviewees. With this way, the students’ problems, and
reasons for employing certain strategy were revealed.
Furthermore, in analysing the overall data, the procedure included: (1)
identifying the border of each move; (2) analysing the strategies to achieve each
move’s function; (3) analysing the specific linguistic expressions of each strategy; (4)
concluding the rhetorical structures and strategies of each problem statement sample;
(5) interpreting the students’ problems in writing PS; (6) interviewing some
respondents who faced the problems concerning why the problems occurred in order
to validate the researchers’ interpretation; and (7) designing a genre-based teaching
model based on the research findings.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Rhetorical Structures Displayed in Problem Statement of EFL

Undergraduate Students’ Research Problem

After identifying the moves based on its function, the M1, M2, M3 occurrences
are displayed in Table 2.
583 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 575-597, 2023

Table 2. Move occurrences in PSs.

PSs Rhetorical occurrence Total of Frequency
Move 1 Move 2 Move 3 Move
10,15,29 - v v 2 3
1,4,7,11,12, 16,19, 20,23, 26 v - v 2 10
24,25, 2, 9, 14, 2, 9, 14 v v 2 8
5,8,13,18, 22,27,30, 3,6,17, 21,28 v v v 3 12
23(77%) 20(67%) 22(73%)

The findings indicated that the moves structures can be classified into: (1) M2,
M3, (2) M1, M3, (3) M1, M2, and (4) M1, M2, M3. This means that most students did
not include complete macro structure in writing their PSs because only 40% of the
texts included three moves. The detailed rhetorical structures consisting of moves and
steps are presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Rhetorical structures of PSs.

PSs Rhetorical structures Total Total C IC F
Move 1 Move 2 Move 3 of of
Move Steps
S1 S2 S3 S S S S S
obl 1A 1B 1C 1A 1B
obl obl

10,15 - - - - v - v - 2 2 v 3
,29 (10%)
1,4,7, v v - - - v - 2 3 v 7
11,12 (23%)
16,19
20,23 v - - - - - v v 2 3 v 3
,26 (10%)
24,25 v v v - - 2 3 v 2 (6%)
2,9, v - - - v - - - 2 2 v 3
14, (10%)
5,8, v v v v v v 3 6 v 4
13,18 (13%)
22,27 v v v v v v 3 6 v 3
,30 (10%)
3,6,1 v v v v v 3 5 v 3
7 (10%)
21,28 v v v 3 3 v 2 (6%)
22 7 16 7 11 5 25 13 7 23 30

73 23 53 23 37 17 83 43 23 77
% % % % % % % % % %

Table 3 shows that the rhetorical structures and strategies displayed in PS of EFL
undergraduate students’ RP can be grouped into nine types:
1. 10% of the total PS employed ‘establishing need and problem’ (M2S1B) and
‘outlining purposes’ (M3S1A).
2. 23% of the total PS employed ‘making a centrality claim’ (M1S1), ‘reviewing
previous research’ (M1S3), and ‘outlining purposes’ (M3S1A).
3. 10% of the total PS employed ‘making a centrality claim’ (M1S1), ‘reviewing
previous research’ (M1S3), and ‘outlining purposes’ (M3S1A).
 K. Rustipa, S. Purwanto & F. Rozi, Rhetorical structures, strategies, and linguistic features
of problem statement to promote a teaching writing model | 584

4. 6% of the total PS employed ‘making a centrality claim’ (M1S1), ‘reviewing

previous research’ (M1S3), and ‘continuing a tradition’ (M2S1C).
5. 10% of the total PS employed ‘making a centrality claim’ (M1S1) and ‘establishing
need and problem’ (M2S1B).
6. 13% of the total PS employed ‘making a centrality claim’ (M1S1), ‘making topic
generalizations’ (M1S2), ‘reviewing previous research’ (M1S3), ‘indicating a gap’
(M2S1A), ‘outlining purposes’ (M3S1A), and ‘announcing present research’
(M3S1B).
7. 10% of the total PS employed ‘making a centrality claim’ (M1S1), ‘reviewing
previous research’ (M1S3), ‘indicating a gap’ (M2S1A), ‘continuing a tradition’.
(M2S1C), ‘outlining purposes’ (M3S1A), and ‘announcing present research’
(M3S1B)
8. 10% of the total PS employed ‘making a centrality claim’ (M1S1), ‘making topic
generalizations’ (M1S2), ‘establishing need and problem’ (M2S1B), and ‘outlining
purposes’ (M3S1A).
9. 6% of the total PS employed ‘making a centrality claim’ (M1S1), ‘establishing need
and problem’ (M2S1B), and ‘outlining purposes’ (M3S1A).
These findings showed that the rhetorical structures of ‘making a centrality
claim’ (M1S1), ‘reviewing of previous research’ (M1S3), and ‘outlining purposes’
(M3S1A) were mostly used by the EFL students. Although they reviewed related
previous studies, they failed to indicate the research gap to be filled, as one of the
obligatory steps in PS (Swales & Feak, 2012).
The findings also indicated that only 23% (i.e., type 6 and 7 (13% and 10%) of
the PSs had complete rhetorical structures, namely ‘making a centrality claim’
(M1S1), ‘making topic generalizations’ (M1S2), ‘reviewing of previous research’
(M1S3), ‘indicating a gap’ (M2S1A), ‘outlining purposes’ (M3S1A), ‘announcing
present research’ (M3S1B); and ‘making a centrality claim’ (M1S1), ‘reviewing of
previous research’ (M1S3), ‘indicating a gap’ (M2S1A), ‘continuing a tradition’
(M2S1C), ‘outlining purposes’ (M3S1A), ‘announcing present research’ (M3S1B).
About 77% of the PSs had incomplete rhetorical structures that may result in failing to
communicate the problem. This finding was similar to the previous study
(Tarvirdizdeh & Nimehchisalem, 2021) in which the most common rhetorical pattern
found was the incomplete pattern. A rhetorical structure is characterized as complete
when it has all the obligatory steps (M1S3, M2S1A, M3S1A) (Swales & Feak, 2012).
Obligatory steps are the key elements in recognizing a genre, and they are
obliged to occur since the appearance of these elements characterizes whether the text
is complete or incomplete (Paltridge, 2007). The research findings implied that the
students were not aware of the importance of obligatory steps. Their lack of rhetorical
structure knowledge was the possible source of the problem. Genre-based teaching
was one alternative solution to the problem as the previous researchers suggested that
the students needed to employ genre analysis in order to increase their awareness and
deeper understanding of the genre’s schematic structure (Arsyad & Arono, 2019;
Thongchalerm & Jarunthawatchai, 2020). Each move’s occurrences are discussed in
this section, while the steps of each move are discussed in the ‘rhetorical strategies’
section.
585 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 575-597, 2023

4.1.1 Move 1

M1 presents the ‘establishing a research territory’ intention, providing

background to the researched topic by mentioning the research area at the current
situation (Swales & Feak, 2012). M1 usually starts with a general topic. The research
findings of this current study showed that M1 had a high occurrence (77%), meaning
that most EFL students were aware of ‘presenting current issue as a problem’. This
finding was parallel with the previous studies’ findings (Samad et al., 2018;
Tarvirdizdeh & Nimehchisalem, 2021) that M1 was not problematic for native and
non-native student writers. Moreover, the findings also revealed that three PSs directly
jumped to M2 and did not include M1, meaning that the authors did not orient the
readers with the researched topic.

(1) PSs5: Indonesians know that their nation conducts a national event called National Election … To
deal with this national event, some presidential candidates are competing to promote … Promoting
language is crucial to be able to promote the candidates. Billboard becomes one of many efficient
media to ... It is like advertising, attracting people, catching their attention, ... The language of
advertising campaign aims to ... (M1)

The M1 in (1) presented background for the research by reminding the readers
of the national election event, which was related to the research topic. This background
presentation was to attract the readers’ attention. Additionally, the way to attract the
readers was strengthened by showing that the topic was crucial.

4.1.2 Move 2

M2 is the most crucial move in PS because it is the point that connects M1 and
M3, connecting what has been done previously and what the current research is doing
(Swales, 2011). It presents the ‘gap’ that is not completed yet by the previous research
and it is the motivation to conduct the current study. M2 was the most difficult move
as seen from the data of the current study that 33% of PSs did not include M2. The
students jumped from M1 to M3. They failed to formulate the underlying reasons that
encouraged them to do the research. This finding was contradictory to the previous
study’s finding (Samad et al., 2018) in which 100% of the data (20 RPs) included M2.
The difference result was because the data were the students’ writing produced with
the supervisor’s help, and not the original students’ writing.

(2) PSs5: … However, appraisal researches on billboard for presidential campaign are still rare. (M2)

The M2 in (2) indicated that the space was still available for the study. The
insufficient studies on the topic had motivated the researcher to conduct this current
study. Thus, the study was done aiming to complete the previous studies.

4.1.3 Move 3

M3 describes what the RP will accomplish concerning M2 (Yasin & Qamariah,

2014). It presents the research purpose and offers a solution. The research findings
revealed that M3 occurred relatively high in the PSs (73%). This means that the
students thought that M3 was necessary to be presented in RAIs. This finding was
 K. Rustipa, S. Purwanto & F. Rozi, Rhetorical structures, strategies, and linguistic features
of problem statement to promote a teaching writing model | 586

different from the previous study’s finding (Tarvirdizdeh & Nimehchisalem, 2021),
which showed the lowest occurrence of M3. This indicates that for most research
participants, M3 was not necessary to be presented in RAIs. But it was similar to the
findings of another previous study (Samad et al., 2018) in which 100% of the data
included M3.

(3) PSs5: This research aims at finding out what appraisal of judgment represented in the billboard
of the 2024 presidential election campaign. This study is qualitative in nature, describing the data
qualitatively using appraisal theory. (M3)

The M3 in (3) stated the objective and nature of the study. The objective of the
study was to find out the appraisal system. Meanwhile, the nature of the study was
qualitative and descriptive.

4.2 Rhetorical Strategies Employed to Achieve the Communicative Purpose of

Each Move

The frequency of steps from each move’s displayed in Table 2 is discussed in

this section to know the EFL students’ rhetorical strategies. As aforementioned, each
move’s communicative purpose can be achieved through step(s) or strategies. Each
move has a range of options for strategies (Swales & Feak, 2012).

4.2.1 Making a centrality claim (M1S1)

Claiming centrality is achieved by describing the current growing problems,

particularly to indicate that the research topic is important, useful, and deserves
investigation. Most students (73%) included M1S1 in their texts. This was a good start
to attract the readers’ attention, especially to remind them that the research topic was
essential. This finding was parallel with that of the previous study on Indonesian
student authors’ research article introduction (RAI) (Rochma et al., 2020), and with
that of Iranian students’ RAI (Farnia & Barati, 2017). Those studies reported that
M1S1 was not problematic for both native and non-native students.

(4) PSs20: Entertainment is … that captures the attention and interest … An entertainment … enjoy
is the film industry. Films have a huge impact … that grabs the attention. … … that is hugely
popular all over the world. Films with … are interesting for young people, … One of the famous
… best action film ... … In Kung Fu Hustle, … plays a young man named ‘Sing’. …The
important politeness value showed by Sing can be learned … This research will focus on the
politeness strategies of the character Sing. … (M1S1)

The M1S1 above started from a more general issue of entertainment, film, and
Kungfu film commonly enjoyed by the youth. This general issue aimed at capturing
the readers’ interest. Then, it is gradually more focused on the research topic, the
politeness strategies of character ‘Sing’ in the movie ‘Kung Fu Hustle’.

4.2.2 Making topic generalizations (M1S2)

M1S2 functions to show a given research topic generalization, which can be

operationalized by describing the related research practices or phenomena. This
current study findings revealed that few PSs (23%) included M1S2, which was
587 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 575-597, 2023

contradictory to the previous study’s finding revealing that M1S2 occurred in more
than 60% of the data (Rochma et al., 2020). This different finding was possible because
of the reviewer’s intervention for the previous study’s research objects, published
articles in ELT journals. The low M1S2 occurrence found in this current study may
indicate the undergraduate students’ narrow view or knowledge of the research topic
so that they failed to generalize the particular research topics.

(5) PSs3: …Spoken English was chosen …, … the most important … in an increasingly globalized
.... …focused on interlanguage syntax … (M1S1)
… In a more broad way, … syntax also governs the use of punctuation. …, the expert agrees that
syntax is one of the fundamental things in language, … Due to this fact, ... (M1S2)

In PSs3, the EFL student started with M1S1 by describing the narrow research
topic of ‘interlanguage syntax in spoken English’. Then, she related the topic with the
research practice or phenomena in general by using the words ‘in a more broad way’.
This topic generalization indicated the students’ mastery of the research topic.

4.2.3 Reviewing of previous research (M1S3)

M1S3 is an obligatory move in PS since it is a way to know what has been done
to create a research space for the new research (Swales & Feak, 2012). It is also a way
to show that the new research contributes to developing the body of knowledge, and
ensuring intertextuality (Jalilifar et al., 2011). A number of 16 PSs (53%) in this current
study findings contained M1S3. This occurrence was similar to a previous study on 20
undergraduate RAI in Indonesia, in which 50% of the data contained M1S3 (Samad et
al., 2018).

(6) PSs1: …, … some previous studies have been conducted …The first study reported … The next
study by … investigated … A similar study … revealed… (M1S3)

M1S3 above employed reported verbs. The writer reported the previous research
by mentioning the researchers and the sources. This was a way to give credit to the
previous researchers.
Due to the importance of M1S3, a follow-up interview with 14 students was
carried out to reveal their problems. Overall, the interview revealed that they were not
aware of the importance of previous studies’ citations to find a research gap to be filled.

(7) Q2-S6: I do not realize that reviewing the previous studies is needed to see the gap to be filled.

4.2.4 Indicating a gap (M2S1A)

M2S1A is an obligatory key move in PS since it is a way to criticize that the

previous studies are not complete, yet (Swales & Feak, 2012). This step was
problematic for the students since the current study found that M2S1A was only
employed in seven PSs (23%). Some PSs presented M1S3 but did not follow it up with
M2S1A. This finding worried the teacher-researchers since the students tended to
ignore writing M2S1A in their RPI. Furthermore, an interview with seven students
revealed that during writing they never thought of this step because they were unaware
 K. Rustipa, S. Purwanto & F. Rozi, Rhetorical structures, strategies, and linguistic features
of problem statement to promote a teaching writing model | 588

that M2S1A was a key point and must exist in their RPI. The sample perception
retrieved from the interview is as follows.

(8) Q3-S24: I think by presenting the previous research, the readers can find the research gap.

The findings of this current study contrasted several previous studies revealing
that M2S1A was mostly found in non-native and native speakers’ RPI (Ankomah &
Afful, 2019; Farnia & Barati, 2017; Samad et al., 2018). However, this finding was
similar to some findings reported from previous studies (Parsa & Tahririan, 2017;
Zainuddin & Shaari, 2017) that M2S1A was the least frequent strategy. The problem
might be due to the students’ lack of writing experience and lack of rhetorical structure
knowledge as stated by some students in the interview.

(9) Q3-S17: The rare writing practice and the lack of knowledge about genre are the main cause of
my writing problem.

(10) PSs22: The previous studies are mostly about the analysis of conversational structure in a
television talk show. Studies about the conversational structure and adjacency pairs in television
talk shows are still rare. (M2S1A)

The extracts in (9) and (10) showed that the gap that was going to be filled was
the rareness of the research about the problem. It indicates that the previous studies
were not complete, yet. Thus, the student’ motivation was to enrich the previous
studies on conversational structure and adjacency pairs.

4.2.5 Establishing need and problem (M2S1B)

M2S1B refers to real-world problems, based on real-life observations (Ankomah

& Afful, 2019). Based on the observation, a problem is identified; then, the need
statement is justified. Thus, based on the need strategy, the problem statement of the
research is written (Zainuddin & Shaari, 2017).
Based on the findings of the current study, M2S1B was a more preferred strategy
used by the students, namely 11 frequencies (37%). An interview with five students
revealed that M2S1B was easier than M2S1A because reading literature to find a gap
was a challenging task. Observing real-life situations was much easier for them. This
is as found in the interview data:

(11) Q4-S10: My research problem and my research gap are often based on my observation and my
experience; it is easier and more useful.

Furthermore, the use of M2S1B rhetorical strategy was also reported by previous
studies (Ankomah & Afful, 2019; Jalilifar et al., 2011; Zainuddin & Shaari, 2017) that
‘indicating problem and need’ was highly preferred choice. The use of M2S1B without
being supported with M1S3 and M2S1A should be minimized because it was not in
line with the principle of academic writing ‘intertextuality’, in which a study should
be related to other previous studies. Thus, together with other studies, the proposed
study developed the body of knowledge. The possible reason of preferring the use of
M2S1B strategy was the lack of skill, experience, and knowledge of the undergraduate
students.
589 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 575-597, 2023

(12) PSs21: For English learners, carrying out a conversation in English is not easy. One problem is
the exchange of turns in the conversation. The problem of taking turns in a conversation using
signs in turn-taking is faced by many students. So, the turn-taking strategy needs attention. This
research will analyse ... (M2S1B)

The sample in (12) indicated that the research was carried out based on the real
problem and need felt by the writer, without considering the previous studies. The
research problem ‘turn-taking strategy’ was decided based on the student’s
observation. Then, research was carried out to solve the problem.

4.2.6 Continuing a tradition (M2S1C)

M2S1C is the replication, the continuation, or the addition of something to the

previous study’s practices (Swales & Feak, 2012). In this current study findings,
M2S1C strategy was found in five PSs (17%). Additionally, M2S1C occurrence found
in this study was higher than in the previous studies (Ankomah & Afful, 2019; Farnia
& Barati, 2017; Zainuddin & Shaari, 2017). This relatively high use of M2S1C means
that the undergraduate students preferred to replicate the previous study’s strategies.
However, Swales and Feak (2012) stated that ‘continuing a tradition’ was a weaker
option for ‘establishing a niche’.

(13) PSs24: … Turn–taking is ... … One of the most popular talk shows is …, the writer is interested
in analyzing the turn-taking mechanism … in the “Kick Andy” talk show.

(14) This study is similar to and replicates the previous study of the turn-taking mechanism by
Candrika …, analyzed using theory by Harvey Sacks, Emanuel Schegloff, and Gail Jefferson.
(M2S1C)

Continuing a tradition in (13) and (14) was imitating the previous study’s
research strategy. It was common for novice writers, who in this case were
undergraduate EFL students. This replication was generally done because of their
insufficient knowledge of the research method.

4.2.7 Outlining purposes (M3S1A)

M3S1A is an obligatory move in which the researcher offers a solution by

presenting the research purpose or research question. M3S1A occurrence found in this
current study was relatively high, about 25 PSs (83%). It means that M3S1A was not
problematic for the students. This finding was similar to previous studies (Afshar &
Ranjbar, 2017; Rahayu et al., 2022) reporting that 100% of the data included M3S1A.
But it contradicted other study’s findings (Nimehchisalem et al., 2016) reporting that
only 22% of the data included M3S1A.

(15) PSs10: … the learner’s mother tongue influences the pronunciation of the target language. ... The
objective of this research is to find ... (M3S1A)

The sample in (15) indicated that the research purpose was directly and clearly
presented. It was preceded by a hook ‘mother tongue influence’ to grab the readers’
attention. This research purpose was the thesis statement of the RAI.
 K. Rustipa, S. Purwanto & F. Rozi, Rhetorical structures, strategies, and linguistic features
of problem statement to promote a teaching writing model | 590

4.2.8 Announcing present research (M3S1B)

M3S1B describes the features of the study (Swales & Feak, 2012). It explains
the strategy to achieve the objectives, and how the problem might be solved. Based on
the current study findings, 13 PSs (43%) employed M3S1B. However, the occurrence
of M3S1B was lower than the previous studies (Jalilifar et al., 2011; Tarvirdizdeh &
Nimehchisalem, 2021).

(16) PSs13: …, the writer described the phenomena of code-switching produced in a conversation
between Najwa Shihab and Agnes Mo, obtained from YouTube on Feb. 7, 2020, and analysed
using code-switching theory. (M3S1B)

In sample (16), the student shortly presented the nature and the research strategy
as the method of collecting and analysing the data. The data started with the
phenomena of code switching happened in a conversation between the Indonesian
celebrities, Najwa Shihab and Agnes Mo, collected from YouTube. They were
analysed using code-switching theory.

4.3 Linguistic Expressions Employed in PS to Indicate Moves and Steps

PSs were further analysed to find out the specific linguistic expressions used in
each move and step. This was because linguistic features had a crucial role to
distinguish moves and steps (Pho, 2013). The linguistic expressions used in each move
and step found in this current study are presented in this section.
M1S1 attempted to attract the readers to agree that the research was significant,
and the keywords used by the students in this step included: ‘important’, ‘necessary’,
‘relevant’, ‘interesting’, ‘crucial’, ‘efficient’, ‘catching attention’, ‘attracting’,
‘famous’, and ‘popular’ (PSs5, PSs20). In M1S2, the words like ‘widely’, ‘often’,
‘broadly’, and ‘always’ (PSs8, PSs6) were mostly used. For M1S3, reporting verbs
such as ‘reported’, ‘investigated’, and ‘revealed’ (PSs4, PSs27) were used since the
students referred to the previous studies.
M2S1A was indicated by quasi-negative vocabularies such as ‘few’, ‘little’,
‘although’, ‘however’, ‘rare’ (PSs18, PSs30). M2S1B was indicated by words like
‘problem’, ‘need a solution’, ‘need attention’, and ‘handle’ (PSs2, PSs15). In M2S1C
the words like ‘similar’, ‘compared’, ‘like’, and ‘replicate’ (PSs25, PSs30) were used
to indicate that the writer will replicate the previous studies.
Then M3S1A was indicated by the words like ‘goal’, ‘purpose’, ‘aim’, and
‘objective’ (PSs7, PSs11). Lastly, M3S1B was indicated by the words like
‘describing’, ‘the phenomena’, ‘analyze’, ‘attempt’, ‘try’, and ‘set out’ (PSs23,
PSs26).
An interview with five students revealed that they were not aware of the
linguistic features in each move and step since they lacked knowledge of this matter.
This was probably because they were rarely taught by their academic writing teacher
about the specific linguistic features in each move and step.

(17) Q6-S11: While writing, I was rarely aware of the linguistic expressions I should use in each stage
of my text. (Student 11)
591 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 575-597, 2023

The current study’s finding was parallel to the previous study (Ankomah &
Afful, 2019) reporting that each move has specific linguistic features. The specific
linguistic expressions used in M1S1 were to attract the readers, those used in M2S1A
were to indicate a research gap, and those used in M3S1A were to indicate research
purpose. Thus, specific linguistic features signalled the different moves.

4.4 An Alternative Critical Genre-Based Model to Teaching Academic Writing:

Problem Statement

Research findings on a certain genre can be applied in teaching practice to the

genre, termed genre-based teaching which will lead to genre awareness. Thus, the
research findings on the problem statement genre can be applied to the teaching of
problem statement, as part of the introduction to academic writing.
There is a leading notion that genre-based approach (GBA) contributed to the
development of teaching writing to non-native speaker learners. GBA promotes
teachers’ intervention in the learning process and teachers’ teaching of how genres are
typically constructed (Rofiqoh et al., 2022). According to Millar (2011), genre analysis
can lead to consciousness-raising of the genre’s rhetorical structure. There is empirical
evidence for the facilitative effect of genre consciousness-raising tasks on EFL
learners’ performance since the tasks impact on the students’ deeper knowledge about
genre (Atai & Khatibi, 2010). The students can be exposed to various tasks such as
analysing texts, searching for the target text genres, deconstructing texts, and giving
feedbacks (Nagao, 2019). GBA also promotes the students’ creativity and critical
thinking (Agustien, 2020; Devitt, 2004). Thus, it is not mistaken if the genre-based
teaching model is also termed as critical genre-based teaching model. Based on the
research findings of previous studies and this current study, an alternative ‘critical
genre-based model for teaching problem statements’ is proposed.

4.4.1 Characteristics of Critical Genre-Based Model for teaching problem statements

The teaching model has certain characteristics that cover (1) syntax, (2)
instructional and nurturant effects, (3) support system, (4) social system, and (5)
principles of reaction (Agustien, 2020; Joyce & Weil, 1986).
1. Syntax
a. Building the context
This stage is more like preparation activities, functioning to activate the
students’ previous knowledge and to build the students’ self-confidence.
Explicit teaching is also done in this stage. The research findings of this current
study revealed that the undergraduate students had problems with PS rhetorical
structures and linguistic features due to their lack of rhetorical structure and
linguistic feature knowledge. The genre-based teaching proposed needs to
compensate for the students’ weaknesses. Thus, the explanation of PS
rhetorical structures and linguistic features needed to be emphasized by
providing more time allotment.
b. Modelling
Modelling means exposing the students to PS texts. The texts, later, will be
imitated by the students since writing is imitating. The modelling texts will
become the objects for analysis. The practice of genre analysis is done in this
 K. Rustipa, S. Purwanto & F. Rozi, Rhetorical structures, strategies, and linguistic features
of problem statement to promote a teaching writing model | 592

step to strengthen the knowledge of PS genre that they have learned in the step
of ‘building the context’. The students’ critical thinking will develop while
doing genre analysis since they do critical reading, interpreting, evaluating, and
inferencing.
c. Joint construction
In this step, the students start constructing their texts in groups with the
teacher’s assistance. This stage focuses on the process of creating a text
collaboratively, based on the scaffolding principle that the learners need to be
involved in various scaffolding activities. While working together, they will
develop their creativity, cooperative skills, and other soft skills.
d. Independent construction
Having passed the three stages, the students are ready to create texts
independently with minimum help from the teacher; thus, they are getting more
autonomous.
2. Instructional and nurturant effects
The instructional effect acquired from the critical genre-based teaching model is the
students’ competence and skill to create PS text, while the nurturant effects
achieved by the students include critical thinking, creativity, autonomy, and
cooperation skills.
3. Support system
Genre analysis is the key activity in GBA. Thus, authentic academic texts for
analysis tasks need to be prepared.
4. Social system
The social system is democratic. The teacher plays the role of a facilitator,
employing student-centre learning.
5. Principles of reaction
The teachers offer assistance to the students, whenever needed.

4.4.2 Outcomes of Critical Genre-Based Model for teaching problem statements

Language learning using GBA should result in three outcomes: (1) students learn
about language, (2) students learn through language, and (3) students learn language
(Agustien, 2020). In the step of ‘building the context’, knowledge about language is
taught explicitly. PS rhetorical structures and linguistic features are taught by the
teacher. Thus, in this step, a teacher has a role as an expert.
In the ‘modelling stage’, the students work with the texts of various contents
such as education, politics, economy, and technology. It is parallel to Systemic
Functional Linguistics notion that emphasizes teaching and learning at the text level
because communication happens at the text level (Agustien, 2020). They read and
analyse the texts’ structure and linguistic features, to grasp the texts’ messages and
simultaneously to deepen the knowledge about language. Thus, they also enhance their
literacy by learning about various fields of knowledge through the language. It is
related to GBA principle that GBA has pedagogical and political aims. It is a
pedagogical project motivated by a political project, i.e., to teach and facilitate the
students to have skill and knowledge enabling them to participate effectively in a
literate, technologically developed society, particularly to be successful in school and
beyond (Derewianka, 2015; Emilia, 2005).
593 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 575-597, 2023

In ‘joint construction’ stage, the students learn the language to interact with
others in a discussion during the process of writing a text. The students, in groups, start
constructing a text with the teacher’s guide. Then, in the independent construction
stage, the students create their own text with minimum help of the teacher. It is relevant
to Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory in which learning firstly takes place at the social or
interpersonal level, and then at the individual or at the intrapersonal level (Agustien,
2020).
The previous studies on GBA revealed the effective impact of the approach on
foreign language teaching and learning (Albino, 2017; Iftanti, 2017; Nagao, 2019).
The first study found that GBA stimulated a joyful learning environment, activated the
students’ participation, and improved the students’ language skills (Albino, 2017). The
second study revealed that GBA improved the students’ choices of lexicogrammatical
features in a discussion text (Iftanti, 2017). Meanwhile, the third study concluded that
GBA improved the structure and linguistic choices (Nagao, 2019).

5. CONCLUSION

This study found nine types of rhetorical structures employed in the problem
statement texts produced by undergraduate students. However, only two of them were
characterized as complete rhetorical structures, produced by 23% of participants.
Undergraduate students employed three rhetorical strategies to present an
academic issue as a problem, namely ‘making a centrality claim’, ‘making topic
generalizations’, and ‘reviewing previous research’. The most frequently used strategy
was ‘making a centrality claim’, while the least frequently used strategy was ‘making
topic generalizations’. Most students used more than one strategy to present an
academic issue as a problem. In indicating deficiency, the students employed three
strategies, including ‘indicating a gap’, ‘establishing a need and problem’, and
‘continuing a tradition’. ‘Establishing needs and problem’ was the most preferred
choice. In presenting the goal and solution, two strategies were employed, namely
‘outlining purposes’ and ‘announcing the present research’. The more frequently used
strategy was ‘outlining purposes’. Most students only used a single strategy either for
indicating deficiency or for presenting the goal and solution, namely 20 students (67%)
and 27 students (90%). Furthermore, an interview to the students having problems with
rhetorical strategies revealed their unawareness of the importance of a research gap to
be filled; their preference to use ‘establishing need and problem’ and ‘continuing a
tradition’ strategies because those strategies are easier.
In terms of specific linguistic expressions, it was found that they were employed
in most samples to indicate moves and steps. However, an interview revealed that they
were not aware of the linguistic features in each move and step. It seems that this less
awareness has become the root of the problems. A critical genre-based model for
teaching problem statements is recommended as an alternative teaching strategy to
compensate for this research findings. This is because this model has facilitative effect
on consciousness-raising of the genre’s rhetorical structures.
The limitation of the study was in terms of the limited number of samples that
were only taken from one university. The analysis of the linguistic features was not
thorough. For future research, it is suggested that the samples be enriched from more
than one university, and the linguistic features should be analysed more deeply.
 K. Rustipa, S. Purwanto & F. Rozi, Rhetorical structures, strategies, and linguistic features
of problem statement to promote a teaching writing model | 594

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598 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 598-613, 2023

Citation Studies in English vs. Indonesian

Research Article Introductions (RAIs) in
the History Discipline
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Warsidi1
Andi Muhammad Irawan*2
Zifirdaus Adnan3
Iskandar Abdul Samad4
1
Department of English Literature, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Universitas
Islam Makassar, Makassar 90245, INDONESIA
2
Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Languages and Arts,
Universitas Negeri Padang, Padang 25131, INDONESIA
3
Department of Indonesian Studies, School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences,
University of New England, Armidale 2351, AUSTRALIA
4
Department of English Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education,
Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh 23111, INDONESIA

Abstract
Citation studies in research articles (RAs) have been widely conducted
worldwide, but such studies rarely compared English and Indonesian RAs,
especially within the history discipline. Therefore, the researchers
intended to analyze and compare citations in English and Indonesian
research article introductions (RAIs) in the history discipline using a genre
approach for the analysis and a descriptive qualitative approach for the
reports. In this regard, 30 RAIs from both data sets were analyzed using
two frameworks: one is to identify citation techniques, and the other is to
analyze citation types. The results revealed that English and Indonesian
authors used descriptions more than other techniques when citing sources.
However, English authors employed this technique more than Indonesian
authors. In addition, both English and Indonesian authors used a non-
integral type more frequently than the integral counterpart, but English
authors employed this type more frequently than Indonesian authors. Thus,
these results conclude that although both English and Indonesian authors

*
Corresponding author, email: amuhirawan@fbs.unp.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Warsidi, Irawan, A. M., Adnan, Z., & Samad, I. A. (2023). Citation studies in
English vs. Indonesian research article introductions (RAIs) in the history discipline. Studies in English
Language and Education, 10(2), 598-613.

Received October 1, 2022; Revised January 10, 2023; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.28343
 Warsidi, A. M. Irawan, Z. Adnan & I. A. Samad, Citation studies in English vs. Indonesian
research article introductions (RAIs) in the history discipline |599

tended to assimilate their citations and avoid integrating them, English

authors still employed this citation technique and citation type more
frequently than Indonesian authors.

Keywords: Academic writing, citation studies, genre analysis, research

article introductions (RAIs), history discipline.

1. INTRODUCTION

Citation plays an essential role in writing research articles (RAs) worldwide. It

determines how RAs authors used source texts to produce new texts within their
contexts (Badenhorst, 2017; Bazerman, 2004; Wang, 2006). In addition, citations also
show how authors integrate texts from other sources into new texts, use the types of
sources and their function, and position themselves toward the cited sources
(Bazerman, 2004). By comprehending these essential citation roles, the present study
aims to compare the uses of citation in English and Indonesian RAs using the genre of
RAs.
Genre analysis of RAs has been widely conducted by various linguists
worldwide, and this approach has been used to analyze citations within RAs (Hyland,
1999; Mansourizadeh & Ahmad, 2011), including citation practices (Dobakhti &
Hassan, 2017; Dobakhti & Zohrabi, 2018; Helal, 2014; Kuhi & Mollanghizadeh, 2013;
Shooshtari et al., 2017; Varga & Gradečak-Erdeljić, 2017). However, although citation
studies within RAs have been widely conducted, studies dealing with comparing
English and Indonesian RA have received little attention from scholars. Based on the
researchers’ reviews, only three linguists were found to analyze citations within
Indonesian RAs (Adnan, 2010; Arsyad & Adila, 2018; Mirahayuni, 2002). Among
them, only one compared between English and Indonesian RAs (Mirahayuni, 2002).
Comprehending how authors cite source texts in writing their RAs is very important,
particularly for novice authors, because it reflects their writing relevancies related to
the scientific impacts (Aksnes et al., 2019). Thus, citation studies help them improve
their scientific impacts.
Although Mirahayuni (2002) compared the citation analysis between English
and Indonesian RAs, her study differed from the present one. Her corpora were from
the English Language Teaching (ELT) discipline, while the present study investigated
citations within the RAs in the history discipline. This context was selected because
during the researchers’ review, this disciplinary RA has never been investigated to
date. In addition, her analysis focused on investigating authorial stances toward
citations. This review implied that none had analyzed the techniques RA authors used
to cite source texts to write their new texts in Indonesian RAs and the types of citations
they used to produce new texts in Indonesian RAs. Therefore, the present study intends
to compare citations employed in English and those in Indonesian RAIs in the history
discipline, focusing on the following research questions:
• What citation techniques do English and Indonesian RA authors employ in citing
source texts in their RAIs? Are they similar?
• What citation types do English and Indonesian authors employ to produce their
RAIs?
600 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 598-613, 2023

The findings of the present study may contribute to the knowledge development
of citation studies within RAs. In addition, comparing citation studies between English
and Indonesian RAs may create more meaningful comprehension and can contribute
to designing teaching materials for English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and English
for Academic Purposes (EAP), particularly for academic publication purposes.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Citation Techniques

In analyzing citation practices, Wang (2006) introduced three citation

techniques: direct quotation, paraphrasing, or description. The description of these
three techniques is presented as follows:
a. Direct quotation
In this regard, authors cite the original work by providing quotation marks “…” or
italicizing the cited words, and a page number is usually included with the cited
works. Thus, a direct quotation is the easiest way to identify as the cited sources are
directly inserted into the RAs.
b. Paraphrasing
Authors paraphrase by re-writing other people’s works using their own words to
make the meaning more explicit. Paraphrasing does not use quotation marks (“),
but it usually contains restatements and uses a marker such as ‘that’ to indicate the
cited information.
c. Description
In description, authors tell, describe, illustrate, define, or explain anything about
something, someone, or a situation to the readers. In this context, the authors
describe cited sources to provide information for the readers. It can be identified by
the words used in the text, such as how the authors include verbs, adjectives, and
adverbs.
As presented above, citation techniques have been clearly defined in previous
studies. Therefore, these citation techniques can be used as a framework for analyzing
citation techniques within texts. Considering this clear and comprehensive description,
the researchers intended to employ this framework for analyzing citation techniques
within RAIs in this current study.

2.2 Citation Types

The analysis of citation types was underpinned by Kuhi and Mollanghizadeh

(2013) and Varga and Gradečak-Erdeljić (2017). They proposed two possible citation
types, i.e., ‘integral’ and ‘non-integral’ citations.

2.2.1 Integral citation

An integral citation means that the source integrates with the texts. This citation
type has five categories: verb controlling, passive agent, naming, adjunct passive
agent, and non-citation.
 Warsidi, A. M. Irawan, Z. Adnan & I. A. Samad, Citation studies in English vs. Indonesian
research article introductions (RAIs) in the history discipline |601

• Verb controlling. In this type, the citation is an agent that controls the verb. For
example, Kutay (2016) finds that the passive voice is more common than the active
voice …….
• Passive agent. In this citation type, the agent of the cited source is in a passive
sentence. For example, this finding is supported by the earlier research
conducted by Hasan (1990)…….
• Naming. It is a citation that employs noun phrases. For example, another study was
conducted by Evan (2006), who focused the analysis on…….
• Adjunct passive agent. It is structurally optional because its absence does not
influence a sentence structure, but it is to show that the statement is credited to other
writers. For example, according to Kutay (2016), there are some similarities and
differences between this finding and the earlier studies.
• Non-citation. In this case, the reference may locate somewhere else, but an author
cites the source without a year reference. For example, moreover, she finds that
the structure of the Indonesian and English RAs is ……
The cited sources integrate directly with the texts in the examples above. In this
context, the cited authors’ names are included within the sentences, not in parentheses,
and thus they are termed integral citations, in which the researchers focus their
attention on the authors of the cited sources.

2.2.2 Non-integral citation

Non-integral citation means that authors use a citation but do not integrate it with
their text. This type of citation is categorized into source, identification, reference, and
origin.
• Source. This citation informs where the ideas originate. For example, the generic
structure is one of the most important investigations in genre analysis (Swales,
1990).
• Identification. This citation identifies the agent within the texts. For example, genre
is defined as how to get things done using language (Hyland, 2004).
• Reference. This often signals where the information originates, with the word “see”
often used in the citation. For example, the study of intertextuality is about the ways
and the purposes of employing source texts to the new texts (see Bazerman, 2004).
• Origin. This citation usually shows the origin of the theory, concept, or framework.
For example, the genre theory was historically introduced by three main streams:
new rhetoric, Sydney school, and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) (Adnan,
2010; Hyland, 2002; Hyon, 1996; Johns, 2001).

Both citation types, integral and non-integral citations, have been clearly
described and diverted in previous studies. The key difference between the two citation
types rests on the authorial integration. In the integral citation, the researchers integrate
their cited sources with their current texts. In contrast, in the non-integral citation,
researchers do not integrate their cited sources with their current text and locate their
cited names within parentheses. Comprehending this clear framework is pivotal
because it may make analysis results clear and meaningful; and thus, the researchers
used this framework to analyze citation types within RAIs in this current study.
602 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 598-613, 2023

2.3 Citation Studies Worldwide

Citation studies within RAs have been conducted by many linguistic scholars.
For example, the citation techniques in 49 English biomedical Ras were analyzed, and
the results revealed that of the four citation methods proposed in the literature (direct
quotation, paraphrase, summary, generalization), biomedical RAs mainly employed
generalization, followed by a summary and paraphrase (Dubois, 1988). Then, the least
employed citation in his findings was a direct quotation. This finding means that RA
authors in this discipline tended to assimilate their citations rather than directly
inserting citations into their RAs.
Another citation study was conducted on 30 English RAs in applied linguistics
published in reputable international journals and 30 Iranian RAs published in Iranian
national journals (Kuhi & Mollanghizadeh, 2013). The results revealed that the
English RAs had 1830 citations, with an average of 61 citations per RA, while the
Iranian RAs had 1140 citations, with 38 citations per RA, suggesting that English RAs
had more citations than Iranian RAs. However, both data sets tended to employ integral
citations more than non-integral citations.
Contrastive citation studies were also conducted on 24 research article
introductions (RAIs) by American authors and 12 RAIs written by French authors
(Helal, 2014). The results showed that American RAIs had more citations than their
French counterparts, 26.5 citations per RAI and 17.58 citations per RAI, consecutively.
In the whole paper, American RAs had 32 citations per RA, while French RAs had 18
citations per RA. These findings indicate that American RAs had more citations than
French RAs, both per RAI and per paper.
Another contrastive study on citation analysis was carried out on 16 English
empirical RAs written by English native speakers (NSs) and on 16 empirical Croatian
RAs (Varga & Gradečak-Erdeljić, 2017). Both corpora were from the applied
linguistics discipline. English RAs had much longer texts (143,106 words) than
Croatian RAs (52,159 words). Then, English RAs also had more citations. English
RAs had 1244 citations, with an average of 8.7 citations per 1000 words, while the
Croatian corpus had 380 citations (7.28 citations for every 1000 words). However, the
citation type in both groups was similar, that is, both groups mostly used non-integral
citations in the introduction, discussion, method, and results sections.
A contrastive citation study between English and Persian RAs was also
undertaken using a corpus of 240 RAs from the hard and soft sciences (Shooshtari et
al., 2017). The soft sciences included the disciplines of applied linguistics and
psychology, while the hard sciences involved the disciplines of computing and
mechanical engineering. The results revealed that English RAs had more citations than
Persian RAs, and soft sciences had more citations than hard sciences. In the soft
sciences, English RAs had 54.96 citations per RA, while Persian RAs had 37.83
citations per RA. In the hard sciences, English RAs employed 29.8 citations per RA,
while Persian RAs employed 22.11 citations per RA. Thus, English RAs had more
citations than Persian RAs in soft and hard sciences. Then, in citing sources, both
groups of authors tended to employ assimilation (adjusting the source with the authors’
contexts) more than inserting the sources directly (using direct quotes). English RAs
employed it in 87% of the total citations, while Persian RAs used it in 88%. This
finding suggests that both groups avoided direct quotations when citing sources.
Concerning authorial stances, both groups tended to employ acknowledgment, which
 Warsidi, A. M. Irawan, Z. Adnan & I. A. Samad, Citation studies in English vs. Indonesian
research article introductions (RAIs) in the history discipline |603

means that “a writer adopts a neutral position and makes no evaluative judgment on
the cited proposition” (Shooshtari et al., 2017, p. 60).
A contrastive citation study was also conducted within the corpus of 150
qualitative and 150 quantitative RAs in applied linguistics published in English high-
index journals (Dobakhti & Hassan, 2017). The aims were to investigate the author’s
identity and the use of personal pronouns within the corpus of qualitative and
quantitative RAs. The results revealed that the qualitative corpus employed more
pronouns than the quantitative corpus. The RA authors employed pronouns mainly to
present their results, claims, arguments, purposes, and procedures intended to show
their presence. Showing their presence, in this case, means that they also revealed their
responsibility. This finding indicates that qualitative RA authors claimed more
responsibility for their writing than quantitative RAs.
In international high-impact factor journals, a citation study was conducted on
45 Research article discussions (RADs) in the applied linguistics discipline (Dobakhti
& Zohrabi, 2018). The study found that the corpus had 330 citations, with an average
of 7.31 citations per RAD. Most citations (60.91%) were non-integral, while the rest
were integral. Concerning the four functions of citation methods, most citations
(42.12%) were used to make comparisons with the authors’ results; 32.12% of other
citations were used to explain the results; 13.34% of the citations were used for
research recommendations, and the rest of 12.42% was used to interpret the results.
As reviewed above, citation studies have been widely conducted within RAs
worldwide, including citation techniques, citation types, authorial stances, authorial
identities, and personal pronouns. However, further studies were still required, mainly
to add literature to the body knowledge of citation studies, including in Indonesia.
Thus, the following section reviews citation studies in Indonesia.

2.4 Citation Studies in Indonesia

In the Indonesian context, a comparative study focused on 58 RAIs and RADs

in the language and language teaching disciplines (Mirahayuni, 2002). The corpora
were RAIs written in English by English Native Speakers (NSs) and Indonesian NSs,
and in Indonesian by Indonesian NSs. The results revealed that the citations within
RAs in English and Indonesian written by the Indonesian NSs had different functions
from those in English written by the English NSs. English NSs included citations to
situate their study in order to justify their study. In contrast, Indonesian NSs used
citations to display their authority as knowledgeable people to their readers. They
tended to show that the readers needed their study (Mirahayuni, 2002). However, they
did not respond to the knowledge gap in the literature. These findings indicate that the
function of the citations differed between RAs written by English NSs and those
written by English Non-Native Speakers (NNSs). These differences affected how the
authors employed authorial stances, voices, or attitudes toward their cited sources.
Citations have also been analyzed on 63 Indonesian RAIs from the disciplines
of education, linguistics, and social and political sciences (Adnan, 2010). The study
revealed that linguistic RAIs had 534 citations, with an average of 25.43 citations per
RAI, and social-political RAIs used 323 citations, with an average of 15.38 citations
per RAI. However, educational RAIs only had 316 citations, with an average of 15.04
citations per RAI. Compared to those found in English RAIs, Indonesian RAIs in these
three disciplines had much fewer citations. Moreover, the finding revealed that most
604 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 598-613, 2023

Indonesian authors were neutral toward their cited sources. However, the study only
investigated citation numbers and authorial stances but ignored citation techniques and
types.
Furthermore, citations were also analyzed on 40 English RAIs written by
Indonesian authors published internationally in Scopus index journals in 2012 (Arsyad
& Adila, 2018). The analysis revealed that Indonesian academics employed citations
to support their ideas and justify their positions, but they did not criticize or evaluate
what they cited. These findings differed from those in English RAs, as English NSs
criticized and evaluated other literature to find research gaps. Therefore, the function
of citations in English RAIs written by Indonesian authors differed from English RAs
written by English NSs. However, this study neglected the techniques that authors used
in citing sources and the citation types they employed.
In short, although citation analyses have been conducted widely, such studies
still receive little scholarly attention in the Indonesian context since only three
researchers (Adnan, 2010; Arsyad & Adila, 2018; Mirahayuni, 2002) were found to
analyze citations within Indonesian RAs. Among the three, only Mirahayuni (2002)
compared citations in English and Indonesian RAs. However, their citation studies
focused on citation functions, authorial stances, and citation numbers within corpora.
In contrast, studies of citation techniques and types in Indonesian RA contexts were
rarely found. Although Mirahayuni (2002) compared citations in English and
Indonesian RAs, her study focused on citation functions within RAs. Meanwhile, the
present study analyzes citation techniques and types used in English and Indonesian
RAIs. Thus, the present study adds insights to the literature and provides pedagogical
contributions to teaching English for academic purposes, precisely publishing
purposes for Indonesian authors and other non-native English authors. For this
rationale, the researchers intended to conduct the present study.

3. METHODS

3.1 Research Design

The present study used two approaches in designing this research. Firstly, it
employed a genre approach in the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) stream as
suggested in Swales (1990, 2004) and Bhatia (1993, 2014, 2016) for analyzing English
and Indonesian RAIs. Then, it employed a descriptive qualitative approach in
presenting the analysis results from both data sets. By employing these two
approaches, the analysis results were expected to be comprehensive and robust.

3.2 Collecting Data Sets

The present study analyzed 30 RAIs from two data sets; 15 RAIs that were
written in English and published in English journals and the other 15 RAs that were
written in Indonesian and published in Indonesian journals. 30 RAIs were considered
sufficient in this study because each RAIs already had numerous corpora to be
analyzed. Therefore, this sample size was representative to answer the formulated
research questions. Meanwhile, the reason for employing two data sets was to provide
more comprehensive and meaningful comparisons in the analysis results.
 Warsidi, A. M. Irawan, Z. Adnan & I. A. Samad, Citation studies in English vs. Indonesian
research article introductions (RAIs) in the history discipline |605

In selecting English RAs, the researchers determined the journals by following

the standard criteria. Firstly, the journals must be written and published in English.
Then, the journals were from the history discipline, which can be identified by reading
their ‘focuses and scopes’ on the journal home page. Secondly, the journals must be
indexed in Scopus Quartile 1 (Q1) and Scimago Journal Ranks (SJR) above 0.50.
Using these standard criteria, the researchers found three English journals in the
history discipline: Historical Archeology, Historical Methods, and Journal of Global
History. From these three selected English journals, the researchers then selected 15
articles specifically written by English NSs. The selection of English NSs articles was
made by identifying their names and affiliations.
Furthermore, in selecting 15 Indonesian RAs, the researchers used Indonesian
Science and Technology Index (Sinta) standard. The researchers selected three
journals in the history discipline, which received the highest Sinta rank, i.e., rank 2
because no journal in this selected discipline occupies rank 1. The selected journals
include Jurnal Sejarah Citra Lekha, Patanjala: Jurnal Penelitian Sejarah dan Budaya,
and Patra Widya: Seri Penerbitan Penelitian Sejarah dan Budaya. Afterward, the
researchers selected five articles from each of these journals randomly since they were
all written in Indonesian and by Indonesian authors (identified by their names and
affiliations).

3.3 Data Analysis Procedures

In analyzing citations from the data sets, two analytical frameworks were used
to answer the research questions because one framework alone cannot cover all the
research questions. The first framework suggested by Wang (2006) (as described in
the literature review) was used to analyze citation techniques, whether authors tended
to employ a direct quotation, paraphrasing, or description in their RAIs. Then, the
second framework used was underpinned by Kuhi and Mollanghizadeh (2013) and
Varga and Gradečak-Erdeljić (2017) to analyze the types of citations used by authors
to produce their new texts. The purpose was to find out whether citations in both data
sets tended to employ integral or non-integral citations in the data of RAIs.

3.4 Reliabilities of Data Analysis Results

To ensure the reliability of data analysis results, two researchers from Ph.D.
graduates in linguistics divided their roles in this research. The first researcher
analyzed both data sets using the above procedures. Then, the other researcher, as an
inter-rater, also checked the analysis results using the same procedures. The accuracies
of data analysis results were then deliberated to meet the agreements. However, there
has been no disagreement between the two researchers, indicating that both analysts
were in 100% agreement with the analysis results. The results were considered reliable
and accurate by employing these layer steps for the analysis.

4. RESULTS

This study analyzed the citing technique used in English and Indonesian RAIs
in the history discipline and investigated the citation types used to write their RAIs.
606 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 598-613, 2023

This section reports the analysis results into two sub-sections; the first sub-section
reports the citing techniques used in both data sets, and the following sub-section
reports their citation types.

4.1 The Citation Techniques Used by English and Indonesian Authors

After analyzing both data sets, the results showed that English and Indonesian
authors in the present study employed similar ways of citing sources. Authors in both
data sets tended to use a ‘description’ technique when citing their source texts. Besides,
they also used ‘paraphrasing’ as the second most employed form. Finally, they used
‘direct quotations’ as the least used technique for citing resources. The percentages of
the technique are presented in the summary of the analysis results in Table 1.

Table 1. A summary analysis result of citing ways used in English and Indonesian
RAIs.
Citation ways Citations in English RAIs Citations in Indonesian RAIs
Numbers Percentages Numbers Percentages
Direct quotation 4 2.20% 6 3.70%
Paraphrasing/ Indirect 5 2.75% 60 37.04%
quotation
Description 173 95.05% 96 59.26%
Total 182 100% 162 100%

As shown in Table 1, authors in both data sets used descriptions, but English
authors used this technique more frequently than their Indonesian counterparts, around
95% and 59% consecutively. On the other hand, they employed fewer paraphrasing
and direct quotations than Indonesian authors. In this sub-section, however, the
researchers only exemplified the most employed citation technique, i.e., description,
found in both data sets to minimize the space. Thus, the researchers did not provide
examples for paraphrasing and direct quotation because these two citation techniques
are relatively straightforward.

Example 1 : However, in some cases, the nature of the artifact surface, or its coloring, makes such
images less than desirable. Some alternative methods have been applied, including
photogrammetry (Selden 2015), laser scanning, and three-dimensional (3-D) scanning
(Means et al. 2013). EHRAIs04

Example 2 : In the twentieth century, the world’s human population grew faster than it ever had before
and faster than it probably ever will again (Lam 2011). EHRAIs06

Example 3 : Topik itu secara teoretis dapat dikaji dengan menggunakan konsep cross cultural atau
multikulturalisme di dalam sejarah Bali (Pageh, 2011). IHRAIs01
[The topic can theoretically be studied using a cross-cultural concept or multiculturalism
in Balinese history (Pageh, 2011)].

Example 4 : Keberadaan institusi gereja dan zending akan mengurangi potensi perlawanan dan
pandangan negatif masyarakat pribumi terhadap pemerintah kolonial. Zending dianggap
akan mampu “menyelamatkan” orang pribumi yang masih kafir dari pengaruh
Islamisme yang disiarkan oleh para ulama dan kekuatan pendukungnya (van der End,
2006: 290).5 IHRAIs03
[The existence of church and zending institutions will reduce the potential for resistance
and the negative views of indigenous peoples against the colonial government. Zending
is considered to be able to ‘save’ indigenous people who are still infidels from the
 Warsidi, A. M. Irawan, Z. Adnan & I. A. Samad, Citation studies in English vs. Indonesian
research article introductions (RAIs) in the history discipline |607

influence of Islamism broadcast by clerics and their supporting forces (van der End, 2006:
290)].

The four examples above illustrate the techniques of citing sources found in both
English and Indonesian RAIs, and referring to Wang (2006), this citation technique is
called ‘citation by description.’ The Examples 1 and 2 are from English RAIs, while
the Examples 3 and 4 are from Indonesian RAIs. In this regard, authors comprehended
the source texts and adjusted them to their writing contexts.
In short, English and Indonesian authors in the present study tended to use
descriptions when citing sources rather than the other two techniques. However,
English authors used this method more frequently than Indonesian authors. This
finding implies that both English and Indonesian authors preferred assimilating their
citations within their contexts to directly inserting source texts into their RAIs.
Furthermore, it was also found that English authors tended to assimilate their citations
more than Indonesian authors.

4.2 The Citation Types Used by English and Indonesian Authors

After analyzing both data sets in the present study, the results revealed that
English authors employed similar citation types to Indonesian authors. Both groups of
authors used non-integral citations more frequently than integral citations when citing
resources, but English authors used non-integral citations more frequently than
Indonesian authors. More details about citation types used in both data sets are
presented in the summary analysis results in Table 2.

Table 2. A summary analysis of citation types used in English and Indonesian RAIs.
Citation Distribution Citation Distribution in Citation Distribution in
Types types English RAIs Indonesian RAIs
Numbers Percentages Numbers Percentages
Verb controlling 14 7.69% 15 9.26%
Passive agent 1 0.55% 20 10.99%
Integral Naming 2 1.10% - -
citations Adjunct passive - - 12 7.41%
agent
Non-citation 2 1.10% 9 5.56%
Total integral citations 19 10.44% 56 34.57%
Source 122 67.03% 106 65.43%
Non-integral Identification 30 16.48% - -
citations Reference 2 1.10% - -
Origin 9 4.95% - -
Total non-integral citations 163 89.56% 106 65.43%
Total citations in all RAIs 182 100% 162 100%

As presented in Table 2 above, English and Indonesian RA authors from both

data sets did not frequently integrate their citations into their texts because they used
non-integral citations, around 89% and 65% consecutively. However, Indonesian
authors used more integral citations (around 34%) than English authors (around 10%).
The examples of integral and non-integral citations from both data sets are presented
in the following.
608 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 598-613, 2023

4.2.1 Integral citation

This citation type appeared only in 10.44% of the total citations in English RAIs
and 34.57% of the total citations in Indonesian RAIs. This finding indicates that
English authors employed integral citations less frequently than their Indonesian
counterparts. The following are the examples of integral citations found in both data
sets:

Example 5 : (verb controlling): Gutman (1976) notes that besides the studies of Puckett (1938, 1975)
and Wood (1974), and observations from Mencken (1919), little has been written about
African American naming systems in the American past. EHRAIs09

Example 6 : (verb controlling): Irawanto (2017) mendedahkan dengan sangat cermat bagaimana
film-film sejarah yang disponsori negara di masa Orde Baru, mampu menyusupkan
muatan ideologis seperti nasionalisme dan superioritas tentara atas sipil. IHRAIs07
[Irawanto (2017) explains very carefully how historical films sponsored by the state
during the New Order era could infuse ideologies such as nationalism and the superiority
of the army over civilians.]

The authors in the two examples above used integral citations. In Example 5, the
agent (Gutman) controlled the verb ‘notes’, and in Example 6, the agent (Irwanto)
controlled the verb ‘explains.’ The reporting verbs as verb controlling were used in
both examples because the subjects in the citations did the action. Besides, the
examples also show that their sources were integrated into their texts since their
sources were used in sentences, not in parentheses. Thus, the authors of the above
examples used integral citations with a verb-controlling sub-type.

4.2.2 Non-integral citation

This citation type was dominant in both data sets. It appeared in 89.56% of the
total citations in English RAIs and 65.43% in Indonesian RAIs. The excerpts of this
citation type found in both data sets are presented in the following:

Example 7 : (sources): Some alternative methods have been applied, including photogrammetry
(Selden 2015), laser scanning, and three-dimensional (3-D) scanning (Means et al.
2013). EHRAIs04

Example 8 : (sources): Topik itu secara teoretis dapat dikaji dengan menggunakan konsep cross
cultural atau multikulturalisme di dalam sejarah Bali (Pageh, 2011). IHRAIs01
[The topic theoretically can be investigated using the concept of cross-cultural or
multiculturalism in Balinese history (Pageh, 2011).]

The two examples above used non-integral citations because the authors did not
integrate their texts into the citations. In addition, their citations were also presented
in parentheses. Thus, the type of these above citations belongs to non-integral citations
as introduced by Kuhi and Mollanghizadeh (2013) and Varga and Gradečak-Erdeljić
(2017).
Overall, the analysis revealed that RA authors from both data sets were inclined
to use description most frequently, with non-integral citation as the most dominant
type. However, English authors employed the description method and non-integral
citation type more frequently than Indonesian authors. These findings imply that
 Warsidi, A. M. Irawan, Z. Adnan & I. A. Samad, Citation studies in English vs. Indonesian
research article introductions (RAIs) in the history discipline |609

English and Indonesian authors in the present study tended to assimilate their citations
into their texts. However, English authors assimilated their citations more often than
Indonesian authors and did not integrate them more frequently. Thus, English authors
had more assimilation than Indonesian authors when citing sources and tended to avoid
integrating their sources into their RAIs.

5. DISCUSSION

One of the interesting findings in the present study was that English and
Indonesian RA authors used ‘description’ as a way of citing sources, which means that
they tended to assimilate their source texts into their RAIs. The findings from both
data sets seemed similar to those in English Biomedical RAs, in which the authors also
tended to generalize their citations when citing sources and avoid using direct
quotations (Dubois, 1988). These findings are also consistent with the data obtained
from both English and Persian Ras, as they also tended to assimilate their citations and
avoid direct quotations when writing RAIs (Shooshtari et al., 2017). These findings
indicate that citing sources using the ‘description’ technique seems to be favored
among RA authors, and this method was widely employed by most authors (around
50%-90%) in both data sets (Warsidi, 2022). The underlying reason could be that the
description technique could be used more easily to adjust messages to their writing
contexts.
However, although both English and Indonesian authors in the present study
tended to assimilate their citations into their writing, English authors employed this
technique more frequently than Indonesian authors. In contrast to the results of the
present study, English RA authors employed this citation technique fewer than Persian
RA authors (Shooshtari et al., 2017), with a very slight difference (87% in English
RAs and 88% in Persian RAs). This discussion implies that although the percentages
of the description technique differed between English and Indonesian RAIs, as well as
between English and Persian RAs, the description was still the most favored method
employed when citing sources among authors. In this context, authors needed to
comprehend the source texts or citations to be adjusted to their writing contexts. The
possible reason for English authors using the description technique more frequently
than Indonesian authors is that English authors in the present data were more advanced
academic writers than Indonesian authors. These findings helped RA authors
understand citation techniques, comprehend the meanings of citations, and adjust the
citations to their contexts, which were pivotal to convincing and attracting readers.
Another interesting finding was that English and Indonesian authors in the
present study tended to avoid integrating their citations into their texts. They chose to
use non-integral citations when citing sources. However, unexpectedly, English
authors tended to employ this citation type more frequently than Indonesian authors.
As in using the citation techniques, the possible underlying reason for the different
frequency in using the citation types between the two author groups is that English
authors might be more experienced than Indonesian authors in the present data. These
findings are consistent with the citations found in RAs in soft sciences, such as
citations in English and Croatian RAs in applied linguistics (Varga & Gradečak-
Erdeljić, 2017), applied linguistics and psychology (Shooshtari et al., 2017), and
English RAs published in internationally reputable journals (Barghamadi & Siyyari,
610 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 598-613, 2023

2021; Dobakhti & Zohrabi, 2018; Kuhi & Mollanghizadeh, 2013). In addition, these
findings are also similar to citations found in hard sciences, including citations in
computer engineering and mechanical engineering published in international journals
(Shooshtari et al., 2017), citations employed by Malaysian experts and novice authors
in the chemical engineering discipline (Mansourizadeh & Ahmad, 2011), and citations
in both English and Indonesian RAIs in the medicine discipline (Arsyad et al., 2018).
All authors in those studies also tended to use non-integral citations when citing
sources.
However, these present findings were contrary to RAs in applied linguistics
written by Iranian authors (Barghamadi & Siyyari, 2021; Kuhi & Mollanghizadeh,
2013), Persian authors (Shooshtari et al., 2017) and Indonesian authors in the
discussion section (Samanhudi & O’Boyle, 2022). The present findings showed that
English and Indonesian authors tended to avoid integrating their citations into their
texts, while authors in earlier studies did not. The possible reasons for this difference
were: firstly, they had different contexts. For example, the present study investigated
citations in RAIs, while Samanhudi and O’Boyle (2022) analyzed it within the
discussion section. Secondly, they had different writing cultures or writing policies.
Thirdly, the authors in the present study might be more of experts in academic writing
than those in the previous studies. In addition, the citations found in the present study
were also in contrast with those found in the academic essays (Kongpetch, 2021;
Lombardi, 2021) or the literature review assignments written by second language
writers (L2) in the first-year course (Gao et al., 2021) in that they tended to integrate
their citations into their texts. This difference can be explained by the fact that the
context of the study was different. The present study analyzed citations within RAIs
while investigating citations within academic essays and literature review assignments.
In short, the results of these comparisons indicate that although both English and
Indonesian authors in the present study tended to assimilate their citations, English
authors assimilated their citations more frequently than their Indonesian counterparts.
This finding implies that English authors were inclined to adjust their citations in their
texts more than Indonesian authors. Regarding the citation technique, the citation
techniques found in the present study had more similarities to those in the previous
studies related to English RAs published in reputable journals (Barghamadi & Siyyari,
2021; Dobakhti & Zohrabi, 2018; Kuhi & Mollanghizadeh, 2013). However, these
findings were different from the citation techniques found in Iranian RAs (Barghamadi
& Siyyari, 2021; Kuhi & Mollanghizadeh, 2013), Persian RAs (Shooshtari et al.,
2017), and Thai academic essays (Kongpetch, 2021). This difference indicates that the
authors in the present study were more of expert writers and qualified scholars because
they cited sources using the same techniques employed by authors publishing in high-
quality international journals (Barghamadi & Siyyari, 2021). Regarding citation types,
authors in both data sets used non-integral citations more frequently than their integral
counterparts. However, English authors employed this citation type more often than
Indonesian authors. This finding means that they tended to avoid integrating their
citations into their texts. It was consistent with citations found in English RAs
(Barghamadi & Siyyari, 2021; Dobakhti & Zohrabi, 2018; Kuhi & Mollanghizadeh,
2013; Shooshtari et al., 2017). This result implies that the authors in the present study
were expert writers and qualified scholars because they could employ the same
techniques as English authors publishing RAs in reputable English journals
(Barghamadi & Siyyari, 2021).
 Warsidi, A. M. Irawan, Z. Adnan & I. A. Samad, Citation studies in English vs. Indonesian
research article introductions (RAIs) in the history discipline |611

6. CONCLUSION

This study has a deeper insight into two critical findings as a conclusion. First,
this study has shown that both English and Indonesian authors tended to assimilate
their citations into their RAIs in which 95,05% of citations in English RAIs and
59,26% of citations in Indonesian RAIs were in the form of description. This finding
further implies that authors in both data sets comprehended the source texts before
adjusting them to their writing contexts rather than directly inserting them into their
RAIs. However, English authors use this method more frequently than Indonesian
authors. Thus, this study suggests that Indonesian authors, particularly in this selected
discipline, need to assimilate their citations, especially when they want to publish RAs
in English journals. Besides, they must learn more citation techniques used in RAs
published in highly reputable English journals.
Second, authors in both data sets tended to use non-integral citations. The
findings show that 89.65% of the citations in English RAIs and 65.43% in Indonesian
RAIs were non-integral citations. The authors in both data sets tended to avoid
integrating their citations with their RAIs. However, English authors employed this
type of citation more frequently than Indonesian authors. Thus, this study also suggests
that Indonesian authors, particularly in this selected discipline, must avoid integrating
citations with their RAs to make their writings more like those written by expert
authors and to publish their works in reputable English journals.
Moreover, these two findings drew theoretical and practical implications.
Theoretically, these findings imply that the genre of RAs depends on a specific
discourse community. Practically, these findings imply that Indonesian authors in this
selected discipline need to assimilate their citations into their RAIs more than they
previously did. Besides, they must also employ more non-integral citations and avoid
integrating their citations into their writings. These two practical implications may
improve their writings to be qualified for international publications.
The present study has provided significant implications in the field of ESP.
However, the present study only focuses on citation techniques and types within small
numbers of corpora (only a total of 30 RAIs from both data sets). However, although
it is limited, it may contribute to the knowledge development of citation studies
because such studies are rarely found, particularly in Indonesian contexts. Due to this
limitation, further citation studies with more corpora, different RA disciplines, or
different research settings are suggested for further investigation, particularly by
comparing English and Indonesian corpora to provide more comprehensive results.

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614 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 614-627, 2023

Measuring Malaysian Lower Secondary

Learners’ Reading Ability on a CEFR-
Aligned Text
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Revathi Gopal*1
Mahendran Maniam1
Kesavan Nallaluthan2
1
Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Languages and
Communications, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim,
Perak 35900, MALAYSIA
2
Department of Business Management & Entrepreneurship, Faculty of Management
and Economics, Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris, Tanjong Malim,
Perak 35900, MALAYSIA

Abstract
To capture learners’ interest in reading and help them understand the
content of their reading, it is important to write at a level that aligns with
their reading abilities. This will motivate learners to read and comprehend
the material. A CEFR-aligned textbook is a valuable tool for improving the
English language skills of lower secondary learners in English Language
classrooms. Therefore, it is significant to assess learners’ reading
competence in text comprehension using a reading text from a CEFR-
aligned textbook. These assessments were conducted based on a narrative
text from the CEFR-aligned textbook using two different techniques:
miscue analysis and retelling. The sample comprised 20 ‘C’ grade learners
randomly selected from Malaysian lower secondary schools. The data on
miscues were analysed quantitatively, following Goodman, Watson, and
Burke’s In-Depth Procedure (2005). The quality of retelling was evaluated
based on the criteria set by Irwin and Mitchell’s (1983) 5-point scoring
method. The findings revealed that all 20 learners achieved the target
descriptor scale B1, indicating that they can read simple texts on topics
relevant to their field and interests with sufficient comprehension. This
study implies that CEFR-aligned reading texts are appropriate for lower

*
Corresponding author, email: revathi@fbk.upsi.edu.my

Citation in APA style: Gopal, R., Maniam, M., & Nallaluthan, K. (2023). Measuring Malaysian lower
secondary learners’ reading ability on a CEFR-aligned text. Studies in English Language and Education,
10(2), 614-627.

Received September 8, 2022; Revised February 20, 2023; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online
May 31, 2023

https://dpo.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.28013
 R. Gopal, M. Maniam & K. Nallaluthan, Measuring Malaysian lower secondary learners’
reading ability on a CEFR-aligned text | 615

secondary learners to read and understand. Furthermore, miscue analysis

and retelling can effectively monitor learners’ reading comprehension
levels and help enhance reading skills among low intermediate-level
learners. Based on learners’ reading habits that require assistance,
teachers can plan upcoming reading lessons.

Keywords: Miscue analysis, reading assessment, retelling, text difficulty.

1. INTRODUCTION

Reading helps develop vocabulary and spelling skills, which are essential in oral
and written communication. It is a language-receptive process that begins with the
author’s linguistic surface depiction and ends with the reader’s production of meaning.
In acquiring reading skills, the need for learners to focus on the words, sentences, and
meaning in reading material is fundamental for comprehension.
Reading helps students discover new concepts and information. They learn the
required information, improving their vocabulary and other language skills. The
improvement in language and vocabulary helps learners in other components of
language skills. For example, if learners possess rich vocabulary, they can understand
more as they can listen better. Then, they can write and speak better because of their
rich word power. In schools, learners have various reading levels, the good, the
average, and the weak. Reading ability is the capacity to read, understand, and interpret
written words in various contexts. The difference in their reading ability level is due
to factors such as learners’ motivation, interest, social background, and the difficulty
level of the reading texts (Kennedy, 2010).
The use of vocabulary and sentence structures determines text difficulty. If the
vocabulary is within the learner’s vocabulary size, it will enhance their understanding
of the text. Otherwise, text comprehension would be hindered. Sikorová (2011) asserts
that a textbook can be a helpful teaching tool if learners can read and comprehend it.
Conversely, Kovač and Mohar (2022) emphasised that a challenging reading book may
obstruct learning and make pupils less motivated. Additionally, too simple or complex
content could dull learners and make them less motivated.
Nowadays, learners are more into browsing the internet and playing with their
mobile phones. They read fewer printed materials unless they are forced to read.
However, the expanding availability of digital materials and the lengthening of
learners’ reading sessions have started to impact their reading habits. Yusuf et al.
(2019) claimed that the country’s reading culture has declined due to the widespread
use of digital gadgets. The young find it much easier to access digital devices compared
to books. Thus, learners read less of printed reading materials. This leads them to a
poor grasp of vocabulary and sentence structures.
Learners in classrooms fail to pay attention during reading activities due to an
inadequate grasp of vocabulary and sentence structures. Learners’ negative attitude
towards reading printed material impacts their reading ability level. According to
Woody et al. (2010), learners read fewer printed reading materials, and this affects
learners’ reading proficiency levels. Students’ altered attitudes affect the teaching and
learning environment in schools regarding reading printed materials. For example, in
616 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 614-627, 2023

classrooms where the reading activity is conducted, learners ignore their friend who is
reading aloud.
An English language textbook aligned with the CEFR (Common European
Framework of Reference) was implemented in secondary schools in 2017, particularly
for lower secondary students, to enhance the lower secondary students’ competency
level. Therefore, the CEFR-aligned material must be evaluated for its applicability to
students. CEFR is a framework that includes a description of communicative
proficiency organised into six levels and a descriptive scheme for analysing what is
needed in language learning and usage. The descriptions show what a specific
language learner level is capable of doing.
Identifying the reading ability level of a student can assist teachers in selecting
appropriate reading content and allowing students to maintain their interest in reading.
This would help learners progress from their current reading ability in text
comprehension to the next level. The study answers the following research questions:
1. What are students’ strengths and weaknesses in reading a CEFR-aligned reading
passage?
2. What are the learners’ reading ability levels in text comprehension based on CEFR-
aligned reading texts?
The study contributes to the literature by bridging the gap by examining
students’ reading behaviour using a CEFR-aligned reading text to determine if they
can read and comprehend the material assigned to them.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Reading Ability

Reading ability is the capacity of a reader to communicate with a writer to obtain

knowledge and information (Brown, 2001). Gillet and Temple (2012) identify three
levels of reading proficiency: 1) The Independent Level - At this level of difficulty,
the learners can read material without assistance. In general, reading comprehension
is excellent; 2) The Instructional Level - The content is not particularly easy at this
level, but it is still manageable. The learner is challenged in this area and will gain the
most from education. Although comprehension is strong, assistance is required to
grasp some ideas; 3) The Frustration Level - The language or concepts are too tough
to read correctly at this level. Major ideas are lost or misconstrued, resulting in poor
comprehension.
Many factors contribute to learners’ levels of reading ability. One of the aspects
is that they spend less time reading printed materials because learners are occupied
with electronic devices. This causes a decline in learners’ reading habits. As a result,
learners’ exposure to new vocabulary and sentence structures decreases. In classrooms,
when learners are instructed to read by the teacher, they do not perform well because
they lack word power and less exposure to sentence structures.
Kovač and Mohar (2022) consider text difficulty a crucial issue in text
comprehension, especially its effect on readers’ ability to evaluate comprehension.
Weaver and Bryant (1995) proposed the optimum effort hypothesis, which argues that
students could better predict their comprehension when text materials matched their
reading level rather than being too simple or too complex. In other words, learners’
 R. Gopal, M. Maniam & K. Nallaluthan, Measuring Malaysian lower secondary learners’
reading ability on a CEFR-aligned text | 617

capacity to anticipate comprehension depends significantly on the complexity of the

texts. Therefore, learners’ comprehension can be predicted most accurately when the
text difficulty level corresponds to their reading proficiency.

2.2 Miscue Analysis

According to the essential assumption underlying miscue analysis, reading is a

psycholinguistic activity that occurs from an interaction between the mind and
language (Goodman et al., 2005). By analysing readers’ miscues in oral reading,
Goodman (2001) devised a study approach called miscue analysis to dig into readers’
underlying processes and strategies. Miscue analysis is a student-centred examination
of reading processes and comprehension ability (Goodman et al., 2005). A deviation
or departure from the text is referred to as a miscue. These differences indicate the
difficulties readers face and the cueing methods they use to deduce meaning from text.
The miscue patterns reveal three primary language cueing systems and distinct
cognitive approaches in the readers’ word attack capabilities and comprehension
abilities: 1) The grapho-phonics system, which deals with spelling and phonic
relationships; 2) the syntax system, which deals with grammar and structure of the
language, and; 3) the semantic system, which deals with the meaning of words,
phrases, and sentences (Goodman, 2001). Miscue analysis includes substitution,
insertion, omission, self-correction, repetition, hesitancy, and reversal. It is a great way
to learn more about a learner’s reading skills and pinpoint specific weaknesses.

2.3 Retelling

Retelling has emerged as a viable method for evaluating reading proficiency due
to its effectiveness, emphasis on active text reconstruction, format uniformity across
text kinds, and formative evaluation of reading skills (Kucer, 2010). Retelling is a
valuable teaching and evaluation tool since it allows the reader to concentrate on
specific aspects of the story structure. Retellings may be classified into three types –
unassisted, aided, and specified – with the unassisted recounting happening shortly
after the reading (Goodman, 2001). The method of unaided retelling is utilised in this
study because it allows learners to narrate anything they remember about the text they
read. Learners must use various linguistic skills to absorb the text’s information, recall
it accurately, and restructure it meaningfully in their language output to retell it
successfully. Recounting is the ability of the learners to accurately state important
story aspects in their oral retelling after reading a piece, such as characters, place,
initial events, problem, and conclusion (Cohen & Cowen, 2011).
Oral retelling measures a wide variety of comprehension abilities that can be
used during instruction and intervention, unlike other reading comprehension tests
(Reed & Vaughn, 2012). Learners must mentally construct comprehension from
reading and then recount information about the text as they comprehend it (Goodman,
2001). It helps learners organise, summarise, and process facts. To do so, learners must
recall every detail, select the most crucial details, and correctly recount the story. It is
a post-reading practice in which learners, orally or in writing, describe what they
remember after reading (Lapp et al., 2010).
According to Lapp et al. (2010), retelling may reflect the purpose that learners
see in the stories they read and the difficulty that they have in putting the numerous
618 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 614-627, 2023

components of a story together into a cohesive whole. Researchers have suggested

significant findings regarding recounting. According to Morrow (1985), retelling is an
active method that engages adults and children in reconstructing a text. Retelling a
story aloud helps learners grasp and remember what they have learned (Morrow,
2005). The researchers have proposed significant results concerning recounting.
Retelling a story aloud improves understanding and retention of the information
(Morrow, 2005).

3. METHODS

3.1 Research Design

A qualitative study was conducted to determine learners’ reading ability levels

in the lower secondary classes. A qualitative approach was needed because it provides
the depth and details of learners’ reading ability through miscue analysis and retelling
techniques.

3.2 Research Site

The research was conducted in five non-residential lower secondary schools in

Perak, Malaysia. Five districts were selected. They were Batang Padang, Manjung,
Hilir Perak, Kuala Kangsar, and Hulu Perak. Two schools from each district were
chosen randomly.

3.3 Participants

The sample consisted of 20 participants, with five selected from each school.
The selection of participants from the schools in each district was based on a simple
random sampling method that included both genders from various races, including
Malays, Chinese, and Indians, as well as different social backgrounds. The participants
all had a grade of ‘C’ in their English language, which corresponds to an academic
grading system in Malaysia that ranges from 40 to 59 marks.

3.4 Instrument

A reading passage titled “The Story of the Mobile Phone Novel” from the CEFR-
aligned textbook (page 21) was chosen for miscue analysis, and a set of four ‘wh-
questions (information questions)’ was used for the retelling session. This particular
text was chosen because learners were familiar with mobile phones. The following
sub-sections discuss the appropriate steps involved in the data analysis of the
assessments employed in this study.
 R. Gopal, M. Maniam & K. Nallaluthan, Measuring Malaysian lower secondary learners’
reading ability on a CEFR-aligned text | 619

3.5 Data Analysis Procedures

3.5.1 Miscues analysis

The passage was prepared as a coding sheet for easier marking of miscues. The
passage was read aloud by the participants, recorded, and replayed for the markings of
miscues on the coding sheet. Miscues looked for and analysed were self-correction
(correcting the word to understand the passage), insertion (inserting a new word into
the phrase), omission (omitting letters or words), repetition (repeating a word),
substitution (using a different word instead of the original word). The miscues are
considered as participants’ strengths if they do not impair the sentence syntactically or
semantically (Goodman et al., 2005).
Participants’ strengths and weaknesses were analysed based on the miscue
percentages. Miscues such as self-correction and repetitions were considered as
participants’ strengths because they did not distort the meaning and structure of the
sentences. Miscues are viewed as weaknesses when they distort the sentences’
meaning and structural components. The percentage for each miscue is calculated by
the total number divided by the overall number of the miscue patterns and multiplied
by 100, adapted from Janan (2011) for this study.

3.5.2 Retellings

Miscue analysis was followed by unaided retellings. Participants were tested on

their level of text comprehension. There were four ‘wh-questions’ based on the
passage “The Story of the Mobile Phone Novel” to test the participants’
comprehension. Example of questions: 1. Where did the story happen? 2. What was
amazing in the story? 3. Are Akiko’s phone novels different from paperback books?
If yes/no, how? and 4. What did you learn from the story?
Irwin and Mitchell’s (1983) ‘judging of the richness of retelling’ was used to
analyse the participants’ scores. It gave the participants a comprehensive assessment
of their ability to recognise overall text structure, primary ideas, and important
information, summarise, and generalise beyond the text. A score was given to each
participant’s retelling, ranging from one to five. At level 1, the participants can only
relate details, the lowest level, while they can relate a few key concepts at level 2. At
level 3, participants can relate big ideas. At level 4, participants can summarise, and at
level 5, they can extrapolate beyond the text by connecting the information in the tale
to their everyday lives. For this study, a 5-point scale indicates the participants’ degree
of text comprehension. The higher the richness level in retellings, the higher the
participants’ understanding of the text. If the retelling level is lower, the text
comprehension is poorer.
After each retelling, the score was circled in the retelling analysis sheet. The total
score was counted in the form of percentages. It indicated the participants’
comprehension level of the text. After evaluating the participants’ text comprehension
skills, the total marks were totalled, and the descriptive statistical analysis results were
expressed as percentages for the participants’ scores. To demonstrate the degrees of
retelling in text comprehension, the data is shown in bar charts to exhibit the levels of
retelling. Table 2 shows the score of retelling.
620 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 614-627, 2023

To check the reliability, two instructors with 20 years of experience served as

inter-rater to ensure the data gathered was reliable. They listened to the recorded
retellings of a participant and double-checked the individual’s verbatim transcript. The
two inter-rater graded the retellings in the retelling analysis sheets. To establish
dependability between the inter-rater, the researcher employed a percentage
agreement. The inter-rater grades for each retelling were added together, and the result
was divided by the number of ratings and multiplied by 100 to get the percentage. The
percentage of agreement was 83%, which is an acceptable figure indicating that the
inter-rater was in accord.

4. RESULTS

4.1 Miscues Percentages

This section reports the findings for the first research question: What are
students’ strengths and weaknesses in reading a CEFR-aligned reading passage? Table
1 shows participants’ miscues.

Table 1. Miscues committed by the participants.

Words from the text Participants and miscues committed
Experienced P1 (self-correction)
P12 (substitution)
Abbreviations P1(self-correction)
P5 (repetition)
P11(repetition)
P20 (repetition)
Interested P2 (insertion)
P3 (omission)
Whenever P3 (repetition)
P7(self-correction, repetition)
P15 (self-correction, repetition)
P16 (repetition)
Influence P3 (self-correction)
P8 (self-correction, repetition)
Generation P9 (repetition)
P12 (repetition)
P13 (self-correction)
P18 (repetition)
P20 (self-correction)
Emoticons P4 (omission)
P5 (repetition)
P9 (repetition)
P17 (repetition)
Originally P14 (self-correction, repetition)
P18 (repetition)
Preferred P12 (self-correction)
P15 (repetition)
P18 (self-correction)
 R. Gopal, M. Maniam & K. Nallaluthan, Measuring Malaysian lower secondary learners’
reading ability on a CEFR-aligned text | 621

Table 1 continued…
Literature P4 (repetition, omission)
P6 (self-correction)
Critical P7(self-correction)
P10 (repetition)
P19 (repetition)

The words listed in Table 1 were the major miscues committed among the 20
participants. Firstly, in the sentence ‘Akiko wasn’t an experienced writer and didn’t
expect anyone to be interested in her tale’, the word ‘experience’ is self-corrected by
P1 and P12 substituted by ‘experiencing’. The use of the word ‘experiencing’ has
distorted the structure and the meaning of the sentence. For the word ‘interested’, P2
inserted the syllable suffix ‘-ing’ and read it as ‘interesting’, which did not match the
structure and was ungrammatical. P3 read the word as ‘interest’ whereby the prefix
‘- ed’ is omitted. This distorted the structure and the meaning of the sentence.
In the sentence ‘They write in a simple, chatty style and use lots of
abbreviations and emoticons, P1 self-corrected the word ‘abbreviations’, whereas P5,
P11, and P20 repeated it. They read the word slowly and managed to read after the
fourth attempt. Four participants (P4, P5, P9, and P12) had problems with the word
‘emoticons’. P4 omitted the initial ‘s’, and the rest three participants repeated the word.
They paused at the syllable ‘emo’ and continued with the syllable ‘cons’. The complete
word was then pronounced. However, the omission of the initial ‘s’ by P4 maintained
the sentence’s meaning but was syntactically ungrammatical.
Next, in the sentence ‘She worked on whenever she could, mostly while she was
relaxing at home’, four participants (P3, P7, P15, and P16) repeated the word
‘whenever’, and they had the same behaviour in reading the word. They paused at the
word ‘when’ and continued with the word ‘ever’. They were very cautious in their
attempt to read the word. After the third try, they read the complete word. P7 and P15
self-corrected the word; firstly, they read as ‘wheneve’ and then read as ‘whenever’.
In this sentence, ‘They thought they were a bad influence on teenage girls, who
preferred them to proper literature’, the word ‘influence’ was self-corrected by P3 and
P8. P3 pronounced the first two syllables of the word and paused, then continued to
pronounce the whole word, whereas P8 gave a first try and read the second time
correctly.
For the sentence ‘Akiko was one of the first of a new generation of novelists in
Japan who write novels’, five participants (P9, P12, P13, P18, and P20) made miscues
in reading the word ‘generation’. P9, P12, and P18 repeated the word to gain an
understanding of the word, whereby P13 and P20 self-corrected the word. P13 and
P20, when correcting themselves, managed with the first two syllables, ‘gene’ of the
word, then continued with the third and fourth syllable, ‘ration’. For the word
‘originally’ in the sentence ‘Many of the best-selling paperback books in Japan were
originally mobile novels!’, P14 repeated the word and self-corrected, whereas P19
repeated the word but did not self-correct.
For the word ‘preferred’ in the sentence ‘They thought they were a bad influence
on teenage girls, who preferred them to proper literature’, P12 and P18 self-corrected.
Both participants had difficulties pronouncing the word. The ‘r’ sound seemed
prominent in this word. Thus, the participants had to correct themselves to understand
the word, whereas P15 paused at this word and repeated it to ensure proper
pronunciation. For the word ‘literature’, P4 and P6 had difficulties pronouncing it. P4
622 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 614-627, 2023

paused at the syllable ‘lit’ and then continued with the syllable ‘erature’; the same goes
with P6. As for the sentence ‘Some people were critical of mobile novels at first’, P7
and P10 self-corrected the word ‘critical’. Table 2 shows the number of each miscue
performed by the participants.

Table 2. Miscues performed.

Types of miscues Number of miscues
Repetition 20
Self-correction 13
Omission 2
Substitution 1
Insertion 1
Total 37

P1 performed two self-correction miscues (2/13x100=15%). This revealed the

participants’ strengths in oral reading because the miscues did not distort the
sentences’ meaning semantically or syntactically. P2 committed one miscue, which
was insertion (1/1x100%=100%), and it was the participants’ weakness because the
miscue made the sentence ungrammatical. P3 made two miscues, omission (1/1x100%
=100%) and self-correction (1/13x100=7%). The omission miscue was considered the
participants’ weakness, and self-correction was the participants’ strength. P4 made
three miscues, two omissions (2/2 x100%=100% -weaknesses and one repetition
(1/20x100=5%- strength). P5 made two repetition miscues (2/20x100%=10%). Both
miscues were regarded as strengths.
P6 made one self- correction (1/13x100%=7%). It was the participant’s strength.
P7 made three miscues, two self-corrections (2/13x100%=15%), and one repetition
(1/20x100%=5%). The miscues made were all participants’ strengths. P8 had two
miscues, self-correction (1/13x100%= 7%) and repetition (1/20x100=5%). Both the
miscues were considered participants’ strengths, as self-correction and repetition did
not distort the sentence meaning or structure. P9 also made two repetition miscues
(2/20x100%=10%). This represented the participants’ strengths. P10 only one
repetition miscue, which was the participant’s strength (1/20x100=5%). P11 also made
only one repetition, which was the participant’s strength (1/20x100=5%). P12
performed three miscues, i.e., one substitution (1/1x100=100%), one repetition
(1/20x100= 5%), and one self-correction (1/13x100 =7 %). The substitution was the
participants’ weakness, and the other two miscues were their strengths.
P13 performed one self-correction miscue (1/13x100 =7 %), and it was the
participant’s strength. P14 made two miscues, namely one self-correction (1/13x100
=7 %), and one repetition (1/20x100= 5%). These two miscues were regarded as the
participant’s strengths. P15 performed three miscues – two repetitions (2/20x100=
10%), and one self-correction (1/13x100 =7 %). The three miscues were regarded as
the participant’s strengths. P16, P17, and P19 performed only one repetition miscue
(1/20x100=5%), which was the participants’ strength. P18 performed three miscues,
that is two repetitions (2/20x100= 10%), and one self-correction (1/13x100 =7 %), and
the miscues were the participant’s strengths. Finally, P20 made two miscues, i.e., one
repetition (1/20x100= 5%), and one self-correction (1/13x100 =7 %). These miscues
were of the participant’s strengths in oral reading.
 R. Gopal, M. Maniam & K. Nallaluthan, Measuring Malaysian lower secondary learners’
reading ability on a CEFR-aligned text | 623

4.2 Retellings

The finding for the second research question “What are the learners’ reading
ability levels in text comprehension based on CEFR-aligned reading texts?” is shown
in Table 3. Upon reading the text, the participants answered a total of four
comprehension questions.

Table 3. The retelling scores.

Questions
Participants Total (/20) Percentage
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
1 5 4 4 4 17 85
2 5 4 4 4 17 85
3 5 4 4 4 17 85
4 5 5 4 4 18 90
5 5 5 4 4 18 90
6 5 5 4 4 18 90
7 5 5 4 4 18 90
8 5 4 4 4 17 85
9 5 4 4 5 18 90
10 5 4 4 5 18 90
11 5 4 4 5 18 90
12 5 4 4 4 17 85
13 5 4 4 4 17 85
14 5 4 4 4 17 85
15 5 5 4 4 18 90
16 5 5 4 4 18 90
17 5 4 4 5 18 90
18 5 4 4 5 18 90
19 5 5 4 5 19 95
20 5 5 4 5 19 95

For the first comprehension question, all 20 participants scored 5. For the second
question, 12 participants scored 4, and the rest scored 5 (P4, P5, P6, P7, P15, P16, P19,
and P20). For question 3, all the participants scored 4; for the last question, P9, P10,
P11, P17, P18, P19, and P20 scored 5. The overall percentage was rated good, with all
participants scoring in the range of 80-95. As the scores for the retellings were above
80, which falls under the ‘A’ category, the reading passage is within the comfortable
range of the participants’ proficiency.
Even though the participants had difficulty pronouncing several words
mentioned in Table 1 and could not understand them, such as “abbreviations”,
“emoticons”, and “literature”, they were nevertheless able to answer the information
questions correctly. Figure 1 shows a bar chart of the participants’ scores; two
participants scored 95%, ten participants scored 90%, and the rest eight scored 85%.
The target descriptor scale B1 was attained by all 20 participants, who can read simple
texts about topics relating to their field and interests with a sufficient degree of
understanding (CEFR BI descriptor).
624 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 614-627, 2023

Figure 1. Retelling scores

5. DISCUSSION

5.1 The Students’ Strengths and Weaknesses in Reading a CEFR-Aligned

Reading Passage

This section of the discussion is based on the first research question: “What are
students’ strengths and weaknesses in reading a CEFR-aligned reading passage?” This
research question was answered by analysing the miscues made by the participants.
The findings revealed 37 miscues in participants’ oral reading. Out of 37 miscues, only
four weaknesses were identified; the rest 33 were participants’ strengths. As the
percentages of strengths outperformed the weaknesses in participants’ oral reading,
the CEFR-aligned reading passage can be concluded to be within the comfortable
reading level for the participants, which suggests that it is within the range of
participants’ reading ability.
It is apparent from the findings that although the participants are from different
geographical areas, they had the same reading behaviour, whereby repetition and self-
correction were the common miscues they produced. The participants did sound
frustrated throughout these miscues as they tried to grasp the pronunciation of the
words; they did it slowly to ensure that they were reading a word correctly. Besides,
they kept track of their progress and were confident about their reading. While reading
slowly, repeating, and self-correcting the difficult words, participants recalled words
from their schemata to sense or guess if they had encountered them. Nation (2019) also
agreed that slow reading might result in better comprehension.
Self-correction is crucial in reading process because it helps students read more
effectively. Prompts were also beneficial, and by pausing they enabled students to self-
correct. This self-correction helps students read more effectively. Elicitation, a meta-
linguistic cue, and a clarification request are all prompts that invite self-correction
(Stahl, 2011). Self-correction and repetition are other essential factors in determining
which students can read a more challenging text. Learners who invest time and effort
to review, reread (repeat), and self-correct have a personal interest in their reading
(Stahl, 2011). Therefore, it can be concluded that participants understood the
paragraph well.
 R. Gopal, M. Maniam & K. Nallaluthan, Measuring Malaysian lower secondary learners’
reading ability on a CEFR-aligned text | 625

5.2 The Students’ Comprehension Levels Based on a CEFR-Aligned Reading

Passage

The second research question, “What are students’ comprehension levels based
on a CEFR-aligned reading passage?” is discussed in this section. Based on the
retellings of the passage “The Story of the Mobile Phone Novel”, the findings revealed
that all 20 participants had good scores. The scores range from 80 to 95. For question
3 ‘Are Akiko’s phone novels different from paperback books? If yes/no, how?’, none
of the participants scored 5 for this question because they could not accurately compare
paperback books and phone novels. However, students obtained a score of 4 to 5 for
the rest of the questions.
According to Bloom's Taxonomy, all four questions provided to the participants
were at the knowledge and understanding level. Despite participants having a grade of
‘C’, they could generate responses at levels 4 and 5. Participants at level 4 could
produce a summing remark, and at level 5, they could generalise beyond the text by
relating the story’s substance to their daily lives. The results revealed that participants’
retelling is comprehensive beyond their language proficiency level. It can be
concluded that the CEFR-aligned text intended to the lower secondary learners
corresponds to their reading ability. Regarding text difficulty, the reading passage does
not contain syntactic complexity and lexical items which hinders participants’
comprehension of the text in the CEFR-aligned textbook. As in this study, the text
consisted of words which students were unfamiliar with. For example, the word
‘abbreviations’ were beyond learners’ ability to pronounce and comprehend. However,
unfamiliar vocabulary can be inferred if students know an adequate number of other
words in the text (Webb et al., 2023). Previous studies have shown that the success
rate of guessing vocabulary from the context is promising under this circumstance
(Hamada, 2009; Nassaji, 2003).
To develop and expand learners’ word lists, teachers must expose them to
various words in the classroom. They will require various materials and instructional
techniques to address students’ comprehension of words and retelling demands in the
classrooms. The teachers must provide a model of reading the passage aloud to the
students so they can read it independently. Therefore, learners’ fluency and phonetics
skills can be improved instead of just word drills. On the learners’ part, they must put
in more effort to read widely to improve their reading comprehension level. They must
discover ways to read regularly to upgrade their proficiency from where they currently
are to a higher level. It takes dedication to get them through, and assigning texts
appropriate for their reading level and interests can be profitable because they will
enjoy reading them and gain more linguistic knowledge (Gopal & Mahmud, 2019).

6. CONCLUSION

The culmination of reading is comprehension, and to achieve this, the texts

provided to the students must be within their readability level (Gopal et al., 2021). In
assessing the reading ability of Malaysian lower secondary learners based on the
CEFR-aligned textbook, the reading passages catered for the learners are within the
reading proficiency of the learners. This is demonstrated by the type of errors made
and the retelling evaluation, which revealed an independent level of comprehension.
626 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 614-627, 2023

Nonetheless, in ESL reading circumstances, fluency issues are evident. Therefore,

fluency practice should be enhanced in ESL reading lessons, with a focus on phonics
and phonemic awareness. This will help students improve their pronunciation and
articulation, thereby minimising reading hurdles.
One limitation of this study is that the findings may not be applicable to the entire
nation, as it only covers a few districts in Malaysia. Additionally, time constraints were
also a limiting factor. The reading and retelling sessions were conducted within a forty-
minute time limit of forty minutes during participants’ rest intervals. For future
research, follow-up studies could involve more research techniques, such as
observations or observational notes in miscue analysis and retellings. Including
different research techniques will help determine whether students can read and
comprehend printed texts, thereby revealing their levels of text comprehension.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The researcher would take this opportunity to thank Sultan Idris Education
University for its financial support during this research. The research code is 2019-
0215-106-01

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628 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 628-648, 2023

A Comparative Study of Lexical Bundles

in Accepted and Rejected Applied
Linguistic Research Article Introductions
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Eri Kurniawan*1
Zahra Fadillah Haerunisa

Program of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Language and Literature,

Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung 40154, INDONESIA

Abstract
Multi-word expressions known as ‘lexical bundles’ are vital components
of effective writing, particularly in producing high-quality research
articles that meet the standards of reputable journals. Numerous studies
have highlighted the use of lexical bundles in various sections of research
articles, including introductions, which serve as the foundation for the
research rationale. However, little attention has been paid to the
comparison between accepted and rejected manuscripts. Therefore, this
study aims to investigate whether the use of lexical bundles differs between
the introduction sections of accepted and rejected research articles in
applied linguistics. A total of 15 introductions for each data group were
analyzed under the frameworks of lexical bundle structures and functions.
A descriptive quantitative analysis was employed to assess the statistical
differences and to explore the structural and functional patterns of the
bundles. The results of the study reveal that while both accepted and
rejected introductions in applied linguistics tend to rely on noun phrase-
based and research-oriented lexical bundles, there are significant
differences in the frequency and variety of these bundles. Specifically, the
introductions that were accepted for publication had a higher number and
a wider variety of lexical bundles than the rejected counterparts.
Additionally, the two data sets exhibited different subcategories of lexical
bundles in many cases. These findings have important implications for
future research on the use of lexical bundles in academic writing and may
help writers improve their chances of acceptance by journal reviewers.

*
Corresponding author, email: eri_kurniawan@upi.edu

Citation in APA style: Kurniawan, E., & Haerunisa, Z. F. (2023). A comparative study of lexical
bundles in accepted and rejected applied linguistic research article introductions. Studies in English
Language and Education, 10(2), 628-648.

Received September 14, 2022; Revised January 14, 2023; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online
May 31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.28119
 E. Kurniawan & Z. F. Haerunisa, A comparative study of lexical bundles in accepted and
rejected applied linguistic research article introductions | 629

Keywords: Accepted articles, Indonesian writers, introductions, lexical

bundles, research articles, rejected articles.

1. INTRODUCTION

Research publication has been integral to the academic realm; therefore, writing
a research article (RA) and having it published are indispensable skills that academics
seek to possess. RA itself is known as a key genre to facilitate knowledge claim
dissemination (Herrando-Rodrigo, 2014). Therefore, the ability to produce and publish
high-quality RAs is highly valued and continually generates immense interest. This is
because a strong publication record is crucial for increasing individual recognition and
for validating institutions as prestigious (Flowerdew & Habibie, 2021; Goldman et al.,
2004; Suherdi et al., 2020, 2021). It is, therefore, common to have reputable journals
as the target of RA submissions. Scholars tend to publish their RAs in reputable
journals indexed by major bibliographic databases (Suiter & Sarli, 2019) due to their
higher accessibility, readership, and citation rates. This can indicate the credibility and
impact of the researchers’ work (Kurniawan, Dallyono, et al., 2019). In order to
achieve the benefits of publishing RAs, it is essential to consider the conventions for
presenting knowledge that is both understandable and acceptable to the intended
audience (Metoyer-Duran, 1993; Nagano, 2015).
Structure-wise, RA is typically constructed by an abstract, followed by the
introduction, method, results, and discussion (IMRD) sections (Swales & Feak, 1994).
Each section has been regarded as an independent genre because it is considered to
have its own norms (Kurniawan, Lubis, et al., 2019) and to constitute a set of
communicative events with distinct communicative purposes (Kanafani et al., 2022;
Swales, 1990). Among sections in RA, the introduction section is perceived as the
most challenging and time-consuming section to write, even for experienced authors
(Bajwa et al., 2020). This challenging nuance is related to the central role of an
introduction in conveying research novelty and significance (Setiawati et al., 2021;
Swales, 1990). In addition, the communicative purpose that the introduction section
has to comply with is to attract the readers’ interest to the topic under investigation
through the presentation of the research rationale, starting from the general research
background to the specific research questions or hypotheses (Swales & Feak, 1994).
The authors are thus left with “an unnerving wealth of options” in deciding the amount
of information to include and how to present it most directly and appealingly (Swales,
1990, p. 137). In the context of publishing research articles, a well-crafted introduction
is essential in convincing reviewers of the article’s worthiness for publication (Lim,
2012; Luthfianda et al., 2021).
The construction of an introduction is closely tied to the choice of expressions,
as it is essential to fulfill its communicative purpose and meet the expectations of
journal reviewers. This is consistent with the nature of the genre, which requires
specific expressions to effectively communicate (Ellis et al., 2008; Hyland, 2012). The
use of formulaic expressions is also necessary for fluent writing, as it demonstrates the
author’s ability to produce a discourse that is familiar to their community (Coxhead &
Byrd, 2007; Wray, 2002). In the case of writing an RA introduction, the appropriate
use of expressions signals the author’s competence in understanding the generic
practice of RA writing. One such expression commonly used to construct a well-
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crafted introduction is a lexical bundle (LB). LBs are defined as extended collocations,
consisting of a sequence of three or more words that tend to co-occur in discourse
(Biber et al., 1999). They are viewed as building blocks that aid the construction of
cohesive discourse (Biber et al., 1999; Cortes, 2013) and serve as signaling units that
guide the audience to anticipate the upcoming information in the discourse (Nesi &
Basturkmen, 2006).
The characteristics of LBs that set them apart from other expressions are defined
by their frequency, fixedness, idiomaticity, and structural status (Biber et al., 1999;
Cortes, 2004). LB occurrences in a set of discourse are much more frequent compared
to pure idioms that have rare or no occurrences. Their fixedness is also frequency-
oriented, in which only word combinations that fit the determined frequency criteria
will be qualified as LBs, regardless of their alternate forms. LBs exhibit a certain
degree of flexibility that distinguishes them across different discourses. While some
LBs tend to occur in fixed sequences, such as ‘there’s a lot of’, which is more common
in spoken discourse, others are typically found in written discourse and take the form
of fixed frame patterns composed of function words and intervening variable slots that
are filled by content words. (e.g., ‘in the (case/context/field) of’) (Biber, 2009). Most
LBs are, nevertheless, non-idiomatic and structurally incomplete. Instead of having a
complete structure, most of them bridge two structural units: they start at a phrase or
clause boundary and end as the first elements of the second unit. Hereby, appraised as
the leading work on LBs studies, Biber’s (2009) frameworks are oftentimes employed
as the guide in which many ensuing studies were grounded. One of the most notable
frameworks is retrieved from Biber et al. (2004), who classified LBs in university
teaching and textbooks based on their structures and functions. The structural
classification is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Structural classification of LBs (Biber et al., 2004).

Structures (LBs Substructures Example
incorporating ...)
Verb phrase (VP) (connector +) 1st/2nd person pronoun + VP fragment ‘well I don’t know’
fragments (connector +) 3rd person pronoun + VP fragment ‘it’s going to be’
Discourse marker + VP fragment ‘I mean I don’t’
Verb phrase (with non-passive verb) ‘take a look at’
Verb phrase with passive verb ‘can be used to’
yes-no question fragment ‘do you want to’
WH-question fragment ‘what do you think’
Dependent clause 1st/2nd person pronoun + dependent clause fragment ‘you might want to’
(DC) fragments WH-clause fragment ‘what I want to’
If-clause fragment ‘if we look at’
(verb/adjective +) to-clause fragment ‘to be able to’
That-clause fragment ‘that there is a’
Noun phrase (NP) (connector +) Noun phrase with of-phrase fragment ‘the end of the’
and prepositional Noun phrase with other post-modifier fragments ‘the way in which’
phrase (PP) Other noun phrase expressions ‘a little bit more’
fragments Prepositional phrase expressions ‘of the things that’
Comparative expressions ‘as well as the’

Regarding the functions, Biber et al. (2004) proposed three major categories,
namely stance expressions, discourse organizers, and referential expressions. Derived
from this framework, Hyland (2008a) modified the functional categorization since his
study centered on the academic proses (e.g., research articles, doctoral dissertations,
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and master’s theses). This newly modified categorization has since been viewed as
another prominent framework and has been widely adopted in similar studies. The
frameworks are shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Functional classification of LBs (Biber et al., 2004; Hyland, 2008b).

Functions (Biber et al., 2004) (Hyland, 2008b)
Concerning the Referential expressions Research-oriented
research topic Identification/focus Location
‘one of the most’ ‘at the beginning of’
Imprecision Procedure
‘or something like that’ ‘the use of the’
Specification of attributes Quantification
‘a lot of the’, ‘the size of the’ ‘one of the most’
Time/place/text reference Description
‘in the United States’, ‘at the same time’, ‘as ‘the structure of the’
shown in figure’ Topic
‘the currency board system’
Concerning the Discourse organizers Text-oriented
text Topic introduction/focus Transition signal
organization ‘in this chapter we’ ‘on the other hand’
Topic elaboration/clarification Resultative signal
‘on the other hand’ ‘as a result of’
Structuring signal
‘in the next section’
Framing signal
‘in the case of’
Concerning the Stance expressions Participant-oriented
author/audience Epistemic stance Stance features
‘I don’t know if’ ‘may be due to’
Attitudinal/modality stance Engagement features
‘can be used to’ ‘it should be noted that’

Utilizing the above framework, numerous studies have examined the use of LBs
across different sections of RAs, such as abstracts (Shahriari et al., 2013), introductions
(Jalali & Moini, 2014), discussions (Jalali & Moini, 2018), introductions-methods-
results comparison (Shahriari, 2017), abstracts-conclusions comparison (Shahmoradi
et al., 2021), and the entire sections (Budiwiyanto & Suhardijanto, 2020). As can be
seen, studies specifying the exploration of LBs in the introduction section remained
inadequate. This contradicts the assumption mentioned earlier that the introduction
section is a challenging part of the RA because it plays a crucial role in conveying the
significance of the research and in increasing the chances of publication. The most
closely related study, conducted by Jalali and Moini (2014), examined introduction
sections in medical research and found that LBs were predominantly constructed using
phrasal (noun phrases). The related study that was mentioned earlier investigated the
structures of LBs in introductions of published hard science research articles. It is
interesting to consider the possibility that there might be differences in the
manifestation of LBs (both structurally and functionally) between the introduction
sections of accepted and rejected RAs. However, this issue has not been explored in
previous research.
Hence, this study sought to analyze and compare LBs in the introduction section
of accepted and rejected soft science RAs, specifically in applied linguistics. To
achieve this, this study aimed to answer two research questions: (1) How do LBs’
632 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 628-648, 2023

manifestations structurally differ between accepted and rejected applied linguistics

research article introductions?; and (2) How do LBs’ manifestations functionally differ
between accepted and rejected applied linguistics research article introductions? By
addressing these two guiding questions, this study aims to better understand the use of
LBs in the introduction sections and how they can increase the likelihood of RA
publication in the targeted journals.

2. METHOD

2.1 Research Design

This study employed a descriptive quantitative design to arrive at its intended

purpose, that is to analyze and compare the manifestation of LBs between accepted
research article introductions (ARAIs) and rejected research article introductions
(RRAIs). This quantitative design was employed to address both RQs, namely (1) How
does LBs manifestation structurally differ between accepted and rejected applied
linguistic research article introductions? and (2) How does LBs manifestation
functionally differ between accepted and rejected applied linguistics research article
introductions? As part of a quantitative design, a Z-test analysis was employed to
calculate LBs’ proportion differences between the two groups to address the following
hypotheses:
• H0 = There is no significant difference in the proportion of LBs occurrences in
the two corpora.
• H1 = There is a significant difference in the proportion of LBs occurrences in the
two corpora.
Furthermore, the alpha for the Z-test was set at 0.05 (p-value > 0.05 = H0 is
accepted). The results of the analyses in this study are presented in the form of figures,
tables, explanations, and excerpts to facilitate a better understanding of the findings.

2.2 Corpora

The data used in this study comprised 30 research articles published between
2018 and 2021, selected for their recent publication dates. All articles were sourced
from the Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics (IJAL), a Scopus-indexed journal
in Indonesia, and were obtained with the permission of the journal administrator and
consent from the authors. The reason for selecting RAs from IJAL was based on the
fact that it is a reputable international Scopus-indexed journal on applied linguistics in
Indonesia, as reflected in its SJR score of 0.297 in 2021. The 30 RAs were divided into
two corpora consisting of 15 introduction sections each, as shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Description of the corpora.

Corpus Number of RAIs Word counts
Accepted 15 23,211
Rejected 15 21,141
Total 30 44.352

The number of RAs used in this current study was deemed sufficient because the
resulting words amounted to 44,352. This number falls in the middle of the corpus size
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rejected applied linguistic research article introductions | 633

that Chen and Baker (2016) examined, which was from 26,000 words to 88,000 words.
Furthermore, a much greater corpus size was improbable because obtaining consent
from the authors of rejected articles was challenging.

2.3 Instrument and Data Analysis

The LBs in this study were identified using a computer software program,
AntConc 3.5.9 (Anthony, 2020), following Hyland and Jiang (2018). AntCont, in our
view, is one of the best-designed and easiest-to-use corpus tools available.
Nevertheless, the same set of chunks often recurs numerous times, making manual
filtering a necessity.
Due to the program’s requirement, each RAI was separated from the selected
RAs to be then saved in a plain text format. The ARAIs files were coded A1–A15,
while the RRAIs were coded R1–R15. Each corpus was then imported into the
software for further analysis using the ‘N-grams’ feature. As the corpora used in this
study were considered small, the cut-off criteria were set by following the criteria
proposed by Biber and Barbieri (2007), i.e., the word combinations should have a
minimum frequency of three and must be distributed across a minimum of three
different texts to avoid the authors’ idiosyncrasies. Furthermore, this study focused on
the combinations of three- and four-word bundles as they had been tested as
manageable and able to display relevant expressions (Lee, 2020). After the lists of LBs
were generated, they were classified structurally according to Biber et al.’s (2004)
framework (See Table 1) and functionally according to Hyland’s (2008b) framework
(See Table 2) to guide the comparison.

2.4 Data Trustworthiness

In order to reduce subjectivity, this study adopted the inter-coder reliability

assessment in analyzing the data. After having the list of corpora used in RAI, we
looked for three- and four-word clusters. Each selected corpus was coded according to
its function and grammatical structure after the findings were imported into a
spreadsheet. We and a trained student coder worked independently to check and code
the LBs in the two corpora. The assessment resulted in 95.48% agreement. The
disagreements were then discussed through successive passes and aligned to refine the
coding results.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This section presents the results of LB identification from each of the 15 selected
RAIs in both accepted and rejected RAs, followed by discussions of the results of their
structural and functional analyses to answer the formulated research questions. The
discussion follows as an attempt to unravel the implications of LB’s manifestation in
both groups.
Identifying LBs using AntConc’s N-grams feature resulted in different numbers
of LBs identified in each corpus. In the ARAIs corpus, the program generated lists of
136 three-word and 19 four-word bundles. In contrast, the RRAIs corpus was found to
have fewer LBs, with only 89 three-word and 12 four-word bundles identified.
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However, many of the initial bundles in both corpora were found to be repetitive, and
thus some of the bundles were manually eliminated using exclusion criteria proposed
by Salazar (2014). The criteria adopted for exclusion included:
a. Fragments of other bundles. This criterion eliminates short bundles that are
incorporated into longer bundles with the same or similar frequency. For example,
a three-word bundle ‘on the other’ and a four-word bundle ‘on the other hand’
occurred eight times in the corpus. The concordance lines showed that in all
instances, ‘on the other’ occurred as a fragment of ‘on the other hand.’ Therefore,
‘on the other’ was excluded.
b. Bundles ending in articles. This criterion excludes longer bundles ending in articles
if they are already part of shorter bundles. For instance, four-word bundles ‘in
accordance with the’ was an extended bundle of ‘in accordance with’, and both had
the same frequency of occurrence. Since the article ‘the’ did not provide additional
information to the bundle, ‘in accordance with the’ was disregarded.
c. Bundles composed exclusively of function words that have no textual evidence or
semantic function, such as ‘has not been.’
d. Bundles with random numbers, such as ‘two or more.’
e. Meaningless bundles, such as ‘et al in.’
As a result of the aforementioned exclusion step, the final lists comprising 121
bundles in ARAIs and 78 bundles in RRAIs are provided in detail in Table 4.

Table 4. LBs occurrences information.

Lexical bundles ARAIs RRAIs
No. of bundles Overall freq. No. of bundles Overall freq.
Three-word 110 552 69 422
Four-word 11 61 9 39
Total 121 613 78 461

Table 4 reveals an apparent disparity in LB occurrences, with ARAIs showing a

significantly higher number of bundles compared to RRAIs, particularly in three-word
bundles. This result suggests that there is a discernible difference between ARAIs and
RRAIs, at least in terms of the number of LB occurrences. Additionally, Table 5 lists
the three most frequent three- and four-word bundles in this study to provide a quick
overview of LBs in each corpus.

Table 5. Most frequent three- and four-word LBs (top 3).

ARAIs RRAIs
3-word Freq. 4-word Freq. 3-word Freq. 4-word Freq.
the use of 32 as a foreign 9 the use of 34 in the process 8
language of
as well as 12 the use of 9 the process 22 in the form of 7
English of
a foreign 11 in the context 8 the quality 17 teaching and 5
language of of learning
process

Although Table 5 shows that the bundles extracted from the ARAI and RRAI
data sets are relatively distinct, both data sets yielded the same finding in the most
frequently occurring three-word bundles, namely, ‘the use of’, with a similar
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frequency. This result indicates that there is some similarity in the patterning of both
ARAIs and RRAIs.

3.1 LBs Structures in Accepted and Rejected RAIs

This subsection unveils the comparison of LBs structures in both data groups,
aiming to answer the first research question. It was found that LBs in this study broadly
fit the structural taxonomy in Biber et al. (2004). However, some of the bundles need
more specific categories to fall under. Hence, additional structural categories were
included, i.e., bundles incorporating adjectival phrases, adverbials,
be+adjective/adverb+to structures, and bundles beginning with conjunctions, taken
from Nasrabady et al. (2020). Figure 1 represents the structural category distribution
of LBs in this study.

Figure 1. Distribution of LBs structures in accepted and rejected RAIs.

Most LBs in the two corpora were of the phrasal types rather than the clausal
types, which was in line with Jalali and Moini’s (2014) findings. As Figure 1
demonstrates, bundles containing NP fragments accounted for 43.23% of the total
frequency in ARAIs and 37.96% in RRAIs. PP fragments came in second, with more
than 20% frequencies in both groups. Moreover, these findings were unsurprising
considering that, as shown in Table 5, the three most frequent bundles in both corpora
were structurally built by NP and PP fragments, confirming Jalali and Moini’s (2014)
findings.
On the other hand, structural categories from Nasrabady et al. (2020), i.e.,
adjectival phrases, adverbials, be+adj/adv+to structures, and bundles beginning with
conjunctions, appeared low in percentages. These bundle forms functioned alike in the
two corpora. Adjectival phrases (e.g., ‘related to the’) served to modify the preceding
noun. Bundles began with conjunctions (e.g., ‘and so on’, ‘and the students’)
indicating additional information. The least frequent type, be+adj/adv+to structure
(e.g., ‘be able to’), denoted ability. Lastly, adverbials that had the highest percentage
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among these remaining substructures served as a verb modifier (1) or as a conjunctive

adverb (2).

(1) In Japanese learning in Indonesia, especially in grammar teaching, the instructor generally only
explains the kaku-joshi based on the external structure (shinsou-kouzou) by solely underlining its
parallel in Indonesian. [A12]

(2) …On the other hand, as a relation of power, the explanation stage tends to portray the outcomes
of the social struggle in determining the power within a certain society. [R12]

Table 6 illustrates that bundles with NP fragments were the most frequent
structure, and there was a significant difference in frequency proportion between the
two corpora, with a gap of 5.27%. However, the Z-test revealed that the proportion
difference was not significant, as indicated by the p-value of > 0.05. It indicated that,
in general, the authors of all RAIs in this study similarly used many noun phrases in
their manuscripts. However, the Z-test calculation revealed that a significant
proportion of differences existed in the bundles with VP fragments and be+adj/adv+to
structure (see Table 6, in bold). Thus, these two structures rejected the H0, while the
rest accepted it. The significant difference in be+adj/adv+to structure most likely
happened due to its complete absence in RRAIs.

Table 6. Z-test calculation of LBs main structures.

Structures ARAIs RRAIs z score p value
VP fragments 15.66% 20.39% -2.011 0.044
DC fragments 6.53% 8.89% -1.455 0.147
NP fragments 43.23% 37.96% 1.738 0.082
PP fragments 21.86% 24.08% -0.858 0.390
Adjectival phrases 1.79% 1.52% 0.349 0.726
Adverbials 7.01% 4.56% 1.685 0.091
Be+adj/adv+to structures 1.63% - 2.755 0.006
Bundles begin with conjunctions 2.28% 2.60% -0.337 0.728

To provide a more detailed comparison, we further examined the substructures

of LBs, as shown in Table 7. We also made several adjustments to the classification to
ensure greater clarity and organization. The first adjustment followed Berūkštienė’s
(2018) and Pearson’s (2021) studies, i.e., the renaming of subcategory (connector +
3rd person pronoun + VP fragments into pronoun/noun + VP fragments. Another
adjustment followed Nasrabady et al. (2020), who found adverb clauses and adjective
clauses as the new substructures of bundles incorporating DC fragments. However,
bundles incorporating adjectival phrases, adverbials, be+adjective/adverb+to
structures, and beginning with conjunctions were excluded from the following analysis
since they had no substructures.

Table 7. LBs substructures distribution.

Structures Substructures ARAIs RRAIs z score p value
VP Pronoun/noun + VP fragments 26.04% 20.21% 0.952 0.342
fragments
VP with non-passive verb 28.13% 39.36% -1.639 0.101
VP with passive verb 45.83% 36.17% 1.354 0.177
WH-question - 4.26% -2.043 0.041
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Table 7 continued…
DC To-clause 47.50 % 60.98% -1.217 0.222
fragments
That-clause 22.50% 21.95% 0.059 0.952
Adverbial clause 15.00% - 2.577 0.010
Adjective clause 15.00% 17.07% -0.254 0.803
NP NP + of-phrase fragments 72.08% 80.57% -2.027 0.042
fragments
NP + other post modifier 8.30% 2.86% 2.329 0.020
fragments
Other NP expressions 19.62% 16.57% 0.808 0.418
PP PP expressions 91.04% 93.69% -0.772 0.441
fragments
Comparative 8.96% 6.31% 0.772 0.441

The Z-test, as seen in Table 7, showed that significant differences emerged in

the bundles of VP fragments with WH-question substructure, DC fragments with
adverbial clause, NP fragments with NP+of-phrase fragments, and NP fragments with
NP+other post modifier fragments, indicated by the p-values of all the mentioned
substructures that were below 0.05. Thus, the H0 was rejected for these two structures.

3.1.1 VP-based bundles

Table 6 highlights an interesting aspect of VP fragments, wherein the WH-

question substructure emerged as the rarest, with the smallest gap in the percentage of
occurrence (4.26% gap). This substructure only appeared in RRAIs and was used by
the authors to structure the research questions. This type was absent in ARAIs as the
authors stated their questions more variously, such as using how or why questions
whose frequencies did not meet the cut-off criteria in this study. In contrast, RRAIs
showed a relatively uniform type of question (i.e., ‘what is the’); and thus, it was
detected as a bundle. Furthermore, the remaining three substructures showed a much
higher percentage of occurrences albeit insignificant proportion difference. The first
subcategory, pronoun/noun + VP fragments, mainly indicated (non) existence (3) or
research objectives (4).

(3) ... they decided to give up the course because there is no interesting material for them. [R14]

(4) This study aims to reveal the clarity of the translations of the Qur’anic imperative verses that have
certain pragmatic meanings. [A2]

An interesting discrepancy lay in the last two substructures, i.e., bundles with
passive and non-passive verbs. Previously, it was discovered that VP-based bundles in
academic discourse tended to be in passive verb structures to highlight the result of an
action rather than the doer (Biber et al., 1999; Jalali & Moini, 2014; Kwary et al.,
2017). Consistent with this, the ARAIs in this study exhibited more bundles with
passive verbs.

(5) Hence, analogical reasoning is considered to be a learning strategy that incorporates daily life
context into narrative texts to promote students’ critical thinking skills. [A10]
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(6) In this respect, language is defined as a resource for making meaning that evolves to serve certain
human needs depending on the context it is used. [A3]

(7) A specific meaning of repetition usually refers to the act of reproducing the linguistic elements
of the previous phrase (words and grammar) in precisely the same manner. [R4]

(8) Kong, Law, Kwan, Lai and Lam (2015) pointed out that ... [R11]

Bundles with passive verbs in RRAIs mainly consisted of ‘be + used’ (e.g., ‘is
used to’), while in ARAIs, they varied (5,6). Additionally, in RRAIs, non-passive
verbs were more frequent and were often employed to define (7) or cite relevant studies
(8)

3.1.2 DC-based bundles

The adverbial clause fragments were the only DC-based substructure with a
significant proportion difference. This difference may have arisen due to the fact that
this substructure was detected in only one corpus, namely ARAIs. The use of adverbial
clauses can create the complexity of texts which in some way belongs to one of the
standard features of scientific writing (Schleppegrell, 2004). Adverbial clauses, in
particular the ones using connectives as shown in (9), helped facilitate the linkages
among ideas for the establishment of coherent texts (Fang, 2006).

(9) The domain of denotative meaning becomes language order because it is direct, objective and
literal. [A5]

The following substructure, adjective clause fragments, accounted for an equal

percentage as adverbial clauses in ARAIs, but were slightly more prevalent in RRAIs.
This type was marked by the use of relative pronouns (e.g., ‘that can be’, ‘which in
turn’). On one side, to-clause was the most used DC substructure in both corpora and
showed up as a subordinate clause in the form of an infinitive clause to explain an
action (e.g., ‘to analyze the’, ‘to refer to’). Lastly, that-clause was a subordinate clause
beginning with the word ‘that’ to declare a proposition (e.g., ‘that there are’, ‘that it
is’).

3.1.3 NP-based bundles

According to the NP-based bundle substructure analysis, the NP + of-fragments

bundle was the most prevalent substructure, with over 70% of occurrences in both
datasets. Table 5 also revealed that this type of bundle dominated the top three most
frequent bundles, with ‘the use of’ being the most prevalent bundle in both groups.
This was consistent with the findings of Gil and Caro’s (2019) study that ‘the use of’
became the most commonly used bundle in linguistic RAIs. Overall, NP + of-
fragments were used to identify attributes, events, quantities, or specific entities, which
will be elaborated further in the subsection of LB’s functional analysis.
The second most common NP-based bundle substructure was other NP
expressions that typically signified the research topic (e.g., ‘teaching and learning
process’, ‘a foreign language’). The least frequent type was NP + other post modifier
fragments that in ARAIs commonly contained a preposition (10). Meanwhile, in
RRAIs, the only recurring bundle of this type was ‘the fact that.’
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(10) The relationship between language and law does not only include the interpretation of legal
language but also the aspects related to the law in practice such as proof, prosecution, renunciation,
and final decision. [A15]

The prevalent use of NP-based bundles in RAIs indicates a strong tendency

toward nominalization. This outcome is not surprising, given that nominalization is a
distinct feature of academic writing (Biber & Gray, 2010) and can effectively
encapsulate dense knowledge in RAIs (Mehrabi et al., 2018). Moreover,
nominalization aids in presenting complex ideas concisely and coherently, which is
essential in academic writing.

3.1.4 PP-based bundles

PP expressions emerged as another common substructure in this study and were

frequently used to specify the context of the research topic (e.g., ‘in the classroom’,
‘of a text’), to connect authors’ argument (e.g., ‘in addition to’), or to show the role of
something through the use of ‘as’ (e.g., ‘as a way’). All these forms were relatively
similar between the two groups. Comparative expression substructure, on the other
hand, was only performed by ‘as well as’ in both corpora. However, the overall
frequency was higher in ARAIs, making it the second most commonly used three-
word bundle. ‘As well as’ was utilized to mark two elements as equally important.

3.2 LBs Functions in Accepted and Rejected RAIs

This subsection is aimed to answer the second research question by addressing

the comparison of LBs functions in the two groups of RAIs.

Figure 2. Distribution of LBs functions in accepted and rejected RAIs.

To begin with, the final lists of LBs were functionally classified following
Hyland’s (2008b) framework. The result, as presented in Figure 2, shows that more
than half of both corpora consisted of research-oriented bundles. This partly coincided
with several other studies (e.g., Khamkhien, 2021; Shirazizadeh & Amirfazlian, 2021;
Yuliawati et al., 2021), according to which research-oriented bundles constituted about
half of the bundles in the linguistic RAs. This result implied that the authors of the two
640 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 628-648, 2023

RAI groups in this study shared a parallel intuition to focus on presenting the
background knowledge and their research objectives in RAIs. That is to say, in their
introductions, the authors tended to minimize their presence to retain impersonality
and expose the readers to the knowledge construction instead (Candarli & Jones, 2019;
Charles, 2006; Hyland, 2008b).
Similar to the previous section, the subfunctions of LBs were analyzed to obtain
a clearer understanding of their occurrence in the two corpora, as presented in Table
8. Additional frameworks were also employed to analyze bundles that did not fit
Hyland’s (2008b) framework. The additional subfunctions included doubling,
exemplifier, and questioning from Nasrabady et al. (2020), along with grouping,
citation, generalization, and objective from Salazar (2014). Furthermore, Salazar’s
(2014) division of Hyland’s (2008b) transition and resultative signal subfunctions into
additive, comparative, inferential, and causative was also adopted.

Table 8. LBs subfunctions distribution.

Functions Subfunctions ARAIs RRAIs z score p value
Research-oriented Location 1.69% - 2.221 0.026
Procedure 32.68% 47.75% -3.893 0.0001
Quantification 5.63% 8.30% -1.336 0.180
Description 34.65% 25.26% 2.575 0.010
Topic 18.59% 10.03% 3.046 0.002
Grouping 2.82% 1.38% 1.240 0.215
Doubling 3.94% 7.27% -1.850 0.064
Text-oriented Additive 17.72% 21.13% -0.818 0.412
Comparative 1.27% - 1.346 0.177
Inferential - 2.11% -2.247 0.024
Causative 10.55% 8.45% 0.666 0.503
Structuring signals 11.39% 4.23% 2.395 0.016
Framing signals 31.65% 31.69% -0.009 0.992
Citation 14.77% 9.15% 1.590 0.112
Generalization 4.64% 6.34% -0.715 0.472
Objectives 5.06% 14.08% -3.058 0.002
Exemplifier 2.95% - 2.067 0.038
Questioning - 2.82% -2.598 0.009
Participant-oriented Stance features 76.19% 100% -2.814 0.005
Engagement features 23.81% - 2.814 0.005

Table 8 highlights apparent statistical differences between ARAIs and RRAIs in

the distribution of LB functions and subfunctions. Every subfunction had different
occurrences in both ARAIs and RRAIs. The following subsections delve into the
results in more detail.

3.2.1 Research-oriented bundles

To initiate the analysis, it is crucial to examine the two most frequent research-
oriented subfunctions, namely process and description, which showed significant
differences in proportion based on the Z-test. Upon examining the percentage of
occurrences, it was found that ARAIs exhibited a higher frequency of description
bundles (34.65%) compared to procedure bundles (32.68%). In contrast, RRAIs
displayed a higher frequency of procedure bundles (47.75%) compared to description
bundles (25.26%). This suggests that authors of rejected research articles tended to use
 E. Kurniawan & Z. F. Haerunisa, A comparative study of lexical bundles in accepted and
rejected applied linguistic research article introductions | 641

more expressions to indicate procedures as opposed to descriptions, in contrast to those

of accepted articles. Some prior studies analyzing published RAs reported that
procedure bundles were more prevalent than descriptions (e.g., Pourmusa, 2014;
Shirazizadeh & Amirfazlian, 2021). However, this contradiction may have arisen
because this study specifically focused on RAIs instead of the entire RA sections.
In this study, procedure bundles were more prominent in RRAIs to demonstrate
events (11) or actions (12). In contrast, the authors of ARAIs perceptibly preferred to
depict their topic using description bundles to indicate research content (13), attribute
(14), or existence (15). This approach was understandable, considering that the authors
had a chance to illuminate their research topic in RAI; and hence, they chose to
emphasize its salient description to make it stand out and appear as investigation
worthy.

(11) The process of translation is not only about transferring word from one language to another. [R7]

(12) Teachers have used easy access to technology to improve the quality of education. [R13]

(13) Nowadays, the issue of bilinguality or knowing another language is not the only prerequisite for
being a translator; in this fast-moving world, translators should be primarily cultural experts. [A9]

(14) Jacquest (1992) suggests that the benefits of studying in groups in general include ... [A4]

(15) This brings an important question of why there is a transformation of form from pantun oral
literary text to written form in the genre of wawacan. [A5]

The Z-test revealed that there were two additional subfunctions with significant
differences in proportion, namely location and topic bundles. Location bundles took
the least proportion in both corpora (only 1.69% in ARAIs, and none in RRAIs). They
signified the context in which the topic was placed (16). Meanwhile, topic bundles that
appeared about 8% more frequently in ARAIs indicated the authors’ intention to
highlight the main topic of their study using other NP expression structures, as
mentioned in the subsection 3.1.3.

(16) In other words, voice is co-constructed or inherently involves the role of others to produce it in a
text. [A6]

The last three subfunctions were relatively sparse in both corpora. To single out
one entity or denote clusters, the authors of RRAIs favored more quantification
bundles in which numerical expressions were more explicitly stated (e.g., ‘one of the’,
‘a number of’), while ARAIs authors possessed more grouping bundles (e.g., ‘a part
of’, ‘a set of’). Lastly, doubling was the bundles that referred to two things in the
research. The forms were identical in both corpora (e.g., ‘learning and teaching’,
‘teachers and students’).

3.2.2 Text-oriented bundles

According to the Z-test result, there were several text-oriented subfunctions with
significant proportion differences. The first subfunctions were inferential bundles,
which according to Salazar (2014), function to underscore the interpretations or
conclusions drawn from the information in the study. Inferential (17) accounted for
642 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 628-648, 2023

2.11% of the text-oriented bundles in RRAIs, but none was found in ARAIs. ARAIs
tended to adopt more causative bundles (18) to clarify cause-effect relations. To some
extent, causative bundles seemed compatible with the objective of RAIs as they were
helpful in unifying ideas (Budiwiyanto & Suhardijanto, 2020). On the contrary,
bundles functioning to infer ideas tended to be more ordinary in the result or
conclusion section (Gil & Caro, 2019).

(17) The use of the Sundanese language in Banten and West Java, for example, shows that the
speakers’ variations occur due to the differences in their geographical area. [R5]

(18) The dominance of English in virtual domains has led to the emergence of ‘English 2.0’, ... [A1]

The second subfunction, the structuring signal, was identified as 7.16% higher
in ARAIs. In this study, this type was used to structure the parts of the study. Some
examples of structuring signal bundles in ARAIs were ‘the main foundation in this
study’ and ‘the objectives/focuses/results of the study.’ On the other hand, the only
structuring bundle detected in RRAI’s corpus was ‘of this study.’
The next significant proportion difference was in objective bundles, whose
function was to introduce the authors’ or research’s aims. The forms in both corpora
were relatively the same (e.g., ‘to examine the’, ‘this study aims’). However, the raw
frequency was higher in RRAIs (20 occurrences) than in ARAIs (12 occurrences).
Questioning bundles that served to establish research questions were similarly more
evident in RRAIs since the question forms in ARAIs were dissimilar from one paper
to another, as mentioned in subsection 3.1.1. In spite of these, ARAIs displayed more
exemplifier bundles (e.g., ‘such as the’), while such a bundle could not be found in
RRAIs.
Despite several differences, there was a similar prevalence of framing signals as
the most common text-oriented subfunction, with a nearly identical percentage in both
corpora. The prevalence of framing bundles reinforces the results of previous studies
(e.g., Hyland, 2008a; Jalilifar & Ghoreishi, 2018; Savelyeva, 2021). Framing was
helpful in specifying a context (19) or a limitation (20) so that the readers knew the
conditions under which the information could be accepted. Hence, this type could
create a more effective and straightforward RAI.

(19) A recent meta-analytical review by Lie and Liu (2018) indicates that identity is one of the most
widely researched topics in the field of applied linguistics in the past decade. [A13]

(20) This study focuses on the phenomenon of grammatical code switching which occurs in bilingual
classroom. [R8]

Other text-oriented subfunctions, i.e., additive, comparative, citation, and

generalization bundles, were also similar in both groups. Additive and comparative
bundles as transitional markers were generally performed by conjunctive adverbs such
as ‘in addition to’ and ‘on the contrary.’ Meanwhile, citation bundles (e.g., ‘(is) in line
with’, ‘according to the’, or ‘stated that the’) whose function was to cite sources
emerged 35 times in ARAIs, but only 13 times in RRAIs. A citation itself was
considered essential to be included in RAIs since authors had to convey justification
of their study’s worthiness by providing supporting information. Additionally, to show
the research novelty, authors needed to review and cite relevant previous studies to
identify the gap that needed to be addressed (Belcher, 2019; Swales, 1986).
 E. Kurniawan & Z. F. Haerunisa, A comparative study of lexical bundles in accepted and
rejected applied linguistic research article introductions | 643

Generalization bundles, contrastingly, had a higher frequency in RRAIs. This

subfunction was employed to signal the agreed-upon information in the related
literature and was helpful in communicating abstract knowledge (Tessler & Goodman,
2019). In RRAIs, the bundle ‘refers to the’ carried this function. Interestingly, despite
having lower frequencies, generalization bundles in ARAIs showed more distinct
forms (e.g., ‘is defined as’, ‘is known as’).

3.2.3 Participant-oriented bundles

Both participant-oriented subfunctions were discovered to have significant

proportion differences. The first subfunction, the stance feature, was primarily used as
a hedging device to prevent authors from being fully responsible for their claims and
to soften assertions for the reader. In RRAIs, 100% of this type comprised modality
‘can’ to indicate ability (21) or possibility (22). ‘Can’ was also a popular modality for
the stance feature in ARAIs. However, one distinct bundle, ‘need to be’, was found in
ARAIs carrying more sense of necessity (23).

(21) Instagram can be used to help students learning foreign language and be the way for teachers to
boost up students’ language learning autonomy ... [R6]

(22) In addition, the contents of a suicide note can be a complaint or motive on why the victim
committed suicide. [R3]

(23) Seeing all the trends, the ways of doing teaching need to be suited to this changing nature of
learning. [A11]

The engagement feature, which is the least common participant-oriented

subfunction, was not present in the RRAIs corpus. In the ARAIs corpus, the only
engagement bundle identified was ‘can be seen’, which directed readers to refer to
other parts of the text to understand the context being discussed (24). This dearth of
engagement bundles may suggest a lack of interactivity and direct involvement with
the readers in rejected research articles. Meanwhile, the limited presence of such
bundles in accepted articles indicated that authors may have used them strategically to
guide the reader’s attention and understanding.

(24) At last, it can be seen that the highest number types of theme is topical theme. [A14]

Overall, the finding of limited use of participant-oriented bundles is consistent

with the results of previous research in this area (e.g., Bal-Gezegin, 2019; Hyland,
2008a; Jalali et al., 2015). This was partly due to the ‘weight’ of academic writing,
which often is impersonal (Mauranen & Bondi, 2003), particularly in the writing of
RAI, where the focus was supposed to be on the presentation of supporting background
to endorse the research value.

4. CONCLUSION

The study findings have revealed that LBs are manifested differently within the
introduction sections of applied linguistic RAs that were either accepted or rejected by
644 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 628-648, 2023

a Scopus-indexed journal. Analyzing the structure and function of LBs has revealed
significant similarities and differences in the two datasets utilized for this study.
Across almost all categories, the results suggest that the authors of ARAIs were
more familiar with the common expressions used in introduction sections, as
evidenced by the higher frequency and variation of LBs. Upon closer examination of
LBs structures, it was discovered that noun phrases-based bundles were commonly
utilized. This was due to the prevalence of nominalization, which allowed for the
incorporation of background knowledge into RAIs in a dense manner. However, a
notable difference was displayed in the ratio of bundles with passive and non-passive
verbs. ARAIs manifested more passive verbs to the presence of the doer and guided
the readers to focus on the result of a certain action. Meanwhile, bundles containing
non-passive verbs were more common in RRAIs, in which any entity was often put as
the subject of the mentioned propositions. Regarding the functions, research-oriented
bundles accounted for the most significant portion in both groups. This suggests that
the authors were aware of the need to provide a more detailed explanation of their
research context in RAIs. The most noticeable difference lay in the manifestation of
description and procedure subfunctions. ARAIs employed more description bundles
to illuminate the attributes of the research topic, while RRAIs manifested more
procedure bundles to define related events or actions. On the other hand, framing
bundles and stance features became the most prevalent text- and participant-oriented
subfunctions. Both data groups adopted framing bundles to specify the context and
stance features to hedge authors’ assertiveness in statements.
Despite using small corpora, this study aims to raise awareness and provide
helpful guidance for the effective construction of RAI, particularly to increase the
chance of RA acceptance in the targeted journals by using most common LBs as
discourse building blocks. It is important to acknowledge that the forms, structures,
and functions of LBs are not universally standardized and may vary across different
discourse communities and conventions. As such, the patterns of LB use observed in
RRAIs in this study may not necessarily apply to other contexts or fields of study. To
gain a more comprehensive understanding of LB usage in RAIs, future studies could
expand their corpus data to include a wider range of reputable journal publishers and
across different disciplines. Moreover, employing more advanced analytical
procedures and tools can help improve the accuracy and reliability of the results
obtained.

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649 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 649-667, 2023

Effects of Formative Tests and

Communicative Grammar Instruction on
EFL Students’ Oral Response Ability
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Hadeli*1
Martin Kustati1
Teuku Zulfikar2
Hidayat Al Azmi1
Nalini Arumugam3
1
English Education Department, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education,
Universitas Islam Negeri Imam Bonjol, Padang 25153, INDONESIA
2
Department of Language Education, Faculty of Educational Science, Universitas
Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry, Banda Aceh 23111, INDONESIA
3
SEGi University Malaysia, 93100, MALAYSIA

Abstract
This study investigates the effect of formative exams and communicative
grammar teaching strategies on the students’ oral response-ability. This
research had a 2x2 factorial experimental design where 80 third-year
university students were assigned using multistage cluster probability
random sampling. The data were analyzed using a two-way covariance
analysis (ANCOVA) to test the research hypotheses. The study outcomes
demonstrated that students taught with constructive formative tests had
higher achievement than those receiving the selective formative
examination. The result indicated that deductive learning with concept
maps was more effective in improving students’ ability of communicative
competence compared to inductive learning. Additionally, this study found
that students taught with deductive grammar instructional strategy
accompanied by English concept maps demonstrated higher achievement
in communicative competence than those taught with inductive grammar
instructional strategy in the group of students treated with the selective
formative test. Deductive learning procedures with concept maps had
positive impacts from the inductive strategy to the student capacity to

*
Corresponding author, email: hadeli@uinib.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Hadeli, H., Kustati, M., Zulfikar, T., Al Azmi, H., & Arumugam, N. (2023).
Effects of formative tests and communicative grammar instruction on EFL students’ oral response
ability. Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 649-667.

Received December 11, 2022; Revised February 20, 2022; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online
May 31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.29544
 Hadeli, M. Kustati, T. Zulfikar, H. Al Azmi & N. Arumugam, Effects of formative tests and
communicative grammar instruction on EFL students’ oral response ability | 650

respond orally among students who were given constructive formative

examinations. Notably, the effectiveness of various sub-instructional
tactics and sub-formative test combinations on students’ verbal response
capacity varied. Thus, English teachers must create formative
examinations by considering constructive formative tests. Based on the
research findings, recommendations for how teachers can improve
students’ oral-response ability by adopting appropriate assessments using
more deductive learning are discussed.

Keywords: Communicative grammar instructional strategy, formative

tests, oral response ability, prior knowledge.

1. INTRODUCTION

Learning English in Indonesian schools and higher education institutions dates

back to the country’s early history before its independence. However, Indonesian
students have yet to develop adequate English proficiency. Numerous studies,
including those by Saukah (2003) and Lamb (2004, 2007), have shown that despite
being exposed to the language for a long time, Indonesian students lack proficiency in
English. Several studies and relevant literature suggest that several factors contributed
to the lack of English competence: first, the form of assessment used (objective/
selective test) does not motivate students to learn (Brown, 2005; Gardner, 2014; Harlen
& Crick, 2003), nor does it align with EFL learning objectives, i.e., communicative
competence (Abedi, 2010; Harlen & Crick, 2003). Second, communicative English
learning today ignores the learning of the grammatical structure of the language
(Ahmed, 2013; Cook, 2013; Leech & Svartvik, 2003; Li & Song, 2007). Third, the
limited time for English classes contributes to the lack of speaking competence
(Marcellino, 2015). Fourth, English in Indonesia is considered a foreign language
rather than a second language (Alrajafi, 2021). Fifth, some English lecturers and
teachers lack the necessary English competence to teach effectively.
Those factors are interesting to research, but due to the limited scope, this study
focuses primarily on learning assessment and strategy, two of the most significant
obstacles to students’ success in learning English. Assessment is critical because it
determines the learning trajectory and should be well-designed. Lecturers are
encouraged to consider both constructive and selective formats when constructing a
specific type of evaluation, such as a formative test for an EFL lesson. Various studies
have shown that formative assessment positively impacts learning, as evidenced by
Harlen’s (2005) and Yin’s et al. (2008) findings. Additionally, Chen et al. (2009)
discovered that constructive response tests had a greater influence on student learning
outcomes than multiple-choice examinations.
Regarding English learning techniques, Chang (2011) concluded that the
grammar-translation method is more effective in improving learners’ learning
confidence and motivation than the communicative approach, as also discovered by
Lin (2007) and Kaharuddin (2018). Aqel (2013) stated that the Grammar-Translation
method is an important teaching methodology that teachers should adapt to teach
English as a second language. The researchers highlighted its advantages. First, it is
an applicable method and easy to apply. Second, the first intellectual act the learners
651 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 649-667, 2023

can use when they feel unable to express themselves in the target language is
interpreting by native language, and that is precisely the core of this method.
The current study investigates the effect of formative tests and communicative
grammar learning strategies on students’ verbal response ability while controlling for
students' prior knowledge. To guide this research, several research questions that
helped us understand the effect of formative assessment and communicative grammar
teaching strategies on students’ oral response ability were formulated:
1. Was there any difference in verbal response abilities between students given a
constructive response formative test and those given a selective response formative
test?
2. Was there any difference in verbal response abilities between students receiving a
deductive communicative grammar learning strategy with concept maps and those
receiving an inductive communicative grammar learning strategy?
3. Was there any interaction effect between formative test types and communicative
grammar learning strategies on students’ ability to respond verbally?
4. In the group of students taught with a deductive communicative grammar learning
strategy with concept maps, was there any difference in the ability to respond orally
between the students given a constructive formative test and those given a selective
formative test?
5. In the group taught with an inductive communicative grammar learning strategy,
was there any difference in the ability to respond orally between the students given
a constructive formative test and those given a selective formative test?
6. In the group of students given a constructive formative test, was there any difference
in the ability to respond orally between the students taught with a deductive
communicative learning strategy with concept maps and those taught with an
inductive communicative grammar learning strategy?
7. In the group of students given a selective formative test, was there any difference
in the ability to respond orally between the students taught with a deductive
communicative learning strategy with concept maps and those taught with an
inductive communicative grammar learning strategy?

2. LITERATURE REVIEWS

2.1 Formative Test

Formative tests are assessment activities conducted during the course of a

teaching curriculum. Many experts believe these tests can improve the quality of
student learning process and outcomes (Chappuis & Stiggins, 2002; DuFour & Eaker,
2009; Gibbs, 2010; Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006; Rust, 2002). Formative
assessments, just like the summative test approach, can be categorized into two broad
groups, i.e. selected response items and constructed response items (Adams &
Wieman, 2011; Popham, 2003; Scheerens et al., 2003; Shuhidan et al., 2010). On the
one hand, selective tests may consist of multiple-choice, true-false, matching, binary
choice, structured observation, and survey questions. Multiple-choice exams are the
most common (Haladyna, 2012). The original multiple-choice exam is also frequently
used for evaluating English language proficiency. Since its inception in 1964, the
 Hadeli, M. Kustati, T. Zulfikar, H. Al Azmi & N. Arumugam, Effects of formative tests and
communicative grammar instruction on EFL students’ oral response ability | 652

paper-based TOEFL has been an example of a multiple-choice competency test

(Sulistyo, 2009; Kelly, 2021).
In contrast, constructive examinations may include sentence completion, short
response, essay, anecdotal observation, unstructured interviews, papers, and reports.
Among the most recent conceptions are authentic assessment, performance assessment
(display, presentation), portfolio assessment, and student self-assessment (Brindley,
2001; Falchikov, 2013; McMillan, 2007; Struyven et al., 2003). A performance
assessment is an evaluation method that requires students to demonstrate their
competence in the areas being assessed (Brown & Knight, 2012; Mislevy & Knowles,
2002; Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2006; Sadler, 2010).
According to Mislevy and Knowles (2002), Gibbs and Simpson (2005), Abedi
and Gándara (2006), Dunbar et al. (2006), and Gibbs (2010), when assessing English
learning outcomes, performance assessment is the most suitable method to use as it
enables the evaluation of student’s language performance and competencies. Lilien et
al. (2002) and Johnson et al. (2008) classify performance evaluations into two main
categories: product and performance.

2.2 Communicative Grammar Learning Strategy

Unlike at the beginning of the birth of the communicative language teaching

approach, the experts now recognize the importance of teaching grammar in foreign
language learning, as explained by Debata (2013) and Wang (2010). Boroujeni (2012)
concluded that L2 learners’ need to learn grammar is now a well-established fact. What
has remained controversial is how to teach grammar to help L2 learners acquire it. In
the communicative approach, grammar is taught to improve grammar knowledge and
enhance communication skills.

2.2.1 Inductive communicative grammar learning strategy

There are two main strategies (deductive and inductive) for teaching English
grammar structures (Ellis, 2006; Farrell & Lim, 2005). An inductive communicative
grammar learning strategy presents new grammatical structures to students in a real-
world context. Task-Based Learning (TBL) is a language learning technique that
employs an inductive strategy.

2.2.2 Deductive communicative grammar learning strategy with concept maps

Widodo (2006) says that the deductive method derives from the notion that
deductive reasoning is general to specific. The deductive method is a conventional way
of approaching the materials, in which information about the target language and its
rules is presented at the outset of class, followed by examples. Using the deductive
method to teach grammar, teachers explain the grammar rules clearly, and students can
easily understand the content of the rules (Huang, 2023). With a deductive
communicative grammar learning strategy, a grammatical structure is first introduced
to students, and then they apply it. The learning techniques that use this strategy
include the Presentation, Practice, and Production (PPP) technique (Criado, 2013).
Despite criticism from experts, the PPP technique remains a favorite and effective
technique for teaching English (Sha, 2009). In addition, SEE TEFL, an institution
653 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 649-667, 2023

engaged in training lecturers as English teachers in Thailand, claims their interest in

using PPP techniques (“PPP TEFL teaching methodology”, 2014). The steps in the
PPP technique include presentation, practice, and production. Research conducted by
Farwis et al. (2021) shows that learning grammar using a deductive approach is more
effective than an inductive counterpart. Huang (2023) also found that the traditional
deductive method is still the primary grammar teaching method for more complex
grammar.
Concept maps are highly effective in many lessons (Gopal, 2002; Novak &
Cañas, 2006) and can also be applied to grammar learning. As Novak and Cañas (2006)
described, concept maps are graphical tools that organize and present knowledge,
facilitating meaningful learning.

2.3 Communicative Competence

The introduction of the construct of communicative competence in discussions

of second or foreign language proficiency dates back to the early 1970s (Savignon,
2017). Canales and Swain (1980) have also provided insight into communicative
competence. According to them, the theory of ability or basic communication skills
that underpins the communicative language teaching approach emphasizes the
minimum level of communication skills needed to communicate in situations
involving the target language, including accuracy, discourse rules, and grammatical
precision. These abilities include several competencies. First, grammatical
competence encompasses vocabulary, word formation, sentence construction,
pronunciation, spelling, and semantics; reading comprehension; and writing
comprehension. Second, sociolinguistic competence pertains to the appropriateness of
utterances in the context of the language studied, encompassing knowledge of when
to express something in accordance with the social environment. For example, the two
statements below convey the same meaning, but one is more acceptable given the
context: “May I have some water?” compared to “Give me some water!”. Third,
discourse competence involves connecting grammatical forms and meanings to
construct language in various genres. Finally, strategic competence involves using
verbal and non-verbal communication techniques to overcome communication
barriers.
Shakhsi Dastgahian (2021) found that despite teachers’ practical attempts to
implement changes, their strong beliefs in the importance of accuracy, reinforced by
their students’ low English proficiency, continued to guide lessons with an initial focus
on explicit grammar teaching to develop oral communicative competence. In a recent
study, Munchar et al. (2021) investigated the effectiveness of the communicative
approach to language learning. The results indicated a statistically significant
improvement in students’ communicative ability. Moreover, the students preferred the
communicative approach in the ESL classroom as it promoted peer teaching and
learning and allowed for autonomous learning at a comfortable pace. These findings
suggest that the communicative approach should be extensively incorporated into
classrooms to enhance teaching and learning. However, teachers reported challenges
in implementing the approach due to time constraints.
Savignon (2008) shares a similar viewpoint and identifies four facets of
communication competencies. To foster communicative competence, communicative
language instruction includes the following characteristics: 1) emphasizing the
 Hadeli, M. Kustati, T. Zulfikar, H. Al Azmi & N. Arumugam, Effects of formative tests and
communicative grammar instruction on EFL students’ oral response ability | 654

importance of providing opportunities for students to use the language creatively and
authentically; 2) focusing more on meaning than form or structure; 3) ensuring that
learning is relevant to students’ needs; 4) incorporating tasks as a key part of the
learning process; and 5) adapting teaching to the language functions people typically
perform, such as inviting, apologizing, greeting, and interrupting. In addition to
linguistic competence, students must also understand the culture of the language
speakers to become proficient. Although there are varying conceptions of
communicative language instruction, Richards and Rodgers (2014) proposed three
generally accepted concepts: 1) learners acquire a language through conversation; 2)
authentic and meaningful communication is essential, and 3) the meaningfulness
principle states that language is best learned when it is meaningful to the learner.

3. METHOD

3.1 Research Design

This study utilized a 2x2 factorial quasi-experimental design conducted at the

Language Development Center of UIN Imam Bonjol Padang in West Sumatra,
Indonesia. Multiple independent variables were used in this study, including formative
test (A) - constructive (A1) and selective (A2), communicative grammar learning
strategies (B) - deductive with concept maps (B1), and inductive (B2). The dependent
variable was verbal response capacity (Y), and the covariate variable was the student’s
prior knowledge (X).

3.2 Participants

A total of 1813 Imam Bonjol State Islamic University sophomore students

participated in this study. They were divided into 52 study groups, consisting of 3
intermediate-level groups and 49 basic-level groups. The participants were recruited
using a multistage cluster random sampling technique (Balnaves & Caputi, 2001), in
a total of 80 students were divided into four groups, each consisting of 20 participants.
Group I (A1B1) received a formative constructive response test and a deductive
grammar-learning strategy using concept maps. Group II (A1B2) received a formative
constructive response test and an inductive communicative grammar learning strategy.
Group III (A2B1) received a formative selective response test and a deductive
communicative grammar learning strategy with concept maps. Finally, Group IV
(A2B2) received a formative selective response test and an inductive communicative
grammar learning strategy.

3.3 Instrument

Assessments based on the English course syllabus for the first semester were
administered to measure the students’ communicative proficiency. The first exam
assessed oral answers with 25 items and a multiple-choice test with 40 items. From
October to December, a study was conducted with students enrolled in the odd
semester, involving ten treatments lasting 100 minutes each (10 x 100 minutes). The
data was analyzed using a two-by-two factorial analytic approach, and preliminary
655 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 649-667, 2023

tests were conducted for normality, linearity, regression linearity, regression effect
significance, and line regression alignment.

3.4 Data Collection

This study involves the use of the following variables: independent variable (A),
moderator variable (B), dependent variable (Y), and control variables (X). The
independent variable (A), which is the formative test, is classified into two types:
constructive response formative test (A1) and selective response formative test (A2).
The moderator variable (B), which is the communicative grammar learning strategy,
is divided into two types: deductive using concept maps (B1) and inductive (B2).
This study collected the following data: 1) Students’ English learning outcomes
or, more particularly, data on students’ ability to respond orally to stimuli that are
graphically displayed on the LCD screen with the use of PowerPoint after they had
attended an English I course or received a research treatment (Y). 2) Students’ initial
English abilities or skills before enrolling in English Language I or receiving the
research intervention (X) were determined by administering a multiple-choice test with
a selective response instrument.
Students who served as research participants provided initial ability data
(variable X) and data on English learning outcomes in the form of students’ ability to
reply verbally to presented stimuli (variable Y).

3.5 Data Analysis

This study employs both descriptive and inferential statistics for data analysis.
The analysis is based on two types of data: 1) students’ initial ability in English and 2)
students’ verbal response ability after exposure to a formative test and a
communicative grammar learning technique.

3.5.1 Descriptive analysis approaches

The purpose of descriptive analysis is to provide a summary of statistical values

that reflect the ability to answer orally based on the form aspects of formative exams
and communicative grammar learning methodologies or in tabular form according to
treatment groups. The data are shown by: a) frequency distribution list, b) histogram,
c) mean, d) mode, e) median, f) standard deviation, and g) theoretical range in
descriptive analysis.

3.5.2 Prerequisite test for inferential analysis

Prior to further data analysis, a prerequisite analysis test was conducted, which
included: a) normality test, b) homogeneity test, c) covariate regression linearity test
of (X) on the dependent variable (Y), d) significance test of the regression effect, and
e) regression line alignment test.
 Hadeli, M. Kustati, T. Zulfikar, H. Al Azmi & N. Arumugam, Effects of formative tests and
communicative grammar instruction on EFL students’ oral response ability | 656

3.5.3 Methods of inferential analysis

The inferential analysis in this study utilized the two-way ANCOVA. Two-way
covariance analysis was employed to evaluate changes in the average verbal response
ability parameters of all groups of students, which were produced through formative
testing and communicative grammar learning methodologies while adjusting for
students’ baseline skills. Two-way covariance analysis was used to achieve the
following objectives: a) examine differences in verbal response abilities for all groups
of students based on the form factors of the formative test; b) examine differences in
the ability to respond verbally for all groups of students based on the form factors of
communicative grammar learning strategies; and c) examine the interaction effect of
form factors of formative tests and strategies of learning communicative grammar on
the ability to respond to spoken language. The four testing procedures were conducted
after controlling for initial abilities, which served as covariates whose effects were
statistically controlled. This ensured that the parameters tested in covariance analysis
(ANCOVA) were the difference in the adjusted means or the difference in the
homogeneous regression constants.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Before conducting a hypothesis test, a requirements analysis was performed. The

results indicate that the research findings fit the criteria for an inferential test.

4.1 Result

4.1.1 Testing the main effect hypothesis

The results are presented in the following table based on the ANCOVA
calculation.

Table 1. Results of tests of between-subjects effects.

Source Type III sum df Mean square F Sig. Partial eta
of squares squared
Corrected Model 2451.250a 4 612.812 47.955 0.000 .719
Intercept 1808.646 1 1808.646 141.533 0.000 0.654
A 58.229 1 58.229 4.557 0.036 0.057
B 452.397 1 452.397 35.402 0.000 0.321
X 1394.361 1 1394.361 109.114 0.000 0.593
A*B 536.003 1 536.003 41.944 0.000 0.359
Error 958.420 75 12.779
Total 386224.120 80
Corrected Total 3409.670 79
a. R Squared = 0.719 (Adjusted R Squared = 0.704)

a. Hypothesis 1

The first objective of this research was to find out the difference in verbal
response abilities between students given a constructive response formative test and
those given a selective response formative test based on these hypotheses:
657 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 649-667, 2023

H0 : µ*A1 ≤ µ*A2
H1 : µ*A1 > µ*A2

Table 1 shows that the p-value of verbal response abilities between students who
took the constructive and selective formative test was 0.036, lower than 0.05. It
indicates a significant difference between students who took constructive and selective
formative tests. It suggests that students who took constructive formative exams
outperformed in oral than selective tests.

b. Hypothesis 2

The second objective of this research was to determine the difference in verbal
response abilities between students receiving a Deductive Communicative Grammar
Learning Strategy with Concept Maps and those receiving an Inductive
Communicative Grammar Learning Strategy, based on these hypotheses:

H0 : µ*B1 ≤ µ*B2
H1 : µ*B1 > µ*B2

Table 1 shows the p-value of verbal response abilities between students who
received a deductive communicative grammar learning strategy with concept maps
and an inductive communicative grammar learning strategy was 0.000, which is lower
than 0.05. It indicates a significant difference between students who received a
deductive communicative grammar learning strategy with concept maps and an
inductive communicative grammar learning strategy. It means that students who were
given the deductive communicative grammar learning method using concept maps
outperformed those with an inductive communicative grammar learning strategy.

c. Hypothesis 3

This research also aimed to find out the interaction effect between formative test
types and Communicative Grammar Learning Strategies on students’ ability, based on
these hypotheses:

H0 : (A x B)ij= 0; for all i and j

H1 : (A x B)ij≠ 0; for all i and j

Table 1 shows the interaction effect between formative test types and
communicative grammar learning strategies on students’ ability, as reflected in A*B.
The p-value of this interaction was 0.000. It indicates an interaction between the
formative test and the communicative grammar teaching method. It means that
formative tests can be boosted by providing communicative grammar learning
strategies on students’ abilities.
 Hadeli, M. Kustati, T. Zulfikar, H. Al Azmi & N. Arumugam, Effects of formative tests and
communicative grammar instruction on EFL students’ oral response ability | 658

4.1.2 Testing simple effect hypothesis

Table 2 shows the statistical calculations for research questions 4 and 5. The
hypotheses were tested using the GLM Univariate procedure with a design of X, A,
A*B. The results are presented in Table 2.

Table 2. T-test statistics on average parameters of students’ ability to respond orally

(Y) between all levels of learning strategy factor (B) for each level of formative test
factor (A) by controlling prior ability (X).
Parameter B Std. t Sig. 95% Confidence Partial Noncent. Observed
error interval eta parameter powera
Lower Upper squared
bound bound
Intercept 36.314 3.338 10.880 0.000 29.665 42.963 0.612 10.880 1.000
X 0.897 0.086 10.446 0.000 0.726 1.068 0.593 10.446 1.000
[B=1] -0.383 1.162 -0.329 0.743 -2.697 1.932 0.001 0.329 0.062
[B=2] 0b . . . . . . . .
[A=1] * [B=1] 6.937 1.132 6.127 0.000 4.682 9.193 0.334 6.127 1.000
[A=1] * [B=2] -3.519 1.142 -3.082 0.003 -5.793 -1.244 0.112 3.082 0.860
[A=2] * [B=1] 0b . . . . . . . .
[A=2] * [B=2] 0b . . . . . . . .
a. Computed using alpha = 0.05
b. This parameter is set to zero because it is redundant.

a. Hypothesis 4

Another objective of the present study was to find out the difference in the ability
to respond orally between the students given a constructive formative test and those
given a selective formative test, based on these hypotheses:

H0 : *A1B1 ≤ *A2B1
H1 : *A1B1 > *A2B1

Based on the results of hypothesis testing in Table 2, the p-value for A1*B1 was
0.000, which was lower than 0.050, and thus H0 was rejected. This result indicates a
significant difference in the ability to respond verbally between the group of students
who were given a constructive formative test and those who were given a selective
formative test.

b. Hypothesis 5

The research was also to find out the difference in the ability to respond orally
in Inductive Communicative Grammar Learning Strategy between the students given
a constructive formative test and those given a selective formative test, based on these
hypotheses:

H0 :*A1B2 ≥ *A2B2
H1 : *A1B2 < *A2B2

Table 2 shows that the p-value for A1*B2 was 0.003, lower than 0.050. Hence,
H0 was rejected, and it suggests that in the group of students who were given an
659 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 649-667, 2023

inductive communicative grammar learning strategy, there were significant

differences in the ability to respond verbally between the group of students who were
given a constructive formative test and the group of students who were given a
selective formative test.
Table 3 presents the statistical calculations for research questions 6 and 7. The
results of hypothesis testing using GLM univariate procedure with the design X, B, A
* B:

Table 3. T-test statistics on average parameters of students’ ability to respond orally

(Y) between all levels of formative test factor (A) for each level of learning strategy
factor (B) by controlling prior ability (X)
Parameter B Std. t Sig. 95% Confidence Partial eta Noncent. Observed
error interval squared parameter powera
Lower Upper
bound bound
Intercept 36.314 3.338 10.880 0.000 29.665 42.963 0.612 10.880 1.000
X 0.897 0.086 10.446 0.000 0.726 1.068 0.593 10.446 1.000
[A=1] -3.519 1.142 -3.082 0.003 -5.793 -1.244 0.112 3.082 0.860
[A=2] 0b . . . . . . . .
[A=1] * [B=1] 10.073 1.131 8.905 0.000 7.820 12.327 0.514 8.905 1.000
[A=1] * [B=2] 0b . . . . . . . .
[A=2] * [B=1] -0.383 1.162 -0.329 0.743 -2.697 1.932 0.001 0.329 0.062
[A=2] * [B=2] 0b . . . . . . . .
a. Computed using alpha = 0.05
b. This parameter is set to zero because it is redundant.

c. Hypothesis 6

The sixth objective of this research was to determine the difference in the ability
to respond orally in the group of students given a constructive formative test between
the students taught with a Deductive Communicative Learning Strategy with Concept
Maps and those taught with an Inductive Communicative Grammar Learning Strategy,
based on these hypotheses:

H0 : *A1B1 ≤ *A1B2
H1 : *A1B1 > *A1B2

The analysis results in Table 3 indicate that the p-value for A1*B1 was 0.000,
which was lower than 0.050. Thus, H0 was rejected, which infers that in the group of
students who were given a constructive formative test, there were differences in the
ability to respond verbally between groups of students who were given a deductive
communicative grammar learning strategy with concept maps and the groups of
students who were given an inductive communicative grammar learning strategy.

d. Hypothesis 7

Finally, this study aimed to find out the difference in the ability to respond orally
in the group of students given a selective formative test between the students taught
with a Deductive Communicative Learning Strategy with Concept Maps and those
taught with an Inductive Communicative Grammar Learning Strategy, based on these
hypotheses:
 Hadeli, M. Kustati, T. Zulfikar, H. Al Azmi & N. Arumugam, Effects of formative tests and
communicative grammar instruction on EFL students’ oral response ability | 660

H0 : *A2B1 ≥ *A2B2
H1 : *A2B1 < *A2B2

The analysis results in Table 3 show that the p-value for A2*B1 was 0.743,
which is higher than 0.050, and thus H0 was accepted. Therefore, it can be concluded
that in the group of students who were given a selective formative test, there was no
difference in the ability to respond verbally between the group of students who were
given a deductive communicative grammar learning strategy with concept maps and
the group of students who were given inductive communicative grammar learning
strategy.

4.2 Discussion

The results of the study indicate that the students taught with the constructive
response formative test demonstrated a higher ability to respond orally than those
given the selective response formative test, as also found by Arrasmith et al. (1984)
and Hogan and Murphy (2007). Because constructive response formative tests align
with English learning objectives of communicative ability, their use leads to better
effectiveness of English learning outcomes than selective formative tests. It is essential
to ensure that the evaluation methods employed are appropriate for the learning
objectives as outlined by Gibbs and Simpson (2005), Woytek (2005), and Gibbs
(2010).
It was also found that students taught using a deductive communicative grammar
learning strategy with concept maps had a higher verbal response ability than those
taught using an inductive communicative grammar learning strategy. The result of this
present study was in line with that of Farwis et al. (2021), who found that deductive
grammar learning strategies significantly impacted student learning outcomes, which
was also observed in this study. Even though deductive communicative grammar
learning strategies are often considered conventional learning strategies based on
research findings from experts, they are still effective in saving time and catering to
students as adults who possess analytical and synthetic skills (Badilla & Chacón,
2013). This is because deductive grammar learning is a more direct teaching technique.
Moreover, the results show an interaction effect between the formative test types
and the communicative grammar learning strategies on the ability to respond verbally.
The dependency of formative assessment and learning strategies on the ability for an
oral response was due to this interaction effect. In other words, when communicative
grammar learning was implemented, different combinations of sub-learning
procedures and sub-formative tests resulted in diverse learning outcomes.
For the fourth research hypothesis, the analysis result reveals that in the group
of students who were given deductive communicative grammar learning strategies
with concept maps, the verbal response ability of the group of students who were given
constructive formative tests was higher than the group of students who were given
selective formative tests. This difference in learning outcomes occurred because, in
grammar learning with deductive strategies, students were told how to construct
sentences according to the grammar rules that students were expected to master. The
activities during the teaching and learning process were then strengthened by giving
formative tests whose forms align with the learning process. Moreover, the form of the
final test was aligned with the two aspects mentioned earlier: the learning process and
661 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 649-667, 2023

formative tests. In other words, what was done to the group that was given this
constructive formative test was that the learning process, formative tests, and
summative tests were all complements of one another. The importance of conformity
between these three activities was raised by Biggs (2003). A teacher’s job is to create
a learning environment that supports the appropriate learning activities to achieve the
desired learning outcomes. The key is that all components in the teaching system - the
curriculum and its intended outcomes, the teaching methods used, and the assessment
tasks - are aligned. The learning process in the group that received a selective formative
test was not the same as that in the group given a constructive test. Even though these
two groups of students were given the same learning strategy, namely a deductive
communicative grammar learning strategy with concept maps, the selective formative
tests they took at the end of each learning process did not support what they got during
the learning process.
Selective tests in formative tests did not encourage students to deep learn as
much as those who were given constructive tests. One of the weaknesses of selective
tests is that they do not motivate students (Cruzan & Kaluszka, 2010). Traditional
assessments, including paper-based assessments, such as multiple choice, true/ false,
and short answers, provide little motivation for the student, which often results in rote
memorization of the material to achieve the desired results on the test.
Based on the fifth research hypothesis, the analysis result shows that in the group
of students who were given inductive communicative grammar learning strategies, the
ability to respond verbally among students who were given constructive formative
tests was lower than those receiving selective formative tests after controlling their
initial abilities. The fact or verbal response ability found in the group of students who
were given an inductive communicative grammar learning strategy was inversely
proportional to the verbal response ability found in the group of students who were
given a deductive grammar learning strategy with a concept map.
In the group of students who were given a deductive communicative grammar
learning strategy with a concept map, the learning outcomes of the higher oral response
ability were obtained by the group of students who were given a constructive formative
test. Meanwhile, at that time, in the group of students who were given an inductive
communicative grammar learning strategy, the higher results of learning the ability to
respond to speech were obtained by a group of students who were given a selective
formative test.
The logical explanation is that students taught with inductive grammar learning
strategies were not taught explicitly how to construct sentences during the learning
process. Students taught with this strategy were exposed to a lot of language input. The
learning process in this group allowed various kinds of daily communication
transaction models that students needed. Exposure to many language inputs and
various communication transactions made the students in the selective formative test
group obtain higher learning outcomes than those given constructive formative tests.
The importance of language input was explained by Bahrani et al. (2014), that is
many internal and external factors influence SLA, one of which is the language input
that learners receive, which is an external factor that plays a fundamental role in SLA.
The important role of language input is also stated by Krashen (1992). He underlined
the importance of language input in acquiring a second language.
Due to a large number of language inputs and appropriate final test material and
limited to the language input provided during the teaching and learning process, the
 Hadeli, M. Kustati, T. Zulfikar, H. Al Azmi & N. Arumugam, Effects of formative tests and
communicative grammar instruction on EFL students’ oral response ability | 662

students who were given selective formative tests had better learning outcomes than
those who received constructive formative tests. Giving constructive formative tests to
students who were given constructive formative tests did not have a positive impact.
The importance of providing a lot of language inputs in the process of learning English
was put forward by many experts, such as Gilakjani (2016). In addition, giving
constructive formative tests to this group did not have a positive impact. However, this
present study was in contrast with Nassaji and Fotos (2004), who found it detrimental
in nature, disrupting students’ understanding and disturbing them while completing
the final test. Ultimately, it resulted in low learning outcomes in their ability to respond
verbally.
For the sixth research hypothesis, the analysis result states that in the group of
students who were given a constructive formative test, the group of students who were
given a communicative grammar learning strategy with concept maps had a better
ability to respond verbally than those who were given an inductive communicative
grammar learning strategy. The findings also explained logically that in deductive
communicative grammar learning with concept maps, students were taught explicitly
how to construct sentences using sentence patterns (grammar rules) that students had
to master with this learning. What students did during the learning process was then
strengthened by formative tests synched with activities during learning. In addition,
the form of the test given at the end of the treatment in this study was in line with the
learning process and constructive formative tests. Meanwhile, the opposite happened
to the students given inductive grammar learning strategies. They were not explicitly
taught how to construct sentences. Giving constructive formative tests to this group of
students did not help their understanding; on the contrary, it was detrimental and
disrupted their understanding, as revealed by Borg (2003) and Nassaji and Fotos
(2004).
Finally, for the seventh research hypothesis, the result of the study shows that in
the group of students who were given a selective formative test, the ability to respond
verbally among the group of students who were given a communicative grammar
learning strategy with concept maps was the same as the group of students who were
given an inductive communicative grammar learning strategy by controlling initial
abilities. This result was predicted because a previous study also found that there was
no significant difference in learning outcomes between groups of students taught with
an inductive approach and those taught with a deductive approach (Negahdaripour &
Amirghassemi, 2016). The inductive approach, in other words, has the same effect as
the deductive approach in teaching grammar. A significant difference between the
group of students taught using an inductive approach and those taught using a
deductive approach was observable in their proficiency. The students taught with a
deductive approach had higher learning outcomes (proficiency) than those taught with
an inductive approach.

5. CONCLUSION

This study found that formative constructive assessments improved students’

ability in an oral response more than selective formative exams. Compared to inductive
learning, deductive learning with concept maps improved students’ ability to respond
more effectively. The effectiveness of various sub-instructional tactics and sub-
663 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 649-667, 2023

formative test combinations on students’ verbal response ability varied. In groups of

students given concept maps and deductive learning strategy, constructive formative
tests contributed to better oral answer skills than selected formative tests. In groups of
students given inductive learning strategies, selective formative tests were more
effective than constructive formative tests on students’ verbal ability to respond. In
groups of students who were given constructive formative examinations, deductive
learning strategies with concept maps were more effective than the inductive strategy
in terms of students’ ability to respond orally. Finally, in the groups receiving selective
formative examinations, inductive approaches did not improve verbal responses more
significantly than deductive ones.

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668 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 668-685, 2023

Eclectic Approach: A Search for More

Effective Assessment Ways to Meet EFL
Assessment Principles
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Nur Sehang Thamrin*1,2

Suwarsih Madya3
Nur Hidayanto Pancoro Setyo Putro3
Siti Salina Mustakim4
Aminuddin Hassan4
Heri Retnawati1
1
Department of Educational Research and Evaluation, Graduate School, Universitas
Negeri Yogyakarta, 55281, INDONESIA
2
Department of English Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education,
Universitas Tadulako, 94148, INDONESIA
3
Department of English Education, Faculty of Language and Art, Universitas Negeri
Yogyakarta, 55281, INDONESIA
4
Department of Foundation Studies, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, MALAYSIA

Abstract
The current EFL curriculum for high schools in Indonesia demands
integrating cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains in assessment.
Therefore, teachers must consider these domains in designing assessment
instruments and use them, including in a full-online class. In this type of
class, they must choose effective methods with principled eclecticism that
meet the assessment principles. This study examines the teachers’
assessment process, from constructing the assessment devices to
implementing the test in virtual classrooms. The qualitative research
approach was used to explore the online-based assessments involving 16
English teachers recruited through convenience sampling techniques.
Accordingly, the data were collected using virtual semi-structured
interviews through a WhatsApp call. The data were analysed descriptively
through a thematic analysis integrated with an interactive technique to
locate and identify common patterns of meaning in a data set. The findings

*
Corresponding author, email: nursehangthamrin@yahoo.com

Citation in APA style: Thamrin, N. S., Madya, S., Putro, N. H. P. S., Mustakim, S. S., Hassan, A., &
Retnawati, H. (2023). Eclectic approach: A search for more effective assessment ways to meet EFL
assessment principles. Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 668-685.

Received June 30, 2022; Revised December 6, 2022; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023.

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.26682
 N. S. Thamrin, S. Madya, N. H. P. S. Putro, S. S. Mustakim, A. Hassan & H. Retnawati,
Eclectic approach: A search for more effective assessment ways to meet EFL assessment
principles | 669

show that teachers used several methods to design their tests in the
planning stage, considering several aspects based on the eclectic approach
principles for effective assessment practices. However, teachers need more
assessment literacy regarding their knowledge of test quality. This
research employed qualitative data from a small number of teachers, so
future studies that include more teachers from different locations and
consider different viewpoints, including those of students, families, and
policymakers, on how to evaluate student achievement virtually are
recommended.

Keywords: Covid-19, language assessment, online assessment, principled

eclecticism, virtual.

1. INTRODUCTION

The spread of the Coronaviruses for about three years since 2019 caused the
government in all affected countries to restrict physical contact at the beginning of the
pandemic. Thus, policymakers enforced a work-from-home (WFH) policy. This
condition affected the teaching-learning and assessment process to shift from in-person
to full-online modes (Zhang et al., 2021). As a result, the use of ICT became
increasingly massive in almost all sectors, including education (Cleland et al., 2020;
Orlov et al., 2021). However, conducting the teaching-learning and assessment
processes in the full-online condition was challenging for many teachers in some
countries, particularly in the EFL context (Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020; UNICEF, 2021;
Wahid et al., 2021). Most teachers in Indonesia experienced enormous challenges
regarding constructing the assessment instruments and delivering them (Perwitasari et
al., 2021), despite the belief that an online assessment is more efficient regarding
resources than a paper-and-pencil test (Madya et al., 2019). In short, the Covid-19
pandemic forced all elements of society to adapt to various obstacles and challenges,
even though ICT is believed to provide solutions to problems in the teaching and
learning process if it is used in blended learning, not in full-online conditions.
Therefore, the study on EFL teachers’ strategies to conduct the assessment effectively
is interesting to investigate.
The assessment aims to collect information on students’ learning progress and
determine their interest in observing their learning process (Baird et al., 2017; Brown
& Abeywickrama, 2018). Moreover, it helps establish a positive learning environment
in the classroom. Therefore, the assessment process must comply with the principles
of assessment, such as in terms of validity and reliability (Banta & Palomba, 2015;
Brown & Abeywickrama, 2018; Cheng & Fox, 2017; McNamara, 2000). The
assessment process involves designing and administering instruments. Therefore,
teachers need to make a good plan for conducting an assessment. The principles of
regular-based learning assessment and those of virtual-based learning assessment
share some characteristics, but an online-based assessment must be adjusted to the
nature of interactions between teachers and students and the mode of teaching-learning
instructions (Asoodar et al., 2014; Dunn et al., 2003; Yang, 2011).
Furthermore, the current curriculum of Indonesian high schools requires
language assessment to integrate cognitive, affective, and psychomotor aspects.
670 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 668-685, 2023

However, due to the social distance policy during the pandemic, teachers found it
challenging to meet the assessment principles. Therefore, assessment literacy (AL)
dealing with practical strategies such as the eclectic approach must be considered a
good assessment alternative under this condition. Abduh (2021) reports that teachers
face several obstacles in using e-learning platforms despite their positive beliefs about
online assessments. However, research on how to cope with the problems the teachers
or students face is rare.
Additionally, there is a paucity of discussion regarding the gains of the eclectic
approach and AL in assessments in an online class. The researchers argue that further
studies regarding e-assessment practices are beneficial due to their potential
contributions from practices and research perspectives. In addition, online teaching
and assessment will become a common trend in future educational contexts (Irons &
Elkington, 2022). Therefore, this study intends to investigate how English as a foreign
language (EFL) teachers in Indonesia conducted formative and summative
assessments which integrated language skills (speaking, writing, reading, and
listening) and language components (grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation).
Delivering assessments for both purposes enhances students learning during virtual
learning, and thus it is also significant to explore. Therefore, teachers should follow
the assessment principles in planning and conducting the assessment.
Principled eclecticism is a common approach in designing the teaching process
in which teachers adapt one or two methods among a number of the existing teaching
methods based on several considerations (Larsen-Freeman, 2000; Mellow, 2002).
Richards (2017) defines the term ‘eclectic approach’ as a teaching approach which is
not based on a single method (e.g., task-based teaching or CLIL) but several different
methods. Triastuti et al. (2021) claim that this approach accommodates teachers to
select the relevant teaching methods and strategies to meet the demands and
expectations of the Indonesian EFL curriculum. In addition, Hanafi and Zulfa (2017)
and Sarifa (2020) reveal that this approach helps students learn English based on their
interests, needs, and lacks. Autti-Rämö and Mäkelä (2007) discover that by
implementing this approach, using a structured framework is a beneficial tool in
opening ethical discussion in each of their projects. However, the implementation of
this method in the context of EFL assessment is scant. According to a study by Ihuoma
(2019) involving 66 university students, the eclectic approach reduced students’ test
anxiety. It is suggested that this method be implemented in assessment processes for
formative and summative purposes. Therefore, the researchers are interested in
determining how EFL teachers conducted an assessment during the full-online
teaching-learning of COVID-19. To address this issue, the researchers formulated the
following research questions:
1. How was teachers’ preparedness in conducting the EFL assessment using the
principles of the eclectic approach?
2. How did teachers apply principled eclecticism when assessing EFL students’
performance?
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2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 EFL Assessment Principles

Assessing learners’ language performances requires teachers’ knowledge of the

theory of assessment and the theory of language (Brindley, 2001). Many practitioners,
such as Greenstein (2012), Coombe et al. (2020), and Juanjuan and Mohd Yusoff
(2022), believe that teachers’ AL is significant to plan a good assessment process. Poor
assessment procedures can negatively affect the washback, such as designing the
syllabus, determining learning objectives, selecting teaching materials, and even
providing student motivation. The quality of assessment needs to be considered in the
two stages of assessment; developing assessment instruments and conducting the
assessment in the class. In developing the assessment instruments, teachers should
follow a test development process which meets the assessment principles (Brown &
Lee, 2015; Cheng & Fox, 2017; Weigle, 2002).
The process starts by determining the purpose of the test, which is pivotal as the
teacher’s guide to determining the test’s construct, an item or task format, scoring or
rating. The latter process is to construct the definition of the test, which refers to the
question of what it is intended to measure. Several questions regarding the test
construction need to be considered: What language components and skills are
measured? Should the test integrate language components and skills? Thus, it is
necessary to construct the definition based on the theoretical and empirical data
regarding the test’s construct (Cheng & Fox, 2017; Xie, 2013). This stage is a basis
for developing test items and the form of the test. Finally, scoring or rating gives
information about the student’s learning progress after a measurement (Dunn et al.,
2003). This construction of the assessment devices is the first stage of the language
assessment process.
Assessment devices reveal whether or not students’ learning achievements have
met the instructional objectives. Therefore, the devices are urgently needed to achieve
validity and reliability (Earl & Katz, 2006; Retnawati, 2016; Retnawati et al., 2016).
Regarding validity, assessment compares what it measures with what teachers intend
to measure. Meanwhile, reliability is related to the consistency of test results across
multiple occasions, raters, and test takers. In addition, Brown and Abeywicakrama
(2018) include the aspect of practicality and authenticity. While practicality refers to
the ease of designing assessment devices, administering, scoring, and interpreting the
result, authenticity covers the function of the test to measure students’ ability during
the learning process.
In the Indonesian curriculum, language learning assessment must integrate
language components and skills, soft skills, and high-order thinking skills (Triastuti et
al., 2021), which is challenging for many teachers (Retnawati et al., 2016). From the
researchers’ perspectives, teachers must use effective methods by considering the
student’s characteristics and the situation under which the assessment is conducted.
Principled eclecticism can be adapted to investigate how teachers conduct the
assessment process. In conclusion, principled eclecticism allows teachers to construct
and administer assessment devices in their classes.
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2.2 Principled Eclecticism

The eclectic approach derives from two words, ‘approach’ and ‘eclectic’. The
former refers to ways to approach or achieve something, while the latter refers to being
selective from various sources. In short, the eclectic approach takes the advantage of
the merits of various existing EFL teaching methods, especially in assessing English
in schools. Many practitioners have defined the eclectic approach and its benefits in
different disciplines (e.g. Kumar, 2013; Richards, 2017; Triastuti et al., 2021).
In a language assessment, teachers need to look at various ways of making
assessment tools that meet assessment elements such as validity, reliability,
practicality, and authenticity by considering student characteristics and contexts, for
example, the learning mode during the Covid-19, which causes the learning process to
be carried out remotely. Assessment that provides information on student learning
outcomes must have high validity. Al-Khasawneh (2022) underlines several aspects
that need to be considered in determining learning strategies, i.e., choosing teaching
materials that suit the learning context and enhance and motivate students to learn.
Therefore, several points need to be considered in implementing principled
eclecticism: 1) instructional objectives should include more than one method that is
effectively applied, 2) the methods should stimulate student learning, 3) students
should be actively involved in the teaching and learning process, 4) teaching time must
be adequate, and 5) assessment should be included as a part of the teaching and
learning process (Parupalli, 2018; Wali, 2009). In summary, principled eclecticism
recommends considering language teaching and assessment goals, learners’ needs and
characteristics, time allocation, and learning resources available to meet the principles
of effective assessment.

3. METHODS

This study was conducted through a qualitative survey to examine the current
condition regarding online assessment procedures in the EFL context. The data were
collected from 16 non-native English teachers from 14 senior high schools and two
vocational schools in Eastern Indonesia. The authors solely focused on assessment
techniques in high schools because, during the Covid-19 pandemic, high school
students lost more learning than university students (UNICEF, 2021). Convenient
sampling was used to recruit research participants, which means that their participation
was based on their willingness to be involved in the research (Creswell, 2009). The
researchers sent an invitation regarding the involvement of the teachers to the head of
the English Teacher Forum by enclosing the first author’s WhatsApp contact number.
Confirmation of the teachers’ willingness to participate was made through WhatsApp
messages, and 37 teachers agreed to participate in the research. The participants’
demographic characteristics are described in Table 1.

Table 1. Characteristics of respondents.

Respondent Teaching Sex Certified as a Educational School
experience professional background
(in years) teacher
R1 16 M Yes Master’s degree Private school
R2 4 F No Undergraduate degree Private School
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principles | 673

Table 1 continued…
R3 17 M Yes Undergraduate degree Public School
R4 2 M No Undergraduate degree Private School
R5 5 M No Undergraduate degree Public School
R6 10 F Yes Undergraduate degree Public School
R7 20 F Yes Undergraduate degree Public School
R8 16 F Yes Undergraduate degree Public School
R9 16 F Yes Undergraduate degree Vocational
school
R10 4 F No Undergraduate degree Private School
R11 11 F Yes Undergraduate degree Vocational
school
R12 17 F Yes Master’s degree Public School
R13 33 M Yes Undergraduate degree Public School
R14 8 M Yes Master’s degree Public School
R15 3 M No Undergraduate degree Public School
R16 22 F Yes Master’s degree Public School
Note. R stands for Respondent.

Table 1 describes that the participants comprised seven males and nine females,
most of whom taught English at public schools. In fulfilling the ethical requirements,
pseudonyms were assigned to disguise the participants’ identities. The 16 teachers
(coded R1 – R16) had a different length of teaching experiences. Eleven teachers have
received professional teacher certification, but the others still need to be certified
because they have less than five years of teaching experience, as required by the
Indonesian government regulation. However, all participants have earned a university
degree in EFL teaching, an undergraduate degree, or a master’s degree.
The data for the research were collected through online semi-structured
interviews because of their effectiveness in collecting in-depth information (Cohen et
al., 2005) during the lockdown condition resulting from Covid-19. The participants
were interviewed in Bahasa Indonesia to make them more comfortable expressing their
opinions. The interview sessions involved 1) an introduction about the objectives and
method of the study, 2) the participant’s self-introduction, and 3) a dialogue session
for about 45 – 60 minutes for each participant and recorded using a digital recorder.
Descriptive analysis was used to summarise the information using thematic
analysis in an integrative technique proposed by Miles et al. (2014) because it allows
analysing of the data interactively and continuously through data condensation, data
display, and verification—the processes started by transcribing the audio files. The
data condensation stage aimed to simplify the data that has been collected by selecting
information related to the research questions. Thus, in selecting the data, the authors
read iteratively to get familiar with the data and to predict common themes across the
dataset. In this stage, the transcripts were coded by highlighting texts. For example,
the authors coded “textbook and the internet” as “sources” for developing the test’
construct. Then, since a thematic analysis is sufficient to determine the data pattern,
the authors continued to seek themes using this method. The information irrelevant to
the study was discarded. Furthermore, data were displayed and summarised according
to themes. The final stage was verification, in which conclusions were drawn based on
the previously reduced and presented data. This analysis was intended to measure the
EFL teachers’ overall online assessment practices.
674 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 668-685, 2023

4. RESULTS

This section reports the research findings regarding online assessment practices
during the pandemic of Covid-19 based on the research questions. The analysis reveals
the common themes, namely the importance of the assessment, assessment plan, test
development, quality of the test, and strategies in assessing students’ learning progress,
and they are divided into two primary themes.

4.1 Teachers’ Preparedness in Conducting the EFL Assessment Based on

the Principled Eclecticism

Before exploring teachers’ readiness to conduct EFL assessments during online

learning, the researchers explored whether the teachers recognised the significance of
assessment regardless of the limitations. The findings discovered that, in general, all
teachers recognised the importance of conducting the assessment during online
teaching practices during the pandemic. R13, who has the longest tenure as an EFL
teacher, and R4, with the shortest teaching experience, described how the assessment
result gave information about the student’s performance after the teaching-learning
process.

(1) “I want to know how well students understand and retain the materials I gave them ….... I taught
them. I want to know whether students can explain the material that I have taught by answering
the questions I prepared”. R13

(2) “To record students’ progress”. R4

Their responses indicate that they shared the same opinion regarding the
importance of assessments, although they had different teaching experiences and
communication platforms. In short, the teachers understand the need to measure
students’ learning achievement despite the force majeure condition. In developing the
quality of the assessment devices, the teachers set the purpose of the assessment by
discussing it with their colleagues through Zoom meetings. In addition, they also
discuss the assessments through WhatsApp calls, voice notes, and Messenger.

(3) “I prefer to use WhatsApp to discuss the purpose of my test with other English teachers”. R1

In addition, they utilised several sources to construct the test items, such as
materials on the internet and textbooks, by considering the characteristics of their
students.

(4) “I often developed my assessment instruments to suit the characteristics of my students. Because
I taught in a vocational school where the emphasis of teaching English differs from the general
high schools, I adapted the test content by considering this context. For example, the computer
department uses more procedure text. I also used sources from books and the internet, but I
modified it according to the student’s characteristics”. R11

The lesson plan was simplified during the online learning, consisting of only one
page. However, all teachers described the assessment plan briefly in that document. It
indicates that all teachers planned to conduct an assessment during the Covid-19
pandemic. However, most teachers reported that they never measured the validity and
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reliability of the assessment instrument before administering it to students. For

instance, R2, R14, and R15 said that they did not know how to validate the assessment
instrument to meet the standard quality. When they discussed the instrument with their
fellow teachers or the school principal, it was only for summative assessment
instruments. In addition, some teachers reported that they discussed it with their fellow
teachers (R3, R7, R8, and R10) to confirm whether the instrument meets the
curriculum’s standard competencies and instructional objectives. Then, the instrument
was submitted to the vice-principal, who is responsible for curriculum administration
management, approval, and documentation.

(5) “Before designing the instrument for the assessment, we need approval from the supervisor or the
principal; that is why we discuss it with them”. R10

These findings show that the teachers lack AL in developing suitable assessment
devices. The teachers’ reflections suggest structured training regarding how to ensure
the quality of an instrument before it is used as a measuring tool for the learning
process. In addition, teachers do not have access to standardised assessment devices
developed through research, and thus the results of assessments based on teacher-made
tests can cause misperceptions of the student’s learning achievement.
In conclusion, the teachers lacked knowledge of assessment principles despite
their knowledge of establishing the assessment objectives before creating a test and
using various sources to develop the test constructs.

4.2 The Application of Principled Eclecticism When Assessing EFL Students’

Performance

Most teachers integrated non-cognitive tests during the online assessment as

suggested by the curriculum. However, they implied different ways to assess students’
soft skills. For example, they used a project to assess students’ honesty and cooperative
skills.

(6) “It is easy for me to include the affective domain in my assessment through project-based tasks. I
can identify if they cheat and do not contribute to the group work”. R14

Furthermore, all teachers considered integrating language skills and components

in their assessment.

(7) “Based on the core and basic competencies of the curriculum, they need to integrate them. The
reason is that students need language components to support and improve their language skills”.
R1

(8) “Understanding language components helps students achieve good language skills... so they can
complete the assessment well”. R3

(9) “It is not impossible for not integrating language skills in the language assessment…..because
when I asked them to draft a dialogue, which is in writing, I also asked them to perform .. speaking
…the dialogue that they video-recorded. During the online assessment, I always give a project-
based assessment as a task”. R14

The language components included in the assessment followed the

characteristics of the language skills.
676 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 668-685, 2023

(10) “I usually combined the language components and skills in assessing students’ work. Particularly
in the narrative text lesson, I asked students to write their personal experience, and then I assessed
their writing, grammar, and vocabulary”. R5

(11) “The language components I tested were based on the language skills…for example, if I tested
students speaking through video, I also assessed their grammar”. R12

During the full-time online learning during the Covid-19, teachers used online
learning and communication tools to assess student’s learning progress. They selected
an effective online tool that enables distributing the instrument and giving feedback to
students. The popular platforms used by teachers were WhatsApp, Google Forms, and
Google Classroom, as both the teachers and the students knew how to use them
conveniently. For example, R16 reported that Google Classroom was easy to use and
could record her teaching.

(12) “I preferred Google Classroom as it was easy to use, and it recorded my teaching activities. I used
Google Forms for reading tests as the students could access their score as soon as they submitted
their task”. R16

However, students find submitting their tasks on time challenging for several
reasons. Most teachers reported that the major problems are a lack of internet-
accessing devices and internet connection problems. Some students did not have a
smartphone. Consequently, the internet data provided by the government did not
benefit the students in online classes.

(13) “Yes, they did. Mostly, they had problems with unstable internet connection”. R10

(14) “Yeah, my students sometimes had difficulty submitting video assignments since it took time and
internet data to upload it in Google Classroom, especially students living in rural areas”. R5

(15) “Yes, they did, especially students who did not have a stable internet connection or a smartphone”.
R3

(16) “The students did not have a smartphone, so they could not use the free internet data given by the
government”. R16

Furthermore, during the early Covid-19 pandemic, some teachers (R11, R14,
R15, and R16) noted that ICT literacy was low among students and teachers. They
were unfamiliar with online learning platforms, which gave the students difficulties
submitting their assignments and the teachers managing their teaching process. For
instance, R14 reported that “she did not make any ICT plan during online learning
because it was suddenly enforced without any preparation”. Accordingly, in
addressing the problem, most teachers gave students extensions to submit their tasks.
Alternatively, the teacher allowed the students to come to school with strict health
protocol or initiated home-visit so that they could submit their assignments.
Despite the teachers’ thorough preparation for the process of organising learning
outcomes during the virtual learning condition, most teachers reported that due to the
inefficiency of the online teaching and learning process and limited interaction, in-
person instruction gave better learning outcomes for students.
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(17) “Yes … It was so different … because it was difficult for the students to understand the material
delivered through online classes”. R6

Nevertheless, teachers can determine how much students understand the

materials based on their body language in face-to-face interaction. Moreover, full-
online teaching during Covid-19 exhausted students as they got assignments from all
teachers simultaneously. The condition worsened because of technical problems such
as internet connection and a lack of smartphones.

(18) “Yes, they were. It was totally different from face-to-face assessments. An online learning
assessment had many limitations, including limited internet access, reduced interaction with
teachers, lack of material mastery, and a lack of support in learning. These limitations greatly
affected students’ achievement”. R10

Furthermore, one teacher, R15, informed that the decline in students’ learning
outcomes during online learning was also caused by a lack of familiarity with
autonomous learning. Although online learning during Covid-19 has not positively
impacted student outcomes, the present study found that online learning mode still
provides other benefits, such as parent involvement in monitoring their children's
learning process and assignment completion and student creativity using technological
devices. In addition, strong collaborations among teachers in solving students’ learning
problems increased, and school principals found it easier to control teachers’
involvement in the learning and assessment processes, as reported by (R11, R12, R14,
and R15). The excerpts mentioned above indicate that while applying several strategies
to engage students in doing tasks, the assessment plan did not affect the student’s
achievement during online learning.
To sum up, the teachers in this study recognised that the purpose of the
assessment was to determine the student’s learning progress. Language assessment is
different from the assessment in any other subject. Language teachers must understand
the principles of teaching and learning a language and assessment because they must
incorporate language skills and components into their instruction and evaluation plan.
Furthermore, the teachers must also consider which language components are
integrated with the language skills. In the present study, in assessing the students’ non-
cognitive aspects in learning, the teachers designed the tasks to develop students’
positive attitudes, such as honesty and collaborative skills. However, during the Covid-
19 pandemic, most teachers preferred to construct the instruments by adapting from
several sources on the internet, reference books, and textbooks. Teachers utilised
several online learning tools to assist them and their students in the assessment process.
Nevertheless, several problems arose due to the sudden shift to online learning due to
Covid-19, such as a lack of ICT skills, poor internet connection, and incompatible
mobile phones. This condition required that teachers adapt their assessment by
applying various online learning tools, allowing students to come to school and
teachers to visit their students to carry out the assessment.

5. DISCUSSION

Several researchers studied the condition of online learning assessment during

Covid-19, which reported several considerations to change the learning assessment to
678 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 668-685, 2023

an online mode, such as government policy and contextual learning conditions. In

addition, teachers experienced several challenges in conducting online assessments.
This study intended to investigate the online assessment practised by EFL high school
teachers in Indonesia, focusing on their readiness to construct the assessment devices
and how they conducted online assessments. The findings of the present study are
framed through principled eclecticism. The results show that the teachers understood
the implementation of assessment in the context of EFL, except for their understanding
of the validity and reliability of the instruments. Fulcher (2012) states that AL refers
to the knowledge and skills in designing assessment instruments. The findings are
consistent with Koh (2011) and Zhang et al. (2021), who found that teachers’
assessment knowledge helps them design exams and ensures the quality of their
assessments. Their understanding reflects their online assessment practices.
The teachers in this study used textbooks and resources from the internet to
develop the test construct. Furthermore, they discussed the assessment goals through
Zoom meetings, WhatsApp calls, voice notes, or Messenger. The results of the study
show that the teachers used multimodalities to plan their assessments for effective and
easy access. Briefly, the finding tunes in with procedures in developing a test; that is,
the teachers should gather theoretical and empirical-based sources to define the test’s
construct and work it individually and with their colleagues to ensure the quality of the
test (Cheng & Fox, 2017; Weigle, 2002).
Regarding the teachers’ lack of assessment literacy, the teachers suggested
training to enhance their knowledge of assessment, which should be a priority in a
teachers’ professional development (Popham, 2009). An assessment covers a test as
an instrument for measurement, and it is more than designing a test. Therefore, a test
must fulfil the validity and reliability requirements to measure what should be
measured and have consistent results (Brown & Abeywickrama, 2018; Carr, 2011;
Harmer, 2015; Madya et al., 2020). A planning stage in constructing test instruments
is paramount to ensure the quality of the instrument (Carr, 2011), which covers a test
context, purpose, structure, and tasks. The exams provide information on how
effectively students can use the target language in a specific context (Carr, 2011). The
test’s context and purpose are related to administering the test, how the test is used,
and how to interpret the results. The administered test is expected to measure what it
is intended to measure. For instance, if students’ writing skills are the purpose of the
test, then the test developers must consider the components reflecting students’ English
writing skills. The findings of the present study indicate that the teachers considered
how important the quality of the test is, despite their inadequate AL. Therefore, a
professional development program is necessary to improve teachers’ competencies.
This issue aligns with the research conducted by Tian et al. (2021) regarding how
teachers benefited from online assessment training during Covid-19.
English as a foreign language for communication is one of the educational aims
in Indonesia. For instance, the writing exam should assess students’ proficiency in
composing English paragraphs. In addition, preparing feedback for improvement
should be considered when the test is utilised for formative evaluation. Russell et al.
(2006) claim that constructive feedback powerfully motivates students to learn. The
results show that the teachers have prepared the test well by considering and choosing
the language components to be included in the language skill tests. Language learning
is different from learning other subjects. In constructing a language test, the teachers
should be familiar with the principles of language learning, which integrate the
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acquisition of the language components and language abilities (Adnan et al., 2019;
Burton, 2011).
Prior research has not explored how EFL teachers integrated the language
components and skills in their assessment practices. However, this study reported that
some teachers integrated at least two language skills into the test: writing and speaking,
which benefited students’ language acquisition. Galaczi (2018) claims that combining
tasks with a wide range of skills related to communicative purposes is necessary for
students’ language abilities. Hughes (2003) argues that someone is good at a language
because their performance in one skill predicts the performance in another. Moreover,
a study conducted by Cambridge involving over 465,000 test takers of Cambridge
Qualification in 2015 reported by Galaczi (2018), uncovered that the correlation
between speaking and writing is 0.64, which indicates that if the candidate scores high
on the speaking test, he also gets high scores in writing or vice versa. However,
integrating two skills in an assessment is challenging in the development and delivery
to meet the assessment principles concerning validity and reliability aspects.
Therefore, teachers’ LA should be enhanced.
Cognitive and non-cognitive skills should be integrated into the language
assessment. Language inputs in terms of vocabulary, grammar, and the pronunciation
of the words in English will maximise the language used. Accordingly, as the research
participants, the teachers designed an effective test during the virtual class. The current
curriculum used in the Indonesian educational system expects the integration of
affective, cognitive, and psychomotor domains in language learning and assessment
(Retnawati et al., 2016). The affective aspects are categorised as the character of the
students. The curriculum explains that character education involves three strategies:
subject integration, local content, and self-development activities (Ministry of
National Education of Republic of Indonesia., 2011). Subject integration is carried out
to develop lesson plans, teaching materials, learning activities, and assessments.
The teachers considered the language components and combined them with
language and soft skills. For example, besides assessing students’ speaking
performance, they also assessed students’ language knowledge. Moreover, they
designed a test format that enabled them to assess students’ honesty through a project-
based task. These teachers’ preferences meet the principled eclecticism and curriculum
demands. Despite several online assessment barriers during the Covid-19 pandemic,
the teachers found strategies to cope with the problems. Their approach to assessing
students during the pandemic aligns with the eclectic approach theorised by scholars
(e.g. Kumar, 2013; Larsen-Freeman, 2000; Mellow, 2002). Our research findings
provide important information regarding the implementation of the eclectic approach
in the assessment context.
Many previous studies reveal that technical and internet connection problems
are the most significant problems during online learning (e.g. Abduh, 2021;
Perwitasari et al., 2021; Wahid et al., 2021). It was difficult for some students to
complete their tasks due to these problems. They have difficulty submitting their
assignments in the form of videos and pictures. Nevertheless, another problem
discovered in the current study is that students could not use the free internet data
provided by the government as a subsidy for learning during the Covid-19 because
most students only had incompatible mobile phones. As a result, not all students could
access the task sent via any online platforms used by the teachers, such as Google
Classroom or communication tools such as WhatsApp, which is a convenient social
680 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 668-685, 2023

media application for sending messages (Chen & Neo, 2019; Giordano et al., 2015;
Mpungose, 2020). In addressing these challenges, teachers in this study adjusted their
assessment practice by visiting the students at home or suggesting them to submit their
tasks at the school. In addition, the problem of students’ cell phones which were not
equipped with a compatible operating system, such as Android and Apple iOS, has
rarely been reported in previous studies related to challenges of online learning in
Indonesia (e.g. Adedoyin & Soykan, 2020; Zhang et al., 2021). The discrepancy
between the merit of ICT and the contextual problems during the pandemic in
Indonesia indicates that the presence of ICT is not a panacea for all educational issues.
Other obstacles faced in implementing the online-based learning process and
assessments during Covid-19 are reported by Guangul et al. (2020). They revealed that
the main challenges are academic dishonesty, infrastructure, and lack of commitment
to submit assessments resulting in students’ low learning outcomes. As a result, even
though teachers had prepared the assessment, the student’s learning achievements
were unsatisfactory. Thus, all teachers recommended professional training for EFL
teachers to design attractive learning strategies and assessments to motivate them to
learn. Learning a language is different from learning other subjects in some aspects. In
language learning, teachers provide language input and improve students’ language
performance through practice. Despite the ineffectiveness of the online assessment
during the Covid-19 in terms of students’ achievement, the online assessment
apparently benefits pedagogical practices. ICT allows teachers to design assessments
in different forms to facilitate students to document their achievements and progress
in various ways and at different timescales, such as e-portfolios (Timmis et al., 2015).
Thus, teachers can engage students to learn by involving students’ active roles in self
and peer assessments. These types of assessments allow students to do self-reflection
and adjust their learning (Earl & Katz, 2006). Additionally, an e-portfolio enables
teachers to determine the student’s learning progress, provide feedback/scaffolding
and revise their teaching strategies for improvement. Finally, the development of
teachers’ ICT literacy can be achieved through a professional development program.

6. CONCLUSION

This study aims to explore teachers’ online assessment practices during Covid-
19 in Indonesia. This study specifically looked at how teachers prepared and conducted
assessments from a framework of the eclectic approach. The findings show that
teachers constructed tests from various reading sources and discussed them with
colleagues through mixed and easily accessible ICT tools. However, teachers needed
more AL, particularly in validity and reliability, to produce quality instruments.
Additionally, regarding the implementation of assessment to measure students’
language competencies, the teachers carefully considered how to holistically integrate
language skills, components, and soft skills into the assessment instruments by
considering some aspects, such as the characteristics of the language skills and
students’ learning conditions. Despite some challenges in online learning, the teachers
believed in the importance of assessment. Accordingly, the teachers combined
activities to continue the assessment process thoroughly during the pandemic. Finally,
it is evident from the data that the online assessment practices conducted by the
teachers were in line with the principles of an eclectic approach.
 N. S. Thamrin, S. Madya, N. H. P. S. Putro, S. S. Mustakim, A. Hassan & H. Retnawati,
Eclectic approach: A search for more effective assessment ways to meet EFL assessment
principles | 681

This study has some limitations, including a small sample size. Therefore, the
results of this study cannot be generalised to other cases. Further analysis can use
various research designs by recruiting more participants. In the era of the industrial
revolution 4.0, the online teaching and learning process will be thriving, so that to
minimise problems in online learning, collaborations between the central and local
governments are needed. For example, the free internet data policy for learning can be
helpful if internet-accessing devices are available. In addition, educational
policymakers should integrate ICT literacy into teachers’ professional training.
Finally, the school syllabus should include ICT training to improve students’ ICT
literacy.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The first author would like to extend her sincere gratitude to Lembaga
Pengelolaan Dana Pendidikan (LPDP/the Indonesia Education Endowment Fund for
Education) under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia for funding her
doctoral study.

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686 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 686-703, 2023

Exploring Indonesian EFL Teacher-

Student Interactions in Online Learning
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Siti Mafulah1,2
Yazid Basthomi*3
Bambang Yudi Cahyono3
Nunung Suryati3
1
Doctoral Program of English Language Education, Universitas Negeri Malang,
Malang 65145, INDONESIA
2
Department of English Education, Universitas PGRI Kanjuruhan Malang, Malang
65148, INDONESIA
3
Department of English, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang
65145, INDONESIA

Abstract
The use of online platforms has been shown to help students engage in
learning writing. The student’s engagement in revising their writing draft
can be seen from the interactions between the teacher and the students or
among the students. This study aims to determine teacher-student
interactions in a writing class conducted synchronously and
asynchronously via Google Classroom, Google Meet, and WhatsApp. The
data were derived from the teacher’s and students’ discussions posted in
written and oral modes in the applications. A qualitative approach in
designing and gathering the data was used in this study. The findings show
that the interactions between the teacher and the students raised the
students’ understanding of the teacher’s instruction so that the students
were engaged in writing their drafts and revising them properly. The
patterns of the teacher’s interactions can be categorised into giving
feedback (39%) followed respectively by prescribing the editor role
(17.7%), promoting individual contributions (13.3%), promoting joint
construction of meaning and form (11%), thanking and praising (10%),
guiding through the writing steps (5.7%) and stimulating students (3.3%).

*
Corresponding author, email: ybasthomi@um.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Mafulah, S., Basthomi, Y., Cahyono, B. Y., & Suryati, N. (2023). Exploring
Indonesian EFL teacher-student interactions in online learning. Studies in English Language and
Education, 10(2), 686-703.

Received December 11, 2021; Revised August 1, 2022; Accepted August 20, 2022; Published Online
May 31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.23804
 S. Mafulah, Y. Basthomi, B. Y. Cahyono & N. Suryati, Exploring Indonesian EFL teacher-
student interactions in online learning | 687

Students’ responses toward the teacher’s patterns of interaction depend on

the teacher’s talk. There is no initiative from the students to start the
discussion. The student’s background as freshmen can cause this; the first-
year students may not be brave enough to start the discussion. This
suggests that exploring the interactions between the teacher and students
of different backgrounds is necessary.

Keywords: Feedback, google classroom, teacher-student interaction,

writing process.

1. INTRODUCTION

It is a truism that interactions between a teacher and students in a writing class

are one of the ways to increase the student’s understanding of the feedback given by
the teacher. Students can revise their drafts by considering the feedback. In addition,
interactions foster learners’ engagement in in-person and online learning classes
(Tang, 2021). Interactions among students and between teachers and students are
essential as they increase their motivation to engage in an online class (Tang, 2021).
Student-student interactions help students stay motivated in the learning process (Hu
et al., 2020; Kellogg et al., 2014; Tang, 2021). It has also been documented that
teacher-student interactions foster the students’ course completion; this happens when
the teacher provides individualised feedback to students (Xing et al., 2019).
Recent educational enterprise has witnessed that digital technology plays a vital
role in facilitating teacher-student interactions (Major et al., 2018). One advantage of
using digital technologies in teaching and learning is that they help students interact
with the teacher. By embedding technology into classrooms, the teaching and learning
process can be done both inside and outside of the classroom so that technology opens
more expansive opportunities for learning (Ivone et al., 2020). The flexibility of
technology use can be one reason for teachers to embed technology in their classrooms
(Daud, 2019). In a writing class, for example, using a particular technological
platform, the teacher can provide feedback wherever and whenever she/he is
convenient so that the schedule does not limit the teacher in the class. Another
advantage is that each student has the same chance to learn (Sortkær, 2019). In
addition, the students also get the advantage of receiving feedback from the teacher
simultaneously.
Various technological applications or platforms have been developed and are
accessible for use to support the online teaching and learning process, such as Edmodo
(Graham, 2016; Purnawarman et al., 2016), mobile instant messaging (Andujar, 2016),
Wiki (Alghasab et al., 2019), and Google Classroom (Kasula, 2016). In particular,
Google Classroom, released in 2014, is one of the online learning platforms some
teachers have widely used. Kasula (2016) reported many advantages of using Google
Classroom. The platform has a wide range of features, and it is connected to other
Google applications such as Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Meet so that teachers
can embed the teaching materials from other Google applications. The convenience of
using Google Classroom allows teachers to post learning materials, announcements,
and assignments (Daud, 2019). These materials and assignments allow teacher-student
interactions and discussions. The interaction is one indicator that the virtual classroom
688 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 686-703, 2023

is interactive. Unlike face-to-face interactions that seem to lead to hierarchal

relationships, online interactions lead to more egalitarian relationships (Jones et al.,
2006). In different online interaction patterns, teachers can also invite different
responses from their students (Pianta & Hamre, 2009).
Some scholars have investigated teacher-student interactions in a writing class.
Alghasab et al. (2019) explored the teacher-student interaction on Wikis, and the
results show that the teachers adopted approaches ranging from directive to dialogic.
When the teachers took a more directive approach, the students interacted with the
teacher rather than their peers and completed writing individually. However, when the
teachers adopted a more dialogue approach, student-student interactions, and
collaborations were more prominent. The responses in the form of the students’ writing
revision follow the patterns of the teacher’s moves. Michinov and Michinov (2008),
using an in-depth and longitudinal examination of a small sample, investigated
whether face-to-face contact between participants during online learning influenced
the patterns of participation, interaction, and behaviour over time. The results show
that this contact positively affects the student’s participation in interactions during an
online collaboration. Michinov and Michinov (2008) designed blended learning,
combining online and face-to-face communication. Since this study combined face-to-
face and online interactions, online interaction might be influenced by in-person
interaction. The results will likely differ if the research only focuses on online learning.
Several studies have also explored discussions involving teachers and students.
Suh and Michener (2019), for instance, examined how online discussions were used
in one language teacher education program. The findings indicate that linguistically
responsive pre-service teachers were engaged in an online dialogue when the prompt
was suitable with the content of the discussions. In addition, the prompts make the
participants engage more critically with dominant sociocultural discourses than with
immediate interlocutor contexts. This means that language teachers should use online
discussion prompts to foster engagement. Since they only focused on the teachers’
point of view, it is necessary to explore more about discussions from the student’s
point of view. Blaine (2019) explored teachers’ and students’ perceptions of online
and blended learning interactions. The findings show different perceptions between
the teacher and the students. While the teachers perceived that interactions in online
learning and blended learning were favourable, the students perceived otherwise.
Interactions between the teacher and the students in a small group discussion
through Wiki explored by Alghasab et al. (2019) depended on the teacher’s talk. A
small group discussion sometimes was dominated by some students. This situation
raises questions; therefore, the interactions between a teacher and their students in a
whole class are worth researching. Research studies by, for example, Suh and
Michener (2019) only focused on the teacher’s point of view, and the authors still have
limited information about the interactions seen from the students’ view. Similarly,
Saclarides and Munson (2021) explored the interactions between a coach and a teacher
from a teacher’s point of view. The results of the study differed from the results of the
study on the perception of the interactions between a teacher and students from the
student’s points of view (Blaine, 2019).
Previous studies above have not provided adequate information on the nature of
teacher-student interactions in online class sessions in the Indonesian context. As such,
the authors decided to explore this lacuna to address the unclear aspects untouched by
the previous research. Many studies have used Learning Management Systems (LMS)
 S. Mafulah, Y. Basthomi, B. Y. Cahyono & N. Suryati, Exploring Indonesian EFL teacher-
student interactions in online learning | 689

suited to the teaching and learning needs, and the interactions between the teacher and
the students in a class are also worth exploring since the previous studies focused on
different issues. As such, this study aims to explore the Indonesian EFL teacher-
student interactions in an online writing course. The research questions are formulated
as follows:
• How did Indonesian EFL teachers interact with students in an online writing
course?
• How did students respond to the teacher’s patterns of interactions in an online
writing course?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Classroom Interaction

Interactions between teachers and students tend to be projected toward the

students’ learning improvement (Van Gasse et al., 2020) through dialogue or a turn-
taking system (Batlle & Deal, 2021). Therefore, interactions in the teaching and
learning process are crucial. Sweet (2016) categorised teacher interactions into three
general aspects based on personal characteristics or behaviours. The first aspect is a
speaker’s or the sender’s impact, i.e., how far teachers seek interaction. The second
aspect is the degree of effects of interactions on addressees or the receivers, and the
last one is how far teachers interact with others who have similar characteristics
(homophily effect). In general, teacher interactions can be viewed from several
aspects, for example, senders or the speakers’ view, addressees or anyone to whom
speakers talks, and the characteristics of the addressees, whether they are colleagues
or students.
Speaker or sender effects depict how teacher characteristics or attitudes affect
the interaction (Sweet, 2016). Teachers with a positive attitude are more likely to seek
more interaction within their network (Van Gasse et al., 2020). For instance, in this
study, an example of a teacher’s good attitude influences students’ willingness to
communicate or interact. Addressee or receiver effects depict how teachers’
characteristics or attitudes affect how far they are counselled by colleagues (Sweet,
2016). The number of addressees consulted is considered an aspect of interaction. It
means that teachers with a good attitude are more likely to be consulted by colleagues
(Van Gasse et al., 2020). For instance, in this study, the more teachers discuss with
their students, the more students are willing to consult the teachers about their
difficulties in writing. The last aspect is the homophily effect, i.e., the engagement
between speakers and addressees in the interaction. It suggests how far the engagement
between teachers and students is during the interaction.
One of the functions of interaction in a classroom is to engage students in the
teaching and learning process (Jones et al., 2006). The main pedagogical moment is
that teachers should initiate interactions with their students (Hofmann & Mercer,
2016). This means that teachers should decide what to do and how to define the scope
of interaction. In conducting a dialogue or interaction, teachers are more
knowledgeable of the class content based on their knowledge and competencies (Batlle
& Deal, 2021). In this case, teachers have an important role in interacting with their
classes during the lessons. Branigan and Donaldson (2020) stated that teachers should
690 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 686-703, 2023

motivate students to show their thinking and learning performance. Interaction

between teachers and students in writing class can be achieved by giving instructions
on what students should write. Teacher feedback does not bother teacher-student
interaction in the classroom (Sa’adah et al., 2018). In addition, good teachers should
conceptualise a good learning track for their students (Mercer, 2008). One of the needs
of a good learning track is good interaction between teachers and students. However,
the interaction between teachers and their students is rarely fully scripted and needs to
be identified (Sybing, 2021).

2.2 Teacher-Student Interaction through Online Learning

Online learning is the teaching and learning process separated by time and place
(Blaine, 2019; Mayer, 2019). In addition, this type of learning is characterised by
teachers and students rarely meeting in a classroom, and the lesson is delivered through
a distance learning setting (Gutentag et al., 2022; Raes et al., 2020). Online teaching
and learning process has also been used for writing classes where the teacher provides
feedback in guiding the students to get better writing performance (Haoucha, 2012;
Sheen, 2007; Zacharias, 2007). The feedback can be in the form of interaction between
teacher and students, and research has found that students were disappointed by a lack
of interaction in online learning (Cole et al., 2014).
Saclarides and Munson (2021) coded the teacher interaction between teachers
and coaches as building a relationship, discussing the content of the pedagogy and
content, collaborative teaching, logistics (timing, materials, or classroom
management), noticing student thinking, and performative praising and discipline.
Unlike Saclarides and Munson (2021), Alghasab et al. (2019) coded the teacher talk
more specifically to the interaction between a teacher and students in a writing class
as guiding the writing step, guiding students in outlining or planning their writing, and
praising the students who have good writing or understanding about the instruction.
Teachers can provide suggestions to students who have difficulties in writing or
planning to write.
The authors note, however, that Alghasab et al.’s (2019) coding system has a
closer affinity to the nature of the present study. Therefore, the coding from Alghasab
et al. (2019) was adapted for the current study. The coding adaptation can be seen in
Table 1, which was used in analysing the data.

Table 1. Code, description, and examples.

No. Code Description Examples
1 Stimulating Teacher gives stimuli before Teacher: let’s look at the
students coming to the main task/writing picture. Do you think that
the …
2. Guiding the Teacher assists students by telling Teacher: Dear students, I
writing steps them how to complete the writing have uploaded the material.
task, such as brainstorming ideas Please read and complete
and planning the text. the task …
3. Thanking and Teacher gives appreciation to the Teacher: Good, you are
Praising students to keep them motivated right …
along the online discussion
4. Promoting joint Teacher asks students to share, Teacher: who wants to fix
construction of discuss and gives alternative the sentence …
meaning and form suggestions to others
 S. Mafulah, Y. Basthomi, B. Y. Cahyono & N. Suryati, Exploring Indonesian EFL teacher-
student interactions in online learning | 691

Table 1 continued…
5. Giving feedback The teacher provides feedback on Teacher:
the language form. I and my family went to
Bromo→ My family and I
went to Bromo. I should be
placed after everyone. In
English, it to show
politeness. Don’t forget to
write ‘I’ in a capital letter.
6. Promoting Teacher asks students to contribute Teacher: Please complete
individual to the writing task individually. the task individually …
contributions
7. Adopting the Teacher directly edits a student’s We could go there and we
editor role text without or with minimal could streets → Go around
explanation. the site
8. Prescribing the Teacher prescribes the specific Teacher: Eli, you have to
content and form content, structure or format of the simplify your answer since
text. the instruction is only to
write your brief answer.
9. Adopting the Teacher closely checks the student’s Teacher: I have checked
monitor role writing activity. your writing draft, please
…

3. METHOD

3.1 Design of the Study

A qualitative approach was used in this study. This approach is suitable for
analysing the interactions between a teacher and students through Google Classroom
and WhatsApp to answer the research questions in this study. The data were collected
through observations. The interactions between the teacher and students were then
documented, transcribed, and analysed based on the teacher’s moves adapted from
Alghasab et al. (2019). The instrument used in this study was an observation sheet.

3.2 Participants

Twenty students and one lecturer of English Literature at a private university in

Malang City, East Java, Indonesia, voluntarily participated in this study. All
participants were second-semester students who joined the Writing 1 course. On
average, the participants were 20 years old. In addition, based on the information from
the teacher, the pre-test result in the first meeting indicated that only 8% of the total
number of students could identify good sentences. As such, this class was suitable for
generating data on the interactions between a teacher and students and how students’
responses were towards the teacher’s feedback.
Referring to the course description documented by the English Education
Department, Universitas PGRI Kanjuruhan Malang, the Writing 1 course has been
designed to help students write simple sentences, complex sentences, and compound-
complex sentences. By the end of the course, the students are expected to develop their
abilities to recognise and understand the criteria of good English sentences, kinds of
692 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 686-703, 2023

sentence structures, subject-verb agreement, common errors, and mechanics and apply
them in grammatically-correct English sentences.

3.3 Data Collection

Since the teaching and learning process was done in synchronous and
asynchronous meetings, the data for this study were gathered from the dialogues
between the teacher and the students in the WhatsApp group as asynchronous meetings
and Google Meet as synchronous meetings. While the lecturer gave the feedback, the
students responded to the teacher’s feedback and suggestions, followed by students’
revising their tasks. The teacher recommended that the students comment on the
feedback given to them. In this session, the dialogues were documented. The students’
final drafts were not analysed in this study.

Figure 1. An example of the assignment in the seventh meeting.

After the teacher assigned a task to the students, the students completed it and
submitted it in Google Classroom. In the next meeting, the teacher gave feedback and
then discussed the feedback with the students. The discussion was done in synchronous
and asynchronous meetings since not all students could join the synchronous meetings
because of poor internet connection and other obstacles. An example of class
discussion on WhatsApp Group is provided in Figure 2, and the example of a
synchronous meeting is shown in Figure 3.
Due to the time limit, this study investigated online interactions in four meetings
(Meetings 6 to 9). The topic in Meeting 6 was identifying the errors in sentences. The
teacher gave the task to the students, and the students submitted it in Google
Classroom. Meeting 7 was used to discuss the results of the error analysis submitted
by the students. Meeting 8 was the mid-term test (writing sentences and doing errors
analysis). Meeting 9 was used to discuss the student’s mid-term test results. The data
were collected from Meeting 7 and Meeting 9 during the discussions. There were 155
discussion posts from the WhatsApp group and 123 from the Google Meet discussions.
The teacher’s utterances consisted of 90 utterances and 188 utterances, respectively.
 S. Mafulah, Y. Basthomi, B. Y. Cahyono & N. Suryati, Exploring Indonesian EFL teacher-
student interactions in online learning | 693

Figure 2. An example of a discussion session on WhatsApp.

Figure 3. An example of a synchronous meeting.

3.4 Data Analysis

A discourse analysis was developed to analyse the online interactions arising

from the dialogues between the teacher and the students posted on the online board,
Google Meet and WhatsApp, which were then collected and analysed. The posts were
documented and analysed to capture the patterns of the interactions between the
lecturer and the students (Alghasab & Handley, 2017). Besides, this research used
teacher code adapted from Alghasab et al. (2019).
694 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 686-703, 2023

4. RESULTS

4.1 Indonesian EFL Teacher-Student Interactions

The results of the data analysis demonstrate the teacher’s patterns of stimulating
students, guiding the writing steps, thanking and praising, promoting joint construction
of meaning and form, giving feedback, promoting individual contributions, and
prescribing the editor’s role. The percentage of the interaction patterns can be seen in
Table 2.

Table 2. Percentage of teacher’s patterns of interactions.

No . Code Percentage
1 Stimulating 3.3%
2 Guiding the writing steps 5.7%
3 Thanking and praising 10%
4 Promoting joint construction of meaning and form 11%
5 Giving feedback 39%
6 Promoting individual contributions 13.3%
7 Prescribing the editor’s role 17.7%

The percentage of giving feedback is the highest of all the teacher’s interactions
(39%), followed respectively by prescribing the editor’s role (17.7%), promoting
individual contributions (13.3%), promoting joint construction of meaning and form
(11%), thanking and praising (10%), guiding the writing steps (5.7%), and stimulating
students (3.3%)
In stimulating students, the teacher started by giving stimuli to the students by
posting some pictures and asking the students to write sentences based on the pictures.
Before asking the students to write, the teacher gave stimuli via voice notes in the
WhatsApp group. The following is an example of stimulation given by the teacher.

(1) T : Dear all students, today we will learn about composing compound sentences. I have uploaded
some pictures in Google Classroom. We can see that there are activities that can be written
using compound sentences. Do you still remember how to write a compound sentence?

After giving the stimulus, the teacher continued guiding them in writing the
sentences based on the pictures. Regarding giving guidance in writing, the teacher’s
utterances came to 5.7% in total. The example of giving guidance in writing steps is
as follows.

(2) T : 1. See the series of pictures on page 2

2. Write a story based on it.
You must apply simple, complex, compound, and compound-complex sentences in the story.
The story consists of 15 to 20 sentences.
Use Times New Roman, font 12, and double space
Write your full name in your work.
Don’t forget to write the title of your story.

The example above shows that the instructions consist of writing the task. In
writing the story, the students had to write based on the teacher’s instruction; that is,
the students should examine the pictures before writing the story and apply various
types of sentences, from simple to complex compound sentences. The following guide
 S. Mafulah, Y. Basthomi, B. Y. Cahyono & N. Suryati, Exploring Indonesian EFL teacher-
student interactions in online learning | 695

was about the number of sentences that should be included in the student’s writing, the
types of fonts, font size, and the line space used. In addition, the teacher also reminded
the students not to forget to write their names and the title of their stories. With this
explicit instruction, the students completed their tasks as expected.
In promoting individual contributions, the teacher did not directly answer the
students’ questions while discussing their writing or doing error analysis. This code
was captured after one of the students asked the teacher how to improve the sentence.
The teacher did not directly answer the question but gave the other students a chance
to share their opinions. This code is 13.7%, and the following is an example of
promoting individual contributions.

(3) T : Who wants to try to answer this?

S7 : In my opinion, cycling is more directed towards sports activities using bicycles while playing
bikes is how about someone that had the power to ride bicycles🙏🏻

In this instance, the teacher withheld the students’ direct correction to ensure the
analysis was accurate. He first gave the students a chance to talk about the errors. Then
the teacher requested assistance from the other students to answer their peers’
questions. The discussion ran smoothly since there were many answers from the other
students. This part of the discussion gave the students ideas to entertain to revise the
sentence the teacher gave. This discussion also made the teacher feel that it would be
better if the teacher and the students gave comments and corrections together so that
each student was also motivated, if not forced, to share their opinions about the correct
answers based on their understanding and argument. The interactions between the
teacher and the students were very productive. Both the teacher and the students were
engaged in the attempts to solve the problem.
Unlike correction in promoting individual contribution, the teacher directly
corrected the student’s error by explaining how it could be improved. Immediate
correction from the teacher somehow coded as “prescribing the editor role”, which
gained 17.7%. The following is an example of prescribing the editor role.

(4) S15: The car which is Xenia is belongs to my girl’s father.

T : Correct. Drop “is” before the word “belongs”.

As shown in the example above, the teacher directly corrected the student’s
sentence. The purpose was likely to make all the students understand which one was
the correct sentence. Sometimes students were unaware of their mistakes in subject–
verb agreement. When one student posted his/her sentence, many gave their opinions
about how to correct the sentence. The discussion ran well and interactively.
Furthermore, when the teacher interacted with the students, he praised and
thanked them. These practices encouraged the students to speak during the discussion
session. Thanking and praising gained 10% from the teacher’s interactions with the
students. The following is an example of thanking and praising addressed to the
students. When Eli, one of the students, suggested the correct sentence, and the teacher
thanked her and encouraged other students not to worry about possible wrong
corrections that they shared. The example of thanking and praising is as follows:
696 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 686-703, 2023

(5) T : Thanks, Eli. Other suggestions?

No problem. Don’t worry about wrong ideas. 👍🏻👍🏻🙏🙏but cycling is correct.
You see? 😊😊
A good discussion. Thanks.

Thanking and praising sometimes are given at the same time, as shown in the
example above; the teacher said, “Thanks, Eli,” and ended it with “A good discussion”
as a statement of praise. By saying “thanks” and praising the students’ ideas, the
teacher showed his thanking and praising.
Giving feedback is the highest percentage of the teacher’s pattern during the
discussion. The frequency of giving feedback is 39%, which means that in Writing 1,
the teacher gave feedback to the students more frequently than other patterns. The
feedback that the teacher gave was about grammar, the construction of the sentence,
and vocabulary use.

(6) S2 : Sir, how about “The car which is Xenia is belongs to my girl’s father.”
T : The car which is Xenia is belongs to my girl’s father
Should be...The car belongs to my girl’s father. It is Xenia.
(DROP “is” after THE CAR)

Based on the example above, the teacher corrected the sentence. The feedback
given to the students was related to grammar. S2 shared his opinion about the correct
sentence, and the teacher gave feedback by saying, “Should be...The car belongs to my
girl’s father. It is Xenia. (DROP ‘is’ after THE CAR)”. This feedback was given by
the teacher when none of the students who participated in that discussion on Meeting
7 could revise the sentence correctly.

4.2 Students’ Responses Toward Teacher’s Interaction Pattern in the

Discussion Session

Students’ responses during the interaction with the teacher show a pattern
different from that of the teacher. Most students waited for the teacher’s talk; they
rarely started the interactions. The students’ responses toward the interactions with the
teacher are presented in Figure 4.
Figure 1 shows that students’ responses toward the teacher’s talks are based on
the pattern that the teacher made. When the teacher stimulated the students before
asking them to write, 8% of the students responded by saying, “Thank you, Sir”, and
2.8% answered the teacher’s question regarding the stimuli given by the teacher.
Regarding guiding the writing steps, the student’s responses are 17.5% in the form of
agreeing with the teacher by saying “Okay, Sir” and “Yes, Sir”. Thanking and praising
given by the teacher received responses of 25 utterances or 13.2%. This is apparent as
the students said, “You are welcome, Sir”. Moreover, the teacher’s interactional
pattern of promoting joint construction of meaning and form received responses:
thanking (0.5%) and agreeing (24%). Students’ responses to the teacher’s promoting
joint construction of meaning and form received a high frequency of agreement from
the students, but when the teacher gave feedback to the students, the student’s
responses were asking further questions to the teacher about the feedback (5.4%) and
thanking (10.5%).
 S. Mafulah, Y. Basthomi, B. Y. Cahyono & N. Suryati, Exploring Indonesian EFL teacher-
student interactions in online learning | 697

30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Stimulating Guiding the Thanking Promoting Giving Promoting Prescribing
writing steps and Praising joint feedback individual the editor
construction contributions role
of meaning
and form

Thanking Agreeing Answering

Questioning Sharing opinion Deleting comment
apologizing

Figure 4. Students’ responses during interaction with the teacher.

Concerning promoting individual contributions, the responses given by the

students were questioning (1%), sharing opinions (5.4%), deleting comments (1%),
and apologising (0.5%). The following is an example of students’ responses when the
teacher asked them to contribute to the discussion. Initially, the teacher asked the
students to participate in the discussion in Meeting 7, and S20 deleted the message he
had typed. Then the teacher reminded him not to delete the message, although it was
wrong. S20 then responded to the teacher by saying, “Yes sir, I think that WHICH just
for non-human beings because usually WHICH is used to ask about something such
as a thing”. This statement is categorised as sharing opinions since he wrote his
opinion. After sharing his opinion, he continued his statement by apologising that he
had deleted his sentence by saying, “I’m so sorry, sir.”

(7) T : okay students, what do you think of the correct sentence?

S20: (message deleted)
T : Please don’t delete your opinion. It is ok even though wrong.
S20: Yes sir, I think that WHICH just for non-human beings because usually WHICH use
to ask about something such as thing.
I’m so sorry, sir. I forget to write about relative pronouns in the sentence🙏🏻
S17: The man that we met yesterday was our headmaster, Mr Lucky, we had a meeting with him
S1 : The headmaster that we had meeting with was Mr. Lucky.

The discussion provided a good chance for the students to study together. The
students participated actively in the discussion session. The active discussion can be
seen in the excerpt above, in that S17 and S1 posted their opinions. They showed their
contribution in the discussion forum. The participation from all of the students made
the students engaged and the classroom interactive.
The last pattern of the teacher’s statement in the discussion is prescribing the
editor’s role. The student’s response to this pattern is that the students simply said,
“Thank you.” Students’ responses depended on the teacher’s statement. Most
responses were “Yes Sir” and “Thank you.”
698 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 686-703, 2023

(8) S3 : i have another opinion with this statement “ i go to cycling” and i was playing bike” ?🙏
T : always write “I” not “i”
S3 : Thank you, Sir 🙏

5. DISCUSSION

The results of the study show the interactions between the teacher and the
students in the Writing 1 course. Regarding the teacher’s interactional patterns, giving
feedback has the highest percentage of teacher interaction, followed respectively by
prescribing the editor role, promoting individual contributions, promoting joint
construction of meaning and form, thanking and praising, guiding the writing steps
and stimulating students. As the most frequent interaction pattern, feedback given to
the students is one of the ways that the teacher can scaffold the students to write better,
and giving immediate feedback makes students aware of their mistakes (Attali, 2011;
Sulistyo et al., 2020). The discussion between the teacher and the students involving
feedback from the teacher helps the students know what should be revised (Ohlsson,
2018). Although this study did not analyse the effects of the interaction on the quality
of the student’s final drafts, the students’ talk indicated that they understood what they
should revise in their drafts. Furthermore, from the interactions, the teacher did not
dominate the interactions; instead, the teacher could manage the class well (Sybing,
2021), and the students had opportunities to participate in the interactions. The
students’ responses when they received feedback from the teacher were in the form of
asking further questions about the feedback so that they could understand how to revise
their drafts. The students were engaged well in the online class by interacting with the
teacher. This affirms the finding of a previous study by Tang (2021).
Concerning the pattern of stimulating the students and guiding writing steps, the
teacher gave clear guidance in writing so that the students could engage themselves in
a writing class. Consequently, the students were involved in the interactions to show
that they understood the instructions given by the teacher. This result aligns with the
study conducted by Pritchard and Morrow (2017), showing that instruction is the key
to online learning. Moreover, the dialogic interactions between the teacher and the
students can create an open discussion. Furthermore, explicit instruction from the
teacher has enabled the students to keep their responsibility and continue their work in
writing their drafts (Saclarides & Munson, 2021).
Furthermore, the teacher made a motivating interaction in the discussion by
thanking and praising the students. This interactional pattern motivates the students in
the discussion since they receive appreciation from the teacher. Most of the responses
for this pattern are in the form of “Thank you.” Pertaining to this point, appreciation
and praise should be given to the students to encourage them to learn (Guo et al., 2019).
In addition, when the students had difficulties revising their sentences, they shared
their difficulties in the discussion. After posting their sentences, other students shared
their opinions. This condition could not happen instantly. Instead of discussing their
writing in an online discussion, they always waited for the teacher to give some stimuli.
This finding is in line with that of Hofmann and Mercer (2016), arguing that the teacher
should initiate interactions with the students in the main pedagogical aspect. This is
 S. Mafulah, Y. Basthomi, B. Y. Cahyono & N. Suryati, Exploring Indonesian EFL teacher-
student interactions in online learning | 699

in line with Sweet (2016), who stated that teacher’s positive attitude affects the
student’s willingness to communicate or interact with the teacher.
Promoting individual contributions by the teacher raised many responses from
the students. The first response was questioning. In this case, the students were
confident to ask the teacher about their work, specifically how to revise their writing.
At the same time, the teacher invited other students to share their opinions about the
correct sentence. This situation initiated the second interactional pattern, sharing
opinions. When one of the students was not confident with what he or she shared, he
or she deleted the comment and finally asked for an apology from the teacher. This
circumstance suggests that interactions between the instructor and the students have
increased student engagement in the classroom. This result supports the findings of
Jones et al. (2006) and Sweet (2016).
Prescribing the editor’s role and promoting joint construction of meaning and
form received high student responses. All of the students in the discussion gave
responses to these patterns. However, the responses to these interactional patterns were
simply “Yes, sir,” “Okay, Sir”, and “Thank you, Sir”, which did not extend the
interactional activities. All of the above points lead to our confirmed understanding
that the interactions of the teacher with the students raised different responses based
on the teacher’s talk (Alghasab et al., 2019; Sweet, 2016).

6. CONCLUSION

The discussion through Google Classroom, as one online platform, makes

teaching and learning more fun and interactive. Besides, the teacher can choose
interactional patterns and provide a meaningful teaching method. The interactions
encourage the teacher and students to revise their sentences during the writing process.
In addition, through online interactions, teachers can expand their teaching experience
by embedding technology in the teaching and learning process. The interactions in an
online platform can help them develop their professionalism and transform beliefs,
skills, and commitment in a classroom. Students’ satisfaction in the learning process
makes the lesson successful. Through interactions between the teacher and the
students, misunderstandings of the feedback given by the teacher can be solved. The
interactions between the teacher and the students can be implemented well since the
teacher can stimulate the students to discuss the materials and the feedback given by
the teacher or share opinions regarding how students revise their writing drafts. In
addition, a full online teaching and learning process improves students’ willingness to
interact. In contrast to research in a blended class conducted by Michinov and
Michinov (2008), the results of our study show that teacher-student interaction in
online discussion was well managed, which is different from face-to-face learning that
tended to show students’ lack of participation and task-focused interactions.
Moreover, the teacher’s willingness to interact with the students encouraged
them to share their ideas or opinions, understand the instruction, and comprehend the
materials. Since the findings show that the students did not have the initiative to start
the conversation or discussion, the teacher should have many techniques to initiate a
discussion, such as using a stimulus like pictures or extracting students’ knowledge
before focusing on the main materials. The absence of initiative from the students to
start a discussion can be caused by the student’s background, as the first-year students
700 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 686-703, 2023

may not be confident to start the discussion. The present study exploring the
interactions between the teacher and the students has also noted that some teachers’
interactional patterns only stimulate short student responses. This result suggests that
teachers need to explore other interactional patterns to ensure longer interactional
activities on the part of the students for more engaging teaching and learning activities.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The first author is thoroughly thankful to Lembaga Pengelola Dana

Pendidikan/LPDP (Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education), Ministry of Finance,
the Republic of Indonesia, for providing financial support for doctoral study at
Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia.

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704 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 704-722, 2023

Factors Affecting English Performance

Between Students Residing in Tourist and
Non-Tourist Areas
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Tuti Hidayati*1
Sari Diana1
Faizatul Husna1
David D. Perrodin2
1
Department of English Education, Faculty of Education and Teacher Training,
Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri (STAIN) Teungku Dirundeng Meulaboh, Aceh
Barat 23681, INDONESIA
2
Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom,
THAILAND

Abstract
Living in a tourist area is frequently viewed as an advantage for students
learning English as it provides more opportunities to practice the
language. The present study looked at the English performance of students
residing in tourist and non-tourist areas and explored how they learned
English and the factors affecting their language performance. A
comparative study was conducted using a concurrent mixed-method
approach. The data were collected through documents, tests, and
interviews and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively to examine
differences and determine the main themes between the respective groups.
The result of the study indicates that the two groups differed statistically
in terms of English school grades and speaking test scores with large effect
sizes (d = 3.26 and d = 1.28), respectively. Even though the proficiency
test did not show a significant difference (p = .72), the non-tourist group
outperformed the tourist group in all assessment types. The interviews
revealed that regardless of the different attributes and sites where students
lived, the two groups were similar in how they learned English. The main
factors affecting the English language performance of both groups were
(1) strong motivation, (2) the independent effort to learn English outside

*
Corresponding author, email: tutihidayati@staindirundeng.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Hidayati, T., Diana, S., Husna, F., & Perrodin, D. D. (2023). Factors affecting
English performance between students residing in tourist and non-tourist areas. Studies in English
Language and Education, 10(2), 704-722.

Received July 28, 2022; Revised December 8, 2022; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.27237
 T. Hidayati, S. Diana, F. Husna & D. D. Perrodin, Factors affecting English performance
between students residing in tourist and non-tourist areas | 705

of school, (3) exposure to English through songs, games, movies, and

social media, and (4) family support.

Keywords: English language performance, language acquisition, learning

English, tourism.

1. INTRODUCTION

In an English as a foreign language (EFL) learning and teaching environment

such as Indonesia, students have fewer possibilities to be exposed to authentic English
usage (Agung, 2019; Lauder, 2008). As such, the most meaningful exposure to English
for most students is during classroom instruction (Lamb, 2013; Marcellino, 2015).
Outside the classroom, their exposure to English is confined to songs, movies, video
games, television programs, and social media (Hidayati & Husna, 2020; Lamb, 2004).
Consequently, seeing as English serves as the primary media of communication with
foreign visitors in a tourist destination (Irimiea, 2018), meeting or interacting with a
native English speaker in Indonesia is unlikely unless students reside in tourist areas
(Gao, 2012).
For most Indonesians living in tourist destinations, acquiring English is driven
by economic demand rather than academic need (Gunton, 2004). For example, in Bali,
Indonesia, some individuals desire to develop English language skills to assist them in
selling their products to tourists. Gunton (2004) noted that many Balinese who speak
English acquired language ability from talking to tourists rather than in the classroom.
Dörnyei and Csizér (2005) showed that intercultural contact through tourism created
positive language attitudes and positively correlated with self-confidence in using the
language. Furthermore, Gao (2012) discovered that Yangshuo, a Chinese province
with the most international tourists and markets, has a place where people can practice
speaking English by interacting with native English speakers. As a result, this location
has become the most prominent English-speaking region in the nation.
According to the previous studies mentioned above, living in a tourist area can
be advantageous for English language learners. What about the language learners who
do not live in tourist areas? Would they be considered disadvantaged under the
circumstance of learning English in an authentic setting? Perhaps, but with mobile
technology and internet access, students now have access to several language learning
platforms (Richards, 2015). With technology, students can learn English using visual
and auditory aids and become more proficient in the four macro skills, i.e., listening,
speaking, reading, and writing (Blake, 2016). Through various mobile applications,
individuals can communicate with other language learners, including native speakers
of the target language (Sama & Wu, 2019). Thanks to modern technology, learners
still have opportunities to be exposed to and engaged with authentic English despite
living outside a tourist area. Previous studies in Aceh, Indonesia, found that most
university students possessed smartphones and often used various English language
learning mobile applications and dual-language dictionaries (Hidayati & Diana, 2019;
Hidayati & Endayani, 2019). Moreover, Hidayati and Diana (2019), who introduced
various free mobile applications for English language learning, found that students
demonstrated greater enthusiasm if they could study English outside classes at any
suitable time and location.
706 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 704-722, 2023

However, few studies have investigated the relationship between tourism and
English language learning. Most studies concerning technological media in language
learning aim to implement specific mobile devices or applications to develop language
skills. Less attention has been given to the factors affecting the English performance
of students from different learning contexts. Hence, the current study examines this
gap and adds to the literature on English language learning in an EFL context by
investigating the English performance of students from tourist and non-tourist areas
and exploring factors affecting their English performance. In consideration, two
questions are proposed:
1. Are there significant differences in English language performance between students
living in tourist and those residing in non-tourist areas?
2. What are the factors affecting the English performance of students living in tourist
and non-tourist areas?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Tourism and Authentic Language Learning

United Nations (2010) defines tourism as “a social, cultural, and economic

phenomenon which entails the movement of people to countries or places outside their
usual environment for personal or business/professional purposes” (p. 1). Global
tourism growth has established a special status of English as the language of tourism,
closely linked to various areas related to tourism, from tourism management to
sociological issues of individual perception, experience, and identity (Irimiea, 2018).
Ruane (2021) contended that the increase in international mobility trends in today’s
global society leads to a change in attitude toward English usage. In the context where
tourism serves as the means of income, the English language is needed to do business
(Parwati, 2018). For this community, English is a prestigious language required to
secure workforce positions. Often, parents send their children to schools offering
English programs so they may acquire the English proficiency necessary for business
in tourist sites (Artini, 2017).
Intercultural contact from the mobilization of people in today’s era is reported
to play an essential role in learning a foreign language. Dörnyei and Csizér (2005)
explained that meaningful communication across cultures requires proficiency in the
target language. Inter-ethnic contact creates opportunities for developing language
skills and acts as a powerful influence in shaping learners’ attitudes and motivation
toward the target language. Studies investigating cross-cultural communication among
language learners indicate that such encounters improve learners’ communicative
competence, increase motivation, and lessen anxiety in language use (Aubrey &
Nowlan, 2013; Kormos & Csizér, 2007). Likewise, the linguistic landscape of tourist
destinations with multiple languages displayed in public in the form of various
signages such as public road signs, street names, advertising billboards, place names,
and commercial shop signs (Hancock, 2022) is believed to be a valuable form of
linguistic function essential in raising language awareness among language learners
(Gorter et al., 2021). A study of learners’ engagement with linguistic landscapes
revealed that such opportunities serve as practical pedagogical tools enabling learners
to gain new knowledge and understanding of diverse language literacies. Accordingly,
 T. Hidayati, S. Diana, F. Husna & D. D. Perrodin, Factors affecting English performance
between students residing in tourist and non-tourist areas | 707

the linguistic landscape functions both as valuable language input and a critical
educational resource for foreign language learning (Hancock, 2022). Drawing from
these studies, learners residing in tourist locations can benefit from their environment
as they will likely be exposed to different forms of language displayed in public for
tourist guidance.

2.2 English Language Performance

According to Chomsky (2006), language performance is having a good

command of a language in which the user is “able, in principle, to understand what is
said and to produce a signal with an intended semantic interpretation” (p. 102). In other
words, language performance, as the accumulation of both knowing and using the
language, is the ability to use the language to communicate effectively for different
purposes and in varied contexts. Studies have found that internal factors such as origins
in a student’s inner self, including motivation, attitudes, and perceptions about learning
English, and external factors such as classroom setting, educational activities, English
proficiency, and exposure to English impact a student’s English language performance
(Adolphs et al., 2018; Liu, 2014; Oroujlou & Vahedi, 2011).
In addition, when exploring psychological factors that influence English
performance, Haidara (2016) found out that despite rating themselves as having the
sufficient vocabulary and good grammar knowledge, students were insecure when
asked to speak in English due to fear of mistakes, being shy, hesitance, and lacking
confidence. Additionally, for dual language learners, social status and poverty were
also indicated to significantly influence the speed of English attainment (Kim et al.,
2014). Kim et al. (2014) reported that learners whose mothers were born in form-
providing countries and attended schools with fewer dual language learners appeared
to become proficient in English faster. Moreover, they further stressed that dual
language learners have diverse backgrounds with economic issues interfering with
their English learning.
Studying young English language learners in several municipalities in East Java,
Indonesia, Meisani et al. (2020) noted that learners’ English achievement was also
related to gender, grade level, and school accreditation rank. Meisani et al. (2020)
asserted that while grade level and gender were repeatedly reported to substantially
influence learners’ English performance, they also recorded a significant effect due to
the school’s reputation. Students studying in schools with the highest reputation rank
were found to have better attainment in English. Similarly, Getie (2020) found that
educational context factors, including classroom arrangement and physical
environment, can negatively affect students’ attitudes toward learning English.
Therefore, it is vital to improve the physical learning environment to assist the
language learning process.
With numerous factors influencing and contributing to language performance,
instructional methodologies that may enhance learners’ English language performance
have been widely and extensively researched. Khoshsima and Shokri (2017) suggested
that sound methods can provide better learning opportunities to develop learners’
language performance through engagement, study, and activity elements.
Furthermore, Llinares (2015) established that it is essential to have learners think about
the language they are encountering. They found that thinking and making decisions
about the target language will help learners develop conceptual understanding and
708 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 704-722, 2023

cognitive skills, which is more critical than acquiring information. However, an over-
focus on language construction and arrangement may hamper fluency (Khoshsima &
Shokri, 2017), as in the case of young learners. Young learners acquire language
subconsciously through an inductive process of exposure to language input and the
opportunity to experiment with output (Hu, 2016). In other words, they acquire
language without thinking about it. The practical implication of this view is that
language learning must be balanced between encouraging students to discover
complex language constructions and allowing them to use the language in automatic
mode without thinking about the sentence arrangements and verb tenses (Housen et
al., 2012). Wong et al. (2017) suggested that with more approaches to language
learning, the content of language courses should reflect the purposes for which the
students are learning the language in the first place. For this reason, teachers should be
aware of the learners’ needs before beginning a language course.

3. METHODS

This current study utilized a concurrent mixed-method design to collect

qualitative and quantitative data (Onwuegbuzie & Collins, 2007). Quantitative data
were collected to obtain information about students’ English performance, defined as
the ability to produce and comprehend sentences in English (Inayah et al., 2019) both
orally and in written form. Quantitative data were determined through school grades,
speaking tests, and the EnglishScore application. Meanwhile, qualitative data
regarding factors affecting students’ language performance were collected through in-
depth interviews.

3.1 Participants

The participants were senior high school students studying in eight of the most
reputable schools in both tourist and non-tourist areas of Aceh. Four schools were
chosen in Sabang, Aceh’s most popular tourist destination, and subsequently identified
as tourism areas (TA). For comparison, four schools were selected in Meulaboh city,
a representative of the non-tourism area; henceforth, it is categorized as NTA. A total
of 24 participants were purposefully selected from those who were the most helpful
and highly informative for the study. The students chosen were those having the best
English ability or those in the top three of the highest English grades in their schools.

3.2 Instruments

There were four instruments used for data collection. The first three instruments
were used to obtain data about students’ English language performance. The fourth
instrument explored certain factors affecting students’ English language performance.

3.2.1 English school grade report

Student grade reports generally reflect students’ general English ability. The
final grade given to students at the end of the semester ranges from 0 to 100: 91–100
 T. Hidayati, S. Diana, F. Husna & D. D. Perrodin, Factors affecting English performance
between students residing in tourist and non-tourist areas | 709

is very good, 81–90 is good, 70–80 is satisfactory, and < 70 is insufficient. Each school
may set different minimum achievement standards, ranging from 60 to 70.

3.2.2 Speaking test

A speaking test was used to collect data about students’ speaking abilities. The
test, designed by the researchers, consisted of a series of questions about a casual topic
the students generally knew about and was carried out as a one-to-one interview with
the researcher lasting around 7 to 10 minutes. Students’ speaking ability was graded
using a rubric of 10 points adopted from Languages Other Than English: Checkpoint
C Resource Guide (University of the State of New York, 2003). Five elements were
assessed: comprehension, pronunciation, vocabulary, fluency, and grammar. Each
element was graded in three ranges; 2 points when students showed strong, excellent,
or very good ability; 1 point when students showed moderate, considerable, or good
ability; and 0 points when students showed very low or poor ability.

3.2.3 EnglishScore

EnglishScore is a free mobile application developed by the British Council to

assess English proficiency (https://www.englishscore.com). The application evaluated
students’ English language performance in an international standardized test. The
application was chosen as the instrument instead of other official standardized tests
because it is quick and accurate. The test only takes under 40 minutes to complete. It
requires a working camera and microphone to ensure the test taker’s identity. Someone
can take the test through the application installed on their mobile phone by simply
using their email to log in. The test assesses proficiency in grammar, vocabulary,
reading, and listening. The overall score is shown immediately after completing the
test. It is rated based on the Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages (CEFR) to indicate the level of proficiency. The score is categorized into
six categories: 0–99 (pre-A1), 100–199 (A1), 200–299 (A2), 300–399 (B1), 400–499
(B2), and 500–599 (C1).

Figure 1. EnglishScore application interface.

710 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 704-722, 2023

3.2.4 Interview

The interview was specified to have an in-depth understanding of how the

students develop their English skills. It was intended to explore factors that assist
students in enhancing their English proficiency. The researchers designed 13 semi-
structured questions as a guide in the interview. The questions focused on students’
motivation to learn English, how they learn English, their exposure to English, and
their family background. The interview was conducted face-to-face individually. It
was conducted in mixed English and Bahasa Indonesia to ensure the students
understood the questions and could appropriately provide the information needed. The
interview lasted around 10 minutes for each participant. It was recorded with the
participant’s permission to avoid losing information.

3.3 Research Procedure

Data collection started within the tourist area (TA) in March 2021, followed by
the non-tourist area (NTA) in April 2021. Data collection in both areas began with
meeting with English teachers to choose three to four of their best English students
and collect their English school grade reports. The selected students were first asked
to take an EnglishScore test using mobile phones provided by the researchers. After
that, each researcher started data collection by asking the students questions to assess
their speaking ability. Later, the student was individually interviewed.

3.4 Data Analysis

The quantitative and qualitative data analyses were performed separately.

Quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and comparative analysis to
figure out trends and differences between the groups. Meanwhile, data from the
interviews were analyzed following procedures from Creswell and Creswell (2018).
First, the interview data were transcribed. Then the researchers read the data carefully
and classified them into information segments. The segments were then coded. Next,
the codes were collapsed into themes.

4. RESULTS

4.1 Students’ English Language Performance

The data comparison indicated that the average score of students in the NTA
group, in all three instruments of measurement used, was higher than that of the TA
group. At a glance, students in the NTA group had better English language
performance than their fellow TA group (see Table 1).
 T. Hidayati, S. Diana, F. Husna & D. D. Perrodin, Factors affecting English performance
between students residing in tourist and non-tourist areas | 711

Table 1. Students’ English scores from three different instruments.

Tourist area group Non-tourist area group
No Students English score No Students English score
English Speak- English English Speak- English
school ing test Score school ing test score
grade test grade test
1 Student 1 83.40 7 400 1 Student 1 90.00 7 454
2 Student 2 85.00 9 400 2 Student 2 90.80 9 408
3 Student 3 85.40 5 325 3 Student 3 94.67 8 408
4 Student 4 82.80 5 300 4 Student 4 90.40 9 372
5 Student 5 86.00 6 299 5 Student 5 89.40 8 363
6 Student 6 82.67 4 290 6 Student 6 89.60 8 345
7 Student 7 84.00 2 272 7 Student 7 87.80 7 345
8 Student 8 85.75 3 272 8 Student 8 86.80 7 308
9 Student 9 83.60 2 272 9 Student 9 93.80 7 281
10 Student 10 82.20 3 272 10 Student 10 84.33 7 281
11 Student 11 86.00 10 254 11 Student 11 87.00 8 272
12 Student 12 81.00 3 254 12 Student 12 93.33 5 263
Average score 83.98 4.92 300.83 Average score 89.83 7.50 341.67

However, this descriptive data did not assume a significant difference between
the two groups. Thus, the data were further analyzed through comparative analysis.
The result indicated that for English school grades, the TA and NTA groups differed
statistically (t(22) = -5.79, 95% CI [-7.94, -3.75], p = .00) (Table 2). The calculation
2𝑡
for effect size 𝑑 = also came with a significant effect (d = 2.36) (Larson-Hall,
√𝑑𝑓
2010). Thus, the difference in school grades between TA and NTA was proved not due
to the normal variation between scores. Apparently, students’ different attributes seem
to impact their school grades. Similarly, data analysis for English speaking scores from
the TA and NTA groups also showed that the two groups differ statistically (t(22) = -
3.13, 95% CI [-4.35, -.82], p = .007) (Table 2). The calculation for effect size also
presented a large effect size (d = 1.28), meaning that the difference is statistical and
can be accounted for. Although the study has a small sample size, t-test analysis was
believed to be appropriate for comparing the groups as, de Winter (2013) argued that
despite the small sample size, there are no objections to using a t-test as long as the
effect size is large.

Table 2. T-test output of English school grade and speaking test scores.
Independent Sample Tests
Levene’s test T-test for equality of means
for equality of
variances
F Sig.
interval of the
Mean difference

confidence
Sig. (2-tailed)

difference
difference
Std. error

95%
df
t

Low. Up.
English Equal variances assumed 2.664 .117 -5.788 22 .000 -5.842 1.009 -7.936 -3.749
school Equal variances not -5.788 16.832 .000 -5.842 1.009 -7.974 -3.711
grade assumed
Speaking Equal variances assumed 6.992 .015 -3.130 22 .005 -2.583 .825 -4.295 -.872
test Equal variances not -3.130 14.615 .007 -2.583 .825 -4.347 -.820
assumed
712 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 704-722, 2023

In terms of proficiency level measured through the EnglishScore application, as

the data failed to fit the assumptions for parametric analysis (data in TA group was not
normally distributed p = .006), a comparative analysis of the data was run using the
Mann-Whitney U test. The test displayed a p value of .72, thus failing to reject the null
hypothesis, indicating no statistical difference in the proficiency level of the two
groups. Nevertheless, it was clear that the average score of the two groups differs
largely (TA mean = 300.83, N = 12; NTA mean = 341.67, N = 12). The effect size (r
= .37) fell in the medium category. Even though the test failed to reject the null
hypothesis, this result does not directly point out that a difference between the groups
does not exist but that the test possibly could not detect the difference due to a lack of
power (Larson-Hall, 2010). The calculation for power (r = .37, N1 = 12, N2 = 12)
shows = .14, indicating that even if there are differences between the groups, the
possibility for the test to find it is only 14% due to the small sample size. With this
finding, the NTA group did justifiably better in the test than the TA group. This result
may be affected by their different attributes for living in different locations, although
the effect might not be paramount (Table 3).

Table 3. English scores Mann-Whitney U Test output.

Ranks
Group N Mean rank Sum of ranks
EnglishScore test Tourist area 12 9.92 119.00
Non-tourist area 12 15.08 181.00
Total 24
Test Statisticsa
EnglishScore test
Mann-Whitney U 41.000
Wilcoxon W 119.000
Z -1.800
Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) .072
Exact Sig. [2*(1-tailed .078b
Sig.)]
Note: a. Grouping variable: Group
b. Not corrected for ties.

In sum, the NTA group outperformed the TA group in all three measurement
instruments. Particularly regarding English school grades and speaking test scores, the
NTA group proved to be statistically different from the TA group. Although in terms
of proficiency level, the difference was not statistical, the NTA group also achieved a
higher mean score than the TA group. All in all, students’ different attributes for living
in different locations seem to influence their English language performance.

4.2 Elements Contributing to Student English Language Performance

Regarding elements contributing to students’ English language performance, the

findings from the interview presented four main themes:

4.2.1 Motivation for learning English

Of the 24 students in the TA and NTA group, 22 students shared that they like
learning English. Some students displayed strong intrinsic motivation, while others
 T. Hidayati, S. Diana, F. Husna & D. D. Perrodin, Factors affecting English performance
between students residing in tourist and non-tourist areas | 713

appeared to have extrinsic motives. Four students pointed out that they had been
interested in English since they were young, while others stated that they started to be
fond of English in high school.

(1) “I like English because I can speak with tourists from outside Indonesia. I’ve been interested in
English since I was in kindergarten”. (Student 1-TA)
(2) “I love it. I don’t know. Maybe when I was born. English is everywhere. It’s just something really
touching for me”. (Student 2-NTA)

However, three students also admitted that their circumstances made them like
English. They did not like English but studied it as part of a subject at school to benefit
them in the future. Also, they were exposed to English through media in their
surroundings.

(3) “Actually, I don’t like English that much. It’s the condition at the time. In SMP, I joined my friends
enrolling in a bilingual class and was accepted. So, I have to learn it”. (Student 6-TA)
(4) “I don’t like English that much, but I don’t mind studying it. Moreover, it is something needed in
the future”. (Students 9-NTA)

It was interesting to learn from the interviews that two students in the TA group
still like English, but because of their current circumstances, they preferred learning
English more in the past.

(5) “When I was in SMP, I used to practice English with friends, but now in SMK, I never practice
because many of my friends speak the local language”. (Student 6-TA)
(6) “I used to read English story books when SMP. Now I still like English, but I also feel bored, so I
just like listening to songs”. (Student 10-TA)

4.2.2 English learning experience

All student experiences in learning English, in general, were similar. Half of the
students had taken English courses to improve their English skills, yet the duration
varied, and many did not continue to take the courses after some time. Still, they
learned English independently through various media.

(7) “Yes, I took an English course when I was in junior high school for one year. After that, I learned
independently”. (Student 1-NTA)
(8) “Yes, I had an English course when I was in SMP, then in Grade 2, I quit… I was not very diligent,
so I had better save the money and learn by myself”. (Student 12-TA)
(9) “Now, I have a smartphone. I watch movies or online teaching videos”. (Student 3-NTA)

Some other students said that they had never taken an English course. Rather
than learning formally, they preferred having fun and learning English informally
through music, movies, games, and the internet.

(10) “No, I’ve never taken an English course. I don’t like formal learning. I enjoy learning from music
or the internet”. (Student 2-TA)
(11) “Yeah, I’ve never taken an English course. Hmm... how to say. I watch movies, listen to music in
English, and play games. I am used to talking with my foreign friends through the games”. (Student
2-NTA)
(12) “No, I’ve never had any English course outside school. I study it by myself. I watch YouTube,
learn grammar from it. You know, there’s a lot of YouTube channels”. (Student 4-NTA)
714 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 704-722, 2023

Living in the TA, some students admitted that they had met foreigners on several
occasions and got the chance to speak English with them.

(13) “I often met foreign tourists when I was helping my mom at the restaurant. They came from the
US, France, Spain, and Germany. I spoke English and French with them”. (Student 11-TA)

Two students reported participating in a cruise ship program where they were
allowed to practice their English skills by being tour guides for tourists for one day.

(14) “Yes, I’ve met foreigners several times. I once participated as a tour guide on a cruise ship”.
(Students 1-TA)

Meanwhile, although the students living in the NTA had rare opportunities to
meet foreigners, two students reported that they had the chance to speak to foreigners.

(15) “I once spoke to foreigners in the airport. I didn’t speak fluently, but they seemed to understand
me. I felt proud of myself”. (Student 6-NTA)
(16) “I met a foreigner at the airport when I picked up my dad. I helped him find the check-in counter,
then he gave me candy”. (Student 4-NTA)

Two other students reported that they were debate team members, and anytime
the competition was held, they were trained intensively in English.

(17) “The school has no additional English course outside school hours, but if there is a debate
competition, we will practice intensively”. (Student 6-NTA)
(18) “I think I got this English because I joined a debate team. I’ve been in the team since grade 1. We
practice regularly”. (Student 9-NTA)

Another critical English learning experience shared by students in both groups

was setting their phones to the English language mode and having mobile English
learning applications. Nineteen students pointed out that they had a dictionary and
English learning apps installed on their mobile phones to help them learn English. The
English learning apps used were Google Translate, Duolingo, Cake, Zenius, Slime,
and Tandem.

(19) “Yes, I have a dictionary and Duolingo on my phone”. (Student 1-TA).

(20) “I have the Tandem app. With this app, I can interact with people from other countries who learn
the language, too”. (Student 12-NTA).
(21) “I used to have Cake. It sends notifications every day, but I rarely use it now”. (Student 12-TA).

4.2.3 Exposure to English

Another central theme that emerged from the interview was frequent exposure
to English. Students in the TA and NTA groups indicated they frequently encountered
English in their free time. All students liked listening to English songs, watching
movies, playing games, or browsing the internet and social media in their free time.
For all of them, these activities provided chances for informal language learning.

(22) “I think playing online games helps me develop my English. If you can’t speak English, they just
leave you”. (Student 2-NTA)
 T. Hidayati, S. Diana, F. Husna & D. D. Perrodin, Factors affecting English performance
between students residing in tourist and non-tourist areas | 715

(23) “I like watching movies. When I watch, I listen to the pronunciation, then try watching without
subtitles”. (Student 1-TA)

Three students intentionally took the chance to learn English while also enjoying
the activities such as looking up the meaning of captions on social media, paying
attention to the pronunciation, and taking notes on the expression obtained in the
movies and songs.

(24) “When I listen to music, I like to search for the lyrics. It gives me new words”. (Students 8-TA)
(25) “I often play social media. I intentionally set my Twitter account in English, so I can learn”.
(Student 7-TA)
(26) “I like watching movies. Here I get new expressions, and I write them”. (Student 10-NTA)

Other students did English activities for fun and to relax in their free time.
However, some students pointed out that these free time activities influenced their
English ability.

(27) “I learn from music. I got curious with the meaning, so search for it. It eventually adds my
vocabulary”. (Student 4-TA)
(28) “I learn English more outside school because I watch every day, but I only have one hour at
school”. (Student 3-NTA)

In short, students in both groups substantially encountered English through

activities they did in their free time. The exposure was considered helpful in
developing their English skill.

4.2.4 Family background

Family background was one of the aspects that were also explored in the
interviews. This issue played a minor role in developing the English language
performance of students living in the TA. Three of the twelve students interviewed
shared that their family members did not know English. Several other students
revealed that some family members had some English ability but hardly used English.

(29) “My sister knows English. She is studying at law faculty now, but we never talked in English at
home”. (Student 2-TA)

Two students indicated that their families influenced their English language
study. Student 5 stated that their father strongly supported their English study.

(30) “It was my father who strongly encouraged me. He said that I have to master both Acehnese and
English. I like English”. (Student 5-TA)

Meanwhile, Student 11 acknowledged that their father was French. They had
known English since they were little and had lived in France for almost two years.

(31) “I studied in a bilingual school for two years. Then I went to France with my father”. (Student 11-
TA)

Unlike the TA group, the family in the NTA group seemed to positively
influence the student’s involvement in English language learning. There were two
716 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 704-722, 2023

students whose fathers were English teachers. In addition, some students indicated that
their interest in English was initiated by their family members, such as those shared by
Student 7 and Student 5.

(32) “I have a brother. He’s quite good at English. He taught and lent me his note. After that, I learned
by myself”. (Student 7-NTA)
(33) “I don’t know… I think I have skill in it, and my father is an English teacher”. (Student 5-NTA)

Although some family members indicated that they know English, students from
the TA and NTA groups shared that English was used for short, simple conversations
in very few limited contexts. For instance, English was used when talking about
something secret or in public so that no one else knew the content of the conversation.

(34) “My mom knows a little English. We only used it to talk about something that others can’t know”.
(Student 7-TA)
(35) “Yes, my sister. She’s in Banda Aceh. Sometimes I mix English and Bahasa when I chat with her
but only for simple things like, Sis, I want to borrow your T-shirt”. (Student 8-TA)
(36) “My sister can speak English. Sometimes I use English with her, but it’s just simple things to keep
my English”. (Student 6-NTA)

Some students in the NTA group reported that their family members did not
speak English, but they admitted to being supported to master English by their family.

(37) “No, no one speaks English in my family, but they support me”. (Student 1-NTA).
(38) “My family can’t speak English. But my mom really supports me because she knows I have liked
English since I was small”. (Student 3-NTA)

From these interview excerpts, it is apparent that in the NTA group, the family
members had some role in the development of students’ English language skills;
meanwhile, in the TA, such a role was less apparent.

Family background

Exposure to English

Debating team
Meeting with foreigners
TA
English Course
NTA
Learning through various media

I don’t like English

I like English because it is useful
I like English very much
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Figure 1. Elements contributing to students’ English performance.

 T. Hidayati, S. Diana, F. Husna & D. D. Perrodin, Factors affecting English performance
between students residing in tourist and non-tourist areas | 717

5. DISCUSSION

The findings related to students’ English language performance in the present

study showed that in all three criteria used to measure English language performance,
the students in the NTA group were more advanced than those in the TA group. The
differences in English grades and speaking test scores were statistically significant.
This observation is interesting because it goes against the positive perception of
tourism in the context of English language learning which has also been reported by
Kormos et al. (2014).
Although earlier studies on tourism and English language learning did not
compare the English ability of different groups of students, they presumed the positive
advantages of tourism on English language learners. Students were found to have
positive attitudes toward the target language and seemed more confident in using the
language (Dörnyei & Csizér, 2005). Tourist destination areas were also famous places
for English language learners to practice speaking English directly with English
speakers (Gao, 2012). In other words, tourist areas were considered ideal places to
assist learners in improving English language proficiency.
The present study found that students in the TA group had lower English
language performance and can be directed to lower quality in taking chances and
opportunities for English exposure and resources available in their surroundings.
English classes at schools did not have any learning activities that explored the
available learning resources used for tourists at their locations. Similarly, tourist-
related programs have yet to be made interesting for students. Hence, the potential
learning resources available in the environment did not significantly impact students’
English performance.
Meanwhile, the students in the NTA group presumably had been making the best
use of the potential to be exposed to and practice English offered by using mobile app-
based technology. The integration of currently emerging technologies in English
language learning, either inside the classroom or outside the school boundaries, has
repeatedly been reported to positively affect the development of students’ English
language skills. Exposure to English outside schools through movies and television
programs without subtitles, reading books and magazines, and using the internet had a
more prominent effect on students’ vocabulary mastery than the length of instruction
(Peters, 2018). Likewise, rich language exposure correlates significantly with language
proficiency (Al Zoubi, 2018).
The fact that students in the NTA group performed better has yielded important
information about elements influencing English language learning. The interview
results indicated that the two groups of students were identical in some ways. However,
each has different motivations, experiences in learning English, exposure to English,
and family backgrounds.
Long et al. (2013) suggested that students require motivation to help them learn
as it will lead to the proper learning goal. It is generally known that there are two
categories of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. The data indicated that some students
in TA or NTA groups seem to have intrinsic motivation, whereas others show extrinsic
motivation. However, several students in the TA group revealed a decrease in
motivation due to less support in their current school environment. The classroom
environment is one determiner likely to influence students’ motivation (Oroujlou &
Vahedi, 2011). Experience in learning English means the activities the students go
718 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 704-722, 2023

through to learn English. From the findings, we can infer that learning English at
school is not enough for students in both areas to promote their language acquisition
and learning. Although the duration of language learning at school is relatively short,
about two hours per week, language achievement is obtained through the learning
process from school and additional language hours outside of school.
The study reveals that several students on both sides had taken additional classes
to better their English proficiency, such as English courses, when they were in junior
high school and elementary school. However, some other students did not take any
additional English classes but took part in English programs at school or learned
independently through various media. The trends are quite similar for the TA and NTA
groups. This broad learning experience did not make a striking difference between the
two groups.
Exposure to English means that the learners are exposed to the authentic
language they are trying to learn, either generally or with specific language points.
Referring to authentic language, in general, often relates to contact outside the
classroom. From this notion, language exposure may happen in an informal setting
which provides a “language resource base” (Lawson & Sachdev, 2004). Exposure is
essential in English language learning because it benefits the learners’ linguistic
development, creates opportunities for personal expression, and reinforces students’
knowledge (Al Zoubi, 2018).
Although both groups show regular exposure to English, it is somewhat
surprising that the outcomes differ for both sides. The difference in language exposure
they encounter slightly affects the results. It is believed that a higher level of exposure
will lead to higher attainment of English scores. Interestingly, the students in the TA
group who were expected to be more exposed to English for living in tourist areas did
not show high exposure. There were only a few students participated in the tourist
guide program. Most students have never spoken to foreign tourists visiting their
region and were unaware of notice boards and signs written in English. The kind of
exposure the TA and NTA groups experienced was alike. The students in the NTA
group seem to be exposed more extensively to utilizing more technology of learning
applications such as Zenius, Cake, and Tandem in addition to Duolingo and Google
Translate and engaging in various English-related activities ranging from listening to
songs, watching movies, and videos, playing online games, to doing social media.
Such exposure works well with the NTA students and is evidenced by obtaining
average scores that exceed the other group.
Lastly, when considering the family background, we found that family member
encouragement plays the most significant role in developing motivational intensity,
desire to learn English, and attitude toward learning English. The family role is crucial
to growing a sense of learning in learners as they are greatly influenced by it. Parents’
positive attitudes, education, and awareness provide constant encouragement and
support for the learners (Gubbins & Otero, 2020). A previous study regarding the
relationship between family background and students’ attainment at school has also
justified that parents and family members are instrumental in helping students acquire
the language (Calderón et al., 2011). Data in this study showed that the NTA students
receive more support from parents and family members than the TA group. This
finding can somewhat justify why the NTA students outperformed the TA students in
general attainment of English.
 T. Hidayati, S. Diana, F. Husna & D. D. Perrodin, Factors affecting English performance
between students residing in tourist and non-tourist areas | 719

6. CONCLUSION

The results from this study shed light on an interesting finding about students’
English language performance in two locations, namely the tourist area (TA) and the
non-tourist area (NTA). It also highlights some factors affecting students’ language
attainment. Based on the findings, students can perform well in the English language
regardless of their background or locations wherein the participants live if they have
strong motivation, the independent effort to learn English outside of school, exposure
to English through songs, games, movies, and social media, and family support. It is
also interesting to note that students with continuous exposure to the English language
have a more powerful effect on their language development than students who live in
tourist areas yet do not have sufficient exposure and meaningful experience. These
findings demonstrate that students’ developmental trajectories are noteworthy to better
understand their everyday learning style in the prevalent naturalistic setting so that a
bridge can be created between home and school through the background knowledge
and students’ experience.
The insights from this current study are expected to make parents and teachers
aware of the importance of their involvement in promoting students’ English learning.
However, there are some unresolved limitations in the present study. Although the data
were obtained quantitatively and qualitatively, they were collected from a limited
number of respondents. We learned that the larger the sample size, the more reliable
the research. Therefore, the findings should be interpreted cautiously and not
generalized to different contexts. To obtain more comprehensive information, similar
studies with larger sample sizes and other approaches are highly recommended to be
performed in future research.

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723 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 723-740, 2023

The Use of Semantic Transparency and

L1-L2 Congruency as Multi-Word Units
Selection Criteria
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Maryam Barghamadi*1
James Rogers2
Joanne Arciuli1
Amanda Müller1
1
College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide 5042,
AUSTRALIA
2
Faculty of Foreign Studies, Meijo University, Nagoya 461-0048, JAPAN

Abstract
Multi-word units (MWUs) are defined as two or more words that
commonly co-occur. There is evidence that knowledge of high-frequency
MWUs is essential to language fluency, leading to growing research
identifying valuable MWUs to learn and the impact of L1-L2 congruency
and semantic transparency on the learning burden of MWUs. Therefore,
there needs to be more research on which MWUs should be selected with
these criteria. This article highlights an investigation of the role of
congruency and semantic transparency using a corpus-based list that
offers a sizable sample of MWUs that appear in general English. In this
study, we analysed a list of 11,212 high-frequency MWUs created using a
lemmatised concgramming approach to examine the role of semantic
transparency and L1-L2 congruency. The list was translated into Persian,
and L1-L2 congruency ratings were given to each item. The list was also
classified based on Grant and Bauer’s (2004) taxonomy to explore the role
of semantic transparency to determine the extent to which these two factors
play a role in the learning burden of the MWUs. The results showed that
85% of items were literal, and a low number of opaque items were found
in the high L1-L2 congruency rating, suggesting a positive relationship
between congruency and transparency. The current research then
discusses the implications of these two criteria for teaching English as a

*
Corresponding author, email: barg0008@flinders.edu.au

Citation in APA style: Barghamadi, M., Rogers, J., Arciuli, J., Müller, A. (2023). The use of semantic
transparency and L1-L2 congruency as multi-word units selection criteria. Studies in English Language
and Education, 10(2), 723-740.

Received October 21, 2022; Revised January 23, 2023; Accepted April 18, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.28644
M. Barghamadi, J. Rogers, J. Arciuli & A. Müller, The use of semantic transparency and L1-
L2 congruency as multi-word units selection criteria | 724

second language and considers their importance in designing teaching

materials.

Keywords: L1-L2 congruency, lemmatised concgramming approach,

multi-word units, second language acquisition, semantic transparency.

1. INTRODUCTION

Multi-word units (MWUs) aid receptive and productive fluency (Boers, 2020)
and are considered to be essential for language proficiency (Shin & Chon, 2019).
Improved productive/receptive comprehension speed and more native-like fluency
have become the fundamental reasons to focus on MWUs (Hoey, 2005). Therefore, a
growing emphasis has been placed on MWUs in second language acquisition (SLA)
research over the last two decades since a significant portion of spoken and written
discourse consists of such items (Erman & Warren, 2000; Foster, 2001).
A substantial body of literature indicates MWUs are the most challenging aspect
of learning English in various contexts (e.g., Laufer & Waldman, 2011; Yamashita &
Jiang, 2010; Zhou, 2016). There are several reasons why learning MWUs is
challenging. First, there are inconsistencies in terminology (Wolter, 2020), which
creates problems for researchers and practitioners. Scholars have defined collocations
and MWUs in several ways (Rogers et al., 2021, p. 143). Therefore, various terms have
emerged, such as ‘fixed expressions’, ‘formulae’, ‘formulaic language’, ‘phrasal
expressions’, ‘prefabricated language chunks’, and ‘word associations.’ Inconsistent
use of terminology makes it challenging for teachers, students, and even novice
researchers to understand the distinctions between the various types of MWUs. This
study defines collocations and MWUs as one entity and uses these terms
interchangeably.
Another issue is that there needs to be an agreement on what identifying criteria
are used for selecting the essential MWUs for students. Much research has focused on
developing resources such as general and academic collocations lists (e.g., Martinez
& Schmitt, 2012; Rogers et al., 2021; Shin, 2006), but there is only a small amount of
guidance on which MWUs to prioritise during instruction. For example, Martinez and
Schmitt (2012) state that non-transparent or non-compositional MWUs are valuable
for L2 learners. Shin (2006), on the other hand, used grammatical well-formedness as
a criterion. In addition, MWUs are rarely addressed in language courses and are seldom
incorporated into teaching materials and classroom activities (e.g., Boers et al., 2017).
Researchers have observed some factors that affected the learnability of L2
collocations: frequency, L1-L2 congruency, and semantic transparency. The
importance of frequency has been confirmed in learning MWUs when more frequent
items should be learned faster than infrequent ones (e.g., Wolter & Gyllstad, 2013).
Also, much research has explored how congruent collocations (e.g., L1 translation
equivalents) are less challenging than incongruent items (e.g., Yamashita & Jiang,
2010). An illustration of congruent items between Persian and English would be ‘take’
in ‘take a photo’ (‫ عکس بگیر‬/ʔãks bɪgiːr/), which are word-to-word equivalents.
However, ‘take’ in ‘take medicine’ is treated as an incongruent item since the verb of
the phrase in Persian literally means ‘eat’ )‫ بخور‬/bɔxɔːr/). Therefore, a word-to-word
translation strategy to produce MWUs could lead to unaccepted word combinations.
725 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 723-740, 2023

Furthermore, another factor that could affect the processing of collocations is the
degree of semantic transparency or how literal/figurative an MWU is. Gyllstad and
Wolter’s (2016) study found that participants’ reaction times were shorter for more
transparent word combinations. For instance, a Persian learner can more quickly
understand the meanings of two words in ‘take the money’ that make up a literal
collocation. In contrast, non-transparent combinations such as ‘take a side’ or ‘take
someone to task’ could be challenging for Persian learners.
Few studies have focused on teaching L2 collocations (e.g., Laufer & Girsai,
2008). Laufer and Girsai emphasised the importance of using contrastive analysis and
translation in teaching collocations based on form-focused instruction or intentional
learning. By using awareness-raising activities with form-focused instructions and
tools, teachers can help learners develop their collocational fluency (see Barghamadi
et al., 2022). Explicit instruction regarding semantically opaque or non-transparent
word combinations that frequently co-occur is recommended (e.g., Martinez &
Schmitt, 2012; Moon, 1994). Since a large percentage of collocations are semantically
transparent (Rogers, 2017), it may not be reasonable to focus only on non-transparent
items.
Some evidence suggests that second language learners should focus on learning
MWUs which are semantically non-transparent because such items have a higher
learning burden than literal combinations of words (e.g., Macis & Schmitt, 2017a).
Also, L1-L2 congruency should play a role in selecting items to teach when learners
are prone to make errors comprehending or producing MWUs which are said
differently than in their L1 (Peters, 2016).
Thus, this paper investigates whether L1-L2 congruency or semantic
transparency are fundamental criteria for selecting useful English MWUs to teach
explicitly to native Persian speakers in a large-scale study. This research explores the
percentage of high-frequency MWUs based on L1-L2 congruency and semantic
transparency by utilising Rogers’ (2017) list of 11,212 high-frequency MWUs as a
starting point; we addressed the following two research questions:
1. What percentage of high-frequency word combinations is semantically opaque?
2. What percentage of high-frequency English MWUs are incongruent with their
Persian translations?
The current study identifies the fundamental criteria for selecting high-frequency
MWUs to teach explicitly based on a modern lemmatised concgramming approach.
Additionally, this study aims to provide a new perspective for second language
practitioners and guidelines for incorporating MWUs into their courses. The following
sections will provide an overview of the definition of MWUs and the role of L1-L2
congruency and semantic transparency.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Defining and Identifying MWUs

Defining MWU should start with defining what collocations are because,
depending on the perspective, both share similar characteristics. For example,
depending on the number of words in a phrase, Biber et al. (1999) differentiated
collocations from MWUs. According to their research, collocations consist of two
M. Barghamadi, J. Rogers, J. Arciuli & A. Müller, The use of semantic transparency and L1-
L2 congruency as multi-word units selection criteria | 726

words, while idioms or lexical bundles go beyond that. Depending on the approach
taken, collocations are handled differently from MWU. However, frequency-based and
phraseological approaches are common approaches to conducting MWU research.
Based on grammatical structure and semantic transparency, the phraseological
approach (e.g., Howarth, 1998) uses a typological method to identify collocations
(Gyllstad & Wolter, 2016). In this approach, word combinations with literal lexical
constituents, such as ‘pay a bill’ or ‘read a book’, are considered free combinations,
not MWUs. However, word combinations such as ‘pay a visit’, where one constituent
word appears in its literal sense and the other in its figurative sense, are considered
MWUs worthy of direct instruction. However, this method has a drawback because
the frequency of occurrence is not utilised to identify useful collocations.
Consequently, using the phraseological approach, MWUs such as ‘lousy weather’
could be selected for direct instruction. However, they may not be frequent enough to
make them the most suitable items to study at a specific point in the learner’s level of
fluency.
In contrast, with the frequency-based approach (e.g., Sinclair, 1991),
collocations are defined as combinations of two words which frequently occur
together, regardless of how semantically transparent they may be (Macis et al., 2021).
In L2 learning and teaching, collocations with low frequency are less likely to be
selected using this approach. Several researchers have taken the frequency-based
approach in their study; however, some of the word combinations that are classified as
collocations in one study could be considered idioms in another study, such as ’pull
strings’ in Webb et al.’s (2013) study and ’bottom line’ in Wolter and Gyllstad’s
(2013) study. Thus, what might be called a collocation under one approach may not be
considered a collocation in another.
The frequency-based approach lets us identify valuable items using a large
corpus and computation. Some search engines have been developed to identify
MWUs, such as n-grams and skipgrams, in corpus data. The former recognises linear
sequences. A researcher might find n-gram patterns such as ‘a lot of people’ but not
patterns such as ‘a lot of different people’. To detect non-contiguous word associations
and deal with constituency variation in natural language processing (NLP), skipgrams
searches have been developed (Wilks, 2005). The limitation of the skipgram approach
is that it only handles three-word skipgrams and cannot handle positional variation (i.e.
AB, BA). Therefore, Greaves (2005) developed the ConcGram program to cope with
these limitations.
A concgram “constitutes all the permutations of the constituency and positional
variation generated by the association of two or more words” (Cheng et al., 2006, p.
411). Cheng et al. (2006) showed that the concgramming approach could identify
collocations with consideration for both constituency and positional variation.
Constituency variation refers to one or more terms that occur between the related
words (AB, ACB, e.g., ‘make money’, ‘make some money’). Positional variation
refers to related words relative to one another in various positions (AB, BA, e.g.,
‘world city of Asia’, ‘Asia’s world city’) (Cheng et al., 2006, p. 413). With
concramming, co-occurrence is calculated by counting co-occurrence between all the
inflected forms of a pivot word and a collocate with the same part of speech (a lemma).
Based on this method, both constituency variation (AB, ACB) and positional variation
(AB, BA) are taken into account, so structures such as ’jury’s verdict,’ ‘jury’s shocking
verdict’, and ’verdict of the jury’ are counted together for lemma pair ’jury/verdict’.
727 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 723-740, 2023

This results in more accurate frequency counts because similar items can thus be
counted together. Therefore, a concgram’s associated words can account for various
combination types. Some scholars believe that concgramming is ideal for identifying
MWUs (Cheng et al., 2006; Durrant, 2009; Rogers et al., 2021).
In the current study, a traditional perspective of frequency of co-occurrence
(Biber et al., 1999) is combined with a lemmatised concgramming approach to define
and identify useful MWUs. As a result, all the MWUs identified are considered the
same in this study, regardless of whether they are phrasal verbs or idioms. This
perspective defines collocations and MWUs as one entity that falls between
transparency and non-transparency via the lemmatised congramming approach.

2.2 L1-L2 Congruency as a Criterion for MWU Identification

Semantic constraints and grammatical rules play a role in the structure of

collocations. Therefore, it is impossible to explain why some word combinations, such
as ’strong coffee’ or ’big mistake’, are acceptable, but ’powerful coffee’ or ’large
mistake’ are unacceptable. This aspect of collocations affects their learning burden
because learners may not be aware of collocational restrictions. It has been found that
collocations with a direct correspondence between L1 and L2 are easier to produce
when learners can transfer knowledge from their L1 (Ellis, 2008).
Research on L2 collocational processing shows that congruent collocations with
an equivalent word-to-word translation in a learner’s L1 are learned faster than
incongruent collocations (e.g., Gyllstad & Wolter, 2016; Nesselhauf, 2005). Due to
cross-linguistic relationships, word-to-word translation will likely have a high error
rate in most languages. Therefore, learners make more errors when collocations are
incongruent due to L1 interference (e.g., Davoudi & Behshad, 2015; Gyllstad, 2005;
Nakata, 2006; Peters, 2016; Wang & Shaw, 2008). Table 1 demonstrates examples of
potential collocational errors in English based on L1-L2 congruency.

Table 1. Potential collocations errors based on L1-L2 congruency.

Example (English in parenthesis) Language Reference source
‘look for money’ (earn money) Persian Davoudi &
‘learn knowledge’ (gain knowledge) Behshad (2015)
‘bring some reasons’ (state some reasons)
‘make a photo’ (take a photo) German Gyllstad (2005)
‘take contact’ (make contact) Japanese Nakata (2006)
‘make your homework’ (do your homework) Dutch Peters (2016)
‘do a suggestion’ (make a suggestion)
‘do changes’ (make changes) Swedish Wang and Shaw
‘do a great effort’ (make a great effort) (2008)
‘make damage’ (do damage)
‘have risk’ (take a risk) Chinese Zhou (2016)
‘have harm’ (cause/do harm)

All of the studies mentioned in Table 1 concluded that learning incongruent

collocations is more complicated than learning congruent collocations. Although there
is still much to learn about the factors influencing L2 collocational processing, there
is agreement that congruency is a fundamental factor to consider. The role of L1
interference and its persistent effect on L2 collocation acquisition has made it an
important criterion to consider in collocational research when researchers endeavour
M. Barghamadi, J. Rogers, J. Arciuli & A. Müller, The use of semantic transparency and L1-
L2 congruency as multi-word units selection criteria | 728

to explore the relationship between congruency and other factors such as level of
proficiency (e.g., Özdem-Ertürk, 2021; Sonbul & El- Dakhs, 2020) and such studies
have concluded that the best predictor of collocational accuracy and ease of learning
is congruency with the learner’s L1.
Despite its importance, this criterion has yet to be addressed in developing
teaching materials. To illustrate, Shin (2006) points out that L1-L2 congruency is a
crucial factor; however, he compared only 10% of the English collocations in his study
with Korean. To date, Rogers’ (2017) study is the only one examining L1-L2
congruency on a large scale (11,212 English MWUs). He found that approximately
half of the items were incongruent with their Japanese counterparts.
Providing a collocation resource for learners to help them avoid errors due to L1
influence would be very useful. However, our search yielded no studies that elicited
useful MWUs based on congruency for Persian learners. Considering these findings
from a teaching and learning standpoint, it appears useful for teachers to highlight
differences between L2 words and their L1 translations so that learners can avoid
producing strange word combinations and more accurately comprehend incongruent
combinations. Therefore, focusing on incongruent collocations is essential for L2
learners. Still, it does not negate the importance of learning congruent items because
they also comprise many high-frequency MWUs.

2.3 Semantic Transparency as a Criterion for MWU Identification

Collocations can be classified based on semantic transparency. This is referred

to as the phraseological view of collocation. This view purports that collocations
consist of at least one word that is not semantically transparent (Wolter & Yamashita,
2015). For example, ’pay the bill’ is a free combination due to the literal meanings of
both words, but ’pay attention’ and ’pay a visit’ are collocations since ’pay’ is not
literal in these combinations.
The stance that free combinations include word combinations in which each
word takes its literal meaning, and figurative combinations consist of words taking a
non-literal meaning has been used in several studies which aim to classify collocations
(Cowie, 1988, 1994, 2001; Grant & Bauer, 2004; Howarth, 1998). In general, all
classifying criteria for collocations have come from studies based on the
phraseological approach. Specifically, Grant and Bauer (2004) divided MWUs into
four categories:
1. Literal/Compositional: The meaning of MWUs is transparent or closely related to
each item (e.g., ’hit the ball’, ‘break eggs’)
2. Once: When one word of an MWU is non-literal or non-compositional (e.g., ‘driven
to quit’)
3. Figurative: Structures such as ’hit the nail on the head’ and ’give someone the green
light’ are not literal, but such combinations can be “reinterpreted pragmatically” to
be comprehended (Grant & Bauer, 2004, p. 51)
4. Core idiom: The meanings of all the individual words are entirely unrelated to the
meaning of the idiom as a whole (e.g., ’by and large’)
Since semantic transparency could be another criterion for identifying MWUs,
some researchers agree that it is helpful to classify collocations into literal, figurative,
and core idioms in language learning (Grant & Nation, 2006; Nation, 2020). Recently,
Macis and Schmitt (2017a) classified 54 collocations into literal (78%), figurative
729 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 723-740, 2023

(3.7%), and duplex collocations (18.5%). Since duplex collocations refer to

collocations with both literal and figurative meanings, they concluded that it is
essential to consider figurative meanings when teaching such collocations. Based on
semantic transparency, Yamashita (2018) categorised 240 collocations employed in
five experimental studies as congruent and incongruent. His research confirmed that
transparent items dominate the congruent category and opaque items dominate the
incongruent category.
More transparent meanings seem to be learned before those less transparent
(Macis & Schmitt, 2017b, p. 324). For example, Persian learners are likely to
understand and more easily learn the semi-transparent MWUs (‘take care’) compared
to more opaque items (‘take someone to task’). Similarly, scholars such as Moon
(1994, 1997) and Van der Meer (1998) believe that only entirely semantic non-
transparent word combinations should be considered collocations. With such an
approach, most high-frequency collocations would be ignored if collocations consist
of one non-transparent word.
In addition to the issue of L1-L2 congruency, there needs to be more agreement
in the research regarding teaching literal or non-literal collocations. If a high
proportion of high-frequency combinations are semantically transparent, then there
would be an argument for their consideration for direct instruction. Therefore, this
research investigates the percentage of high-frequency MWUs into semantic
transparency categories using Grant and Bauer’s (2004) taxonomy and gives each
MWU L1-L2 congruency rating after the list is translated into Persian.

3. METHOD

3.1 Research Design

The present research is a partial replication study of Rogers’ (2017) study while
replacing the comparison between Japanese and Persian. It is also a follow-up study
of Barghamadi et al. (2023), which emphasised the role of L1-L2 congruency between
English and Persian but ignored semantic transparency. Thus, the current study
investigates transparency and congruency’s role in identifying useful MWUs for direct
teaching.

3.2 Data Source

Here we define collocations and MWUs as one entity. Collocations (a pivot word
and a collocate) are presented to learners within the chunks of the language they most
commonly occur together with. Selecting a well-constructed corpus is essential to
creating such a resource. Researchers such as Dang (2020) agree that the nature of
corpora impacts the result of any word list derived from its data, and thus it should be
selected carefully. The British National Corpus (BNC) and Corpus of Contemporary
American English (COCA), which consist of 100 million tokens and 450 million
tokens, respectively, have been utilised in many studies to develop word lists (e.g.,
Durrant, 2014) and are recommended by many scholars (e.g., Dang, 2017; Dang &
Webb, 2016; Rogers et al., 2021). Both are suitable for English L2 learners because of
lexical coverage, students’ vocabulary knowledge, and educator assessments of word
M. Barghamadi, J. Rogers, J. Arciuli & A. Müller, The use of semantic transparency and L1-
L2 congruency as multi-word units selection criteria | 730

usefulness (Dang & Webb, 2016). Although the COCA only contains American
English, it is not only much bigger than the BNC, but it is also significantly more
updated. The COCA also provides a good balance between spoken and written
materials from spoken, academic texts, newspapers, popular magazines, fiction, TV
and movie subtitles, blogs, and web page genres. In Rogers’ (2017) study, the COCA
was selected for the following reasons:
• Development of the BNC largely ceased in 1993
• The COCA is four times larger than the BNC
• The researcher is an American native speaker and aimed to create an English
American resource.
It is worth noting that the BNC has been updated partly with the British National
Corpus 2014 (Love et al., 2017) with the addition of a 100 million-word “real life”
spoken English section. However, this improvement to the 100 million words of the
mostly formal language of the original BNC still leaves it being less than half the size
of COCA. The COCA’s balance and variety of its sections still give it an advantage as
well.
In his study, Rogers (2017) aimed to identify the most exemplary MWUs for
high-frequency lemmatised concgrams for general English considering various
factors, including frequency, mutual information, semantic transparency, L1-L2
congruency, dispersion, and chronological stability. Concerning the lemmatised
concgramming method, he used co-occurrence of lemma such as ‘take’ and ’break’ as
‘take a break’, ‘take breaks’, ‘taking breaks’, ‘took a break’, and ’take a quick break’
were counted as one unit. It is possible to identify ’take a break’ as the most frequent
lemma constituent within concordance strings that contain both ’take’ and ’break’.
The frequency counts in an MWU list would be skewed by counting these MWUs
separately rather than with the concgramming method.
Also, separating such items may result in redundant teaching if counted
separately. Rogers’ (2017) study demonstrated the advantages of this methodology
over previous methods of identifying collocations/MWUs, so the current research has
used Rogers’ methodological approach to investigate Persian-speaking learners. This
study used his list because it was the most extensive known list created for second
language learners based on the most modern method of MWU identification:
lemmatised concgramming.

3.3 Instrument

Rogers’ (2017) list of 11,212 high-frequency MWUs was used as the primary
data source in this study because it was the largest known list created for second
language learners based on the most modern method of MWU identification:
lemmatised concgramming. Barghamadi et al. (2023) translated Rogers’ list into
Persian, and each MWU was given an L1-L2 congruency rating of 0-12 (with 12
denoting total congruency). A 12-point scale was used because most of the MWUs
were three to four words long, and thus the rating system was simplified by having an
even number of points per word for the vast majority of items. For example, when
MWUs consist of 3 words and have the same meaning in both Persian and English,
each word will receive 4 points, which equates to 12 points in total.
Give an example, ‘do your homework’ consists of 3 words and is a word-for-
word equivalent of its Persian translation (‫ تکلیف خود را انجام بده‬/takaliːf xoːd raː anʒaːm
731 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 723-740, 2023

bɪdɪh/). In comparison, ‘make a mistake’ (‫ اشتباه کردن‬/ɪstɪbaːh kardan/) received 6 points

since ‘make’ does not have the same individual word meaning in Persian. Since
Barghamadi and her colleagues did not use multiple raters, this list rerates by utilising
the12 points system and compares with semantic transparency classification
simultaneously.
For semantic transparency ratings, two raters used Grant and Bauer’s (2004)
taxonomy to determine whether or not the MWUs were literal, once, figurative, or core
idiom. This current study followed Rogers’ (2017) study using Grant and Bauer’s
taxonomy. However, he added one classification he called ‘outliers’ for items that fell
outside the taxonomy, such as MWUs with polysemy issues (e.g., ‘bear children’). To
classify MWUs, the following protocol was used:
• Literal (12 points): Each content word (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) literally
means what it means (e.g., ‘black cat’, ‘go to work’).
• Once (8 points): One or more content words are figurative, and at least one word is
literal such as ‘long face’ (‘face’ is literal, but ‘long’ is figurative) and ‘dog days
‘(‘days’ is literal, but ‘dog’ is figurative).
• Outlier (6 points): Items contain a homonym (polysemy issue) that can be easily
misunderstood (the significantly rarer homonym is used, such as ‘bear children’, or
situations where the meaning is particular, such as ‘intensive care’, ‘social security’,
or ‘foster care’. Ratings of 6 are also reserved for items in which language is used
colourfully, such as ’in harm’s way.’ Also, 6 points were given to items where a
preposition is used in a way that is very different from its literal meaning, such as ’I
sort of think’ (in this case, ’of’ is meaningless to some extent). In addition, if an
MWU seems to be formed arbitrarily (there is no rhyme/reason why a particular word
is used and not another more logical one), it was also given 6 points. For instance,
why ’record label’ and not ’record company’? Why ’cast a shadow’ and not ’put a
shadow’?
• Figurative (4 points): The entire phrase is figurative, but the meaning can be
inferred. Most people think of these as idioms, but they are not. True idioms cannot
be understood by their parts and are called ‘core idioms.’ So, figurative words are
what most people think idioms are (e.g., ‘as good as gold’, ‘hit the nail on the head’).
• Core Idiom (0 points): The entire phrase is figurative, and the meaning cannot be
inferred from the individual words (e.g., ‘shoot the breeze’, ‘a piece of cake’). Other
examples of items that received 0 points include ‘got under way’ (it means something
has started but has a high potential for confusion. Nothing is ‘gotten’, nothing is
going ‘under’ anything, and ‘way’ is usually used for direction or a method of doing
something, of which the typical usage of this phrase has nothing to do with) and
‘wind up’ (nothing is being ‘wound’ and nothing is going ‘up’. Thus, it would be
difficult for a learner to guess the meaning).
When there could be multiple interpretations of a phrase, one often was literal,
and the other was figurative. The raters compared the more common usage of the
MWU with the Persian translation. However, when it still needed clarification, the
raters looked at the use in the example sentence and rated accordingly. Inter-rater
reliability was then conducted to confirm the reliability of the semantic transparency
classifications and the L1-L2 congruency ratings.
M. Barghamadi, J. Rogers, J. Arciuli & A. Müller, The use of semantic transparency and L1-
L2 congruency as multi-word units selection criteria | 732

4. RESULTS

The subjective nature of assigning semantic transparency ratings can create

reliability and replicability issues. However, in this current study, interrater reliability
was 97%. Researchers have deemed interrater reliability to be from 75% to 90%
(Larson-Hall, 2015; Stemler, 2004), and thus the level of agreement found in this study
points to the protocol being reliable. Two raters marked some items differently and
were not literal (mostly, these were figurative or core idiom). For example, ’give him
the benefit of the doubt’ may be classified as a core idiom and figurative by different
raters. These occasional minor difference between raters was not crucial to the main
focus and results of the study since the main focus is the literal interpretation of
MWUs. In such cases, the results of the rater, as a native speaker and English
university lecturer, were calculated in the analysis. The results of this part of the study
can be seen in Table 2 with the addition of L1-L2 rating categorisation.

Table 2. Semantic transparency of the MWUs with L1-L2 rating categorisation.

L1-L2 Rating Literal (12) Once (8) Outlier (6) Figurative (4) Core Idiom (0)
0-3 329 142 82 83 124
4-6 3,115 343 295 75 47
8-9 2,513 114 80 26 8
12 3,656 78 67 13 3
Total 85.9% 6.04% 4.68% 1.75% 1.63%

As relatively few items were judged to be once, figurative, core idiom, or outlier,
these categories were combined into one opaque category, and 14.1% fell within it.
This result made it salient that many of the MWUs examined were classified into the
literal category.
The results of the L1-L2 rating can be seen in Figure 1. Out of 11,212 MWUs,
7,376 (65.78%) received a rating of 0-9. A total of 3,836 MWUs (34.21%) received a
rating of 12. Thus, nearly two-thirds of the items examined may pose a higher learning
burden because of incongruences with their translations. If we consider the
incongruent items when half of the words are not equal to their translation equivalent
(a rating cut-off of 6 or less), 41.3% of items fall under this category. Consequently, it
became clear that many of the MWUs examined were not congruent with Persian.
According to Table 2, there is a positive relationship between low L1-L2 ratings and
opaque semantic transparency. As L1-L2 congruency ratings increased, the number of
items classified as figurative and core idiom items decreased. Table 3 provides
examples of semantic transparency classification and L1-L2 congruency rating
between Persian and English.

Table 3. Sample of MWUs with semantic transparency classification and

congruency with Persian.
MWUs L1-L2 rating Semantic transparency
eye to eye 0 0
made up his mind 3 0
caught my eye 4 4
given name 6 6
took a deep breath 8 8
make it difficult for 9 12
leave me alone 0 12
733 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 723-740, 2023

Note. A rating of 12 denotes total congruency.

Figure 1. L1-L2 (Persian/English) congruency ratings of high-frequency English
MWUs.

It is worth mentioning that in the first step, native English speakers classified the
semantic transparency of items. Next, one researcher ran the L1-L2 congruency rating
that led to finding MWUs with various meanings. The rater found 1% of items with
literal and opaque meanings that Macis and Schmitt (2017a) call duplex collocations,
such as ‘a piece of cake,’ ‘the bottom line,’ and ‘inner circle’. For example, the phrase
‘a piece of cake’ has one literal meaning and one figurative meaning (‘as easy as eating
a piece of cake’). These could be signals in the teaching process that some items have
two meanings to consider.
We concluded from our data set that most collocations follow a traditional word
combination where two or more literal meanings can be added (A +B+ and so on). In
contrast, our analyses revealed that most of these items are somewhat incongruent with
Persian. For example, ‘make sacrifices’ and ‘make a decision’ have literal meanings
but are incongruent with Persian when the verb is equal to ‘do’ and ‘take’, respectively.
Therefore, only focusing on traditional patterns of word combinations could lead to
unacceptable structures.
On the other hand, a small proportion of our sample collocations (1,518 items or
14.1%) have opaque meanings. The evaluation of these items indicates that only 161
items are opaque but congruent with Persian. For example, ‘my heart stopped’ is
classified as figurative when the meaning refers to ‘it gives you a sudden intense
feeling of fear,’ still, it is a congruent word for word with its Persian translation and
used in the same fashion. Therefore, the combination of both opaque items and duplex
items makes up 15.1% of total items. In comparison, a substantial percentage of the
items in the present study are incongruent even when using a cut-off of 6 points (41%).

5. DISCUSSION

Knowing a word includes knowing its semantics and collocates (Nation, 2013).
The literature indicates that MWUs make up a significant amount of spoken and
written discourse (e.g., Erman & Warren, 2000), and knowledge of these could
M. Barghamadi, J. Rogers, J. Arciuli & A. Müller, The use of semantic transparency and L1-
L2 congruency as multi-word units selection criteria | 734

facilitate L2 learning, help learners become more fluent, and solidify their status as
expert language users (Siyanova-Chanturia & Pellicer-Sánchez, 2019).
In accordance with the lexical approach to MWUs, it is recommended that
learners observe recurring lexical chunks in L2 input (Lewis, 1993). This perspective
has been supported by researchers such as Pellicer-Sánchez (2020), who stated that
MWUs “should be a component of the vocabulary learning curriculum” (p. 158).
Therefore, knowing what words co-occur is crucial to developing language fluency.
However, several studies found that MWUs were excluded from teaching materials
(e.g., Boers et al., 2017), and there seems to be less agreement regarding inclusion and
inclusion criteria.
The selection criteria value can also be confirmed by determining the percentage
of the items semantically transparent. In the current study, we found that literal
collocations made up the vast majority of the items examined. This result is in line
with previous studies (e.g., Rogers, 2017; Macis & Schmitt, 2017a), which found that
most of the items examined were also literal. For such items, it would seem that
learners do not need to consider the meanings of the collocations since they need to
understand the meanings of the component words. Although when understanding the
meaning of a particular phrase is a concern, knowing which words arbitrarily go
together can be a challenge, i.e., to recognise why ‘strong’ comes frequently occurs
with ‘coffee’ and not ‘powerful’. In this regard, Shin and Chon (2019) claim that L2
learners have difficulties with all types of MWUs with varying levels of transparency,
and thus, such items also deserve study time.
There is no question that high-frequency items are valuable; however, the
learning burden of these items may be influenced by other factors, such as L1-L2
congruency. The value of selecting criteria can be confirmed by determining the extent
to which high-frequency English MWUs are congruent with the target language. The
current study fills the gap in the literature for Persian-speaking learners. The findings
also support previous research showing that L1 interference is the main reason for L2
learners’ errors (e.g., Davoudi & Behshad, 2015). According to the results of this
study, a large proportion of the MWUs examined were incongruent with Persian to
some extent (e.g., ‘do a mistake’ instead of ‘make a mistake’).
Also, the present study’s findings revealed a positive relationship between L1-
L2 ratings and semantic opacity. This finding agrees with Yamashita’s (2018)
research. Albeit a small-scale study, Yamashita found that transparent items dominated
the congruent category. In contrast, opaque items dominated the incongruent category,
and he concluded that semantics may have played a role in congruency effectiveness.
Therefore, it would be helpful to determine the best way to teach learners these items.
Macis and Schmitt (2017a) pointed out that most collocation pedagogy and textbooks
have centred on word combinations with literal meanings. For example, ’strong
coffee’ not ’powerful coffee’ or ‘big mistakes’ not ‘large mistakes’ may emphasise in
English courses and understanding how words co-occur.
Since collocations are identified and defined differently using different
analytical methods, it is unsurprising that there is a need for comprehensive resources.
Also, teachers and materials developers need more guidance in selecting items that
might be particularly noteworthy for students. Therefore, there still needs to be more
research and materials regarding the semantic opacity of MWUs. It would be desirable
if teachers had access to textbooks and other resources that used congruency to select
essential items for teaching and identify the most difficult MWUs.
735 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 723-740, 2023

To help teachers determine what phrases to teach, Martinez (2013) suggested

using the Frequency Transparency Framework (FTF) approach. Using this, a frequent
and opaque phrase would be introduced first, followed by a frequent and transparent
phrase, then a less frequent but opaque phrase, and finally, the least frequent and more
transparent expression. Martinez notes that the framework can only be practical when
frequency measures are adjusted to reflect learners’ needs. For example, it is unlikely
that any English language teacher or writer would insist that ’take the bus’ should be
taught late in any language course; while this MWU is not very common in the BNC
(Martinez, 2013, p. 192), it is a critical element in giving directions. On the other hand,
if the most challenging aspect of acquiring L2 knowledge is related to opaque items,
then concentrating on MWUs with non-literal meanings is a valuable and essential
teaching strategy.
Nevertheless, if many collocations are literal and L1-L2 congruency is the
primary source of L2 errors, extra attention should be given to this cross-linguistic
issue. In the current research, literal formulations were the most numerous high-
frequency collocations, even though meaningfully opaque collocations deserve more
attention than transparent ones, suggesting that a total focus on non-literal items is
unreasonable. Nonetheless, many L2 errors are rooted in L1 interference (e.g.,
Davoudi & Behshad, 2015; Peters, 2016), and knowledge of collocation can be
predicted by congruency (Nguyen & Webb, 2017). Therefore, items with low L1-L2
congruency deserve more consideration in language pedagogy.
Overall, all types of MWUs with non-transparent meanings make up a small
sample of items examined in this current study. While most items are transparent,
understanding their meanings depends on the learner’s prior knowledge. For example,
to interpret the item ‘take a break here’ and ‘take medicine’ (which are classified as
literal), it is essential to know that the first ‘take’ is equal to ‘have’ and the second is
equal to ‘eat’. So, despite being classified as literals, they are incongruent with their
Persian equivalent and, therefore, can be challenging to comprehend. These examples
demonstrate why focusing on L1-L2 congruency is an essential criterion to consider.
From a teaching perspective, a widespread endorsement is given to raising
learners’ awareness of collocations as integral to language and encouraging them to
pay attention to collocations. Due to the opaque nature of collocations, teachers must
be aware that they are difficult for students to comprehend. Current literature indicates
that an explicit approach to teaching collocations would be ideal. Thus, further
research is needed to help determine how to identify such items and how to teach them
effectively.

6. CONCLUSION

MWUs are widely considered essential for language acquisition. High-

frequency items are unquestionably beneficial, but other criteria, such as L1-L2
congruency and semantic transparency, may affect their learning difficulty. This study
revealed that a high ratio of the MWUs examined was classified as literal formulations
and incongruent with Persian. Therefore, studies that only view literal formulations as
collocations will end up ignoring a large proportion of the high-frequency MWUs this
study examined. This is problematic since their incongruence with Persian means there
is a high chance of error and a need for them to be taught. In addition, a low number
M. Barghamadi, J. Rogers, J. Arciuli & A. Müller, The use of semantic transparency and L1-
L2 congruency as multi-word units selection criteria | 736

of opaque items were assigned high L1-L2 congruency ratings in this study. L1-L2
congruency is critical in the teaching process compared to emphasising semantic
transparency only. However, despite this study having very high interrater reliability,
the number of raters and the unavoidable subjective nature of the measures examined
create some limitations in how the results of this study can be interpreted. Thus, more
research is called for in this regard.
Additionally, to the best of our knowledge, there were few studies to compare
with our findings due to our study’s novel approach and scale. Therefore, future
research should attempt to address any shortcomings that exist. However, despite these
limitations, we feel that this study provides an excellent first step toward creating a
valuable resource for Persian-speaking learners of English to use to improve their
MWU fluency.

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741 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 741-755, 2023

“Will They Listen to Me?” Investigating

the Utilization of Audio Feedback in
Higher Education
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Dwi Bayu Saputra*1

M. Affandi Arianto2
Eko Saputra1
1
Department of English Language Education Program, Faculty of Education,
Universitas Bengkulu, Bengkulu 38371, INDONESIA
2
English Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang,
Padang 25131, INDONESIA

Abstract
Many studies have discussed the importance of technology in delivering
feedback to students’ assignments since its deployment provides
convenience, timeliness, rich information, asynchronous discussion, and
social presence. However, the effectiveness of audio feedback has received
very scant investigation in the context of higher education in Indonesia. To
fill such an empirical void, this exploratory sequential mixed method
probes the students’ perceptions towards the use of audio feedback. Thirty-
two undergraduate students from one of the public universities in
Bengkulu, Indonesia, majoring in Early Childhood and Studies and taking
English as a compulsory subject, participated in this study. Three data
collection techniques were deployed to triangulate the data. A
questionnaire was distributed to examine students’ perceptions of audio
feedback, followed by a freeform writing and semi-structured interview to
draw more pictures of the students’ experiences of this feedback mode. The
results show that even though all participants in this study had never
received this type of feedback, most participants had positive perceptions
of using audio feedback. They mentioned they got thorough, detailed, and
personal feedback, so they felt engaged in the learning processes. This
finding is expected to enrich the knowledge of the effectiveness of audio
feedback and to encourage eager teaching practitioners to use it in their

*
Corresponding author, email: dwibayusaputra@unib.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Saputra, D. B., Arianto, M. A., & Saputra, E. (2023). “Will they listen to me?”
Investigating the utilization of audio feedback in higher education. Studies in English Language and
Education, 10(2), 741-755.

Received September 18, 2022; Revised January 6, 2023; Accepted April 13, 2023; Published Online
May 31, 2022

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.28173
 D. B. Saputra, M. A. Arianto & E. Saputra, “Will they listen to me?” Investigating the
utilization of audio feedback in higher education | 742

teaching processes, as it could increase students’ engagement in the

learning process.

Keywords: Audio feedback, English as a Foreign Language (EFL),

feedback, higher education, mixed methods.

1. INTRODUCTION

As one of the most important components of the evaluation, feedback facilitates

students’ language development. In addition, feedback is claimed as a powerful
strategy for improving students’ learning outcomes (Aslam & Khan, 2021; Mulati et
al., 2020). In the context of higher education, teachers may provide written feedback
to their students when commenting on their assignments. As students receive adequate
feedback, they are more likely to be engaged in the learning process, which can result
in increased task performance.
Feedback is not only about scoring or giving grades on students’ work. It is an
important component in which teachers provide clear and detailed information
regarding students’ performance. Feedback can be provided in the form of correcting,
clarifying, motivating, and encouraging ideas (Forsythe & Johnson, 2016; Ghazali et
al., 2020; Hattie & Timperly, 2007). However, feedback may demotivate students if
the comments or any information given by the teachers cannot be understood or is
marked in red (Ferris, 2007). Therefore, providing insightful and meaningful feedback
will help students improve their work.
Challenges are reported in previous literature, particularly in universities,
concerning giving and getting written feedback. Written feedback is comprehensive
because it addresses a student’s errors, yet some information cannot be understood.
Besides, one of the issues of written feedback is the amount of time required to deliver
written feedback to students’ assignments (Ferris, 2007). When the class size is large
enough, teachers will likely have less time to comment on the students’ written
assignments, resulting in delayed, extremely brief written comments, or worse, no
feedback at all. In other words, it is time-consuming.
There is a growing body of literature that recognizes the challenges and
difficulties of teaching English to a large group of students. Cann (2014) mentioned
that when more students enroll in higher education, class sizes expand, resulting in
increased academic burdens and a longer time between the submission and return of
work. Al-Bakri (2016) found that many papers during a limited time make the teachers
unable to have writing conferences when the students need follow-up explanations
about the feedback given. Therefore, Essel (2020) suggests that teachers devise
modern ways of giving feedback by sending feedback via e-mail as regularly or
punctually as possible. To tackle the issue, individual conferencing or oral feedback is
seen to be less time-consuming than delivering written comments to student writing;
nevertheless, this may not be feasible in some settings if there are no office hours or if
the teacher/student is not available outside of the classroom (Solhi & Eǧinli, 2020). As
most Indonesian classes consist of a large group of students, both modes appear less
effective in coping with the nature of feedback, which should lead to students’
improvement in their performance.
743 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 741-755, 2023

Given recent technological advancements, teachers now have a number of

options for providing feedback to their students, one of which is audio feedback.
Digitally recorded feedback comments are a promising option for face-to-face and
text-based feedback. Unlike face-to-face interactions, recordings give learners a
lasting artifact that they can revisit as many times as needed (Ryan et al., 2019).
Several studies have used audio feedback to solve at least some of the aforementioned
issues. Educators also believe that they are more efficient in producing text-based
comments (Knauf, 2016; Morris & Chikwa, 2016). Students are more satisfied with
audio feedback, especially when it comes to the volume and detail of the feedback
(Denton, 2014; Hennessy & Forrester, 2014; Lunt & Curran, 2010; Orlando, 2016;
Voelkel & Mello, 2014). They are likely to improve their performance as the resultant
recording provides more explanations and suggestions. This meets with the nature of
feedback pointed out by Nicol (2010), who says that good feedback should be forward-
thinking, suggesting ways for students to enhance their work for future tasks.
Another benefit of utilizing audio feedback is more personal than written
feedback (Gould & Day, 2013; Merry & Orsmond, 2008; Parkes & Fletcher, 2017;
Voelkel & Mello, 2014). It is engaging for students, eliciting perceptions that tutors
‘cared’ more and so improving student engagement with learning (Ice et al., 2007;
Lunt & Curran, 2010). This could be because the audio has a tone that allows students
to feel as if they were in the presence of their teacher while listening to feedback. The
students thus value audio feedback for its clarity, ease of use, highlighting of areas of
strength and weakness in students’ tasks, and personalization. Audio feedback
provides convenience, timeliness, rich information, asynchronous discussion, and
social presence (Zhan, 2022).
Despite the benefits of delivering audio feedback, scholars have also revealed
contradictory findings on the potential of audio feedback, highlighting its drawbacks
(Alharbi & Alghammas, 2021; Fawcett & Oldfield, 2016; Johnson & Cooke, 2016;
Voelkel & Mello, 2014). Johnson and Cooke (2016) found that most students chose
written feedback over audio feedback. They further defended their decision by
claiming that written feedback was easier to access than audio feedback, which
required downloading. Voelkel and Mello (2014) discovered that students referred to
written feedback more than they referred to audio feedback, which could be attributed
to the ease of re-reading written input as compared to re-listening to audio feedback.
The current study conducted by Alharbi and Alghammas (2021) found that half of the
participants preferred written input over audio feedback. The poor quality of
recordings in the feedback files was the cause of students’ preference for written
feedback over its audio counterpart. This becomes a significant challenge for students
who receive audio feedback because the presence of extraneous noises while recording
the feedback prevents them from properly listening to the intended advice in such
recordings.
From the aforementioned findings, we realized that providing audio feedback
remains debatable regarding its effectiveness. Also, to the best of our knowledge, little
attention has been given to investigating the students’ perceptions of the utilization of
audio feedback, particularly in Indonesia, where most classrooms have a considerable
number of students. Hence, this study aims to fill the existing gap. The results of this
study may shed some light and provide a recommendation based on the finding,
particularly for teachers’ feedback practices in general English classes. This present
 D. B. Saputra, M. A. Arianto & E. Saputra, “Will they listen to me?” Investigating the
utilization of audio feedback in higher education | 744

study addresses the following research question: What are the students’ perceptions of
audio feedback?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Feedback

Feedback has been considered a fundamental part of teaching and learning (Ha
et al., 2021; Selvaraj & Azman, 2020), and it has been claimed empirically as an
indispensable component in learning English that has a strong effect on students’
academic achievement (Donaghue, 2020; Forsythe & Johnson, 2016; Wisniewski et
al., 2020). Besides, its relevance is recognized by higher education practitioners who
devote a significant amount of time and effort to providing feedback on assignments
(Voelkel & Mello, 2014).
Feedback may come from teachers, instructors, online marking programs, or
peers (Hyland & Hyland, 2006; Niu et al., 2021). In the context of teaching English,
as long as the information is given directly by teachers and their students passively
follow the suggestions, it is called feedback following the receptive transmission
model; whereas, if the feedback involves two-way communication, it follows the
constructivist model since teachers let students push their self-reflection after
obtaining feedback by discussing with their teachers or peers (Askew & Lodge, 2000;
Sun & Yang, 2021). Concerning the two models, previous scholars have also divided
the kinds of feedback, namely teacher feedback and peer feedback. Teacher feedback
focuses on teacher review, while peer feedback is less authoritarian, and it happens
when students engage with others, for example, their peers, to give, receive, and
discuss feedback (Min, 2005; Park, 2018).
Undoubtedly, feedback is essential to students’ success in learning English,
particularly in higher education (Gurzynski & Revesz, 2012; Lunt & Curran, 2010;
Norris & Ortega, 2006; Sun & Yang, 2021; Zhai & Gao, 2018). Previous studies have
shown the advantages of feedback on students’ achievement. For instance, students
perceived helpfulness in teacher feedback, particularly in specific areas, such as
increasing their understanding of content, language, or organization of their writing
(Choi, 2013; Lee, 2008; Park, 2018). In other skills, such as listening and reading, the
implementation of feedback positively affects students’ skills, especially in processing
general information and inferring information (Pérez-Segura et al., 2022). Students
also perceived the usefulness of immediate feedback so that they realized errors they
had made while speaking (Ha et al., 2021). Besides, some other studies, which focus
on corrective feedback, also show the effectiveness of oral and written corrective
feedback for students’ English development (Li & Vuono, 2019). Although a large and
growing body of literature has investigated the impacts of feedback on students’ L2
achievement, there is increasing concern about how tertiary students, in the context of
EFL (Sun & Yang, 2021), react to feedback given by their lecturers in the form of
audio.
745 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 741-755, 2023

2.2 Audio Feedback

The use of audio feedback is relatively new, particularly in the context of higher
education (Lunt & Currant, 2010). It is a feedback mode given by teachers in the form
of digital sound files, and students pay more attention to the teachers’ comments from
the audio (Hennessy & Forrester, 2014; Yu et al., 2020). Audio feedback can be
delivered in a more personalized form, and it can be embedded into specific
applications (King et al., 2008). Few studies have postulated the impact of using audio
feedback on students’ learning achievement. For instance, audio feedback embedded
into screencast has been reported to be more supportive and encouraging than written
feedback (Ice et al., 2007). Lunt and Currant (2010) claim that audio feedback using
Audacity audio software MP3 can overcome students’ problems and reduce anxiety.
In addition, Rasi and Vuojarvi (2017) also found that audio feedback increased
connectivity between students and teachers and helped students revise assignments.
Furthermore, Hattie and Timperley (2007), who conducted a meta-analysis of
7,000 studies to examine the types of feedback, found that audio feedback is the second
most effective feedback that teachers can use. Jones and Gorra (2013) suggested that
audio feedback can be properly used as a formative assessment in which teachers could
give more detailed information to their students. However, some literature emerged
that offers contradictory findings about the use of audio feedback. According to
McCarthy (2015), audio feedback is not considered authentic in some instances. More
recently, Sun and Yang (2021) found that audio feedback was not as clear as written
feedback, and it also mitigated interpersonal connection and decreased personal touch
from teachers. Due to the conflicting findings of the previous studies, it is unclear
whether university students can benefit from this kind of feedback. Besides, since less
research has been investigated in the context of EFL (Ha et al., 2021; Sun & Yang,
2021), this present study focuses on Indonesian university students’ perceptions of
audio feedback.

3. METHODS

3.1 Research Design

In this study, an exploratory sequential mixed methods approach was adopted,

with quantitative data augmented by qualitative data (Creswell, 2013). The study used
a combination of quantitative data obtained from a questionnaire and qualitative data
through a semi-structured interview to better understand students’ perceptions of the
audio feedback. Since this study sought to examine the perceptions of students toward
the effectiveness of audio feedback, both a survey and a semi-structured interview
were disseminated.

3.2 Research Site and Participants

One of the authors in this study acted as a teacher, who utilized audio feedback.
Feedback was delivered (i.e., in the form of formative comments to the students) on
some weekly written assignments consisting of various academic tasks. Due to the
pandemic and the large class size, writing all the feedback on the students’ assignments
 D. B. Saputra, M. A. Arianto & E. Saputra, “Will they listen to me?” Investigating the
utilization of audio feedback in higher education | 746

was unlikely. Hence, audio feedback seemed to be the right choice to give detailed,
thorough, and personal feedback to 32 undergraduate students majoring in Early
Childhood Studies (as the participants in this study) from one of the public universities
in Bengkulu, Indonesia. The students were previously asked to participate in this study
by completing the consent form.
As previously observed, none of the students in this study had any prior
experience receiving audio feedback. The participants received formative feedback,
which was recorded via the Audacity application. The feedback was emailed to each
student individually in MP3 format (the highest file is almost 4 Mb) because this
format takes smaller files than the WAV format. The audio files were 2 up to 5
minutes, depending on the feedback needed from the student’s work.

3.3 Data Collection Techniques

Likert scale surveys and interviews were used to obtain the data. The survey
questions adapted from Lunt and Currant (2010) are part of an earlier study into the
functions and effectiveness of audio feedback. For the quantitative data, the
questionnaire has nine items that were distributed to examine students’ perceptions of
audio feedback. The indicators were the effectiveness of audio feedback (items 1 to
4), the quality of audio (item 5), the accessibility (item 6), the preference for using
audio feedback (items 7-8), and the punctuality in receiving audio feedback (item 9).
We also provided two freeform questions in Google Forms to elicit more information
from participants concerning their experiences with audio feedback. For the qualitative
data, we used some questions based on the questionnaire to follow up with the data
from the quantitative data.

3.4 Data Analysis Techniques

To determine the frequency and mean score for each questionnaire item,
descriptive statistics were employed to investigate the quantitative data received from
survey responses. The categorizing technique proposed by Joshi et al. (2015) was used
to classify the Likert Scale mean score. Table 1 summarizes the categorization.

Table 1. Scales for classifying the results of closed-ended questionnaires.

Categorization Scale
SD (Strongly Disagree) > 1 to 1.8
D (Disagree) > 1.8 to 2.6
U (Undecided) > 2.6 to 3.4
A (Agree) > 3.4 to 4.2
SA (Strongly Agree) > 4.2 to 5

4. RESULTS

In this study, the findings were presented by displaying data collected from the
survey and then inserting information from the interviews to triangulate and enrich
existing data from the questionnaire results. Based on the results of the descriptive
analysis listed in Tables 2 and 3, it can be inferred that the majority of participants
have a favorable perception of audio feedback.
747 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 741-755, 2023

Table 2. Survey of students’ experience with audio feedback.

No Item Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
agree disagree
The effectiveness of audio feedback
1 The audio feedback that the 71% 12.9% 9.7% 3.2% 3.2%
lecturer gave me on my
assignment helped me in
clarifying things that I didn’t
understand.
2 Audio Feedback helps me in 83.9% 6.5% 3.2% 3.2% 3.2%
determining what I am missing in
my assignment production.
3 The Audio Feedback provided can 77.4% 16.1% - 3.2% 3.2%
assist me in determining how I can
improve and optimize my work.
4 I received detailed feedback on 61.3% 32.3% - 3.2% 3.2%
my homework through audio
feedback.
The quality of audio
5 The audio quality that it provides 58.1% 32.3% 3.2% 3.2% 3.2%
is very clear.
The accessibility
6 I find it easy to access the audio 38.7% 45.2% 9.7% 3.2% 3.2%
feedback given by my lecturer.
The preference for using audio feedback
7 I find audio feedback more 48.8% 38.7% 6.5% 3.2% 3.2%
helpful than written feedback.
8 In the future, I prefer to receive 45.2% 38.7% 9.7% 3.2% 3.2%
feedback from lecturers using the
audio method rather than writing.
The punctuality in receiving audio feedback
9 Audio feedback on my 25.8% 45.2% 22.6% 6.5% -
assignment was sent promptly.

Table 3. Scale categorization.

Item N Mean Scale categorization
1 31 4.45 Strongly agree
2 31 4.64 Strongly agree
3 31 4.61 Strongly agree
4 31 4.45 Strongly agree
5 31 4.38 Strongly agree
6 31 4.12 Agree
7 31 4.25 Strongly agree
8 31 4.19 Strongly agree
9 31 3.90 Agree

In the first indicator (see Table 2, items 1 to 4), the mean ratings for four items
indicated that they accepted audio feedback as an effective method of receiving teacher
correction. Almost all participants (83.9 percent) stated that audio feedback assisted
them in recognizing what they had overlooked in their tasks. The following are some
of the freewriting samples from the participants:

(1) “...we can understand more about the review of our assignments with audio if something is absent
in the work of the task so that it can be better in the future”.
(Freewriting excerpt from Student 10)
 D. B. Saputra, M. A. Arianto & E. Saputra, “Will they listen to me?” Investigating the
utilization of audio feedback in higher education | 748

(2) “...it is easier for me to understand (the feedback) with audio feedback. So that if I make a mistake
on a task, I may more readily comprehend and correct it”.
(Freewriting excerpt from Student 6)

(3) “Audio feedback, in my opinion, is time-efficient; we simply need to listen to comments about the
tasks that need to be improved”.
(Freewriting excerpt from Student 3)

(4) “The audio feedback helped me grasp what the lecturer was saying to me, whether it was criticism,
suggestions, or corrections about my assignment. I am able to better understand what the lecturer
is saying by using audio feedback, and I can replay the audio feedback until I understand what the
lecturer is saying in relation to the task I am working on”.
(Freewriting excerpt from Student 23)

A total of 26 out of 31 students believed audio feedback allowed them to obtain

extensive, simple-to-understand, and personalized comments.

(5) “...I feel that listening to audio comments help me better understand (the feedback)”.
(Freewriting excerpt from Student 24)

(6) “I could hear it at any time and it can be repeated continuously. I believe that using audio feedback
makes the lecturer’s explanations easier to comprehend and grasp because the audio feedback is
very detailed”.
(Freewriting excerpt from Student 20)

(7) “With audio feedback, the input is provided in a very clear and individualized sense, making it
simple to understand”.
(Interview excerpt from Student 1)

In addition, this thorough audio feedback made it easier for the students to
comprehend and motivated them to revise their assignments.

(8) “It motivated me because with this detailed audio feedback, I know exactly which ones in my
assignments are missing so that I can correct them right away”.
(Interview excerpt from Student 2).

(9) “I feel that my lecturer thoroughly examined my assignment and provided a very detailed
explanation of whether it was correct, ready to be turned in, or still required improvement”.
(Interview excerpt from Student 3).

Interestingly, from both freewriting and the interview, some participants claimed
that they felt like they were interacting with or listening to their lecturers at the time,
making it more appealing to listen to the feedback. They then revised their assignment
based on the suggestions in the audio.

(10) “… I can better comprehend what the lecturer is saying in this way, and it’s as if we’re speaking
directly to the lecturer”.
(Freewriting excerpt from Student 9)

Regarding accessibility, from the questionnaire, 38.7 percent strongly agreed,

and 45.2 percent agreed, indicating that accessing audio feedback was not a problem.
In contrast, only two of the 31 students who received feedback had a bad experience.
The problem arose because the participants’ smartphones could not open the audio
feedback, which forced them first to switch on their laptops so they could hear the
749 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 741-755, 2023

comments. In contrast, the others asserted they could open and listen to the feedback
on their phone.

(11) “I had trouble getting the audio to play on my phone. I’m not sure why it occurred. Perhaps it was
because I haven’t upgraded the software. So, whereas the majority of my friends claimed they
could open it with ease, I should actually open it on my laptop”.
(Interview excerpt from Student 1)

Considering that other students did not echo this complaint, it is evident from
the questionnaires that most students did not have difficulty accessing the feedback.
In the fourth indicator, concerning the students’ preference for audio or written
feedback, only two respondents preferred the latter mode to the prior one, while the
remainder favored audio feedback. They chose audio feedback for a variety of reasons.
The following are some excerpts from them:

(12) “I like audio feedback because it clearly outlines all of the problems with my assignment. In
contrast, written communication will take a little longer to understand and will also waste more
time”.
(Freewriting excerpt from Student 5)

(13) “I prefer audio feedback because I think I can access assignments faster than written ones”.
(Freewriting excerpt from Student 15)

(14) “I find that audio feedback works better for my learning style and makes it simpler for me to
comprehend what is being spoken. Also, I could easily remember what is being said”.
(Interview excerpt of Student 4)

The majority of students were interested in receiving audio comments in the

future (83.9 percent). Moreover, almost all of them unanimously felt that audio
feedback was preferable since it was somewhat meaningful (87.5 percent).
Furthermore, we discovered that some students believed the feedback was so
personalized that they were interested in it since it has its tone and intonation.

(15) “Because audio feedback includes tone, intonation, and stress, as a learner, it is easier for me to
understand, and I prefer to listen to it rather than reading rigid written feedback”.
(Interview excerpt of Student 3)

5. DISCUSSION

While previous research has examined the students’ perception of written

feedback (Choi, 2013; Lee, 2008; Li & Vuono, 2019; Park, 2018), this current study
investigated Indonesian university students’ perceptions of using audio feedback in the
context of teaching large classes. In general, the data from the questionnaire and semi-
structured interview revealed that audio feedback unavoidably helped students
understand the feedback more.
The finding of this study revealed that more than half of the participants (73.4%)
had a positive perception of the audio feedback. By listening to the audio, students
could learn the feedback given by the lecturers more comprehensively. Besides, the
audio feedback was helpful in terms of revising process. The students could revise
their works and listen to the feedback simultaneously and replay the audio feedback
 D. B. Saputra, M. A. Arianto & E. Saputra, “Will they listen to me?” Investigating the
utilization of audio feedback in higher education | 750

while revising their works. Also, audio feedback gave students more chances to
understand the feedback comprehensively. This finding is in line with the studies
conducted by Bourgault et al. (2013), Orlando (2016), and Ryan et al. (2019), who also
revealed that the students consider digital records, including audio recordings, to be
detailed and thorough. Besides, the finding of this study also supports evidence from
Lunt and Curran’s (2010) study that the majority of respondents in their study were
very pleased with the audio. They found that 85 percent of students agreed that the
feedback helped them see what they had missed in their coursework.
Another important piece of information found in this study is that the students
could understand what content needed to be added or removed in their writing. This
finding is also reported by Solhi and Eǧinli (2020) and Alharbi and Alghammas
(2021), who found that audio feedback helped improve students’ writing in terms of
content and organization. It can thus be suggested that through detailed feedback,
students can have lots of input and enhance their writing.
Moreover, in terms of audio quality, the finding indicates that most participants
perceived positive experiences with a mean score of 4.38, indicating they
acknowledged the audio quality was clear even though the file size was relatively small
(around 5 Mb). This finding is contrary to that of Hennessy and Forrester (2014), who
stated that the large size of the audio files and their incompatibility with some email
systems made students who struggled to access their feedback more confused. If the
size is reduced, the quality might be poor. Merry and Orsmond (2008) discovered that
students experienced reduced sound quality of audio feedback due to the smaller size
of the audio files. In our study, only a few students complained about having noise in
the audio, while the rest seemed to enjoy listening to the audio. The Audacity App and
good-quality earphones do improve audio quality, which needs to be considered.
Having clear audio makes students feel motivated to listen to and follow the feedback.
For the accessibility indicator, most participants mentioned that there were no
issues in downloading, accessing, and listening to the audio feedback. Only few
students had difficulty accessing the audio due to technical issues such as the
incompatible phone. However, Alharbi and Alghammas (2021) discovered a
contradicting finding that most students felt that traditional feedback or written
feedback is more accessible than audio. It is concerned with the students’ preparation,
such as downloading the audio. Internet issues might become one of the factors
contributing to students’ experiences in accessing the audio. Before utilizing the audio
feedback, it must be ensured that all students have internet access, and teachers should
ensure all of the students can access the audio to avoid such emerging issues.
The fourth indicator concerns students’ preference for receiving feedback. Most
of them preferred to have audio compared to its written counterpart. Some factors were
due to listening to the audio; it was easy to relisten to the feedback and comprehend
what the lecturer meant. Besides, detailed feedback through the audio helped the
students follow the instructions and recognize what was missing in their assignments.
It is consistent with Parkes and Fletcher (2017), who stated that students appreciate
audio feedback for its clarity, ease of use, highlighting of areas of strength and
weakness in students’ assignments, and being personal. Xu (2018) supported it by
stating that teachers’ audio feedback engaged the students to participate due to its
easiness to relisten to the audio. In this study, the data shows that students preferred
audio feedback to its traditional counterpart because it involved not only corrections
751 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 741-755, 2023

but also suggestions, motivations, and some criticism in which the students felt that
their teacher thoroughly read their assignments and cared for them.
Concerning the time allocated to receiving the feedback, the data shows that the
participants received the audio on time. It means that recording is less time-consuming
than writing the feedback. This finding is aligned with Hennessy and Forrester (2014),
saying that audio feedback can be a more time-efficient technique for teachers to
deliver timely and high-quality feedback. The teacher can reduce the time to correct
the student’s work, and the students can receive it on time. Lunt and Curran (2010)
said one minute of audio feedback might carry information equivalent to six minutes
of written feedback, so this is an investment of time and effort for teachers and
students.
In sum, the finding of this study indicates that most of the participants had
positive perceptions of the use of audio feedback. This finding is aligned with the
results of several studies by Gould and Day (2013), Hennessy and Forrester (2014),
Voelkel and Mello (2014), Parkes and Fletcher (2017), and Xu (2018) who discovered
that students valued audio feedback, resulting in the establishment of a positive
perspective on student towards that type of feedback. Although all of the study
participants had never received this type of feedback, the data from the questionnaire,
semi-structured interview, and freehand writing demonstrated that they preferred audio
feedback. Surprisingly, one of the students expressed her wish that all teachers would
utilize audio feedback in their comments. It could be because it is thorough, detailed,
personal, and convenient.

6. CONCLUSION

This study aimed to investigate university students’ perceptions of the use of

audio feedback, especially in developing countries such as Indonesia. The findings
revealed that the students had a positive attitude towards audio feedback, particularly
in five aspects: effectiveness of audio feedback, quality of audio, accessibility,
preference for audio feedback, and punctuality in receiving audio feedback. This
finding adds to a series of results that students perceived the enactment of audio
feedback as a positive means to obtain comments from their teacher. The students said
that it was their first time getting this type of feedback, and surprisingly, one of them
expected that every teacher would also utilize audio feedback. Even though audio
feedback has been widely discussed, research on it is still scarce in Indonesia, where
English is taught as a foreign language. With the empirical data in this study, it is
suggested that teaching practitioners use audio feedback in their teaching and learning
process. Its deployment is not complex; the teachers need to install Audacity or other
recording software on their laptops and then record their voice. Then, they can send
enthusiastic feedback that the students will find memorable, thrilling, and engaging.
The present study has some limitations that should be acknowledged. Further
studies need to determine how successful the use of audio feedback is by concentrating
on quantitative analysis to assess its statistical significance. A comparison of the two
modalities (i.e., audio and written feedback) may also be carried out to highlight
considerable disparities between the two methods. In addition, several educational
conclusions may be taken from this study. Students who like to learn by audio can
improve their comprehension level through audio feedback, which is one of the
 D. B. Saputra, M. A. Arianto & E. Saputra, “Will they listen to me?” Investigating the
utilization of audio feedback in higher education | 752

instructional strategies that may be included in the virtual learning process. It is

possible to enhance learning media by incorporating visual aids based on audio
feedback. This will allow students who learn best via an audiovisual approach to
experience the advantages of this improvement.

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756 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 756-776, 2023

Building Knowledge about Language for

Teaching IELTS Writing Tasks: A Genre-
based Approach
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Ika Lestari Damayanti*1

Fuad Abdul Hamied1
Harni Kartika-Ningsih2
Nindya Soraya Dharma3
1
Department of English Education, Faculty of Language and Literature Education,
Indonesia University of Education, Bandung 40154, INDONESIA
2
Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Humanities, University of Indonesia, Depok
16424, INDONESIA
3
School of Education, Faculty of Arts, Design, and Architecture, University of New
South Wales, Kensington 2052, AUSTRALIA

Abstract
As a widely used English proficiency test that includes a writing test
component, IELTS raises pedagogical challenges that require high-stake
literacy skills to meet the demands of the assessment criteria. Many studies
on various teaching strategies for writing tasks in IELTS preparation
courses have been conducted. However, more information about explicit
instructions is needed to help test-taker candidates respond to the IELTS
writing tasks effectively. This paper reports on a small-scale pilot project
implementing a new generation of genre pedagogy, the Reading to Learn
(R2L), for teaching IELTS writing to 14 government-sponsored student
candidates at a public university language center in Indonesia. The project
aimed first to identify the linguistic demands of IELTS writing, particularly
Task 2. The identification of linguistic patterns was then used to design
and implement the intervention. Second, it mapped the participants’
writing skills before and after the intervention. The data were drawn from
IELTS teaching materials and the participants’ writing tasks before and
after the intervention. Based on the genre analysis, the IELTS Writing Task
2 requires the test takers to respond to the tasks by taking one side or

*
Corresponding author, email: ikalestaridamayanti@upi.edu

Citation in APA style: Damayanti, I. L., Hamied, F. A., Kartika-Ningsih, H., & Dharma, N. S. (2023).
Building knowledge about language for teaching IELTS writing tasks: A genre-based approach. Studies
in English Language and Education, 10(2), 756-776.

Received July 17, 2022; Revised December 10, 2022; Accepted April 26, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.26957
 I. L. Damayanti, F. A. Hamied, H. Kartika-Ningsih & N. S. Dharma, Building knowledge
about language for teaching IELTS writing tasks: A genre-based approach | 757

discussing two sides. Making such linguistic demands explicit to the

participants in the writing class helped them respond to the tasks more
successfully. As a result of their involvement in the intervention, the
participants, including those with low English proficiency, demonstrated
their ability to write more coherent texts. This study offered a genre-based
teaching model for preparing EFL students intending to take English
writing tests.

Keywords: Argumentative texts, genre pedagogy, IELTS writing test,

Reading to Learn (R2L) pedagogy.

1. INTRODUCTION

Enrolling in academic institutions in English-speaking countries requires

international student candidates worldwide to provide a valid English language
proficiency certificate. International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is an
example of an English language proficiency test that measures the English proficiency
of non-native English speakers who want to study or work in a country where English
is used as a language of communication (“What is IELTS?”, n.d.). It includes assessing
four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Of the four skills tested, writing is considered one of the most challenging skills
to master by candidates from contexts where English is a foreign language (EFL).
Studies conducted nearly two decades ago show that generating and presenting ideas
were considered to stifle the writing process (Richards & Renandya, 2002), which
made conveying messages in a way that made sense to readers more difficult (Murray
& Moore, 2006). In more recent studies, challenges encountered by EFL student
candidates remain the same. Ideas presented in the candidates’ texts are often unclear
as the texts lack coherence and cohesion with several lexicogrammatical errors (Al-
Jaro et al., 2016; Ariyanti & Fitriana, 2017).
In Indonesia, student candidates were reported to demonstrate poor performance,
particularly in the IELTS Writing section, with an average score of 5.57, the lowest
among the skills tested (“What is IELTS?”, n.d.). A similar trend is also observed in
Balai Bahasa, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia (hereafter UPI Language Centre),
which has offered the IELTS preparatory program since 2013 and has regularly
conducted surveys as part of the program evaluation. A consistent survey finding
indicates that the participants needed help to develop skills in responding to IELTS
writing tasks. Their low writing scores might be attributed to their little awareness of
the IELTS Writing Task 2 genre and their limited ability to read critically, leading to
difficulties in generating ideas in writing.
Awareness of genre and its underlying language features can be developed
through explicit teaching. Roseshine (1987, as cited in Archer & Hughes, 2011, p. 1)
described explicit instruction as “a systematic method of teaching with an emphasis
on proceeding in small steps, checking for understanding, and achieving active and
successful participation by all students”. This approach suggests that students will
benefit from a clear, systemic scaffold that is delivered by selecting and sequencing
contents before dividing them into units corresponding to students’ abilities (Archer
& Hughes, 2011). In our research, essays in IELTS Writing Task 2 were taught
758 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 756-776, 2023

explicitly, using a genre-based pedagogy referred to as Reading to Learn (R2L)

pedagogy. This pedagogy informs students what social purposes of the essays they
must achieve and what stages of the essays they should construct to make the essays
coherent. The nature of explicit teaching incorporating step-by-step demonstration of
a skill, guided practice, and regular feedback provision (Archer & Hughes, 2011) is
considered suitable for our short-term IELTS training programs because of this
straightforwardness.
Previous studies have established that explicit teaching positively impacts
students’ learning outcomes. Bychkovska (2021) reported an increased use of register-
appropriate noun phrases in undergraduate students’ essays after explicit instruction
on noun phrase modification. Another study also identified a similar achievement
(Akkoç et al., 2018), in which the participants were reported to score higher after being
explicitly taught how to use formulaic language in their argumentative writing. These
two investigations align with the current study in terms of noun phrases and formulaic
language, which are paramount to enriching students’ lexical range in high-stake
English tests such as IELTS. However, few studies have investigated explicit text-
based teaching in IELTS preparation courses. Therefore, this paper proposes the R2L
as the explicit instruction in IELTS Writing preparation courses.
Given the challenges encountered by the participants of the IELTS preparatory
program at UPI Language Center and the importance of explicit teaching, pedagogical
intervention strategies are needed to remedy the low reading and writing skills of
IELTS test candidates. Against this backdrop, a teaching and learning program
incorporating explicit teaching and reading alongside writing, namely the Reading to
Learn (R2L) methodology (Rose & Martin, 2012), was selected for implementation in
the 2020 IELTS Writing Preparation Program. In particular, the study is framed within
the following research questions:
• What kinds of text types and relevant linguistic features characterize IELTS Writing
Task 2?
• What linguistic features indicate the development of students’ IELTS Writing Task
2?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

This section reviews studies reporting on efforts in helping test-taker candidates

develop a control of writing skills. The goals are to meet the IELTS Academic Module
demands, comprising two tasks. IELTS Writing Task 1 requires test takers to describe
or explain data, and IELTS Writing Task 2 instructs them to write essays “in response
to the point of view, argument or problem” (“What is IELTS?”, n.d.). This study
focuses on IELTS Writing Task 2, which refers to Rose’s (2019) text-in-context model
and its relevant teaching and learning cycle, the Reading to Learn Pedagogy (Rose &
Martin, 2012).

2.1 IELTS Writing Tasks

Several studies have been done to improve students’ IELTS Writing outcomes
by implementing various teaching strategies. A study by Pratiwi et al. (2016)
investigated the use of mind-mapping strategies in improving Indonesian senior high
 I. L. Damayanti, F. A. Hamied, H. Kartika-Ningsih & N. S. Dharma, Building knowledge
about language for teaching IELTS writing tasks: A genre-based approach | 759

school students’ IELTS Writing scores. The participants reported that the mind-
mapping strategy helped them write better. A similar result was also found in a study
conducted in Thailand by Sanonguthai (2011), who combined the process of debating
and writing IELTS argumentative essays. The participants, consisting of 20 senior high
school students, claimed that the brainstorming process in debating and rewriting
sentences in writing expanded their knowledge of a topic and reduced grammatical
errors. Abe (2008) investigated the use of model texts incorporated into a ‘think-aloud’
approach. The study indicated that while some advanced participants benefited from
the model texts as the feedback tool, some others, particularly the intermediate ones,
struggled to identify grammatical structures that might support their writing
improvement.
In recent years, more studies have employed metacognition strategies such as
think-aloud and a process-based approach as their IELTS Writing instruction.
Firoozjahantigh et al. (2021) found that the combination of the process-based approach
and explicit teaching of hedging and booster contributed to the higher IELTS Writing
score of Iranian learners. Similarly, a study by Nourazar et al. (2022) reported the
students’ improved IELTS writing performance in an English language school in Iran.
In their study, metacognitive strategies using the ‘think-aloud’ approach were modeled
explicitly to help the students’ thinking processes when writing. In this research, the
students were guided on how to question themselves about their writing. While these
studies have focused on the metacognitive processes in writing, less attention has been
paid to teaching language features that constitute IELTS Writing essays.
To help students produce texts successfully to achieve their social purposes
requires them to be aware of the linguistic resources they must provide in writing
(Halliday, 1990, as cited in Derewianka & Jones, 2016, p. 5). In IELTS Writing, the
ability to identify and produce essays aligned with the intended social purposes is
assessed under ‘Task Achievement’ as whether test takers have written a
corresponding genre to the question. Unfortunately, as indicated in the previous
paragraphs, most studies focus on strategies for enriching ideas. Meanwhile, IELTS
Writing can be an opportunity to introduce students how to unpack texts and identify
the linguistic features constituting the texts.
In response to the identified gap, we attempted to design an explicit instruction
to help EFL test-taker candidates raise their awareness of linguistic features relevant
to IELTS Writing Task 2. In the EFL context, students can benefit from explicit
teaching because it capitalizes on “procedural facilitation” that activates “cognitive
apprenticeship” in a controlled learning environment (Tsiriotakis et al., 2017, p. 5). In
the present study, the controlled learning environment refers to the genre-based
Reading to Learn Pedagogy, which is explained further in the following section.

2.2 Text-in-Context Model: Genre-Based Materials and Instructions

Genre-based approach, or the Sydney School genre pedagogy, has gained

significant application worldwide (Brisk, 2015; Ramírez et al., 2021), including
Indonesia, known as GBA (Kartika-Ningsih, 2019). The genre-based approach has
developed several models of teaching procedures, including Reading to Learn (R2L),
as the latest generation of genre pedagogy. R2L, similar to genre pedagogy, was
developed from the text-in-context model based on the functional language theory,
which establishes in the teaching and learning process that the text is always within its
760 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 756-776, 2023

social context (Rose & Martin, 2012). Understanding the text as a two-layered model
has underpinned the design of a text-based teaching model, also known as a genre
pedagogy. This model emphasizes that a text is a unit of meaning designed to achieve
specific social purposes (de Silva Joyce & Feez, 2016; Derewianka & Jones, 2012)
and cannot be separated from its social context. As a text-oriented teaching
methodology, the basic tenet of this pedagogy is twofold, i.e., knowledge genres and
curriculum genres.
Knowledge genres are related to identifying key genres or text types used as
materials for the teaching goal. These genres focus on “patterns of written discourse
in which the knowledge and evaluations unfold through a text” (Rose, 2019, pp. 239-
240). A text is realized across several language strata (spelling, grammar, and
discourse), and its character is controlled by the context (the social purpose, the
particular audience, the modalities, and the particular institution of the text) (see Figure
1).

Figure 1. The Text-in-Context Model (Rose, 2019, p. 37).

Different text types, or genres, in the subject areas of schooling, have been
mapped according to their central purposes. Several key genres in school have been
identified for teaching and learning purposes, i.e., stories, factual texts, and arguments
(Rose, 2019). In arguments, for example, exposition and discussion are distinguished
by the presence of sides. The former only presents one point of view, whereas the latter
offers two points of view. The purpose of this genre is to “persuade people to act” or
to believe “a particular point of view” (exposition) and to “discuss two or more sides
of an issue” (discussion) (Derewianka & Jones, 2016, p. 235). Central to a genre are
the stages or parts of the texts that unfold to achieve the social purposes of the genre
(Table 1).
 I. L. Damayanti, F. A. Hamied, H. Kartika-Ningsih & N. S. Dharma, Building knowledge
about language for teaching IELTS writing tasks: A genre-based approach | 761

Table 1. Genre for persuading (Derewianka & Jones, 2016, pp. 236-238).
Genre Social Purposes Stages
Hortatory Exposition “To persuade people to act in a Statement of position
particular way” Arguments
Reiteration of appeal
Analytical Exposition “To persuade people to a Statement of position
particular point of view” Arguments
Reiteration of appeal
Discussion “To discuss two or more sides of Issue
an issue” Position A
Position B
Recommendation

In the case of the IELTS writing tasks, the topic and language demands, which
are rather implicit, can be identified through the selected high-score texts. It is thus
essential to identify the key genres constituting the high scores through the text-in-
context model. Therefore, test-taker candidates need to grasp the structure that encodes
this genre so that their writing achieves its intended purposes. One way to support the
candidates’ learning is through a genre-based teaching-learning cycle, explained in the
subsequent section.

2.3 Genre-based Reading to Learn (R2L) Pedagogy

Through teaching and learning practices of the identified genres, teachers can
help students read and write appropriately based on the linguistic demand of the genres
(Rothery & Macken, 1991). Drawing on the work of Halliday (1993) and Painter
(1991), genre pedagogy places importance on “guidance through interaction in the
context of shared experience” (Rose & Martin, 2012, pp. 61-62). This principle is
translated into different teaching procedures involving stages and activities in each
stage.
Various teaching procedures have been developed, such as the teaching/learning
cycle for genre writing (Callaghan & Rothery, 1988; Rothery, 1994) and the Reading
to Learn (R2L) program as the latest generation (Rose & Martin, 2012). The R2L
teaching and learning activities are organized through three-level intensive strategies,
tackling the genre and field, the discourse, the grammar, and graphology (Rose &
Martin, 2012). The first level, Preparing for Reading, includes building a field for
accessing a text and overviewing the steps in which the field unfolds through the genre.
The second level, Detailed Reading, focuses on language patterns within and between
sentences that help students use the schematic structure and lexicogrammatical
features in their writings. The third level includes Sentence Making, Spelling, and
Sentence Writing—providing the foundation skills for reading with comprehension
and writing fluently.
The intensive strategies offered in R2L have been found effective in pedagogic
practices in Australia and increasingly in other countries (Acevedo, 2010; Damayanti,
2017; Kartika-Ningsih, 2019; Ramos, 2015; Shum et al., 2018). Acevedo (2010) and
Shum et al. (2018), investigating the impact of R2L pedagogy on students’ literacy
skills, reported significant improvements in their participant students’ construction of
the schematic structure and the appropriate linguistic repertoire to the target genre. In
the USA, Ramos (2015) particularly accentuates the virtues of the Detailed Reading
stage because explicit instruction in examining linguistic resources employed in a
762 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 756-776, 2023

model text supported her adolescent learners to produce more authoritative academic
writing.
While the studies above underscored the promising outcomes of R2L pedagogy
for improving academic literacy, few studies have examined the use of R2L in writing
test preparation programs such as for IELTS Writing tasks. In addition, Moore and
Morton (2005) propose a separate preparation program due to the differences in terms
of ‘genre, information source, rhetorical function and object of inquiry’ (p. 47). Hence,
the current study reported in this paper was designed to understand the potential of
R2L pedagogy in supporting the development of IELTS test candidates’ writing
achievement.

Figure 2. The Reading to Learn cycle (Rose & Martin, 2012, p. 121).

3. METHODS

3.1 Research Design

This qualitative study employed a case study design (Yin, 2018) that focused on
a pilot project to explore the potential application and innovation of R2L methodology
in a relatively new teaching context. This study was a ‘proof of concept’ (Vaish &
Subhan, 2015) in that, instead of observing the results of the study through the
measurement of pre- and post-intervention results, it examines the efficacy of applying
R2L in teaching IELTS writing for EFL learners. The exploration of how the R2L
method worked in this program is twofold. First, potential texts to be used in designing
the teaching/learning activities were sought and developed. Secondly, the student’s
pieces of writing were compared to the expected model answer to identify the
development of students’ writing after the program.
The study was conducted in three phases: (1) genre analysis, (2) teacher training
and implementation of R2L pedagogy, and (3) evaluation of the participants’ writing
texts. Phase 1 was done by identifying a number of the corpus of high-score IELTS
writing Task samples. The results were used as a model text for phase 2.
 I. L. Damayanti, F. A. Hamied, H. Kartika-Ningsih & N. S. Dharma, Building knowledge
about language for teaching IELTS writing tasks: A genre-based approach | 763

Phase 2 involved a sequence of teacher training which was conducted twice

within a two-week interval for all teachers at UPI Language Center, followed by R2L
implementation by one of the authors who acted as the teacher. The classroom
implementation, lasting for 300 minutes, selected R2L strategies: Preparation for
Reading, Detailed Reading, Joint Construction, and Independent Construction. In
Preparation for Reading, the teacher used the model text and discussed the nature of
the text with the students by identifying the social purposes and the main topic of the
texts. In Detailed Reading, the teacher read each sentence and explained the focus of
the sentence. She also asked the students to find phrases or nouns in the text. In Joint-
Construction, the teacher prepared the class to do note-making by having one student
act as a reciter and another as a scribe. The students took turns doing the roles and
rewriting all of the ‘nouns’ identified and discussed in the earlier stage. It was followed
by the teacher and students jointly paraphrasing the identified wordings. Finally, in
Independent-Construction, all students took an in-class IELTS practice test, focusing
on Writing Task 2. In phase 3, students’ texts in pre and post-tests were analyzed to
provide comparative results, particularly on linguistic development.

3.2 Participants

Participants of the study were 14 LPDP (Indonesian Endowment Fund for

Education) scholarship holders from different provinces in Indonesia who applied for
Master’s and Doctoral degrees overseas. As a part of their scholarship scheme, the 20-
35 years old participants enrolled in the IELTS Preparation course at UPI Language
Centre. The participants of this study were selected based on their writing scores,
which ranged from 5 to 5.5 when they took the IELTS prediction test as an entry test
before enrolling in the course. The consent forms were obtained from all participants
before the commencement of the program.

3.3 Instrument

The study used two prompt questions of typical IELTS Writing Task 2 adapted
from the past IELTS tests for the participants to respond. The pre-task question was
given at the beginning and the post-task at the end of the program:
• Pre-task question
“People’s lives are becoming increasingly stressful nowadays, and there are many
reasons behind this. Many people relate this to technological advancement while
others say that high living costs and competitions are the main reasons for this
stressful life we have. In your opinion, what are the reasons behind this? What can
be done to solve this problem?”
• Post-task question
“Some people say that artists such as painters, writers and musicians affect our life
more than scientists. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for
your answer and include relevant examples from your experience”.

3.4 Data Collection and Analysis

There are two main data sets used in this study. The first data set was collected
from essays in the Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS for Academic and General
764 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 756-776, 2023

Training (Cullen et al., 2014). The sample answers which are given high scores were
examined to gain insights related to the linguistic features. In addition, the teacher and
the students used the book at the time of the study.
The second data set was collected from the participants’ essays before and after
the intervention. The essays collected from both data sets were analyzed using Martin
and Rose’s (2008) genre analysis, unpacking the stages and phases of the texts as well
as other linguistic features and their relationships with the test questions. First, the
essays were annotated based on stages and phases corresponding to the genres
indicated by the prompt questions. See Appendix A for the analysis of the sample
answers and Appendices B, C, D, and E for the students’ pre-and post-tests. While the
research team analyzed the sample answers, the two external raters initially assessed
students’ essays to determine high- and low-scoring texts. Then, the essays produced
by two students representing each group were selected for more detailed analysis.
The teacher and other researchers in the study examined the linguistic features
indicating the development of students’ writing.

4. RESULTS

4.1 Key Genres and Linguistic Features of IELTS Writing Task 2

Identifying genres and linguistic features in IELTS Writing Task 2 is crucial.

Yet, as a relatively new area of application, studies on genres in IELTS writing tasks,
particularly focusing on the model answers rather than the students’ writing, are scarce.
In the R2L program, selecting and analyzing texts is the first step in developing a
curriculum genre. The rule of thumb is threefold – subject matter, appropriate genre,
and a high-stake reading text beyond the students’ independent reading level (Rose,
2019). The principles are critical since the selected texts are later used for designing
the lesson plan and the teaching and learning activities.
The sample answers in this study were from the Official Cambridge Guide to
IELTS for Academic and General Training (Cullen et al., 2014). Eight sample
questions and answers were analyzed using systemic functional linguistic genre theory
(Martin & Rose, 2008). The results indicate two main genres of the argumentative
genre family, i.e., discussion and hortatory exposition (Table 2).

Table 2. Argumentative genre in IELTS writing.

Prompt Question Potential genre (staging) answer Informal description
dis/agreement: to what discussion: more than one sides or views
extent do you agree or two-sided considered
disagree [Issue ^ Sides ^ Resolution]
truth and measurement: hortatory exposition: one side or view including
how true...; …what one-sided suggested actions or
measure… [Appeal^Arguments recommendations
^Reinforcement]

Both discussion and exposition genres argue or discuss different sides, but the
former involves two sides, and the latter states the position, favoring one side of the
argument (Rose & Martin, 2012). Discussion genres, which dominate the sample
answers in those two positions responding to the prompt question, are given higher
 I. L. Damayanti, F. A. Hamied, H. Kartika-Ningsih & N. S. Dharma, Building knowledge
about language for teaching IELTS writing tasks: A genre-based approach | 765

scores than a single point of view. The function of the discussion genre, as mentioned
above, is to discuss two or more points of view (Martin & Rose, 2008). It presents a
range of perspectives on an issue before making a judgment or recommendation. This
genre type consists of three stages, Issue ^ Sides ^ Resolution, organizing the global
structure of discussion texts.
Within each stage, phases organize how the global structure unfolds. The Issue
stage presents the statement about what the debate is about. Phases in Issue include a
general statement and a preview of the sides. Sides are the polarized arguments
consisting of Side 1 and Side 2 phases, each presenting the opposite of the previous
position. Phases in the body of Sides include different sides that can be labeled Side 1,
Side 2, and so on. Each paragraph of each side includes a topic and elaboration.
Elaborations may include evidence, examples, and reasons. The Resolution provides
the position that the author agrees with, which is typically located in the final
paragraph. The concluding phase includes reviewing the sides, summarizing the
evidence, and concluding statements.
In IELTS testing, the Issue stage is the statement that needs to respond to the
question. The task of the test taker is to recall knowledge of the topic and language of
the question, providing a general statement about the Issue and previewing the sides.
The Sides stage should then discuss the two opposing views according to the situation,
including evidence and elaboration. At the end of the writing, the Resolution stage
follows to outline how the writer resolves the Issue.
In one sample question, the topic concerns the use of tax imposed to mitigate
health issues caused by fast food, and sides or positions are indicated in the following
questions.

(1) Sample question:

In some countries an increasing number of people are suffering from health problems as a result
of eating too much fast food. It is therefore necessary for governments to impose a higher tax on
this kind of food. To what extent do you agree or disagree with these views?

The sample answer, displayed in Appendix A, organizes the answer conforming

to a discussion genre that includes Issue ^ Side 1 ^ Side 2 ^ Resolution. While the text
is presented verbatim, the bold and underlined parts are added for analysis.
In the Issue stage, the test taker responds to the question above by writing “The
growth of the fast-food industry…” to set out an issue statement, followed by
providing examples of health problems “Diabetes, high cholesterol…” in the following
sentence. At the end of the paragraph, a preview of the sides is presented in a question
of whether a higher tax would improve the situation.
Critical attention should be paid to the strategy used by this test taker.
Paraphrasing the question is key in the issue statement phase because repetition of
wordings or even direct quotations from the question often results in a low score. The
model answer displays the skill of sentence reformulation, often with the use of dense
information in the form of nominalization to serve as the issue statement.
In the body of the essay, two sides of the argument are presented in two different
paragraphs (Side 1 ^ Side 2), and each side is indicated by marked Theme to begin the
paragraph. In Side 1, the topic deals with an economic point, followed by evidence “In
countries such as the USA…”, elaboration “It could be argued…”, and point “The tax
could help…”. In Side 2, the topic opposes Side 1 by countering with a socioeconomic
point of view “However… consider which socioeconomic group”. In terms of phases,
766 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 756-776, 2023

this particular essay unfolds a pattern of evidence ^ elaboration: “Statistics

indicate…”, “One possible reason…”, “Research suggests…”, “For them, fast
food…”. The final paragraph is signaled with the use of marked Theme in the
conclusion, indicating Resolution stage. It resolves the Issue by opposing the tax,
stating that a higher tax does not seem to be the answer.
Some sample answers indicate that the hortatory exposition genre is used to
respond to the task questions (which unfortunately cannot be presented here due to
space constraints). Hortatory exposition is to argue a particular action that should be
taken, and the stages are Appeal ^ Arguments ^ Reinforcement of appeal (Humphrey
et al., 2012). The question required for this genre writing often implies considerations
on dis/advantages or measurement.
The two genres found in the data, however, should be considered early findings
and thus suggestive rather than prescriptive. More sample answers collected may
provide better information and map the key genres which receive high scores.
Nevertheless, the finding is still critical, particularly to compare with the current
writing level of the students.

4.2 The Students’ Writing Development

This section discusses linguistic features indicating the students’ writing

development of Student 1 (S1) from a high-attaining group and Student 2 (S2) from a
low-attaining group. Both students are referred to as females. Their responses were
documented verbatim and presented in tables (Appendix B, C, D and E) that include
annotation for the genre analysis. The following compares the students’ essays before
and after the implementation of R2L pedagogy.

4.2.1 Case of Student 1 (S1)

In S1’s pre-task essay, although it is seemingly easy to differentiate which

paragraph discusses the factors leading to stress and the solutions, her text is poorly
organized. In Paragraph 2, S1 did not elaborate on the idea of high-living costs. As
indicated in the question, she should have analyzed why ‘technological advancement’,
‘high-living costs’, and ‘competition’ are cited as contributors to a stressful life. The
solution she offered ‘having regular holiday and grateful feeling’ in the third paragraph
did not correspond to the previous Issue ‘sense of competition’, because there were no
phrases or words that explained how having a regular holiday and grateful feeling
could eliminate a sense of competition as the source of stressful life. In conclusion,
she restated the idea that she brought in the previous supporting paragraphs; however,
the sentences used similar word choices and lacked variations in paraphrasing.
Another issue identified in her writing was unclear pronoun references. For
example, the use of the pronoun ‘they’ in the paragraph did not clearly state which
party she was referring to (as can be seen in Clause 5). Then, in ‘those two problems’
(Clause 8), no clear transition indicated which one was the first and second problem.
In Clause 9, S1 did not clearly refer to which ‘unpleasant condition’ she was referring
to. The unclear pronoun references in her text could hinder the understanding of the
idea as it was difficult to follow the progression of her text. In general, S1 managed to
write her text in line with the discussion genre, but some lexicogrammar errors were
identified. For instance, the presence of parallelism issues (e.g., competitions and
 I. L. Damayanti, F. A. Hamied, H. Kartika-Ningsih & N. S. Dharma, Building knowledge
about language for teaching IELTS writing tasks: A genre-based approach | 767

overworking [sic], feeling of pressure and unsatisfied life [sic]), and word usage errors
(e.g., being stress [sic], live a life[sic], and measurable [sic]) were frequently found
throughout the passage.
After receiving Reading to Learn instruction, S1 used some strategies to develop
the topic and connected the idea of her essay as her attempt to maintain coherence and
cohesion. First, she used the repetition of topical vocabulary (e.g., arts, public figures
in art, society’s role model, and the lifestyle of writers or musicians) to sustain the idea
and remind the readers about the topic. Second, more variations of transition words
and the emergence of new phrases were noticeable in S1’s post-task essay (e.g., ‘It is
not bizarre [sic] phenomenon that’ – Clause 5; ‘Due to its transparency’ [sic] – Clause
6; and ‘Take Justin Bieber as an [sic] salient example’ – Clause 7). It is also noticeable
that S1 distinguished her two explanations which derived from one main idea that she
expressed earlier in her introductory paragraph ‘I entirely affirm that such arts
profession can give more impacts to society based on several justifications as will be
discussed’. This pattern aligns with the purpose of a discussion text to provide “two or
more perspectives, usually coming down in favor of one side based on the weight of
evidence” (Derewianka & Jones, 2016, p. 236).
Progress also can be identified from her better use of pronoun references. In the
second paragraph, pronoun references to public figures in arts (Clause 4) were written
in phrases such as ‘society’s role models’, ‘their lives’, and ‘writers or musicians’. A
clearer reference can also be observed when she provided an example (‘Take Justin
Bieber as a salient example’, and pronouns like ‘this popular pop singer’, ‘his fans’,
and ‘him’ were used. In paragraph 3, consistent with this pattern, she used ‘they’ and
‘singers and actors’ to refer to many people and singers mentioned in the previous
sentences. To sum up, in this essay, she successfully provided a richer variation in
topic-related words and transition words.

4.2.2 Case of Student 2 (S2)

Based on the analysis of the pre-task essay, S2 seemingly struggled to elaborate

on her points. This can be observed from the lack of topical words related to
‘technology’ and ‘living costs’ that she claimed as the main factors of stressful life in
paragraph 2, Side 1. In other words, S2 did not focus on one main idea in one
paragraph. Further, she did not explain how those two ideas lead to a stressful life. S2
used ‘internet-based technology’, which is considered too specific, given that she did
not mention any technology in the previous paragraph. In paragraph 3, Side 2, even
though S2 offers solutions (Clause 12), they do not address the aforementioned
problems of ‘technology, social media likes’ (Clause 5) and ‘high living cost’ (Clause
8).
After receiving the R2L lessons, S2 showed significant progress in organizing
her ideas. A clear focus was evident in two supporting paragraphs. In paragraph 2,
even though S2 put her main idea in the last sentence of the paragraph, she focused on
explaining why the influence of arts is only exclusive to those who have a sense of arts
(Clauses 3, 9). In the next paragraph, S2 explained why scientists contribute more to
people’s life (Clause 10). Her explanation in this paragraph was supported by the
topical vocabulary that relates to scientists, such as ‘do research’, ‘invent’, ‘the
invention’, and ‘change and influence’. Restatement of the argument/topic is also
evident in the last part of the paragraph, which strengthens her explanation (Clause
768 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 756-776, 2023

14). Better use of pronoun references was also apparent in her essay (e.g., ‘Basically
an artist will wholeheartedly dedicate his or her creation to represent the emotion
which major of its lovers’ - Clause 4 and ‘When people enjoy the art products such as
music, poetry, and novel, they can sink in the beautiful words writers put on’ - Clause
5).

5. DISCUSSION

The findings of the study demonstrate that the development of students’ writing
can be supported by R2L pedagogy. In this study, the implementation of R2L teaching
and learning activities was informed by the genre analysis of the model answers that
show exposition and discussion as text types, characterizing IELTS Writing Task 2.
While both genres argue or discuss different sides (Rose & Martin, 2012), discussion
texts presenting two positions dominate the sample answers and are given higher
scores than texts favoring a single point of view. As such, students who participated in
the study were guided to state a position and present a range of perspectives on an issue
before making a judgment or recommendation.
Based on the analyses of sample texts representing high and low-attaining groups
of students, the 5-hour training based on R2L pedagogy has indicated promising
results. Sample texts obtained from high-attaining and low-attaining students show
progress in coherence in terms of better use of topical vocabulary corresponding to
topic sentences, better use of pronoun reference, and one main idea focusing on one
paragraph. This marks significant progress because the participants could achieve
coherence by constructing a solid theme (main point) and rheme (reminder of that main
point) relationship that enables the reader to understand the text better (Derewianka &
Jones, 2016).
In IELTS Writing Task 2, coherence and cohesion are cited to be the skill that is
more challenging to evaluate (Canagarajah, 2002). Through the R2L intervention,
students can receive explicit instructions on how grammar and vocabulary link
together within a sentence or a text to make meaning. Indeed, IELTS Writing Public
Band Descriptor (“IELTS scoring in detail”, n.d.) cites the organization of ideas, the
use of cohesive devices, and the presence of a central topic in each paragraph as the
qualities sought in high-achieving IELTS test takers. The progress made by students
from this R2L intervention reflects these desired qualities. Thus, progressing in
coherence and coherence can help boost candidates’ IELTS Writing Task 2 scores.
The students’ writing progress was also noticeable in the use of topical
vocabulary. According to Rose and Martin (2012), the more frequent use of topical
vocabulary is a significant achievement because topical vocabulary is essential for
achieving purposes and building text relevance (field building). It can determine if the
candidates have provided a relevant essay to the task. This is because these register-
appropriate words could serve as cohesive ties in order to accentuate the thematic
development of the text (Kuo, 1995). Then, clear pronoun referencing observed in the
participants’ post-tests also indicates their improved performance in maintaining the
theme (the topic), and they also focused only on one main idea in their paragraph,
preventing them from providing unnecessary details in their essays. In other words,
this progress might translate into the participants’ improved understanding of how they
 I. L. Damayanti, F. A. Hamied, H. Kartika-Ningsih & N. S. Dharma, Building knowledge
about language for teaching IELTS writing tasks: A genre-based approach | 769

should develop and communicate their ideas using topical vocabulary after
participating in the R2L program.
The result of the present study resonates with that of Akkoç et al. (2018), who
emphasize the impact of teaching transition words explicitly on the performance of
university students majoring in English language teaching at one private university in
Turkey. The participants reportedly improved the quality of their argumentative
essays, resulting in higher scores at the end of their program. This achievement is likely
attributed to students’ rising awareness of formulaic language due to explicit teaching,
without which it could have been “ignored or forgotten in time with fewer gains”
(Akkoç et al., 2018, p. 365). A study by Bychkovska (2021) also shows similar
findings in which university students managed to use register-appropriate noun phrases
after receiving explicit instructions. These studies support our findings regarding the
improvement in coherence that primarily draws on better vocabulary use.
The current study also suggests that since the progress in developing coherence
was identified in both high-attaining and low-attaining students, R2L can be used to
introduce textual functions in teaching writing, especially for university students.
University assignments often require students to produce long and complex texts;
hence intervention to support students in constructing coherent texts is necessary. This
conclusion aligns with the mode continuum of how language develops throughout
human development (Derewianka, 2003, as cited in Derewianka & Jones, 2016).
According to this summary of the mode continuum, language development starts with
“spontaneous, exploratory, free-flowing” oral production to gradual production of
“longer multimodal texts that are denser, more compact, [and] more tightly organized”
(p. 47). Hence, scaffolding for assisting this transition from oral to written language
can be carried out through explicit instruction on how language can shape texts and
achieve the intended purposes (textual function). In other words, this study proved this
notion as explicit instruction on linguistics resources contributed to the development
of coherence in the students’ text.

6. CONCLUSION

This study addressed two research questions, investigating how students’ writing
Task 2 can be supported by implementing R2L pedagogy. In designing the R2L
teaching and learning activities, the study first identified key text types characterizing
IELTS Writing Task 2. The identified text types include discussion and hortatory
exposition. As a result of their participation in R2L lessons exploring both genres, the
participant students in both high and low-attaining groups appeared to have better
control in using more cohesive devices, nuanced topical words, transition, modality,
and points of rebuttals, which are significant for writing argumentative texts.
Nevertheless, grammatical issues, such as uncommon word combinations and
errors in subject-verb agreement, were still found in the written texts. This result may
be explained by the fact that the training was conducted only briefly, focusing more
on how to respond to the IELTS writing questions. Future training will benefit from
vocabulary and grammar enrichment activities.
770 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 756-776, 2023

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What is IELTS? (n.d.). EILTS. https://www.ielts.org/about-ielts/what-is-ielts
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th
ed.). Sage.

APPENDIX A

A sample answer of discussion genre.

Par. Sample Answer Stages Phases
1 The growth of the fast-food industry has, without doubt, Issue Issue
impacted on the eating habits and the health of many societies
around the world. Diabetes, high cholesterol, heart and statement
respiratory problems are all on the rise due to fatty and sugar-
rich food. However, the question is whether higher tax would issue
improve this situation or not.
2 From an economic point, higher tax might seem sensible. In Side 1 Topic
countries such as the USA, Australia and Britain, the
healthcare system spends a large part of its budget on people Evidence
with diet-related health problems. It could be argued that these
people have caused their own illnesses because of their choice Elaboration
of food. In this case, why should they expect the state to pay
for their treatments? The tax could help fund the healthcare point
system.
3 However, we also need to consider which socio-economic Side 2 Topic
group consumer fast food as the main part of their diet.
Statistics indicate that lower income groups eat more of this Evidence
food than wealthier people. One possible reason for this is that
fast food is far cheaper than fresh produce. This is because
many governments offer large budget subsidies to farmers Elaboration
who provide products for fast food industry, such as corn,
wheat and beef. Fruit and vegetables, on the other hand, are
not subsidized. Research suggests that many families simply Evidence
cannot afford to buy healthy food or pay higher taxes on fast
food. For them, fast food is not a choice but a necessity. Elaboration
4 In conclusion, imposing a higher tax on fast food does not Resolution Resolve
seem to be the answer. If the government chose to do this, it
would only lead to greater poverty and families facing further
hardship.
 I. L. Damayanti, F. A. Hamied, H. Kartika-Ningsih & N. S. Dharma, Building knowledge
about language for teaching IELTS writing tasks: A genre-based approach | 773

APPENDIX B

Analysis of Student 1: Pre-task essay

Par. Sample answer Stages Phases
1 At present, people believe that life is much more Issue issue
stressful compared to the past which seems so
comfortable and convenient based on various
reasons. However, in my own perspective, statement
competitions and overworking are considered to be
the main reasons of this situation. In this essay, I will
elaborate more about the aforementioned problems
along with the solutions.
2 First and foremost, rather than the impact of high Side 1 topic
living cost and high tech in society, sense of
competition contributes more to unhappy lives due
to high feeling of jealousy. Competition among
neighborhood in terms of possession or profession elaboration
that they have will automatically affect individuals’
psychology including feeling of pressure and
unsatisfied life. In addition, working more hours
also, can be the factor why people nowadays easier
to get stress due to the fact that they do not get point
enough time to rest or holiday. Spending more time
at work rather than at home having joyful
conversation with family or friends will gradually
reduce the happiness of life. If those two problems
still occur in people’s everyday lives, it will be very
measurable since they cannot enjoy their lives.
3 Further, to address this unpleasant condition, having Side 2 topic
regular holiday and grateful feeling are believed to
be the most plausible measures to reduce stress in
life. Spending more time with family and friends by elaboration
going somewhere on vacation may lead to more
delightful life since this activity can charge and
boost individuals’ feeling of happiness. Moreover, point
individuals also need to be aware more of being
grateful for their lives. If people can express more
gratitude towards what they have, instead of being
stress, they will feel satisfied and relaxed in every
situation.
4 All in all, live a life with the purpose of competition Resolution
and work may put individuals to high pressure lives
which are measurable. However, having enough resolve
time spent with the loving ones and being more
grateful can be the most prominent solutions to
shrink those stressful lifestyles.
774 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 756-776, 2023

APPENDIX C

Analysis of Student 1: Post-task essay.

Par. Sample answer Stages Phases
1 In this modern era, people are influenced easily by Thesis issue
famous figures around the world in terms of
lifestyles and professions. Many individuals admire
and choose artists such as writers and musicians as
their role models compared to scientists. Personally,
I entirely affirm that such arts profession can give statement
more impacts to society based on several
justifications as will be discussed.
2 In the first place, public figures in arts sector are Argument topic
become society’s role models since their lives are
opened to public. It is not bizarre phenomenon that
the lifestyles of writers or musicians are portrayed
perfectly in social media, television or websites example
starting from the way they dress or achieve their
goal. Due to its transparency, the society can easily
mimic and imitate the daily life activities as well as
the behavior of those famous artists. Take Justin elaboration
Bieber as a salient example, this popular pop singer
who share many activities through social media can
affect his fans to buy the same clothes or do the
same hobby as him.
3 Furthermore, regarding the profession, to be an artist Argument topic
such as writer or singer is much more feasible rather
than becoming a scientist. Many people believe that
working in art sector have less burden compared to elaboration
scientist who needs longer time to study and brilliant
brain also singers seem to have happy and
preferable life as well because they can sing and
performed around the world due to the fact that they
want less demanding job physically and
psychologically. Thus, it is inevitable that the
majority of youngsters now are dreaming to become
singers or actors in order to have much easier live point
similar to their role models.
4 All in all, live a life with the purpose of competition Restatement
and work may put individuals to high pressure lives
which are measurable. However, having enough
time spent with the loving ones and being more point
grateful can be the most prominent solutions to
shrink those stressful lifestyles.
 I. L. Damayanti, F. A. Hamied, H. Kartika-Ningsih & N. S. Dharma, Building knowledge
about language for teaching IELTS writing tasks: A genre-based approach | 775

APPENDIX D

Analysis of Student 2: Pre-task.

Par. Sample answer Stages Phases
1 In today’s world, live becomes much more competitive, Issue issue
hence people inevitably need to cope and pace with it.
Some people argue that, technology is the main cause of statement
this phenomenon while others oppose and claim that
living cost contribute more.
2 The invention of internet-based technology has eased Side 1 topic
people to be connected with people around the world.
Social media features, like Facebook, Instagram and
twitter, have excessive contribution towards stressful
problem. Indirectly, the internet users are involved in
unreal competition by competing to gain more likes and elaboration
comments when they upload photos or update statues.
For an instance, people will unconsciously compare likes
they receive with other account users connected to them,
and they will feel inferior if they get less. Hence, this
condition leads the to suffer from stressful. Additionally,
the high living cost experienced by people todays stems point
from indirect competition which occurs on their life-
cycle. They face wobbly to fulfill the basic needs sin they
cannot cut their coat according to their clothe. People
normally draw other attention by wearing branded stuffs,
for an example, while they are cannot afford it
financially. Therefore, being stressful becomes an impair
impact inevitably.
3 To release societies from the impair phenomenon, they Side 2 topic
must be grateful and respectful for they have achieve and
possess. This attitude helps avoid them to be irritated for
what someone else reach. For instance, Baduy tribe, one elaboration
of Indonesian tribes, can live peacefully inasmuch as
they never compare themselves to others and respect to point
everything they have. As a result, they tend to help each
other and put their togetherness at first. Thus, people can
live peacefully when they avoid the unbeneficial
competition with both real and virtual friends, and
appreciate for life they have now.
4 In conclusion, I, personally, reckon that both living cost Resolution
and high-tech invention have impaired impact on people’s
live, especially contributed to stressfulness. Hence, I
opine that being grateful for this life is the best way to Resolve
secure people from this problem.
776 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 756-776, 2023

APPENDIX E

Analysis of tudent 2: Post-task.

Par. Sample answer Stages Phases
1 Compared to scientists, artists such as writers, Thesis issue
musicians and painters contribute and influence
people’s live more. I obviously stand against this statement
statement since scientists, through their discovery
and invention, brings direct impact on people’s life.
2 The creatures of artists can directly touch people’s Argument topic
personal feeling. Basically, an artist will elaboration
wholeheartedly dedicate his or her creation to
represent the emotion which major pf its lovers.
When people enjoy the art products such as music,
poetry, and novel, they can sink in the beautiful
words writers put on. For an example, Kahlil Gibran example
poetry, by reading this poetry, all broken-hearted
people can feel it deeply and prison them in the jar
called love. Indirectly this condition influences the
way of the people sees the future, in which by taking
the story personally, they unconsciously imagine
themselves as the figure of that arts product. Sadly, it
cannot affect those who have a little sense of arts.
Artists, thus are unable to influence society as a
whole.
3 In contrast, scientists always do research to discover Argument topic
and invent a bunch of cutting-edge technology which
can case people’s life. For an example, the invention elaboration
of handphone having brought significant changes on
communication pattern of people. If in the past, example
people who are living far away from their family
needed to wait for uncountable months to
communicate with their colleagues only. since letter
was the only one communication medium, now the
existence of this communication tool allows them to point
run long distance communication everywhere and
every time, and even better they can do video call and
see other’s face. Scientists have change and influence
people life directly and even more their invention
have been a part of people’s daily life.
4 All in all, I do convince that scientists have more Restatement point
influence towards people live than artists.
777 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 777-788, 2023

Students’ Perceptions of Personality

Traits, Presentation Skills, and Audience
Factors in Their Online Presentations
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Norwati Roslim1
Vahid Nimehchisalem2
Muhammad Hakimi Tew Abdullah*3
Nornadiah Mohd Razali4
1
Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Negeri
Sembilan, Kampus Rembau 71300, MALAYSIA
2
Department of English Language, Faculty of Modern Language and
Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, MALAYSIA
3
College of Computing, Informatics and Media, Universiti Teknologi MARA,
Cawangan Negeri Sembilan, Kampus Rembau 71300, MALAYSIA
4
College of Computing, Informatics and Media, Universiti Teknologi MARA,
Cawangan Negeri Sembilan, Kampus Seremban 70300, MALAYSIA

Abstract
This study aims to investigate undergraduates’ perspectives toward
personality traits, presentation skills, and audience factors based on their
experiences in online oral presentations as assessment tasks during
English language classes. It also examines the factors affecting online oral
presentations and suggestions to overcome them. To achieve this purpose,
an online questionnaire with 5 sections and 28 items was distributed to 90
university undergraduate students. The data were analyzed descriptively
using SPSS (version 26). The results revealed that the undergraduates’
perceptions of online oral presentations depended on three essential
factors. Personality traits included fears of failure in the oral presentation
assessment resulting in students’ anxiety even when they were well
prepared. Oral presentation skills included their concerns on grammar,
vocabulary, pronunciation, and reading from notes during the oral
presentation. The audience included feeling frightened to present in front
of an audience and worried if their peers were better than them. To

*
Corresponding author, email: muhammad_hakimi@uitm.edu.my

Citation in APA style: Roslim, N., Nimehchisalem, V., Abdullah, M. H. T., & Razali, N. M. (2023).
Students’ perceptions of personality traits, presentation skills, and audience factors in their online
presentations. Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 777-788.

Received April 5, 2022; Revised December 13, 2022; Accepted April 26, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.25542
 N. Roslim, V. Nimehchisalem, M. H. T. Abdullah & N. M. Razali, Students’ perceptions of
personality traits, presentation skills, and audience factors in their online presentations | 778

conclude, the important factors that students realized were the audience,
personality traits, and presentation skills. Hence, suggestions that students
had provided included having enough preparation and practice as well as
receiving good support from lecturers. This study highlights the vital role
of lecturers in preparing learners for online oral presentations and
underscores the need for guiding effective preparation strategies such as
practice sessions.

Keywords: Audience, oral presentation, personality traits, presentation

skills, undergraduates.

1. INTRODUCTION

Effective presentation of information is a crucial ability that university graduates

are expected to have. However, most ESL learners find it difficult to deliver online
oral presentations effectively as assessment tasks. According to Xu et al. (2021),
making effective oral presentations without face-to-face communication between the
presenters and the audience is challenging due to the rapid change in educational
environments, especially during the recent COVID-19 pandemic.
Krashen’s (1985) Affective Filter Hypothesis is one of the hypotheses that linked
emotions and second language acquisition (Azizi & Boulmaiz, 2018). Studies on oral
presentations have used Affective Filter Hypothesis as a theoretical foundation.
According to Affective Filter Hypothesis, with practice, learners with high motivation,
self-confidence, a good self-image, and a low level of anxiety will be better equipped
for success in second language acquisition (Yang, 2008). Affective factors involved in
ESL learners’ oral proficiency include learners’ self-esteem, anxiety, stress,
motivation, and inhibition (Mandokhail et al., 2018). Rugel Jara (2020) conceptualizes
three factors relevant to this theory: motivation, self-confidence, and anxiety.
The integration of theoretical and pedagogical aspects of oral presentations has
also been observed in relation to learners’ perceptions of online oral presentations.
Studies on oral presentations have examined learners’ personality traits, presentation
skills, and audience. This is particularly evident in Al-Nouh et al. (2015) study that
indicated lower anxiety among students if they were allowed to choose their own topic
for their oral presentations. In addition, a study by Liang and Kelsen (2018) suggests
that certain personality types, such as extroversion, can compensate for a lower English
language proficiency.
Previous research has emphasized the factors that contribute to the challenge for
students to deliver oral presentations, particularly in Al-Nouh et al. (2015), and
different learners may reveal different outcomes (Liang & Kelsen, 2018).
Additionally, it is quite a challenge to deliver online oral presentations for most ESL
learners, especially during the recent COVID-19 pandemic (Xu et al., 2021). Hence,
this study attempts to extend the existing research on personality traits, presentation
skills, and audience factors, focusing on students’ online oral presentations.
This study addresses the following research questions:
1. What are the learners’ overall perceptions of personality traits, presentation skills,
and audience based on their experiences in online oral presentations during English
language classes?
779 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 777-788, 2023

2. Among the factors: ‘personality traits’, ‘oral presentation skills’, and ‘audience’,
which is perceived by ESL learners as the most impactful on their oral
presentations?
3. What are the students’ suggestions to overcome the problems affecting their online
oral presentations?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Previous research on oral presentations has been conducted in relation to second

language acquisition theory on Affective Filter Hypothesis and learners’ perspectives.
It is essential to consider this hypothesis and its relation to learners while teaching as
a step to help learners overcome many problems concerning their participation in oral
tasks (Azizi & Boulmaiz, 2018). Krashen’s (1985) This hypothesis mainly explains
that if a student is emotionally blocking the learning process, language cannot be
learned. This includes learners’ self-esteem, anxiety, stress, motivation, inhibition, and
self-confidence (Mandokhail et al., 2018; Rugel Jara, 2020). If the student’s affective
filter is high, the learning will be low, and vice versa (Arshad, 2018). This is further
supported by Chen (2022, p. 516) that “the affective filter hypothesis has an impact on
learners’ psychological and emotional factors, mainly motivation, self-confidence and
anxiety”. This study provides the theoretical construction based on Affective Filter
Hypothesis. Specifically, it focuses on the perspectives of learners on online oral
presentations in terms of personality traits, presentation skills, and audience factors.

2.1 Personality Traits

Personality traits play an important role in oral presentations. Research has

shown that personality traits such as anxiety, lack of confidence, embarrassment, and
feeling worried can cause difficulties in students’ oral presentations (Al-Nouh et al.,
2015; Phuong, 2018; Riadil, 2020; Zakaria & Razak, 2016). Al-Nouh et al. (2015)
recommend that students should be allowed to choose their own topics, which
produces greater comprehension and lowers their anxiety. In addition, in the ESL
context, Zakaria and Razak (2016) recommend that learners be provided with more
conversation courses to equip them with the necessary skills in developing their oral
competency. The results of a study on the relationship between 257 university
students’ Big Five Personality Traits (i.e., extraversion, agreeableness,
conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness) and their oral presentation indicated
that extraversion was a significant correlate of students’ oral presentation scores
(Liang & Kelsen, 2018). The study findings indicated that particularly at an elementary
proficiency level “extraverts possess superiority in situations where oral language
production is central to communication” (Liang & Kelsen, 2018, p. 755). Such results
suggest that certain personality types, such as extroversion, can compensate for a lower
English language proficiency.

2.2 Presentation Skills

Presentation skills are also crucial in helping students in their oral presentations.
Studies related to presentation skills have shown students have good technological
 N. Roslim, V. Nimehchisalem, M. H. T. Abdullah & N. M. Razali, Students’ perceptions of
personality traits, presentation skills, and audience factors in their online presentations | 780

skills; however, the difficulties have greatly emphasized learners’ need to read the
notes and adhere to the time limit during oral presentations (Al-Nouh et al., 2015). A
study conducted by Zakaria and Razak (2016) revealed that learners’ lack of fluency,
proficiency, and range of vocabulary poses difficulties in their oral presentations. Such
findings reflect a culture of learning that emphasizes rote memorization of grammar
rules and vocabulary lists and that lacks opportunities for interaction (Al-Nouh et al.,
2015).

2.3 Audience

Audience awareness matters when students are preparing for their oral
presentations. Different audiences will expect different depths and amounts of
information; therefore, the presenter should identify whom the audience is going to be
(Živković, 2014). The teachers in Haber and Lingard’s (2001) study complained their
students commonly failed to recognize the social purpose of a presentation. As they
reported, students “forget about communication, whom they’re talking to and what
that person needs and just present masses of information until you can’t see the forest
for the trees” (Haber & Lingard, 2001, p. 310). Zakaria and Razak (2016) report that
fear of facing the audience is a great obstacle to presenting effectively. Al-Nouh et al.
(2015) agree that there is a need for educators and instructors to provide a more suitable
environment for learners to conduct oral presentation tasks. According to Lumley and
O’Sullivan (2005), research on the role of the audience on test-takers’ linguistic
performance in speaking tests is under-researched. Buckingham (1997), for example,
reported that Japanese female EFL test-takers feel more relaxed when speaking to the
female audience. There is also research evidence that when female test-takers have to
present a male-oriented topic to a male audience, they find the task harder (Lumley &
O’Sullivan, 2005).

3. METHOD

This study employed a mixed-methods approach using quantitative and

qualitative data to address the three research questions presented in the Introduction of
the article.

3.1 Participants

The participants in the study were 90 diploma and degree undergraduates from
Universiti Teknologi MARA. The students enrolled in three different courses with
three different assessment methods for their oral presentations. A variety of online
group and individual oral presentation tasks were delivered for different goals of each
course. Each assessment task was unique in each course. Students, enrolled in the
ELC231 Integrated Language Skills course, were assessed by oral commentary
presentations on English movies with a weightage of 30% for final scores. Those, who
enrolled in the ELC501 English for Critical Academic Reading course, were assessed
through forum presentations which contributed a weightage of 30% for final scores. In
addition, students, enrolled in the EWC661 English for Report Writing course, were
assessed for their proposal presentations with a weightage of 30% for final scores. It
781 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 777-788, 2023

is fundamental to acknowledge that this study did not analyze differences between
different assessment tasks. Following the procedures used in McBain et al. (2016), the
data of students’ perceptions from all the different assessment tasks were combined to
explore their experiences of undertaking online oral communication tasks in general.
Oral presentations were practiced in English language courses and were part of
assessment tasks that took up a weightage for final scores. Due to the recent COVID-
19 pandemic and the university’s closure at the time, oral presentations were
conducted online via several platforms made available in UiTM for Online and
Distance Learning purposes. Online live presentations were via Google Meet.

3.2 Instruments

The questionnaire was adapted from Al-Nouh et al. (2015) and Soomro et al.
(2019). It was divided into five parts and was in English. The first part was the
demographic profile of the respondents consisting of three items. To determine
learners’ perceptions of personality traits (part two–10 items), presentation skills (part
three–10 items), and audience (part four–four items) based on their experiences in
online oral presentations during English language classes, a five-point Likert-type
Scale questionnaire was employed in the second, third, and fourth parts of the
questionnaire ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The results were
interpreted following the key below:
• M < 2.5 signify ‘Disagree’
• M = 2.51-3.49 signify ‘Unsure’
• M > 3.5 signify ‘Agree’
Lastly, one open-ended question was added to the end of the questionnaire to
elicit data on their suggestions to minimize the difficulties in online oral presentations.
The suggestions proposed by the students were analyzed thematically. Common words
were identified from the students’ answers. Appropriate themes were then identified
for the repeating ideas that were grouped together.

3.3 Data Collection and Analysis

To collect the data from the respondents, Google Forms questionnaire links were
distributed to students via their respective WhatsApp groups by the course lecturers.
The quantitative data were analyzed descriptively using SPSS (Version 26).
Descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, means, and standard
deviations, were employed to measure students’ perceptions of online oral
presentations from three perspectives: personality traits, oral presentation skills, and
audience. The open-ended data on the participants’ suggestions to overcome factors
affecting their online oral presentations were analyzed qualitatively using inductive
thematic analysis (Guest et al., 2012).

4. RESULTS

Based on the survey that the researchers conducted, the data collected from 90
respondents are recorded in tables and figures. The results are reported and interpreted
in this section.
 N. Roslim, V. Nimehchisalem, M. H. T. Abdullah & N. M. Razali, Students’ perceptions of
personality traits, presentation skills, and audience factors in their online presentations | 782

4.1 Reliability Analysis

The reliability of the scales for each factor was tested using Cronbach’s Alpha.

Table 1. Reliability results.

Factors Cronbach’s Alpha
Personality traits 0.88
Presentation skills 0.77
Audience 0.81

Table 1 shows that the values for all factors exceeded 0.70, suggesting relatively
high internal consistency of the three domains of the questionnaire.

4.2 Demographic Profile of the Respondents

The demographic information of the participants is reported in Table 2.

Table 2. Demographic profile of the respondents.

Variables Frequency (%)
Gender Male 23 (25.6)
Female 67 (74.4)
Faculty Faculty of Business and 14 (15.6)
Management
Faculty of Communication and 50 (55.6)
Media Studies
Faculty of Information 26 (28.9)
Management
Course ELC231 27 (30.0)
ELC501 37 (41.1)
EWC661 26 (28.9)

A total of 90 students aged between 20 and 24 took part in the study. Of that 67
(74.4%) were females. Over half of the samples (55.6%) came from the Faculty of
Communication and Media. Students from the Faculty of Business and Management
and the Faculty of Information Management made up the rest of the samples with 14%
and 26%, respectively. Students who enrolled in the ELC231 course were 30%,
whereas students who enrolled in the ELC501 course were 41.1% and students who
enrolled in the EWC661 were 28.9% of the total participants.

4.3 Learners’ Perceptions of Personality Traits, Presentation Skills, and

Audience on Oral Presentations

The first research question was related to the learners’ overall perceptions of
personality traits, presentation skills, and audience based on their experiences in online
oral presentations during English language classes.

4.3.1 Perceptions of personality traits

The means and standard deviations for the personality traits factor from the
students’ perspectives are summarized in Table 3.
783 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 777-788, 2023

Table 3. Means and standard deviations for students’ perception score on personality
traits.
No. Statements M SD
1 I do not like the idea of oral presentations. 1.97 0.89
2 I feel very anxious before an oral presentation. 3.33 1.03
3 I find an oral presentation difficult because I have low self-confidence. 3.00 1.12
4 I feel embarrassed when I do an oral presentation in English. 2.79 1.14
5 I am worried because of my low English-speaking ability. 3.17 1.22
6 I bring notes with me during my oral presentation even if I am well 3.71 1.08
prepared.
7 I feel worried even if I have prepared well beforehand. 3.78 1.05
8 When I start my oral presentation, I forget everything I wanted to say. 2.96 1.12
9 I hate oral presentations because of past negative experiences. 2.16 1.10
10 I am afraid of failure in oral presentations. 3.63 1.32
Key: Disagree (M < 2.5), Unsure (M = 2.51-3.49), Agree (M > 3.5)

Generally, students had no problems with the idea of presentations (M = 1.97)

and they did not dislike the oral presentation even when they had past negative
experiences (M = 2.16). However, their fears of not being able to do well (M = 3.78),
and hence, failing the oral presentation assessment (M = 3.63) could be one of the
elements leading to the difficulties in the oral presentations. Additionally, due to their
fear that they had, they brought notes during their oral presentation even if they were
well prepared (M = 3.71). The standard deviations for all items in the factor personality
traits did not show much difference, indicating not much variability among the
students’ answers.

4.3.2 Perceptions of presentation skills

Another factor found from the previous studies to have an impact on the
students’ oral presentation was the presentation skills. The results showed that
presentation skills had little impact on students’ oral presentations. This was shown by
the mean scores presented in Table 4.

Table 4. Means and standard deviations for students’ perception score on

presentation skills.
No. Statements M SD
1 I need to read from my notes during oral presentations 3.20 1.05
2 I find it difficult to abide by the time constraints of the presentation 3.11 0.85
3 I do not know how to use technology in my oral presentation 2.00 0.81
4 I care about grammar more than fluency in an oral presentation 3.28 1.02
5 I find it hard to find a suitable word to express my meaning 3.24 0.98
6 I have a problem with oral fluency and pronunciation during an oral 3.19 1.03
presentation
7 I prefer to be assessed by written exams rather than oral presentations 2.97 1.33
8 I prefer to memorize the topic of the oral presentation rather than 2.60 1.13
understand it
9 I cannot communicate my thoughts due to the difficulty of the topic 2.84 1.05
10 I find it difficult to organize my ideas logically during an oral 2.93 0.98
presentation
Key: Disagree (M < 2.5), Unsure (M = 2.51-3.49), Agree (M > 3.5)
 N. Roslim, V. Nimehchisalem, M. H. T. Abdullah & N. M. Razali, Students’ perceptions of
personality traits, presentation skills, and audience factors in their online presentations | 784

In Table 4, except for the third item, the students turned out to be unsure about
the rest of the items. None of the items obtained a mean score of above 3.5. As it
seemed, the students were not sure that their presentation skills were the main factor
causing their difficulties in doing oral presentations. However, they perceived
themselves as able to use technology in their oral presentations.

4.3.3 Perceptions of the audience

The results pointed out that based on their perceptions, the audience was the
main factor influencing students’ oral presentations. This could be seen in Table 5.

Table 5. Means and standard deviations for students’ perception score on the
audience.
No. Statements M SD
1 I feel frightened when a lot of people are watching me 3.50 1.13
2 Students’ reactions affect my performance in the oral presentation 3.54 1.10
3 I worry that students will laugh at me when I speak English 3.10 1.34
4 I feel my peers speak English better than me 3.74 0.99
Key: Disagree (M < 2.5), Unsure (M = 2.51-3.49), Agree (M > 3.5)

The students agreed that the audience played an important role in their oral
presentation. Seeing the reactions of their audience when doing their oral presentation
would significantly affect their performance (M = 3.54). The number of audiences
watching the students’ oral presentations also significantly impacted their performance
as they felt frightened when a vast number of people were watching them (M = 3.5).
Additionally, the students felt insecure when seeing their peers speak better English
than them (M = 3.74). However, the students were not sure that they would find it a
real concern if other students laughed at them when it was their turn to speak (M =
3.1).

4.4 The Most Impactful Factor on Oral Presentations

The second research question sought to investigate which one of the following
factors: ‘personality traits’, ‘oral presentation skills’, or ‘audience’, is most impactful
on students’ oral presentations from the students’ perspectives. Table 6 indicates the
students’ perceptions of the impact of the audience (M = 3.47), personality traits (M =
3.05), and presentation skills (M = 2.94) on their oral presentations.

Table 6. Means and standard deviations of the overall factor scores.

Factor M SD
Personality traits 3.05 0.78
Presentation skills 2.94 0.59
Audience 3.47 0.92
Key: Disagree (M < 2.5), Unsure (M = 2.51-3.49), Agree (M > 3.5)

Overall, as the mean values show, the in Table 6, students were unsure about
the impact of audience, personality traits, and presentation skills on their oral
presentations. Even though a narrower look at the items related to audience showed
that the students considered most of the items important, on average, they were unsure
785 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 777-788, 2023

about the importance of this factor. This indicates the need to train these students on
what makes an oral presentation successful.

4.5 Students’ Suggestions to Overcome the Problems Affecting Online Oral

Presentations

The third research question addressed the learners’ suggestions to overcome the
factors affecting their online oral presentations. The students were asked for
suggestions to overcome the factors affecting their online oral presentations. The
results are presented in Table 7. The table depicts that most students (f = 35; 38.9%)
believed that adequate preparation and practice were important to overcome the factors
affecting their performance in their oral presentations. The preparation included
preparing text speeches, enhancing presentation skills, memorizing and understanding
the topics, and improving English language proficiency. A typical preparation
technique suggested by the students was practicing in front of a mirror before the actual
oral presentation.
A considerable number of students (f = 17; 18.9%) also claimed that they could
perform better if the oral presentation was conducted with a small audience or without
the presence of an audience. They believed it could boost their level of confidence.
Quite a few students also suggested that the assessment should be made through a pre-
recorded video. Other than that, self-confidence (7.8%), and lecturer support (5.6%)
were identified as other ways to overcome the factors affecting the students’ oral
presentations. Lecturers could show their support to students by preparing some
guidelines, sharing some tips, and giving warm words before the oral presentation to
reduce the students’ nervousness. A total of 14 students (15.6%) did not give any
suggestions and 12 of them (12%) provided individual suggestions to overcome the
problems affecting their online oral presentations. Peer support and teamwork were
among other suggestions made by the students to improve their performance in their
oral presentations.

Table 7. Students’ suggestions to overcome factors affecting online oral

presentations.
No. Emerging Themes Frequency Percentage
1 Preparation and Practice 35 38.9
2 Assessment method 17 18.9
3 Self-confidence 7 7.8
4 Lecturer support 5 5.6
5 None 14 15.6
6 Others 12 13.3

5. DISCUSSION

This study revealed that from the students’ perspectives, the audience was the
only factor that students were aware of its importance in their oral presentation.
Interestingly they were unsure that their presentation skills or personality traits had
much influence on their success in oral presentations. The results showed that the
audience factor caused difficulties in online oral presentations. The students reported
feeling insecure when seeing their peers speak better English than them. This was
 N. Roslim, V. Nimehchisalem, M. H. T. Abdullah & N. M. Razali, Students’ perceptions of
personality traits, presentation skills, and audience factors in their online presentations | 786

similar to the results from Zakaria and Razak’s (2016) study. In addition, students in
Al-Nouh et al.’s (2015) study also reported that they felt frightened to present in front
of an audience and reactions from the audience affected their performance. However,
while Al-Nouh et al. (2015) recorded a very low mean value for the item ‘worrying
that other students would laugh at them when it was their turn to speak’, the mean
score for the same item was high in Zakaria and Razak’s (2016) study.
Students’ perceptions of the difficulties in online oral presentation assessment
tasks to personality traits showed that they felt worried even when they had prepared
well before the assessment. They agreed that they had to bring notes during oral
presentations even when they were well-prepared. Based on the results, in addition to
feeling anxious before an oral presentation, fear of failure because of low English-
speaking ability also contributes to difficulties in the oral presentation. These results
are consistent with Al-Nouh et al. (2015) who recommend that students should be
allowed to choose their own topics, resulting in students’ lower anxiety and better
performance. However, the findings in this study revealed that difficulties still
appeared even when students were given the choice to select their own topics.
The results also indicated that students’ perceptions of oral presentation skills
were at a medium level for their concerns on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and
reading from notes during the oral presentation. These results are similarly evident in
Zakaria and Razak’s (2016) study. It was found that students’ responses to the item “I
do not know how to use technology in my oral presentation” showed a low mean value.
This finding was similar to that of Zakaria and Razak (2016). Similar to the results of
this study, Al-Nouh et al. (2015) also found that most participants strongly believe that
they are knowledgeable when it comes to using technology. Stognieva and Popov
(2021) argue that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a dramatic increase in the
significance of technological skills for university students.
The participants gave suggestions to overcome the factors affecting their online
oral presentations. Preparation and practice were recorded as the most frequently
suggested factor, as they are essential for learners. Soomro et al. (2019) described that
ample practice should be provided for the development of effective oral
communication skills. Phuong (2018) emphasized that students need to have thorough
preparation and learn from their previous presentations. To build self-confidence,
lecturers could provide support to motivate undergraduates for oral presentations.
Essentially, Krashen’s (1985) Affective Filter Hypothesis contributes to learners’
online oral presentations in lowering their fear, anxiety, and low self-confidence
through ample opportunities for preparation and practice as well as support from
lecturers.
The novelty of this study is that it investigates students’ perceptions of oral
presentations in an online environment. As our review of the literature showed, most
of the previous studies focused on students’ oral presentations in physical settings.
There is an attempt in this study to discover insights on the potential similarities and
differences in the way students perceive certain factors to determine their success in
oral presentations. However, the current study in an online environment has shown
similar results to previous studies in physical settings in terms of personality traits,
presentation skills, and audience factors.
787 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 777-788, 2023

6. CONCLUSION

In conclusion, this study revealed that undergraduates’ perceptions of online oral

presentations depended on three essential factors. Personality traits included fears of
failure in the oral presentation assessment resulting in students’ anxiety even when
they were well prepared. Oral presentation skills included their concerns on grammar,
vocabulary, pronunciation, and reading from notes during the oral presentation. The
audience included feeling frightened to present in front of an audience and worried if
their peers were better than them. The novelty of the findings can contribute to English
language teaching in terms of inspiring lecturers to obtain a broader knowledge and
understanding of oral presentations from students’ perspectives. It is essential to
familiarize students with online oral presentations with a strong focus on improving
students’ presentations which concerns personality traits, oral presentation skills, and
audience factors.
Based on the findings, the important factors that students realized were the
audience, personality traits, and presentation skills. Hence, suggestions that students
provided included having enough preparation and practice as well as receiving good
support from lecturers. These valuable findings could provide educators and
instructors with input to provide necessary plans and strategies for learners to become
effective presenters. This study has limitations in terms of its restrictions towards
generalizing the results to a larger university student population. Besides, the
participants were primarily female university students studying in the same university
in one region. Future studies should investigate students from other universities in
different regions.

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789 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 789-804, 2023

Students’ Enjoyment and Anxiety in

Reminiscing about Mind-Mapping Use in
the English Writing Class
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Ariyanti*
Slamet Setiawan
Ahmad Munir

Department of Language and Literature Education, Graduate Program, Universitas

Negeri Surabaya, Surabaya 60213, INDONESIA

Abstract
The present study examines students’ foreign language enjoyment and
anxiety when reminiscing about the mind-mapping app in the English
writing class. This research uses sequential explanatory mixed method to
cover quantitative and qualitative elements of students’ emotions in
foreign language writing. Foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign
language classroom anxiety (FLCA) questionnaires were distributed to
122 students at two universities in Indonesia, followed by interviewing
some representative students. The findings revealed that students enjoyed
the use of the mind-mapping app because they thought that they were free
to design their own version of mind-mapping with interesting shapes and
colours. However, indications of worrying about the mind mapping they
made came from fear of being embarrassed in front of their friends.
Additionally, the essence of competition also drove the students to be
worried in the writing class. It made them feel that other friends had better
mind maps. Second, even though having a group discussion in the writing
class was interesting for the students, the fear of friends stealing ideas was
detected. There was also an indication that the students were concerned
about their achievement in writing class. It implies that teachers need to
reminisce students’ ideas and not give negative comments in front of the
class to avoid increasing students’ anxiety, but build up enjoyment instead
to boost their devotion to the writing class.

*
Corresponding author, email: ariyanti.21029@mhs.unesa.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Ariyanti, Setiawan, S., & Munir, A. (2023). Students’ enjoyment and anxiety
in reminiscing about mind-mapping use in the English writing class. Studies in English Language and
Education, 10(2), 789-804.

Received September 20, 2022; Revised January 12, 2023; Accepted April 13, 2023; Published Online
May 31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.28215
 Ariyanti, S. Setiawan & A. Students’ enjoyment and anxiety in reminiscing about mind-
mapping use in the English writing class | 790

Keywords: Foreign language classroom anxiety, foreign language

enjoyment, mind-mapping, positive psychology, writing performance.

1. INTRODUCTION

Although emotions play a vital role in human lives, there has been little attention
paid to this by second language acquisition (SLA) experts. Dewaele and MacIntyre
(2016) said that the tendency in SLA writing instruction towards a greater emphasis
on positive emotions and their significance as motivators includes the study of
linguistic enjoyment. MacIntyre and Mercer (2014) justified the emergence of
emotions comprehensively, saying that:

Many language educators are aware of the importance of improving individual

learners’ experiences of language learning by helping them to develop and
maintain their motivation, perseverance, and resiliency, as well as positive
emotions necessary for the long-term undertaking of learning a foreign language.
In addition, teachers also widely recognize the vital role played by positive
classroom dynamics amongst learners and teachers, especially in settings in
which communication and personally meaningful interaction are foregrounded.
(MacIntyre & Mercer, 2014, p. 156).

Positive psychology (henceforth, PP) seeks to shift the focus of traditional

psychology away from abnormalities, disorders and mental illnesses towards the
cultivation of both positive emotion and greater engagement, and the enhancement of
the gratefulness of the meaning in one’s life and its events (MacIntyre & Mercer,
2014). The practitioners of the positive psychology method push for a more complete
picture of people, which, in SLA parlance, means shifting one’s attention away from
one’s predominant negative feelings. To broaden the scope of foreign language
classroom anxiety (FLCA), it is necessary to incorporate pleasant feelings of foreign
language enjoyment (FLE) among students (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014, 2016).
Students’ emotions as part of the main issues in PP have already been the subject
of previous studies, i.e., FLE and FLCA in FL learning (Dewaele & Alfawzan, 2018;
Dewaele & Dewaele, 2017, 2020; Dewaele & Li, 2021; Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014,
2016; Dewaele et al., 2016, 2017), enjoyment, anxiety, motivation, and achievement
in writing (Tahmouresi & Papi, 2021), reducing students’ anxiety in speaking through
contracting technique (Jin et al., 2020), by reminiscing about students’ achievement
in an FL classroom (Jin et al., 2021), and increasing students’ enjoyment through
games (Allen et al., 2014). These previous studies designated how FLE and FLCA
play a role in FL learning so that practitioners looked to test whether the use of certain
techniques or media is effective to reduce students’ anxiety and enhance the enjoyment
of students in learning a foreign language. In this case, most researchers highlighted
students’ emotions in FL learning in general and lack of exploration towards specific
English competence, e.g., writing. Moreover, research studies on PP, especially those
investigating the emotions of FL students, are extremely limited in the Asian context.
Hence, the current study took place at the university level in an Asian setting, typically
in Indonesia, to examine students’ emotions when learning in the FL writing in class.
791 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 789-804, 2023

Considering the recent rise of PP as a distinct field of study, we argue that it is

now an ideal time to investigate how students feel when they are learning a new
language, particularly writing. Teachers cannot neglect the presence of both positive
and negative emotions during the process of learning writing in class. Thus, in the
current study, we intend to investigate the FLE and FLCA of FL students when
reminiscing about the use of the mind-mapping app in the writing process. The study
results are expected to give insights to writing teachers in determining the steps and
efforts needed to be taken to improve students’ FLE as well as manage students when
encountering FLCA in FL writing class. Thus, we formulate the following research
questions for this study:
1. To what extent are students’ FLE and FLCA reflected when reminiscing about the
mind-mapping app in the writing class?
2. How are FLE and FLCA felt by students when reminiscing about the mind-mapping
app in the writing class?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

In this section, we explore the flow of current knowledge, particularly regarding

PP, positive and negative emotions, mostly concerning FLE and FLCA in the FL
learning context. Without neglecting other researchers who are experts in PP, positive
and negative emotions, or FLE and FLCA, we consider citing and exploring the topic
of the current study from studies conducted by Dewaele and colleagues from 2014 to
2022. Particularly, we intend to deliver the development of PP knowledge in SLA
through the years, such as factors that contributed to FL learners learning FL in class
from both quantitative and qualitative aspects. Therefore, this helps to position the
current study in the present time and the future.

2.1 Positive Psychology in Second Language Acquisition

The origin of PP has its basis in the psychology of humanism, which centres its
discussion on meaningfulness and happiness. Studies of meaningfulness and happiness
or well-being have blossomed and emerged among PP practitioners ever since the field
of PP came into being when, in 1998, psychologist Martin Seligman announced a new
field, which he termed positive psychology. Historically, psychologists paid exclusive
attention to curing humans’ traumatic experiences, which covered disease and
dysfunctions after World War II, which is a medically-oriented view of psychology
(Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). PP was born out of a rejection of conventional
psychology’s most widely held ideas and is the advancement of original psychology,
whereby PP is not merely focusing on fixing damage in life but also improving one’s
well-being (Seligman, 2002). The narrative of how PP was founded is by now well
known; disillusioned with the way psychology in common focused on disruption,
Seligman used his presidency of the American Psychological Association (APA) to
launch PP. Instead of trading in the currency of human shortcomings, this
revolutionary phase promised to provide a platform for academics to investigate the
‘brighter sides of human nature’, from enjoyment to fulfilment (Linley & Joseph,
2004).
 Ariyanti, S. Setiawan & A. Students’ enjoyment and anxiety in reminiscing about mind-
mapping use in the English writing class | 792

The field of PP is closely associated with Aristotle’s view of human nature. The
Aristotelian view of humanity and functioning is predicated on the teleological
premise that human life and well-being originate from nature fulfilment and the human
being as internally directed by a movement of ever greater maximum functioning
(Nafstad, 2015). Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) explained that well-being and
contentment from the past, flow, joy, pleasure, and happiness (here and now), and
optimism hope and faith for the future are all topics central to the discipline of PP at
the subjective level. At the level of individuals, the qualities include the ability to love
and pursue a career, as well as courage, interpersonal skill, an appreciation of art, a
sense of aesthetics, tenacity, forgiveness, originality, a focus on the future, exceptional
talent, and sage insight. Responsibility, nurturing, compassion, politeness, modesty,
acceptance, and hard work are all examples of constitutional morality that can be
fostered in a community, as can organisations that encourage and reward these traits.
In order to set itself apart, the PP transformation placed a heavy spotlight on the
positive. The implication was that ‘negative’ things are bad, whereas ‘positive’ ones
are always better (Ivtzan et al., 2016).
Those who study PP strive to highlight the good in life to reach well-being.
Seligman (2012) popularised five elements of well-being, i.e., positive emotion,
engagement, meaning, positive relationships, and accomplishment (PERMA).
Regarding the first element, positive emotion is connected to happiness, and it is the
foundation of having a pleasant life. It also represents pioneering work in genuine
theories of happiness. As subjective metrics, happiness and life satisfaction have been
downgraded from the theory’s ultimate objective to a secondary consideration under
the umbrella of positive emotion. Concerning the second element, a person’s level of
engagement is subjectively evaluated in the same way as happiness is; by how much
joy and ease they experience and whether they can at least state that activity was
enjoyable or fantastic. Next, the third element of well-being is related to the connection
between people and the world around them in which they find their lives with deeper
meaning and purpose. Finally, a key component of human happiness is the realisation
that their efforts have paid off. At the end of a long journey, when victory is achieved
and a lasting legacy is created, this is when happiness can be said to have been
achieved.
Above all history, basic concepts, and principles, the occurrence of PP seems to
bring beneficial significance to the teaching and learning process, driving many
researchers to conduct studies on PP in various contexts in education, especially in the
area of SLA. Some researchers use PP as an intervention (known as PPI) to improve
the positive emotion of students in foreign or second language learning. For instance,
Abdolrezapour and Ghanbari (2021) tested whether the use of hope, gratitude, emotion
regulation and empathy are effective to improve students’ listening comprehension.
Experimental research was conducted on 45 Iranian students who were divided into
experimental and control groups. The result of the quantitative computation indicated
the effectiveness of the use of PPI shown by an increase in the scores of the
experimental group in the listening course. The supporting data from qualitative
findings (interview and observation) show the teacher which materials of the listening
course are difficult for students. The teacher can then set specific strategies to help the
students to cope with their problems.
Moreover, Jin et al. (2020) stated that the use of PPI was found to be effective
in FL learning. They conducted quasi-experimental research on 42 Chinese students
793 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 789-804, 2023

to test whether the contracting strategy was effective to decrease the level of students’
anxiety. The results indicated a greater reduction in anxiety in the experimental group
compared to the control group, indicating that contracting speech in FL is more
effective at reducing anxiety. The analysis of learners’ diaries also suggested that
contracting speaking could improve their motivation to learn FL, their confidence in
their ability to learn FL, their ability to reflect on their progress in learning FL, the
development of positive traits and emotions, and the reduction of negative traits such
as anxiety. In the following year, Jin et al. (2021) tried another way of utilising PPI,
i.e., by asking students to reminisce about their achievements in learning FL in order
to reduce their anxiety. The results showed that, in the experimental group, anxiety
levels reduced dramatically over time along all dimensions, but in the control group,
anxiety levels remained unchanged. The textual analysis also revealed that the students
of the experimental group remembered improving in areas other than language
proficiency, such as cross-cultural knowledge and testing ability, as well as in areas of
language proficiency such as speaking, listening, writing, reading, vocabulary,
grammar, and pronunciation. Feelings of happiness, rather than sadness, were
associated with this type of remembering.
Different from the previous studies, the current study is focused on the
exploration of both students’ FLE and FLCA during the reminiscing of the mind-
mapping app in the English writing class. Students were invited to fill in a self-report
quantitatively and express themselves by telling how they felt about the use of the
mind-mapping app in the English writing class, whether it was helpful or not, and how
it affected their feelings of enjoyment or anxiety.

2.2 Foreign Language Enjoyment and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety in

Second Language Acquisition

In the field of FLE and FLCA, we aim to highlight previous research which
typically focused on students’ emotions in FL learning. In 2014, Dewaele and
MacIntyre (2014) started to focus on the existence of positive emotions (i.e., FLE) and
negative emotions (i.e., FLCA) in the context of FL learning. An extensive survey
study was conducted which included 1.746 FL learners around the world to dig into
the FLCA of the learners as well as measure whether FLE and FLCA were linked to
certain variables. They found that FLE and FLCA were connected to a variety of
independent variables, such as how well the participants thought they were doing in
the FL classroom, how many languages they knew, their level of education, how many
FLs they were studying, their age group, and the basic level of the FL, which ranged
from lower-intermediate to advanced levels.
Subsequently, Dewaele and MacIntyre (2016) conducted a study on FLE and
FLCA wherein 1.742 learners filled out self-reports of their FLE and FLCA in FL
class, with 21 phrases for the FLE scale which were extracted from Dewaele and
MacIntyre (2014) and eight phrases for the FLCA scale adapted from Horwitz et al.
(1986). The quantitative result showed anxiety as a different factor from enjoyment,
whereas the qualitative result showed how participants dealt with their anxiety during
the FL learning such as making jokes in class to reduce their tension. After a year of
FL learning experiences, the participants revealed a forgiveness attitude where they
realised that learning a foreign language for foreign learners cannot be perfect. In the
same year, Dewaele et al. (2016) focused the study of FLE and FLCA on the gender
 Ariyanti, S. Setiawan & A. Students’ enjoyment and anxiety in reminiscing about mind-
mapping use in the English writing class | 794

aspect, i.e., to investigate how female students manage to feel enjoyment and anxiety
in FL class. They argued that females students are exposed to both higher FLE and
FLCA, and that female students adopted a proud attitude when performing FL in class
more than males, even though they also indicated to be significantly more worried than
male students about their mistakes and were sometimes unconfident in using the FL.
Dewaele et al. (2017) continued their study by addressing FLE and FLCA to
influential factors, i.e., teacher and learners’ variables in FL learning. The study
involved 189 British high school students having learnt different and various types of
FLs. FLE reached a high level in the matter of students’ attitudes towards FL learning,
FL teachers, the use of FL in class, and how much time they spent using the FL. On
the other hand, higher scores on FL attitudes, relative status, and development stage
were associated with lower FLCA. It appears that the relationship between FLCA and
teachers and their methods is weaker than that between FLE and classroom activities.
In this study, Dewaele et al. (2017) suggested that educators might focus on increasing
students’ FLE rather than learners’ FLCA in FL learning.
Continuing the 2017 study, Dewaele and Alfawzan (2018) investigated the effect
of FLE and FLCA on 189 FL learners in two London secondary schools and 152 Saudi
EFL learners and English users in Saudi Arabia. The favourable impact of FLE on
performance was shown to be significantly larger than the detrimental impact of
FLCA. What this means is that FLE appears to matter significantly more than FLCA
in terms of FL performance. The reasons for FLCA and FLE as well as the factors that
influenced participants’ final decisions to continue or drop out of the FL study were
illuminated by the qualitative data acquired from the Saudi participants.
Dewaele and Dewaele’s (2020) exploration of FLE and FLCA was sustained by
investigating learners’ FLE and FLCA in the context where they have two different
teachers learning FL in class. The findings showed that FLCA was the same with both
teachers, but FLE was much higher with the main teacher. Aspects that predicted FLE,
such as how students felt about the teacher, how often the teacher used the target
language in class, and how predictable the teacher was, were all much better for the
main teacher. The higher FLE score was partly due to the teacher making the classroom
feel good. Factors that showed more consistent personal and group traits had less
difference between the two teachers. The results showed that FLE depends more on
the teacher than FLCA, which is more stable from teacher to teacher.
Not only investigating the enjoyment and anxiety of students, Dewaele and Li
(2021) also looked into students’ enjoyment of Chinese EFL classes from the factors
of teacher enthusiasm and students’ social-behavioural learning engagement.
Quantitative studies revealed moderate to substantial associations between students’
reports of their teachers’ enthusiasm, enjoyment, and boredom in the classroom and
their level of participation in social-behavioural learning. Furthermore, the study
indicated that students’ enjoyment and boredom both mediated the connection between
teachers’ levels of excitement and their students’ levels of social-behavioural
participation in English classrooms.
In the last research with the same experts who collaborated in the study of FLE
and FLCA in 2021, Dewaele and Li (2022) investigated the connection between
enjoyment and anxiety, students’ achievement, and expected levels of success in six
areas of FL learning, i.e., listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, and
grammar among 1.415 Chinese senior secondary students. In this study, they found
four major results, i.e. (1) self-perceived general English proficiency predicted FLE
795 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 789-804, 2023

and FLCA more strongly than actual English achievement did, (2) perceptions of
speaking and grammar competence were significant predictors of both emotions, (3)
perceptions of reading competence predicted FLE significantly but not FLCA, and (4)
perceptions of listening, writing, and vocabulary competence did not predict either
FLE and FLCA. It can be concluded that the issue of both FLE and FLCA in language
learning remains a hot topic. Therefore, the current study took part in the exploration
of students’ FLE and FLCA in an FL class, especially in the writing course. We
followed the self-report of FLE suggested by Dewaele and MacIntyre (2014, 2016)
and FLCA proposed by Horwitz et al. (1986). We adapted those self-report item
questionnaires based on the objectives and focus of the current study.

2.3 The Concept of Mind-Mapping in Writing

Buzan (2002) developed the mind-mapping technique, which displays

connections among ideas, concepts, and information using verbal and symbolic
elements in a non-linear diagram or network (Dhindsa et al., 2011). Created as a note-
taking method in the late 1960s, this technique has gained popularity due to its ability
to stimulate creativity, retention, and effective learning by revealing prior knowledge.
The left hemisphere of the brain is typically used to reflect thoughts, while the right
hemisphere is used to incorporate visual elements into one’s mind-maps (Evrekli &
Balim, 2010). Because of where ideas are put in a mind-map, the most crucial ones are
brought to the forefront. In addition, mind-maps allow for both the right and left sides
of the brain to be utilised during the learning process, which can lead to more
comprehensive approaches to solving problems (Somers et al., 2014).
According to Paxman (2011), mind-mapping is most effective when it
incorporates the use of words, hues, and visual appearances to aid in the
conceptualisation of the brain’s ideas with other ideas. Buzan (2002) argued that mind-
mapping is the most straightforward approach to both in-brain development and extra-
brain retrieval of knowledge. In this case, we can effectively and creatively map our
thoughts using this method. The long, tedious process of taking notes and making lists,
in which ideas are maintained in a top-down sequence and it becomes difficult to make
connections between the last idea and the first, can be replaced by a map. Since this
now unites disparate concepts, a vibrant tree analogy seems appropriate. These maps,
which take the form of a tree or a hierarchy, are built in such a way as to make it easy
to see the connections between different concepts and how they relate to one another.
Mind-mapping is the most straightforward approach to both in-brain development and
extra-brain retrieval of knowledge.
Specifically, regarding the context of teaching and learning writing, students
may find it useful to use mind-maps as a prewriting planning aid. They can be shown
how to organise their thoughts in a step-by-step, hierarchical pattern with the aid of
examples, which will help them remember their arguments until they have completed
the entire essay. In order to explore ideas and generate thoughts on the subject at hand
for writing, mind-mapping techniques can be useful (Bukhari, 2016). The use of mind-
mapping facilitates the accumulation of ideas pertinent to the topic at hand. Without
the rigidity of outlines, grouping, or listing, the collected ideas make sense on their
own, depending on the user’s needs, thus mind-mapping can be used to depict data via
pictures, symbols, keywords, codes, and colours. Two forms of mind-mapping can be
used by students, online application of mind-mapping tools and offline mode.
 Ariyanti, S. Setiawan & A. Students’ enjoyment and anxiety in reminiscing about mind-
mapping use in the English writing class | 796

The previous studies argued that mind-mapping is closely related to the process
of producing decent writing. In the context of the current research, the researchers
found that students at the two universities in Indonesia used online applications to
create the mind-mapping more than manual ones. One of the applications used by the
students is ‘Popplet’. It can be installed on the students’ mobile phones or used online
via a browser on their laptops. The students’ experiences when using the mind-
mapping in writing would be enquired through self-report and dug by using interviews.

3. METHODS

A mixed method, specifically sequential explanatory, was particularly used as

the umbrella in conducting this study. Creswell (2012) states that the collection of
quantitative and qualitative data occurs simultaneously in a sequential-explanatory
mixed method. The quantitative data were intended to pinpoint the areas of FLE and
FLCA shown in the FL writing class. Additionally, the qualitative data were presented
to support the findings found in statistical computation in the quantitative section. It
was aimed to search for students’ feelings towards the use of the mind-mapping app
in the writing process.

3.1 Participants

A total of 122 participants from two universities in one state province in

Indonesia acted as the participants in this study. Some information regarding the
participants is summarised in a demographic preliminary study, i.e., gender (male=44,
female=78), age (between 19-20 years old=63, between 20-21 years old=59), duration
of learning English (12 years=122), English course experience (N=51).

3.2 Instruments

The closed-ended questions in the questionnaire can be better understood with

examples from the participants’ own words, which is exactly what the qualitative data
are meant to do. The data from a qualitative method supplied us with recurring ideas
and insightful quotations that were utilised to buttress the results of the quantitative
study. Two-part process analysis was applied in this study. Initially, statistical analysis
was utilised to determine the descriptive analysis, typically on the distribution of
frequency towards the items existing in FLE and FLCA scales towards their
experiences in using mind-mapping in writing essays. It was planned to use the
principle of representativeness and interest to choose data extracts from the open
question for the second phase through a semi-structured interview. We also allowed
the participants to have their voices heard in more theoretical and statistical dimensions
at the same time.

3.3 Data Collection

The first version of the questionnaire was pilot-tested on 15 students. Because

of this, some items had to be scrapped, and others had to be reworked. Finally, the
final version of the questionnaire was posted online on Google Forms for the
797 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 789-804, 2023

participants to fill out consisting of a five-point Likert scale, i.e., ‘absolutely

disagree’=1, ‘disagree’=2, ‘undecided’=3, ‘agree’=4, ‘strongly agree’=5. Fifteen items
of the FLE questionnaire distributed to the students were customised by Dewaele and
MacIntyre (2014, 2016), whereas eight items for the FLCA questionnaire were
modified by Horwitz et al. (1986). Since the phrases in both FLE and FLCA
questionnaires from those experts are typically for general aspects of English, and
some are related to speaking aspects in learning FL, we adjusted to the context of FL
writing and added the term mind-mapping app as the focus of this research.

3.4 Data Analysis

The 26th edition of the SPSS program was used to analyse the data gathered from
the FLE and FLCA quantitatively. Cronbach’s alpha for the 15 students who
participated in the pilot test of the FLE and FLCA questionnaires was quite high (FLE
questionnaire = .86, and FLCA = .80). Descriptive analysis was computed to address
the primary research question about the students’ FLE and FLCA in reminiscing about
the use of the mind-mapping app in the writing class. Meanwhile, to address the
research question, we employed a flow chart analysis series proposed by Miles et al.
(2014), which included data reduction, data display, and data condensation, based on
information gleaned from the semi-structured interviews.

4. RESULTS

The results of the current study are displayed in two steps, i.e., quantitative, and
qualitative data of FLE and FLCA of students using the mind-mapping app in the
writing class. The calculation of statistics in the quantitative part was visualised by
using tables to describe the measurement of each item of FLE and FLCA
questionnaires. For the qualitative segment, representative excerpts from the
participants were presented to support the quantitative findings.

4.1 Quantitative Results of Students’ Foreign Language Enjoyment and

Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

A series of statistical computations were carried out to measure the descriptive

analysis of both FLE (see Table 1) and FLCA (see Table 2) including the mean and
SD for each item.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of students’ FLE.

No. Item Mean SD
1. I can be creative when using the mind-mapping app in the writing class. 4.25 0.856
2. I can laugh off embarrassing mistakes in the writing class. 2.34 1.065
3. I do not get bored when using the mind-mapping app in the writing class. 3.97 1.185
4. I enjoy the use of the mind-mapping app in the writing class. 4.15 1.096
5. I feel as though I am a different person during the use of mind-mapping app 3.34 1.459
in the writing class.
6. I learnt to express myself better when using the mind-mapping app in the 4.40 0.492
writing class.
7. I feel the use of mind-mapping app is worthwhile in the writing class. 3.89 1.278
 Ariyanti, S. Setiawan & A. Students’ enjoyment and anxiety in reminiscing about mind-
mapping use in the English writing class | 798

Table 1 continued…
8. I have learnt interesting things towards the use of mind-mapping app in the 3.99 1.153
writing class.
9. I feel proud of my accomplishments after using mind-mapping app in the 2.66 1.419
writing class.
10. It is a positive environment to use the mind-mapping app in the writing class. 4.46 0.740
11. It is cool to know the mind-mapping app in the writing class. 4.12 1.049
12. It is fun to use the mind-mapping app in the writing class. 4.14 1.015
13. There is a good atmosphere when using the mind-mapping app in the writing 4.49 0.659
class.
14. We form a tight group when using the mind-mapping app in the writing class. 1.90 0.566
15. We laugh a lot when using the mind-mapping app in the writing class. 1.53 0.501

All items of the FLE questionnaire above indicate one main similar result where
the mean scores are higher than SD scores (mean>SD). Specifically, 11 out of 15 items
show significantly higher mean scores rather than SD scores (items 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
10, 11, 12, and 13). It means that the data gained from those items were not varied. For
example, for item 10 ‘It is a positive environment to use the mind-mapping app in the
writing class’, more than 50% of the participants chose ‘strongly agree’. Meanwhile,
there were four out of fifteen items just slightly different between mean scores and SD
scores (items 2, 9, 14, and 15). It indicates the participants’ answers were quite varied
because the SD scores are close to the mean scores. For instance, for item 9 ‘I feel
proud of my accomplishments after using mind-mapping in the writing class’, the data
consisted of ‘strongly disagree’=22%, ‘disagree’=41%, ‘undecided’=1%,
‘agree’=20%, and ‘strongly agree’=16%.

Table 2. Descriptive statistics of students’ FLCA.

No. Item Mean SD
1. I always feel that the other students have better mind-mapping than I do. 3.84 1.282
2. I can feel my heart pounding when I am going to be called to practise the 2.23 1.205
use of mind-mapping app in the writing class.
3. I feel worried when using mind-mapping in the writing class. 2.16 1.249
4. I do not feel confident when using the mind-mapping app in the writing 1.82 0.882
class.
5. I get nervous and confused when I am using the mind-mapping app in the 1.91 0.853
writing class.
6. I start to panic when using the mind-mapping app in the writing class. 1.59 0.526
7. It embarrasses me to have negative comments when using the mind- 4.69 0.562
mapping app in the writing class.

Alike with FLE questionnaire results, the findings of FLCA also show higher
mean scores rather than SD scores (mean>SD). Particularly, there were two out of
seven items had significantly higher mean scores compared to SD scores (items 1 and
7). It indicates the answers are not varied. For instance, for item 7 ‘It embarrasses me
to have negative comments when using mind-mapping app in the writing class’, 72%
of the participants chose ‘strongly agree’. In another case, five out of seven items
showed small differences between mean scores and SD scores (items 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6).
In other words, participants’ answers were varied. For example, for item 3 ‘I feel
worried when using mind-mapping in the writing class’, the data scattered into
‘strongly disagree’=33%, ‘disagree’=46%, ‘undecided’=1%, ‘agree’=11%, and
‘strongly agree’=9%.
799 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 789-804, 2023

4.2 Qualitative Results of Students’ Foreign Language Enjoyment and Foreign

Language Classroom Anxiety

We looked at the participants’ written comments to have a deeper understanding

of the results and to understand the students’ perspectives. The extracts of participants’
remarks in the semi-structured interview were selected in consideration that these
revealed unique and interesting statements of their feelings. The excerpts were then
translated by the second researcher since all the participants were interviewed in the
Indonesian language to avoid misunderstanding. Also, we wanted to ensure that we
could obtain as much information as possible from them. Statements from the
participants interviewed were related to the findings gained from the self-report they
had filled out.
Regarding the FLE matter, the students highlighted various points regarding
their accomplishments after using the mind-mapping app in the writing class (item 9).
Some students assumed that the use of the mind-mapping app just helped them at the
beginning step of collecting ideas, but not to the whole process until they got their final
remarks.

(1) The mind-mapping app helps me to build prior ideas before making my essay draft. I feel that
developing ideas in the essay itself is the most difficult rather than making mind-mapping the first
step. (FR, male, 20)

(2) It is beneficial to use the mind-mapping app as the beginning part of essay writing. Unfortunately,
I made too many revisions during the drafting process. It was too far from the points I made in my
mind-mapping. (LND, female, 19)

However, some students argued that the mind-mapping app is the most important
part of producing decent essay writing. They feel that the use of the mind-mapping app
contributes to their writing achievement.

(3) By using the mind-mapping app, I feel that I gain a better comprehension of how to manage
chronological information in my writing. I am confident enough with my writing score because I
have a strong foundation in widening my views to expand my writing skills. (MSA, female, 21)

Most of the students interviewed said that they enjoyed the use of the mind-
mapping app (item 4) because they were free to express their thoughts (item 6),
although some of them argued as to whether forming a group was a good idea to share
their mind-mapping to each other (item 14).

(4) I like using the mind-mapping app since I am a technology lover. I can play with shapes and
colours in making mind-mapping, and it is quite fascinating for me. However, sharing the result
of my mind-mapping is not really satisfying for me because I am afraid that my peers will steal
my ideas and my mind-mapping design. (AGN, male, 21)

(5) I often feel that I have difficulty deciding what aspects I should discuss in my essay writing. Thus,
I think that making group discussions is fun so that I can exchange ideas with my classmates.
(WLY, female, 20)

Regarding the FLCA, most of the students strongly agreed that having negative
comments towards the result of their mind-mapping is unfavourable (item 7), e.g.,
when the teacher tried to compare students’ results of mind-mapping in class.
 Ariyanti, S. Setiawan & A. Students’ enjoyment and anxiety in reminiscing about mind-
mapping use in the English writing class | 800

(6) I doubt that my mind-mapping was good. I always assume that my friends’ mind-mapping is better
than mine. (DHN, female, 20)

(7) I am afraid of getting negative comments towards the mind-mapping I have made. The teacher
compared the result of our mind-mapping by showing it on the screen. Actually, I think it is quite
embarrassing. (HRZ, male, 20)

Additionally, the students had quite varied answers when they were asked about
anxiety indications when using the mind-mapping app, such as item 2 (heart
pounding), item 3 (worry), item 4 (unconfident), item 5 (nervous and getting
confused), and item 6 (panic). For example, in item 4 ‘I do not feel confident when
using the mind-mapping app in the writing class’, the answers were quite varied. Some
students were confident enough because the mind-mapping app was not new to them.
Some others had never used such a mind-mapping app, as stated below:

(8) I like to play with computer technology, and I have known some kinds of apps for making mind-
mapping. Thus, I have no doubts about using the app asked by the teacher because I am sure I can
handle it. However, I still have difficulty in how to list important points related to my topic of
essay writing. (RND, male, 21)

(9) It is quite challenging for me to use an app in mind-mapping. It is interesting, but I prefer to use
the traditional drawing of mind-mapping. (RZI, female, 20)

5. DISCUSSION

The data gained from the qualitative semi-structured interview can be used to
explain the results from the quantitative data. In this case, the students’ voices shape
some similar points which were dominantly related to their effects, typically regarding
the FLE and FLCA in the FL writing class. Even though students enjoyed the use of
the mind-mapping app, some indications of FLCA appeared, such as being afraid of
getting negative comments from teachers, which we assume is correlated with the
writing competence of the students. Sieben (2017) said that fostering hope in students’
minds when they are writing an FL text will increase their motivation and level of
confidence. Supporting this idea, Pekrun and Stephens (2010) believe that too general
and too many negative comments will lower students’ willingness in doing FL writing.
Improper feedback has the potential to trigger students’ boredom and sadness (Rowe
et al., 2014). Therefore, students’ positive mindset should build up optimism (Lloyd
& Hastings, 2009). This is relevant to another aspect of FLCA felt by the participants
that they are afraid of making mistakes. Thus, students need to be further explored on
revealing their positive emotions by experiencing various relaxing conditions and the
teacher might be expected to build in some jokes so as to release the students’ ‘pain’
in writing (Allen et al., 2014).
The use of the mind-mapping app is considered to be useful for the students in
this study to develop their ideas before transferring them to writing. They enjoyed the
use of the mind-mapping app because most of them were having problems with idea
building. Internal difficulties that the students felt during the writing process engaged
the student-self variable but only the teacher variable impacted the students’ FLE and
FLCA. As found by Dewaele et al. (2017), teacher and learner variables influence the
FLE and FLCA of students in learning FL. Therefore, teachers are suggested to boost
801 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 789-804, 2023

students’ enjoyment rather than focusing too much on their anxiety in FL learning
(Bielak, 2022).
Some prominent findings in this study are that, first, students enjoyed the use of
the mind-mapping app because they thought that they were free to design their own
version of mind-mapping with interesting shapes and colours. However, indications of
worrying about the mind mapping they made came from fear of being embarrassed in
front of their friends. Additionally, the essence of competition also drove the students
to be worried in the writing class. It made them feel that other friends had better mind
maps. Second, even though having a group discussion in the writing class was
interesting for the students, the fear of friends stealing ideas was detected. There was
also an indication that the students were concerned about their achievement in writing
class. Therefore, teachers should manage how to deal with these issues so that students’
ideas in their writing is facilitated.

6. CONCLUSION

The findings indicate that the FLE of using the mind-mapping app does not seem
to directly meet the negative feelings they are experiencing. The participants agreed
that the mind-mapping app is very helpful and they are confident in using it, but they
also feel unconfident when they receive negative comments from the teacher at the
same time. Additionally, students love to have a group discussion, but they are also
afraid that their friends will take their ideas. Those facts prompt the study’s
recommendations that the teacher can use other strategies to include efforts in giving
positive psychology intervention, such as building hope during the process of FL
writing, which might increase the students’ independence when writing. Various
activities to build students’ competence in writing are also demanded, such as a focus-
group discussion to share ideas between peers.
This study has limitations that need to be improved in the future. First, future
research is expected to widen the scope of the research to other skills of English, since
this study only focused on writing. Second, the participants of this research were
limited to only two different universities in Indonesia. Thus, larger numbers of
participants are suggested for future research. Having a more extensive survey of FL
students in an Asian context should also be considered. Third, this research is limited
to a specific instrument used in assessing enjoyment and anxiety in English writing.
Other instruments for assessing specific areas of enjoyment and anxiety in certain
skills of English language competence are needed. Many elements of positive
psychology may support FL writing learning, especially in increasing students’
positive emotions, e.g., hope, therefore, these needs to be investigated as well. Lastly,
the development of an instrument for measuring enjoyment and anxiety in specific
English language competence is required.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We would like to thank the funding bodies of PUSLAPDIK (Pusat Layanan

Pembiayaan Pendidikan, or Education Financing Service Centre) and LPDP
 Ariyanti, S. Setiawan & A. Students’ enjoyment and anxiety in reminiscing about mind-
mapping use in the English writing class | 802

(Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan, or Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education),

Grant number 202101121223, for their financial support throughout the process.

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805 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 805-821, 2023

Exploring Self-Regulated Writing

Strategies: A Comparison between
Paragraphs and Essays
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Ratih Novita Sari1,2

Atik Umamah3
Merliyani Putri Anggraini*4
M. Affandi Arianto5
Kurniasih3
Nur Mukminatien1
1
English Department, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Negeri Malang,
Malang 65145, INDONESIA
2
English Education Department, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education
Universitas Muhammadiyah Prof. Dr. Hamka, Jakarta 13830, INDONESIA
3
English Education Department, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education,
Universitas Islam Malang, Malang 65144, INDONESIA
4
Languages Department, School of Languages and General Education,
Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, THAILAND
5
English Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Padang,
Padang 25131, INDONESIA

Abstract
Writing requires a complex skill, and thus students need to regulate
themselves in employing the appropriate strategies to achieve good writing
performance. The present research investigated Self-Regulated Writing
(SRW) strategies used by EFL (English as a Foreign Language) university
students. It contrasted the students' strategies related to the complex
structure of the texts (i.e., paragraphs and essays) and students’ writing
performance. The data information came from two separate sets of self-
regulated learning strategy questionnaire, as well as writing outcomes of
the students. Descriptive statistics and the Mann-Whitney U test were
utilized to evaluate the data. The six dimensions of SRW strategies were
extensively utilized in paragraph and essay writings. The six dimensions

*
Corresponding author, email: merlianiputri@gmail.com

Citation in APA style: Sari, R. N., Umamah, A., Anggraini, M. P., Arianto, M. A., Kurniasih., &
Mukminatien, N. (2023). Exploring self-regulated writing strategies: A comparison between paragraphs
and essays. Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 805-821.

Received June 1, 2022; Revised September 18, 2022; Accepted April 21, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.26146
 R. N. Sari, A. Umamah, M. P. Anggraini, M. A. Arianto, Kurniasih & N. Mukminatien,
Exploring self-regulated writing strategies: A comparison between paragraphs and essays | 806

include motive, method, time, performance, physical environment, and

social environment. Interestingly, the social environment dimension had
the highest mean score, showing that the students needed assistance from
their peers and available learning resources. Meanwhile, the motive
dimension obtained the lowest mean in both paragraph and essay writings.
Furthermore, the analysis showed no significant statistical difference in
using SRW strategies in writing paragraphs and essays except in the
method dimension. The difference in strategy use based on achievement
was also not significant. The results indicate that the students applied
similar SRW strategies in paragraph and essay writings regardless of their
proficiency levels. Pedagogical implications and recommendations for
future research are also further discussed in the article.

Keywords: Essay, paragraph, self-regulated writing strategies, writing.

1. INTRODUCTION

Since writing is categorized as a compound competence in language skills, many

students have difficulties mastering this skill (Harris & Graham, 2016). In the EFL
context, students often experience difficulties in three aspects of writing, i.e., content
(i.e., the topic being discussed), linguistic (i.e., language features), and lexical
elements (i.e., vocabularies) (Al Seyabi & Tuzlukova, 2014; Karim et al., 2017;
Umamah et al., 2019). The difficulties are limited to long-written texts (e.g., essays)
and simpler writing (e.g., paragraphs). In essay writing, students face challenges in
content, grammatical, and lexical aspects (Sudirman & Tiasari, 2015). In paragraph
writing, Karim et al. (2017) revealed that EFL students face difficulties in all stages of
writing (writing, revising, and planning–in sequence) and in using idiomatic
expressions and lexical aspects. Al Seyabi and Tuzlukova (2014) unveiled that EFL
students generally have problems with lexical and content aspects in paragraph and
essay writings. Thus, appropriate, and effective learning strategies are strongly
demanded to help them cope with these writing difficulties (Cohen & Macaro, 2007).
Regarding writing problems, a large body of research has convincingly proven
that Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) strategies are effective in helping students
improve their writing achievement (Cer, 2019; Helsel & Greenberg, 2007; Kartika,
2015; Roderick, 2019; Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994). SRL strategies are effective
because they involve self-planning, self-monitoring, and self-regulation, which fit the
nature of writing as a process, covering three phases. The preparation phase starts prior
to writing (goal setting), the execution phase takes place during writing (self-
monitoring), and the reflection phase occurs following writing (self-evaluation)
(Hughes et al., 2019). By employing SRL strategies, students can achieve linguistic
development, cognitive improvement, and regulation to finally ameliorate their writing
quality (Cer, 2019). To specifically address writing skills, this current research uses
the term Self-Regulated Writing (SRW) strategies, following other researchers
(Brunstein & Glaser, 2011; Reynolds & Perin, 2009).
As stated earlier, EFL students experience difficulties in writing paragraphs and
essays; therefore, they need to apply SRW strategies. However, previous studies on
the use of SRW strategies mainly put their focus on essay writing (Abadikhah et al.,
807 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 805-821, 2023

2018; Helsel & Greenberg, 2007; Kartika, 2015; Teng & Huang, 2019) or paragraph
writing (Bai & Guo, 2019; Geres-Smith et al., 2019; Hughes et al., 2019) separately.
Thus, different use of the strategies in both types of writing cannot be identified
clearly. Moreover, Al Seyabi and Tuzlukova (2014) uncovered that EFL students
generally have similar problems in lexical and content aspects when writing
paragraphs and essays. This leads to the question of whether the students also apply
similar SRW strategies in writing texts with different complexity. In addition, issues
concerning SRW strategy use based on writing achievement have not been sufficiently
investigated. A previous study reports a correlation between SRW strategies and
writing achievement in general (Geres-Smith et al., 2019) without explicitly
addressing proficient and less proficient students. Another study finds that the
students’ SRW strategy use differs depending on their proficiency levels, indicating
that proficient students use more SWR strategies than their less proficient counterparts
(Bai & Guo, 2019). Abadikhah et al. (2018) found that fourth-year students apply SRW
strategies (i.e., method and social environment) more frequently than third-year
students. These findings imply that students with different writing proficiency levels
might also have different SRW strategy use, but this conclusion needs further
investigation. Therefore, this research is intended to determine the SRW strategy used
in students’ paragraph and essay writings and to examine whether there is a significant
difference in the application of SRW strategies based on different text complexities
and writing achievement.
Consequently, this research is conducted to investigate what SRW strategies are
applied by EFL university students in composing paragraphs and essays. Furthermore,
this research is to examine whether there is a significant difference in the use of SRW
strategies based on the text the students produce and their writing achievement. The
research questions are formulated in the following:
1. What SRW strategies are applied by EFL university students in writing paragraphs
and essays?
2. Is SRW strategy used in writing paragraphs significantly different from writing
essays?
3. Do proficient and less proficient students differ in using SRW strategies in writing
paragraphs and essays?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Paragraph vs. Essay Writing

Overall, in writing a paragraph and an essay, students need to consider the

content (i.e., the topic being discussed), the organization (i.e., coherence and
cohesion), and the language use (i.e., grammar) (McDonough et al., 2018). In terms of
content, paragraph and essay writings are different. In paragraph writing, the content
consists of three structures: topic sentence, supporting sentence, and concluding
sentence (Oshima & Hogue, 2006). The topic sentence states the main idea that the
writer wants to discuss in the paragraph. Supporting sentences contain the information
or proofs which explain the topic sentence. Finally, a concluding sentence is a closing
remark in the form of a paraphrase or summary to remind the readers of what is being
discussed. Meanwhile, in essay writing, content refers to the ideas presented in three
 R. N. Sari, A. Umamah, M. P. Anggraini, M. A. Arianto, Kurniasih & N. Mukminatien,
Exploring self-regulated writing strategies: A comparison between paragraphs and essays | 808

parts: an introductory paragraph involving a clear thesis statement, body paragraphs

with logical and relevant details as well as reasons to support the argument, and a
concluding paragraph including accurate restatement of the thesis statement, a
summary of the details or reasons, and recommendation.
Regarding organization and language use, both paragraph and essay writings
require similar standards (Langan, 2010). The organization deals with the presence,
order, and number of the parts of the paragraph or essay, i.e., topic
sentence/introductory, supporting sentences/body, and concluding sentence/
paragraphs. Meanwhile, language use is related to the correct and appropriate use of
grammar and mechanics (e.g., spelling, punctuation, and capitalization).

2.2 Self-Regulated Writing Strategies: The Six Dimensions

The current issue in language learning strategy research is related to the notion
of SRL strategies. Self-regulated strategies, according to Zimmerman and Risemberg
(1997) and Kinnebrew et al. (2015), can be defined as thoughts, feelings, and actions
used to achieve different literary goals, including writing skill improvement and
enhancement of written text quality. According to Pintrich and De Groot (1990) and
Panadero (2017), self-regulated learning covers three components: metacognitive
strategies (for planning, monitoring, and modifying their cognition), management and
control of their effort, and actual cognitive strategies.
SRL strategies can be used in learning vocabulary (Khezrlou & Sadeghi, 2011;
Sadeghi & Khezrlou, 2012), listening (Yabukoshi, 2018), and reading (Anggraini &
Cahyono, 2020; Kavani & Amjadiparvar, 2018; Oruç & Arslan, 2016). In the last few
years, these strategies have been widely adopted in writing skills (Cer, 2019; Helsel &
Greenberg, 2007; Kartika, 2015; Roderick, 2019; Zimmerman & Risemberg, 1997).
Along with the frequent use of these strategies in the writing context, the term SRL
strategies has been replaced with SRW strategies (Arianto & Wulyani, 2022; Brunstein
& Glaser, 2011; Reynolds & Perin, 2009).
The classification of SRW strategies in this study adopts the theoretical
framework of Zimmerman (1998), consisting of six dimensions related to the learning
process: time, motive, physical environment, performance, method, and social
environment. The motive dimension focuses on reasons (why) for learning. This
dimension involves goal-setting, self-talk, and emotion control. The method
dimension relates to the ways (how) learners learn. It requires them to make a
summary, take notes, ask questions, rehearse, and make a visual representation. The
time dimension deals with students’ time management (when) during the learning
process. The physical environment dimension is related to structuring the surrounding
environment (where) to support learning. In addition, the social environment
dimension refers to help-seeking (with whom) when they confront learning
difficulties, and the performance dimension deals with (what) learning by observing,
reflecting, making a judgment, and comparing current performance with the learning
goals.

2.3 Self-Regulated Writing Strategies and Writing Achievement

Failure to apply effective strategies is one of the causes of writing difficulties

(Graham et al., 2000). SRW strategies help students cope with the complexities of
809 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 805-821, 2023

writing. The significant role of SRW strategies in enhancing the quality of students’
writing was proven by previous research conducted at all levels of education.
In preschool, Kim and Nor (2019) revealed that SRW strategies significantly
affected young learners’ self-efficacy and writing performance. Self-monitoring and
controlling strongly predicted self-efficacy, while planning and goal setting predict
early writing performance. In addition, the students perceived that using planning and
goal-setting, self-monitoring, and self-evaluation strategies enhanced the writing
performance.
In elementary schools, Geres-Smith et al. (2019) reported that SRW strategies
promoted students’ writing quality, duration, and self-efficacy in composing a
persuasive text. The research proved a significant change in students’ self-efficacy
after the teacher performed self-regulated strategies development (SRSD)
intervention. Similarly, using self-regulated strategy intervention, Helsel and
Greenberg (2007) uncovered that SRW strategies helped struggling writers tackle the
difficulties in the writing process.
At the secondary level, Rosário et al. (2019) found that writing performance of
students improved after implementing SRSD and SRSD with story-tool interventions.
Teng and Huang (2019) also confirmed the essential roles of SRW strategies (goal-
oriented monitoring and evaluating) in improving students’ writing outcomes.
Meanwhile, Bai et al. (2020) uncovered that the use of the SRL writing strategies was
significantly different among students with different writing proficiency and grade
levels. Long before SRW strategies received much concern from ELT researchers,
Zimmerman and Bandura (1994) unveiled that self-regulatory efficacy for writing
beliefs was directly related to the students’ perceived efficacy of writing course
attainment and indirectly correlated with their achievement.
At the university level, Kartika (2015) reported a significant increase in students’
writing scores after using self-regulated writing strategies. In terms of frequency of
use, Abadikhah et al. (2018) disclosed that EFL university students use the strategies
of SRW at an intermediate to somewhat advanced level. Strategies in the method
dimension were reported to be the most frequently used. Besides, fourth-year students
used SRW strategies more intensively than third-year students. It implies that level of
proficiency might have influenced the strategy use. Investigation of graduate students’
self-regulation and rhetorical problem-solving revealed that more proficient students
made a narrative of progress and used writing problems to find possible solutions and
set goals (Roderick, 2019).
Experimental research conducted by Teng and Zhang (2019) uncovered that
students engaged in the self-regulated strategy intervention performed better and
applied the strategies more actively than those who did not receive any intervention.
A recent study reported that the overall of SRW strategy use (i.e., time, motive,
physical environment, performance, method, and social environment) is at a high level,
with the social environment dimension as the highest mean and the motive dimension
as the lowest (Umamah & Cahyono, 2020). The findings further uncovered that the
proficient students dominantly applied method, performance, and social environment
dimensions of SRW strategies. However, the research did not investigate the use of
SRW strategies by less proficient students.
 R. N. Sari, A. Umamah, M. P. Anggraini, M. A. Arianto, Kurniasih & N. Mukminatien,
Exploring self-regulated writing strategies: A comparison between paragraphs and essays | 810

3. METHODS

3.1 Research Design

The current research used a quantitative design to address the three research
questions. The first question was answered through descriptive statistical analysis to
investigate the most frequently used SRW strategies. In addition, the Mann-Whitney
U test was carried out to answer the second and the third research questions to find out
the significant difference in the use of SRW strategies based on the two types of writing
the students produced and the significant difference in their achievement in writing
paragraphs and essays.

3.2 Participants

A total of 94 English department students from one of Indonesia's private

institutions took part in the research and responded to the questionnaire. Out of 94, 49
were first-year students (33 females and 16 males), and 45 were third-year students
(37 females and 8 males). The first-year students had taken a paragraph writing course,
and the third-year students had passed an essay writing course. Both are compulsory
courses that the students should complete. The students were recruited based on a
convenience sampling technique. Convenience sampling entails selecting participants
who can be reached, are interested in giving more information or are readily accessible
to get in touch or interact on a feasible level (Stratton, 2021).

3.3 Instruments

This study included detailed data from two separated self-regulated learning
strategy questionnaires developed by Abadikhah et al. (2018). Each set has 60 items
with a 5-point Likert scale. This first set of questionnaires was explicitly addressed to
elicit data regarding self-regulated learning in writing a paragraph, and the other one
was for essay writing. The questionnaires were developed to collect detailed
information and provide thoughts about the strategies employed across six dimensions
(i.e., time, motive, physical environment, performance, method, and social
environment) in writing two different texts. Some adjustments were made in the
motive dimension (Items 9, 10, 13, 15) in the questionnaire for the paragraph writing.
The adjustment was made by changing the context from an essay into a paragraph.
Detailed information about the questionnaire is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. SRL Strategy Questionnaire Distribution

Dimensions Descriptions Number of items
Motive Setting learning goals and self-efficacy 14
Method Applying strategies for task accomplishment 10
Time Managing the time to learn and how long 8
Physical environment Setting surrounding environment 5
Social environment Finding assistance 6
Performance Making self-evaluation, self-consequence 17
Total 60
811 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 805-821, 2023

The first part of the questionnaire was about the purpose of distributing the
questionnaire, a brief explanation of SRW strategies, the content of the questionnaire,
and an agreement to be participants, i.e., the consent form for joining the research
activities. The next part was the participants’ demographic information, such as full
name, gender, and interest in writing. The main part was the sixty-item questionnaire
with a 5-Likert scale (strongly disagree ‘1’ to strongly agree ‘5’). The survey was
complete and had a high reliability (0.95). However, it was translated into the
participants’ mother tongue (i.e., Indonesian) to confirm the respondents fully
understood each item and avoided bias. One writing teacher and one student from the
English department of the same institution where the research was conducted were
given instruction to review the translation results to ensure every item in the
questionnaire was comprehensible.
In addition, to measure the students’ writing achievement and group them into
proficient and less proficient students, those from the paragraph writing group (first-
year students) were assigned to make a descriptive paragraph describing their
bedroom. In contrast, the students from the essay writing group (third-year students)
were asked to compose an argumentative essay. The compositions were rated only by
the writing teacher of each group. The students were grouped based on the criterion
that those who obtained ≥ 80 are grouped into proficient students, while those whose
score is < 80 are categorized as less proficient. The categorization was based on the
score evaluation standard provided at the university.

3.4 Procedures

To explore strategies of SRW applied in paragraph and essay writings, the

students who consented to participate in the study were required to respond to the self-
regulated learning strategy questionnaire distributed online via Google Forms. The
form was sent to the writing teachers. The teachers then sent the link to the class leader
to share with all class members. The respondents were first asked to read the first
section of the questionnaire containing the purpose of distributing the questionnaire, a
brief explanation of SRW strategies, and the content of the questionnaire to ensure that
their response was valid. Before answering the main questionnaire, they were
instructed to state their agreement by clicking the Agree button. Then they responded
to the demographic information questions and the SRW questionnaire. After the
questionnaire distribution, the first-year students were assigned to produce a short
descriptive paragraph, while the third-year students composed a-five paragraph
argumentative essay. Based on the test results, the students were grouped into
proficient and less proficient students.

3.5 Data Analysis

Descriptive statistics were used to assess the quantitative data from the
questionnaire. The mean score for every dimension (a total of six dimensions) was
calculated. If the mean score is between 3.45 and 5.00, the frequency of usage of the
SRW strategies is termed high level, moderate level if it is between 2.45 and 3.44, and
low level if it is between 1.00 and 2.44 (Oxford, 1990). Meanwhile, the Mann-Whitney
U test was used to see the difference in the preference of SRW strategies based on the
text produced by the students and writing achievement. The researchers employed the
 R. N. Sari, A. Umamah, M. P. Anggraini, M. A. Arianto, Kurniasih & N. Mukminatien,
Exploring self-regulated writing strategies: A comparison between paragraphs and essays | 812

statistical analysis of the Mann-Whitney U test as the data of the present study was in
ordinal measurement.

4. RESULTS

4.1 The Use of Self-Regulated Writing Strategies in Writing Paragraphs and

Essays

Analysis of descriptive statistics (Table 2) unveils that, in writing a paragraph,

EFL university students’ use of SRW strategies is at a high level (3.62), with strategies
in the social environment dimension as the most frequently used strategies (4.10).
Meanwhile, the least used strategies are in the motive dimension (3.04).

Table 2. The SRW strategies used in paragraph writings.

Strategy dimensions N Mean Std. deviation Rank
Social environment 49 4.10 .63 High
Performance 49 3.87 .55 High
Physical environment 49 3.75 .72 High
Method 49 3.65 .58 High
Time 49 3.32 .52 Moderate
Motive 49 3.04 .53 Moderate
Overall 49 3.62 .59 High

The overall use of SRW strategies in essay writing, which is presented in Table
2 is also at a high frequency (3.72). The most dominant strategies are those in the social
environment dimension (4.22), while the least used strategies are those in the motive
dimension (3.08).

Table 3. The SRW strategies used in essay writings.

Strategy dimensions N Mean Std. deviation Rank
Social environment 45 4.22 .53 High
Physical environment 45 3.92 .87 High
Performance 45 3.89 .63 High
Methods 45 3.89 .60 High
Time 45 3.32 .55 Moderate
Motive 45 3.08 .64 Moderate
Social environment 45 4.22 .53 High
Overall 45 3.72 .64 High

Based on the findings in Table 2 and Table 3, EFL university students applied
SRW strategies at a high-frequency level in writing paragraphs and essays. In both
paragraph and essay writings, the social environment dimension received the highest
mean score, while motive gained the lowest mean score in both types of writing.

4.2 Comparison of Self-Regulated Writing (SRW) Strategy Use in Writing

Paragraphs and Essay

The result from the Mann-Whitney U test (Table 5) shows that, with the
exception of the method dimension (.051), there was no significant difference in SRW
813 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 805-821, 2023

strategy utilized in writing paragraphs and essays. As shown in Table 4, the mean score
of the method dimension in essay writing (3.89) is higher than in paragraph writing
(3.65).

Table 4. The descriptive statistics of SRW strategy used in paragraph and essay
writings
Strategy dimensions Text type Mean Std. deviation
Time Essay 3.32 .55
Paragraph 3.32 .52
Motive Essay 3.08 .64
Paragraph 3.04 .53
Method Essay 3.89 .60
Paragraph 3.65 .58
Performance Essay 3.89 .63
Paragraph 3.87 .55
Social Environment Essay 4.22 .53
Paragraph 4.10 .63
Physical Environment Essay 3.92 .87
Paragraph 3.75 .72

Table 5. The Mann-Whitney U test results on the SRW strategy used in paragraph
and essay writings
Strategy dimensions Asymptotic sig. (2- sided)
Time .829
Motive .671
Method .036
Performance .491
Social environment .463
Physical environment .223

The findings indicate that when writing an essay, EFL university students used
the strategies in the method dimension more frequently than that in writing a
paragraph. It indicates different ways of accomplishing writing tasks with different
levels of complexity. Furthermore, based on the result of the Mann-Whitney U test in
Table 5, it was disclosed that there was a significant difference in the use of method
strategy dimension across writing types (Asymptotic sig.=.036). Meanwhile, other
strategy dimensions did not show any meaningful outcome between writing
paragraphs and essays.

4.3 Comparison in the Use of SRW Strategies Based on Writing Achievement

Based on the analysis using a Mann-Whitney U test, it is found that the

difference in the use of SRW strategies based on the students’ writing achievement in
paragraph writing is not significant. As presented in Table 7, the p-value for all
dimensions is higher than 0.05.

Table 6. The comparison of strategies used based on achievement (paragraphs).

Categories High Low
M SD M SD
Time 3.40 .453 3.36 .696
Motive 3.10 .458 3.14 .690
 R. N. Sari, A. Umamah, M. P. Anggraini, M. A. Arianto, Kurniasih & N. Mukminatien,
Exploring self-regulated writing strategies: A comparison between paragraphs and essays | 814

Table 6 continued…
Method 3.71 .515 3.78 .661
Performance 3.91 .595 3.96 .617
Social environment 4.15 .578 4.28 .690
Physical environment 3.89 .778 3.65 .704

Table 7. The Mann-Whitney U test result on the use of SRW strategies based on
achievement (paragraphs).
Categories Asymptotic sig. (2- sided)
Time .719
Motive .943
Method .792
Performance .905
Social environment .456
Physical environment .34

In essay writing, the results also revealed no significant difference in the SRW
strategy use based on the students’ writing achievement, as shown by the p-value of
higher than 0.05 for all dimensions (Table 9).

Table 8. The comparison of strategies used based on achievement (essays).

Categories High Low
M SD M SD
Time 3.36 .373 3.18 .645
Motive 3.11 .541 2.96 .705
Method 4.02 .579 3.80 .691
Performance 4.11 .518 3.74 .625
Social environment 4.35 .505 4.29 .401
Physical environment 4.20 .665 3.77 .974

Table 9. The t-test result on the use of SRW strategies based on achievement (essays).
Strategy Dimensions Asymptotic Sig. (2-sided)
Time .381
Motive .669
Method .491
Performance .086
Social Environment .642
Physical Environment .270

Based on the findings, it is evident that there was no significant difference in the
use of SRW strategies by proficient and less proficient students in both paragraph and
essay writings. In other words, students who were proficient and less proficient applied
the same SRW strategies in their process of writing. They were all aware of using the
six dimensions in strategies of SRW.

5. DISCUSSION

The finding of the descriptive statistics shows that EFL university students
employed SRW strategies at a high-frequency level in writing a paragraph and an
essay. This finding is in line with the report of previous studies (Bai & Guo, 2019;
815 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 805-821, 2023

Umamah & Cahyono, 2020). This indicates that both groups of students are highly
aware of the importance of SRW strategies. Confirming the finding of Umamah and
Cahyono (2020), the present study reports that the social environment dimension
obtained the highest mean score in both paragraph and essay writings. It means that in
an EFL context, the students generally needed social support to accomplish their
writing tasks (Yot-Domínguez & Marcelo, 2017) by seeking help. The help can be
obtained from their peers through peer feedback (Kusumaningrum et al., 2019) and
from available resources (e.g., the Internet) (Hughes et al., 2019). However, it is
interesting that current research findings in the online learning context unveiled that
students use fewer social behavior strategies (Xu, 2021). This leads to further
investigation of the use of SRW strategies in the online learning setting.
Meanwhile, the least used strategy was in the motive dimension, suggesting that
the students could not set learning goals and control their affective factors such as self-
efficacy and anxiety. Setting goals is necessary to direct how students learn. When
they have meaningful reasons for learning a language, they are likely to have more
motivation to learn, which can lead to a more successful acquisition (Andrade &
Bunker, 2009; Kurniasih, Mukminatien, et al., 2022). Meanwhile, affective factors
influence students’ writing performance (Erkan & Saban, 2011; Pajares & Valiante,
1997); thus, the failure to control emotion might negatively affect students’
performance. Consequently, the negative emotion can cause anxiety in the students,
for instance, when their scores are so low that they can fail the course (Kurniasih,
Cahyono, et al., 2022). Therefore, students need to be encouraged to make specific
learning goals and manage their affective factors.
The result from the Mann-Whitney U test indicates that overall, except for the
method dimension, there was no significant statistical difference in employing SRW
strategies in writing paragraphs and essays. This finding proves that regardless of the
complexity of the text, EFL students have used all six dimensions in SRW strategies
to help them cope with writing challenges. It is reasonable since EFL students
generally deal with similar problems both in paragraph and essay writings (Al Seyabi
& Tuzlukova, 2014). However, some of them might use the strategies less effectively
(Graham et al., 2000); thus, they have lower achievements. It might become a
limitation of the current study that can be taken a closer look at in future research.
Besides that, the evidence showing a significant difference in method dimension
supports the finding of Abadikhah et al. (2018), who proved that fourth-year students
applied SRW strategies more intensively than their third-year counterparts. In this
present research, paragraph writing was given in the first year, while essay writing was
given in the second year. This might be the reason why the students in the essay writing
group outperformed those in the paragraph writing group in the use of the method
dimension. The former has had more learning experiences which can affect the
strategy use (Teng & Huang, 2019). Besides, paragraph writing does not give the same
organizational challenges as more extended types of writing, such as essays
(McDonough et al., 2018). Thus, the students writing an essay needed more effort,
such as writing a summary, taking notes, asking questions, rehearsing, and making a
visual representation which are essential skills in writing a long, written text. In other
words, more complex text requires more effective SRW strategies to help students
organize their ideas cohesively in an iterative manner (Hughes et al., 2019). This
research finding implies the need to emphasize the understanding that writing is a long-
 R. N. Sari, A. Umamah, M. P. Anggraini, M. A. Arianto, Kurniasih & N. Mukminatien,
Exploring self-regulated writing strategies: A comparison between paragraphs and essays | 816

lasting process requiring self-monitoring and evaluation to improve its quality since
the students are in the early stage of developing their writing skills.
Based on the writing achievement, the difference in the use of SRW strategies
in both paragraph and essay writing was not significant. In other words, regardless of
their level of proficiency, all the students, both proficient and less proficient, were not
different in applying SRW strategies. This result contrasts with previous research (e.g.,
Bai & Guo, 2019; Bai et al., 2020; Teng & Huang, 2019) reporting that proficient
students utilized SRW strategies more often than less proficient students. As Butler
and Winne (1995), Sutarni et al. (2021), and Anggraini, Cahyono, et al. (2022) alleged,
proficient students use the strategies more effectively since they know their capability,
beliefs, motivation, and cognition. Meanwhile, the less proficient students still
experience writing difficulties, probably due to the inappropriate implementation of
strategies (Graham et al., 2000; Umamah et al., 2019). As a result, it is not
unanticipated that students with high self-regulation outperform those with weak self-
regulation in terms of academic achievement. (Umamah & Cahyono, 2020;
Zimmerman & Bandura, 1994). The current unexpected findings might be explained
by the fact that the different education levels in the current study involved university
students, while the previous studies investigated secondary school students. As a
result, university students have more experience using SRW strategies than secondary
school students. Anggraini, Anugerahwati, et al. (2022) have proved that students’
education levels affected their learning preferences. Moreover, regarding the SRW
strategies, the scores obtained by proficient and less proficient students in this study
were slightly different. The finding of this study reflects that teachers need to pay more
attention to less proficient students to use their SRW strategies more appropriately and
effectively based on the writing tasks.

6. CONCLUSION

Self-regulated writing strategies help EFL students overcome the problems of

writing task complexities by regulating their learning process. In general, all students
(proficient and less proficient) applied SRW strategies in paragraph and essay writings.
What makes their achievement different lies in how effectively they use the strategies.
This research only invited limited participants to participate in the present study,
future research should employ more participants to understand the pattern of SRW
strategies. The total number of participants will contribute to the mode detailed
findings. Students with moderate writing scores were also missed in the present study;
future researchers can facilitate this limitation for their research. Moreover, although
this study focuses on the use of the strategies, the findings may well have a bearing on
students’ gender differences. Therefore, further studies need to consider such
moderator variables.
Despite its limitations, this current study has provided some pedagogical
implications. First, to assist less proficient students in using the strategies more
effectively, writing teachers can train them using SRW strategy intervention.
Additionally, further investigation on how to use the SRW strategies effectively is also
crucial. Thus, the findings can be applied by teachers. Second, the findings of this
study provide insights for teachers to explain in detail how each strategy applies in
817 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 805-821, 2023

certain types of writing since the findings partially explain the difference in the SRW
strategies used in writing paragraphs and essays.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The first author of this study would like to express her gratitude to Lembaga
Pengelola Dana Pendidikan (Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education) or LPDP,
Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia, for providing financial support for her
doctoral study at Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia.

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822 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 822-840, 2023

Negotiating the Challenges in Speaking

English for Indonesian Undergraduate
Students in an ESL University
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Winnie*1
Hugh John Leong1,2
Ida Fatimawati Badiozaman3
Alyssa Yap2
1
School of Design and Arts, Faculty of Business, Design and Arts, Swinburne
University of Technology Sarawak, Kuching 93350, MALAYSIA
2
Centre of Education Research, Faculty of Business, Design and Arts, Swinburne
University of Technology Sarawak, Kuching 93350, MALAYSIA
3
School of Research, Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, Kuching 93350,
MALAYSIA

Abstract
In Indonesia, English is not widely used for communication. Hence,
Indonesian high school graduates who desire to study abroad may
encounter difficulties communicating in English. One of the destination
countries Indonesian students choose to study in is Malaysia. When
studying in Malaysia, some may transition from EFL (English as a Foreign
Language) to ESL (English as a Second Language) speakers as they are
required to speak English more frequently, especially in academic
contexts. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the challenges of
speaking English for Indonesian undergraduate students, the contributing
factors to the challenges, and the strategies used by the students to
navigate the challenges. A number of 15 Indonesian EFL undergraduate
students still registered as active students in an ESL university in Malaysia
participated in this study. Data was collected via semi-structured
interviews, transcribed, and thematically analysed. The findings were
presented thematically with narrative excerpts to support them. The results
indicated some challenges faced when students adjusted themselves in
their higher education institution, including their psychological reactions,

*
Corresponding author, email: winnie180391@gmail.com

Citation in APA style: Winnie, Leong, H. J., Badiozaman, I. F., & Yap, A. (2023). Negotiating the
challenges in speaking English for Indonesian undergraduate students in an ESL university. Studies in
English Language and Education, 10(2), 822-840.

Received June 21, 2022; Revised December 10, 2022; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.26563
 Winnie, H. J. Leong, I. F. Badiozaman & A. Yap, Negotiating the challenges in speaking
English for Indonesian undergraduate students in an ESL university | 823

speaking academic English, and online learning. Therefore, to help EFL

students be more prepared to speak English for academic contexts in an
ESL environment, stakeholders in the education sector in Indonesia should
consider providing more actions to focus on improving the English-
speaking skills of students.

Keywords: Challenges, English-speaking skills, ESL environment,

Indonesian EFL students, remote learning, transition.

1. INTRODUCTION

The process of delivering learning materials in an educational setting requires

the appropriate use of language. This might not be an issue when the environment is
wholly in the first language (L1). However, when the environment is in a second
language (L2), a barrier in communication might be generated in the process.
Specifically, students with identities as international university students might feel
challenged.
One of the most wide-spoken global languages is the English language. As
mentioned, some international students might face challenges regarding using L2 on
campus, particularly in Expanding Circle countries such as Indonesia, where English
is not spoken extensively for communicative purposes (Kirkpatrick, 2020; Monfared
& Khatib, 2018). An English Proficiency Index (EPI), conducted in 2021 based on test
results data from the EF Standard English Test (EF SET) by Education First (2021),
indicates that Indonesia scored a proficiency of 466 and was categorised as Low
Proficiency, ranking 80th out of 112 countries in the world and 14th out of 24 countries
in Asia. Based on the 1989 Law in Indonesia, English is classified as a foreign
language (Lauder, 2008; Mattarima & Hamdan, 2011). It is also not used widely in
daily life or for communication in official domains (Lauder, 2008; Rahmi, 2015).
Hence, some Indonesian students who decide to study in English as a second
language (ESL) countries, such as Malaysia, may experience difficulties speaking
English daily or in classroom communication. Data from Global Flow of Tertiary-
Level Students (UNESCO, 2021) reported that from 53.604 Indonesian students
studying abroad, there were about 8.440 Indonesian students (15.7%) in Malaysia,
making it the second top destination for studying abroad after Australia (25.9%). One
of the underlying reasons was the expectation of improving their English-speaking
skills from frequent usage of English in Malaysia. Consequently, they may transition
from an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to an English as a Second Language
(ESL) speaker. However, the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted this transition
as the students could not study in face-to-face (F2F) situations, and most might return
to their EFL environment for remote learning.
The pandemic has thus created a research gap, as most previous research focused
on how EFL students overcame their challenges in English-speaking countries. There
is little discussion on the effect of remote learning and its effects on students
overcoming their challenges in English-speaking countries. Similarly, the process of
transitioning from an EFL to an ESL environment has been the subject of numerous
studies, but none during the pandemic, which is the subject of this paper. This paper
illustrates the transition process in the context of an unanticipated COVID-19
824 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 822-840, 2023

pandemic that may have compelled students to return to an EFL environment. Thus,
this study was conducted to identify the challenges faced by EFL speaker students, the
contributing factors, and the strategies they used to navigate the challenges during their
transition from EFL to ESL speakers and remote learning during the pandemic.
This study took a sample from a group of Indonesian undergraduate students in
a private university in Malaysia which uses English as the medium of communication.
The research objectives for this study were: 1) to investigate the challenges of speaking
English faced by Indonesian undergraduate students in an ESL university, 2) to
identify factors that contribute to the challenges of speaking English in an academic
context, and 3) to explore the strategies used in navigating challenges in speaking
English in an academic context.
Furthermore, the research questions below were designed to seek the answers to
the research:
1. What are the challenges of speaking English faced by Indonesian undergraduate
students in an ESL university?
2. What are the contributing factors to the challenges of speaking English in an
academic context?
3. What strategies do the students use to navigate challenges in speaking English in
an academic context?
This research provides potentially significant findings to stakeholders. Firstly,
Indonesian students interested in studying at a university that uses English as its
primary communication medium can learn and prepare themselves with many efficient
and effective strategies to overcome the challenges of speaking English. Secondly,
EFL teachers and educators can use the findings to curate lessons that can increase
speaking opportunities while being cognizant of anxiety and language support issues.
Thirdly, educational institutions can use the findings to accommodate EFL students’
issues and struggles in speaking English. Lastly, the findings may provide some
insightful ideas for the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia
to consider what strategies, approaches, or methods to design or amend a more
effective national curriculum for English language subjects in secondary schools.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Speaking Proficiency for EFL Learners in Indonesia

The growth in popularity of English in Indonesia can be traced back to the 1980s
when English was set as the first official foreign language in Indonesia based on the
1989 Law (Lauder, 2008; Mattarima & Hamdan, 2011). English was considered
necessary given the usage of English as the lingua franca in global communication and
relationships (Lauder, 2008; Rahmi, 2015). Moreover, the English language is widely
used as a medium to access scientific knowledge and innovative technologies, which
can be a competitive advantage in the global marketplace (Lauder, 2008).
However, the status of English as a foreign language may indicate that English
is not extensively applied in daily life nor deemed to have an essential role in
Indonesian society as it does not facilitate communication in official domains (e.g.,
government, law courts, and education) (Lauder, 2008; Rahmi, 2015). Consequently,
most Indonesians are unfamiliar with the use of the English language and would find
 Winnie, H. J. Leong, I. F. Badiozaman & A. Yap, Negotiating the challenges in speaking
English for Indonesian undergraduate students in an ESL university | 825

it challenging to read, understand, or speak English in a scientific context (Paauw,

2009; Rahmi, 2015), and some Indonesian academicians even have low levels of
English communication (Mappiasse & Sihes, 2014; Poedjiastutie et al., 2018). This
situation raises a concerning issue since the English language is important, but most
Indonesian learners may not have the qualified proficiency to communicate in it.
The contributing factors affecting speaking proficiency are elaborated on and
categorised into extrinsic and intrinsic factors.

2.1.1 The extrinsic contributing factors in English speaking skills for Indonesian
students

The extrinsic factors in English-speaking skills for Indonesian students are:

a. The notions about the English language in Indonesia
English is considered important by most Indonesians (Zein, 2017), as many
books and information resources are published in the English language–indicating the
significance of the English language’s contribution to national development (Lauder,
2008; Susanto, 2017). However, some Indonesians argue that mixing English and
Bahasa Indonesia (or the Indonesian language) could indicate a decline in national
idealism (Coleman, 2016, as cited in Alamsyah, 2018; Lauder, 2008; Paauw, 2009)
and cause a negative impact on national identity and culture (Crystal, 2003;
Panggabean et al., 2020). This negative perception of the English language may be
related to concerns over post-colonial imperialism and liberal Western cultural values
(Alwasilah, 1997, as cited in Lauder, 2008).
b. Curriculum about English language subject
English has been the official foreign language subject taught in secondary
schools in Indonesia since Curriculum 1968. However, some high school graduates
are still unable to communicate in English in a real-world context despite obtaining
high marks in examinations or written proficiency tests due to low focus on speaking
skills in school (Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, 2014;
Renandya et al., 2018; Riadil, 2020).
Under Curriculum 2013, English was taught as a compulsory subject in
secondary school education (Alwasilah, 2013). This raised some debates about the
necessity of teaching English at the elementary or primary level (Grades 1-6), where
some education experts asserted that students in primary education should be focused
on the development of children’s character building through religious and cultural
values (i.e., the local language) before being introduced to foreign cultures (e.g.,
English language) (Zein, 2017). However, other parties proposed that English should
be taught from the elementary or primary level to lengthen the duration of learning
English (Panggabean, 2015). In addition, the inadequate time allocation for English
language subjects (Mappiasse & Sihes, 2014) may also reduce opportunities to practice
speaking English (Hadijah, 2014; Riadil, 2020).
c. The multilingual environment
A multilingual home and school environment might have influenced some
Indonesian learners’ proficiency in English (Alwasilah, 2013) as this may be less
supportive for students to practice their speaking in English (Hadijah, 2014). However,
the multilingual environment has advantages since some low-proficiency students can
use their first languages and dialects to learn Standard English, thus accomplishing a
high academic standard (Ryan, 2006, as cited in Mukminin et al., 2019).
826 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 822-840, 2023

2.1.2 The internal factors in English-speaking skills for Indonesian students

The internal factors in English-speaking skills for Indonesian students are:

a. Linguistic factors
These factors include pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary (Hadijah, 2014;
Riadil, 2020). In addition, most Indonesian students tended to have two types of errors:
1) global errors (e.g., pronunciation mistakes, stress mistakes, part-of-speech errors,
and grammatical inaccuracies.), and 2) local errors (e.g., tenses and conjunctions),
which might cause comprehensibility issues and misunderstanding with the
interlocutors (Gozali, 2018).
b. Psychological factors
Some studies on Indonesian students reported that psychological factors
influence their English-speaking skills. Motivation is the first factor, as some students
might feel less motivated to speak English if they were keener on learning other
subjects related to their course (Brown, 2007). Another demotivation factor appears
when they compare themselves to their friends who can speak English better than them
(Riadil, 2020). Anxiety comes as the next factor because some students may feel
anxious and worried about making mistakes when speaking English (Juhana, 2012).
Self-esteem is reported in a study from Ariyanti (2016), where some students assumed
themselves to be ‘not capable enough’ to speak English and tended to mix in Bahasa
Indonesia when speaking English. Some related studies have reported shyness in
speaking English (Ariyanti, 2016; Hadijah, 2014; Juhana, 2012; Riadil, 2020). Most
students feared being ridiculed by their peers, so they were reluctant to commit errors.

2.2 The Transition from EFL to ESL Environments

For some Indonesian students who are interested in studying overseas, speaking
English is a contesting task. Most of them are considered EFL speakers, and when they
study in an ESL environment, they undergo an identity transformation from EFL
speakers to ESL speakers. Nguyen (2011) found that the common problems of some
Indonesian students in an English-speaking university were pronunciation, speaking,
and plagiarism in writing. In addition, some Indonesian learners may have issues
participating during the discussion, such as constructing sentences with appropriate
tenses, choosing appropriate vocabulary, and conquering their nervousness about
speaking in front of the class (Abrar & Mukminin, 2016; Kusuma, 2021).
In addition, Abrar and Mukminin (2016) discovered that some students may not
be familiar with academic terminology and require additional time to process,
comprehend, and respond to the topic. Interestingly, the different academic cultures
also affected students’ willingness to participate actively in discussions, as they were
used to being passive learners–compared to some European schools, which allowed
students and tutors to interact actively with each other (Abrar & Mukminin, 2016).

2.3 Online Learning during COVID-19 Pandemic

Online learning during COVID-19 may create some limitations to speaking

English opportunities for students, such as limited communication activities and
insufficient class conversations (Bich & Lian, 2021; Ying et al., 2021). Learners may
 Winnie, H. J. Leong, I. F. Badiozaman & A. Yap, Negotiating the challenges in speaking
English for Indonesian undergraduate students in an ESL university | 827

not only face extrinsic limitations as some may also feel intrinsic limitations, i.e.,
hesitant, tentative, and fearful of making mistakes (Ying et al., 2021).
Furthermore, online learning has its downsides, as some learners may experience
speaking activities being more time-consuming, for example, recording their oral
presentations (Ying et al., 2021). Online learning also mostly focuses on the senses of
hearing and vision, which may reduce the opportunities to practice speaking (Al
Rawashdeh et al., 2021). The dependency on a reliable internet connection has also
impacted learners’ experience as some learners may face difficulty in completing their
online speaking assignments when the internet connection is slow (Fauzi et al., 2022).

3. METHODS

Prior to data collection, some ethical considerations were addressed in this study.
The participants were required to fill out informed consent, and data collection was
conducted after they signed their Interview Consent Form. They were re-identified
with codes to ensure confidentiality, such as Participant 1 (P1), Participant 2 (P2), and
so forth. This project has undergone an ethics application and has been fully approved
by Swinburne University of Technology’s Human Research Ethics Committee
(SUHREC, number SUHREC 20215869-8524).
This study used qualitative research since it allowed for the flexibility and
emergent nature of the process of research (Dörnyei, 2007). Case studies were used to
explore the answers to the research questions. A descriptive case study was applied as
it provided a narrative account (Yin, 1984, as cited in Cohen et al., 2007). In addition,
this study used multiple case studies as it involved more than one respondent.
The population of this study consisted of Indonesian undergraduate students who
were still studying Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak, Malaysia, or SUTS.
Most participants were high school graduates from Indonesia, some from urban
bilingual schools and some from rural monolingual schools. One participant graduated
from a secondary school in Malaysia. Two criteria were used to select the potential
samples: 1) they were still registered as active students, and 2) they used English as a
foreign language. The sampling method for this study was non-probability sampling
or snowball sampling by choosing the participants based on recommendations (Annan,
2019), which resulted in 15 participants participating in this study.
The instrument for collecting the data was semi-structured interviews. The
interviews used six kinds of questions proposed by Patton (2002), namely: 1)
experience and behaviour questions, 2) opinion and values questions, 3) feeling
questions, 4) knowledge questions, 5) sensory questions, and 6) background or
demographic questions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic at the time, the interviews
were conducted online via Zoom. The duration of the interviews ranged from 41 to 90
minutes. The interviews were recorded by using the Recording feature in Zoom. Later,
the interviews were transcribed to start the data analysis.
The data analysis method for this study was thematic analysis to analyse the
participants’ answers during interviews (Riessman, 2008, as cited in Creswell & Poth,
2013, p. 189). The steps for this study’s analysis were: 1) familiarising with the data:
the interviews were transcribed and translated verbatim, 2) generating initial codes:
the transcription was highlighted to find some codes related to the research question(s),
3) searching for themes: the codes were grouped based on their similarities to narrow
828 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 822-840, 2023

down into some themes, 4) reviewing themes: the themes were reviewed to answer the
research questions, 5) defining and naming themes: the themes were named
accordingly, and 6) producing the report: the themes were included in the findings
result. After undergoing these steps, the findings were reported in a narrative approach,
where some excerpts from the interviews were quoted to highlight the themes.

4. RESULTS

4.1 Participants’ Perception of Speaking English at University

All participants positively perceived speaking English as they were fully aware
of the advantages of possessing English-speaking skills. Three themes emerged, they
are communication the university, job opportunities and network expansion.

4.1.1 Communication in the university

The students expressed their need to learn and use English to facilitate
communication with their peers and lecturers, mainly to avoid misunderstandings
during communication. This is as illustrated below:

(1) All the [courses] are being taught in English, and we must communicate with other students in
English. (P1)

4.1.2 Job opportunities

The students claimed that speaking English regularly in the university could give
them a competitive advantage after graduation. A student explained that:

(2) In this Industry 4.0 era, many companies hire foreign workers, and many Indonesians also want to
work overseas. So, universities must use English to produce better quality graduates who are
competitive in [the] human resources market. (P2)

4.1.3 Network expansion

The students believed that speaking English could increase their chances of
expanding their future career network. An excerpt from data is as follows:

(3) You can get more friends and increase your network gain, especially with international friends,
maybe one day they can be your co-worker partners, or maybe there will be a future partnership
between companies. (P3)

4.2 Challenges of Speaking English Faced by Indonesian Undergraduate

Students in Malaysia

4.2.1 The transition from EFL into the ESL environment

The transition process might not be easy, as some respondents had to adapt to a
new environment where English is the main communication medium. The following
excerpts illustrate the challenge:
 Winnie, H. J. Leong, I. F. Badiozaman & A. Yap, Negotiating the challenges in speaking
English for Indonesian undergraduate students in an ESL university | 829

(4) Oh, that was really hard. I mean, I was not used to speaking English, like, you have to speak
English to everyone, especially the local students and the teachers who have asked in English… It
was really hard because I have never tried to use, like, speak English, like every time in a day. (P1)

(5) The funny thing is especially on my first day of lectures, where I actually did not understand at all.
So, it was around a two-hour lecture, and I, 100%, did not understand what the lecturer was saying.
(P2)

4.2.2 Speaking academic English

There were two sub-themes in this area: the lack of vocabulary knowledge and
the pronunciation, which can be grouped under linguistic factors. Firstly, most
respondents expressed their struggles in using more formal English words. They
needed to go through a cognitive translation process to articulate their thoughts in
English while learning new academic vocabulary. This situation may have led them to
feel nervous, especially when they had to speak impromptu. Secondly, their linguistic
ability about pronunciation was inquired, as some felt it difficult to pronounce the
academic words correctly. The following excerpts exemplified this challenge:

(6) Like I know how to speak, it is on the tip of my tongue but I do not really know how to express it.
Sometimes, I just slip and I speak Bahasa Indonesia sometimes because I was too nervous. Yeah,
nervous[ness] is one of the main reasons that I sometimes messed up my presentation…
Sometimes we know how to speak…in Bahasa Indonesia, but do not really know how to express
it in English. (P1)

(7) …for me, the words which are categorised as academic words are difficult. For example,
‘comprehend’. Usually, I use Google Translate, but the first time I pronounced it, I did it wrongly.
It should be /kɑ:mprɪ’hend/. Like ‘emerge’, which should be pronounced as /i’mɜdʒ/. I used to
mispronounce it. (P4)

4.3 Contributing Factors to the Challenges of Speaking English in an Academic

Context

4.3.1 Past learning experiences

Three sub-themes emerged for this theme: (1) the focus on non-speaking skills,
(2) the usage of Bahasa Indonesia to communicate during English class, and (3) an
unsupportive environment.
Firstly, most participants vividly mentioned that their schools did not focus on
speaking skills as they were more taught in reading, writing and grammar. Secondly,
most respondents indicated that their English-speaking skills did not improve as they
were allowed to use Bahasa Indonesia during English lessons. Thirdly, some
respondents experienced unsupportive environments, which impeded them from
speaking English in an EFL environment. They encountered some discouragement
from their peers, which resulted in losing confidence to speak English–as illustrated
by the following excerpt:

(8) Most of the students that come from rural area[s]…will feel like a little uncomfortable and not
confident to speak in English even though we can… There was a time when I was in high school
when I actually tried to speak with my teacher in English, and the whole class suddenly yelled at
me like ‘What on earth are you doing? Are you showing off by speaking English?’ (P2)
830 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 822-840, 2023

4.3.2 The unawareness of English language support

The campus has provided some English language support, such as Intensive
English (IE) Short Course prior to undergraduate studies and English Clinic to support
students’ enhancement in academic performance. However, some respondents
mentioned their unawareness of this facility. On the other hand, there were some
respondents who were aware of this facility but chose not to join it as the English-
speaking environment (i.e., daily communication at campus) was sufficient, or their
hectic schedule occupied them.

(9) I can say that (the campus) helps me improve my English in other ways, such as providing an
environment…where I need to speak in English most of the time, all of the time…until this point,
I don’t get the benefits of having a certain session to improve my English. (P2)

(10) Oh, yeah, I (have) heard (of) those language clinics, but…I am very busy, …so I have no time to
go to the kind of places…but…I have heard of language clinics that help students with their
English. However, no…I never went there before. (P3)

4.3.3 The effect of remote learning due to COVID 19 pandemic

In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic happened, students were required to do

remote learning, which most participants returned to Indonesia to do so. During remote
learning, most respondents agreed that their English-speaking skill was impacted due
to their tendency to use written forms (i.e., typing feature) rather than verbal forms
(i.e., turning on the microphone). The first reason was related to their psychology, as
some respondents felt shy to speak. The fear of making mistakes prompted some
respondents to type, making up the second reason as they preferred being able to check
their grammar and better their vocabulary in their responses. For the third reason, some
respondents vividly mentioned that most non-Indonesian classmates also prefer to
type. Views that illustrate this finding are:

(10) I felt easier when I typed the answer rather than spoke because I was too shy. I felt shy if I had to
speak English suddenly (…). I am afraid to make mistakes. (P12)

(11) Because when I type, I can check my grammar, so yeah, to avoid any grammatical mistakes, and
I even can use a better vocabulary when I type. I can choose which one is better. (P13)
(12) Sometimes, in my unit, we rarely talk. I mean, we talk in small groups, but sometimes we only
text and do not speak. (P14)

4.4 Strategies Used by the Students to Navigate Challenges in Speaking English

in an Academic Context

4.4.1 Joining English language intensive programs

Before enrolling in their first-year undergraduate courses, most participated in

English language intensive programs to prepare for the mandatory competency
examination. The program also equipped them with speaking skills, which helped
them to adapt during the transition. This is expressed below:
 Winnie, H. J. Leong, I. F. Badiozaman & A. Yap, Negotiating the challenges in speaking
English for Indonesian undergraduate students in an ESL university | 831

(13) It quite helpful because in high school, I did not use English and I felt quite shocked when I learned
everything in English here. In Intensive English (IE), it was quite often to talk with friends in
English. [Communicating with] the [IE] lecturers were quite useful because sometimes I asked
questions in English. I think if I did not take IE and went straight to Degree, I would be struggling.
(P5)

Some respondents also used self-improvement strategies to practice their

English speaking. Responses to illustrate this finding are:

(14) I just read English books or maybe watched English movies because I needed to improve my
English because, you know, my English was very bad back then, and now I think it has become
better and better. (P8)

(15) I bought a book focused on grammar, and then I learned independently from the book. I also read
English news daily, so maybe I learned from that. I read it aloud, looked at the grammar and
learned from it. (P11)

4.4.2 Adjusting the mindset

Most respondents decided to force themselves to speak English and overcome

their fear of making mistakes and shyness. Retorts to illustrate this finding are:

(16) I used the ‘shock’ feeling to push me. I mean, because I am here, I have paid, so I cannot just
surrender and do nothing. So, using that shock feeling, I force myself to speak English even though
I am not fluent in it. I just try to be brave to speak it. (P5)

(17) For the first time, I had to speak English and be with strangers or other people; I needed to increase
my bravery to speak. So, even though I made some errors the first time, I was still brave. There is
no need to hold the shyness because surely, we will make mistakes when speaking, so it is okay.
(P4)

4.4.3 Preferring to communicate more with non-Indonesian coursemates

Some respondents chose to speak more with other international and local
Malaysian friends since they can use English as the lingua franca. A sentiment to
illustrate this is:

(18) I tried to befriend more friends from other countries because we had no other choices other than
talking in English. And I think I can practise more. (P6)

4.4.4 Overcoming the challenges in the linguistic factors

For this theme, three sub-themes emerged. Firstly, some respondents utilised
Google Translate to translate, produce sentences, and learn pronunciation, such as
explained below:

(19) There are still so many English words that I still need to learn and understand. So, it is quite hard,
especially the words related to business and finances. It is still confusing, so I need to use Google
Translate sometimes. I need to understand it more. (…) If I do not know how to pronounce those
words, I go back to Google Translate and listen to how they speak. (P3)
832 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 822-840, 2023

Secondly, some respondents chose to use simpler English words to deliver their
ideas to mitigate the possibility of being misunderstood:

(20) For difficult words, I used to speak basic words like the basic communication words. So, it will
not make other people misunderstand or even understand what I am speaking. (P8)

Lastly, some respondents described ideas in detail when they could not recall the
exact term:

(21) So, usually, if I cannot deliver in English, I choose to be silent. Or if the lecturers ask me, I will
explain, but it is a bit convoluted. (P11)

4.4.5 Maintaining the English-speaking skill during online learning

Firstly, some respondents did autonomous learning to practice their English

speaking. Replies that illustrate this finding include:

(22) I talk to myself. Honestly, before I bathe or sleep, I use English to tell [a] story about my day. At
least, I use English. I am afraid that it will disappear if I do not use it. (P7)

(23) I think listening to English song[s] and singing the song can help. Trying to mimic their accents
and pronunciation really helps a lot. (P6)

Secondly, some respondents preferred to maintain verbal communication with

campus-related people through discussions for tutorials or group assignments and
joined students’ clubs to create more chances to speak English.

(24) Usually, it is discussion for tutorial. The tutor places us in a breakout room, then we discuss there
for, let’s say, 10 minutes. So, like it or not, we must speak. Then, like group discussion, it also
requires us to speak although it is virtual. So, sometimes there are some discussions via Zoom that
require us to speak. (P11)

(25) I have. Since I’m part of the [a student club] and yeah, I do. I do have virtual meetings with them
that requires me to speak in English. But yeah, I think I can use that opportunity to practice my
English. (P3)

Lastly, some respondents practised their English with non-campus related people
through virtual communication platforms, such as Free4Talk, or online games.

(26) Up until now, I mean, as time goes by, usually I use one website to talk–is it Free4Talk? So, I join
(it), talk in a group (speaking). When I have spare time, I join in a room, people are there to talk
about any topic, I just join (them) and talk. (P5)

(27) Maybe when I play online games, I usually speak English with the other people in my games,
especially like Valorant games. That’s very famous right now. Because all the online players speak
English since they’re from different countries, not only from Indonesia. (P8)
 Winnie, H. J. Leong, I. F. Badiozaman & A. Yap, Negotiating the challenges in speaking
English for Indonesian undergraduate students in an ESL university | 833

5. DISCUSSION

5.1 The Challenges in Speaking English Faced by Indonesian EFL Students

Based on the findings, the Indonesian EFL students felt the challenges when
transitioning from an EFL to an ESL environment while studying in Malaysia. This
challenge was also related to the requirement of speaking in an academic context, as
they felt it was more challenging as the findings indicated that the respondents were
more concerned with insufficient vocabulary than grammar knowledge.
During the transition, the lack of vocabulary knowledge could create a
communication barrier, mainly when both the respondents and their interlocutors were
not using English as their first language. The limited vocabulary knowledge could
cause some communication not to flow well, as some ideas were not understandable.
This finding was confirmed by a study by Shen and Chiu (2019) on some Taiwanese
EFL tertiary students–more than half of the EFL students (55.4%) felt annoyed when
they were not understood or misunderstood during the oral practice in English.
Interestingly, grammar was not a dominant challenge for respondents as they
were not afraid to make grammatical mistakes–they were aware that the fear of making
mistakes might hinder them from speaking English. They were also open to correction
from their interlocutors’ comments. Shen and Chiu (2019) also found that insufficient
grammar knowledge was the least essential linguistic factor for English speaking
challenges for EFL learners, among other factors.
The respondents also felt psychological reactions when they used English daily,
as some experienced hardships during their first weeks on campus. A study from
Haidara (2016) on tertiary students reported some similarities as the manifestation of
the students’ psychology might negatively impact their performance in speaking
English despite learning it for years. Riadil’s (2020) study on tertiary students in an
English Department shared the same finding: most students felt afraid of making
mistakes when asked to speak in front of the class, discouraged by their friends’ fluent
speech, low self-confidence, and shy to speak. The lack of academic vocabulary
knowledge may also affect their psychology as they fear making mistakes, as
confirmed by a study from Kusuma (2021) on some Indonesian students who studied
at a US university: they felt nervous when expressing their opinions. They preferred
to be silent to avoid mispronunciation, misunderstanding and being out of context.
Subsequently, when some participants were required to speak impromptu, they
would feel anxious and speak in ungrammatical sentences or even code-switch to their
L1 as a last resort. This finding was confirmed by a study from Pratama and Zainil
(2019) on some undergraduate students from the English Education Department in an
Indonesian university, as they also used code-switching when required to speak
English.

5.2 The Contributing Factors to the Challenges in Speaking English in an

Academic Context

Experiences before university being a fundamental cause behind the challenge

of speaking English was also reported in a study by Sawir (2005) about how some
Asian students adjusted themselves in Australia due to minimal exposure to the
English language before university. Given Indonesia’s limited usage of English,
834 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 822-840, 2023

Indonesian students may need a longer time to acquire their English-speaking skills
(Panggabean, 2015).
However, the duration of learning English may not guarantee the improvement
of speaking skills for some EFL learners as all respondents have studied English from
the primary level, yet they were still unprepared to speak English confidently. The
unprepared condition may be related to how they focused more on writing skills and
how the teachers preferred not to use authentic books. Some students were not
proficient enough to communicate in English verbally and were unfamiliar with real
communication after graduating from high school (Ministry of Education and Culture
of the Republic of Indonesia, 2014). The unfamiliarity with authentic communication
may hinder a learner from acquiring proficiency in a language. One of the most
effective ways to learn a foreign language is to absorb the language in natural contexts
(Benson & Lor, 1999, as cited in Sawir, 2005).
Another barrier to speaking English fluently was the flexibility of teaching
English using students’ L1, which may not optimise some Indonesian students’
English-learning skills, leading to less vocabulary knowledge acquisition (Sibarani,
2019). Some teachers opted to teach English by using students’ L1 since a number of
students were reluctant to speak English (Hernandez & Faustino, 2006, as cited in
Viafara, 2011) as students’ attitudes (e.g., apathy, fear of being laughed at) could lead
to irregular English language practice. The students’ reluctance may be linked to the
lack of support from their environment, as it could negatively affect students’
confidence in speaking English. In a study by Xuan (2014), some Vietnamese tertiary-
level students lacked the motivation to engage in English verbally as they were afraid
of being criticised or regarded as showing off by their communities.
Nonetheless, the respondents managed to overcome those barriers after the
transition process. However, remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic had
many respondents reporting that their English-speaking skill was significantly
impacted. They were not able to communicate F2F with their lecturers and peers. This
result aligns with a study by Alawamleh et al. (2020), where most respondents’
communication with lecturers was negatively impacted during online learning.
Furthermore, their return to an EFL environment worsened the lack of chances
to communicate directly (i.e., face-to-face) as they spoke Bahasa Indonesia more
frequently than English. Moreover, most respondents preferred using written
communication during online learning. The students’ preference for written
communication was not a detriment because they could improve their vocabulary and
grammar skills by proofreading their work beforehand. However, it became worrisome
when the use of written communication surpassed the use of verbal communication.
Verbal communication has an important role in building EFL students’ English-
speaking skills, as the more frequently they practice speaking, the more fluent they can
be (Gultom, 2015).

5.3 Strategies to Navigate Challenges in Speaking English in an Academic

Context

Despite most respondents being in EFL environments, they had carried out some
strategies to prevent their English-speaking skills from declining. Autonomous
learning, such as self-talk, was claimed to provide almost similar experiences to being
in an ESL environment. Besides, singing English songs was also preferred to practice
 Winnie, H. J. Leong, I. F. Badiozaman & A. Yap, Negotiating the challenges in speaking
English for Indonesian undergraduate students in an ESL university | 835

their pronunciation. These strategies were also found in a study by Fidyati et al. (2021),
where some Indonesian EFL fresh graduate students in Indonesia used the singing
method as the most effective strategy, followed by self-talk in the second position.
Furthermore, they also maintained their communication in English even though
they were in EFL environments, as this action was supposed to ‘replace’ their F2F
speaking activities. They also communicated with other strangers via an online
language exchange platform, namely Free4Talk, which was found by Gelen and
Tozluoglu (2021) as an inspiring social learning environment, opportunities for
cultural exchange, and a relatively secure environment for language practice. Besides,
the respondents also chose to play online games to improve their English-speaking
skills as they were engaged in English with other players from other countries. A study
by Wijanarko et al. (2021) reported that some Indonesian EFL students obtained
advantages from playing online games to increase their English-speaking skills,
particularly during online learning when they lacked chances to practice their speaking
skills.
However, the strategies to maintain communication listed above might not be
effective enough to enhance their English-speaking skills academically. As a lack of
academic vocabulary was one of the prominent challenges, they used online translation
tools, such as Google Translate, to assist them in understanding their subjects, learning
pronunciation, and enriching their vocabulary knowledge. Murtisari et al. (2014) also
found that Indonesian EFL undergraduate students used Google Translate more for
enriching vocabulary than learning pronunciation. A study by Khademi (2021) also
reported students’ improvement in phonological awareness and aural differentiation
abilities but not in oral production. In other words, Google Translate might be more
effective at enhancing vocabulary knowledge than pronunciation.
Some respondents preferred to mitigate the risk of being misunderstood by using
simple vocabulary over academic jargon. In addition, they also chose to explain the
definition of a word when they could not coin the correct term for the word. These
choices should be considered a better solution to stimulate students to speak English
rather than letting them be silent as psychological factors (e.g., discouraged, shy, lack
of self-confidence) may influence their willingness to speak English in an ESL
environment.

5.4 Implications of Study

Based on the discussion above, some implications from this study are presented.
this study recommends the following. Based on respondents’ answers during the
interview, they recommended storytelling, reading and practising dialogues in English,
speaking in front of the class, casual speaking, doing role play, public speaking, drama
and fun games as activities to enhance English speaking skills. In addition, the
significance of the study is for the improvement of English language teaching and
learning in Indonesia, therefore, the syllabus in high schools should be improved by
including some authentic materials in an academic context to prepare students for
further study in university. Last of all, the findings reported that speaking skill was
focused the least during English language lesson; therefore, English language teachers
should communicate in English fully to deliver their lessons to familiarise students
with English in an academic context.
836 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 822-840, 2023

6. CONCLUSION

This research concludes that the main challenge faced by Indonesian

undergraduate students in speaking English in an ESL university was the transition
process they had to undergo from EFL to ESL learners. After they barely managed to
adapt themselves due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they regressed to EFL learners
during remote learning. Some contributing factors to their English-speaking challenges
include how their past schooling experience informed their skill, their awareness of
the language support provided by the campus, and how the COVID-19 pandemic
impacted their speaking skills during remote learning.
The participants prepared themselves with English language courses or self-
improvement to navigate the challenges before starting university. They also adjusted
their mindset to avoid making mistakes while trying to befriend local and other
international friends to increase their chances of speaking English. For academic
English, they navigated the challenges by using some assistant tools, e.g., Google
Translate. Lastly, during remote learning, they managed to maintain their
communication in English, whether with their campus-related or non-campus-related
English-speaker friends.
The implications of this study suggest that Indonesian students must develop
their academic vocabulary before enrolling in university; hence, the relevance of
vocabulary instruction in schools should be emphasised. Secondly, all four skills of
listening, speaking, reading and writing are equally important to ensure student success
in an English-speaking university, and this way, the high school teachers should
allocate proportional teaching of the four language skills.
This study acknowledges the following limitations. Firstly, while this study’s
qualitative nature captures a detailed description of students’ experiences and
challenges, the sample is small compared to a typical quantitative study. Thus, findings
may not be representative of all Indonesian student’s experiences. Secondly, while not
intended, participants who agreed to this study were all from one region in Indonesia
and may not represent the views of students hailing from Indonesia’s vast and varied
regions. To end with, as a suggestion for further improvement and follow-up studies
in the future, the researchers recommend the inclusion of classroom observations, as
data can be triangulated from interviews and observations for a more accurate and
objective representation of the findings.

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841 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 841-862, 2023

Designing Project-Based Learning in

Research Proposal Writing: Its Effect,
Problems, and Scaffolding Utilized
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Ni Nyoman Padmadewi1
Luh Putu Artini*1
Ni Made Ratminingsih1
I Putu Andre Suhardiana2
Ahmad Zamzam3
Putu Adi Krisna Juniarta1
1
English Language Education Program, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas
Pendidikan Ganesha, Bali 81116, INDONESIA
2
Study Program of English Education, Universitas Hindu Negeri I Gusti Bagus
Sugriwa, Denpasar, Bali 80237, INDONESIA
3
Department of English Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education,
Universitas Mataram, Mataram 83125, INDONESIA

Abstract
Project Based Learning (PBL) is highly important to be suited to the
student’s needs as a guide in writing research proposals. The objectives of
the study were to (1) describe the PBL design based on the students’ needs,
(2) identify the problems encountered during the project writing, (3)
describe the scaffolding utilized, and (4) analyze the effect of PBL
implementation on the quality of students’ research proposal. The research
used mixed methods in the form of a research and development design
using the ADDIE model (which consists of steps of analyzing needs,
designing the product of PBL, developing, and implementing it, and
conducting evaluation). The participants were 20 respondents during the
needs analysis, two lecturers, and three intact classes of 69 students during
PBL implementation. Data were collected through questionnaires,
interviews, a document study, and an experiment. A needs analysis was
conducted using the Organizational Element Model (OEM), from which

*
Corresponding author, email: putu.artini@undiksha.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Padmadewi, N. N., Artini, L. P., Ratminingsih, N. M., Suhardiana, P. A.,
Zamzam, A., & Juniarta, P. A. K. (2023). Designing Project-Based Learning in research proposal
writing: Its effect, problems, and scaffolding utilized. Studies in English Language and Education,
10(2), 841-862.

Received August 7, 2022; Revised December 27, 2023; Accepted April 13, 2023; Published Online
May 31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.27408
N. N. Padmadewi, L. P. Artini, N. M. Ratminingsih, P. A. Suhardiana, A. Zamzam & P. A. K.
Juniarta, Designing Project-Based learning in research proposal writing: Its effect,
problems, and scaffolding utilized | 842

the PBL was developed. The data were analyzed using qualitative and
quantitative analyses. The findings revealed that the PBL designed based
on students’ needs has characteristics such as it is in the form of a
framework and has systematic stages of teaching, being technology
friendly, and being supported with various scaffoldings. The problems
encountered concerned both grammar and content. The implementation of
the PBL framework was found to have a significant effect on students’
research proposal writing in Research Method Course and develop their
independence and learning autonomy.

Keywords: Project-Based Learning, research proposal writing, research

proposal.

1. INTRODUCTION

Project-Based Learning (PBL) is extensively recognized and utilized in

education, and it is one model that regulates learning using projects. In other words,
PBL is one form of learning that governs instructions via project-based activities. In
most cases, projects comprise complex assignments based on challenging essential
questions or problems that require students to engage in design, problem-solving,
decision-making, or investigative activities over an extended time, culminating in a
final product or presentation (Almulla, 2020; Mikulec and Miller, 2011). When
students complete their projects, they individually reflect on their experiences of the
project-based learning process. PBL can utilize thinking skills and problem-solving
abilities and increase students’ creativity in pursuing the project (Guo et al., 2020).
PBL focuses on developing higher-order thinking skills to increase the quality
of the learning process and outcomes (Choi et al., 2019; Kızkapan & Bektaş, 2017).
Through PBL, students participate in communication focusing on completing
authentic activities assigned in project work, allowing them to use language in a
reasonably natural setting (Yuliani & Lengkanawati, 2017). The nature of PBL, which
allows students to practice communication, collaboration, critical thinking, creativity,
and problem-solving skills over the content of the subjects, makes it an appropriate
approach to teaching how to write a research proposal for university students and pre-
service teachers.
Competency in writing a research proposal and research report plays a crucial
part in higher education, which builds a graduate’s competence to have scientific
knowledge and expertise as a partial requirement before finishing a university degree
in Indonesia, and competency needed as a teacher. This statement is consistent with
the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture policy, which states that the top
priority in higher education over the next five years will be developing excellent
human resources for future leaders. Quality human resources need to possess the core
competencies of 6C, such as communication, collaboration, creative thinking, critical
thinking, computational logic, and compassion (Nurwardani, 2020). Consequently,
teaching and learning must be able to prepare students to possess the 6C (Khalil, 2019).
It is also a priority for the graduates to become agents of their learning to carry out
learning autonomy, be self-regulated, have high reasoning ability, and solve problems.
These can be practiced well through a project of writing a research proposal.
843 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 841-862, 2023

In learning, scaffolding refers to providing temporary assistance for completing

a task that learners would otherwise be unable to finish. This assistance can take
several forms, including modelling and questioning for various subjects (e.g., science
and social studies) at various ages (Belland et al., 2013; Gülbahar & Tinmaz, 2006;
Little, 2019; Radford et al., 2013; van de Pol et al., 2010). PBL sometimes contains
complex tasks; therefore, the instructor should provide scaffolding activities to assist
students in establishing learning goals. In the context of classroom interaction, the term
scaffolding refers to the temporary assistance or support that teachers provide for their
students to help them complete a task or develop new understandings so that they can
later complete similar tasks on their own (Belland et al., 2013; Gülbahar & Tinmaz,
2006; van de Pol et al., 2010). In this research, the fundamental principles of
scaffoldings previously mentioned are used as references on how to offer scaffoldings
to help students succeed with their project of writing research proposals.

1.1 Problem of the Study

The preliminary research conducted through interviews with university lecturers

and students in Bali and Lombok showed that there was no PBL guideline for teaching
a Research Method Course with an intended learning outcome of writing a research
proposal. Most students found it challenging to write research proposals. Therefore, it
is crucial to design a PBL framework that can guide lecturers to teach and assist the
students in their proposal writing projects. The framework comprises essential
teaching steps, and can be further developed based on the settings and their creativity.
Following the assumption that students will be able to become agents of their
learning and possess the 6C outlined previously, the application of PBL supported by
constructivism seems to be highly significant for use in teaching students to write a
research proposal. The constructivist view of learning reflects how individuals make
meaning of their experiences (Taber, 2011b) which involve many problem-solving
activities. This idea is predicated on the notion that problem-solving is concerned with
assisting individuals to think, learn, and grow (Ummah et al., 2019). In this project-
based learning, the learning process revolves around students working in groups,
cooperating, observing, investigating based on open-ended questions, and using their
knowledge to create products (Suswanto et al., 2019).
A substantial amount of research has been undertaken on PBL in Indonesian
education settings in the context of English as a foreign language (Artini et al., 2018;
Haniah et al., 2021; Rozal et al., 2021; Syakur et al., 2020; Yuliansyah & Ayu, 2021).
However, none of those studies investigated the use of online PBL for research
proposal writing preceded by needs analysis, despite the results reconfirming that
project-based learning had sound and significant effects on students’
accomplishments. A study dealing with writing research proposals by Kheryadi (2018)
mainly focused on students’ problems in writing the introduction of a research
proposal. It did not cover problems in dealing with other aspects of research. A similar
study by Susanti and Mahaputri (2022) revealed that university students encountered
problems with all research elements, not only writing the introduction. The data were
collected solely by using a questionnaire with Likert-type options. Despite the similar
focus of research, the data collection instrument only relied on a questionnaire, so the
trustworthiness needs further exploration. Realizing the problems faced by the
students, the usage of scaffolding needs to be empowered and essential for further
N. N. Padmadewi, L. P. Artini, N. M. Ratminingsih, P. A. Suhardiana, A. Zamzam & P. A. K.
Juniarta, Designing Project-Based learning in research proposal writing: Its effect,
problems, and scaffolding utilized | 844

investigation. Work on the effectiveness of scaffolding in supporting students in

writing that is available in the literature reveals that scaffolding helps students in their
writing (Dewi & Iswandari, 2017; Vonna et al., 2015). Although many studies
confirmed the scaffolding’s effectiveness in improving students’ writing achievement,
no studies investigated its usage in writing research proposals for students majoring in
English in Indonesia who are required to write in English as a foreign language.

1.2 Learning to Write a Research Proposal through Project-Based Learning

A research proposal is a plan of action showing the researcher’s thoughts. It is

written in a formal and detailed description of the intention to conduct research (Nte
& Awi, 2006). Writing a research proposal for a thesis requires adopting a scientific
and organized writing process. It seeks to discover, establish, and advance particular
knowledge. Additionally, it assesses and plans anything deliberately intended to
persuade the readers and get them to accept the researcher’s solution (Gay et al., 2012).
Writing a research proposal is sometimes taught as a separate course or as an
entailment of other courses, such as the Research Methods class. Some students admit
that proposal writing is very challenging and often requires much time to finish the
proposal. Students often have problems with the aspects of the research proposal, such
as in writing an introduction, literature review, methodology, and other components
(Susanti & Mahaputri, 2022).
Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a powerful teaching and learning method based
on constructivist learning theory. The constructivist viewpoint on the nature of
learning examines how individuals generate meaning from life events (Taber, 2011a,
2011b). According to Alzahrani and Woollard (2013), the basic tenet of this theory is
that problem-solving assists individuals in their capacity for thought, learning, and
overall development. The theory of constructivism postulates that students’ ideas of
what constitutes knowledge are the product of a quest for meaning that compels
students to actively participate in developing unique interpretations of their own
experiences (Applefield et al., 2000).
As a learning strategy, PBL focuses on activities that attempt to produce learning
outcomes through project work. It is a technique and approach for gaining 21st-century
skills (Bell, 2010). It is gaining popularity in education and enables students to actively
engage in problem-solving (Kızkapan & Bektaş, 2017). Mikulec and Miller (2011)
define a project as a series of interrelated tasks based on challenges that students face,
are completed over a predetermined period, and result in real-world outcomes such as
presentations, exhibits, and other examples of students’ performance.
Larmer (2014) outlines 6 phases of PBL: (1) Establishing core questions; (2)
Creating project plans; (3) Creating activity schedules; (4) Monitoring student work
and project progress; (5) Evaluating project success, and 6) Reflection. These six
phases are the bases of implementation in this study. Conceptually, PBL is a method
rooted in constructivist theory, which emphasizes the creation of the project as the
outcome of learning and has a specific syntax to follow.

1.3 Research Questions

Scaffolding strategies are essential to help students achieve their learning

outcomes. The importance of scaffolding acknowledged by experts, the effectiveness
845 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 841-862, 2023

of utilizing PBL, and the gaps left un-explored in previous research have inspired
researchers in this study to utilize PBL in combination with scaffolding in the Research
Method Course so that students are expected to gain better competence in research and
write a research proposal more effectively. Accordingly, the research questions are:
1. What are the characteristics of the PBL designed based on students’ needs?
2. What are the students’ difficulties in writing the research proposal during PBL
implementation?
3. What kinds of scaffolding techniques in PBL can assist students in completing their
research proposals?
4. Is there any significant effect of implementing needs analysis in PBL on the quality
of the student’s research proposal?
After reviewing the previous concepts and empirical studies, this research
confirms its novelty by filling the gap that the PBL was designed using needs analysis
and provided with scaffolding to solve the problems encountered by the students. All
the concepts reviewed led the research in answering the research questions with a clear
theoretical basis. With this focus, the PBL is expected to significantly impact and
contribute to the improvement of the quality of the students’ research proposals. At the
same time, the PBL framework designed in this study can also be used as a reference
in teaching a Research Method Course for students majoring in English in Indonesia.

2. METHODS

The study employed a mixed method of Research and Development study using
the ADDIE model (Kurt, 2018) to answer the first research question. This model
comprises 5 steps: Analysing students’ needs, Designing the PBL framework,
Developing the PBL framework, Implementing the product, and Evaluating the
product’s quality and effectiveness. The needs analysis utilized a questionnaire,
interview, and document analysis. It was designed based on Organizational Element
Model (OEM) by Gupta et al. (2007) for needs analysis which is presented in Table 1.

Table 1. OEM Model.

Context Input Process Product
The expected conditions
Current conditions

Using the OEM model, a blueprint of the instrument was developed. The
blueprint is displayed in Table 2.

Table 2. Blueprint of instruments for needs analysis.

Variable Indicators Items about the Items about the Source of
current condition expected condition data
Context Availability of 1.1 1.1 The
regulation as a basis questionnaire,
Availability of 1.2 1.2 document
guidelines for PBL analysis,
Input Readiness of the 2.1 2.1 interview
lecturers
Readiness of the 2.2 2.2
students
N. N. Padmadewi, L. P. Artini, N. M. Ratminingsih, P. A. Suhardiana, A. Zamzam & P. A. K.
Juniarta, Designing Project-Based learning in research proposal writing: Its effect,
problems, and scaffolding utilized | 846

Table 2 continued…
Process Planning 3.1; 3.2; 3.3 3.1;3.2;3.3 The
questionnaire,
document
analysis
Implementation 3.4;3.5 3.4;3.5 The
(1.,2.,3.,4.,5.,6.,7.,8 (1.,2.,3.,4.,5.,6.,7.,8); questionnaire,
); 3.6.,3.7., 3.8 observation
3.6.,3.7.,3.8
Assessment 3.9;3.10;3.11.;3.12. 3.9;3.10;3.11.;3.12. The
Product Students’ 4.1 4.1 questionnaire,
achievement document
6C skills 4.2 4.2 analysis,
21st-century skills 4.3 4.3 interview

The questionnaire needed for identifying needs for PBL consisted of 28 close-
ended questions that were elaborated based on the blueprint in Table 2 and provided
with an open-ended questions to collect additional data or information that might not
be included in the closed statements. The questionnaire was validated by two experts
that must meet the criteria that they hold a doctorate, teach research methods courses,
and have experience using PBL. The results of the experts’ judgment showed that the
questionnaire has highly valid, with an index of 1.0 using the Gregory Formula
(Gregory, 2000). The respondents to the questionnaire were 20 lecturers in the English
Language Education Department from six universities in Bali and Lombok Island,
Indonesia. All respondents teach English at those universities and are familiar with
PBL. The selection of the six universities was based on the criteria that they are state
universities with a minimum of B accreditation results, and have an English Language
Education Department.
The subjects of the study were three classes of 69 sixth-semester students and
two lecturers. The lecturers were chosen using a purposive sampling technique based
on the criteria that they teach Research Methods Courses, hold a doctorate, and had
the experience of using PBL technology and a learning management system (LMS),
while the students were chosen randomly in intact classes where they belong, using
the criteria that they were attending Research Methods Course and were willing to be
participants in the research.
To answer the second research question, the researchers used interviews and a
list of questions to explore students’ problems. Besides using interviews, the data
collection also utilized classroom observations towards implementing the designed
PBL for one semester to answer the third research question, and evaluated its effect at
the end of the semester to answer the fourth research question. The evaluation of the
quality of the proposal was based on a rubric comprising every aspect of the proposal
(see Appendix).
Triangulation was conducted in which the data were collected from several
sources such as questionnaires, interviews, document studies, and observation. These
data were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively using descriptive statistics and
supported with inferential statistical analysis in measuring the results of the
implementation.
847 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 841-862, 2023

3. RESULTS

3.1 The Characteristics of PBL Designed for Teaching Research Method

Course

The product of this study comprises two primary parts: conceptual material about
the nature of PBL and examples of activities completed with templates for each
teaching step. Table 3 presents the characteristics of the PBL framework.

Table 3. The findings about the characteristics of PBL designed for teaching the
Research Method course.
No Steps Time Remark
1. Class orientation 1st week Every student submitted a proposal
draft as a baseline for his initial
understanding of the research.
2. Asking an essential question: 1st week Students were also recommended to
How is research carried out? explore examples of research
What is the title of the research you reports/articles.
read?
What steps of research must be
implemented?
3. Scheduling: 1st week Conducted online through Zoom
Orientation: first week. meetings, and all documents
(syllabus, lesson plan, Assignment
Plans, Contract, and learning
sources) are posted in the LMS.
Exploring the concept of research, 2nd-3rd Classroom Zoom for a short
the title of own research, deciding the week explanation; self-independent study
steps of research. and optional consultations either in
person or via WhatsApp.
Exploring the theories and empirical 4th week Self-independent study and optional
studies to be used for individual consultation.
research.
Deciding the research design of my 5-6th Learning through examples, videos,
research. week and e-books in the LMS, classroom
clarification, and discussion.
Identifying population and 7th week Classroom discussion and self-
techniques for selecting samples. independent study, watching videos
and e-books provided in the LMS.
Identifying the instruments and 8th-9th Classroom discussion and self-
analyzing the kinds of instruments week independent study, optional
used for own research, and analyzing consultation.
how to guarantee the reliability and
validity of the instruments.
Exploring resources for deciding the 10th The self-independent study,
process of data collection of own week discussion, and presentations.
research.
Discussing the process of data 11th The self-independent study,
analysis. week classroom discussion/presentations.
Discussing proposal writing. 12th-14th Independent study, applying self-
week assessment for self-monitoring.
Final project: Research Proposal 15th Finalizing the proposal draft.
week
N. N. Padmadewi, L. P. Artini, N. M. Ratminingsih, P. A. Suhardiana, A. Zamzam & P. A. K.
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Table 3 continued…
4. Monitoring Along Formative informal assessments on
the every element of the proposal.
semester
5. Assessing the establishment of the 15th Students upload the final version of
Project Based Learning the proposal.
6. Reflection 16th Classroom discussion and reflection
as the ending procedure of a
semester teaching-learning process.

This PBL was implemented in a Moodle-based learning management system as

one of the LMSs used for the classroom, and it was paired with synchronous learning
via the Zoom program.

3.2 Problems as Perceived by the Students

An interview and a list of open-ended questions were used to collect data on

students’ perceived problems. The findings are presented in Table 4.

Table 4. The problems faced by students in studying Research Methods using PBL.
Kinds of problems Excerpt of students’ responses
perceived by the students
Title “It is difficult for me to find a title that has a unique value for my
proposal”.
“I often have difficulty in deciding the title or making a good title
research because I cannot determine suitable words for making a
title”.
Abstract “I’m having difficulty in finding several important and main points
in making the abstract”.
“It’s still difficult to design words and adjust so that the abstract is
not too long”.
Introduction “In making the introduction, the thing that makes it difficult is
determining the gap from one paragraph to another so that they are
interconnected. Besides that, another difficulty is where we have to
cover all things related to the research topic”.
Review of Related “The difficulty that I face when writing a review of related
Literature literature is when looking for references and when paraphrasing and
also determining what will be included in the literature review”.
Reference “Accurate and reliable references are difficult to obtain for free,
writing references in a good and correct format is also not well
understood”.

There were two categories of problems found: those with grammar accuracy and
those with an understanding of the research content (see Figure 1). Students also
demonstrated a lack of skill in writing research values and focus because they lacked
critical thinking skills, such as how to review previous research and identify gaps in
the current research. The difficulties also dealt with writing citations in the body text.
Several students also still found difficulties in deciding the study’s design and the
instruments.
849 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 841-862, 2023

4 (always), 3 (often), 2 (sometimes), 1 (rarely), 0 (never)

Figure 1. Problems encountered by students when writing research proposals.

These problems were in line with the data of the problems perceived by the
students as collected through interviews. However, with the various scaffoldings
provided during the process, the students finally finished their proposals.

3.3 Scaffolding Implemented in PBL

Based on the monitoring results and the student’s responses to their problems,
some scaffolding activities were provided, as listed in Table 5.

Table 5. Scaffolding utilized.

Scaffolding Description Purpose
Providing The essential questions guide Students develop their capacity for
guideline students on what to learn and find independence via practice in self-
questions the information independently. directed and problem-based learning
while promoting autonomous learning.
Providing an The lecturers provide an example of This technique allows students to learn
example a research outline on critical vital by example and develop new
elements of a research proposal. knowledge about writing the research
proposal.
Class orientations The lecturers delivered class The goal is to identify the difficulties at
and scaffolding orientations on similar errors and one stage to solve the problem
discussion problems detected through immediately so that it is easier for the
monitoring processes, which were students to understand the following
complemented by student-led research stages.
discussions to find solutions.
Providing Individual student consultations are Some students find it more beneficial
opportunities for permitted if deemed essential. to have in-depth consultations
personal regarding their problems.
consultations
Coaching via Students are supplied with The support is tailored to the student’s
WhatsApp-based individualized support, a issues and difficulties, making them
consultations continuous procedure that feel at ease and motivated.
facilitates the development of a
particular feature of a research
proposal.
N. N. Padmadewi, L. P. Artini, N. M. Ratminingsih, P. A. Suhardiana, A. Zamzam & P. A. K.
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Table 5 continued…
Implementing The students self-assess their Self-assessment takes the form of
self-assessment as proposals using the self-assessment leading questions, which are designed
a self-monitoring instrument provided by the lecturers. to guide students through the process
process of engaging in self-reflection. The
reflections were simultaneously
aimed at evaluating the proposals
based on which they were
constructing their new knowledge.

Table 5 illustrates that the scaffolding is multifaceted, adjustable to the needs of

the students, and continued until the fulfilment of the research proposals as the ultimate
result of PBL. Table 6 displays the example of scaffolding used.

Table 6. Examples of scaffolding.

Title of your Model of teaching English to young learners at an inclusive school
research
Research What kind of inclusive education was conducted at SD 2 Bengkala in North Bali,
questions and how was the inclusive education system used to teach English?
How did the teacher teach English to students with special needs at SD 2 Bengkala?
What were the English achievements of the special-needs students taught in the
inclusive school at SD 2 Bengkala?
What were the challenges faced by the teachers in teaching them English?
Theories and Inclusive education and its type
empirical Methods of Teaching English in inclusive schools
studies Special needs students, types, and characteristics
Assessment and its types used for special needs students
Methods Design: Qualitative research design
Data collection: In-depth observation; interview, a document study, performance
assessment
Data analysis: primarily descriptive qualitative analysis supported by descriptive
statistics

In addition to providing students with a model to emulate, self-assessment

questionnaires were also provided, as shown in Table 7.

Table 7. A self-assessment instrument as scaffolding.

Element of your Leading questions for assisting students to carry out self-assessment/self-
assignment reflection
Title of your Is the title clear?
research Is it researchable?
Is the focus/keyword (s) clear?
Is the title direct, accurate, appropriate, attractive, precise, unique, and not
misleading?
Research Are the questions clear and do not create misunderstanding?
questions Is the question focused, clearly stating what the researcher needs to do?
Are the questions able to fill a research gap?
Are they researchable and feasible?
Purpose of the Are they in line with the research questions?
research Are the verbs of actions utilized to represent the level of depth of analysis you
carry out?
Rationale Have you provided sufficient introductory paragraphs to start your rationale?
Have you clearly explained the gap and novelty of the research that your study
will address?
Have you explained why it is essential to address the gap?
851 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 841-862, 2023

Table 7 continued…
Significance of Is the research meaningful to the targeted samples/populations and related
your research stakeholders?
Is the research giving any meaningful significance and contribution?
Review of related Have you provided a good review of the literature about the focus of the
literature research?
Is the empirical review critically discussed, showing advanced thinking and
knowledge?
Is the review accurate, comprehensive, and rigorous?
Have you maintained originality?
Steps of Is the design chosen appropriately to answer the research questions?
conducting your Are the steps written appropriately in the context of the design you choose?
research Are all aspects of the methods sufficiently described?

The interview showed that scaffolding in the form of leading questions was
beneficial in identifying the difficulties faced in each proposal aspect. The students
admitted that scaffolding served as a guideline for what should be included in the
proposal.

3.4 The Effect of Implementing the Needs Analysis based PBL on the Quality
of the Students’ Research Proposal

To measure the effectiveness of the PBL implementation on the quality of the

student’s research proposal submitted at the end of the semester, the lecturers rated the
final proposal draft (post-test) and compared them with the proposal draft outlined in
the first session at the beginning of the semester (pre-test), as shown in Table 8.

Table 8. The results of the descriptive analysis.

1st group 1st group 2nd group 2nd group 3rd group 3rd group
pre-test post-test pre-test post-test pre-test post-test
N Valid 21 21 27 27 28 28
Missing 0 0 0 0 0 0
Mean 60.8571 80.8524 62.0000 83.5500 60.8929 82.8518
Std. deviation 2.85106 3.61108 2.80110 3.96700 4.91663 5.42729
Variance 8.129 13.040 7.846 15.737 24.173 29.455
Range 9.00 12.80 7.00 15.00 15.00 19.50
Minimum 56.00 74.15 58.00 74.55 50.00 69.10
Maximum 65.00 86.95 65.00 89.55 65.00 88.60

By looking at the mean score, the post-test scores of the three classes were higher
than the pre-test scores. For further inferential analysis, the normality distribution of
data was conducted using a Shapiro-Wilk analysis of normality. The results are
presented in Table 9.

Table 9. Normality distribution of data.

Group Shapiro-Wilk
1st Group pre-test .007
1st Group post-test .471
2nd Group pre-test .000
2nd Group post-test .221
3rd Group pre-test .000
3rd Group post-test .002
N. N. Padmadewi, L. P. Artini, N. M. Ratminingsih, P. A. Suhardiana, A. Zamzam & P. A. K.
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problems, and scaffolding utilized | 852

The data are normally distributed if the Sig value shows >.05. From Table 9, it
can be seen that the Shapiro-Wilk values for all groups were not above 0.05. It can be
said that the data were not normally distributed. When they were not normally
distributed, a non-parametric test was used to identify the mean scores between groups
and whether or not they were significant. The Paired Sample Wilcoxon Signed Rank
Test results are presented in Table 10.

Table 10. Paired sample Wilcoxon Signed Rank test.

Results 1st Group 2nd Group 3rd Group
Total N 21 27 28
Test Statistic 231.000 0 406.000
Standard Error 28.766 83.5500 43.910
Standardized Test Statistic 4.015 3.96700 4.623
Asymptotic Sig. (2-sided test) .000 15.737 .000

A significant mean difference is indicated if the value of Asymptotic Sig. (2-

tailed) is lower than .05. From the result, it can be seen that value of Sig. (2-tailed) was
.000 for all groups which was lower than .05. This indicated that the groups had a
significant mean difference. Thus, it can be concluded that there was a significant mean
difference between the pre-test and post-test. An effect size test was also conducted to
identify the magnitude of the effect. The results of the effect size test of Cohen’s d are
presented in Table 11.

Table 11. Effect size test.

Group Cohen’s d
1st Group 6.146
2nd Group 6.275
3rd Group 1.039

The result of the effect size test confirmed that the value of Cohen’s d for the 1st
Group is 6.146, the 2nd Group is 6.275, and the 3rd Group 1.039. This indicated that the
effect was categorized as large. Besides analyzing the effects of the PBL
quantitatively, the effects were also observed qualitatively during the teaching and
learning processes. The observed improvements were noticeable and summarized as
indicated in Table 12.

Table 12. The effects of the PBL Implementation.

The implementation of PBL Observed improvements
The teaching-learning processes were conducted in 16 Knowledge exploration skill
sessions using the steps of PBL. They provided different Communication skill
kinds of scaffoldings using mixed learning modes Self -directness
(asynchronous, synchronous, and personal, and WhatsApp Collaboration
based-consultations). Problem-solving skills
Creativity
Learning autonomy

The students were provided with several opportunities to practice their 6C

abilities as they worked their way through the process of learning through project-
based activities. The students naturally adopted problem-solving skills, exercised
creativity, and implemented learning autonomy.
853 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 841-862, 2023

4. DISCUSSION

4.1 The Characteristics of the PBL Designed Based on Students’ Needs

The answer to the first research question deals with the characteristics of PBL
produced. The PBL designed for teaching research proposal writing in Research
Method Course in this study shows prominent characteristics that suit students’ needs.
The framework has systematic steps of teaching provided scaffoldings and technology.
It reconfirms that the applied ADDIE model (Kurt, 2018) is appropriate for developing
the framework. The strength of the model lies in its systematic steps, which are
flexible. The flexibility of the PBL framework resides in the lecturers’ freedom to use
the framework in various modes and the lecturers’ ability to add extra activities based
on the students’ needs. The strength of this framework is estimated from the accuracy
of choosing the needs analysis of the OEM model used in this study, and in line with
what is recommended by Gupta et al. (2007). The model provides a systematic
template comparing the existing situation and the expected one by considering the
aspect of context, input, process, product, and outcome, which aimed more at
improving the quality of the course, not used to prove certain treatments.
The strength of the PBL framework is that the students can produce a research
proposal in the demanded time frame. Individualized assistance is one of the
characteristics of the PBL, which successfully helps students finish the product,
reconfirms the claim that PBL necessitates the delivery of a solution-based, time-
restricted product (Hadkaew & Liewkongsthaporn, 2014). Students’ competence in
making research proposals is strongly formed because PBL provides opportunities to
explore information from the beginning of the meeting. They built experiences by
exploring, analyzing, reviewing, and drawing conclusions about their new knowledge
based on those experiences. In line with the role of adult learners to become agents of
their learning, through the framework of the project the students carried out, they
constructed their understanding and knowledge of the research proposal through direct
experiences and reflection on those experiences. Students assume responsibility for
their learning through inquiry and collaborate to create projects demonstrating their
comprehension (Bell, 2010). More importantly, PBL also enhances students’ critical
thinking and enables pupils to develop their meaning by applying what they have
learned through critical thinking (Guo et al., 2020).
The framework also provides the lecturers to examine students’ competencies
by conducting a process assessment. Process assessment is defined as an investigation
that monitors the implementation of various plans that have been prepared in the form
of documents, implementation, and assessments (Stufflebeam & Zhang, 2017). The
complex task establishments indicate the competencies established at the end of the
course along the process in one semester. Utilizing crucial inquiries in the form of
essential questions at the beginning stage assists students in comprehending how to
look for information to identify the fundamental notions of research. These questions
aid students in determining what the research is all about. This inquiry process is the
skeleton that directs the search for this extensive information. The questions also guide
students’ autonomy in deciding what to review, investigate, and make conclusions
about. In this initial step, the student’s competencies to search for information based
on the essential questions determines his or her ability to comprehend the research
concept and write a successful proposal outline. Therefore, the questions and process
N. N. Padmadewi, L. P. Artini, N. M. Ratminingsih, P. A. Suhardiana, A. Zamzam & P. A. K.
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problems, and scaffolding utilized | 854

of explorations and engagements conducted have been able to help students determine
their research questions from which the development of fundamental research
understanding is developed. In other words, the quality of the research questions
created by the students has been evident in fostering students’ knowledge of the
research’s fundamental complex structure. As Han et al. (2015) pointed out that
projects mainly consist of complex tasks based on challenging questions or problems
which engage students in design or ideas, problem-solving, decision-making, or
investigative activities and give students autonomy to work over a long time, ending
with a product or presentation.
In the explorative and collaborative learning process, the framework also allows
students to have the opportunity to exercise the 6C skills. They practiced collaboration
and problem-solving with classmates, exercised creativity by constructing study topics
with intriguing titles, applying critical thinking patterns to establish a research
framework, and employing computational logic to find solutions. This is in line with
the claim of Jalinus et al. (2017) and Mahasneh and Alwan (2018) that PBL increases
students’ scientific abilities, such as problem-solving, debating, questioning, and
drawing conclusions. Another noticeable effect is also found in the students’
responsibility. Using the timeline in the PBL framework implemented and a close
monitoring process on the student’s progress also enhanced students’ responsibility.
According to Baysura et al. (2016), PBL helps promote student character by being
responsible for themes chosen by students, both in groups and individually. Teachers,
as facilitators, can assist in addressing students’ needs.
Another additional finding observed is the student’s motivation to finish their
proposal on time. The interview results revealed that the atmosphere of learning
processes with abundant sources of scaffolding provided made them feel convenient
and motivated to finish the project on time. This is in line with the previous researcher
(Lam et al., 2010), who claimed that the significance of student motivation is ensured
by project-based assignments when students can control their surroundings effectively,
comprehend tasks or learning, and trust in their learning outcomes (Gómez-Pablos et
al., 2017).

4.2 The Students’ Difficulties in Writing the Research Proposal during PBL
Implementation

The finding of the second research question deals with the problems faced by the
students. The PBL framework is flexible in a way that it provides opportunities to
identify the problems faced by the students during the process of their research
proposal writing (Kurt, 2018). Even though the students in this study could understand
the fundamental research concepts during the first few sessions, they still experienced
problems regarding the course content-related issues and the usage of grammar
accuracy. Students’ clarifications reveal that a lack of familiarity with academic
writing conventions is one of the primary causes of the students’ problems. Writing a
research proposal necessitates a thorough understanding of academic writing
conventions; it is prepared in a formal style with a thorough description of the intended
research (Nte & Awi, 2006). If a researcher is not familiar with these conventions, they
may make mistakes in grammar and content. Another reason is inadequate time
management. Writing a study proposal takes time, and researchers may feel pressed to
complete the document as soon as possible. Rushing through the writing process can
855 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 841-862, 2023

result in grammatical and content errors. To solve the problems in grammar and
content, the lecturers carefully plan and organize their time for helping students and
providing feedback, as those can serve as scaffolding for students in revising their
research proposals. With various kinds of scaffolding provided through several kinds
of learning modes, the students’ problems can be slowly solved and students can go to
the next stage and improve their proposal quality (Gibbons, 2002).

4.3 The Kinds of Scaffolding Techniques in PBL that Assisted Students in

Completing Research Proposals
The third research question provides an answer about the scaffolding utilization
in research proposal writing. Guidance with issues relating to the subject matter was
provided in the form of customized scaffolding tailored to the individual student’s
requirements. They could better comprehend how to build the outlines of their
proposals with the assistance of scaffolding activities and authentic examples.
Although the problems with the students’ proper use of grammar were helped by
offering instructive remarks on the sources of the errors committed by the students, the
problems nonetheless persisted, especially on subject-verb agreements. With various
scaffoldings, the students could finish the proposal and submit them to the e-learning
for evaluation.
The commitment of lecturers who provide various types of assistance according
to the actual needs was also a meaningful scaffold for the students. When the lecturers’
teaching processes are based on their genuine assessment and understanding of
students’ learning, they can start to adapt to their practice, leading to fundamental
differences in outcomes (Gibbons, 2002). The students’ initiatives to ask for the
opportunity of personal consultations and raise various questions to the lecturers
indicated that students have practiced not only the 6C skills but also more importantly,
their understanding of the basic concept of research has been increased. The students’
activeness in consulting their problems, exploring, and seeking solutions assisted them
in relating the theory and practice. Through PBL, students can investigate the
relationship between theory and practice and thoroughly understand the lessons
(Beckett & Slater, 2018).
The lecturers’ use of self-assessment questions as scaffolding has prompted
students to review every area of their research in depth. The leading questions are
supplied as self-direction for evaluating the proposal content and determining what
needs to be improved. This is in line with other findings by Vonna et al. (2015). The
opportunity to engage in research activities through project-based learning and
providing them with extensive scaffoldings adapted to their needs enabled students to
produce a quality research proposal and pass the course satisfactorily. With actual
activities carried out by students, the competencies formed are meaningful and long-
term (Markham, 2011).

4.4 The Significant Effect of Implementing Needs Analysis in PBL on the

Quality of the Student’s Research Proposal

The findings of fourth research question describe the effect of the

implementation of PBL in combination with various scaffolding strategies. It was
found that this implementation has a significant strengthening effect on the quality of
N. N. Padmadewi, L. P. Artini, N. M. Ratminingsih, P. A. Suhardiana, A. Zamzam & P. A. K.
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problems, and scaffolding utilized | 856

students’ research proposals. This supports the previous findings about the power of
PBL in students’ learning (Haniah et al., 2021; Rozal et al., 2021; Syakur et al., 2020;
Yuliansyah & Ayu, 2021). Constructivism theory supports project-based learning
activities and is congruent with the role of adult learners as agents of change. The
central concept of constructivist theory is that people construct their understanding and
knowledge of the world through direct experiences and reflection on those
experiences. The constructivist view of learning reflects how individuals make
meaning of their experiences (Taber, 2011a). According to Alzahrani and Woollard
(2013), this idea is predicated on problem-solving, assisting individuals to think, learn,
and grow.
The significant effect of PBL was reflected in students’ success in writing
research proposals. This is logically acceptable as the PBL framework has been
designed based on the needs of the students, guided using various modes of learning,
and facilitated using numerous scaffolds. The success of the scaffolding provided
during the synchronous learning and through WhatsApp during the asynchronous
activities stimulates students’ active participation and engagement. These findings
align with previous research by Uziak (2016), which claimed that PBL could assist
students in being engaged, critical thinkers, and problem solvers in learning activities
that involve discussing real-world issues. Pan et al. (2019) also strengthened the idea
that PBL social learning dissemination enhances collaboration, communication, and
negotiating skills.
Despite the online nature of teaching and learning, the course content was not
the sole emphasis of instruction. Students’ engagements, participation, and active
interactions are facilitated by various scaffolding tailored to their individual needs. The
focus was on two crucial aspects: how to best support students and what delivery
technique to employ. Online education can be used for more than just accessibility, it
improves connectivity, flexibility, and a range of interactions (Abrami et al., 2011;
Ewing & Cooper, 2021).
The results implied that PBL with various scaffoldings was an appropriate model
for teaching Research Method Course for English major students. The students not
only successfully constructed their own experiences of learning and established the
learning outcome as required by the course but were also able to develop themselves
as the agents of their learning. Therefore, policymakers (including instructors of
research method courses) must consider using PBL to facilitate students with
experiential learning that aims to build competence as well as learning autonomy.

5. CONCLUSION

The PBL designed in this study shows that it was tailored to the student’s needs
and had systematic teaching steps with various scaffolding and technology use. During
the proposal writing process, students faced several problems which dealt with writing
the aspects of the proposal and language use. The students can finish their proposals
with various scaffoldings implemented using the PBL systematic steps. Implementing
the PBL framework in the Research Method Course has improved their competence in
writing a research proposal. The t-test result reveals a significant difference in the
scores of the research proposals before and after the PBL framework was
implemented. This reveals that the PBL framework designed based on the actual needs
857 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 841-862, 2023

of the students is effective and worth to be used in Research Method courses in

university education.
Despite its significant effect and strength, the study has a limitation in that it was
not implemented using a control group and only toward undergraduate students in
education universities which might influence the robustness of the PBL. For that
reason, it is recommended that future research considers experimental design for more
generalizable findings.

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APPENDIX

Research proposal rubric of assessment

Student Name :
Number :
Class :
Date :
Title of the Proposal:

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Research problem
Below expectation Meets expectation
Does not adequately construct or Adequately constructs and articulates an original and
articulate an original and significant significant problem
problem
0-59 60- 65- 71- 76- 81- 86- 91- 96-
64 69 75 80 85 90 95 100
861 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 841-862, 2023

Justification and support

Below expectation Meets expectation
The plan is not adequately justified The plan is adequately justified and supported by relevant
or supported by relevant literature literature
0-59 60- 65- 71- 76- 81- 86- 91- 96-
64 69 75 80 85 90 95 100

Research questions and scope

Below expectation Meets expectation
Research questions and scope are Research questions and scope are stated clearly and are
unclear or inappropriate to the degree appropriate to the degree
0-59 60- 65- 71- 76- 81- 86- 91- 96-
64 69 75 80 85 90 95 100

Theoretical Framework and Review of Literature

Below expectation Meets expectation
Lack of understanding and Critical elements of the theoretical framework are
development of the theoretical appropriately developed
framework
0-59 60- 65- 71- 76- 81- 86- 91- 96-
64 69 75 80 85 90 95 100

Understanding of the research topic

Below expectation Meets expectation
Does not grasp key concepts or An adequate review of relevant literature and theories,
theories from the literature, demonstrates a solid understanding of the research topic
inadequate understanding of the
research topic
0-59 60- 65- 71- 76- 81- 86- 91- 96-
64 69 75 80 85 90 95 100

Credible and relevant sources

Below expectation Meets expectation
Does not demonstrate the use of Demonstrates adequate use of high-quality, credible, and
high-quality, credible, and relevant relevant sources
sources
0-59 60- 65- 71- 76- 81- 86- 91- 96-
64 69 75 80 85 90 95 100

Referencing
Below expectation Meets expectation
Inconsistently references according Mostly references according to the required style
to the required style
0-59 60- 65- 71- 76- 81- 86- 91- 96-
64 69 75 80 85 90 95 100
N. N. Padmadewi, L. P. Artini, N. M. Ratminingsih, P. A. Suhardiana, A. Zamzam & P. A. K.
Juniarta, Designing Project-Based learning in research proposal writing: Its effect,
problems, and scaffolding utilized | 862

Critique and synthesis

Below expectation Meets expectation
Lacks conceptual growth and clarity Adequate critique and synthesis of the reviewed literature
of thinking, contains irrelevant or
inadequate literature
0-59 60- 65- 71- 76- 81- 86- 91- 96-
64 69 75 80 85 90 95 100

Methods
Below expectation Meets expectation
9.1 Design is unclear or is Design is stated clearly, and is appropriate to the degree
inappropriate to the degree
0-59 60- 65- 71- 76- 81- 86- 91- 96-
64 69 75 80 85 90 95 100

Below expectation Meets expectation

9.2 Subjects of research is unclear or Subjects are appropriate, numbers are sufficient and the
inappropriate to the degree reasons for choosing are stated clearly, and are appropriate
to the degree
0-59 60- 65- 71- 76- 81- 86- 91- 96-
64 69 75 80 85 90 95 100

Below expectation Meets expectation

9.3 Instruments of research are Instruments are appropriate, the types are sufficient and the
unclear or inappropriate to the degree reasons for choosing are stated clearly, and relevant to the
research questions, reliable and valid
0-59 60- 65- 71- 76- 81- 86- 91- 96-
64 69 75 80 85 90 95 100

Below expectation Meets expectation

9.4 The technique of data collection Techniques of data collection are appropriate; the types are
of research are unclear or sufficient and relevant to the research questions
inappropriate to the degree
0-59 60- 65- 71- 76- 81- 86- 91- 96-
64 69 75 80 85 90 95 100

Below expectation Meets expectation

9.5 The technique of data analysis of The technique of data analysis is relevant, appropriate, and
research are unclear or inappropriate sufficiently answering the research questions
to the degree
0-59 60- 65- 71- 76- 81- 86- 91- 96-
64 69 75 80 85 90 95 100

Total Scores: Total score

= The score of 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9.1+9.2+9.3+9.4+9.5
Final Score
= Total score is divided by 13
863 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 863-883, 2023

Moodle and Telegram to Develop

Students’ Language Performance and
Knowledge Co-Construction in
P-ISSN 2355-2794 Technology-Enhanced CLIL
E-ISSN 2461-0275

David Imamyartha1,3
Utami Widiati*1
Mirjam Anugerahwati1
Afendi Hamat2
1
Doctorate Program in English Language Education, Faculty of Letters, Universitas
Negeri Malang, Malang 65145, INDONESIA
2
Department of English, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti
Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor 43600, MALAYSIA
3
Department of English Education, Faculty of Education, Universitas Jember, Jember
68121, INDONESIA

Abstract
This study compared Moodle and Telegram as mobile-instant messaging
(MIM) to understand how the platforms performed in technology-
enhanced content and language integrated learning (TECLIL) settings. It
involved 68 English for Academic Purpose (EAP) students enrolled in two
groups, i.e., Moodle group and Telegram group. Using the mixed-method
design, the study garnered quantitative data through pre- and post-tests of
language performance coupled with post-tests of spoken presentation,
content knowledge, and collective knowledge co-construction. Qualitative
data concerning the interaction patterns in online discussion forums were
amassed by retrieving students’ postings on both platforms. This study
garnered additional quantitative data as covariates, which involved a
survey of technology acceptance and a survey of teacher evaluation. Upon
analysis, paired sample t-test was operative to identify noteworthy
differences between groups with respect to technology acceptance,
evaluation of teacher performance, language performance, and content
knowledge. For the qualitative inquiry, thread analysis on the interaction
patterns in both groups was conducted to scrutinize their depth of

*
Corresponding author, email: utami.widiati.fs@um.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Imamyartha, D., Widiati, U., Anugerahwati, M., & Hamat, A. (2023). Moodle
and Telegram to develop students’ language performance and knowledge co-construction in
technology-enhanced CLIL. Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 863-883.

Received September 27, 2022; Revised February 15, 2023; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online
May 31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.28295
D. Imamyartha, U. Widiati, M. Anugerahwati & A. Hamat, Moodle and Telegram to develop
students’ language performance and knowledge co-construction in technology-enhanced
CLIL | 864

knowledge co-construction. Although the interaction trends in both

platforms mark the dominance of knowledge sharing, the findings lend
credence to the stronger potential of Moodle to empower students’ in-
depth knowledge co-construction while exercising their subject-specific
language performance. For deep engagement in knowledge co-
construction and authentic language use, teachers need to provide
appropriate scaffolding through modeling effective collaboration, making
explicit the characteristics of quality discussion, and establishing a mutual
understanding of what students need to achieve in the online discussion
forum.

Keywords: Knowledge co-construction, language performance, Moodle,

TECLIL, Telegram.

1. INTRODUCTION

The uprising trend in technology integration into language instruction through

computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and mobile-assisted language learning
(MALL) has acknowledged the potencies of technology to escalate language
performance. Literature involving meta-analyses in these two strands of technology
underscores the effectiveness of technology-mediated instruction compared to face-to-
face instruction (Kukulska-Hulme & Viberg, 2018). Since different technologies pose
distinctive effects on learners’ engagement and participation (Andujar & Salaberri-
Ramiro, 2019), teachers need to be aware of these technological bearings and
accordingly develop relevant instructional strategies to gain the utmost technology
integration. As a starting point, recognizing how students take the step to integrate
technology into their learning, as measured through the extended technology
acceptance model (eTAM), can provide an initial appraisal of their eventual learning
engagement. Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) instruction is no
exception to this quest for effective technology-mediated instruction. Given the
possibility of technology capturing discourse practices mediating language
performance and knowledge co-construction (Zhao et al., 2022), technology can help
to scrutinize and improve the quality of CLIL. In this direction, technology-enhanced
CLIL (TECLIL) affords an empowering context for science and intercultural learning
(Garzón-Díaz, 2021), optimizes language use (O’Dowd, 2018), and stimulates
knowledge co-construction (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 2016; Porto, 2015).
While flourishing studies have investigated the influence of technology-
enhanced language learning, the efficacy of different technologies, i.e., instructional
platforms and social media platforms, in developing subject-specific language
performance and knowledge co-construction remains scanty. Furthermore, the
potential of social media remains under-researched in CLIL settings although it is
known to escalate learning performance and motivation (Imamyartha et al., 2021; Ma,
2017; Zhu & Wang, 2020). Given the urgency of investigating how to achieve effective
CLIL instruction (Coyle, 2007; Meyer et al., 2015), a close comparison of the two
platforms merits equal attention to better understand how different technologies help
scaffold effective CLIL instruction in the burgeoning trends of TECLIL. In this
scenario, this study delved into the underexplored comparison between an instructional
865 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 863-883, 2023

platform, i.e., Moodle, and a social media platform, i.e., Telegram, for different
TECLIL environments, as guided by the following questions.
1. How do the students perceive the quality of the two TECLIL environments based
on the extended technology acceptance model (eTAM)?
2. Are there any significant differences between the two TECLIL environments on
subject-specific language performance and knowledge co-construction of the
students?
3. What differentiates the quality of knowledge co-construction as evidenced by the
students’ interactions between the two TECLIL environments?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 CLIL Pedagogy and Technology-Enhanced Learning

Strategies to elevate students’ language performance and conceptual

understanding have received strong emphasis in CLIL literature. To that end, multiple
instructional methods have arisen as the alternatives to establishing an ideal CLIL,
such as scientific citizenship pedagogy (Garzón-Díaz, 2021), intercultural citizenship
education (Porto, 2015), and telecollaborative exchange (Porto, 2014). These studies
documented how subject pedagogy and technology can lead to the promising growth
of knowledge, understanding, and skills within the area of content and language while
amplifying students’ intercultural awareness.
First, Porto (2014) reported ground-breaking insight into the potency of online
intercultural citizenship. Her study recruited 50 English teachers and/or translators
aged 18 to 22 in undergraduate studies at Universidad Nacional de La Plata in
Argentina. This project implemented a wiki-based virtual classroom, where the
Argentinian students uploaded their Autobiography of Intercultural Encounters while
the English students shared their posters and presentations. Powered by
teleconferencing, both groups invited veteran soldiers involved in the war between
Argentina and England to explore the war histories and reflected on how media shaped
public perceptions about the war. These media allowed critical reflection and
encouraged students to view others’ identities from different angles.
Another project by Porto (2015) demonstrated how online ecological and
intercultural citizenship actuates effective CLIL instruction. Involving 50 Argentinian
and 20 Danish students, this study was devoted to elevating students’ awareness of
environmental issues and reflecting on these issues at local and global levels. These
students managed to develop critical analysis and research skills aided by visual media,
texts, and civic actions when engaged in intercultural dialogue. Virtual classrooms
through wiki empowered knowledge co-construction as they shared and discussed the
images and videos, they produced to perceive the power of media in crafting
stereotypical images of environmental problems.
Garzón-Díaz (2021) further extended the literature by investigating how
scientific and intercultural learning can be interwoven in a TECLIL setting. As a
bottom-up initiative to meet the national curricular mandate on bilingualism, his case
study successfully harnessed the CLIL approach with the aid of technology to engage
students in deep learning with multiple objectives, from expanding their scientific
citizenship to intercultural awareness. The added values of the CLIL lessons, amplified
D. Imamyartha, U. Widiati, M. Anugerahwati & A. Hamat, Moodle and Telegram to develop
students’ language performance and knowledge co-construction in technology-enhanced
CLIL | 866

learning motivation and learning interdependence among students through scientific

projects, further acknowledge the substantial values of linking technology and CLIL.
These case studies exemplify how technology can be operated in critical
pedagogy to engage learners in subject-specific knowledge, understanding, and skills
to design solutions to real-life issues. However, in resonance with other similar works
(e.g., Rutta et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2020; Zhao et al., 2022), this cluster of research
implied the overemphasis on the computer to sustain learners’ participation in active
language use and knowledge co-construction. As such, the inquiry for effective CLIL
instructions that suit diverse technologies and settings still prevails, one of which is
the comparison between Moodle and Telegram as the platforms for developing
language performance and knowledge co-construction.

2.2 Knowledge Co-construction as TECLIL Pedagogy

The knowledge-building theory focuses on subject-knowledge creation as a

social inquiry and a product of the learning community (Bereiter & Scardamalia,
2016). It underscores the roles of scaffoldings in amplifying the co-construction of
subject knowledge (Lei & Chan, 2018). Not only does social inquiry lead to social
literacy development (Meyer et al., 2015; Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006), but it also
develops literacy skills, such as vocabulary, reading, and writing skills (Crossman,
2018). According to van Aalst (2009), knowledge co-construction is activated through
different discourse modes: knowledge sharing, knowledge construction, and
knowledge creation. These modes require students’ collaboration in identifying the
gaps in collective knowledge, mapping out strategies to close these gaps, planning and
organizing inquiries, and evaluating progress. With relevant technology-assisted
instructions, knowledge-building theory offers promising opportunities for developing
effective CLIL instructions (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006).
As CLIL instructions are generally developed in a bottom-up fashion, diverse
instructional models have come to the surface, with varying degrees of success in
conceptual and linguistic dimensions (Coyle, 2007). Notwithstanding, any CLIL
models are almost always anchored in the notion of effective CLIL instruction
“through progression in knowledge, skills, and understanding of the content,
engagement in associated cognitive processing, interaction in the communicative
context, the development of appropriate language knowledge and skills as well as
experiencing a deepening intercultural awareness” (Coyle, 2007, p. 550). As a cue to
reaching this effective CLIL, Meyer et al. (2015) highlight the importance of
identifying cognitive discourse function (CDF), defined as the subject-specific way of
handling and acting upon curricular concepts, contents, and skills. A clear formulation
of CDF can help determine conceptual and linguistic repertoires that students need to
excel in knowledge creation and make this process accessible intersubjectively. Meyer
et al. (2015) further acknowledge that technology is crucial in providing rich input and
authentic activities for demonstrating CDF. Yet, how well different technological
platforms serve the quest for effective CLIL instruction remains under-explored.

2.3 Knowledge Co-Construction via Moodle and Telegram

Two platforms have been reported to scaffold knowledge co-construction,

Moodle and Telegram. Moodle offers flexibility in managing and criticizing learning
867 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 863-883, 2023

resources while improving students’ creativity and problem-solving skills (Kisaka,

2017). When socio-constructivist learning dictates course design, Moodle helps
students develop problem-solving skills and research skills by improving their
awareness of problems, information literacy, and reasoning skills (Gu et al., 2020).
Similarly, MIM, such as Telegram, creates an inviting environment where students can
share and reflect on collective ideas and give feedback to each other in a timely fashion
(Sun, Lin, et al., 2017). Furthermore, Telegram stimulates a realistic English learning
environment and fosters students’ language development and self-regulation
(Haghighi et al., 2019). Students reported positive attitudes toward both platforms and
suggest integrating social media platforms to complement the instructional platform
due to its asynchronous communication (Zou et al., 2018). However, these platforms
generate distinctive discourse styles.
Moodle is characterized by academic-style communication, presumed to be a
barrier to students’ engagement and knowledge co-construction. By contrast,
Telegram was reported to scaffold learners’ knowledge co-construction by sharing,
critiquing, and evaluating ideas in a friendly environment (Imamyartha et al., 2021). It
allowed a less-threatening atmosphere for collective scaffolding among students,
leading to better engagement with course materials and activities (Amiryousefi, 2019).
Telegram’s potency to intersect cultural, social, and epistemic resources coincides with
knowledge creation as the product of social inquiry (Zhao et al., 2022). Considering
these reports, the present study examined Moodle and Telegram as TECLIL platforms
in light of students’ acceptance of the platforms and how the platforms influenced
resultant interaction patterns, language performance, and depth of knowledge co-
construction.

3. METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Context and Participants

This research was conducted in an EAP course for one semester in the Biology
Education department at an Indonesian university. As an introductory English course,
it emphasized language mastery more than subject mastery. Three topics were covered
throughout the semester: environmental issues, natural resources, and biodiversity.
These topics corresponded to three research groups in the department (further details
available at https://biologi.fkip.unej.ac.id).
Two classes, each of which consisted of thirty-four students, were recruited
randomly out of four classes and differentiated in terms of their compulsory learning
platforms, i.e., Moodle group and Telegram group. Students were familiar with both
platforms since these were generally used during emergency online learning. Students
in each class worked in groups of four or five to manage interaction and discussion
more efficiently. Their English proficiency was between A2 and B1 levels of the CEFR
scale (Council of Europe, 2001). Both groups were taught by two language teachers
and a content teacher. The language teachers taught both groups separately, while the
content teacher helped validate the disciplinary content of course materials and subject
knowledge tests. Initially, a Kolmogorov-Smirnov analysis was conducted and
ensured the homogeneity between Moodle group (M=68.973, SD=6.095, SEM=1.112)
D. Imamyartha, U. Widiati, M. Anugerahwati & A. Hamat, Moodle and Telegram to develop
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and Telegram group (M=66.65, SD=10.162, SEM=1.855) through a pre-test on

subject-specific English proficiency, with p-value 0.77.

3.2 Research Design

This mixed-method study applied Fraenkel et al.’s (2012) triangulation design

to address the quantitative and qualitative natures of the research inquiries. The design
put equal emphasis on both strands of inquiries for a fine-cut understanding of how the
two TECLIL platforms performed and influenced different dimensions of students’
performance, i.e., subject-specific language performance, content knowledge, and
depth of knowledge co-construction.
The first half of the course focused on task-based language teaching, e.g.,
describing the natural resources on campus and proposing strategies to protect these
resources in collaborative writing mediated by the two platforms. In the second half,
the course deployed knowledge co-construction forums. This division aimed at a
seamless transition from language-oriented discussions to knowledge co-construction
forums. In the forums, students shared their analysis of real-life issues, discussed the
results of online research, and criticized emerging ideas on workable solutions. The
forums were guided by several scaffolding questions, as exemplified in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Samples of scaffolding questions.

The questions were used in either pre-lesson or post-lesson discussion within

one unit which was covered in two meetings. The pre-lesson discussion aimed at
triggering students’ discussions and preparing them for more in-depth discussions
during the class, while the post-lesson discussion was meant to extend their discussion
following comprehension questions in the unit. The teacher only guided and monitored
the discussions in both halves of the course.

3.3 Data Collection and Analysis

To gain balanced and in-depth insights into the research inquiries, the
researchers garnered quantitative and qualitative data. The design of data collection
and analysis are hereby presented.
869 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 863-883, 2023

3.3.1 Quantitative data

Addressing the first research question, a five-scale questionnaire with 33 items

was used to gain comparative data on students’ perceptions of the two TECLIL
platforms and the rate of their online learning engagement. The questionnaire was
adapted from four measures of technology acceptance and online learning
engagement. Table 1 shows sample items in the survey.

Table 1. Sample survey items of eTAM.

Constructs N of Sample items References
items
Perceived 4 Using the system enables me to learn more (Teo et al., 2019)
usefulness (PU) quickly.
Perceived ease of 3 It is easy for me to use the system in learning
use (PEU) to do what I want to do.

Attitude (ATU) 3 Once I start using the system in learning, I

find it hard to stop.
Subjective norms 2 People who influence my behavior think that
(SN) I should use the system in learning.
Perceived 4 I have control over the system of learning.
behavioral control
(PBC)
Output performance 3 Compared to what I had done, using the
(OUT) system has improved the quality of learning.
Perceived 2 I find using the system to be enjoyable. (Venkatesh &
enjoyment (PE) Bala, 2008)
Perceived self- 2 I feel confident using the system. (Liaw, 2008)
efficacy (PSE)
Perceived self- 2 I am satisfied with using the system as a
satisfaction (PSS) learning-assisted tool.
Behavioral intention 3 I intend to use the system to assist my
(BI) learning.
Online learning 2 I looked over the responses and feedback in (Dixson, 2010)
skills (S) the online discussion to make sure I
understand the material.
Participation (P) 3 I participated actively in online discussion.

Teachers’ performance was measured by students’ responses through the

university’s evaluation survey involving 11 seven-scale items concerning time
management, teacher feedback, content knowledge, pedagogical competence, class
interaction, communicative competence, and assessment practices. This data enriched
the analysis by taking into account the teachers’ performance as a covariate upon
comparing the effectiveness of both TECLIL platforms. In total, 41 items were
translated into Indonesian and trialed to twenty students, with the resultant Cronbach’s
α of 0.927.
Subject-specific language performance was measured by pre-and post-tests
developed by the language teachers. Each test comprised 40 multiple-choice questions
(MCQ). These were equally distributed across vocabulary sections, grammar sections,
writing sections, and reading sections. Students’ subject knowledge was assessed at
the end of the course through 40 MCQ items. MCQ helped to anticipate plagiarism
and test security issues in online learning during the Covid-19 outbreak. The statistics
D. Imamyartha, U. Widiati, M. Anugerahwati & A. Hamat, Moodle and Telegram to develop
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of students’ participation were garnered through the Telegram application named

Combot and Moodle’s built-in log activity records.
In the course’s final examination, recorded video presentations were assessed to
measure subject-specific language use. Both test developers scored the presentations,
with a fairly high inter-rater agreement, marked by Cronbach’s α 0.837 and intraclass
correlation coefficient of 0.829 based on average measures. The scoring criteria
involved coherence and fluency, lexical resources, grammatical range and accuracy,
and pronunciation. For assessing collective performance in knowledge co-
construction, another inter-rater scoring was performed by involving the first
researcher and a subject teacher from the Biology Education Department. This teacher
accomplished a three-year overseas study during his Ph.D. The scoring rubric
evaluated students’ points of view, explanations of issues, evidence, and conclusion as
well as implication. This inter-rater scoring achieved Cronbach’s α 0.8 and intraclass
correlation coefficient of 0.80 based on average measures. Paired sample tests were
administered to identify significant differences between groups concerning technology
acceptance, teacher’s performance, subject-specific language performance, and
subject knowledge co-construction. Involving two environments (i.e., Moodle group
and Telegram group) and two teachers as covariates, MANCOVA was employed to
re-examine significant differences in students’ language performance, content
knowledge, and knowledge co-construction.

3.3.2 Qualitative Data

Qualitative data on students’ interactions on both platforms were collected by

retrieving their posting archives throughout the second half of the course. Upon
analysis, this study deployed the online learning interaction model designed by Ke and
Xie (2009) to identify the interaction patterns in both environments. This model
divides learning interaction into social dimensions, knowledge construction, and
learning regulation. Table 2 describes the model guiding the interaction analysis.

Table 2. The interaction model for technology-mediated collaborative learning.

Dimensions Codes Sub-dimensions Definitions and Examples
Socialization S _ Interactions that do not involve knowledge co-
construction. For example, this includes greetings,
sharing emotions or feelings, and giving comments
without any further elaboration.
Knowledge K1 Knowledge Adding facts with no elaboration (e.g., sharing
construction sharing references or hyperlinks), comments (e.g., “I am in
line with you”), and raising questions.
K2 Egocentric Extending individual’s concepts, problems
responses elaboration, or arguments with details, or citing
personal experience or knowledge learned
previously.
K3 Allocentric Based on the information provided, students compare
responses and synthesize information, which includes providing
judgments (e.g., “I agree with that because …”),
summarizing (e.g., “I like that idea, but perhaps …”),
and elaborate understanding (e.g., “based on the
information, I wonder if it has any drawbacks”).
K4 Application Applying newly learned knowledge to hypothetical
or future scenarios, or offering application strategies.
871 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 863-883, 2023

Table 2 continued…
Regulation R1 Learning Teamwork planning and coordinating for a
of learning coordination collaborative project, (e.g., “Liz, can you do task 1
and I will do task 2?”).
R2 Reflection Self-evaluation and self-regulation on the learning
process (e.g., “I am not familiar with that”) or self-
regulation (e.g., “I had better find more references on
that”).
R3 Technical issues Questioning and answering on technological
problems or assignment clarification, (e.g., “Anyone
knows how to quote a message?”).

The first researcher invited the teacher in the Moodle group to administer
multiple coding on the threads or postings extracted from each platform. An initial
coding from a sample group was performed to reach a coding agreement. Higher
agreement between coders, as indicative of minor discrepancies such as codes assigned
to threads, evinces a trustworthy and robust analysis. Furthermore, both coders kept
an audit trail through a continuous exchange of raw data, which were revisited and
refined regularly as the analysis proceeded.

4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

The following sub-sections elaborate on the analysis results followed by

discussions interpreting these results in linkage to the research inquiries.

4.1 The eTAM Survey Results on Two TECLIL Environments

Table 3 describes the high rate of technology acceptance across dimensions in

both groups, yet no significant difference is identified. Both groups also demonstrate
equally high-rate online learning engagement as evidenced by highly intensive online
learning skills and participation.

Table 3. Paired sample statistics.

Aspects Mean Std. Std. error
Moodle Telegram deviation mean
group group
Perceived usefulness 4.1417 4.3083 1.08344 0.19781
Perceived ease of use 4.1778 4.2556 1.00833 0.18410
Attitude 3.8444 4.0778 1.18467 0.21629
Subjective norms 4.1333 4.2667 1.02498 0.18713
Perceived behavior control 4.5333 4.5167 0.77385 0.14129
Output 4.3111 4.4333 0.98449 0.17974
Perceived enjoyment 4.0833 4.1833 1.00344 0.18320
Perceived self-efficacy 4.4167 4.4333 0.93295 0.17033
Perceived self-satisfaction 4.1500 4.4000 0.92615 0.16909
Behavioral intention 4.0778 4.2444 0.85657 0.15639
Online learning skills 4.2167 4.3833 1.00287 0.18310
Online learning participation 4.4333 4.3667 0.74997 0.13692

The students’ familiarity with both technologies since the outset of the Covid-
19 pandemic might account for their equal acceptance of both technologies. As they
D. Imamyartha, U. Widiati, M. Anugerahwati & A. Hamat, Moodle and Telegram to develop
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had been extensively accustomed to the technologies, they had been familiar with their
functionalities, affordances, and drawbacks along with how to deal with these
throughout their two-year online learning. The university’s policy also required the use
of Moodle to keep all records of instructional activities. In addition, teachers’
discretion to opt for the MIM, such as Telegram and WhatsApp, to help them
administer their instruction and communicate with the students was responsible for
this general acceptance. In coherence with Teo et al. (2019), these political and
personal factors eventually form a subjective norm to the use of Moodle and Telegram
indeed lend credence to growing students’ familiarity with the functionalities of both
technologies, along with their positive attitude to remain active on their online
learning.
In terms of affordances, both technologies can offer similar supports for
students’ CLIL learning where they need to collaborate with their peers, share learning
artifacts, and organize these artifacts on their devices. Despite different
synchronousness, they report a similar extent of control, perceived ease of use, and
perceived usefulness to both technologies. This affirms previous work by Sun, Lin, et
al. (2017) which documents similar learning affordances of online discussion forum
platforms and mobile chat platforms in an academic context. The fact that knowledge
forums in both platforms require only moderate technological affordances, as in
multidimensionally communicating with their peers, contributes to the substantial
control, behavioral control, and learning output in these environments. The possibility
to access their learning at their disposal through each app enables an equal opportunity
for consolidating, evaluating, and refining collective knowledge. This also accounts
for why both groups report equally high scores in online learning skills and
participation. Overall, both groups also grow similar magnitude of learning enjoyment,
satisfaction, and efficacy.
The possibility to use Moodle and Telegram across different devices, i.e.,
computer and smartphone, blurs the differences between the two and enables students
to gain similar learning experiences. Integrating knowledge forums in CLIL
instruction allows teachers to engage students in nurturing environments for the
consolidation of knowledge. As communication tools, Moodle and Telegram are
proven suitable for CLIL learning where students need to engage in subject-specific
discourses using multimodal resources (Meyer et al., 2015), such as text, pictures,
video, and hyperlinks. The students-generated content in a knowledge forum involving
scientific texts stimulates meaningful discussions of different complexity and
meaningful outputs concerning content and language learning (Coyle, 2007; Meyer et
al., 2015). Specified scaffoldings, either through task design or teacher direction in the
knowledge forum, can aid students to engage in knowledge co-construction mediated
by authentic language use. Attending to Coyle (2007), this students-centric learning
makes content and language accessible to the students and therefore enculturates
positive habits of refining and enhancing knowledge by and for students (van Aalst,
2009). What matters most is how teachers can harness different technologies to suit a
specified purpose in CLIL learning or any language learning in general. In this regard,
Moodle and Telegram offer similar architecture supportive of knowledge co-
construction forums. The findings acknowledge the bearing impacts of relevant
learning activities and learning content on students’ enjoyment and behavior in using
technology (Lai, 2019; Zou et al., 2018).
873 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 863-883, 2023

4.2 The Extent to Which the Moodle Group Outperformed Counterparts in

Knowledge Co-Construction

The first paired samples test demonstrated that both groups gained significantly
higher scores (p<0.05) in the post-test in subject-specific English proficiency, as
shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Paired samples test on pre- and post-test of language performance.

Score comparison Mean Std. Std. error Sig. (2-
(max score:100) deviation mean tailed)
Moodle Pre-test score 68.5206 7.96276 1.36560 0.001
group Post-test score 73.5441
Telegram Pre-test score 67.2118 11.67292 2.00189 0.008
group Post-test score 72.8706

This analysis was followed up by another paired samples test on the group’s
gains in subject-specific English tests, comparing the gap between post-test and pre-
test scores, and the scores in the subject knowledge test. The results in Table 5 report
no significant difference between groups in these respects.

Table 5. Paired sample t-test.

Variables Mean Std. Std. error Sig. (2-
Moodle Telegram deviation mean tailed)
group group
Gains in subject- 5.0235 5.6588 14.47300 2.48210 0.129
specific English test
score
Subject knowledge 67.9394 71.7335 14.21866 2.43848 0.800
test score

Another paired samples test was performed on the collective performance in the
group project focusing on the recorded spoken presentation and knowledge co-
construction. As presented in Table 6, while no significant difference is evident in
recorded spoken presentation, Moodle group outperformed their counterpart in
knowledge co-construction (p<0.05).

Table 6. Paired sample t-test on collective performance.

Variables Mean Std. Std. error Sig. (2-
(max score:10) Moodle Telegram deviation mean tailed)
group group
Recorded spoken 7.5 7.68 0.74999 0.12862 0.104
presentation score
Knowledge co- 6.9418 6.1329 0.98518 0.16896 0.000
construction score

A MANCOVA was employed to re-examine the superiority of Moodle group in

knowledge co-construction involving 2 environments (i.e., Moodle group and
Telegram group) and two teachers. The teachers’ performance served as the covariate
in the model at a score of 4.5692 (max score: 5). The analysis result demonstrates that
only group difference (p=0.000) poses a significant impact on the knowledge co-
construction, regardless of the teachers’ decent performance (p=0.694).
D. Imamyartha, U. Widiati, M. Anugerahwati & A. Hamat, Moodle and Telegram to develop
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Reminiscent of similar technology acceptance in both groups, different

architectures between the two platforms pose no bearing impacts on students’
performance in subject-specific English use. Given the values of intensive dialogic
collaboration in knowledge co-construction forums, both platforms have been proven
decent to initiate and sustain quality discussion, while at the same time ensuring high
exposure to the target language and a high degree of negotiation of meaning. With the
possibility of shifting between mobile devices, i.e., smartphones and laptops, the
students can experience fairly similar interactions in the online forum. As such, when
deployed in a knowledge co-construction forum, both platforms allow students to
extensively use the target language to express and refine their ideas in a series of
meaningful discourses. These discourses constitute language-related episodes that
draw students’ attention to their language features along with respective inaccuracies,
leading to the acquisition of the target language (Kukulska-Hulme & Viberg, 2018).
Although Moodle lacks the rapidity valuable for intensive language learning (Zou et
al., 2018), it still affords similar features supporting the integration of reading and
writing skills and enhanced communication through the use of multimodal features.
The fact that social interaction takes place at a nearly equal extent in both
environments demonstrates the presence of a liminal zone. Widely associated with
social media, the liminal zone is known to generate a friendly atmosphere and a higher
degree of emotional intelligence (Imamyartha et al., 2021, 2022). In this study, similar
to students in the Telegram group, those in Moodle group use stylized language
features, composite characters (i.e., 3), repeated letterings (i.e., Nysss), and emojis
(i.e., 😊) to enliven their interaction, as exemplified in Figure 2.
This friendly environment helps to escalate the interest, willingness, and
motivation to initiate language learning sessions (Kukulska-Hulme & Viberg, 2018).
Considering the cognitive load that may adversely impact learning engagement
(Coyle, 2007), the affective bearings of social interaction encourage active language
use in the knowledge co-construction forum by growing stronger motivation, self-
regulation, and collectivistic learning. Concerning the barrier to students’ engagement
in Moodle-mediated instruction due to its strong instructional orientation (Pérez-Pérez
et al., 2020), the findings show that Moodle can offer the social adhesive of
communication. Although socialization does not directly contribute to students’
academic performance, it remains a vital element of sustained and quality academic
discourse (Imamyartha et al., 2022).
The findings also evince the value of employing a specific instructional
framework to amplify subject knowledge learning. The correlation between the post-
test score and subject knowledge test score (r=0.399, p=0.002) accounts for the
increment of language performance which accompanies the growth of content
knowledge (Meyer et al., 2015). The present study supports the previous report on
equally intensive deep learning in mobile chat platforms and instructional platforms
(Sun, Lin, et al., 2017). The fact that deep learning can also persist in a Telegram group
demonstrates that MIM can be just as effective as an instructional app in scaffolding
resource-rich discussion, providing that students have the scaffolding to initiate and
sustain study-related technology use (Sun, Lin, et al., 2017). Equally important is that
the connectivity and rapidity of MIM can guide and extend students’ online
discussions. In online learning, having timely feedback determines students’
satisfaction and learning performance as it helps monitor their learning (Elshami et al.,
2021). Deployed in the knowledge co-construction forum, the connectivity and
875 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 863-883, 2023

rapidity of Telegram aid students in exchanging, criticizing, and refining ideas. As

MIM encourages students that are struggling, shy, and antisocial to share their ideas
and receive learning materials from colleagues, they can better engage in knowledge
co-construction (Sun, Liu, et al., 2017).

Figure 2. Students’ discussion in Moodle.

Although lacking the promptness of communication, the asynchronousness of

Moodle is more supportive of knowledge co-construction as students generally
struggle with the linguistic and cognitive demands of learning tasks. With Moodle,
structured forums offer easier access to retrieve and grasp learning materials since
students have more time to absorb the information and thoughts posted by their
partners (Teo et al., 2019). The time gaps between postings allow reflection periods in
which students criticize, refine, and formulate their profound thoughts in the target
language before sharing them in the forum. These affordances mean more
opportunities to probe further into the subject matter. By contrast, the discussions in
Telegram are presented chronologically, which requires students to carefully sort
‘occasionally’ unnecessary postings to keep up with ongoing discussions and make
meaningful contributions.

4.3 Different Trends of Interaction Types in the Two TECLIL Environments

Table 7 demonstrates a higher rate of interaction in Moodle group with 1.577

posts, compared to 1.267 posts in the Telegram group. Knowledge sharing dominates
the interaction in both groups, followed by egocentric elaboration and allocentric
elaboration. Based on the total postings in all three components of knowledge co-
construction, i.e., knowledge sharing, egocentric elaboration, and allocentric
elaboration, the interactions between groups demonstrate similar trends, with an
aggregate of 48.64% knowledge construction in Moodle and 40.02% in Telegram.
Knowledge sharing is dominant, which makes up 27.2% and 28.41% of total
D. Imamyartha, U. Widiati, M. Anugerahwati & A. Hamat, Moodle and Telegram to develop
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interactions in Moodle and Telegram, respectively. Although both groups document a

lower rate of egocentric and allocentric elaborations, Moodle group documents
10.65% egocentric elaborations and 10.78% allocentric elaborations, compared to
7.02% and 4.58% in the Telegram group in the very respects. The learning regulation
in both environments takes place at a fairly similar rate with students in Moodle group
managing 36.40% interaction, while those with Telegram demonstrate 39.07%
interaction in learning regulation. Socialization occurs at a lower rate in Moodle
environment, at 14.97%, compared to 20.92% of socialization in the Telegram group.
Based on individual students’ posting frequency, we identified significant differences
between groups (p=0.000, SD=58.02510, SEM=9.95122) by paired samples test. The
students in Moodle group documented an average frequency of 95.6176 (SD=41.8446,
SEM=7.17629), compared with those in the Telegram group with an average
frequency reaching 44.8529 (SD=35.41797, SEM=6.07413). Further analysis
scrutinized whether this frequency correlated with students’ online learning
engagement and resultant performance in English proficiency and subject knowledge.
The results demonstrated that only posting frequency in Moodle group held a
significant correlation with online learning skills (r=0.369, p=0.032) and learning
participation (r=0.356, p=0.039).

Table 7. The interaction types in Moodle group and Telegram group.

Dimension Sub-dimension Moodle Telegram
group group
N % N %
Knowledge Knowledge sharing (K1): 429 27.20 360 28.41
Construction Guys, how about we get straight to the
question? Starting with the first one, namely
“Where is Papuma Beach?”
Yes, I think so. Because Meru Betiri is a fairly
large national park
Egocentric elaboration (K2): 168 10.65 89 7.02
Okayy, answer from “where is papuma
beach?” is Papuma Beach is one of the white
sand beaches in the south of East Java.
Tanjung Papuma Beach is located in Lojejer
village, Wuluhan, about 45 minutes from the
center of Jember Regency.
In Banyuwangi, many people say that if
someone destroys nature there or takes species
or objects, that person will never come back,
or disappeared, that’s why Alas Purwo is
famous for being haunted and horror.
Allocentric elaboration (K3): 170 10.78 58 4.58
I think, if coral reef species are not protected,
coral reefs will be damaged. this will have an
indirect impact on the Papuma coastal
ecosystem. If the damaged coral reef is a
gathering place for fish, the fish will leave and
the income of the surrounding community will
decrease. What do you think guyss?
Wow, it turns out that there are many examples
of animals and plants that are almost extinct😣
but their sustainability is maintained with this
ex situ conservation as you mentioned earlier.
877 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 863-883, 2023

Table 7 continued…
With the existence of ex situ conservation such
as zoos, safari parks, botany can make animals
that initially had a small population can still
exist in the world by doing captivity and
providing a breeding ground.
Learning Learning coordination (R1): 558 35.38 470 37.10
Regulation hi guys, we have a new project in English, it is
about local biodiversity and its effect, i want to
suggest for a local biodiversity, what about
papuma (beach)?
Reflection (R2): 8 0.51 17 1.34
Okay guys, let’s move, oh my God, we don’t
have much more time for this discussion. if I..
I use a descriptive method by reading
references from journals…
Management of technical issues (R3): 8 0.51 8 0.63
we have a little difficulty in summarizing the
words, khul
Socialization Socialization (SC): 236 14.97 265 20.92
hai anava, it’s still fine right now. let’s discuss
Total 1.577 100 1.267 100

The interaction patterns in both groups resonate with previous works that
document the prevalence of knowledge sharing over the more cognitively-demanding
knowledge construction (Nor et al., 2012; Sun, Liu, et al., 2017). Although associated
with the surface-level thinking process, knowledge sharing is a vital foundation for
reaching deeper knowledge construction by allowing interactants to use shared
resources to negotiate meaning, construct new ideas, and consolidate newly
constructed knowledge with prior knowledge (Hou et al., 2015; Sun, Liu, et al., 2017).
Also, the findings acknowledge Sun, Lin, et al. (2018) who argued that Moodle and
MIM effectively engaged students in knowledge co-construction. However, their study
documents a higher rate of egocentric and allocentric elaborations than what is found
in the present study. One rationale for that is that the participants were at the
developing stage of English language learning, as indicated by the course requirement
of A2 and B1. As a knowledge co-construction forum engages diverse language
properties to express, criticize, and refine complex concepts (van Aalst, 2009),
suboptimal language performance may pose challenges to more in-depth knowledge
construction. By contrast, Sun, Lin, et al. (2017) involved students in a knowledge
forum with the aid of their mother tongue, implying wider discourse access to engage
in a more in-depth discussion. These findings substantiate the role of collective
discretion to share knowledge and control over relevant discourse access as the
springboard to reach in-depth discussion. Teachers, therefore, need to deploy
appropriate content and language scaffolding that allows students to shift from the
surface-level to deep-level thinking in knowledge co-construction forums (Hou et al.,
2015).
The fact that socialization takes place nearly at the same rate between groups
highlights the equal potential to foment group cohesion. In an online forum, positive
bonding and atmosphere stem from social interaction, and occasionally off-topic
discussion, yet this does not mean that such interaction is detrimental to the academic
discourse (Hou et al., 2015). Social interaction is a critical element to successful
D. Imamyartha, U. Widiati, M. Anugerahwati & A. Hamat, Moodle and Telegram to develop
students’ language performance and knowledge co-construction in technology-enhanced
CLIL | 878

collaboration where the willingness to share is valued and collective support is sought.
Although students’ contributions vary to a large extent, the analysis results have
demonstrated that productive language use in technology-mediated forums affords
exposure to subject-specific discourses and guides the students to use newly acquired
terminologies and language features during knowledge co-construction (Zhao et al.,
2022).
The findings from both TECLIL environments have corroborated that Moodle
and Telegram can support knowledge co-construction. However, due to the stage-
managed features to manage learning resources and discussions, Moodle needs to be
given more priority if knowledge co-construction and subject-specific English use
constitute primary concerns. Moodle organized discussions based on topics, which
helped students keep up with and update the interim discussions easily. This is aligned
with Agustina et al. (2022) who document the value of providing organized
discussions and reflection in a mobile app. This affordance grants the time students
require for refining their understanding through reflecting on peers’ comments and
views, extensive reading, online research, and self-reflection before sharing their ideas.
The present study coheres with Sun, Lin, et al. (2017) who document students’
preference for Moodle over social media for organizing discussion and learning
artifacts, without necessarily searching through bundles of posts. Nor et al. (2012) also
argue that Moodle asynchronous communication gives students ample time for
thinking through and editing their responses before taking part in a discussion. By
extension, students are encouraged to make more relevant evaluative comments and
constructive contributions to the discussion, compared to the Telegram group forum
which tends to be quickly saturated with postings generally associated with surface-
level thinking skills. This lower rate of in-depth discussion in the Telegram group can
be associated with the screen limitation and the hassle of posting and reading extensive
content (Sun, Lin, et al., 2017), which would otherwise become valuable inputs for the
contrivance and refinement of egocentric and allocentric elaboration. Finally, the
worthy correlation between students’ posting frequency in Moodle groups and their
online learning engagement substantiates Moodle’s potential to grow a fertile ground
for students to co-construct ideas while exercising their language in a subject-specific
discourse extensively.

5. CONCLUSION

This research demonstrates that Moodle and Telegram can operate equally
effective in mediating TECLIL environments as corroborated by the students’ positive
appraisals through the eTAM survey. Both platforms also offer similar supports as
knowledge co-construction platforms for developing language performance and
content knowledge as no significant difference is identified in both regards.
Nevertheless, marked differences in the interaction patterns between the two are
worthy of further scrutiny. Compared to Telegram, Moodle can better encourage in-
depth knowledge co-construction in CLIL settings, due to its stage-managed
discussion features and asynchronousness.
This study documented the potential of integrating structured online discussion
forums to maximize CLIL learning. Knowledge co-construction as TECLIL pedagogy
directs students’ collaborative learning across different levels of knowledge
879 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 863-883, 2023

construction within a subject-specific discourse. Notwithstanding, distinctive

infrastructures between the platforms play pivotal roles in different learning
dimensions. Telegram offers connectivity and rapidity through multimodal
communication, essential for accessing learning artifacts and the learning community
instantly. This accrues stronger engagement in content-related discussions mediated
by a foreign language and more cohesive interaction, yet it may not be as effective as
Moodle in terms of scaffolding intensive and in-depth knowledge co-construction. The
higher rate of egocentric and allocentric elaboration in Moodle accentuates the values
of its topical division and asynchronousness. Overall, Telegram is useful to establish
prompt interaction and discussion with stronger group cohesion. Moodle, however, is
more convenient for building quality group discussions where elaborate responses and
complex information are expected to refine collectivistic understanding and reach
deeper knowledge co-construction.
For the knowledge co-construction forum to reach its utmost impact on TECLIL,
the teacher should help students develop collaborative skills mediated by technology.
In so doing, teachers need to provide hands-on experience in knowledge-building
forum and invite students to co-create a rubric to help them consistently reflect on their
posting quality. The teacher needs to clarify the goals of knowledge co-construction
forum, with specified expectations, regulations, and deadlines. Given the general
predominance of knowledge sharing in this study, teachers need to consistently harness
guidance strategies, such as elaboration, clarification, and exemplification to engage
students in deeper learning. Equally important is that teachers need to help students
acknowledge the values of knowledge construction to escalate their subject-specific
performance. Such preparation takes place in class and serves as the precursor to an
in-depth knowledge co-construction. Finally, teachers can perform a timely
intervention to address repetitive surface-level postings to help students diversify the
depths of their knowledge co-construction while monitoring their language use.
As the participants are freshmen in the non-English education department
without prior experience in English-mediated instruction, the knowledge co-
construction forums with content-oriented discussion were limited to the last six of
twelve weeks of instruction in consideration of acclimating the students to an actual
knowledge-building forum in English. By implication, the utmost impact of a
technology-mediated discussion forum can be achieved after a more extensive
knowledge-building forum throughout a semester. Also, this study only involved
multiple-choice questions, therefore limiting the possibility to capture complex
language performance and content knowledge mastery. Future studies are also
suggested to administer more authentic language assessment, i.e., essay writing
assessment, to investigate the impact of technology-mediated discussion forums on the
range and appropriateness of language use and the depth of content knowledge.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was funded by LPPM of Universitas Negeri Malang, grant number
18.5.60/UN32/KP/2022.
D. Imamyartha, U. Widiati, M. Anugerahwati & A. Hamat, Moodle and Telegram to develop
students’ language performance and knowledge co-construction in technology-enhanced
CLIL | 880

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Designing Assessment, Learning

Strategies, and Obstacles in Facing
Computer-Based Madrasah Exam on the
P-ISSN 2355-2794 English Subject
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Bahrun*1
Rizki Maulana2
Asnawi Muslem2
Yulianti3
1
Department of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and
Education, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh 23111, INDONESIA
2
Department of English Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education,
Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh 23111, INDONESIA
3
Sekolah Menengah Pertama Negeri (SMPN) No. 8, Banda Aceh 24352,
INDONESIA

Abstract
The objectives of this study were to describe how teachers design the
Computer-Based Madrasah Exam (CBME) questions for English subjects,
to investigate learning strategies students use, and to explore the obstacles
the students face in this exam. Questionnaires and interviews were used as
the instruments to collect data for this study. A number of 95 ninth-grade
students and two English teachers of Madrasah Tsanawiyah Negeri No. 1
(MTsN 1; this school level is equivalent to junior high schools) in South
Aceh, Indonesia, participated in this study. The data were analyzed
quantitatively and qualitatively using thematic analysis. The results
revealed that in designing the assessment of CBME, the teachers used four
strategies which were preparing for the change in the final exam model,
selecting sources in designing the exam questions, preparing students to
face the exam in the new model, and resolving obstacles in developing the
exam questions. Meanwhile, the students used five strategies in facing the
exam, they are managing time, motivating themselves, creating study
groups, practicing, and strengthening basic abilities. Furthermore, the
obstacles that the students faced in the exam are a lack of skill in using a

*
Corresponding author, email: bahrun@usk.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Bahrun, Maulana, R., Muslem, A., & Yulianti. (2023). Assessment design,
learning strategies and obstacles in facing Computer-Based Madrasah Exam on the English subject.
Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 884-906.

Received December 5, 2022; Revised March 20, 2023; Accepted April 30, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.31954
 Bahrun, R. Maulana, A. Muslem & Yulianti, Assessment design, learning strategies and
obstacles in facing Computer-Based Madrasah Exam on the English subject | 885

computer for the exam, slow internet access, limited computer availability,
limitation of vocabulary mastery, taking time to understand questions, and
peers’ interventions. Thus, this study suggests that more training is still
needed for teachers in designing the assessment model of CMBE and the
school also need sufficient facilities before they enforce CMBE to their
students.

Keywords: Computer-Based Madrasah Examination (CBME), EFL

students, English subject, strategies, assessment design.

1. INTRODUCTION

Along with the development of information technology and communication,

many schools carry out their learning evaluation activities using information
technology resources. Technology information and communication have an essential
role in current and future activity rates; one of them is in the element of education
(Haleem et al., 2022). The role of information and communication technology in the
government system, especially for implementing education, is considered essential to
better support the quality of education. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that students
still find it challenging to do examinations via computer, and this is due to their limited
ability to use the computer, especially in Indonesia (Muslem et al., 2018; Silviyanti &
Yusuf, 2015).
Assessment is one mechanism that always exists in a language teaching process.
Brown (2003) stated that assessment in language teaching is an ongoing process
encompassing a much broader domain. In Indonesia, the National Exam (NE) has been
changed to the Minimum Competency Assessment (MCA) this year. However, the
Minister of Education and Culture, Nadiem Makarim, has released an appeal (Letter
Number 1 of 2021) of eliminating final examinations in an emergency case during the
spread of Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) at the time (Zulfikar, 2022). Many
people complain that students in rural areas were not receiving the same treatment as
those who study in urban areas (Kusuma, 2022; Luthfiyyah et al., 2022). Schools in
urban areas have better and adequate facilities for teacher-student teaching and
learning processes compared to remote areas. No matter how the educational system
works, students all over the country, whether in urban or rural areas, must face final
exams in various subjects including English. Consequently, students in rural areas had
been obtaining lower scores in National Exams (NE) (Arnista, 2015), and these scores
were used as the standardized educational decisions in whether students passed or not
in these exams to graduate junior and senior high schools (Sugianto, 2016).
Thus, based on the Minister of Education and Culture’s appeal, starting in 2023,
the final examination is carried out by each school, known as the computer-based
exams. These exams are conducted by public and private schools, including madrasah.
Madrasah are public and private schools from the elementary to the senior high levels
that based their curriculum more on Islamic teachings. Hence, students’ graduation is
determined based on the report card scores of each semester on attitudes and exams
held by the school, respectively. The efforts to improve students’ abilities can be seen
before students take the exams. Usually, they are given additional lessons on the
subjects that are to be assessed at the end of every semester. It is done consciously as
886 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 884-906, 2023

an effort to help students prepare for the exams. The examination is also used to
evaluate the quality of schools by the Ministry of Education and Culture. Every school
has different entry requirements, but the exam results are highly considered.
Based on the researchers’ preliminary observation at one of the madrasah in a
remote area in South Aceh, Indonesia, teachers, and students still struggle with the
computer-based exams, especially in the English subject. Many of the students
informed that they mostly answered the exam questions in English through “guessing”.
Moreover, after the exams were completed, the correct answers were never provided
by the teachers, in which the students expected that these answers could help them
learn from their mistakes. Meanwhile, in CBME, students must achieve the Minimum
Mastery Criterion (MMC), which is a score of 70. If not, this will hinder their effort to
enter the next level of the school, such as high schools for junior high students or the
university for senior high students. Of course, the implementation of CMBE is
different from the previous model of exams where the current one applies technology.
Accordingly, this study investigates on describing how teachers design the Computer-
Based Madrasah Exam (CBME) questions for English subjects at this madrasah in
South Aceh, and further studies the learning strategies students use and the obstacles
they face in following this exam model. Thus, the research questions proposed for this
research are:
1. How do the teachers design Computer-Based Madrasah Exam (CBME) questions
for the English subject?
2. What learning strategies do students use in facing the CBME?
3. What are students’ obstacles in facing the CBME?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Assessment

The process of gathering data to support decisions about students, curricula,

programs, schools, and educational policy falls within the broad definition of
assessment. According to Ioannou-Georgiou (2003), all methods used to learn more
about a learner's knowledge, ability, comprehension, attitudes, and motivation are
together referred to as assessment. In addition, Hall and Sheehy (2010) said that while
assessment might mean different things in various situations, it is inextricably linked
to attitudes, values, beliefs, and occasionally prejudices.
Chappuis and Stiggins (2002) mentioned that assessment is one of the ideas in
which learners should be part of the assessment process. They proposed three critical
components of assessment for learning (Chappuis & Stiggins, 2002). The first one is
the assessment of the students’ involvement. Here, students are actively involved in
the assessment process; they decide what constitutes a successful performance,
construct the assessment, and learn how to score using teacher-provided scoring
models. Teachers are the models for students to learn something meaningful in their
performance (Thoonen et al., 2011). Thus, feedback should be clear, descriptive, and
illustrated to students by teachers. The last assessment is the skill of self-assessment.
Besides receiving guidance from the teachers on how to give their peers feedback, they
should also be guided on how to evaluate themselves (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). This
issue ought to encourage learners to engage in self-directed learning that calls for self-
 Bahrun, R. Maulana, A. Muslem & Yulianti, Assessment design, learning strategies and
obstacles in facing Computer-Based Madrasah Exam on the English subject | 887

evaluation. Students should be prompted to consider their objectives, level of

proficiency, and how they might collaborate. Self-evaluation and feedback are
essential components of this process.
Since it establishes whether or not educational objectives are being met,
assessment is a crucial component of instruction (George Lucas Educational
Foundation, 2008). Grading, placement, career development, curricular selections,
instructional needs, and occasionally financial decisions are all impacted by
assessment. Due to the fact that it aids in learning, assessment is a crucial component
of instruction. It is possible for students to assess their understanding of the course
material when they can monitor their performance in class (George Lucas Educational
Foundation, 2008).

2.1.2 Tests

A test is one of the assessments to measure students’ knowledge and skill. Brown
(2004) stated that a test measures a given domain’s ability, knowledge, or
performance. In addition, a test is an instrument that is used to measure a condition by
a specific rule (Arikunto, 2013; Sugianto, 2016). A test may be given orally, on paper,
on a computer, or in a predetermined location, and it requires test-takers to demonstrate
or carry out a particular set of skills.
Test also has some types. There are four different types of tests (O’Malley,
2015). The first one is diagnostic testing. This testing is like ‘diagnosing’ what students
know and do not know. This test happens at the start of a new phase of education such
as when the students start learning a new unit (Shoyzokovich & Dilnur, 2023).
Formative testing is the second type of testing. During a lesson, this type is used to
monitor student learning and is intended to help students show that they have grasped
the subject (Dandekar, 2020). This type of test happens continuously, and students’
performance on formative testing tends to get better as a lesson progresses. The next
one is benchmark testing, which checks whether students have mastered a unit of
content (Shoyzokovich & Dilnur, 2023). The last type of testing is summative testing.
This test serves as a checkpoint at the end of the course year to gauge the overall
amount of content students acquire. (Dandekar, 2020).

2.2 Learning Strategies

A learning strategy is a way that explains how a student learns or how each one
focuses on the process and masters new and difficult information through various
viewpoints (O’Neil, 2014). Learning strategies can then be described as how people
understand and remember information. According to Nisbet and Shucksmith (2017),
learning strategies are generally defined as absorbing, organizing, and processing
information. A person’s learning strategy is a combination of methods to absorb
information and then organize and process that information. This implies that every
student has different ways or habits of learning, especially in matters relating to
information systems (Fletcher-Wood, 2021).
It is common that students at times face some difficulties in preparing for their
tests (Sherratt, 2014). Sometimes, the problems faced by the students in preparing for
the examination is in developing their fundamental skill such as managing study time,
888 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 884-906, 2023

motivation, creating a study group, practicing, and strengthening basic abilities. These
strategies are such as explained below.

2.2.1 Managing study time

Preparing for exams takes time and hard work for most students (MacCann et
al., 2012). This leads to stress and anxiety (Gibbs, 2006; Misra & McKean, 2000;
Natarajarathinam et al., 2009). According to Pressley et al. (1997), some other
difficulties students face in preparing for exams are a lack of preparation of appropriate
kinds and misplaced focus on the course material. The key to accepting and dealing
with this final exam is time management (Claessens et al., 2007). This arrangement
can help them to be more optimal, such as using a blank weekly planner to organize
the study period. Setting realistic limits on the number of studies and the segments that
the students can do is also important. This breaks down large tasks into smaller
components and gives students small goals to achieve. They may only require
themselves to study up to six hours in one day (Bassett et al., 2020). They may only
plan to study subjects for up to one hour (Drach‐Zahavy et al., 2022).
Gibbs (2006) mentioned that to facilitate the arrangement of study time; students
can also make learning packages based on topics and material. They may already
understand the material but need help when they meet a simple and slightly different
question (Stanley, 2000). Teachers should teach them to be aware of every material,
and also provide simple sample questions. Gibbons (2003) added that students must
focus on completing learning packages with weekly targets.

2.2.2 Motivation

Students can motivate themselves with positive consequences to prepare for their
exams (Sherratt, 2014). They also can motivate themselves by taking a break and
giving rewards to themselves. Students can set clear daily targets to achieve (Konrad
et al., 2014). After the target is reached, students can provide rewards for themselves.
Besides that, students should use new methods based on their perspective to
understand the material they will learn. Cooperstein and Kocevar‐Weidinger (2004)
mentioned that students should not feel they have a limited learning method. They can
learn new and exciting information to improve their understanding and exam scores.
They can search for the most exciting topics, then find a simple method that can be
carried out. This can further motivate them to understand the materials in their way.
For instance, a change from paper-based to computer-based learning and assessment
can empower students’ motivation (Perry et al., 2022).

2.2.3 Creating a study group

Forming study groups can benefit students (Jaques & Salmon, 2006). Before the
final exam, group learning becomes an alternative for the students to learn and
understand the materials together (Knight & Pye, 2005). According to Susanti (2015),
group studies give access to more information and maximize learning. Susanti (2015)
also mentioned that by having study groups, cooperation is developed; learning alone
has limitations in terms of grasping concepts to be learned, but in groups, students
work together to understand the materials being studied. In group learning, they can
 Bahrun, R. Maulana, A. Muslem & Yulianti, Assessment design, learning strategies and
obstacles in facing Computer-Based Madrasah Exam on the English subject | 889

discuss all the materials and find solutions to difficulties encountered (Muslem et al.,
2022; Susanti, 2015). Relaxation is gained when they know that they have each other
in the study group, and thus, this reduces stress levels in preparing for exams.

2.2.4 Practicing

Practice is essential when facing exams. Yin et al. (2022) suggested that students
try to do a peer assessment to test their knowledge and understanding of the materials
and skills. It is better to clarify in advance what they are doing and not knowing, and
what they can and cannot do, rather than finding this for the first time in an actual test.
Only by testing themselves and identifying gaps can they know what to do. They can
try to replicate as much as possible the conditions of the exam situation to strengthen
their preparation for exams (Silverman, 2021).

2.2.5 Strengthening basic abilities

Strengthening abilities in facing exams increases confidence and motivation in

achieving goals. For example, in the English subject, there are four skills to master,
they are writing, reading, listening, and speaking (Appelbaum & Honeggar, 1998;
Hvalshagen et al., 2022). When students have a firm grasp of these skills, they will be
more self-assured during the exam. Grammar is another important skill to strengthen
in facing English exams. This skill is especially dominant in computer-based tests in
which grammar plays a big role in their comprehension of texts.

2.3 Computer-Based Madrasah Exam

A Computer Based Test (CBT) is an educational evaluation system that is carried

out using computer software which is later used to present test questions,
accommodate participant responses to the test and then store and analyze electronically
(Rosidin et al., 2019). A CBT is also directly connected to the internet network, often
called an online test.
CBT aims to help teachers carry out assessments, scoring, and implementation
of tests. Through CBT, teachers can further evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency
of its implementation (Darmawan & Harahap, 2016; Saukah & Cahyono, 2015). CBT
is developed based on Computer Assisted (CAI) (Burns & Bozeman, 1981; Kaye &
Ehren, 2021), which specializes in instruction or remediation presented on a computer.
Implementing a CBT is similar to learning with CAI, in which all activities use a
computer. CBT is carried out in a class or laboratory that has an internet network
connection and the system to run it (Beatty, 2013; Chow et al., 2008; Soe et al., 2000).
Tilaar (2006) informed that the Indonesian government’s efforts to evaluate
education nationally are by setting the standardization of national education. CBT is
also part of an effort to map educational problems to formulate policies for National
Education. The use and utilization of computers as instructional media, following the
instructional process, are planning, organizing, scheduling teaching, and conducting
student assessments (tests), collecting data about students, performing statistical
analysis of data learning, and making notes of the learning progress.
890 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 884-906, 2023

3. METHODS

This study employed a qualitative method in nature. The qualitative means

whereby the data collected were analyzed using thematic analysis.

3.1 Research Site and Subjects

This study was conducted at Madrasah Tsanawiyah Negeri No. 1 (MTsN 1; this
school level is equivalent to junior high schools) in South Aceh, Indonesia. The
subjects of this study were 95 ninth-grade students and two English teachers at the
school. The students were divided based on their exam scores starting from the highest
to the lowest. The English teachers were those who designed the questions for the
Computer-Based Madrasah Exam (CBME).

3.2 Research Instrument

To obtain the data for this study, two instruments were employed: an interview
and a questionnaire. The interview was conducted with the two English teachers. A
number of 10 questions were asked, and they were adapted from McNamara (1999)
which inquired about designing CBT in general and then revised to suit the CBME of
the English subject in specific. The results from the interview were to answer the first
research question.
Meanwhile, the questionnaire that contained 35 items was adapted from the
Perspectives Questionnaire: Measuring Propensities by Baryla et al. (2019) to take the
viewpoints of the agent or recipient to find out deep responses from the students on
their learning strategies and obstacles in facing CBME. The data from the
questionnaire aimed to answer the second and the third research questions

3.3 Technique of Data Collection

The interview with the teachers was conducted during school hours. Each
interview lasted for about 20-30 minutes and the sessions were recorded. In this article,
the first English teacher is coded as ET1, and the second English teacher is coded as
ET2. Meanwhile, the questionnaire was in Google Forms and distributed to the
students via WhatsApp messenger group. Filling in the forms took about 15-20
minutes of the students’ time. They were given three days to return the questionnaire
to the researchers.

3.4 The Technique of Data Analysis

The data collected were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. In analyzing

the qualitative data from the interviews, six steps were followed as suggested by Braun
and Clarke (2006): (1) familiarizing with the data, which was done by listening to the
audio, (2) transcribing them, and (3) re-reading the transcripts. While taking notes, (4)
the coding process was done to identify and label relevant data to the research
questions, then there were the processes of (5) searching for themes, naming the
themes, and deciding how the essence of each theme should be presented, and (6)
finally, preparing the research results. In identifying themes, thematic analysis was
 Bahrun, R. Maulana, A. Muslem & Yulianti, Assessment design, learning strategies and
obstacles in facing Computer-Based Madrasah Exam on the English subject | 891

employed (Castleberry & Nolen, 2018; Vaismoradi et al., 2013). Thematic analysis is
a method for analyzing qualitative data that involves reading through a set of data and
looking for patterns in the meaning of the data to find themes. In the meantime, the
data from the questionnaire were analyzed quantitatively using percentages (Taylor-
Powell, 2003).

4. RESULTS

In this part, the researchers present the study’s results and discussion. As
mentioned, this study investigates how English teachers design CBME for the English
subject at a madrasah in South Aceh, Indonesia, and the students’ strategies and
obstacles in facing the CBME.

4.1 Designing Questions for Computer-Based Madrasah Exam (CBME)

Based on the interviews with the two English teachers, the researchers found
four specific themes in relation to their strategies in designing questions for the CMBE
of their school. They are the change in the final exam model, sources used in designing
the exam question, preparing students to face the exam, and overcoming the obstacles
in developing exam questions.

4.1.1 The change in the final exam model

The policy change in national exams from paper-based to computer-based

examinations has pros and contra (Chow et al., 2008). Upon the appeal from the
Minister of Education and Culture, Nadiem Makarim, in 2021 concerning the
elimination of the final national examinations and for it to be replaced by the
implementation of school examinations through CBT, the madrasah education system
must form a committee to prepare for the CBT exam. Each committee at the district
level selects several teachers who will be the designer of the questions related to the
subjects to be tested in the exam. A discussion on the physical facilities (i.e.,
infrastructure) and non-physical facilities (i.e., Competency Standards and the
Minimum Criteria of Mastery Learning, or Kriteria Ketuntasan Minimal, abbreviated
as KKM) was conducted. Accordingly, MTsN 1 South Aceh selected two English
teachers as the question designer for their CBME.
In terms of the suitability of the CBME for their school, the following excerpts
were obtained from the two teachers:

(1) For me, the National Exam (or Ujian Nasional, abbreviated as UN) is perfect for measuring
students’ achievement throughout Indonesia. It can be used as a benchmark for taking the
college entrance test. While the exam in the madrasah, besides assessments as a benchmark for
students’ graduation, we also assess students’ moral values. For me, these two exams still exist
according to their respective functions. (T1)

(2) After I saw the first results of CBME, I think it is suitable to be further implemented in the school,
because last year, the national exams in remote areas experienced difficulties. The questions that
are made do not match the conditions of students in these areas. The potential of students in these
areas differs from that in the city where teachers and students are provided with lots of tutoring to
892 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 884-906, 2023

improve their knowledge of the learning materials. Implementing CBME is appropriate because it
is adjusted to students’ abilities in remote areas such as South Aceh. (T2)

Other excerpts from the interviews in relation to this theme are provided below:

(3) Very good, yes, (I agree) with this breakthrough. It is good that the schools can determine the
graduation of their students themselves. Hopefully, this will not decline the Indonesian education
system. Schools can continue to compete.

(4) The government needs to assess in advance to what extent students’ abilities are in remote areas
and cities. Schools in cities have full preparation with learning tools and technology. Meanwhile,
in areas such as South Aceh, remote areas still need to be paid attention to. If future students in
remote areas and the cities can compete, then there will be no problem.

From the interviews, both teachers agreed that the CBME was suitable to be
implemented in the school, and other madrasah as well, because it is adjusted to
students’ abilities in remote areas such as South Aceh. The CBME in English did not
only assess students’ ability on language skills based on the KKM but also on students’
moral and religious values as required by the curriculum of the madrasah educational
system. These issues were embedded in the questions for the English subject in CBME.
Hence, using a model of suitable testing encourages and empowers students’
knowledge and experience in learning (Rosidin et al., 2019). T2 further suggested that
the government needs to assess in advance to what extent students’ abilities are in
remote and urban areas to ensure that both receive fair treatment, in terms of physical
and non-physical facilities, from the government.

4.1.2 Sources used in designing the exam questions

Both teachers focused on the rules for making the CBME questions, such as
concentrating on level 1 which consists of cognitive level C1 and C2 knowledge of as
much as 20% (see Erdiana and Panjaitan, 2023) for the cognitive domain of the revised
Bloom’s taxonomy employed in the English curriculum in the Indonesian education
system). Then, level 2 consists of mental level C3 in skill as much as 50%. And level
3, which consists of cognitive levels C4, C5, and C6, known as a HOTS problems, is
as much as 30%. The English materials tested have been given to the students from
grades 7-9. Thus, teachers must create suitable materials with relevant indicators
(Achmad et al., 2023), and the questions must be within the syllabus and materials
taught to the students.
Moreover, in designing the CBME questions, the teachers must follow the
instructions given by the Ministry of Religion, especially on madrasah education.
They must prepare question grids, question banks, and sources of questions to be
tested.

(5) In the previous year for the religious and Arabic lessons, the grid had been given by the Ministry
of Religion. Meanwhile, additional questions were made at the regional level. After that, it was
given to the local schools. Here come the role of the teacher to further develop the questions
according to the existing grid. These grids can be shared with students for learning materials at
school or home.
 Bahrun, R. Maulana, A. Muslem & Yulianti, Assessment design, learning strategies and
obstacles in facing Computer-Based Madrasah Exam on the English subject | 893

(6) The exam questions are taken based on the benchmarks of last year’s exam, the national exam
questions. It is done by combining past and present English subject materials. The materials are
combined and taught in schools so students can learn to better understand them.

The teachers’ responses on making a question bank prepared to be selected for

the CBME are shown below:

(7) Yes, there is. From the question bank of each question maker, then we can sort out which questions
are appropriate to use according to their cognitive level. (T1)

(8) Of course, there is, every new school academic year, we, as teachers, are obliged to prepare a
question bank to facilitate the preparation of test instruments and the assessment with a computer
system. We make the questions based on books of teaching materials, especially English according
to their level from grades 7 to 9. In addition, these sources are coupled with previous teaching
experiences. (T2)

Based on the interviews, it can be concluded that the English teachers prepared
the grid of questions, and make question banks for the CBME. These questions are
sourced from the teachers' own question banks, textbooks, other teaching materials,
and even experiences while teaching English from grades 7 to 9. Nevertheless, they all
must abide by the instructions and the basic source of the grids given by the Ministry
of Religion, especially on madrasah education.

4.1.3 Preparing the students to face the exam

In facing the CBME, the teachers have prepared some guidelines for successful
exam results. Challenging questions especially in English, which is treated as a foreign
language in Indonesia, and heavy learning burdens made teachers to be creative in
guiding students. The teachers must pay attention to the standard and basic
competency as laid out in the English syllabus and curriculum (Erdiana & Pandjaitan,
2023). In addition, they must be aware of the English materials that must be taught to
the students from grades 7 to 9.

(7) We must pay attention to the cognitive level. It is stated in the rules for making the CBME
questions. It is our main concern in making questions. And so, we teach and prepare the students
so they fulfill all the cognitive levels required by the Ministry. (T1)

(8) Of course, every student has different abilities. From there we see and analyze students’ abilities.
When making questions with HOTS, LOTS, and MOTS levels, we have to study how to analyze,
understand and adjust the given questions to students’ abilities. We must also understand what to
do to improve students’ abilities in English exams. (T2)

The teachers also informed that it was not likely for them to include questions
not taught to the students from grades 7 to 9 in the CBME. All English materials
provided in the schools abide by the English syllabus and curriculum (Achmad et al.,
2023), and the teachers claimed to have completed the materials by the time the
students completed grade 9. To help students in studying for the exam, especially those
who are left behind in terms of materials being taught in classes, the teachers made
after-school lessons one month before the CBME was conducted.
894 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 884-906, 2023

(9) The chances are minimal because the CBME questions are taken from materials for grades 7, 8,
and 9. So, we make a grid of questions worthy for the CBME, all materials that have been studied
by the students. (T1)

(10) Alhamdulillah [praise to Allah], starting from grades 7, 8 to 9, the materials have been taught and
the CBME questions contain only those taught in these grades. We also give extra lessons to
students after school, maybe one or two hours, three days a week…one month before the exam so
the students are much more prepared for the exam…Insyaallah [if Allah wills], the students are
ready to face the exam. (T2)

4.1.4 Overcoming the obstacles in developing the exam questions

Commonly, in implementing something new, there are always obstacles to face

and resolve. Nevertheless, the teachers who were in charge of designing the CBME
questions for the madrasah of MTsN 1 South Aceh claimed that they did not face any
obstacles in developing the exam questions.

(11) Alhamdulillah, there are no obstacles in making the CBME questions.

(12) So far, there are no significant obstacles, and the test is ready to be carried out.

This is not typical, since many studies have found that enforcing new assessment
models or breakthrough for schools exhibit challenges and problems for teachers and
students (Aji & Basthomi, 2022; Beleulmi, 2022; Mohmmed et al., 2020; Kurniati et
al., 2023). Nevertheless, this research only interviewed two teachers, and future related
research perhaps should include more teachers to probe for more evidence in this
matter.

4.2 Learning Strategies Students Use in Facing the Computer-Based Madrasah

Exam

The result of the second research question is displayed in Table 1 to Table 5.

Table 1. Learning strategies in managing time.

No. Statement items Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
disagree agree
1 I schedule definite times and 0% 0% 8% 64% 28%
outline specific goals for my
study time.
2 I begin studying at least 5 days in 0% 4% 18% 48% 30%
advance of the exam.
3 I study where it is quiet and has 0% 0% 14% 26% 60%
few distractions.
4 I study for a length of time and 2% 6% 22% 46% 24%
then take a short break before
returning to studying.
5 I study during my personal peak 0% 8% 14% 42% 36%
time to increase my concentration
level.

Table 1 displays the learning strategies for managing time. Here, 92% of students
agreed to Item 1 that they ‘schedule definite times and outline specific goals’ for their
 Bahrun, R. Maulana, A. Muslem & Yulianti, Assessment design, learning strategies and
obstacles in facing Computer-Based Madrasah Exam on the English subject | 895

study time. This indicates that the students greatly appreciated managing time for
studying. Next, Item 2 inquires about whether they ‘study at least 5 days in advance
of the exam’. About 78% of the students concurred with the statement. This means
that they did study a few days before the exam to prepare themselves. Regarding Item
3 ‘I study where it is quiet and has few distractions’, 86% of students acknowledged
this statement. This insinuates that the students all studied in quiet places without much
noise and distractions. This can become an input to the school to provide more study
rooms in schools for students to prepare for the exams. Moreover, Item 4 states that
the students ‘study for a length of time and then take a short break before returning to
studying’, and this was conceded by 70% of students. This shows that taking deliberate
breaks from studying is essential to recharge the mind and body and boosts energy,
productivity, and capacity to concentrate. Lastly, Item 5 inquires whether students’
study ‘during their personal peak time to increase their concentration level’. This is
agreed by 78% of students. It indicates that 22% of students can study almost anytime,
while 78% need to find their peak time to increase their concentration.
Time management is essential in undertaking examinations through computer-
based, and it takes good preparation (MacCann et al., 2012). It is not easy for students
to take tests through CBME and they will likely get nervous and anxious (Gibbs, 2006;
Misra & McKean, 2000; Natarajarathinam et al., 2009). If they cannot manage their
time carefully and precisely, they will have problems undertaking the exam based on
the given time (Drach‐Zahavy et al., 2022). Time is essential so that they can answer
the questions precisely and correctly to obtain good scores (Gibbons, 2003). In
addition, the best time to study also should be taken into consideration. Preparing
themselves before the exam date is paramount (Bassett et al., 2020). Besides, studying
during peak times to increase students’ concentration levels is also essential (Golshan-
Shirazi & Guiochon, 1989).

Table 2. Learning strategies in motivation.

No. Statement items Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
disagree agree
6 I study enough to face the exam. 2% 8% 12% 32% 46%
7 I feel confident that I prepared for 0% 4% 22% 38% 36%
the exam.
8 I am calmly able to recall what I 0% 2% 50% 32% 16%
know during an exam.
9 I think I finished my exams in the 0% 4% 22% 50% 24%
allotted time.
10 I think I will be satisfied with my 2% 2% 36% 34% 26%
grades.

Table 2 shows the learning strategies used in motivation. Most students agreed
to Item 6 which state that the students had ‘studied enough to face the exam (78% ).
Following this item in Item 7, which says the students were ‘confident in preparing
themselves for the exam’ (confirmed by 74% of students). These two items indicate that most
students in this study believed that they had studied enough for the exam and were confident
about their preparations. Nevertheless, for Item 8, half of the students (50%) were neutral
about ‘calmly being able to recall what I know during the exam’ and another half of the
students believed that they were serene about it. This means that anxiety and nervousness still
took place in the students while taking the CBME. Next is Item 9 which claims the students
‘to finish their exams on time’ (74% agreed’) and Item 10 about their satisfaction with ‘their
896 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 884-906, 2023

grades’ (60% concurred). This means that despite most students (74%) did finish their exams
on time, only 60% of the students were satisfied with their grades.
Motivation in preparing for the exam is essential to make it run smoothly.
Previous research has found that CBT promotes student learning, engagement, and
motivation (Perry et al., 2022). The findings in this study showed that most students
were encouraged to prepare themselves to take the CBME of the English subject.
Odanga (2018) has mentioned that students who can motivate themselves with positive
consequences to prepare for their exams will achieve better. Learning regularly to face
exams positively affects students (Konrad et al., 2014). They should also find various
strategies to motivate and increase their scores in undertaking examinations
(Cooperstein & Kocevar‐Weidinger, 2004).

Table 3. Learning strategies in creating study groups.

No. Statement items Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
disagree agree
11 I study with a classmate or a group. 0% 2% 24% 40% 34%
12 I get help from classmates when I 0% 4% 12% 32% 52%
don’t understand something.
13 I try to use different strategies with 0% 4% 36% 46% 14%
classmates in group activities.
14 I participate in meaningful group 0% 2% 18% 50% 30%
discussions for more interaction.
15 I try to reduce problems and 0% 2% 24% 52% 22%
anxiety during the study group.

Table 3 shows the learning strategies students use in creating study groups. Item
11 sounds out that students ‘study with a classmate or a group’ which received 74% of
positive responses, and Item 12 enunciates that students ‘get help from classmates
when they do not understand something/materials’ which received 84% of
confirmation. This reveals that a majority of these students preferred and conducted
group studies to individual studies. It was one of the solutions for students who have
yet to be able to manage time effectively. Subsequently, Item 13 ‘I try to use different
strategies with classmates in group activities’ got 60% of agreement. Thus about 40%
were either neutral or did not agree with this, meaning that not many students
attempted to employ different learning strategies in their study groups. ‘I participate
in meaningful group discussions for more interaction’ is part of Item 14 which mostly
received positive outcomes (80%). Meanwhile, the last item in Table 5 ‘I try to reduce
problems and anxiety during the study group’ had 74% of acceptance. This confirms
that the students were less stressed when they were able to study in groups with their
peers for knowledge sharing and moral support in facing the CBME exam in the
English subject.
The results in Table 3 depict that learning with classmates in groups resulted in
a more significant impact on students’ results in examinations. When learning
together, knowledge, experiences, and strategies can be shared from each other from
classmates and friends (Ashman, & Gillies, 2003; Jaques, 2000; Jaques & Salmon,
2006). It is also essential to participate in meaningful group discussions for more
interaction so students can do better in the examination. This finding confirmed a
previous study by Knight and Pye (2005), where networking and learning in a group
benefits students. Reducing problems and anxiety during the study group can also be
resolved. In this case, most students claimed that their anxiety was reduced and their
 Bahrun, R. Maulana, A. Muslem & Yulianti, Assessment design, learning strategies and
obstacles in facing Computer-Based Madrasah Exam on the English subject | 897

problems were better solved when learning in a group. Accordingly, a group project is
designed to minimize free-riding and promote active learning (Swaray, 2012).

Table 4. Learning strategies in practicing before the CBME.

No. Statement items Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
disagree agree
16 I do review questions or practice 2% 4% 26% 36% 32%
problems.
17 I try to imagine possible questions 0% 6% 10% 52% 32%
during my preparation for the
exam.
18 I answer practice questions to test 0% 0% 14% 48% 38%
my knowledge.
19 I follow directions carefully 0% 0% 10% 48% 42%
before taking an exam.
20 I try to use online media such as 0% 8% 26% 36% 30%
computers for exam trials.

Table 4 displays the learning strategies in practicing before the CBME. Most
students agreed to Item 16 that they ‘do review questions or practice problems’ ( 68%). Item
17 on ‘imagining possible questions during their preparation for the exam’ revealed
that 84% of students did so. Afterward, Item 18 asked whether they ‘answer practice
questions to test their knowledge’ (86% of students did practice) and Item 19 inquired
whether they ‘follow directions carefully before taking an exam (90% confirmed) and
asserted that almost all students did practice to their best before they had to face the
CBME. The last item in this strategy is Item 20, the students who tried ‘to use online
media such as computers for exam trials’ gained many positive results, with 66% in
the category of agreement.
Practicing before taking a computer-based examination is also essential. If
students want to succeed, they need to practice. Yusuf et al. (2021) reported that
practicing language skills to improve performance is essential. Reading,
understanding, and following directions carefully before taking an exam is necessary
to obtain positive results (Lu & Ramamurthy, 2011). The current finding also found
that students used online media such as computers for exam trials. However, some did
not use this media for practice. Hence, this was not surprising as the students were
from rural areas, and not all were privileged to have access to the Internet and other
technological tools as they were costly to them (Muslem et al., 2018).

Table 5. Learning strategies in strengthening basic abilities in facing the CBME.

No. Statement items Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
disagree agree
21 I have made study guides for the 2% 10% 16% 54% 18%
exam.
22 I take courses for exam 4% 20% 24% 34% 18%
preparation.
23 I attend review sessions when 2% 4% 20% 44% 30%
offered.
24 When learning a unit of material, 2% 2% 20% 52% 4%
I summarize it in my own words.
25 I try to use text, the internet, or 0% 0% 14% 52% 34%
library resources in preparing for
the exam.
898 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 884-906, 2023

Table 5 is the students’ responses on strengthening their basic abilities in facing

the CBME. More than half of the students agreed with Item 21 that they ‘made study
guides for the exam’ (72% did so), Item 23 that they ‘attended review sessions when offered’
(74% did so), Item 24 that they ‘summarized the learning materials in their own words’ (56%
did so), and Item 25 that they ‘used text, the internet, or library resources in preparing for the
exam’ (86% used this media). This confirms their determination in strengthening their
abilities to face the CBME exam. For Item 22 on ‘taking courses for exam preparation’, only
half of the students agreed with this statement (52%), while the other half were either neutral
(16%) or disagreed with it (24%). This shows that only half of the students took extra courses
outside of school to prepare for the CBME. As the school was situated in a rural area, there
was a possibility that not all students could afford to take additional courses outside of school.
Most of the students’ parents were farmers or cattlemen.
Empowering basic knowledge and abilities in the CBME was very important to
the students, especially when the implementation of this model of the exam was still
at the initial stage. The students should read and review topics related to the
examination to get basic knowledge and power (Appelbaum & Honeggar, 1998;
Hvalshagen et al., 2022). This current study reports that most students did make
strategies to empower their basic abilities, such as making study guides for the exam,
taking courses for exam preparation, attending review sessions when offered,
summarizing materials in their own words to reinforce their comprehension, and trying
to use text, the internet, or library resources in preparing for the exam. These were
attempts that students took and went through to promote their basic concepts and
metacognition (Tanner, 2012).

4.2 Students’ Obstacles in Facing the Computer-Based Madrasah Exam

Table 6 presents the analysis of results for students’ obstacles in facing the
CBME.

Table 6. Students’ obstacles in facing the CBME.

No. Statement items Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly
disagree agree
26 I do not participate in the exam 2% 14% 20% 42% 22%
simulation or try out by using a
computer.
27 I get nervous before or during an 6% 10% 40% 36% 8%
exam.
28 I have difficulty operating 8% 36% 20% 14% 5%
computers and internet systems.
29 I have to bring a handphone 0% 4% 12% 40% 44%
because of the limitation of school
computers.
30 I have to wait for a long time to 0% 12% 26% 40% 22%
log in to the exam because the
server is slow to respond.
31 I am uncomfortable when the 0% 14% 30% 46% 10%
server system error during the
exam progress.
32 I have difficulty understanding 0% 12% 26% 50% 12%
English vocabulary in the exam.
 Bahrun, R. Maulana, A. Muslem & Yulianti, Assessment design, learning strategies and
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Table 6 continued…
33 I take a long time to read the 0% 22% 32% 32% 14%
questions during the exam before
starting to answer.
34 I feel disturbed when a friend 0% 2% 12% 44% 42%
beside me asks during the exam.
35 I have to take a remedial session 2% 6% 28% 34% 30%
because the score does not reach
the Minimum Mastery Criterion.

Table 6 shows that three main issues caused the students to face difficulties in
facing the CBME. The first issue was related to the facilities needed to conduct the
CBME. Despite that the students did not face difficulty in operating computers and
internet systems (Item 27 at 19% in agreement), the obstacles in facilities were
depicted in Item 26 that the students did not participate in tryouts using computers
(64% in agreement), Item 29 that they had to bring a handphone because of the
limitation of school computers (84% in agreement), and Item 30 that they had to wait
for a long time to log in to the exam because the server was slow (62%). Sufficient
facilities to promote ICT (information and communication technologies) throughout
Indonesia are still a struggle (Muslem et al., 2018; Silviyanti & Yusuf, 2015). There
are still many areas in the country, especially remote ones, that do not have access to
them or the privilege to own them (Kusuma, 2022).
The second issue is related to their psychological being, where 56% agreed that
they felt ‘uncomfortable when the server system error during the exam progress (Item
31), and this probably caused them to be nervous in facing this exam (Item 27 where
44% of students agreed). Then there is Item 34 on being intimidated by their peers;
this was agreed by 86% of the students that they ‘felt disturbed when a friend beside
them asked them questions during the exam’. It is common for EFL learners around
the world to have anxiety in language learning. This is because many EFL learners
struggle to speak English fluently due to a lack of practice or fear of making mistakes
(Erdiana et al., 2020; Hanifa, 2018), and different social settings, social status,
relationships between speakers and interlocutors and gender differences are also
important factors that cause language anxiety for EFL students (Debreli & Demirkan,
2016; Hanifa, 2018; Limeranto & Subekti, 2021). Again, when this is further bothered
by peers during exams, anxiety may increase and affect the outcomes of their exam
results.
The third issue is linked to their skills or ability in the English language. For Item
32, 62% of students agreed that they had ‘difficulty understanding English vocabulary
in the exam’, and for Item 33 where 46% agreed that it took them ‘a long time to read
the questions during the exam before starting to answer’. Item 35 on ‘taking a remedial
session because the score does not reach the Minimum Mastery Criterion’ got 64% of
agreement. This exposes that students were still struggling with the English subject.
Moreover, it seems that reading skills played a big role in the CBME, and this is true
in this case where to understand the questions in the exam, reading becomes the
dominant skill that students must master (Appelbaum & Honeggar, 1998; Hvalshagen
et al., 2022). Without grasping the concept of reading, they would face some problems
in comprehending foreign language texts (Limeranto & Subekti, 2021). It is suggested
that this skill be enhanced by the teachers to their students. Consequently, the students’
900 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 884-906, 2023

response does not corroborate with the lecturers who claimed that their effort to help
students prepare for the exam was sufficient.
These findings on the obstacles faced by students align with the results by
Retnawati et al. (2017). They also reported that the challenges students encounter in
computer-based tests or assessments concern the Internet and the electricity supply,
the test supervisors who had to learn their duties by themselves, and the students who
still need familiarity with the use of ICT. They added that to deal with such challenges,
the schools can employ strategies by making efforts to provide standard electronic
equipment through collaboration with the students’ parents and stakeholders, and
further improve the curriculum content by adding ICT as a school subject (Retnawati
et al., 2017).

5. CONCLUSION

Based on the results of the study, the first research question on the teachers’
design of the CBME, it was found that the teachers agree to the change in the final
exam model because it was suitable to the context and situation of each school. They
also understood the sources to use in designing the exam questions and claimed to have
made sufficient efforts in preparing the students to face the exam. Surprisingly, the
teachers claimed that they did not face any obstacles in developing the exam questions.
This result needs affirmation from more madrasah teachers preparing the CBME and
teaching English in Aceh in future related studies.
In relation to the students’ learning strategies in facing the CBME, a number of
five strategies were investigated, which are time management, motivation, creating
study groups, practicing before the exam, and strengthening basic abilities. The
students were also found to face obstacles in the CBME. This is related to the third
research question. Based on the questionnaire, these obstacles were categorized into
three issues, they are related to the facilities to conduct the CBME, the students’
psychological being in facing the exam, and finally, their insufficient knowledge,
skills, or ability in the English language. In the case of this present study, it is suggested
that in the future, before implementing CMBE, the school must first have the necessary
facilities and more training for instructors in creating the CMBE evaluation model.
Despite that this study has answered the research questions, it involved only
students in one school in a remote area in Aceh, Indonesia. The teachers were also
limited to two English teachers at the school under study. Therefore, this study
suggests that future research on this topic engages more students, schools, and
teachers, not just from Aceh, but from other areas in Indonesia as well. Furthermore,
adding more instruments to complement the findings, such as direct observations and
interviews with not only teachers, but also the students, principals, and stakeholders
would be worthy to administer.

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907 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 907-925, 2023

How do Indonesian EFL Students’

Writing Strategies and Writing Process
Differ from English L1 Students?
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Dian Fajrina*1
John Everatt2
Jo Fletcher2
Chris Astall2
Amir Sadeghi3
1
English Education Department, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education,
Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh 23111, INDONESIA
2
School of Teacher Education, College of Education, Health and Human
Development, University of Canterbury, Christchurch 8041,
NEW ZEALAND
3
Resource Teacher: Learning and Behaviour (RTLB) Cluster 12, Auckland,
NEW ZEALAND

Abstract
This research aimed to investigate the writing strategies applied by English
as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in Indonesia. It also investigated
how the writing process undergone by Indonesian EFL students differs
from students using English as their first language (L1). The writing
strategies questionnaire from Petrić and Czárl (2003) was used to find out
the strategies used by the EFL students. In addition, the adult writing
process model of Hayes (2012), which was constructed based on the
writing process of English as first language students, was used as the
framework to investigate the writing process applied by Indonesian
students. The participants were 135 English Education department
students from two Indonesian universities. Participants’ answers to the
questions in the questionnaire over the three stages of writing (pre-writing,
drafting, and revising) were analysed using a 5-point Likert scale. The
result revealed that the participants applied writing strategies at a
moderate level. They only frequently used 15 of the 38 strategies provided

*
Corresponding author, email: dian_fajrina@usk.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Fajrina, D., Everatt, J., Fletcher, J., Astall, C., & Sadeghi, A. (2022). How do
Indonesian EFL students’ writing strategies and writing process differ from English L1 students? Studies
in English Language and Education, 10(2), 907-925.

Received June 21, 2022; Revised December 10, 2022; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.28888
D. Fajrina, J. Everatt, J. Fletcher, C. Astall & A. Sadeghi, How do Indonesian EFL students’
writing strategies and writing process differ from English L1 students? | 908

in the questionnaire at high frequency. The 15 strategies used at high

frequencies described the participants’ writing process which indicated
some differences from that of the writing process undergone by the English
L1 students. The findings aim to inform theories of second/foreign
language writing performance, as well as support the design of teaching
writing courses in English Education majors in Indonesia. The data may
also be useful for educators in other countries teaching English as a second
or foreign language.

Keywords: EFL students, English L1 Students, writing process.

1. INTRODUCTION

Writing is considered a difficult skill, be it written in a first language and even

more, in another language, such as English. The difficulty is especially faced by
undergraduates in Indonesia majoring in English Education. This is because as students
in the department, they have to use English to answer written examinations, and write
assignments. Moreover, as part of their graduation requirements, they have to produce
an undergraduate thesis in English at the end of their studies. The challenge is made
even more difficult by the fact that English is a foreign language in Indonesia, where it
is only used in English lessons or at international events (Fajrina, 2022).
Research has indicated significant differences in the writing process between
writing in English as a first language (L1) and as a second language (L2). This includes
differences in applying writing strategies in three writing stages: planning, transcribing,
and reviewing (Silva, 1993). EFL students have demonstrated a greater application of
strategies during the drafting stage than during the prewriting or revision stages (Chen,
2011; Maarof & Murat, 2013; Xiao, 2016). However, another study of 50 university
students in Malaysia revealed that the strategies were used more frequently during the
planning stage than throughout the writing and revising stages (Aluemalai & Maniam,
2020).
Turning to the Indonesian context, a similar study was conducted on freshmen
majoring in English Education (Dari et al., 2022). Using the same questionnaire (that
of Petrić & Czárl, 2003) utilized in the research mentioned previously, Dari et al. (2022)
found that the students employed more strategies during the writing stage than
strategies in the prewriting and revising stages. Another study in Indonesia was
conducted to investigate how graduate students used writing strategies while
composing their work by using think-aloud protocols (Arifin, 2017). According to
these data, skilled students used writing strategies more frequently and repeatedly than
their less skilled peers.
Regarding the types of strategies used, high-level proficiency university students
in Malaysia utilize more metacognitive, cognitive, affective, and effort regulation
strategies compared to low-level proficiency participants (Raoofi, et al., 2017). While
in Indonesia, Ardila (2020) revealed that compensation and affective strategies are the
two most commonly used strategies by Indonesian students.
A search for studies of the writing strategies used by native speakers of English
revealed one study conducted in England by Abdul-Rahman (2011). She compared the
writing strategies of three groups of university students: British students who were
909 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 907-925, 2023

English first language (L1) speakers, versus Libyan and Chinese students who used
English as their foreign language (EFL). The findings showed that the three groups of
participants utilized similar strategies. However, the L1 students approached the
strategies differently to that their EFL peers. The different approaches in applying the
writing strategies indicated the different processes conducted by the participants during
the process.
The aforementioned studies looked at the stage of writing where the writing
strategies were frequently used (Aluemalai & Maniam, 2020; Arifin, 2017; Chen, 2011;
Maarof & Murat, 2013), and the most common types of writing strategies employed
(Ardila, 2020; Raoofi, et al., 2017). However, no study has been conducted yet with
participants in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Moreover, there has not been a study that
compared the strategies employed by English L1 and Indonesian EFL students. This
study intended to fill in the gap by examining how the writing processes and strategies
used by EFL students in Indonesia differ from those used by students who speak
English as their first language. The research questions for this study are:
1. What are writing strategies frequently used by Indonesian EFL students?
2. What are the types of writing strategies frequently used?
3. How does the writing process applied by Indonesian EFL students differ from that
of students of English native speakers?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Writing Strategies

Language learning strategies are defined as “specific actions taken by the learner
to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and
more transferable to new situations” (Oxford, 1990, p. 8). Moreover, Abas and Aziz
(2018) stated that learning strategies are actions employed by second language students
during the process of producing a text. Writing strategy is also defined as “the sequence
in which a writer engages in planning, composing, revising and other writing-related
activities” (Torrance et al., 2000, p. 83).
Second language acquisition (SLA) academics like O’Malley and Chamot (1990)
and Oxford (1990) have categorized strategies for language learning. The goals of the
strategies are to increase the conversational skills of students whose English is their
additional language (Oxford, 1990). According to Oxford (1990), the majority of
learning strategies are appropriate for use in both domains, even if there are distinctions
between learning L1 and additional language and it is indisputable that some learning
strategies work better in one environment than another.
Oxford’s (1990) classifications of writing strategies are used in this study
because it is well documented in the literature (Tzivinikou et al., 2021). The strategies
were classified as direct or indirect. Memory strategies, cognitive strategies, and
compensating strategies are all covered by direct strategies. Memory strategies are
utilized “for remembering and retrieving new information” (p. 14), which can be
accomplished by memorizing an abstract word using locations. Cognitive strategies
can help with “understanding and producing language” (p. 14). Compensation
strategies are helpful to assist students to fill in a hole in the information flow (Oxford,
1990).
D. Fajrina, J. Everatt, J. Fletcher, C. Astall & A. Sadeghi, How do Indonesian EFL students’
writing strategies and writing process differ from English L1 students? | 910

In contrast, indirect strategies are classified into metacognitive, affective, and

social strategies. Metacognitive strategies are those employed “to coordinate the
learning process” (Oxford, 1990, p. 15). Metacognitive strategies are “students’ global
skills and knowledge about cognition for helping them raise their self-awareness, direct
their own learning, and monitor their own progress” (Larenas et al., 2017, p. 89).
Affective strategies are employed “to regulate emotions” (Oxford, 1990, p. 15). Social
strategies are learning strategies that include collaborating with peers (Oxford, 1990).
This research used writing strategies proposed by Oxford (1990) to examine the various
types of writing strategies utilized by the students.

2.2 EFL Students’ Use of Writing Strategies

Second language (L2) and foreign language (FL) learners’ application of writing
strategies was indicated to differ in several ways from that of native English speakers.
When writing in a first language, writers have readily available words in their
vocabulary repertoire and are able to use grammatical structures in an automatized
way. However, writing in a second language requires writers to be linguistically
educated and competent in the target language (Schoonen et al., 2003). Other than
linguistic knowledge, writing strategies also influence the quality of academic writing
(Wong, 2012).
A study in Malaysia indicated that proficient ESL students employ the same
strategies as their less proficient counterparts. The primary difference between the two
groups was the frequency with which the proficient ESL students used the strategies as
opposed to the less proficient ones (Abdullah et al., 2011). Another study of Malaysian
university students discovered that proficient students used more metacognitive
strategies than their less proficient peers (Raoofi et al., 2014).
Comparing the writing strategies applied by EFL and L1 students, Abdul-
Rahman’s (2011) study found two groups of students used three strategies differently:
organization strategy during the prewriting stage, content strategy, and mechanical
approach during the revising and editing stage. For example, in the planning stage,
when EFL students require additional explanation on a topic, they will discuss it in
their study group, whereas L1 students will seek clarification from their supervisor.
This study investigated the frequency and the types of writing strategies used
by EFL students in Indonesia regardless of the differences in participants’ proficiency
in English. By referring to Hayes’ (2012) writing model, this study also investigated
how the writing process of Indonesian EFL students differs from those of students of
English native speakers.

2.3 Models of the Writing Process

Numerous writing models have been created to learn in depth the actions and
mental processes of writers. One of the first attempts was the model created by Flower
and Hayes (1981), which has primarily been used to identify the writing strategies used
by first-language students (Sevgi, 2016). The most recent model for explaining adult
writing was developed by Hayes (2012) (see Figure 1) which he claimed to be the most
complete model. In contrast to Flower and Hayes’s (1981) model, this one incorporates
additional elements that affect the writing process at the control, process, and resource
phases.
911 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 907-925, 2023

Figure 1. A model of the adult writing process (Hayes, 2012)

The control phase covers motivation, goal-setting, the current plan, and writing
schema. A comprehensive explanation of the model is given by Hayes and Olinghouse
(2015, pp. 481-487). Motivation is necessary to ensure the writer completes the writing
piece. Setting a goal for the text helps the writer stay motivated. The goal can be to
persuade the readers about anything or to debate, describe, narrate, or depict. The goal
of the writer will affect how the content is shaped. The main goal, known as the current
plan, will be broken down into achievable subgoals. The writing schema includes an
understanding of the text’s qualities as well as the writing strategies employed. The
instructions received, life experiences, and cultural upbringing all have an effect on the
way a piece is organized. These elements: motivation, goal-setting, the present plan,
and writing schema, which is found in the control phase of the model, influence and
direct the composing activity.
The process phase covers both the task environment and the writing process. The
writing process – or the writers’ thought process – begins when topics are submitted.
An outline is then written on a sheet of paper to express this concept. Following that,
the concepts are written down as a writing draft during the transcription phase. Any
time during the writing process, a piece of writing can be assessed. The evaluator is
free to change the suggested idea, the translator’s outline, and the transcription.
Activities linked to review or planning are excluded at this level. The reason for this is
that the writing process is recursive and non-linear, requiring planning and editing.
The task environment of a writer includes social and physical factors that affect
the writer’s surroundings and the writing process. Social components might take the
form of peer and instructor comments and ideas, as well as criticism and collaboration.
These suggestions and criticisms offer the proposer information during the writing
phase that aids in the concept’s development. Physical elements include things like
D. Fajrina, J. Everatt, J. Fletcher, C. Astall & A. Sadeghi, How do Indonesian EFL students’
writing strategies and writing process differ from English L1 students? | 912

written plans, transcription equipment, and previously written content. Any references
a writer makes while drafting a suggestion are considered task materials. Brief notes
from the written plans are used to generate writing subject ideas or writing outlines,
which the translator then puts into a draft. During the writing process, the transcriber
employs transcribing technology, such as typing the written content on a computer.
Later, the transcriber went back and revised the earlier text if necessary or to come up
with ideas for writing.
Four elements at the resource phase: reading, working memory, attention, and
long-term memory, are utilized for communicating, making decisions, and solving
problems in addition to writing. The writer must pay attention to maintain
concentration during the composing activity. Long-term memory refers to the writer’s
ability how to compose writing. These could include linguistic abilities as well as
relevant historical details and current events. The fluency and quality of the writing
will therefore depend on the writer’s general familiarity with the subject and experience
with the language used in writing. Working memory was used during the writing
process to organize the information stored in long-term memory. Reading as a resource
can involve reading original writing or works by other authors. Reading other writers’
works is done with the intention of using them as references, whilst reading one’s own
previously written work is crucial for editing or continuation procedures.

3. METHODS

3.1 Participants

The data was collected from 135 participants (123 females and 12 males)
enrolled in two public universities in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. The participants were all
English Education majors.

3.2 Instruments

The writing strategies questionnaire of Petrić and Czárl (2003) was adapted for
this study. The questionnaire was created to examine the “self-reported writing
strategies of a large number of non-native English speakers who write in English for
academic purposes” (p. 188). The cognitive model of first language processing by
Flower and Hayes (1981) served as the foundation for the questionnaire. It has been
extensively used to look into the strategies second language learners employ to carry
out their writing assignments (Al Kubaidi, 2014; Bai et al., 2014; Dari et al., 2022;
Maarof & Murat, 2013; Xiao, 2016; Zhang, 2015). In this study, the questionnaire
captured students’ opinions about the strategies they employed when completing their
writing in English, so was not limited to the writing tasks participants did for this study.
Two sections are included in the questionnaire: the first section contains
information about the characteristics of the participants. Six questions made up the first
part of the questionnaire: gender, native language, number of years spent learning
English, participation in an English writing course before enrolling in the university,
types of texts they typically write in English, and level of enjoyment of writing in
English. Students’ strategies for writing texts were included in the second part of the
questionnaire. This section was split into three parts: prewriting (8 items), drafting (14
913 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 907-925, 2023

items), and revising (16 items). Types of writing strategies are divided into direct and
indirect strategies (Oxford, 1990).

3.3 Data Analysis Procedures

To answer the first and the second research questions, the students were
instructed to rate each statement in the questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale, with 1
being ‘never use’, 2 being ‘usually not use’, 3 being ‘sometimes use’, 4 being ‘usually
use’, and 5 being ‘always use’. Oxford (1990, p. 300) divided the frequency of use of
the strategies into three groups:
(i) low, which includes statements that are rarely or never used (between 1.0 and 1.4)
and statements that are usually not used (between 1.5 and 2.4),
(ii) moderate, which includes statements that are sometimes used (between 2.5 and
3.4), and
(iii) high, which includes statements that are usually used (between 3.5 and 4.4) and
statements that are always or nearly always used (between 4.5 and 5.0). Analyses
of the students’ answers to the questionnaires were performed using SPSS version
25.0.
Participants’ answers to the high frequency used strategies were analysed to
investigate the stage of writing where the writing strategies were frequently used, and
the most common types of writing strategies used as classified by Oxford (1990).
Participants’ responses to the questionnaire should also indicate the writing process
they went through. The findings were then compared to Hayes’ writing model which
provides a basis for understanding first-language students’ writing process (see Hayes,
2012; Hayes & Olinghouse, 2015), and to Abdul-Rahman’s (2011) study on the
differences in the writing strategies used between EFL and L1 students.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

4.1 Participants’ Frequency of Writing Strategies Used

To find the answer to the first research question, ‘what are writing strategies
frequently used by Indonesian EFL students?’ the mean and standard deviations (SD)
for reported strategy use at each stage of writing are displayed in Table 1. The mean
for all responses to the items in the questionnaire was 3.34 and SD was .438. Based on
Oxford (1990) (see sub-section 3.3 on classifications of frequency levels), this
demonstrates that overall, the strategies were utilized at a medium frequency (2.5 to
3.4). The strategies in the drafting stage were the most utilized with M=3.67, but at a
moderate level in the prewriting stage (M=3.32) and revising stage (M=3.03).
Table 1. Summary of writing strategy used in each stage.
Stage Mean Standard deviation Level
Prewriting 3.32 .439 Moderate
Drafting 3.67 .415 High
Revising 3.03 .459 Moderate
Overall writing 3.34 .438 Moderate
D. Fajrina, J. Everatt, J. Fletcher, C. Astall & A. Sadeghi, How do Indonesian EFL students’
writing strategies and writing process differ from English L1 students? | 914

4.1.1 Prewriting

The participants’ answers to the prewriting strategies are displayed in Table 2.

Participants’ choice of strategies, based on the number and percentage answering each
item option, as well as the mean and standard deviation of option choices, are included.
High response levels were related to 48 participants (35.6%) indicating that they always
made an effort to be knowledgeable of the requirements. This finding implies that
participants appreciated the knowledge of the essay’s requirements, which may include
being aware of the topic and word limit. Some 49 participants (36.3%) used a written
sample produced by a native speaker or a more experienced writer as a guide. This
implies that participants believed using a writing model will improve their writing.
Furthermore, 36 participants (26.7%) indicated that they always employed
strategy number six, which involves taking brief notes and noting important terms
connected to the topic. This high-use strategy should assist participants in maintaining
concentration and limiting their writing to the current topic. To conclude, the
participants reported applying three strategies frequently and the remaining five
strategies only occasionally.

Table 2. Descriptive analysis of participants’ use of prewriting strategies.

Prewriting N UN S U A
No. Mean SD Level
stage (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
1. Create a 32 33 45 16 9 2.53 1.171 Moderate
schedule (23.7) (24.4) (32.3) (11.9) (6.7)
2. Aware of the 1 6 36 44 48 3.98 .934 High
prerequisites (.7) (4.4) (26.7) (32.6) (35.6)
3. Examine a 0 1 34 51 49 4.10 .800 High
writing sample (0.0) (.7) (25.2) (37.8) (36.3)
4. Writing without 22 39 45 19 10 2.67 1.132 Moderate
a plan (16.3) (28.9) (33.3) (14.1) (7.4)
5. Make a plan in 12 20 52 29 22 3.21 1.155 Moderate
mind (8.9) (14.8) (38.5) (21.5) (16.3)
6. Take down 2 8 37 52 36 3.83 .943 High
quick notes (1.5) (5.9) (27.4) (38.5) (26.7)
7 Make an 6 17 59 32 21 3.33 1.029 Moderate
outline (4.4) (12.6) (43.7) (23.7) (15.6)
8 Take notes in 19 34 38 28 16 2.91 1.225 Moderate
first language (14.1) (25.2) (28.1) (20.7) (11.9)
Note: N=never use, UN=usually not use, S=somewhat use, U=usually use, A=always use

The data from the prewriting stage revealed a relatively low level of
organizational strategies. Participants’ response to the first strategy, making a schedule
for the writing process, showed that they tended to lean toward the never use side of
the scale (approximately 24% of students chose never or usually not use for each).
The Libyan students in Abdul-Rahman’s (2011) study also indicated a lack of
organizational strategies in the planning stage. In contrast, British students prefer to
have a timetable to assist them in organizing their work. Based on her interview with
the students, Abdul-Rahman (2011) concluded that students’ educational background,
L2 writing instruction, and feedback they received in the classroom may influence the
students in employing such strategies.
915 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 907-925, 2023

4.1.2 Drafting

The strategies employed during the drafting stage are provided in Table 3. The
mean, standard deviation, the number of participants, and the percentage of the
responses are displayed in the table. At this writing stage, participants utilized nine
high-level strategies. For strategy number one, 51 participants (37.8%) said they always
started with an introduction. This shows that participants were mindful that the
introduction should give readers information about the essay’s topic.

Table 3. Descriptive analysis of participants’ use of drafting strategies.

N UN S U A
No. Drafting stage Mean SD Level
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
1. Begin with an 0 2 23 51 59 4.24 .784 High
introduction (0.0) (1.5) (17.0) (37.8) (43.7)
2. Pause after one 2 11 39 47 36 3.77 .985 High
sentence (1.5) (8.1) (28.9) (34.8) (26.7)
3. Pause after several 0 7 41 56 31 3.82 .845 High
sentences (0.0) (5.2) (30.4) (41.5) (23.0)
4. Reread what you just 1 1 8 43 82 4.51 .711 High
typed (.7) (.7) (5.9) (31.9) (60.7)
5. Return to draft and 5 21 63 35 11 3.19 .926 Moderate
make changes (3.7) (15.6) (46.7) (25.9) (8.1)
6. Write some text in 13 30 58 25 9 2.90 1.029 Moderate
first language (9.6) (22.2) (43.0) (18.5) (6.7)
7. Certainty in grammar 4 33 56 36 6 3.05 .900 Moderate
and vocabulary (3.0) (24.4) (41.5) (26.7) (4.4)
8. Simplify my writing 0 3 39 65 28 3.87 .757 High
(0.0) (2.2) (28.9) (48.1) (20.7)
9. Write in my first 1 11 33 43 47 3.92 .993 High
language, then (.7) (8.1) (24.4) (31.9) (34.8)
translate it into
English
10. Look for a word with 1 1 34 45 54 4.11 .861 High
a similar (.7) (.7) (25.2) (33.3) (40.0)
idea/synonym
11. Find a word in a 5 11 44 38 37 3.67 1.078 High
dictionary (3.7) (8.1) (32.6) (28.1) (27.4)
12. Utilize a bilingual 4 4 28 42 57 4.07 1.009 High
dictionary (3.0) (3.0) (20.7) (31.1) (42.2)
13. Utilize a 11 31 58 22 13 2.96 1.054 Moderate
monolingual (8.1) (23.0) (43.0) (16.3) (9.6)
dictionary
14. Request assistance 11 21 47 26 30 3.32 1.213 Moderate
from peers and/or (8.1) (15.6) (34.8) (19.3) (22.2)
teachers
Note: N=never use, UN=usually not use, S=somewhat use, U=usually use, A=always use

According to strategies 2, 3, and 4, participants experienced difficulty with

fluency where they usually or always pause whenever they finish writing a sentence or
a paragraph, they go back and read it to acquire ideas for how to continue. It can be
assumed that the participants performed poorly during the planning stage, in addition
to showing that they were attempting to create their writing in a coherent manner. This
notion is reinforced by the fact that during the planning stage, the strategy of taking
brief notes was utilized frequently, whereas the strategy of writing an outline was only
D. Fajrina, J. Everatt, J. Fletcher, C. Astall & A. Sadeghi, How do Indonesian EFL students’
writing strategies and writing process differ from English L1 students? | 916

occasionally employed. Hu and Chen (2007) assert that writing a whole phrase rather
than just noting terms and brief summaries of the subject are more effective.
The eighth strategy, simplifying a sentence to express their ideas, was always
used by 28 of the participants (20.7%) and usually used by another 65 (48.1%)
participants. This strategy was the second-most frequently employed strategy when
participants found it difficult to continue writing. Most participants (34.8%) claimed
they would write in their first language before translating it to English and tried to
identify a synonym or related word for the word they need in English (40.0%). The
majority of participants also regularly used the dictionary (strategy no. 11). Only 9.6%
of participants (97) always used a monolingual dictionary, whereas 57 (42.2%) always
used a bilingual dictionary. This type of dictionary is argued to provide students with
the definitions they require (Richards & Renandya, 2002). The participants in this study
stated they applied both printed and electronic dictionaries, but preferred the latter since
it was more practical. The other five strategies were less frequently employed. In this
stage of writing, participants indicated more frequent use of strategies compared to the
other stages. Abdul-Rahman (2011) found no substantial difference between L1 and
EFL students in terms of how they approach this stage of writing.

4.1.3 Revising

The strategies used during the revising phase are displayed in Table 4. As
previously, the mean and standard deviation (SD) are shown together with the
participants’ frequency of response (and percentages) for each option. Only three
strategies were found to be applied at a high level of use. The strategy of examining
the essay’s requirements was usually used by 60 participants (44.4%), while 46 (34.1%)
claimed they always use this strategy. This is consistent with the fact that they
frequently used strategy no. 2 during the prewriting stage; i.e., being aware of the
writing prerequisites before beginning to write. This demonstrated that despite the fact
that this strategy only addresses the writing’s surface rather than its content, these
participants still value paying attention to the requirements for writing. Only 28
participants (20.7%) indicated that they always showed their text to someone and
solicited their feedback, but another 42 (31.1%) indicated that they did so frequently.
The participants’ final frequently used strategy was to review errors once they
had received feedback from their teacher. The majority of participants – 55 (40.7%) –
claimed they always employed this strategy. The last two strategies suggested that
participants valued criticism, especially from their lecturers, as a way to enhance their
work. However, in most cases, students are required to produce a draft and submit it to
the teacher as the final draft. Therefore, students would not have the chance to change
their work based on the feedback if the teacher just provided the feedback after
returning their paper and not during the writing process.
Ten strategies reached a medium degree of frequency of use during the revising
phase. The other three strategies were used at low frequency. To sum up, three
strategies at a high level, another three at a low level, and the remaining ten at a
moderate level – were used by the participants in this revising stage.
Participants’ responses to the strategies they used during the revising stage
suggest that these students may put less effort into revising their work. This may also
be evident in their responses to questions related to making changes in vocabulary,
sentence structure, essay structure, and content. This finding supports Abdul-Rahman’s
917 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 907-925, 2023

(2011) study where she found that EFL students used strategies related to revising the
content of their work less than the L1 students did. The EFL students focus more on
the language structure while the L1 students focus more on clarity.

Table 4. Descriptive analysis of participants’ use of revising strategies.

N UN S U A
No. Revising stage Mean SD Level
(%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
1. Read the text 30 33 39 22 11 2.64 1.225 Moderate
out loud (22.2) (24.4) (28.9) (16.3) (8.1)
2. Read the text 9 38 46 25 17 3.02 1.116 Moderate
after completed (6.7) (28.1) (34.1) (18.5) (12.6)
3. Submit the 82 34 13 3 3 1.60 .916 Low
paper without (60.7) (25.2) (9.6) (2.2) (2.2)
reading
4. Utilize a 13 27 49 34 12 3.04 1.095 Moderate
dictionary (9.6) (20.0) (36.3) (25.2) (8.9)
5. Make lexical 5 17 65 38 10 3.23 .897 Moderate
adjustments (3.7) (12.6) (48.1) (28.1) (7.4)
6. Make sentence 2 18 62 43 10 3.30 .849 Moderate
structure (1.5) (13.3) (45.9) (31.9) (7.4)
adjustments
7. Change the 4 32 66 25 8 3.01 .885 Moderate
essay’s (3.0) (23.7) (48.9) (18.5) (5.9)
organization
8. Make 12 35 53 27 8 2.88 1.023 Moderate
modifications to (8.9) (25.9) (39.3) (20.0) (5.9)
the content
9. Editing one 3 18 62 37 15 3.32 .920 Moderate
item at a time (2.2) (13.3) (45.9) (27.4) (11.1)
10. Delete the 36 48 30 15 6 2.31 1.116 Low
initial work and (26.7) (35.6) (22.2) (11.1) (4.4)
rewrite it.
11. Examine the 0 1 28 60 46 4.12 .754 High
essay’s (0.0) (.7) (20.7) (44.4) (34.1)
prerequisites
12. Set aside the 17 29 40 38 11 2.98 1.156 Moderate
draft (12.6) (21.5) (29.6) (28.1) (8.1)
13. Show someone 3 22 40 42 28 3.52 1.064 High
the text (2.2) (16.3) (29.6) (31.1) (20.7)
14. Contrast with 15 22 42 37 19 3.17 1.194 Moderate
work written by (11.1) (16.3) (31.1) (27.4) (14.1)
friends.
15. Reward myself 50 36 21 15 13 2.30 1.328 Low
(37.0) (26.7) (15.6) (11.1) (9.6)
16. Check for errors 3 7 27 43 55 4.04 1.010 High
following (2.2) (5.2) (20.0) (31.9) (40.7)
feedback
Note: N=never use, UN=usually not use, S=somewhat use, U=usually use, A=always use

Based on the percentages of the writing strategies used, it showed that the
participants employed more strategies during the drafting stage (9 strategies) than
during the prewriting (3 strategies) and revising stages (3 strategies). Of the 38
strategies, only 15 were frequently used by the participants. Hu and Chen (2007) assert
that depending on the need for writing, students’ use of strategies will either increase
or decrease. This implies that assignment difficulty may have an impact on students’
D. Fajrina, J. Everatt, J. Fletcher, C. Astall & A. Sadeghi, How do Indonesian EFL students’
writing strategies and writing process differ from English L1 students? | 918

decisions regarding their writing strategy.

The findings of this study are consistent with previous studies (Chen, 2011; Dari
et al., 2022; Maarof & Murat, 2013; Xiao, 2016) where the drafting stage was observed
to be where the EFL students used writing strategies more frequently. However, caution
may still be needed before assuming that all strategies used will be found to be at a
moderate level. For example, the writing strategies questionnaire was created in 2003,
at a time when students did not have access to resources such as an electronic
dictionary, nor to online artificial intelligence tools that can offer lots of assistance in
writing in English. Strategy use may increase with such availability.

4.2 Participants’ Types of Writing Strategies Used

To address the second research question, the types of strategies employed were
examined in accordance with Oxford’s (1990), ‘what are the types of writing strategies
frequently used?’ The findings indicated that in the prewriting stage, participants
employed one cognitive strategy to comprehend and generate the language, as well as
two metacognitive strategies that assist to coordinate the learning process. The
metacognitive strategies were used in understanding the requirements for the essay and
studying the writing sample to learn how to write the essay. The application of these
two metacognitive strategies was somewhat consistent with Abdul-Rahman’s (2011)
findings. She found that only Chinese students outline their work at the planning stage
by determining the writing requirements to determine what the tutors actually wish for.
Other kinds of outlining were favoured by Libyan and British students. In this stage,
students from Libya and China examine a writing sample. The students from China and
Libya believed that a writing model assisted them in acquiring the English language’s
grammatical structure and writing organization. However, it was not mentioned that
British students used a writing model. The participants in this study prewrote their work
by making brief topic-related notes as a cognitive approach.
The participants employed metacognitive strategies frequently during the writing
stage. These included having an introduction and pausing to reread their work after
finishing a sentence or a paragraph. These strategies seemed to be employed to generate
ideas on how to carry on with their task. Additionally, the students used compensating
strategies. According to Oxford (1990), who researched language acquisition
processes, intelligent guessing and overcoming obstacles are two examples of
compensating strategies. In the current study, participants who had trouble articulating
their ideas utilized compensatory strategies by simplifying what they wanted to write.
In order to compensate for their inability to recall a term in English, either they would
look for an English synonym for the word or write the word down in Indonesian before
translating it to English.
The participants also used cognitive methods by consulting a dictionary in
addition to metacognitive and compensatory strategies. They claimed that utilizing an
electronic bilingual dictionary was preferable to a monolingual version. The lack of a
monolingual dictionary may have been due to the fact that the translation may have
included a new word, making it even more challenging for the students to comprehend,
or it may have been because the students needed to understand the text they were
reading right away (Laufer & Aviad, 2006). In contrast, employing a bilingual
dictionary spares the learner from learning new words by defining a foreign term using
a word or phrase from the native tongue, in this case Indonesian, to illustrate its
919 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 907-925, 2023

meaning. Applications for their cell phones, such as U-Dictionary, were cited as the
type of dictionary that the participants said they used regularly. They argued that having
the dictionary installed on their phone is convenient. In addition to receiving word-by-
word translations in “a click” utilizing this type of dictionary, users may also access
example sentences followed by a direct translation into their native tongue. The sample
phrases help the participants comprehend how to use the word properly. This result
confirms the findings of Ardila’s (2020) study, which showed that students preferred
compensatory strategies.
The participants used cognitive strategies during the revision stage by making
sure their essays agreed with the specifications and by using the lecturers’ input to
assess their work. The writing prompt sheet contains the requirements, including the
topic for the writing assignment, the word limit, etc. The input from teachers typically
focused on the language’s structure rather than immediately commenting on the text’s
content and rhetorical devices. According to a study by Budiharso (2014) on the
application of writing strategies by EFL students in Indonesia, when giving feedback,
EFL teachers tend to focus more on grammar, mechanics, and mechanical conventions
of writing, such as the presence of the main idea, introduction, supporting details, and
conclusion. There was no in-depth discussion of the subject or rhetorical strategies.
This demonstrated that the teacher gave greater consideration to the language’s
structure and the presence of the aspects needed to write a text. Contrarily, the text’s
subject matter and the way the students presented it (rhetorical strategies), which might
be impacted by cultural elements or educational experiences, were not discussed.
The students also used a social strategy during the revision stage by presenting
their work to their peers and requesting feedback or assistance. In a related study,
Abdullah et al. (2011) discovered that students communicated with one another by
asking for an English word’s translation. The research found that students not only
consult dictionaries for the word’s translation but also ask their friends for assistance.
To sum up, metacognitive strategies were employed more frequently in this study
than other strategies: two were used during the prewriting stage, four during the
drafting stage, and another two during the revising stage. This result supports the
previous finding by Raoofi et al. (2014) who found that skilled students prefer to utilize
metacognitive strategies, followed by cognitive, compensation, and social strategy. In
a different study, Raoofi et al. (2017) found that students employed more
metacognitive, cognitive, affective, and effort regulation strategies than other writing
strategies.

4.3 Indonesian EFL Students’ Writing Process through The Lens of Hayes’
Writing Model (2012)

The third research question, ‘how does the writing process applied by Indonesian
EFL students differ from that of students of English native speakers?’ was answered
by comparing the participants’ responses to the demographic questions in the first part
of the questionnaire and their responses to the writing strategies questionnaire and
Hayes’s (2012) writing model of the writing process. Participants’ responses should
reflect their writing process as EFL students. On the other hand, Hayes’s (2012) writing
model, which was created based on the writing process of L1 students, should reflect
the writing process conducted by L1 students.
The background questionnaire responses revealed that the sample had a different
D. Fajrina, J. Everatt, J. Fletcher, C. Astall & A. Sadeghi, How do Indonesian EFL students’
writing strategies and writing process differ from English L1 students? | 920

proportion of male and female students (123 females and 12 males). In the English
Education Departments of the universities that took part in the study, female students
outnumbered male students by a ratio of around 75%: 25%. All participants
acknowledged having Bahasa Indonesia or Indonesian as their national language.
However, 64.4% of students said Indonesian was their second language because their
regional language was their first language. The participants were in their fifth, seventh,
and ninth semesters of study. Prior to enrolling in college, each participant had
completed six years of English coursework in high school, consistent with the high
school requirements in Indonesia. Participants admitted that they frequently wrote
quick notes for assignments, and 80% of students said they enjoyed writing in English
because it assisted them to get better in their language skills. Others, on the other hand,
had trouble understanding English, lacked English vocabulary, or only produced essays
in English since it was required as homework for writing classes. Through the lens of
Hayes’ writing model, this study examined how EFL students utilized writing strategies
as presented in Figure 2.

Figure 2. An illustration of Indonesian EFL students’ writing process (modified from

Hayes, 2012)

The demographic responses from the participants revealed that external

motivation influenced them more than internal motivation. This was demonstrated by
the participants’ writings, which were primarily academic in nature (writing essays for
school, for example), and less creative (writing stories for enjoyment).
921 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 907-925, 2023

Participants were assisted in formulating task goals by the frequent use of the
strategy during the prewriting stage of being aware of the work requirements. The
task’s conditions, which included the fact that it had to be finished in a certain amount
of time and met the limited word count, were also made clear to the participants. This
strategy is implemented at the control level and meets the organizational requirements
for writing tasks.
Participants reported that they were less prepared during the prewriting stage
since they did not set a schedule to complete their work, and only had a brief plan in
mind or some basic topic-related notes before starting to work on their current plan.
This result validates Abas and Aziz’s (2018) study on postgraduate English Language
Studies majors. Participants in their study admitted to having some ideas about how
their work should be organized but did not write them down. In contrast, the L1 students
in Abdul-Rahman’s (2011) study was well-prepared by having a timetable to help them
organize their writing schema.
The EFL students in this present study reported utilizing a writing model because
it offers a sample of the required work. The sample was used as one of the work
materials. The EFL students in Abdul-Rahman’s (2011) study argued that a sample
assignment assisted them in developing similar writing structure plans, and to develop
writing schemas as a result. In contrast, L1 students did not report using a writing
sample in producing their work.
The students in this study acted as proposers by drafting their work based on the
task materials during the writing phase. The EFL participants in this study indicated
that during this writing process, they would probably think and sometimes write in
Indonesian before translating it into English. Abdul-Rahman’s (2011) EFL students
employed an identical strategy by thinking and creating sentences in their minds using
their native tongues before translating them using written English. Conversely, L1
students used spoken English to formulate their ideas and later describe those ideas in
written English.
In this writing phase, the EFL students reported frequently stopping to revise the
content that had already been written. A similar strategy was also applied by the
students in Abas and Aziz’s (2018) study, where the EFL students frequently stopped
to gain more ideas before continue writing. The participants took on the role of
transcribers by applying writing conventions and creating a written text. The
transcribers managed the information needed to complete the task in working memory
at this stage. Only sometimes they acted as proposers and evaluators to modify the
original concepts.
The task environment is made up of both the social and physical task contexts.
Asking for comments or criticism from peers on a task that had already been completed
was the extent of the social task environment. However, in Indonesian classrooms,
asking a friend for help with the assignment would be considered cheating (Fajrina,
2022) as indicated by the moderate use of the strategy request assistance from peers
(see Table 3). Because of this, the figure does not depict a collaborative role as Hayes’s
(2012) writing model does.
Writing models and prompts were employed as task materials in this study. A
writing model was also used by EFL students in Abdul-Rahman’s (2011) study to
compose their work. Participants in Abas and Aziz’s (2018) study claimed, however,
instead of using a writing model, they would use their devices, such as cell phones and
laptops, to look for assistance, for example, to gather ideas before continuing to write
D. Fajrina, J. Everatt, J. Fletcher, C. Astall & A. Sadeghi, How do Indonesian EFL students’
writing strategies and writing process differ from English L1 students? | 922

or look up suitable words using an online dictionary. For transcribing, several

participants used laptop computers. Additionally, they used a bilingual dictionary
installed in their smartphone because it is useful and provides a clear translation
rapidly. They also acted as evaluators by proofreading their work for errors before
submitting it to their teacher.
Participants paid attention to the essay’s prerequisites in the planning and revising
process as indicated by high frequencies of the strategies aware of the essay’s
prerequisites in both phases. They also paid attention to their work during the writing
process by pausing several times either after writing a sentence or a paragraph. Students
were indicated to take benefit from their long-term memory and reading at the resource
level. This was indicated by the high level of applying the strategies to pause several
times and reread their work during the writing process to gain more ideas on how to
continue writing their work. Working memory contained the knowledge needed to
finish the writing assignment. Those resources are used in the activities of proposing,
translating, evaluating, and transcribing (Hayes & Olinghouse, 2015).
The writing process model in Figure 2 is slightly different from Hayes’s (2012)
writing model (see Figure 1). This is due to the fact that although ESL/EFL scholars
have used Hayes’s (2012) writing model throughout time to analyse the writing
processes of ESL/EFL students, its original intent was to investigate the writing
processes of students who were native English speakers. Therefore, it is natural that
participants’ writing processes diverge slightly from those of students whose first
language is English. As Abdul-Rahman (2011) claimed that the inconsistencies in
approach when putting the ideas into practice could happen due to variations in
classroom instruction, sociocultural difficulties, or other culturally specific factors.

5. CONCLUSION

The findings indicated that the participants did use a variety of writing strategies,
including metacognitive, compensatory, social, and cognitive ones. However, the
students did not yet apply the strategies regularly enough to get the most benefit. This
was shown by the general writing strategies that were employed with moderate
frequency. They only used strategies at high frequency at the drafting level which
supports the findings from previous studies. The findings from this study urged writing
teachers to direct their students to apply writing strategies to improve their writing
abilities, especially the strategies that the students can get lots of benefit from.
According to earlier studies on teaching writing to EFL students, strategies that are
explicitly taught to students enhance the quality of their writing.
This study compared and contrasted the application of the writing strategies used
between EFL and L1 students. It was revealed that the Indonesian EFL students used
writing abilities somewhat differently from the students who were native English
speakers. Participants were observed going through the writing process as described in
the model, albeit with a few small changes. These differences between the participants
in this study and those in Hayes’ study and also Abdul-Rahman’s (2011) study, who
were English native speakers, suggest different approaches to putting writing strategies
into practice during the writing process. The education gained in the classroom most
likely had an impact on the choice to employ a specific strategy. More research on the
923 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 907-925, 2023

elements that influence the choice of writing strategies should be conducted in order to
fully comprehend the rationale for employing various strategies.
One of the study’s limitations is that it was difficult to determine if the
participants’ responses to questions about writing strategies were based on what they
actually did or what they thought was the best answer. Interviews with the students
would have helped researchers to comprehend in-depth their reasons for choosing
particular strategies. Think-aloud protocols, in which students are directed to describe
the processes done throughout the writing process, can be used as another instrument.
The instrument may be able to provide a basis for determining the strategies used in
practice though they are not easy to utilize with big numbers of individuals involved
as in the present research.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) funded the study
presented in this paper.

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926 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 926-941, 2023

Vocational High School Students’ Identity

and Investment in Learning English in a
Rural Area
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Nur Annisa
Soni Mirizon*
Sary Silvhiany

Master’s Program of English Education, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education,

Universitas Sriwijaya, Palembang 30139, INDONESIA

Abstract
This study explored vocational high school (VHS) students’ identity and
investment during their English learning in the class at a private VHS in a
rural area. The aim of this study was to understand how student identity
impacted their investment in learning English. This study also attempted
to seek factors that influenced students’ investment in learning English. To
answer the research questions of this study, the narrative method was
applied. This study involved six students from a VHS. The data were
collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions
which was used to explore learning English at the VHS. The results
revealed that the students had different ideas about their English learning.
They are learning English outside the classroom, English necessity for
future career, reluctant in learning English, perspective on future self. This
study also revealed that the participants’ investment in learning English
was hindered by five factors such as teaching method, inconvenient
classroom environment, lack of knowledge, family, peer support, and
having a part time job. VHS students need support to encourage them to
commit investing their time and effort in improving their English language
skills. The implication of this study is the importance of teachers
encouraging learners’ investment in order to achieve desirable learning
outcomes.

Keywords: EFL students, identity, investment, vocational high school.

*
Corresponding author, email: smirizon@unsri.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Annisa, N., Mirizon, S., & Silvhiany, S. (2023). Vocational high school
students’ identity and investment in learning English in a rural area. Studies in English Language and
Education, 10(2), 926-942.

Received July 26, 2022; Revised December 1, 2022; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.27167
 N. Annisa, S. Mirizon & S. Silvhiany, Vocational high school students’ identity and
investment in learning English in a rural area | 927

1. INTRODUCTION

In Indonesia, vocational high school (VHS) is established to equip students with

certain skills. VHS offers vocational programs, such as tourism, arts, business and
management, engineering, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).
VHS Students are equipped with specific skills following the demand of the business
and industry world (Admadja & Marpanaji, 2016; Indriaturrahmi & Sudiyanto, 2016;
Sularti et al., 2019). In addition to having hands-on skills to compete with other
workers, mastering a foreign language such as English might help students tap into the
job market easier because English is one of the most widely spoken languages in the
world. However, not all students graduate with good English proficiency.
Many researchers consider the classroom situation a struggling place for students
to construct and negotiate their identity (Teng, 2019; Wirza, 2018). Those interactions
that occur in the classroom are needed because, at that time, there is a process of
identity negotiation. Identity is theorized as multiple sites of struggle and is changing
across time and space (Peirce, 1995). In the process of learning English, a learner
constantly reconstructs their identity as they go through different learning experiences.
They might have multiple identities. Their identities could be situated in a way that
made them marginalized and less involved in the target language society. This identity
continuously changes due to multiple factors and circumstances over time. A certain
experience may be received or replace another aspect of a learner’s perceived identity;
for instance, it changes due to the influence of language learning pressure (Teng,
2019).
Identity is associated with the concept of investment (Norton, 2010). The notion
of investment was introduced to explain the complicated relationship between learner
involvement in language learning and social surroundings (Peirce, 1995). Investment
can be used to understand learners’ classroom resistance when the value of their
linguistic and cultural capital increases. The concept of investment in this study
supports the research focus in broadening the view of what encourages students to
actively participate in language learning and why they resist. Understanding the
investments students make from the beginning of learning is crucial. If the teacher can
understand the occurrence of student resistance during learning, it will minimize
unsatisfactory learning outcomes (Muslim et al., 2020). What the learner has
experienced both inside and outside the language classroom and how the learner
chooses to act in responding to the societal and institutional power structures that limit
participation in the classroom should be considered (Wirza, 2018).
English in VHS is categorized as English for Specific Purposes (Richards, 2001;
Sumarni, et al., 2018). However, Mahbub (2018) said that English materials for VHS
students are general English. The materials provided for VHS students are the same as
for general high school students. Moreover, the Indonesian curriculum (Kurikulum 13
or K13) for VHS only allocates three hours of English classes once a week. As a result,
students’ English learning progress is slow. Time limitation slows their English
learning progress, where students in VHS lack English proficiency. While many
researchers conducted research on identity and investment in EFL settings with adult
learners (Ahn & Lee, 2017; Norton & Gao, 2008; Skilton-Sylvester 2002; Teng, 2019;
Vasilopoulos, 2015), it seems that there is still limited research on identity and
investment in language learning in Indonesian context especially research related to
VHS students. To fill this gap, this study focused on six students from a rural VHS and
928 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 926-941, 2023

investigated how student identity impacted their investment in learning English. This
study also attempted to seek factors that influenced students’ investment in learning
English. In relation to the issues mentioned above, the problems of this study are
formulated into the following research questions:
1. How do VHS students’ identities interact with their EFL learning investment?
2. What factors influence students’ investment in learning English?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Student Identity in Learning English

Identity views as dynamically constructed within multiple combinations of

experience and relationships. According to Darvin and Norton (2015, p. 36) identity is
seen as “how a person understands his or her relationship to the world, how that
relationship is constructed across time and space, and how the person understands
possibilities for the future”. The world, in this term, relates to the learner’s
surroundings and with whom he or she gets in touch. Further, identity is an unfixed
and static construct; it is always changing and evolving (Teng, 2019).
Negotiating identity is challenging and problematic (Vasilopoulos, 2015). In the
context of this study, VHS students depend entirely on English lessons in the
classroom. They put teachers as the main resource to engage with the target language.
Every experience in which students try to use the target language is an identity-
constructed and negotiated act. Wirza’s (2018) study revealed that identity
construction was influenced by the teacher’s role. Their identity in the classroom could
be positive or negative (Skilton-Sylvester, 2002; Teng, 2019).
Duff and Talmy (2011) added that language learners might conform, resist, or
negotiate the learner practices to mark their identity. Kim (2014) suggested that such
learning difficulties or failure are related to the learner’s identity and other
sociocultural aspects that impact the learning process. If teachers cannot provide
students with adequate opportunities to participate in classroom situations that are
agreeable to them, their development in the target language will be less than what
teachers may desire (Potowski, 2004).

2.2 Notion of Investment

Investment is an ever-changing phenomenon that depends on the learner’s

relationship with target language speakers/learners, and it is related to learners’
identity construction and negotiation during the language acquisition process of what
identities the learner wants to perform in a specific situation. According to Darvin and
Norton (2018, p. 2), investment in language learning involves “commitment to the
goals, practice, and identities that constitute the learning process and that are
continually negotiated in different social relationships and structures of power”.
Investment means to giving time, effort, and money. Students are willing to invest,
believing that they will obtain symbolic resources (e.g., higher education, better job
and friendship) and material resources (e.g., money, property) (Norton, 2013).
Therefore, investment is diverse because it relies on a student’s personal capacity and
ability and what is his or her goal to achieve.
 N. Annisa, S. Mirizon & S. Silvhiany, Vocational high school students’ identity and
investment in learning English in a rural area | 929

Norton and Toohey (2011) explained, “the construct of investment seeks to make
a meaningful connection between a learner’s desire and commitment to learning a
language and the language practices of the classroom or community” (p. 415).
Investment can be used to recognize learners’ classroom resistance when the value of
their linguistic and cultural capital increases. This concept helps this study to see why
students have resistance in the learning process, which makes their learning outcomes
not optimal. In fact, for VHS students mastering a foreign language is an added value
in finding a job.
There are multiple explanations for why students want to invest in learning
English and numerous factors that hinder or help them in the learning process. Ahn
and Lee (2017) found that there are four factors that might affect students’ investment
in the classroom. First, students disagreed with the ideology that English is needed
today. Second, the curriculum and teacher were not helpful. Third, they did not know
how to study. Last, they were tired of irrelevant activities in their study, like playing a
game. Moreover, Al Mubarokah (2021) found that parents’ awareness of their
children’s future careers is not essential in promoting students’ investment.

2.3 Learning English in VHS

Levels of education in Indonesia are divided into elementary school, junior high
school, senior high school, and university. Each level has its own characteristic,
considering the growth or age of a person. The senior high school consists of two types;
the general high school and VHS. There are similarities and differences between these
schools. The similarity is mostly concerned with the students’ age group. Students of
general high school and VHS are on the average age of 14-17 years old. The difference
is apparent; VHS offers vocational programs, such as tourism, arts, business and
management, engineering, and ICT, and these are not offered in general high schools.
In 2020, there were 5.249.149 VHS students in Indonesia (Ministry of Education
and Culture of Republic of Indonesia, 2020). In addition, the subjects that are taught
in general high school are general and theoretical. They are taught as the basic
knowledge that will be further taught at higher levels or universities. In VHS, the
subjects are more specific and practical. They are related to the future job. The portion
of the lesson is much more on practice than theory. VHS equips its students with
certain skills and prepares them to work according to the demand of the business and
industrial world related to their competency (Admadja & Marpanaji, 2016;
Indriaturrahmi & Sudiyanto, 2016; Sularti et al., 2019). Students are trained with many
practical lessons both in class and in industry. English is taught to make students able
to communicate orally and in writing. It is related to their specific future job.

3. METHODS

3.1 Research Design

A narrative inquiry design was applied to appropriately answer this study’s

research questions. This design best explains the participants’ investment in learning
English influenced by the learners’ social capital and their changing identity across
time and space. As Norton and De Costa (2018) suggested, narrative design is one of
930 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 926-941, 2023

the methodologies that can be used to investigate identity and investment. Narrative
inquiry is an approach that focuses on the use of stories as data. Clandinin and
Connelly (2000) defined narrative inquiry as “collaboration between researcher and
participants, over time, in a place or series of places, and in social interaction with
milieus” (p. 20). Therefore, the focus of this method is not only to capture the detailed
stories of participants but also to construct meaning from their realities and
experiences.

3.2 Participant

The participants of this study were six students from one private VHS in a rural
area in Banyuasin Regency, South Sumatera, Indonesia. They were five male and one
female students. The criteria for choosing these students were as follows: their English
grades were lowest, middle, and highest in the classroom. This was based on the mid-
test and final test results during their learning process. Second, they did not pay
considerable attention to their English learning in the classroom.

3.3 Instrument

In order to capture the participants’ identities and investment in learning English,

two kinds of interviews were used for data collection: semi-structured interviews and
focus group discussions. In order to capture the participants’ identities and investment
in learning English, two kinds of interviews were used for data collection: semi-
structured interviews and focus group discussions. The interviews can help gain
insights into how the participants react (i.e., based on their subjective experiences,
opinions, and motivations) to a certain phenomenon (Busetto et al., 2020; Kvale,
1996). In addition to the benefits for participants, a semi-structured interview allows
an interviewer to enhance the opportunity to elicit essential information for research
by means of guiding questions (Nunan, 1992; Roulston, 2010). The focus group
discussion holds as a supplement to the interviews because some participants may not
have expressed their feelings accurately due to uncertain factors such as timing and
shyness. The focus group discussion holds as a supplement to the interviews because
some participants may not have expressed their feelings accurately due to uncertain
factors such as timing and shyness.

3.4 Data Collection

Interviews and the focus group discussions were conducted face-to-face and took
place at school. It depended on the availability and convenience of the participants.
This study used Palembang local language, Bahasa Palembang, during the interview
to make participants feel more comfortable. Moreover, this study used pseudonyms to
ensure participants’ confidentiality (i.e., P1 for participant 1, P2 for participant 2, P3
for participant 3, and so on).

3.5 Data Analysis

This study used thematic analysis to analyze the data obtained from the
interviews and focus group discussions. There are some steps in analyzing qualitative
 N. Annisa, S. Mirizon & S. Silvhiany, Vocational high school students’ identity and
investment in learning English in a rural area | 931

data using thematic analysis. They are as follows: First, transcribing the data from
interview. Before translating the data, the data were read and listened to several times
to familiarize and identify the first initial extracts most related to the research questions
(Braun & Clarke, 2006). Before translating the data, the data were read and listened to
several times to familiarize and identify the first initial extracts most related to the
research questions. Not all the data were translated into English. Then the ideas,
concepts, and themes were coded using open coding (Creswell, 2012) to fit the
categories according to the most frequent themes in their narratives.

4. RESULTS

4.1 Students’ Identity and Investment in English Learning

The first research question of this study was about how VHS students’ identity
affects their EFL learning. The direct quotes from the participants were translated from
Bahasa Palembang. The result of this study is further discussed through explanations
based on the themes discovered from data. They are learning English outside the
classroom, English necessity for future career, reluctant in learning English,
perspective on future self.

4.1.1 Perceived benefits

For instance, P1 thought English was a strange language the first time he learned
English. He could not mention any single word in English but was curious about it.
Every night, he started to open a picture dictionary and memorized new words. He also
spent his free time practicing. He described himself as a “memorizer” because he tried
to memorize new English vocabulary every night. P1 specially mentioned he loved his
picture dictionary:

(1) I like to memorize new words every day, I open my picture dictionary and start to memorize the
words.

P1 perceived that memorizing new vocabulary made his English learning easier
as it helped him in improving his performance and helped him follow the lessons in
the classroom.

4.1.2 English necessity for future career

Another student, P2 had a different view on learning English. He thought that

learning English could make his mother proud, thus aiming to reach the top ten or top
five in class. At the age of 10-year-old, his father passed away, and since then, he has
lived with his grandfather because his mother decided to become an Indonesian female
migrant worker. He expressed:

(2) I want to make my mom happy and proud of me. Because she is not here, if I can get top 10 or top
5, it will make her proud. I think if I learn a subject that my colleagues did not understand I can
get a higher score. That is why I learn math and English which I think are the top two hardest
subjects, they are even hard for my friends. (P2)
932 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 926-941, 2023

From his words, it can be inferred that he did not want his mother to worry about
his study. Also, it was found from the interview that his mother wanted him to become
an Indonesian migrant worker just like her. That is why learning a foreign language
like English is a must for him. His effort in learning English was reflected in his
hobbies, such as watching English channels on YouTube and movies and listening to
English songs to improve his English skill. This investment is symbolic and material
sources in a broader space which is possible to increase the value of their cultural
capital.

4.1.3 Feared selves

P6 was the only female participant in this study. She was also the only female
student in her class. She described learning English in the classroom as cumbersome.
She considered the material difficult, and the teachers gave unequal treatment. She
expressed that the teachers’ goal was to make students get higher scores rather than
students’ personal development.

(3) We did so many assignments and memorized textbook but lacked speaking practice. (P6)

Similarly, P3 considered learning English in the classroom a waste of time. He

stated:

(4) Learning English in class is a waste of time because all we do is taking notes and answering the
questions. It doesn’t matter if we have to keep taking notes, but the teacher should explain the
materials until we understand. (P3)

The difficulties he faced during the learning process made him unwilling to learn
English in class. Another participant, P4, considered himself a loser. He wanted to be
a pilot, but then he realized he had to be fluent in English to achieve it.

(5) When I was a kid, my dream was to be a pilot. But then I realized I need to learn English because
English is used to communicate with the flight crews, and all the navigation buttons on the plane
use English. I live in a rural area. We don’t have good internet access and a qualified teacher of
English. Learning English by myself made me frustrated. So, I gave up on my dream. (P4)

Instead of trying to learn English, he thinks that English was an obstacle to

achieving his dream. Eventually, he gave up his dream. In his first year at VHS, another
student, P5 believed that his peers were far ahead of him, thus rendering him
unconfident in learning English. It started when he did not pass a speaking test. At that
time, he had to memorize a long conversation and practice it in front of the class. He
expressed:

(6) It was really hard to memorize such a long conversation, and I did not know how to pronounce
(the words) correctly. I was embarrassed. My teacher scolded me. She said ‘it is easy, why can’t
you do it? All your friends can do it’, and of course my friends laughed at me. (P5)

Since that day he could not forget his teacher’s words and felt dejected. In the
end, P5 chose to resist the learning process.
 N. Annisa, S. Mirizon & S. Silvhiany, Vocational high school students’ identity and
investment in learning English in a rural area | 933

(7) Every time I heard about English, I would directly remember what happened that time. I
immediately thought, ‘ah it must be difficult and I definitely cannot do it as usual’. I know I should
be motivated. I tried to download a mobile application to help me learn English pronunciation, but
then I stopped after I thought it did not help much. (P5)

4.1.4 Perspective on future self

However, P5’s experience as explained in 4.1.3 helped him to change his

perception of a language learner. One day, he attended a seminar, and the key speaker
had good English. He started to imagine himself as the key speaker. He said,

(8) I want to be like him. I do not want to work as a motorcycle mechanic my entire life. I want to
work in an office with a neat uniform and good income. English is much needed. (P5)

Nevertheless, P5 mentioned that he would start investing his time in learning

English after graduating from VHS. Here, P5 felt motivated, but at the same time, he
felt excluded from classroom practices because he was labeled as a ‘poor’ or
‘unmotivated’ learner.

4.2 Factors Influencing Students’ Investment in English Learning

The second research question of this study focused on what factors influenced
VHS students’ investment in learning English. The interview revealed that the
participants did invest in learning English outside the classroom, such as listening to
music, watching YouTube, using mobile applications, and memorizing new
vocabulary. However, the data on six VHS students indicated that they had less
investment in their English learning in the classroom. It was caused by the teachers’
teaching method(s), inconvenient classroom environment, lack of knowledge, family,
and peers’ support, and having a part-time job.

4.2.1 Teaching methods

One of the reasons that caused students to have low investment in learning
English was teachers’ teaching methods. Four of the participants mentioned that the
classroom learning experience was not that interesting. Mostly, the teachers used the
traditional teaching method (i.e., teacher-centered). The teachers focused on
explaining the material in front of the class, and students wrote it down in their
notebooks or asked students to read the textbook by themselves and answer the
questions without explanation. As a result, students were principally expected only to
listen, and they seldom had opportunities to make their own voices heard. Based on
the interview data, the participants complained about their teachers not being
effectively supportive of them. For example, P2 felt that his teacher did not have the
intention to teach. When asked what made him think that way, he said:

(9) They just give the task without explaining. That is why my desire to learn is hindered. At first, I
really wanted to learn but ended up reluctantly. They also do not pay attention to students. I think
they should explain more on how to read, how to do the exercises, but it is not there at all. (P2)

In line with P2, P3 also outlined a similar perception that the teacher’s method
did not help them understand English. He mentioned that he needed to ask if there
934 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 926-941, 2023

were difficulties. When he did not understand the instruction, he wanted the teacher to
explain it more, as he said:

(10) Learning English is boring. The teacher always asks us to write a note and suddenly asks to do the
exercises. I think the teacher is bad (in teaching). I mean, when we do not understand the material,
he will not repeat or explain it. It is okay if the teacher asks us to write a note but he has to give an
explanation clearly. If we understand the material, we can do the exercises. (P3)

P3 felt that the teachers moved too quickly through the material, did not give
clear instructions and explanations, and did not give enough support to struggling
students. From this, it can be inferred that this teaching method reduced the investment
in English learning. The participants considered that this teaching method derived
them to a negative attitude. Especially when the teachers gave them physical
punishments such as squat walk and push-ups, as mentioned by P4 and P6:

(11) The teacher often gives us test, such as speaking test, if we can’t do it, we are forced to do it. It is
a must, if we cannot pass the test we will be punished. In my opinion, punishment makes us afraid
to learn. (P4)

In addition, P6 shared a similar perception regarding the punishment that the

teachers gave to the students:

(12) I became lazier than before because of the punishment. What I want is when we don’t understand
the material the teacher should give their guidance to us, not punishment, I am dejected. For
example, if the punishment is squat walk, I will be dizzy and cannot concentrate on learning
anymore because I am already tired. (P6)

P3 also outlined a similar perception that punishment changed the way he

learned, he said:

(13) It was embarrassing and I was disappointed. The teacher should give clear explanation. They
should make us really understand the material and also the instruction in doing the task. (P3)

From the voices above, it is apparent that teachers’ effective teaching method
was demanded since these participants needed the teachers’ guidance and
encouragement as much as they wanted to know how to study English well.

4.2.2 Inconvenient classroom environment

The unsupportive class environment was another problem mentioned by P1 and

P6. They may be motivated and eager to learn, but if the language practices in their
classroom insulted them, they may not be invested in learning. P1 spoke out about how
the inconvenient classroom disturbed his learning, saying:

(14) The classroom was very noisy. I lost my focus to listen to the teacher’s explanation and the
teacher ignored it. (P1)

The students must overcome these certain barriers or obstacles. If the learning
environment is ideal and friendly for learning, then the learning process could go more
smoothly.
 N. Annisa, S. Mirizon & S. Silvhiany, Vocational high school students’ identity and
investment in learning English in a rural area | 935

Inadequate treatment was another problem that was found in this study. P6
mentioned:

(15) The teacher is picky. She was grading unfairly. For example, if she likes student A, she will give
her a high score. Conversely, if she doesn’t like the students, she will give them low score. She
often scolds, give punishment and ignore those students that she didn’t like. She doesn’t care
whether her students understand or not with the materials.

The participants agreed that the teachers gave special treatment to those who she
liked. They wanted equality among the students. It led to the feeling that their teachers
did not value them. They did not enjoy in participating in the class activities.

4.2.3 Lacking of knowledge

All participants were positioned as non-English speakers; they did not consider
themselves capable of using the language further than saying a few words. They also
recognized that their use of the language was limited to the English classroom, and
they emphasized the difficulties they faced when interacting in English due to their
lack of knowledge. The FGD data below revealed that all the participants could not
use the dictionary.

(16) P4 : We do not understand how to use an English dictionary. Instead of helping, the
teacher just makes us even more confused.
Interviewer : Have you ever been taught on how to use the dictionary?
All participants : Never.
P3 : That is why it is even more confusing when I open a dictionary.
Interviewer : How about Google Translate?
P5 : We were not allowed to use our mobile at class so, it did not help us.
P2 : But to do our homework it is very helpful.

The impressive finding was that some participants struggled with knowledge,
whereas others possessed capability during classroom interaction. This result may be
explained by the fact that learners who did not have enough knowledge might find
themselves incapable of interacting, while learners with fair knowledge could stand or
insist on their sentiments during classroom interaction.

4.2.4 Family and peers

In the practice of learning English, the support from family and peers impacted
in increasing the participants investment in their study. The support is needed to
encourage the participants to practice and use English in their study and to help them
when they face some obstacles in its practice. The data from the findings showed that
five of the six participants were not supported by their families in learning English. P4
was the only participant whose parents wanted him to take an English course. He
mentioned that his parents would support whatever he needed for his education. They
would pay the tuition if he wanted to take an English course. In contrast, five other
participants could not get an English course, and their families never asked about their
English learning in school, as mentioned by P6:
936 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 926-941, 2023

(17) I never take English courses outside of school. I want to learn English outside the school but the
conditions did not allow it. The English course is far from my house. I also do not have money.
(P6)

Another point addressed by the participants is that they realized that their peers
thought English was not useful. They could not offer any help for their work. This
implied that there were no foreign companies and foreigners in their village or
surroundings, so they seldom had opportunities to use English in workplaces, as P3
mentioned:

(18) We live in this region where we use the local language in our daily life. Learning English does not
give any advantage. It is useless. Learning English in the classroom is just for formality to pass
the examination. That is what my peers think. (P3)

Additionally, another participant also marked the reason why his peers did not
support them in learning English, as stated by P4:

(19) We live in a small village. Our community is narrow-minded. They just work and earn money for
a simple life. That’s it. (P4)

When confronted by reality, the participants could not do anything about it. Their
peers did not get the point of the benefits of using English today. Five out of six
participants agreed that English was not important.

4.2.5 Part-time jobs

Another reason that influenced the students’ investment was doing part-time jobs
while studying. Financial matters were an obstacle for P1 and P5. Of the six
participants, P1 and P5 had busy schedules, which obstructed their learning investment
by being unable to keep up with learning activities or studying outside and inside the
classroom. To fulfill their daily needs, they had to do part-time jobs. It caused them
not to be active in class for the reason of being too tired during school hours.
Sometimes they forgot to do their homework because of exhaustion. For example, P1
struggled with family responsibilities:

(20) P1 : My activity after school is cutting grass to feed my goats. We raise goats and I
take care of them. The goats are our saving when we do not have money, we can
sell them.
Interviewer : How many goats do you herd?
P1 : We have four. But I do not own them all. So, it is a profit-sharing system. For
example, if a goat gives birth to two baby goats, I will get one and the owner
gets one too. Sometimes I have to go far to find grass. That is why after looking
for grass, I am already tired and lazy to study.

P1 said that the goats were not entirely his own but belonged to someone else. It
was a profit-sharing system. He was given the responsibility to take care of the goats
by the owner. Raising goats took much of his time. He felt tired of looking for the
grass, feeding the goats, and taking care of them. He sacrificed his own desire to learn
English for the sake of helping his family. Nonetheless, he admitted that his English
ability has diminished.
 N. Annisa, S. Mirizon & S. Silvhiany, Vocational high school students’ identity and
investment in learning English in a rural area | 937

(21) I feel like my English ability is decreasing little by little. I used to learn and practice English in my
free time but now even during school holidays I have to help my father, so what I have learned is
gone because I never practice it. (P1)

As shown in (21), P1 felt that there was a loss in his English ability. The
responsibilities he had impacted his educational development. P1 had no choice. He
had to deal with the responsibilities give to him. Evidently, his economic status limited
P1 to develop his English ability. Similarly, P5 faced difficulty with his work schedule.
He was a motorcycle mechanic and worked after school. He stated that learning
English was not his current goal. He needed to earn money for his own education. He
wanted to relieve the burden on his parents. His exhaustion from work kept him from
studying.

5. DISCUSSION

Drawing upon six VHS students’ experiences in learning English in a rural area
in Indonesia, this study explored their identity and factors that influenced their
investment in learning English using narratives. The findings indicate that the
participants had identities of being unknowledgeable, frustrated, hated (by teachers
and peers), and unconfident; these drove them from participating in classroom
activities. The participants were struggling to reconstruct their identities (Peirce,
1995). The findings supported what Darvin and Norton (2015) claimed regarding how
their identities impacted students’ investment in English learning. These participants
might construct positive or negative identities (Teng, 2019). Students who have a
negative identity in their class will experience a decline in their behavior, such as
sleeping in class and not paying attention to the teachers’ instructions. On the contrary,
those with a positive identity will perform well. This is in line with Norton’s (2013)
claim that “an investment in the target language is also an investment in a learner’s
own identity” (p. 103). If students cannot overcome the change in their identity, they
might be reluctant to learn English. When students have a negative identity, it will
affect their investment. For instance, P5 formed a negative identity after failing in a
speaking test. P5, labeled as a poor English learner, made him feel marginalized. He
believed himself to be the ‘worst’ student in class. At first, he invested in learning to
catch up with the coursework, especially in speaking skills, but he failed. This resulted
in his performance to diminish in the English class. This awareness caused a loss of
perseverance in improving his English proficiency. In contrast, P2 constructed a
positive identity. A major reason for such identity transformation was his desire to
make his parents proud of him and seek better job opportunities. It related to his future
plans, such as being an employee and an Indonesian migrant worker. P2 recognized
the importance of learning English, and decided to invest in the learning process
because he conceived English as a useful and valuable resource that may lead him to
obtain his desire. It refers to the desire to access higher symbolic resources explained
by Peirce (1995) as intangible stocks of the subject.
Another significant finding was the ups and downs of student investment in their
learning process. The investment could be defined as students’ commitment and desire
to learn a language. The students’ investment appears when they understand it might
gain the value of their cultural capital. The learners’ investment seems to be understood
as symbolic and material resources in a broader range, which may increase the value
938 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 926-941, 2023

of their cultural capital (Norton, 2008). The investment can be seen when the students
give their time, effort, and money to achieve successful language learning. They might
be active in classroom activities. The participants’ investment in language learning is
an interactive process. Based on the data, some participants can be assumed to invest
in their English learning in and outside the classroom to a certain extent. Their
investments outside the classroom were such as listening to music, watching movies,
and watching YouTube videos. However, their investment in the classroom was poor.
The participants did not do their assignments and homework, slept in class, or chatted
with their peers. It was important to investigate the factors that influenced their
investment to overcome this phenomenon. Five factors discovered through the
findings include teachers’ teaching method(s), inconvenient classroom environment,
lack of knowledge, support from family and peers, and having a part-time job.
The first reaction of the participants was the teaching method the teacher used in
the classroom. Teachers still used the teacher-centered method, as all participants
mentioned it. The teaching method is essential because it determines whether the
teaching-learning process’s goals can be achieved. As all participants claimed, the
teachers gave unclear explanations that might decrease students’ understanding. It
caused apprehension in students. These findings correspond to Ahn and Lee’s (2017)
study, where the participants felt the teachers did not help them to understand English.
Moreover, they believed that teachers should use different teaching methods
interactively as it has been proven to impact learning positively. As Muslim et al.
(2020) suggested, teachers need more professional development on how to make their
learning process or situation more fun for the students to increase students’ investment
in learning.
The following factor which raised the issue was the inconvenient classroom
environment. The participants felt uncomfortable learning English because the class
was noisy and the teachers were indifferent to students who did not pay attention. They
also mentioned that their teachers treated them unfairly. Those who felt marginalized
by the teachers believed that the teachers did not value them as an individual, and this
withdrew them from the learning process. Darvin and Norton (2015) argued that
students might be highly motivated to learn in the classroom, but if the language
practices or their instructors are “racist, sexist, or homophobic” (p. 37), they may not
be invested in the learning process. To avoid this, a teacher should create an equitable
classroom environment.
Another factor that this study found was that the participants had difficulties in
learning English due to different pronunciations between Bahasa Indonesia and
English. In English, the same letter has different pronunciations (James & Smith,
2007). It made the participants confused. These obstacles lead them to not achieve
optimal learning outcomes. The significant finding was they did not know how to use
a dictionary. As mentioned by P3 in (16), ‘…it is even more confusing when I open a
dictionary’. Although a dictionary is essential in learning a language, the teachers did
not explain how to use it to the students. As a result, with such limited access to the
resources, these participants found it challenging to learn English and improve their
proficiency. However, their lack of prior knowledge caused some of them to work
harder to catch up on the English materials at the VHS level.
The interview data also uncovered a clash collision between the participants’
desire to learn and their social world. Being inactive students was a phenomenon that
occurred inside the classroom as a consequence of the power relationships between the
 N. Annisa, S. Mirizon & S. Silvhiany, Vocational high school students’ identity and
investment in learning English in a rural area | 939

students and the social world surrounding them. Even though they perceived that
English could be considered as an additional skill useful for looking for a job, however,
their family and friends did not find a connection between the desire to learn the
language and the benefits it may embody them. It is because English is not their
primary language needed in their social life. They positioned themselves as non-
English speakers and emphasized their limitations when interacting in English.
Finally, the result of the study also showed students’ tiredness with their
activities outside the classroom posed their divestment (Ahn & Lee, 2017). Due to
their socioeconomic status, two of the six participants preferred to earn money rather
than study. Although they have the desire to learn, they had to work to ease the burden
of their parents. For P1, helping his parents was exhausting and he could no longer
afford the strength and time to study. He believed that work made him unfocused in
studying.

6. CONCLUSION

To conclude, the main aims of this study were to investigate the relationship
between VHS students’ identity and investment and the factors that influenced their
investment in learning English in a rural area in Indonesia. The findings revealed that
students had different ideas about their identity and investment in learning English,
they are learning English outside the classroom, English necessity for future career,
reluctant in learning English, perspective on future self. This study also revealed that
the participants’ investment in learning English was hindered by five factors. They are
the teachers’ teaching method(s), inconvenient classroom environment, lack of
knowledge, family and peer support, and having a part time job. This study is expected
to be beneficial for the students in negotiating their identities and reflecting on their
investments in learning English. Students can improve their English learning by
understanding their identities and investments. On the other hand, teachers can also
reflect on their ways of teaching while considering what students need while learning
the target language.
Since this study took students’ perspectives, it might be interesting to conduct
this kind of study from the teachers’ point of view. Further studies may be conducted
to see how teachers deal with students’ identities and investments and develop suitable
materials for classroom practices. In addition, a similar study can also be conducted in
the future with more participants from different majors. Besides, since this study only
had one female participant, it would be interesting to find out further relations between
identities, language learning, and gender by inviting more female and male students to
participate in related studies.

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943 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 943-961, 2023

Learners’ Attitudes and Perspectives

towards English Pronunciation Abilities
with Different Religious Backgrounds in
P-ISSN 2355-2794 Thailand
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Rahmah Bakoko1
Budi Waluyo*2
Kritsadee Songkhai3
1
Comparative and International Education, College of Education, Lehigh University,
Bethlehem, PA 18015, UNITED STATES
2
Department of Languages, School of Languages and General Education, Walailak
University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, THAILAND
3
Program of Chinese Language, School of Liberal Arts, Walailak University, Nakhon
Si Thammarat 80160, THAILAND

Abstract
A plethora of studies has examined EFL learners’ attitudes towards and
perceptions of English pronunciation, yet little has been discussed about
the influence of religious backgrounds on one’s pronunciation abilities,
especially in the Thai context. This study aims to extend the research area
by studying Buddhist and Muslim EFL learners’ attitudes and perspectives
about their English pronunciation abilities in Thailand. Using a mixed-
method design, it collected survey data from 60 undergraduate students
(50% Buddhist, 50% Muslim) at a university in south Thailand. An English
pronunciation test was conducted to gather data on the students’ English
pronunciation performances. The quantitative findings revealed that
Buddhist and Muslim Thai EFL learners possessed moderate levels of
attitudes towards their English pronunciation and perceived indirect
influences of their religion on their English pronunciation. Although the
learners’ attitudes and perceptions were connected, they were not
significant predictors of their actual English pronunciation. Religion and
gender had no direct impact on the learners’ attitudes; however, their
frequent religious practices have led to the awareness that students from
some religious backgrounds can have an advantage in pronouncing some

*
Corresponding author, email: budi.business.waluyo@gmail.com

Citation in APA style: Bakoko, R., Waluyo, B., & Songkhai, K. (2023). Learners’ attitudes and
perspectives towards English pronunciation abilities with different religious backgrounds in Thailand.
Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 943-961.

Received August 12, 2022; Revised November 15, 2022; Accepted November 19, 2022; Published
Online May 31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.27524
 R. Bakoko, B. Waluyo & L. Songkhai, Learners' attitudes and perspectives towards English
pronunciation abilities with different religious backgrounds in Thailand | 944

English sounds, letters, or words over their friends with a different

religion. The results of this research also suggest that there is much more
to be learned about the effects and contributions of religious backgrounds
on learners’ English pronunciation among learners.

Keywords: English pronunciation, English teaching, religious

backgrounds, students’ attitudes and perceptions, Thai EFL learners.

1. INTRODUCTION

While there have been an increasing number of studies looking into learners’
attitudes and perceptions of English pronunciation (e.g., Huensch & Thompson, 2017;
Sardegna et al., 2018; Tsunemoto & McDonough, 2020), little is known about how
sociolinguistic variables (race, ethnicity, and religion) influence EFL learners’
attitudes and perceptions of their English pronunciation abilities. According to Jarosz
(2019), sociolinguistic factors cannot be overlooked since they might influence
learners’ acceptance and success in learning English pronunciation. Learners’ foreign
language intake and processing are socially mediated, and each individual’s social
identities influence their linguistic usage, choice, and growth in communicating in the
target language (Tarone, 2007). Thus far, empirical studies have indicated that EFL
learners from different countries possess different attitudes and perceptions towards
English accents; for instance, Malaysian EFL learners highly appreciated their
accented English, while the Japanese and Koreans disapproved of their own varieties
of English and expressed their preference for native English pronunciation– such
disparities were thought to occur as a result of the historical and political contexts of
the learners’ societies, which may have influenced the process of establishing EFL
identity (Tokumoto & Shibata, 2011). Recently, these sorts of disparities in attitudes
and perceptions about English pronunciation have been discovered among EFL
learners living in the same country (Huang & Hashim, 2020), suggesting that
sociolinguistic identities may affect EFL learners at the individual level.
Religion is one of sociolinguistic variables. Routine religious practices can cause
speech variance and language use (Yaeger‐Dror, 2014). Existing empirical research,
nevertheless, has only looked at language differences among individuals within a
rigorous religious framework and practice (Yaeger-Dror, 2015). As an example,
Versteegh (2017) contrasted the setting and role of Christian Arabic with Christian
Greek and Latin, which are thought to have served as in-group varieties in the Roman
empire; the findings would presumably be useful to those who study religious
circumstances. The current study, on the other hand, attempts to broaden the research
field to include educational contexts, such as learning English as a foreign language,
which might help us better understand Individual Differences (IDs) in foreign
language learning and acquisition studies. The significance of the IDs study is in the
possibilities it provides for the creation and adaptation of language learning
instructions (Robinson, 2001). In a basic instance, learners come to an English
classroom with individual differences but with the same goal: to learn and master it.
Course design and teaching, as well as the instructor, may fail to meet and
accommodate individual difficulties and requirements to be proficient English learners
if they are unaware of the variables that underpin learners’ IDs.
945 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 943-961, 2023

Religious beliefs are frequently established at a young age, and regular practice
of these principles can have an impact on how learners acquire and adopt a foreign
language. The religious origins of learners and their English learning strategies have
been found to have a substantial relationship (Liyanage, 2004). Specifically, Liyanage
et al. (2010) investigated the contributions of religions and ethnicity to ESL learners’
language learning strategy choices in Sri Lankan and Japanese high schools and
discovered that religious rather than ethnic identity influenced the students’ English
learning strategy choices. In another study, Shaaban and Ghaith (2003) discovered that
learners’ religion affected Lebanese EFL learners’ linguistic attitudes towards foreign
languages such as English and French. Nonetheless, Mohammadi and Izadpanah
(2019) found a negative link between learners’ sociocultural identity incorporating
religion and their EFL learning in a recent study. Although religious backgrounds
appear to have an impact on learners’ English language learning, the magnitude of that
impact appears to differ across contexts. Research on this topic is still limited in the
existing body of literature; little is known about how students with two different
religious backgrounds progress in their English learning and to what extent their
religious beliefs and practices affect their English learning, which is the research gap
the present study attempts to address.
Thus, this study is interested in examining how Muslim and Buddhist EFL
students in Thailand feel and perceive the influence of religious backgrounds on their
English pronunciation abilities and how these attitudes and perceptions influence their
English pronunciation performances. Thailand is commonly recognized as ‘the Land
of Buddhism’ although it is relatively diverse in terms of ethnicity, language, and
religion. About 93.6 % of the Thai people acknowledge Theravada Buddhism as their
religion, whereas Muslims embody about 4.6 % of the population and are recognized
as the largest religious minority group (Knodel et al., 1999) and the rest are Christian,
Hindu, and traditional religions. In Southern Thailand, most Thai Muslim EFL
university students, commonly coming from three major provinces, including Yala,
Pattani, and Narathiwat, are bilinguals as they can speak both Southern Thai and Patani
Malay. These learners are mostly raised by Muslim parents who speak Malay as well
as being able to read Al-Quran which is in Arabic. Malay and Arabic have some similar
phonemes to English which do not exist in Thai.
This study addresses the following research questions:
1. What are the attitudes of Buddhist and Muslim Thai EFL learners towards their
English pronunciation abilities?
2. How do Buddhist and Muslim Thai EFL learners perceive the influence of their
religious backgrounds on their English pronunciation abilities?
3. How do their attitudes and perceptions of their English pronunciation abilities
influence their pronunciation performances?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Thai EFL Learners’ Difficulties in English Pronunciation

The difficulties that learners frequently encounter during their English learning
process are one factor that might impact their attitudes toward and judgments of
English pronunciation (Maretha & Waluyo, 2022; Tokumoto & Shibata, 2011;
 R. Bakoko, B. Waluyo & L. Songkhai, Learners' attitudes and perspectives towards English
pronunciation abilities with different religious backgrounds in Thailand | 946

Tsunemoto & McDonough, 2021; Waluyo, 2020). Therefore, this section provides a
review of Thai EFL learners’ difficulties in English pronunciation in general, and for
Buddhist and Muslim EFL students in particular. In his comprehensive introduction to
English in Southeast Asia, Low (2019) classifies Thailand within the Expanding Circle
together with Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Laos, where English is
primarily used as a foreign language. In the aspect of English pronunciation, Thai EFL
learners are argued to face a great level of difficulty since their first language is greatly
different in phonology, such as distinguishing and producing English vowels
(Trakulkasemsuk, 2012), intonation, grammar (e.g., noun modifiers, reduplication,
and cohesive devices), L2 to L1 transfer, translation, and lexical borrowing. Thai EFL
learners experience major challenges in their English pronunciation, for instance, the
letter ‘h’ in combination with another consonant, whether in the initial position, e.g.,
‘think, them, their, although, the’ or final position, saying ‘how mud’ instead of ‘how
much’ (Khamkhien, 2010).
Both the English alphabet and sounds that do not exist in Thai phonology
commonly cause a major difficulty for Thai students in pronunciation. Wei and Zhou
(2002), who explored the English pronunciation of Thai learners, elaborate that Thai
EFL learners fundamentally have pronunciation problems with consonants and
vowels. They summarize, “words with /ei/, usually pronounced as /e/; words with /r/,
usually pronounced as /1/; words with /v/, usually pronounced as /f/; and words with
/z/, usually pronounced at /s/ or voiceless” (p. 1). Thai has more vowels than English
which tends to confuse Thai EFL learners, resulting in error pronunciation in terms of
length which is recognizable in intonation problems such as in yes-no questions and
wh-questions as well as in stress problems (Trakulkasemsuk, 2012). In addition,
Sarmah et al. (2009), who studied the rhythm and vowel system of native speakers of
Thai found that Thai people subconsciously use their L1 rhythmic characteristic, which
is mostly high when speaking English, particularly when the spoken English words
have, “…. the low-front vowel [æ], the absence of qualitative contrasts such as [e]-[ɛ]
and [iː]-[ɪ] and the location of the back high vowel [uː]” (p. 214-215).
Another cause of difficulty comes from the linguistic features of Thai Buddhist,
which are likely to influence Thai EFL students who practice Buddhism. Thailand is
one of the world’s most heavily Buddhist countries, and the majority of Thai people
are Theravada Buddhist. Beginning in India in the fifth century BCE, early texts were
written in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Middle-Aryan; however, the Buddhist sacred texts
have been translated into many languages (Spolsky, 2003). The largest available
collection is in Pali, which is the language of Theravada Buddhism. Nevertheless, Pali
was originally a spoken language only without an alphabet of its own. As an
alternative, Tipitaka was introduced by Sri Lankan monks as a written form, and it has
been widely used in Thailand, Burma, etc. (Bullitt, 2005). Recently, Pali is also called
Tipitaka, and it has been used interchangeably and contains understanding and
appreciation of Buddha’s teaching. Due to the limitation in Buddhist religion’s
alphabet and sounds, there seems to be an adjustment in which Thai standardized
alphabets and sounds have been included in the teaching of Buddhism among Thai
people. According to Ronakiat (2002), there are 21 Thai consonant phonemes and 24
English sounds as a result of Thai Buddhist linguistic features; whenever Thai EFL
students encounter sounds that do not exist in Thai, they will have difficulty
pronouncing the letter or word correctly using standard English sounds.
947 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 943-961, 2023

An early pronunciation study conducted at Thammasat University Language

Institute by Kanokpermpoon (2007) involving Thai university students concluded that
students face difficulties in these sounds /γ/ as in ‘good’, /ϖ/ as in ‘van’, /Τ/ as in ‘thin’,
/Δ/ as ‘rhythm’, /ζ/ as in ‘zoo’, /Σ/ as in ‘shoe’, /Ζ/ as in ‘genre’, /τΣ/ as in ‘church’
and /δΖ/ as in ‘George’ because they do not occur in Thai phonology, for example
‘ship’, ‘ball’, ‘focus’, etc. In addition, syllable position in English, for instance, /φ/ as
in ‘philosophy’ and /σ/ as in ‘spy’, and the interchangeability of /λ/ as in ‘league’ and
/Ρ/ as in ‘breath’ in Thai were also challenging for Thai students. However, the author
did not classify whether American or British sounds were compared in this study.
Another interesting research conducted using the Thai inherited Sanskrit consonant
chart was used to determine middle, high, and low sounds. This chart allows to
determine the effect of syllable tone, which is useful when analyzing both statements
and questions. Generally, Thai consonants consist of 34 of 35 Sanskrit equivalences
plus 10 invented ones. Thai consonants are classified into three classes—namely, high,
middle, and low consonants—which can affect the syllable tone when functioning as
an initial sound (Karoonboonyanan, 1999). Besides, Thai is a tonal language. There
are five tones in Thai syllables, for instance, Saman (middle), Ek (low), Tho (falling),
Tri (high) and Chattawa (rising) (Karoonboonyanan, 1999).
Meanwhile, for Thai EFL students in the Southern part of Thailand, cultural and
religious identities, as well as geographic location, may have an impact on their
multilingualism. Students from the three southern border provinces, including Pattani,
Yala and Narathiwat—the border between Thailand and Malaysia—can speak both
Thai and Patani Malay. From a religious perspective, the majority of them are Muslim
and can read and pronounce basic Arabic from the Al-Quran. It is assumed that as they
are born in Thailand, speak Thai, and are considered as Thai residents, they may share
the same difficulties in acquiring English pronunciation as other Thai students from
across Thailand. Notwithstanding, their upbringing as Muslims and religious practice
of reading the Al-Quran aloud may have affected their pronunciation skills, and these
factors may have influenced their attitudes and perceptions towards a foreign language
such as English, compared to other Thai students of different religions, which the
present study seeks to illuminate. Basically, the English alphabet starts with the letter
A and finishes with the letter Z. It is always written and read in the same order from
left to right, while the Arabic alphabet consists of 28 letters, and it is written and read
from right to left. Meanwhile, non-Muslim Thai EFL students may only read in the
Thai language, which does not share these alphabets, has different tones, and is written
in different styles.

2.2 Thai EFL Learners’ Attitudes and Perceptions towards English

Pronunciation

Compared to other Asian EFL learners such as Chinese, Japanese, and

Malaysians, empirical research, particularly investigating Thai EFL learners’ attitudes
towards and perceptions of their English pronunciation abilities, is relatively few. One
of the few studies is Snodin and Young’s (2015) investigation of 251 Thai EFL
learners’ views and attitudes about native-speaker English variations. The study found
that American English was the most preferred native accent by Thais, and it was
considered the accepted model of English pronunciation compared to other accents
encompassing British, Australian, and New Zealand. Meanwhile, Kalra and
 R. Bakoko, B. Waluyo & L. Songkhai, Learners' attitudes and perspectives towards English
pronunciation abilities with different religious backgrounds in Thailand | 948

Thanavisuth (2018) observed that Thai EFL students were able to recognize non-native
accents from Asian nations such as China, India, Vietnam, Japan, and Myanmar with
ease. Indian accent was considered preferable, while Japanese and Burmese accents
were negatively perceived; however, the participants still valued native-like accents
more than non-native ones. Thais’ fondness for native accents and desire to acquire
them stems from a sense of intelligibility, English ownership, and identity concerns
(Prakaianurat & Kangkun, 2018). Teachers’ pronunciation and accent can sway Thai
EFL students’ views and attitudes regarding their own English pronunciation as well
as an approved model (Pathomchaiwat, 2019; Phothongsunan, 2017). By gender,
Female Thai EFL students showed more esteem for Thai English speakers than their
male counterparts (McKenzie et al., 2016).
Among the four main English skills, Thai students’ perceptions of English
reading and writing skills are generally favorable, but they lack confidence in speaking
due to a lack of knowledge, apprehensiveness, and a personal passive preference as
listeners (Tananuraksakul, 2017). As for Thai university students in Southern Thailand
(especially those from the Thailand-Malaysia border), the perception and ability in
English speaking skills may vary as they grew up speaking both Thai and Malay.
Students from the three southernmost provinces (Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat), as
well as some areas of Songkhla and Satun, speak both Patani Malay (PM) and Southern
Thai (ST), whereas those without a Patani Malay background only speak Southern
Thai (ST). This is noteworthy since both groups study English in public schools from
elementary to university levels. Southern Thai students who speak Patani Malay (PM)
have a cultural and geographical advantage while speaking English, as some Malay
language sounds are comparable to English sounds, as shown in the acoustic
characteristics of Malay and English beginning (p, b, t, d, k, g) as pronounced by Malay
speakers (Shahidi & Aman, 2011). Besides, the majority of students from Southern
Thailand are Muslims who can read the Al-Quran, which has certain Arabic consonant
sounds that are extremely close to English sounds (s, z, t, d). A study by Phadung et
al. (2012) revealed that students from this region are largely influenced by their Malay
language and Muslim identity rather than by their Thai language. The teacher’s accent
and pronunciation can also significantly affect Thai learners’ attitudes and perceptions
of their own English pronunciation and the accepted model of English pronunciation
(Kusuma & Waluyo, 2023; Pathomchaiwat, 2019; Phothongsunan, 2017; Waluyo &
Rofiah, 2021).

3. METHODS

3.1 Research Design

This study used a mixed-methods design, which enabled researchers to gain a

better understanding of Buddhist and Muslim EFL learners’ attitudes towards and
perceptions of their English pronunciation abilities through survey data analyzed
quantitatively and qualitatively. Creswell (1999) emphasizes that a mixed-method
design is applicable to understanding social phenomena, in which insights from
respondents are enhanced by descriptive and inferential statistics. In this study, as
illustrated in Figure 1, the examinations involved descriptive statistics (means,
standard deviation, percentages, etc.) and inferential statistics, including independent
949 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 943-961, 2023

variables (t-test, bivariate correlation, and regression). In language acquisition

research, quantitative research methods offer the opportunity to capture insights from
bigger sample sizes and conduct more complex statistical analyses than may be
covered by qualitative methods (Field, 2018; Henning, 1986). The variables of interest
in this study involve learners’ attitudes toward their English pronunciation and their
scores on pronunciation tasks. This study also conducted a theme-based analysis for
open-ended questions to delve into learners’ perceptions of the influence of their
religious backgrounds.

Figure 1. Illustration of the research design.

3.2 Context and Participants

Following the objectives of the study, undergraduate students at a university in

the south of Thailand were recruited. A purposive sampling method was employed. To
be participants, students had to meet three criteria: 1) pursuing an undergraduate
degree, 2) being a Muslim or Buddhist, 3) studying a general English course during
the time of the study. As a result, 60 participants (23.2% male; 76.7% female) were
recruited in which 30 of them were Buddhist and 30 of them were Muslim. The
students majored in Medical Technology, Physical Therapy, Accounting, Law,
Political Science, Tourism, Thai studies, Engineering and Management. While ranging
from 18 to 20 years old, the age mean was 18.92 years old. All these students were
born in Thailand.

3.3 Instrument and Measure

3.3.1 Likert-scale item survey

The questionnaire was divided into three sections. The first section gathered
demographic information from students, such as religion, age, birthplace, gender, and
major. The second section had 12 items that were adapted from Tokumoto and Shibata
(2011). These items measured students’ self-assessment of their English pronunciation
which indicated their attitudes. The items basically consisted of cognitive components
 R. Bakoko, B. Waluyo & L. Songkhai, Learners' attitudes and perspectives towards English
pronunciation abilities with different religious backgrounds in Thailand | 950

(6 items), affective components (2 items) and behavioral components (4 items). The

responses ranged from Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5). In detail, the
cognitive components are to measure students’ self-assessment of ‘accentedness’ (1
item)–the extent that students think of the difference between their English
pronunciation and native-speaker pronunciation, ‘intelligibility’ (2 items)–the ability
to recognize and decompose phonological sequences into a word when speaking and
‘acceptability’ (3 items)–the extent that students accept their English pronunciation
accent. Then, the affective components assessed students’ self-assessment of their
attachment to their English pronunciation (2 items), while the behavioral components
(4 items) explored students’ self-assessment of their behavioral intentions when
speaking English.
The third part of the questionnaire consisted of three items that investigated
students’ perceptions of the influence of their religious backgrounds on their English
pronunciation. The items included, ‘In general, I think I can pronounce some English
letters, sounds or words better than my friends with different religions’, ‘Because I
practice my religion at home, I can pronounce some English letters, sounds or words
better than my friends with different religions’ and, ‘I think that my religious
background influences my English pronunciation’. The responses also ranged from
Strongly Disagree (1) to Strongly Agree (5).

3.3.2 Qualitative survey

The researchers attempted to conduct interviews with the participants. After a

few interviews, it was realized that the interview sections were not effective because
the students seemed to misunderstand the questions and worried a little bit about their
responses. The language barrier was obviously observed. Therefore, the interviews
were canceled, and the researchers decided to employ an alternative method. To gain
a deeper understanding of students’ responses, this study created four open-ended
questions in a survey form that asked the participants about their perceptions of the
influence of their religious backgrounds. The questions consisted of:
1) Do you think that you can pronounce some English letters, sounds, or words better
than your friends with different religions? Why?
2) Do you think your religious background influences your English pronunciation?
Why?
3) What English words can you pronounce?
4) What English words can you not pronounce?
The questions were distributed to the participants through Google Forms after
the first survey was finished.

3.3.3 English Pronunciation Test

The participants were given a pronunciation test that required them to pronounce
English words in recorded videos. The videos were then posted in the class’s Facebook
group. In this task, the participants were asked to pronounce twelve English words,
such as ‘fan’, ‘van’, ‘leaf’, ‘five’, ‘sun’, ‘six’, ‘zebra’, ‘rose’, ‘three’, ‘tooth’, ‘father’
and ‘bath’, and six English sentences including statements and questions:
1) The homework is on page six, exercise seven.
2) You are going to work in pairs.
951 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 943-961, 2023

3) What’s the matter?

4) What does this word mean in your language?
5) Can I help you?
6) Have you all finished?
Although they seem simple, all of these words and sentences were considered to
involve some difficulties in pronunciation for Thai EFL learners based on the literature
review and the researchers’ teaching experiences in Thailand. The examiners were two
foreign English lecturers who finished their graduate studies in the U.S. and had more
than two-year teaching experiences in Thailand. Students’ pronunciation performances
were assessed using an assessment rubric mapped onto the Common European
Framework of Reference (CEFR) for Languages ranging from A1 to C2.

3.4 Data Analysis

After the data collection, data preparation and cleaning were conducted. Then,
all the clean data was computed into SPSS. Descriptive data was interpreted in three
categories: Mean scores 0–2.49 (Low), 2.5–3.49 (Moderate) and ≥ 3.5 (High). To
answer the first and second research questions, students’ responses on their attitudes
towards their English pronunciation were analyzed by using descriptive statistics and
the independent t-test. For the third research questions, bivariate and regression
analyses were performed. Data from the Likert-scale surveys and English
pronunciation tests were utilized at this stage.
Moreover, a thematic analysis was conducted on the data collected from the
open-ended questionnaire. The analysis process followed Braun and Clarke (2006) as
presented in Table 1. In the analysis, a deductive approach was employed in which
themes and codes were based on the findings of previous studies, as explained in the
literature review section. The focus was on investigating what the students thought
about their pronunciation abilities compared to others with different religions and how
the students perceived the influence of their religious backgrounds on their
pronunciation abilities.

Table 1. Phases of thematic analysis (Adapted from Braun & Clarke, 2006).
No. Phase Description of the process
1 Getting to know the Transcribing data, reading and re-reading the data, and writing
data down initial thoughts
2 Generating initial Coding important data characteristics in a systematic manner across
codes the whole data collection and compiling data pertinent to each code
3 Searching for themes Organizing codes into possible topics and collecting all essential
data for each prospective theme
4 Reviewing themes Creating a thematic ‘map’ of the analysis by checking if the themes
function in connection to the coded extracts (Level 1) and the
whole data set (Level 2)
5 Defining and naming Continuous analysis to fine-tune the specifics of each topic as well
themes as the overall story the analysis conveys, resulting in unambiguous
definitions and titles for each
6 Producing the report The last chance for analysis. Selection of vivid, engaging extract
examples, the final analysis of selected extracts, connecting the
analysis back to the research topic and literature, and writing a
scholarly report on the analysis
 R. Bakoko, B. Waluyo & L. Songkhai, Learners' attitudes and perspectives towards English
pronunciation abilities with different religious backgrounds in Thailand | 952

4 RESULTS

4.1 Quantitative Findings

4.1.1 Students’ attitudes towards their English pronunciation abilities

Overall, Buddhist (M=2.9, SD=.41) and Muslim (M=2.7, SD=.48) Thai EFL
learners had moderately positive attitudes toward their English pronunciation, and
there were no significant differences across religion (t(58)=1.15, p=.26) and gender
(t(58)=1.95, p=.05) with small effect sizes (Cohen’s d=(2.7-2.9) ⁄ .446=.45).
As explained previously, the measures for learners’ attitudes consisted of three
components, including cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects. For cognitive
components, both Buddhist (M=3.04, SD=.75) and Muslim (M=3.06, SD=.85) Thai
EFL learners rated the extent that they think of the difference between their English
pronunciation and native-speakers’ pronunciation ‘accentedness’ at the moderate
level; similarly, both of them respectively rated their ability to recognize and
breakdown phonological sequences into a word when speaking ‘intelligibility’ at a
moderate level (M=3.01, SD=.70; M=2.84, SD=.64), yet Muslim (M=2.31, SD=.68)
Thai EFL learners’ reported a lower level of positive attitudes on the extent they accept
their English pronunciation ‘acceptability’ than Buddhist (M=2.55, SD=.68) Thai EFL
learners.
Nevertheless, for the whole cognitive components, Buddhist (M=2.8, SD=.47)
and Muslim (M=2.6, SD=.50) Thai EFL learners held moderately positive attitudes
toward their English pronunciation. Meanwhile, for affective and behavioral
components, Buddhist and Muslim Thai EFL learners felt moderately attached to their
English pronunciation (M=2.9, SD=.55; M=2.7, SD=.74), and had moderate levels of
behavioral intentions when speaking English (M=2.9, SD=.48; M=2.8, SD=.51).
Tables 2 and 3 provide the details.

Table 2. Descriptive statistics of the learners’ attitudes toward their English

pronunciation.
Components Buddhist Muslim
Mean/SD Mean/SD
Cognitive 3.04/.75 3.06/.85
accentedness 3.01/.70 2.31/.68
intelligibility 2.84/.64 2.55/.68
Affective 2.9/.55 2.9/.48
Behavioral 2.7/.74 2.8/.51
Overall 2.9/4.1 2.7/4.8

Table 3. Results of independent t-tests.

F t Mean difference Std. error Sig. (2-tailed)
difference
Religion 2.51 1.78 .16 .09 .078
Gender .001 1.46 .15 .10 .15

4.1.2 Students’ perceptions toward the influence of their religious backgrounds

Generally, Buddhist (M=2.3, SD=.68) and Muslim (M=2.4, SD=.63) Thai EFL
learners had a low level of perception with regards to the influence of their religion on
953 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 943-961, 2023

their English pronunciation and no significant differences were observed across

religion (t(58)=-.89, p=.38) and gender (t(58)=1.21, p=.23), but the effect size was
insignificant (Cohen’s d=(2.4-2.3) ⁄.656=.153). Compared to Buddhist, Muslim Thai
EFL learners had a stronger belief that they can pronounce some English sounds,
letters, or words better than their friends with different religions (M=2.6, SD=.77)
because they practice their religion at home (M=2.6, SD=.72); however, they equally
believed that their religious backgrounds had a low level of influence on their English
pronunciation (M=2.0, SD=.98; M=2.1, SD=.85). The results are presented in Tables 4
and 5.

Table 4. Descriptive statistics of the learners’ perceptions toward the influence of

their religions on their English pronunciation.
Survey Items Buddhist Muslim
Mean/SD Mean/SD
In general, I think I can pronounce some English alphabets or words 2.3/.68 2.4/.63
better than my friends with different religions.
Because I practice my religion at home, I can pronounce some 2.6/.77 2.6/.72
English alphabets or words better than my friends with different
religions.
I think that my religious backgrounds influence my English 2.0/.98 2.1/.85
pronunciation.

Table 5. Independent t-test results for learners’ perceptions across religion and
gender.
F t Mean difference Std. error Sig. (2-tailed)
difference
Religion .06 -.89 -.13 .14 .38
Gender .03 1.21 .19 .16 .23

4.1.3 The influences of students’ attitudes and perceptions of their English

pronunciation abilities on their pronunciation performances

Buddhist and Muslim Thai EFL learners’ attitudes were positively related to
their perceptions (r=.411, p<.001), yet neither of these variables had any association
with their English pronunciation performances. Significant and positive relationships
were observed among the components of learners’ attitudes: cognitive and affective
components (r=.549, p<.001), cognitive and behavioral components (r=.540, p<.001),
and affective and behavioral components (r=.681, p<.001). All three of these
components were strongly associated with the learners’ attitudes, indicating that these
components appropriately measured learners’ attitudes toward their English
pronunciation. The strongest relationship was seen between learners’ attitudes and
cognitive components (r=.889, p<.001), followed by learners’ attitudes and behavioral
components (r=.839, p<.001), and learners’ attitudes and affective components
(r=.798, p<.001).
The learners’ perceptions of their own ‘accentedness’ (r=.217, p<.026),
‘intelligibility’ (r=.751, p<.001), and ‘acceptability’ (r=.829, p<.001) were found to
be positively related to cognitive components. Other positive relationships were also
noted between each of these cognitive components with other components, including
between intelligibility and affective components (r=.532, p<.001), intelligibility and
 R. Bakoko, B. Waluyo & L. Songkhai, Learners' attitudes and perspectives towards English
pronunciation abilities with different religious backgrounds in Thailand | 954

behavioral components (r=.442, p<.001), intelligibility and learners’ attitudes (r=.710,

p<.001), acceptability and affective components (r=.448, p<.001), acceptability and
behavioral components (r=.497, p<.001), acceptability and learners’ attitudes (r=.754,
p<.001), and acceptability and intelligibility (r=.343, p<.001). Nonetheless, Buddhist
and Muslim Thai EFL learners’ accentedness did not have significant relationships
with other variables except with cognitive components. Table 6 shows the correlation
results.
Table 6. The results of the bivariate correlations
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1. Pronunciation .042 .133 .010 .016 .085 .070 .117 -.089
performance
2. Attitudes .411** .889** .798** .839** .073 .710** .754**
3. Perceptions .355** .396** .320** -.031 .021* .365**
4. Cognitive .549** .540** .021* .751** .829**
components
5. Affective .681** -.075 .532** .448**
components
6. Behavioral -.079 .442** .497**
components
7. Accentedness .140 -.163
8. Intelligibility .343**
9. Acceptability
*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p< .001

Afterwards, multiple regressions were performed to examine the relationship

between Buddhist and Muslim Thai EFL learners’ attitudes and perceptions of their
actual English pronunciation performances. The results displayed that the regression
models could not explain significant variability in the outcome variable (F(2.58)=.925,
p=.4, R2=.018). Table 7 depicts the detailed results.

Table 7. The results of multiple regressions.

Model summary
Model R R square Adjusted R square Std. error of the estimate
1 .134a .018 -.001 .39814
a. Predictors: (Constant), Perception, Attitude

ANOVAa
Model Sum of squares df Mean square F Sig.
1 Regression .293 2 .147 .925 .400b
Residual 16.168 102 .159
Total 16.462 104
a. Dependent variable: Pronunciation performance
b. Predictors: (Constant), Perception, Attitude

Coefficientsa
Model Unstandardized Standardized T Sig. Collinearity
coefficients coefficients statistics
B Std. Error Beta Tolerance VIF
1 (Constant) 3.293 .257 12.815 .000
Attitude -.014 .098 -.015 -.142 .887 .831 1.204
Perception .083 .064 .139 1.292 .199 .831 1.204
a. Dependent Variable: Pronunciation performance
955 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 943-961, 2023

4.2 Qualitative Findings

The purpose of the open-ended questionnaire was to have a better grasp of what
the students believed about the impact of their religious backgrounds on their
pronunciation abilities. In total, there were 884 words collected from Buddhist students
and 437 words from Muslim students for the first question while 840 words from
Buddhist students and 407 words from Muslim students for the second question.
Buddhist students were classified BS and Muslim students were coded MS in the
findings’ presentation, respectively, based on the researchers’ allocated numbers.
The first analysis explored what the students thought about their pronunciation
abilities compared to others with different religions. The analysis yielded conflicting
results with three themes: ‘Yes’, ‘No’, and ‘Unsure’. Subsequently, the second
analysis delved into how the students perceived the influence of their religious
backgrounds on their pronunciation abilities.

4.2.1 Yes, I can pronounce some English letters, sounds, or words better than my
friends with different religions

Those who said ‘Yes’ cited: 1) personal experience with a friend whose religion
was different who could pronounce some English words better, 2) personal belief that
their friends could pronounce some words close to English accurately due to frequent
religious practices, and 3) personal knowledge that Thai and English have different
alphabets. Below are the sample responses.

(1) My friends of different faiths, I believe, talk more clearly. Because other religions’ languages have
a similar accent to English. (BS 1)

(2) Some religious friends may be able to express themselves more clearly than I can. (BS 2)

(3) There are variances in pronunciation as a result of religious and societal differences in practice.
(MS 1)

(4) Yes, because Islam teaches how to spell Arabic, and when you read the Alquran, you will see that
Thai doesn’t have the same alphabets. (MS 2)

4.2.2 No, I cannot pronounce some English letters, sounds, or words better than my
friends with different religions

Meanwhile, students who responded ‘No’ thought that their ability to pronounce
English depended on their level of practice, while others said that their religion had no
bearing on their ability to pronounce English. These are shown by the replies below.

(5) No, because religious affiliation is not a criterion for fluency in English. (BS 3)

(6) No, because everyone can say it correctly, and it is a matter of practice rather than faith. (BS 4)

(7) Not at all. because religion has no bearing on how to communicate in English. (BS 5)

(8) No, since our practice affects our ability to pronounce English correctly. (MS 3)
 R. Bakoko, B. Waluyo & L. Songkhai, Learners' attitudes and perspectives towards English
pronunciation abilities with different religious backgrounds in Thailand | 956

4.2.3 I am not sure if I can pronounce some English letters, sounds, or words better
than my friends with different religions

On the other hand, some students were unsure, indicating that while some of
their religions’ alphabets were similar to those in English, their pronunciation abilities
were still based on their daily practices in English; some students could benefit from
their religious backgrounds, while others could underperform regardless of their
religions.

(9) It has nothing to do with religion, in my opinion. However, it’s possible that it’s connected to the
environment. (MS 4)

(10) I’m not sure I can pronounce English words better than my friends from other faiths. (BS 6)

(11) May be better and may be worse. (BS 7)

(12) I am not sure. I think I do not understand English well enough, but I will try to do my best. (MS
5)

4.2.4 Recognition of the influence of religion

Most of the students revealed their recognition of the influence of religion on

their English pronunciation, as seen in these responses.

(13) Yes, I feel my religious background impacts my English pronunciation since the alphabets in my
faith are pronounced differently from the alphabets in English. (BS 7)

(14) It is having an impact on my English. However, it may depend on the original wording that we
have in our religion. (BS 8)

(15) Yes. I think I can pronounce English words better than my Buddhist friends. (MS 6)

(16) Yes. I have been learning Arabic characters since I was a child as part of my faith. I’m used to
pronouncing letters in English that have comparable alphabets. (MS 7)

4.2.5 The influence of personal efforts

Nevertheless, some students perceived that personal efforts in practicing English

pronunciation account for better ability in English pronunciation. Additionally, there
was a mention of the effects of the environments where the students live in. The
following excerpts confirm these personal efforts and the effects of students’
environments

(17) No, because the ability to speak English words correctly is based on practice rather than faith. (BS
9)

(18) I believe that how effectively a person can speak English words is a personal matter. But, in my
opinion, we should be content with ourselves and not compare ourselves to others. (BS 10)

(19) No, because each person’s ability to speak words varies, while each word is spoken the same. (MS
8)
957 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 943-961, 2023

(20) I believe that everyone can properly pronounce English words if they practice speaking like a
native speaker. (MS 9)

(21) The pronunciation of English has nothing to do with religion. However, it’s possible that it has
anything to do with the environment. (MS 10)

(22) I’m not sure because everyone is trained in a different way. It’s not unusual to have a variety of
accents. (MS 11).

Meanwhile, the third and fourth questions inquired about the words that the
learners could pronounce, for example ‘fan’, ‘van’, ‘six’, ‘love’, ‘sleep’, ‘thing’, and
‘diary’ and could not pronounce, for example ‘zebra’, ‘three’, ‘matter’, ‘eleven’, and
‘father’, etc.

5. DISCUSSION

This study aimed to examine whether EFL learners from the same country but
with different religions had different attitudes and perceptions toward their English
pronunciation. It also delved into the associations and predictive roles that learners’
attitudes and perceptions may have on English pronunciation performance. The first
result of this study, answering the first research question, confirms that moderately
positive attitudes were reported among Buddhist and Muslim Thai EFL learners, yet
religion and gender did not play an influential role in their attitudes. Buddhist and
Muslims had moderate levels of positive attitudes on their ‘accentedness’ (item 1),
‘intelligibility’ (items 2 and 3), and ‘affective components’ (items 7 and 8), but they
did not fully have a higher level of ‘attitudes’ (item 4) towards ‘acceptability’ and
‘behavioral components’ (item 9 and 11). At this point, the results indicated that
regardless of their religion or gender, Thai EFL learners did not think that their English
pronunciation would be accepted in international business, they did not consider their
English pronunciation to reflect a native-like accent, and they did not have the
intention to keep their English pronunciation accent. Nonetheless, Buddhist EFL
learners held a higher level of acceptance that their English pronunciation would be
acceptable for the profession of English teachers than their counterparts. Thai EFL
learners’ preference towards native accents has been identified by previous studies
(Kalra & Thanavisuth, 2018; Prakaianurat & Kangkun, 2018) and is reflected by both
Buddhist and Muslim Thai EFL learners in this study. However, unlike the findings
from previous studies (Chan, 2018; McKenzie et al., 2016), the first result of this study
did not sustain that gender plays a role in learners’ attitudes towards their English
pronunciation.
The second result of this study, answering the second research question, suggests
that Muslim Thai EFL learners had a stronger belief that they could pronounce some
English sounds, letters, or words better than their friends with different religions due
to their frequent religious practices at home. Nevertheless, neither Buddhists nor
Muslims believed their religious backgrounds affected their English pronunciation.
While previous studies have confirmed positive associations between religion and
English learning strategy (Liyanage, 2004; Liyanage et al., 2010), the second result of
this study adds to the knowledge of learners’ awareness of the influence of their
religious backgrounds on their English pronunciation. It partially supports the findings
from Shaaban and Ghaith (2003) but does not follow the findings from Mohammadi
 R. Bakoko, B. Waluyo & L. Songkhai, Learners' attitudes and perspectives towards English
pronunciation abilities with different religious backgrounds in Thailand | 958

and Izadpanah (2019), who noted a negative relationship between learners’

sociocultural identity involving religion and their EFL learning. For a special case of
Thai EFL learners, Buripakdi (2012) discovered, “the participants’ (Thai EFL learners)
conceptualization of their English illustrated that English use in Thailand was situated
in a hierarchy of language and was deeply embedded in internal colonization” (p. 1).
Then, the last result of this study, answering the third research question, validates
that Buddhist and Muslim Thai EFL learners’ attitudes were closely associated with
their perceptions of their English pronunciation. Yet, these two variables did not have
predictive roles on the learners’ English performances. Furthermore, Buddhist and
Muslim Thai EFL learners seemingly shared the same thoughts regarding the words
they could and could not pronounce correctly. They believed they could pronounce
words like ‘fan’, ‘van’, ‘six’, ‘love’, ‘sleep’, ‘thing’, and ‘diary’ and felt they could
not correctly pronounce words such as ‘zebra’, ‘three’, ‘matter’, ‘eleven’, ‘father’, etc.
However, despite such reported beliefs of the words they could pronounce correctly,
the report from the teacher assessing the learners’ pronunciation videos noted that
some of the learners still could not pronounce the words like ‘van’ and ‘six’ correctly.
At this point, this may be a sign of a discrepancy of knowledge between learners’
beliefs of their ability in English pronunciation and the acceptability of their ability in
English pronunciation, which this study would suggest for future studies to explore.
The result of the English pronunciation videos also indicates that although both
learners generally shared difficulties in English pronunciation, as pointed out by Wei
and Zhou (2002), Sarmah et al. (2009), and Trakulkasemsuk (2012). Muslim Thai EFL
learners performed better and did not seem to be having a noticeable difficulty in
pronouncing most of the assigned English words. The close connection between
Arabic and English pronunciation might have enhanced Muslim Thai EFL learners’
English pronunciation, making their tongue more flexible than their counterparts who
only speak Thai.

6. CONCLUSION

Based on the results of the study, it is concluded that in the case of Buddhist and
Muslim Thai EFL learners, religion and gender did not have significant direct
influences on their attitudes toward their pronunciation. However, their frequent
religious practices had grown the awareness that students from some religious
backgrounds could have an advantage in pronouncing some English sounds, letters, or
words over their friends with a different religion. The difference seemed to be not so
much the difference in religious beliefs as the different languages used in their
religious practice. The findings of this study inform English teachers that Buddhist and
Muslim Thai EFL learners basically did not hold negative attitudes and perceptions
towards their English pronunciation. EFL teachers should prioritize teaching accepted
pronunciation accents as their own pronunciation and accent may impact Thai EFL
learners' attitudes towards English pronunciation and the accepted model.
The findings of this study also indicate that there are more aspects to be explored
with regards to the influences and roles of religious backgrounds on learners’ English
pronunciation. Since this study does not provide deep qualitative findings, future
studies utilizing qualitative research methods are recommended. It is acknowledged
that the findings of this study are limited to Buddhist and Muslim EFL learners in
959 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 943-961, 2023

Thailand; studies exploring different religions or the same religions in other contexts
may or may not attain the same results, yet the findings of this study would be of
usefulness.

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962 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 962-980, 2023

English Variations in ELT: A Case of

Rural Schools in North Kalimantan,
Indonesia
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Aries Utomo*1,2
1
Doctoral Program of Applied English Linguistics, Universitas Katolik Indonesia
Atma Jaya, Jakarta 12930, INDONESIA
2
Department of English Literature, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Universitas
Mulawarman, Samarinda 75243, INDONESIA

Abstract
American and British English variations in Indonesia are mostly known in
society and schools. However, the two variations, including others, have
not been taught specifically in schools. This current case study discusses
English variations in ELT (English language teaching) by involving two
senior high schools in rural areas of North Kalimantan, Indonesia, viewed
from students’ perspectives. There are two aims of conducting this current
research, namely: (1) to identify students’ perceptions of English
variations used in learning English at senior high schools and (2) to
analyze English variations taught by their English teachers. To collect
data, questionnaires, interviews, and document analysis were employed.
To analyze data, the interactive analytical model and the statistical
formula were employed. Based on the findings, it was found that (1)
American English is mostly known among students to speak, and (2)
English teachers endorse several kinds of English variations to students.
In addition, the teachers still speak mixed English-Indonesian language
when explaining materials in the classes. It can be concluded that students
in the rural areas of North Kalimantan have been endorsed by several
kinds of English variations (mainly American and British English). Yet, the
students have not known how to distinguish those variations and when to
use them in conversations.

Keywords: ELT, English variations, North Kalimantan, rural schools.

*
Corresponding author, email: aries.utomo91@fib.unmul.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Utomo, A. (2023). English variations in ELT: A case of rural schools in North
Kalimantan, Indonesia. Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 962-980.

Received September 4, 2022; Revised January 27, 2023; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.27911
 A. Utomo, English variations in ELT: A case of rural schools in North Kalimantan,
Indonesia | 963

1. INTRODUCTION

As a globalized language, the English language is always interesting to discuss

because the language is used by different linguistic and cultural backgrounds in all
transnational aspects of life (Al-Mutairi, 2020; Galloway & Rose, 2013). The language
gives privileged access to international markets, scientific knowledge, and expertise
(Lauder, 2008). In addition, the sociolinguistic environment of English has undergone
a significant transformation as a result of the extraordinary globalization of the English
language and the rise of English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) throughout the globe
(Galloway & Rose, 2014). The language has developed into several variations. The
English variations from the inner circle that is most widely recognized internationally,
i.e., American, British, and Australian English (Tévar, 2020). Furthermore, it becomes
a lingua franca and is used by many people around the world (Manara, 2016; Vettorel,
2018). The English variations are codified in grammar, dictionaries, and manuals of
usage. Groups that are becoming more globalized believe that it is crucial to make sure
that their contacts with people from different cultures and communities using different
forms of English achieve the intended aims (Kachru & Nelson, 2006; Kachru & Smith,
2008). Hence, it can be said that American and British English (abbreviated as AmE
and BrE) still exist as standard English around the global communities for
conversation, business, and so on, although it has raised many debates significantly in
the practice of using first language (L1) linguistic standards (such as British/American
English) to English instruction in multilingual situations, such as the outer and
expanding circles (Chan, 2017; Kirkpatrick, 2007).
In Indonesia, English variations (i.e., mostly American and British English) are
very familiar in society, including in teaching and learning English at schools. The
language becomes either the second language for those who only speak Indonesian or
the third language for those who speak Indonesian and a local/heritage/mother tongue
language (Zein et al., 2020). In ELT (English language teaching), American and
British English have been second-language learners’ primary goals (Suroso, 2022). As
an expanding circle country, Indonesia has become an interesting discussion about
using English variations that introduce EFL (English as a foreign language) in teaching
and learning (Al-Mutairi, 2020; Monfared et al., 2016). The variations used are not
managed directly in any education regulation in the country. It is in line with Manara
(2016), who says that intercultural Englishes have not yet been accepted in formal
academic settings. Therefore, the researcher believes that it is necessary to explore
different English variations used from students’ perspectives.
Based on the preliminary study conducted by the researcher, several fruitful
information was found. First, English variations taught are based on the speaker’s
needs and are not introduced completely in schools. Second, English teachers seldom
introduce English variations (e.g., American or British English) at schools due to
limited facilities to access those variations. Third, students’ environments do not
demand the use of English in daily conversations, so they lacked exposure and
motivation to learn English (Rahim & Chun, 2017). Therefore, the study on English
variations usage by EFL learners in Indonesia needs to be further explored.
Several previous studies of perceptions of English variations in ELT had been
conducted in different contexts and places. First, Huong and Hiep (2010), in a study
of perceptions in Vietnam, analyzed that students tend to speak English with non-
native speakers (NNSs) than with native speakers (NS) outside the classroom. BrE and
964 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 962-980, 2023

AmE frequently have preferred models in the classroom. Second, Tsou and Chen
(2014) studied that EFL and ELF (English as a lingua franca) college students are
aware of the English variations in diverse parts of the world, yet there is a need for a
teaching and learning model. Third, Manara (2016) investigated teachers’ perspectives
on Englishes communication and pedagogy and concluded that standard English is still
strongly believed in the system administration of the institutions. Integrating Englishes
into teaching is still an uncharted territory of practice for most teachers in the study.
Fourth, Yanti et al. (2018), in a study of the lecturers’ attitude toward English variety
in English learning in Padang, Indonesia, concluded that the lecturers realized and
accepted the English variation by using most English standards, namely American and
British English. Fifth, Hermini (2019) analyzed university students’ AmE and BrE
perceptions. The students frequently employed American English in the teaching-
learning process because it is easy to learn pronunciation and vocabulary. Sixth, Tévar
(2020) studied Chinese EFL students’ perceptions of world English variations and
concluded that those students tend to use their foreign English accents. Seventh,
Suroso (2022) explored three English lecturers’ views on World Englishes (WE) in
ELT and found that those lecturers use different English variations in the classroom.
Eighth, Franssisca and Subekti (2022) surveyed Indonesian high school students’
attitudes toward English varieties and concluded that most participants had a moderate
level of acceptance toward English varieties. Indeed, they should learn and be taught
those varieties of inner-circle countries.
The main reason for conducting this current research is to analyze and extend
the line of research regarding English variations during teaching and learning in senior
high schools around rural areas viewed from students’ perspectives. Based on the
previous explanations, most English variations studies are mostly focused on
perceptions of the university level and the urban regions (see Hermini, 2019; Suroso,
2022; Tévar, 2020) and English standards in the teaching and learning process
(Manara, 2016; Yanti et al., 2018). Nevertheless, studies on English variations used at
the senior high school level are still very scarce, especially schools in Indonesia. In
addition, there is no similar study to explore English variations in ELT around rural
areas of Indonesia.
To fill out the gap, the researcher explores the variation in two-state senior high
schools in rural areas of Nunukan Regency, North Kalimantan, Indonesia. The
researcher collected data from students’ perceptions of the two schools about English
variations used and how they are taught those variations. Two research questions are
addressed in this current research, they are as follows:
1. What are students’ perceptions of English variations used in learning English at
senior high schools in the rural areas of North Kalimantan?
2. What are English variations taught by their English teachers at the schools?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 The Notion of English Variations

In this current situation, English variations have developed within many

variations and spread worldwide. Kachru (1985, p. 12) divides English variations
within three concentric circles (see Figure 1), namely: the inner circle that relates to
 A. Utomo, English variations in ELT: A case of rural schools in North Kalimantan,
Indonesia | 965

English as the primary language (e.g., USA, Canada, England, New Zealand), the outer
circle that relates to English use in social life or official sector (e.g., India, Malaysia),
and the expanding circle that relates to EFL (e.g., Indonesia, China, Rusia) (Al-
Mutairi, 2020; Wahid, 2013).

Expanding Circle
(e.g., Indonesia, China,
Korea, Saudi Arabia)

Outer Circle (e.g., India,

Malaysia,Singapore,
Pakistan)

Inner Circle
(e.g., UK, USA,
Canada, Australia,
NZ)

Figure 1. Kachru’s Three Concentric Model (Kachru, 1985, p. 12).

Regarding the fact that Indonesia is one of the expanding circle countries, Tévar
(2020) argues that the inner-circle standards (i.e., British and American English) are
mostly used by the expanding circle’s speakers. In a similar vein, Yoo (2012) argues
that the inner circle is norm-providing from the expanding circle countries, while the
outer circle is norm-developing. Moradi et al. (2016) give an example from Omani
learners of English that English exposes the learners through local media and
advertising, including the need to communicate with professional workers. Butler
(1997), cited in Huang (2021), proposes five criteria for determining a native variety
of English: (1) standard unique pronunciation, (2) lexicons that express peculiar local
ideas, (3) history in the speech community, (4) written literature, and (5) a set of
reference works-dictionaries and style guides.
Several previous studies have also discussed English variations, i.e. Wahid
(2013) classified variations of English through definite article usage and found
significant differences in the usage. A few similarities of the marked use are found
among the outer circles. Tévar (2020) studied Chinese students’ perceptions of world
English variations related to ethnic race and speaker gender. It was found that Chinese
students have a certain preference for monolingual standards, namely: Chinese English
accent and gender influences in language attitudes. Tokumoto and Shibata (2011)
analyzed attitudes towards pronunciation in Asian variations of English and claimed
that each country’s educational goals and particular social environment influence
English variations. Evans (2010) identified inner-circle variations of English from
Chinese perceptions and concluded that UK (United Kingdom) or British English is
more accepted as a standard model than other variations. British and American English
are strongly labeled as ‘casual/modern’. Therefore, it can be concluded that English
966 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 962-980, 2023

variations known worldwide are based on Kachru’s model: inner, outer, and expanding
circle. Besides, the variations are considered with several criteria, such as
pronunciation, locality, history, literature, and style.

2.2 Students’ Perception of Learning English

Perception is always related to an opinion or feeling based on the observation or

analysis done to something. It is a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting
something (Hermini, 2019). Lee (2020) argues that English variations can be
comprehended as one’s perception of different variations and accents. Perceptions of
language variations have been an important line of research to describe how non-native
speakers perceive a language daily (Tévar, 2020).
Several studies have been conducted relating to students’ perceptions of learning
languages. For instance, Lee and Lee (2019) learned that English majors had more
positive perceptions of both English variations and multilingual/multicultural
communication than non-English-major ones among Korean. Kuteeva (2020), in
students’ conceptions of English in an EMI program, concluded that English is used
as a lingua franca in translingual activities, albeit to varying degrees and concerning
various positionings. Lee (2020) studied informal digital learning of English and
strategic competence for cross-cultural communication toward perceptions of English
variations and suggested that inexperienced EFL students overseas tended to adopt
more effective cross-cultural communications strategies when their perception of
different variations of English became more positive through their engagement in
IDLE activities. Lee and Chen Hsieh (2018) studied that both groups in the university
assume their English ownership over their local variations, such as TaE (Taiwan
English) and KoE (Korea English).
Hence, it can be concluded that perception is someone’s view toward something
in a different way. In learning English, perception is used to evaluate the learning
process conducted by a teacher whether s/he has filled out learning goals or not during
a whole semester. Also, it is used to know whether the variety of English used by
teachers and students is suitable or not. Relating to this current research, it focuses on
the perception of the English variety used in the two-state senior high schools in a rural
areas in Indonesia (i.e., in Lumbis and Sebuku Districts).

2.3 ELT in Indonesia and Its Relations with World Englishes (WE)

English language teaching (ELT) in Indonesia started several decades ago. In

brief history, English was officially taught in 1990 and has been reformed until 2018
(Zein et al., 2020). English language teachers must hold Bachelor’s degrees and
teaching certificates to teach the English language in Indonesia (Wulyani et al., 2019).
In teaching the language, it is a challenge to teach by maintaining standard norms of
English (Bhowmik, 2015). Moreover, the language is taught in various contexts
affected by global competition, mobility, and technological interconnectedness
(Murray, 2020).
Relating to world Englishes, ELT and WE are suggested to view characteristics
of WE in ELT practices, so it is not just taken for granted (Rajagopalan, 2004). Lim
(2020) assumed that teachers implement WE and ELT by conceptualizing English
within the EFL framework. Chan (2020), in the investigation of WE and ELT in Hong
 A. Utomo, English variations in ELT: A case of rural schools in North Kalimantan,
Indonesia | 967

Kong, found that WE influence by holding the English role and evolving language use
contexts. Exposing English variations is done by bringing speakers of multiple in the
class or sending e-mails, visiting websites, and even watching movies or video clips
(Matsuda, 2003).
Several studies have explained ELT in Indonesia, i.e., Kurniawan et al. (2019)
compared ELT in Indonesia and Singapore. They found that teaching English in
Indonesian is for educational purposes only and generally conducted inside the
classrooms rather than outside for daily conversation. Sadtono (2006) explored the
history of TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) in Indonesia and concluded
that TEFL in Indonesia is better than TEFL in Japan because English language use in
big cities of Japan is more difficult than in Indonesia. Rini (2014), in a study about
English in Indonesia, concluded that English language learning in Indonesian schools
and universities is the standard variety used in books and formal situations. It aims to
enrich Indonesian students’ ability in speaking the language as an international
language.
Therefore, it can be said that ELT in Indonesia introduces English as a foreign
language, not as a first or second language like other ASEAN countries (e.g., Malaysia
and Singapore). The language is usually taught by certified language teachers to equip
students with language skills. Relating to world Englishes, ELT also introduces
existing English variations around the world. Yet, there are no fixed rules that manage
what English variations (i.e., British, American, or other Englishes) should be taught
and learned among Indonesian students.

3. METHODS

3.1 Research Design and Participants

This current research employed a case study with supporting data from
quantitative to narrate the findings. According to Creswell and Creswell (2017), case
studies are a strategy of inquiry in which the researcher explores in depth a program,
event, activity, process, or one or more individuals. To dig up the variations used
further, two state senior high schools in rural areas of Nunukan Regency, North
Kalimantan Province, were chosen as the research objects to gain data about English
variations. One school is located in the Lumbis District, and another is in the Sebuku
District. Geographically, those districts are located in North Kalimantan, Indonesia,
and separated from Nunukan Island. It takes three hours of sea trip to reach the districts
using a speedboat through the Sembakung River and adds a four-hour road trip using
a car from Nunukan Island, the capital city of Nunukan Regency. Three reasons for
choosing the schools as the research objects are: (1) the accessibility to learning
sources and language institutes (e.g., private course, language laboratory) in which
most students relies on language classrooms to have experiences in learning English
(Anditasari & Sitompul, 2022; Reaisi et al., 2020), (2) students’ tendency towards
education, especially in learning English that different with students in urban areas
(Reaisi et al., 2020), and (3) location of those schools are near in the border area of
Indonesia and Malaysia.
Participants involved were 75 students, of which 43 students of the eleventh-
grade class at one state senior high school in Lumbis and 32 students from the tenth-
968 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 962-980, 2023

grade class at one state senior high school in Sebuku, Nunukan Regency. The
participants were 29 (36.87%) male students and 46 (61.33%) female students. In
addition, the participants’ age was categorized into three groups, i.e., 14 to 16 years
old (30 students/40.00%), 17 to 19 years old (44 students/58.67%), and above 20 years
old (1 student/1.33%). All respondents’ identity was concealed to keep their
confidentiality. Their involvement is considered for several reasons, i.e., (1) English
scores, (2) readiness to be involved in this research, and (3) class level.

3.2 Data Collection and Analysis

In this current research, the researcher collected data from three data sources,
i.e., questionnaires, interviews, and textbooks. First, a questionnaire consisting of 12
items. It was adapted from several previous studies (i.e., Hermini, 2019; Tokumoto &
Shibata, 2011; Tsou & Chen, 2014; Yanti et al., 2018). All questions employed the
Indonesian language to ease the participants in filling out the questionnaire. The
questionnaire was assisted by Google Forms and divided into three parts: (1) the
respondent’s background information (e.g., sex, age, gender, etc.), (2) five questions
in the form of multiple choices in which respondents can answer more than one choice
for each question, and (3) seven statements by choosing a 4 scale of 1=very disagree,
2=disagree, 3=agree, and 4=very agree.
Second, an interview was carried out with the four students via Zoom application
to meet virtually within a semi-structured interview. There were four students involved
in the interview, i.e., two students from one state senior high school in Sebuku (i.e., JI
and HL) and the others from one state senior high school in Lumbis (AN and MA).
Their identity was concealed to keep their confidentiality. The questions asked were
relate to the students’ experiences in learning English variations and the teacher’s
teaching method used to introduce those variations.
Third, the researcher also collected documents from the teachers at the schools,
i.e., two textbooks used in the teaching and learning process to know what English
variations are mostly shown in those textbooks. The two textbooks entitled ‘BAHASA
INGGRIS’ (the English Language) for classes X and XI were supplied by the Ministry
of Education and Culture (see Figure 2). The books were collected as supporting data
besides questionnaires and interview data.
In analyzing data, the researcher relied on two analyses. Qualitatively, it
employed the Miles and Huberman model (Sugiyono, 2013), namely: (1) data
reduction: the researcher reduced the data collected from the interview session with
the two students, (2) data display: the researcher presented the collected data from the
previous step to match other data findings, including questionnaire data, and (3)
conclusion drawing. Quantitatively, data from questionnaires were analyzed using one
statistical formula to account for the percentage of the frequency data:

𝑓
𝑃= 𝑥 100%
𝑁
Where:
P: Percentage
F: a total of the frequency
N: a total of the respondent
 A. Utomo, English variations in ELT: A case of rural schools in North Kalimantan,
Indonesia | 969

Figure 2. Textbooks used at the schools (Source: teachers’ documents at the schools
in Lumbis and Sebuku, Nunukan Regency).

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Results

This part explains the data findings from the questionnaire, interview, and
document. It is explained into two subparts to answer two research questions proposed,
i.e., (1) knowledge of English variations, and (2) English variations practice among
senior high school students.

4.1.1 Knowledge of English variations among senior high school students

In this first part of the questionnaire, there are six questions about knowledge of
English variations adapted from two scholars (i.e., Hermini, 2019; Yanti et al., 2018).
The participants can choose more than one option (see Table 1).

Table 1. Knowledge of English variations (adapted from Hermini, 2019; Yanti et al.,
2018).
No. Items Options f (%)
1 English variations that are known (Hermini, 2019) American English 53 (70.7%)
British English 17 (22.7%)
Indonesian English 43 (57.3%)
Other(s) 0 (0%)
2 English variations should be taught at schools American English 53 (70.7%)
(Yanti et al., 2018) British English 20 (26.7%)
Indonesian English 45 (60%)
Other(s) 0 (0%)
3 English variations used in communication American English 40 (50.3%)
(Hermini, 2019) British English 14 (18.7%)
Indonesian English 44 (58.7%)
Other(s) 0 (%)
970 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 962-980, 2023

Table 1 continued…
4 English variations are usually used at schools American English 46 (61.3%)
(Yanti et al., 2018) British English 16 (21.3%)
Indonesian English 48 (64%)
Other(s) 0 (%)
5 Elements of English variation differences Pronunciation 51 (68%)
(Hermini, 2019) Grammar 48 (64%)
Spelling 15 (20%)
Vocabulary 45 (60%)

Based on Table 1, a majority of English variations known by the respondent were

mostly American English, followed closely by Indonesian English variations. It is
similar to English variations that should be taught at school, in which most of them
tended to choose American English. The result of the questionnaire data was also in
accordance with the interview data. From the interview data, JI and HL, the students
from Sebuku, stated that they knew kinds of English variations, especially British and
American English, but not comprehensively. In another data, student JI felt that British
English was harder to pronounce than American (see Excerpt 1). In contrast, student
HL thought that pronunciations of British English were taken from French and were
hard to pronounce (see Excerpt 2).

Excerpt 1: “…If British English, its pronunciations are mostly taken from French and hard to
pronounce…” (INTW/HL/15)

Excerpt 2: “…Hmm…British is more difficult to pronounce than American…” (INTW/JI/17)

In contrast, English variations mostly used in daily communication were

reported as Indonesian variations, although the variation was unclear to the students.
In fact, the variations generally used at schools were still American English. It is also
supported by the participants’ choice that elements of English variations mostly known
to distinguish among variations were pronunciation, followed by grammar and
vocabulary. The result of the questionnaire data is also in accordance with the
interview data. From the interview data, MA and AN, the students from Lumbis,
admitted that they did not know about the differences in English variations
comprehensively (i.e., British or American English) (see Excerpt 3 and Excerpt 4).

Excerpt 3: “… I never learn English variations. I just know Indonesian English from the book”
(INTW/MA/21)

Excerpt 4: “… I do not know how to distinguish English variations…I just use English in general
(INTW/AN/20)

Further findings are from the two textbooks analysis used daily as instructional
materials for learning English in the classroom. There were four samples of materials
presented for this current research, i.e., two materials from class X and two materials
from class XI. From the materials from class X, first, there was pronunciation practice
that presented several words (e.g., ‘pen pal’, ‘sound’, ‘run’, etc.), including how to
pronounce those words. Second was complimenting. It explained what and when a
compliment is used including its expressions (e.g., ‘What a nice dress!’, ‘You look so
gorgeous!’, etc.) (see Figure 3).
 A. Utomo, English variations in ELT: A case of rural schools in North Kalimantan,
Indonesia | 971

Figure 3. Samples of materials in the textbook for class X (Source: teacher’s

document at the school in Lumbis, Nunukan Regency).

Next is the other two materials from class XI. First, there was responding to
suggestions. It explains several expressions of making suggestions (e.g., ‘Let’s go to
the movies’, ‘I think you should go’), accepting suggestions (e.g., ‘Yes, let’s go!’,
‘Okay, if you say so’), and declining suggestions (e.g., ‘No, thank you’, ‘Sorry, I
can’t’). Second is the exercise for students. In the exercise, several expressions were
to be completed by students within a simple conversation between two people (see
Figure 4).

Figure 4. Samples of materials in the textbook (Source: teacher’s document at the

school in Sembakung, Nunukan Regency).

However, the textbooks just showed English in general and there were no
explanation, reference, or instruction to explain the English variations used specifically
in the book, such as American or British English. From the researcher’s point of view,
all those materials were good to teach because the materials suited the students’ level,
and the textbook implemented the national curriculum (i.e., Kurikulum 2013 or
972 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 962-980, 2023

Curriculum 2013). Nevertheless, it is suggested that examples like words or

expressions from several English variations (e.g., American expressions or British
English expressions) should be presented in the book, including explanations of how
to distinguish American and British English. So, students are not only taught in
mastering English skills but also knowledge in differentiating or recognizing English
variations that existed in society. This further expands students’ awareness of the many
other English variations in this world besides American and British English.

4.1.2 English variations practice at the schools

In this second part of the questionnaire, there are eight statements about English
variations practice adapted from the literature (i.e., Hermini, 2019; Tokumoto &
Shibata, 2011; Tsou & Chen, 2014), as is shown in Table 2.

Table 2. English variations practice (adapted from Hermini, 2019; Tokumoto &
Shibata, 2011; Tsou & Chen, 2014).
No. Statements Frequency of Responses
Very Disagree Agree Very
disagree agree
f (%) f (%) f (%) f (%)
1 English has developed within several 1 2 60 12
variations. (1.33%) (2.67%) (80.00%) (16.00%)
2 A teacher should introduce English 0 1 61 13
variations to me. (0.00%) (1.33%) (81.33%) (17.33%)
3 An English teacher should teach English 0 0 39 36
variations with interesting and fun methods. (0.00%) (0.00%) (52.00%) (48.00%)
4 English variations influence my English in 0 23 46 6
communication. (0.00%) (30.67%) (61.33%) (8.00%)
5 I would like to learn other variations, not 0 30 36 9
only British or American English. (0.00%) (40.00%) (48.00%) (12.00%)
6 I would like to be listened to and given 0 6 63 6
examples of English variations of native (0.00%) (8.00%) (84.00%) (8.00%)
speakers’ voices.
7 I think clarity is more important than 0 14 55 6
grammar in communication. (0.00%) (18.67%) (73.33%) (8.00%)
8 English variations equip my skill in 0 3 64 8
mastering language when communicating in (0.00%) (4.00%) (85.33%) (10.67%)
the real world.

Table 2 reveals that a majority of the respondents tend to choose ‘very agree’
and ‘agree’ towards English variations practice at schools. In introducing English
variations, a majority of the respondents mostly ‘very agree’ that English variations
should be introduced in the class with interesting and fun methods. The result of the
questionnaire data is also in accordance with the interview data about teachers’
methods of teaching English. From the interview data, AN argued that she felt
comfortable with her English teacher’s methods of teaching English (see Excerpt 5).
Another student, MA, added that her English teacher was fun when teaching English,
but she felt difficult to comprehend her English teacher’s explanation (see Excerpt 6).

Excerpt 5: “…comfortable, her explanation is comprehensible for me…” (INTW/AN/55)

 A. Utomo, English variations in ELT: A case of rural schools in North Kalimantan,
Indonesia | 973

Excerpt 6: “…her teaching is fun, although I feel confused with her explanation in teaching
sometimes...” (INTW/MA/53)

Next, the respondents mostly ‘agree’ if knowledge of English variations

equipped students’ skill in mastering language when communicating in the real world.
The result of the questionnaire data is also aligned with the interview data. From the
interview, JI felt that mastering English was aimed to help her communicate with
people from abroad (see excerpt 7). HL further explained that this was because English
is a foreign language in Indonesia and the world (see excerpt 8).

Excerpt 7: “…if we meet people from abroad, we can communicate using English…” (INTW/JI/13)

Excerpt 8: “…because English is a foreign language in Indonesia and in some other parts of the
world….” (INTW/HL/11)

Talking about the introduction and variations’ examples of the native speakers’
voices, a majority of the respondents in the questionnaire ‘agree’ that it should be
listened to because English has developed within many variations in this world (i.e.,
Australian English, New Zealand English, etc.). The result of the questionnaire data is
also aligned with the interview data. From the interview, JI admitted that her English
teacher usually introduced English variations to them by making short sentences and
explaining how to pronounce them. In contrast, student HL stated that her English
teacher has taught variations. Student HL preferred using American English to using
other variations during learning in class because, according to him, it is easier
compared to other English variations (see Excerpts 9 and 10).

Excerpt 9: “…Usually, the English teacher explains materials of English variations using Indonesian
language first, then we are asked to make short sentences, and pronounce them…”
(INTW/JI/38)

Excerpt 10: “…Well, I have been taught and given examples of English variations, but I prefer using
American because it is easy to use…” (INTW/HL/42)

4.2 Discussion

The findings of this current research are about the students’ perceptions of
English variations used in learning English at senior high schools in the rural areas of
North Kalimantan and the English variations taught by their English teachers at the
schools.

4.2.1 Students’ perceptions of English variations used in learning English

Based on the findings, the students from the rural areas had sufficient knowledge
about the existing variations (i.e., British, American, and others) of English around the
world, although they were incapable to distinguish those variations comprehensively,
such as pronunciation and vocabulary used in sentences in conversations. They
perceived an everyday English variety, which they would like to know, to a certain
extent (Tévar, 2014). In addition, these students were also introduced of English
variations by their teachers through several textbooks distributed by the Ministry of
Education and Culture of Indonesia. However, the researcher believes that it can be
974 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 962-980, 2023

enriched by adding materials from other sources and integrating the cultural
information to gain better learning experiences (Sulistiyo et al., 2021). By doing so, it
is expected that students can gain more information about English variations while
learning the language with their local culture.
The Indonesian high school students from the rural areas of this current study
and those from the urban areas who participated in similar studies by Huong and Hiep
(2010) and Franssisca and Subekti (2022) were all aware of the variations in British
and American English. The variations are used and familiarized in schools, and the
students learn and practice using those variations (Tévar, 2020; Tsou & Chen, 2014).
These studies also agree that the differences between American and British English
are mostly known in pronunciation (Hermini, 2019). Nevertheless, the current research
did not focus on English variations in the schools’ system administration (Manara,
2016), stakeholders’ perception of language variation in ELT use (Chan, 2017), and
did not further investigate teachers’ or instructors’ perceptions of English variations
such as done by Suroso (2022) and Yanti et al. (2018).
From the researcher’s point of view, English variations is a part of language
teaching that should be introduced in classrooms. Besides that, selective materials
(e.g., English textbooks) should become the main attention of English teachers. It is
very important in deciding the topic and the task, including the English variation that
are to be taught to students. British and American English might be an ideal model for
English teachers to be taught among the expanding circle countries, such as Indonesia.
The variations (i.e., British and American English) are well-known among English
speakers wound the world because they explain that the UK and US English are labeled
as ‘casual/modern’ and ‘strict/traditional’ with positive and negative attributes (Evans,
2010). However, other variations (i.e., Australian and New Zealand English) should
also be introduced with a purpose of enriching students’ knowledge in the learning
process. Chan (2017) studies stakeholders’ perception of language variation in ELT
use around Hong Kong, suggesting that students are given a choice to choose their
own English learning targets as a reflection of both the learners’ exposure to English
in their everyday ELT practices and assessment requirements.

4.2.2 The English variations taught by English teachers at the schools

In rural areas, the English variations (i.e., British, American, and others) do not
have much influence on ELT. Yet, it can be an additional knowledge that English is
not spoken in a single variation. Ahn and Kang (2017) add that EFL students do
indicate their awareness of different English variations and even learning different
variations in other EFL countries. In addition, Reaisi et al. (2020) argue that the process
of this learning and teaching can greatly be influenced by the location of schools.
Students in rural areas can make their English variations a localized variation due to
influences of knowledge from the schools and interactions among people in their areas.
Presenting English in different environments challenges existing social practices and
identities (Murray, 2020). English has evolved beyond merely being a tool for
communication, and the problems facing English instructors today are unparalleled
(Bhowmik, 2015; Murray, 2020). Therefore, ELT development has little engagement
with pluricentric. Students should be encouraged to be proud to speak the localized
variety because English has a larger plurilingual repertoire than bilingual users (Chan,
2020; He & Li, 2021).
 A. Utomo, English variations in ELT: A case of rural schools in North Kalimantan,
Indonesia | 975

Second, English variations among the respondents in this study were accepted
and practiced in their schools, although not comprehensively. This means that teachers
in the rural areas are similar to those in the urban areas, they also introduced English
variations in their classroom (Tsou & Chen, 2014; Hermini, 2019). From the
researcher’s point of view, English variations give many benefits to students interested
in learning them because the variations can help them learn the world through language
use based on the culture and ideology of the speakers. This can be the basis for English
teachers or instructors in making decisions on how much they should include different
variations of English in their lessons (Franssisca & Subekti, 2022). This familiarization
complements the students’ language skills (Huong & Hiep, 2010), such as when they
finally do encounter native speakers of different English accents, they can better
comprehend the native speakers. Hence, among the goals of learning English is
international communication, including interaction with tourists or foreigners of
English (Mesthrie & Bhatt, 2008).

4.3 Pedagogical Implications

Although this current research cannot be generalized to Indonesian EFL

students, implications of English variations used in teaching and learning are raised,
especially in rural areas. First, it is a note to evaluate the curriculum design of ELT
developed by the government as the policy maker because most of the students in the
rural areas do not know the variations comprehensively. There should be a curriculum
of ELT that can be adapted for students in rural areas. Second, English teachers are
suggested to endorse and become role models for implementing English variations in
the classroom.
In the ASEAN contexts, English has been welcomed in many Southeast Asian
nations with differing degrees of enthusiasm. Some have given English the status of
an official language, while others have used it as a de facto working language (Wee,
2020). The Indonesian government is suggested to act in considering what English
variations that should be taught in the class, although Indonesia does not implement
English as a first or second language. It should be made clear. In the case of rural areas
context, the government is also suggested to play its role in facilitating students with
English programs to improve their literacy skills in English (Harun & Kabilan, 2020).
In Asian variations of English studies, ELT’s implication in responding to English
variations is essential in reducing learners’ perception of non-native English and
refining their communication flexibility to accommodate the accent diversity
(Tokumoto & Shibata, 2011).

5. CONCLUSION

Based on those explanations in the findings and discussion, the researcher can
encapsulate answers to the two questions in this current research. First, most of the
students from the two schools know that American English is a kind of English
variation, although there is another variation mentioned in the questionnaire (i.e.,
British English). The students perceived that American English is easier to learn and
speak compared to other variations spoken in the inner circle countries. Second, the
teachers frequently used American English in classroom instruction, such as when
976 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 962-980, 2023

structuring sentences and teaching pronunciation. But they also introduce to the
students several variations of English in the classroom, and the students were aware of
this even though they could not fully distinguish those variations and did not know
when to use them in conversations.
Teachers at the rural schools still speak mostly Indonesian to deliver materials
to ensure that their students comprehend materials taught among limited facilities and
materials. These schools relied on the textbooks that were supplied by the Ministry
and still implement the Kurikulum 2013 (or the 2013 Curriculum) as their guidance in
teaching English. The teachers may modify existing materials, including what English
variations to use and are suitable for students. Examples are such as providing
exercises of American and British English expressions, or how to pronounce words in
American or British English. If rural teachers can do so, they can gain the best out of
the existing learning and teaching facilities. Therefore, this condition is a good
opportunity for English teachers in developing their learning materials (e.g.,
textbooks) with good instructions in endorsing English variations to increase students’
knowledge on this phenomena.
Last but not least, this current research is still in the first stage, and the samples
are still limited to the two senior high schools in rural areas. Those who are interested
in studying English variations are recommended to study the perceptions of English
variations within bigger samples and settings in the Indonesian context of rural areas,
both from teachers and students.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researcher thanks to PUSLAPDIK (Pusat Layanan Pembiyaan Pendidikan)

of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of Indonesia through
BPI (Beasiswa Pendidikan Indonesia) and LPDP (Lembaga Pengelola Dana
Pendidikan) as the sponsor in doing this current research.

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Request Modifications by Malay Speakers

of English in the Workplace:
A Contrastive Pragmatic Analysis
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Aizatul Aisyah Mohd Idris1

Isma Noornisa Ismail*2
1
Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor
40450, MALAYSIA
2
Akademi Pengajian Bahasa, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Pulau Pinang,
Permatang Pauh, Pulau Pinang 13200, MALAYSIA

Abstract
A request is one of the most frequently used speech acts in a person’s daily
life. Many studies have been conducted on the act of request and several
researchers have developed strategies and modifications that are used in
delivering requests to mitigate the imposition of the FTA. Thus, this study
aims to investigate the internal and external modifications applied in
requests by Malay speakers of English and Malay to specific requestees in
the workplace context following Blum-Kulka et al.’s (1989) Request
Modification framework. To achieve the purpose of this study, a qualitative
approach was employed. A number of 30 Malay workers were asked to
complete a Written Discourse Completion Task (WDCT) which involves
eliciting requests. The findings revealed that the respondents used more
internal modifications in their requests with people of equal relative power
compared to high and low relative power, and used more external
modifications in requests with a higher degree of imposition in certain
contexts. This implies the act of request from the viewpoint of the
Malaysian workplace context. It offers meaningful insight into the
preferences of working Malay speakers of English in modifying their
requests, and shows the level of pragmatic competence of Malay speakers
of English and Malay in the workplace environment.

*
Corresponding author, email: isma182@uitm.edu.my

Citation in APA style: Idris, A. A. M., & Ismail, I. N. (2023). Request modifications by Malay speakers
of English in the workplace: A contrastive pragmatic analysis. Studies in English Language and
Education, 10(2), 981-999.

Received June 16, 2022; Revised November 30, 2022; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.26464
 A. A. M. Idris & I. N. Ismail, Request modifications by Malay speakers of English in the
workplace: A contrastive pragmatic analysis | 982

Keywords: Contrastive pragmatics, external modifications, internal

modifications, request.

1. INTRODUCTION

It is inadequate for a person to achieve only accurate linguistic knowledge that

follows the rules of grammar but leaves out the lexical aspects inadequate. Particularly,
a person must also know how to use knowledge in communication by attaining
pragmalinguistic and sociopragmatic understandings (Chang & Ren, 2020). If one is
from a different culture with a different social understanding and lacks pragmatic and
linguistic knowledge when interacting, failures in verbal communication can occur
(Maros & Halim, 2018). Therefore, it is imperative for a person, especially L2
speakers, to develop their communicative competence.
‘Communicative competence’ was introduced by Hymes (1972) who stated that
speakers need to be able to communicate successfully through the knowledge they
gained from acquiring a language based on certain contexts and hearers. This concept
is also known as ‘pragmatic competence’. Halupka-Rešetar (2014) stated that
pragmatic competence is classified under communicative competence which, based on
Bachman’s (1990) model, encompasses illocutionary competence (the knowledge of
using speech acts) and sociolinguistic competence (the ability to utilize language
appropriately according to the context of the conversation). Hence, pragmatic
competence can be defined as the ability to use a language by uttering socially
appropriate speeches based on various contexts (Daskalovska et al., 2016).
According to Zhu (2012), a person’s pragmatic competence can be evaluated
based on his/her speech act behaviour. Speech acts are actions made through utterances
that speakers use to convey intended actions and where hearers interpret the intended
meaning—apologies, requests, refusals, complaints, etc. (Halupka-Rešetar, 2014;
Khalib & Tayeh, 2014). Request acts are one of the most used speech acts in everyday
interactions (Halupka-Rešetar, 2014; Shafran, 2019), and being pragmatically
competent when making requests is a crucial aspect (Alsout & Khedri, 2019). For
years, the study of the request speech act has taken the interest of many researchers
around the world (Al Masaeed, 2017; Su & Ren, 2017). This is because a request is
considered a Face-Threatening Act (FTA) which, if not delivered appropriately
through modifications and strategies, can cause communication breakdowns (Alsout
& Khedri, 2019; Brown & Levinson, 1987; Halupka-Rešetar, 2014).
Therefore, for a person to become pragmatically competent when requesting in
both their L1 and L2, one’s linguistics knowledge needs to be closely associated with
sociopragmatic knowledge (the relative degree of imposition in the culture of the L2)
and pragmalinguistic knowledge (the degree of politeness of utterance in the culture
of the L2) (Halupka-Rešetar, 2014; Maros & Halim, 2018). However, forming the
appropriate and effective form of request in one’s L2 has still become a challenge to
non-native speakers, especially if their mastery of that language is low (Shafran, 2019).
Additionally, studies have shown that, in some cultures, making a direct request
to someone that is not close to the requester or has a higher status may make the
requestee feel offended or imposed on (Halupka-Rešetar, 2014). In terms of using a
second or foreign language, even though most people know how to make requests
appropriately in their first language (L1), this does not necessarily mean that they know
983 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 981-999, 2023

how to do it in a second language (L2) (Maros & Halim, 2018), especially when
speaking to people from different cultural backgrounds. Cross-cultural differences
may affect the realization of requests for native speakers and non-native speakers of a
language (Barron, 2016).
Previous studies have also discussed the types of strategies and modifications
used in delivering requests within the academic setting (e.g., Alsout & Khedri, 2019;
Daskalovska et al., 2016; Halenko & Jones, 2017; Karatepe, 2016; Khalib & Tayeh,
2014), however, there are still few studies on the use of these request strategies and
modifications in the workplace environment. Moreover, the number of studies on the
comparison between L1 Malay and L2 English speakers on request act is still scarce
compared to other interlanguage and cross-cultural studies on request speech act (e.g.,
Al Masaeed, 2017; Ninomiya & Shadayeva, 2020; Shafran, 2019). Although there is
a study comparing Malay and English speakers’ use of request strategies (e.g., Maros
& Halim, 2018), it only focused on one modification among the other request
modifications that this study explored.
Therefore, to attend to this gap, this study examined the modifications applied
towards specific requestees made in L1 Malay and L2 English at the workplace
following Blum-Kulka et al.’s (1989) Request Modification framework. This study
hopefully sheds light on the assumptions and perceptions regarding effective request
approaches and how L1 may either interfere with or facilitate the transfer of
sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic knowledge to L2. To fulfil the purpose of the
research, the present study seeks to answer this research question as follows: What are
the internal and external request modifications employed by the Malay speakers of
English when delivering requests in Malay and English based on the social variables
of power, social distance, and degree of imposition?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Sociological Variables in Making Requests

A request is one of the Face-Threatening Acts (FTA) as it involves the speaker

(requester) impeding the hearer’s (requestee) freedom of action (Brown & Levinson,
1978). The requester is asking the requestee to do something that the requestee does
not benefit from; thus, complying with such requests can be hard for the requestee as
the act is imposing on his/her time. Hence, speakers need to take note of the social
status of the involved interlocutors (Yazdanfar & Bonyadi, 2016). Three sociological
variables were introduced by Brown and Levinson (1978, 1987) to adjust the degree
of politeness and determine the severity of the FTA before executing the request act
(Ninomiya & Shadayeva, 2020; Shafran, 2019). These variables consist of ‘relative
power’ (P), ‘social distance’ (S), and ‘rank of imposition’ (R).
According to Brown and Levinson (1978), relative power refers to the authority
of a person over another, such as a professor to a student. Under this circumstance,
those with higher power have authority over those inferior to them. Then, social
distance is the frequency of interactions between the interlocutors where friends and
relatives are considered close social distance. Lastly, the degree of imposition refers
to the degree of interference with the hearer’s negative or positive face wants. ‘Face
wants’ refers to the social desire to maintain or enhance their social image and identity
 A. A. M. Idris & I. N. Ismail, Request modifications by Malay speakers of English in the
workplace: A contrastive pragmatic analysis | 984

in interaction. This concept is closely related to the idea of ‘face-threatening acts’

(FTAs), which are speech acts that can potentially damage or challenge the face of the
interlocutor (Brown & Levinson, 1987; Ting-Toomey, 1988, 2017). These variables–
power, social distance, and degree of imposition mostly compare the speaker’s
(requester) and hearer’s (requestee) social status and the nature of the imposition (big
or small). To simplify, the farther the social distance between the requester and
requestee, the more politeness is needed in the request act; the more the relative power
of the requester (e.g.: boss) to the requestee (e.g.: employee), the less politeness is
required; and the higher the degree of the imposition, the more politeness is
recommended.

2.2 Request Modifications

According to Faerch and Kasper (1989), request modifications can be

implemented internally and externally to the main request act (Halupka-Rešetar,
2014). ‘Internal modification’ is a strategy through the use of lexical and syntactical
components that function to either minimize or intensify the force of the request made
(Al Masaeed, 2017; Halupka-Rešetar, 2014; Ninomiya & Shadayeva, 2020; Su & Ren,
2017). These modifications, as the term implies, are internally embedded into the head
act of the request to modulate the illocutionary force. For example, the word ‘please’
is an internal modification that is commonly embedded within the head acts. The final
taxonomy of internal modifications used in this study is presented in Tables 1 and 2:

Table 1. Internal modifications–lexical downgraders and upgraders (adapted from

Blum-Kulka et al. (1989) and Woodfield & Economidou-Kogetsidis (2010)).
Lexical Lexical modifications Definition Example
downgraders Marker ‘please’ An optional element added “Help me with these
to a request to bid for bags, please.”
cooperative behaviour.
Consultative devices Expressions by means of “Would you mind”, “Do
which the speaker seeks to you think”, “Would it be
involve the hearer directly all right if”, “Is it/would
bidding for cooperation. it be possible”, “Do you
think I could”,
Downtoners Modifiers that are used by ‘possibly’, ‘perhaps’,
the speaker to modulate ‘just’, ‘rather’, ‘maybe’
the impact his or her
request is likely to have on
the hearer.
Understaters/hedges Adverbial modifiers by ‘a bit’, ‘a little’, ‘sort of’,
means of which the ‘kind of’
speaker underrepresents
the state of affairs denoted
in the proposition.
Subjectivizers Elements in which the ‘I’m afraid’, ‘I wonder’,
speaker explicitly ‘I think/suppose’
expresses his or her
subjective opinion vis-a-
vis the state of affairs
referred to in the
proposition, thus lowering
the assertive force of the
request.
985 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 981-999, 2023

Table 1 continued…
Cajolers Conventionalized, “You know…”, “You
addressee-oriented see…”
modifiers whose function
is to make things clearer to
the addressee and invite
him/her to metaphorically
participate in the speech
act.
Appealers Addressee-oriented ‘Wash the dishes, dear,
elements occurring in a will you?
syntactically final position.
They may signal turn
availability and “are used
by the speaker whenever
he or she wishes to appeal
to his or her hearer’s
benevolent understanding.
Lexical Overstater ‘Exaggerated utterances “I’m in desperate need of
upgraders that form part of the your help.”
request and are employed
by the speaker to
communicate their need of
the request being met.
Intensifiers An adverbial modifier that “I truly/really need your
stresses specific elements help”
of the request.
Time intensifiers Time intensifiers users to “Finish this quickly.”
stress the urgency of the
request.
Lexical uptoners Stressing on the lexical to “Do your job.”
heighten the need for the
matter requested by the
speaker.

Table 2. Internal modifications–syntactic downgraders.

Syntactic Definition Example
downgraders
Conditional structure The use of conditional structures. “Could you help me with this?”
Conditional clause The use of conditional sentences “… if it’s possible to set a meeting
like ‘if’ in a clause. today.”
Interrogative The use of ‘?’ as a question within “Will you wash the dishes
a request. tomorrow?”
Negation of a Sentence structured in a negation “I don’t suppose there is any
preparatory condition form. chance of an extension?”
Past tense Sentence structured with a verb “Is it alright if I asked for your
modified into the past tense. help with this…”
Aspect The use of aspect marker in a “I was wondering if it’s possible to
clause. set a meeting today.”

‘External modification’ is a strategy that modifies the request outside of the head
act by preceding or following the main request (Maros & Halim, 2018; Ninomiya &
Shadayeva, 2020). As a result, this strategy is known as ‘external’ or ‘supportive
moves’. In this case, external modifications function to either aggravate or mitigate the
speech act of request (Flores-Salgado & Castineira-Benitez, 2018; Halupka-Rešetar,
 A. A. M. Idris & I. N. Ismail, Request modifications by Malay speakers of English in the
workplace: A contrastive pragmatic analysis | 986

2014; Liu et al., 2021; Su & Ren, 2017). The illocutionary force of the head act is
indirectly modified by the external modifications; thus, it implies that no impact is
done on the main request, but more on the situation or context of how/where the
request is delivered (Flores-Salgado & Castineira-Benitez, 2018; Woodfield &
Economidou-Kogetsidis, 2010). In addition, external modifications, as stated by
Blum-Kulka et al. (1989), involve several adjuncts to the head act. The following is
provided Blum-Kulka et al.’s (1989) external request modification in the CCSARP’s
coding scheme, Table 3 shows the final modified external modification taxonomy used
in this research.

Table 3. External request modifications.

Adjunct to Definition Example
head act
Checking for The requester tries to see whether the “Are you on your way to the
availability requestee is available to commit to the supermarket? If so, is it okay if I
request. come with you?”
Getting a pre- The requester checks for a potential refusal “Would you do me a favour? Can
commitment before delivering the request by trying to you help with my bags?”
get a pre-committal from the requestee.
Preparator The requester prepares the hearer for the “I need a favour from you. Is it
following request by stating their action. alright if I borrow your car
tonight?”
Grounder The requester provides reasons, Can I borrow some money? I
explanations, or justifications behind the forgot my wallet.”
request.
Disarmer The requester tries to sway the requestee “I know you are a busy person, but
from raising potential objections. could you help with this paper?”
Imposition The requester tries to mitigate the “May I ask for some of your time?
minimizer imposition placed on the requestee by the Just for a few minutes.”
request.
Apology The requester acknowledges the “I apologize for disturbing you,
imposition created by the request and but could you help me with this
apologizes for it. box?”
Gratitude The requester expresses their appreciation “Is it possible for you to review
for the requestee’s compliance with the my work? Thank you in advance.”
request.

2.3 Request Modifications across Cultures and Languages

Request modifications are lexical and syntactic elements that are included either
internally or externally in the main request act (Flores-Salgado & Castineira-Benitez,
2018) and they function as mitigators to reduce the force of a request. Previous studies
have been conducted to see how different people across the world modify their
requests. Muthusamy and Farashaiyan’s (2016) research showed that a majority of the
international postgraduate students from different countries (Iraq, Iran, Jordan, India,
and Tunisia), studying in Malaysia use more external modifications (66.6%) compared
to internal modification (33.3%) through the frequent use of ‘please’ marker and
grounders. Here, the high frequency of such use of modifiers, according to Blum-
Kulka and Olshtain (1984), is because they are easy to produce by non-native speakers
(Muthusamy & Farashaiyan, 2016). To put it simply, a ‘please’ marker is the easiest
way to express one’s need for assistance while grounders do not require proficient
pragmalinguistic knowledge to justify their request.
987 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 981-999, 2023

Such findings are very much consistent with those in Halupka-Rešetar (2014)
where the study examined the type and frequency of internal and external
modifications used in the request-making among intermediate proficiency level ESP
students in Serbia. The request-making of the students showed little variation in terms
of the type of modification and the frequency of use. However, among the external
modification elements, grounders were used most often and almost exclusively. On
the other hand, the use of the politeness marker ‘please’ and conditional clauses
showed the highest percentage of internal modification. Thus, the findings in both
studies show significant similarities which demonstrate how ‘please’ markers and
grounders are two of the most convenient types of internal and external modifiers to
mitigate requests among non-native speakers of a target language.
However, studies like Woodfield and Economidou-Kogetsidis (2010)
discovered contradicting results of internal modification use among English learner
participants (Greek, Japanese, and German) where, through the production of written
requests, the use of ‘please’ are quite low in percentage (16.9%) while the use of zero
marking (i.e., no use of any internal modifier) shows the highest percentage in both
lexical and syntactic downgraders; (38.2%) and (64%). Although these English
learners are deemed to have high English proficiency skills with good scores in both
TOEFL and IELTS exams, it is surprising to see their lack of internal modifications
within their requests. Yet, in terms of external modifications, findings showed similar
results with high-frequency zero marking use (21.34%) but with the use of grounders
being the highest (71.91%) and other forms of external modifiers as the lowest (from
0% to only 8.98%). Hence, this shows that while they do provide reasons for their
requests, the lack of other external modifiers makes their requests sound quite direct
and coercive to hearers. Subsequently, the reasoning for this may be that while they
are good in terms of grammatical and lexical commands, their pragmalinguistic
knowledge is still quite underdeveloped. Thus, this proves how English learners need
to gain a better grasp in terms of sociopragmatic and pragmalinguistic knowledge to
produce better requests that are mitigated properly and sound more polite.

3. METHODS

3.1 Research Design

This study aims to investigate the request modifications used by Malay speakers
of English in the workplace. Therefore, to fulfil this objective, a qualitative research
approach was employed to obtain an in-depth understanding of participants’
perspectives on the research phenomenon from the participants’ responses. The data
was analysed according to Blum-Kulka et al.’s (1989) Request Modifications
taxonomy.

3.2 Research Sample

A purposive sampling method was applied to select participants who met

specific criteria. The criteria for inclusion were Malay individuals who speak English
as a second language, and who work at various private organizations in Selangor,
Malaysia. By selecting participants based on these criteria, we were able to focus our
 A. A. M. Idris & I. N. Ismail, Request modifications by Malay speakers of English in the
workplace: A contrastive pragmatic analysis | 988

study on the experiences of a specific population and gather in-depth data about their
experiences.
Previous studies that employed discourse completion tasks (DCT) regarding
request acts in their research (e.g., Al Masaeed, 2017; Halupka-Rešetar, 2014; Khalib
& Tayeh, 2014; Shafran, 2019; Woodfield & Economidou-Kogetsidis, 2010), the
common number of participants is in the range of 30-176. Hence, for this study, putting
into consideration the then pandemic which can affect participants’ willingness to
participate in the research, and the limited time given to collect and analyse the data,
the ideal sample size to obtain the qualitative data is 30.

3.3 Research Instruments

The research instrument is a Written Discourse Completion Task (WDCT)

administered via Google Forms. The written task adapted and modified from
Daskalovska et al. (2016) and Shafran (2019), was designed to collect and elicit
requests in written form. Participants were given six different scenarios of real-life
situations that require them to form their requests in both Malay and English to people
of different relative power (P) and social distance (S) and ask favours of different
degrees of imposition (R). The comparison between the two languages was done to
examine the similarities and differences in the requests made by anglophones in their
mother tongue, as well as in English.

Table 4. Written discourse analysis of situational contexts.

Scenario Written discourse analysis scenarios Context (recipient
position)
1 You are to hand in a minor project report by tomorrow. + Power
However, you are ill and have not finished it yet. Therefore, you - Distance
decided to talk to your boss, whom you are close to, for a - Degree
submission date extension. What would you say to your boss?
2 You belong to a non-profit organization (Earth.org) and decided + Power
to invite a famous person (Hakimi, an activist on environmental + Distance
protection) to give a speech. The members of your group have + Degree
appointed you to ask this person via email to give a talk about
ecological disasters in Malaysia as a guest speaker. What would
you say to the person?
3 The meeting has just ended late in the evening, and your bus has = Power
already left. Unfortunately, the next bus will not be coming for + Distance
another hour. You remembered that a couple (husband and wife) + Degree
in the other department who has a car and lives on the same
street as you are also working late. You found the wife’s number
from your colleague and decided to message her for a ride. What
would you say to the person?
4 You are sick and cannot come to work. Therefore, you would - Power
like to message Anis, a new worker, to cover your work for you. + Distance
What would you say to her? + Degree
5 You are the project manager in your department and you want - Power
any one of your colleagues to volunteer to go to the project site - Distance
with you during the weekend. Therefore, in the company group + Degree
chat, you message them to ask them to volunteer. What would
you say to your colleagues?
6 You need to pay your house rent but are low on money. Hence, = Power
you decide to message and ask your friend, Amar, for money. - Distance
What would you say to your friend? + Degree
989 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 981-999, 2023

In this study, the rate for the P, D, and R is determined through the context of
each scenario. According to Brown and Levinson (1978), relative power (P) refers to
the level of authority one has over another. For instance, the requestees of Scenarios 1
and 2 have high relative power (+P) as they have the authority/influence over the
requester’s situation/needs. Scenarios 3’s and 6’s requestees have equal relative power
(=P) since they are those that the requester has no authority over them nor them to the
requester. Scenarios 4’s and 5’s requestees have low relative power (-P) as they are
considered junior/subordinate and required to follow the requester’s requests.
Then, social distance (D) is the level of familiarity between interlocutors. Here,
Scenarios 2, 3, and 4 are high social distance (+D) as the requestees do not have close
relationships with the requester, whereas Scenarios 1, 5, and 6 are low social distance
(-D) as the requestees have close relationships with the requestee.
Finally, the degree of imposition (R) is the degree of interference to the hearer’s
(requestee) negative or positive face wants. For example, Scenarios 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6
are a high degree of imposition (+R) as the requests involve big favours that can cause
one to feel imposed upon, while Scenario 1 is a low degree of imposition (-R) as the
request is quite minor and would not impose too much on the requestees’ time or
threaten their positive face.
This method is significant for this study as relevant data can be acquired. From
here, the study would be able to see how respondents would formulate their requests
according to requestees of different sociological variables. Respondents’ answers can
elicit internal and external request modifications (e.g., conditional structures,
intensifiers, grounder, imposition minimizer, etc.) that respondents may use in their
requests. Additionally, WDCT has been utilized by other researchers such as Halupka-
Rešetar (2014) and Maros & Halim (2018) to collect data on external and internal
request modifications through social situations.

3.4 Data Collection and Data Analysis

The link to the Google Forms containing WDCT was distributed to 30 Malay
speakers of English in the private sector workplace via online instant messaging
platforms (i.e., WhatsApp Messenger and Telegram) and social media (i.e., Twitter,
Instagram, and Facebook). They were expected to answer the WDCT in both Malay
and English languages by forming six requests according to the scenarios given in the
survey.
Next, once the responses were selected and tabulated, the total frequency of both
external and internal modifications used by participants was calculated. Specifically,
a coding process based on Blum-Kulka et al.’s (1989) Request Modification taxonomy
was conducted by classifying participants’ responses (i.e., requests made for the
scenarios in the written task) in a table according to the internal or external
modifications used (e.g., appealers, intensifiers, grounder, gratitude, imposition
minimizer, etc.) for each scenario. Then, the data was calculated with the degree of
imposition (e.g., small to large favours) and the social power (combination of social
distance and power) according to the roles in the scenarios. This is to observe the
number of modifications used by the respondents in situations that have either a higher
or lower degree of imposition involving people of different power and social distances.
Using Blum-Kulka et al.’s (1989) Request Modification taxonomy is a crucial part of
this study as it helps the researcher to classify and analyse the modifications (internally
 A. A. M. Idris & I. N. Ismail, Request modifications by Malay speakers of English in the
workplace: A contrastive pragmatic analysis | 990

and/or externally) employed by the respondents in their requests to requestees of

different sociological variables within different contexts.

3.4.1 Cohen Kappa’s Inter-Rater Agreement

To maintain the data reliability of the WDCT responses, Cohen Kappa’s inter-
rater agreement (Dobakhti, 2020) was measured. Two native Malay speakers who are
majoring in English and familiar with research analysis and methodology were asked
to independently rate their agreement or disagreement with the already coded English
and Malay request modifications in participants’ WDCT responses.
Rau and Shih (2021) commented that this test involves the extent to which raters
make the same judgment. High agreement means raters assign the same units to the
same category (i.e., nominal, ordinal, and interval) and the agreement value can be
calculated and evaluated for its reliability based on Kappa’s value scale; <0 (no
agreement) to 0.80-1.00 (almost perfect agreement). Li and Raja Suleiman’s (2017)
study on Chinese EFL learners’ L2 proficiency and ability to produce complaints used
this data reliability test to see the consistency in the coding scheme.
To illustrate, over the 360 English and Malay responses that have been coded
with different request modifications, 20% of them (36 responses; 18 in English and 18
in Malay) were given to the raters separately. There were over 297 internal
modifications and 267 external modifications coded in those 36 responses and raters
have to either agree or disagree with the request modifications codes labelled by the
researcher. The calculation was conducted using the following Cohen Kappa’s Inter-
rater agreement formula:

Kappa = (P_Rated – P_Expected)

(N – P_Expected)

Where:
P_Rated : the number of coded strategies agreed
P_Expected : 50% of the number of coded strategies expected to be agreed upon
N : the total number of coded strategies measured for agreement

From here, the Kappa values collected from all the raters were gathered and
calculated to acquire the mean Kappa value. This mean value is the Kappa value that
indicated the reliability of the overall data in this study. According to the calculations
done, the Cohen-Kappa Inter-rater agreement showed a Kappa value of 0.98 for
internal modifications and 0.96 for external modifications coded. Both values indicate
an almost perfect agreement of the request modification codes labelled by the
researchers.

4. RESULTS

4.1 Internal Modifications Employed in English and Malay Requests

The results in Table 5 below show very close numbers of internal modifications
employed in both English and Malay requests for each scenario. Among all the
991 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 981-999, 2023

requests elicited by the respondents, Scenario 6 shows the most internal modifications
used in both English and Malay with a total of 114 and 113 internal modifiers
employed respectively. This is then followed by Scenario 4 (English, 98; Malay, 91)
and Scenario 3 (English, 97; Malay, 91). On the other hand, Scenario 2 shows the least
number of internal modifications used in English and Malay with only a frequency of
39 and 35. This is followed by Scenario 5 (English, 46; Malay, 46) and Scenario 1
(English, 59; Malay, 59).
To specify, it can be noted that all requests elicited were delivered to the
requestees that have different sociological variables (power, social distance, and
degree of imposition) and this seems to affect the number of internal modifiers used
by respondents and the reason why the number of internal modifications in English
and Malay is close to each other based on the different scenarios. For instance, based
on Table 5, the requests for requestees of higher relative power (+P) like in Scenario
1 and Scenario 2 had a little number of request modifiers used (English, 59 and 39;
Malay, 59 and 35). In contrast, requests for requestees of equal power (=P) like in
Scenario 3 and Scenario 6 had a larger number of request modifiers used (English, 97
and 114; Malay, 91 and 113).
However, requests for requestees that had lower power (-P), such as in Scenario
4 and Scenario 5, had a large gap in number. Specifically, Scenario 4 had a total
number of 98 request modifications in English and 91 in Malay while Scenario 5 only
had 46 internal modifications done in both English and Malay. Therefore, other
sociological variables (social distance and degree of imposition) need to be examined.
Looking more specifically into the types of internal modifications used based on the
different request scenarios, the findings showed that in the context of ‘normal worker
to boss’ in Scenario 1 (high relative power, low social distance, and low degree of
imposition), and ‘normal worker to potential guest’ context in Scenario 2 (high relative
power, high social distance, and high degree of imposition), respondents mostly used
formal language involving direct speech for both languages in their request to state
their intentions and needs clearly.

Table 5. Frequency distribution of internal modifications employed in English and

Malay requests in Scenarios 1, 2, and 3.
SCENARIO 1 SCENARIO 2 SCENARIO 3
+P -D -R +P +D +R =P +D+R
ENG MAL ENG MAL ENG MAL
Lexical downgraders
Marker ‘please’ 4 0 4 2 2 0
Consultative devices 5 1 0 0 11 1
Downtoners 0 0 1 2 1 0
Understaters/hedges 5 7 3 5 0 1
Subjectivizers 0 0 3 2 4 5
Cajolers 0 0 0 0 1 0
Appealers 0 1 0 0 1 2
Total 14 9 11 11 20 9
Lexical upgraders
Overstater 0 0 7 8 2 0
Intensifiers 8 6 8 8 13 9
Time Intensifiers 0 0 0 0 3 0
Lexical Uptoners 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 8 6 15 16 18 9
 A. A. M. Idris & I. N. Ismail, Request modifications by Malay speakers of English in the
workplace: A contrastive pragmatic analysis | 992

Table 5 continued…
Syntactic downgraders
Conditional Structure 11 17 0 0 14 27
Conditional Clause 7 3 8 6 15 11
Interrogative 19 19 3 2 28 29
Negation 0 5 0 0 0 6
Past Tense 0 0 1 0 0 0
Aspect 0 0 1 0 2 0
Total 37 44 13 8 59 73
TOTAL 59 59 39 35 97 91
Note:
P = Power
D = Social Distance
R = Degree of Imposition

Scenario 1 involved formally requesting a due date extension for a minor project.
The way of requesting had no internal modifications since respondents intended to
sound clear and not mitigate their request which can cause ambiguity. However, there
had been other respondents that employed certain types of internal modifiers in their
requests for both scenarios to mitigate or intensify their needs. For instance;

(1) “Hi, boss. I’m really (Intensifier) sorry for bothering you at this time but is it possible (Consultive
Devices) to get an extension for the project report [?] (Interrogative)”. (Scenario 1 - Respondent
24, English)
“Assalamualaikum Tuan...Minta maaf sangat2 [sic] (Intensifier) saya tidak sihat untuk siapkan
report yang perlu dhantar esok...boleh beri sya masa (Conditional structure) sedikit (Understater)
untuk siapkan apabila suda [sic] sihat [?] (Interrogative)”. (Scenario 1 - Respondent 8, Malay)

The requests elicited to show that the internal modifiers used were meant to
sound more polite and to give the requestee the freedom to reject the request rather
than being insistent which can cause an FTA towards their negative face. Yet, the
number of internal modifiers was used less compared to other scenarios.

Table 6. Frequency distribution of internal modifications employed in English and

Malay requests in Scenarios 4, 5, and 6.
SCENARIO 4 SCENARIO 5 SCENARIO 6
-P +D +R -P -D +R =P -D +R
ENG MAL ENG MAL ENG MAL
Lexical downgraders
Marker ‘please’ 12 3 0 0 8 3
Consultative devices 7 1 2 0 3 2
Downtoners 5 2 0 0 3 0
Understaters/hedges 3 5 0 1 19 17
Subjectivizers 7 4 0 1 2 2
Cajolers 0 0 0 0 1 0
Appealers 3 6 0 0 1 1
Total 37 21 2 2 37 25
Lexical upgraders
Overstater 0 1 0 0 2 3
Intensifiers 4 4 1 1 14 10
Time intensifiers 2 3 1 0 1 1
Lexical uptoners 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 6 8 2 1 17 14
993 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 981-999, 2023

Table 6 continued…
Syntactic downgraders
Conditional structure 19 24 8 7 20 27
Conditional clause 6 1 5 3 12 7
Interrogative 28 27 28 28 27 28
Negation 0 10 0 5 0 12
Past tense 0 0 0 0 0 0
Aspect 2 0 1 0 1 0
Total 55 62 42 43 60 74
Total 98 91 46 46 114 113
Note:
P = Power
D = Social Distance
R = Degree of Imposition

In contrast, in the context of ‘colleague to new colleague’ in Scenario 4 (low

relative power, high social distance, and high degree of imposition), and ‘friend to
friend’ context in Scenario 6 (equal relative power, low social distance, and high
degree of imposition), the respondents used much more casual language in their
requests to the requestees compared to the previous scenarios but employed more
internal modifications despite having low and equal relative power respectively. For
example:

(2) “Anis, I’m not feeling very well and I don’t I think (Subjectivizer) I can come to work today.
Could you (Conditional structure) please (Please marker) cover my work just (Downtoner) for
today. [?] (Interrogative) I’ll be grateful if you can help me (Conditional clause) and in the future,
if you need someone to cover you, I’ll be glad to do so. Thank you!” (Scenario 4 - Respondent 6,
English)
“Salam, Anis. Saya tak sihat hari ini. Boleh ke awak tolong saya (Conditional structure) siapkan
sikit (Understater) kerja saya untuk harini yang perlu dihantar segera (Time intensifier)?
(Interrogative) Saya takkan lupa jasa awak kalau awak tolong saya [sic]. Tolonglah, terima kasih
(Please marker)!” (Scenario 4 - Respondent 18, Malay)

Based on these responses, the respondents utilized more internal modifiers in

their requests compared to those in Scenarios 1 and 2. The context here (Scenario 4)
shows respondents asked their requestees for things that can threaten their negative
face since they imposed on their requestee’s time and effort. The respondents were
shown to have used at least two types of internal modifications; ‘lexical downgraders’
like subjectivizer, please marker, and downtoner (English), and understater and please
marker (Malay), ‘syntactic downgraders’ like conditional structure, conditional clause,
and interrogative (English), and conditional structure, and interrogative (Malay),
‘lexical upgraders’ like time intensifier (Malay). These modifiers were able to form
polite requests that could reduce the impingement and mitigate the FTA in the requests
as they did not assert their needs onto the requestee and gave them pressure.
The high number of internal modifiers used in both requests to the requestees of
low and equal relative power compared to high relative power suggested that
respondents took more into consideration of the context and degree of imposition
within the request rather than who the requestee was. Additionally, despite Scenario 2
having a similar context to Scenario 4 that imposed on the requestee’s time, the context
which involved requesting Mr. Hakimi’s presence as a guest speaker in a form of an
invitation gave a sense of acknowledgement of the requestee’s credibility; hence,
 A. A. M. Idris & I. N. Ismail, Request modifications by Malay speakers of English in the
workplace: A contrastive pragmatic analysis | 994

enhancing his positive face value (Bardovi-Harlig, 2019). That said, this way of
requesting was seen to be more effective and seemed to not need many internal
modifications.

4.2 External Modifications Employed in English and Malay Requests

Similar to the internal modification, the findings in Table 7 show very close
numbers of external modifications used for each scenario in both English and Malay
requests. Among all the requests elicited by the respondents, Scenario 3 shows the
highest number of external modifications employed in both English and Malay with a
total number of 109 and 102 respectively, followed by Scenario 6 (English, 81; Malay,
83) and Scenario 4 (English, 68; Malay, 62). Contrastingly, Scenario 5 shows the least
number of external modifications employed in English and Malay with only 33 and 30
external modifiers, followed by Scenario 2 (English, 60; Malay, 55) and Scenario 1
(English, 65; Malay, 62).

Table 7. Frequency distribution of external modifications employed in English and

Malay requests in different scenarios.
SCEN. 1 SCEN. 2 SCEN. 3 SCEN. 4 SCEN. 5 SCEN. 6
+P-D-R +P+D+R =P+D+R -P+D+R -P-D+R =P-D+R
E M E M E M E M E M E M
Checking for availability 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 3 3 1 1
Getting a pre- 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 4
commitment
Preparator 0 0 0 0 4 2 2 1 0 0 3 5
Grounder 24 25 24 21 33 31 28 28 12 11 31 30
Disarmer 5 2 15 13 8 9 2 0 7 7 4 3
Imposition minimizer 8 7 2 2 25 24 17 17 6 6 26 26
Apology 19 19 1 1 32 29 8 8 1 1 9 9
Gratitude 8 8 18 18 4 4 11 8 4 2 4 5
TOTAL 65 62 60 55 109 102 68 62 33 30 81 83
Note:
SCEN= Scenario
E = English
M = Malay
P = Power
D = Social Distance
R = Degree of Imposition

All requests elicited were delivered to requestees that had different sociological
variables (power, social distance, and degree of imposition). These variables had also
influenced the number of external modifiers employed by respondents and became the
reason why one scenario had more external modifiers used compared to another.
However, unlike the internal modifications where the relative power influenced most
of the frequency of internal modifiers used, only one pair of scenarios with similar
sociological variables showed a close number of external modifications; Scenario 3
(=P, +D, +R) and Scenario 6 (=P, -D, +R) which had the highest number of external
modifications employed. On the other hand, Scenario 2 (+P, +D, +R) and Scenario 5
(-P, -D, +R) had the least number of external modifications employed, and Scenario 1
(+P, -D, -R) and Scenario 4 (-P, +D, +R) being in between them. Here, it showed that
most of the pair had requestees of the opposite sociological variables to one another
995 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 981-999, 2023

except for the degree of imposition (+R) in Scenarios 3 and 6, and Scenarios 2 and 5.
Therefore, the context for each scenario, especially those that influence the degree of
imposition, needs to be examined for better interpretations of the results.
Looking more specifically into the types of external modifications used based
on the different request scenarios, the findings showed that in the context of ‘stranger
to stranger’ in Scenario 3 (equal relative power, high social distance, and high degree
of imposition), and ‘friend to friend’ context in Scenario 6 (equal relative power, low
social distance, and high degree of imposition), respondents had shown to use very
casual and polite language but with many external modifications employed in both
languages. For example:

(3) “Hi! So sorry to bother you (Apology). I am Lily. Do you remember me? We met a few days ago
at Nia’s and I live on the same street as you do (Imposition Minimizer). I actually got your number
from Nia. May I know if you are going back to your house now? (Checking for availability) If so,
I am wondering if you could do me a favour and give me a lift just near my house? the next bus
will not be coming for another hour and I have an appointment with my significant other tonight
(Grounder). Of course, only if you have no other places to go to (Imposition Minimizer), I would
really appreciate your help (Gratitude)”. (Scenario 3 – Respondent 26, English)
“Salam! Minta maaf banyak-banyak sebab mengganggu masa anda (Apology), tetapi adakah
anda dalam perjalanan pulang? (Checking for availability) Saya baru sahaja terlepas bas kerana
bekerja dan saya perlu menunggu sejam lagi sehingga bas berikutnya tiba (Grounder). Saya telah
melihat anda di sekitar kawasan kejiranan kami beberapa kali dan mendapati kami tinggal di
jalan yang sama! (Imposition Minimizer), Jika ia tidak terlalu menyusahkan, (Disarmer) bolehkah
saya menunggang dengan anda pulang ke rumah? Saya berjanji ini tidak akan berulang
(Imposition Minimizer). Terima kasih banyak atas pemahaman anda (Gratitude)”. (Scenario 3 –
Respondent 4, Malay)

In the context of this scenario, it involved asking the requestee’s help with
something that could threaten the requestees’ negative faces. This is because the
request was imposing on the requestees’ personal space and time since the requestee
was facing a stranger that could have ill intentions. Thus, the reason why the degree of
imposition was high. Therefore, it can be deduced that in order for the requestee to
comply with the requests, respondents had to employ many external modifications like
an apology (to admit the imposition and to apologize for it), preparator (to prepare the
requestee of an upcoming request), checking for availability (to see if the requestee is
available to commit to the request), grounder (to explain the reason behind the request),
imposition minimizer (to mitigate the imposition), and gratitude (to express
appreciation towards the requestee’s compliance). Hence, this showed that the number
of external modifications heavily relied on the context and degree of imposition within
the requests.
In brief, based on the findings of the internal and external modifications used in
English and Malay requests, it can be concluded that the number of internal and
external modifications used within a request relied heavily on the requester-requestee’s
relative power and social distance, the context of the request based on the degree of
imposition, and the type of request elicited (i.e., invitations).

5. DISCUSSION

Based on the findings, it has been discovered that Malay speakers of English in
the workplace show high pragmatic competence whereby most of them were able to
 A. A. M. Idris & I. N. Ismail, Request modifications by Malay speakers of English in the
workplace: A contrastive pragmatic analysis | 996

use both internal and external modifications in both English and Malay to make polite
requests. In the use of internal modifications, respondents had been shown to use more
internal modifiers to requestees of equal relative power compared to those of higher or
lower power. In fact, it was found that respondents used the least number of internal
modifications to requestees of high relative power and had been shown to use more
direct speech to them with very few modifications done. One reason for this could be
due to the level of formality maintained by the respondents within their requests to
their boss and client to provide a clear statement of their needs without hedged and
ambiguous statements. This is further supported by Balman and Sangmok (2020) who
argue that in some instances in requests with people of a higher relative power, getting
to the point of the requests without lengthy and hedged explanations is better than
wasting one’s time reading/listening to the requests.
In addition, based on the analysis, it can be deduced that more internal
modifications were used to those of equal to lower relative power because of the degree
of imposition within the requests where the context involves asking for one’s valuable
belongings (a large amount of money), imposing on one’s time and effort (cover for
work), and imposing on one’s time and space (giving a stranger a ride). This is quite
similar to the use of external modifications where respondents used more external
modifiers in requests that had a higher degree of imposition with specific contexts
involving requestees’ valuable belongings (a large amount of money) and personal
time and space (giving a stranger a ride). Consequently, these contexts caused
respondents to use more explanations, promises, apologies, expressions of
appreciation, and disarmers in order to increase their chances to have their requests
accepted. This result is shown to be consistent with the results in Halupka-Rešetar’s
(2014) study where despite not having clear evidence of whether relative power
influence the number of supportive moves used, the degree of imposition, on the other
hand, did affect the number of external modifications used. In other words, the higher
the degree of imposition, the more mitigations were needed. This shows that Malay
speakers of English in the workplace focused more on the specific context of the
requests and the degree of imposition rather than the relative power and social distance
of the requestees.

6. CONCLUSION

Despite the great number of studies done in the field of request speech acts, there
is still a limited number of studies done based on the Malaysian context. Since working
Malaysian people use English frequently as their L2, investigating the request
approach made by them and how they react when receiving them is important. To
illustrate, not only would it provide advancement in the field of pragmatics, but it could
also help English speakers in Malaysia, especially employees that interact with people
daily, to reflect on themselves and see whether their usual request approach is
acceptable or not in the eyes of others, especially to native English speakers. Apart
from displaying proficient pragmatic competency level among the respondents, the
findings in this study also revealed that they used more internal modifications in their
requests with people of equal relative power compared to high and low relative power,
and used more external modifications in requests that have a higher degree of
imposition within certain contexts.
997 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 981-999, 2023

Several areas can be addressed in future research. Firstly, future studies can
employ an observation method to obtain more authentic data on delivering requests in
natural conversations. This is important since it may help shed light on how a
community portrays politeness in their speech within a natural environment. Secondly,
future research can also carry out interviews to observe respondents’ perceptions of
receiving requests at different directness levels. Here, this would help provide an in-
depth understanding of why they feel directness is ruder to receive than another and
how they perceive receiving requests from people of different social statuses.

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1000 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1000-1021, 2023

(Im)politeness Employed by Multilingual

Indonesian EFL Learners in
Argumentative Conversations
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Emi Nursanti*
Erna Andriyanti
Ikha Adhi Wijaya

Department of English Education, Faculty of Languages, Arts, and Cultures,

Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta 55281, INDONESIA

Abstract
Politeness might lessen imposition in argumentative conversations which
potentially result in conflict. However, different conventions on politeness
among different cultures may cause problems for EFL (English as a
Foreign Language) learners who often transfer their native
communication preferences to their target language usage. This article
explores the (im)politeness employed by multilingual EFL learners in
casual agreeing-disagreeing exchanges among peers. Using explanatory
sequential mixed method design, students’ utterances in role plays were
analyzed based on Leech’s (2014) politeness theory, Kakava’s (1993)
disagreement strategies, as well as Locher’s (2004) mitigating strategies
on disagreement. It is found that in conversations with people of equal
status and power, the observance of politeness maxims is more apparent
than the violation. It indicates that maintaining others’ faces is essential
irrespective of age differences, even in arguing conversations. The more
frequent use of positive politeness than negative politeness strategies
represents their greater orientation to others than to themselves. The
prevalence of mitigated disagreement and the frequent use of an
appreciation preface also show their priority to maintaining good
relationships. Those findings support the view of Asians as a collectivistic
group whose primary concern in communication is group membership.
This suggests that awareness of politeness in argumentative conversations

*
Corresponding author, email: emi_nursanti@uny.ac.id

Citation in APA style: Nursanti, E., Andriyanti, E., & Wijaya, I. A. (2023). (Im)politeness employed
by multilingual Indonesian EFL learners in argumentative conversations. Studies in English Language
and Education, 10(2), 1000-1021.

Received May 26, 2022; Revised September 18, 2022; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.26033
 E. Nursanti, E. Andriyanti & I. A. Wijaya, (Im)politeness employed by multilingual
Indonesian EFL learners in argumentative conversations | 1001

among EFL learners must be increased by giving them different

perspectives from non-Asian cultures.

Keywords: Agreement, disagreement, EFL, politeness maxims,

pragmatics.

1. INTRODUCTION

Politeness is fundamental to building rapport and relationships among or

between members of a community group. It is universal, can be conveyed verbally or
non-verbally, is found in various cultures, and has principles related to socio-cultural
aspects upheld as a norm in society. In the context of multilingualism in Indonesia, the
English verbal politeness of EFL students might be influenced by local culture related
to their mother tongue or their national language. This is in line with House’s (2010)
report that English non-native speakers massively transfer their native communicative
preferences in their English language use. This can be a problem since failure in
transferring the politeness discrepancies between the native and the learned language
may cause pragmatic failure (Burgucu-Tazegul et al., 2016; Yue et al., 2020) which
leads to face-loss, misunderstanding, or communication breakdown (House, 2012;
Yan, 2016). Therefore, the EFL learners’ (im)politeness in verbal English is important
to investigate to avoid such failures and to help them conduct successful
communication in facing the increasing demand of cultural, economic, and political
relations among nations.
Today’s highly connected world needs people to compromise to achieve a
common goal. In this situation, argumentation likely arises and might result in conflict
and impoliteness. To avoid such tension, politeness considerations control the
speakers’ moves. As disagreeing is considered a dispreferred response (Leech, 2014;
Pomerantz & Heritage, 2013; Schegloff, 2007; Sifianou, 2012) because of its
impoliteness, this undesired response should be minimized to avoid conflict in
interaction (Brown & Levinson, 1987; Gardner, 2000; Leech, 2014).
However, aside from the conflict that potentially occurs, disagreement is healthy
and productive (Paramasivam, 2007) and related to the cultivation of critical thinking
(Netz & Lefstein, 2016). Thus, instead of being avoided, which may result in pent-up
feelings, loss of individual integrity, and unpleasant relationships, disagreement must
be well managed and properly articulated to enhance productivity, creativity, and
relationship (Paramasivam, 2007). Given that argumentation is also a promising
pathway to foster critical thinking (Ferguson & Bubikova-Moan, 2019) and a way
from which academic progress can be made (Leech, 2014), the EFL learners’
(im)politeness strategies in argumentative discourse is worth studying to see whether
the English expressions they produce are socially and culturally acceptable and to
understand how students should be trained to help them articulate the disagreement
better to accomplish its advantages.
Compared to other politeness phenomena, such as thanking, requests, and
apologies, disagreements and arguments are less studied (Kreutel, 2007; Lawson,
2009; Tseronis, 2021), and among those few studies, most used the theoretical
framework proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987). Ones with a focus on
monolingual or monocultural studies are García-Pastor (2014) in the Valencia context,
1002 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1000-1021, 2023

Behnam and Niroomand (2011) in Iran, García-Fuentes and McDonough (2018) in

Colombia, and Windika (2019) in Indonesia. In bilingual settings, comparing the
politeness strategies between American English and Chinese Mandarin was conducted
by Liang and Han (2005), between Chinese EFL learners and native speakers by Yan
(2016), between Indonesian learners of English and Australian learners of Bahasa
Indonesia by Ramadhani (2012), while those of Indonesian versus Malaysian student
debaters were investigated by Nurrahmah et al. (2020). Most of the aforementioned
studies investigate argumentation either on debatable topics where participants’
intention to beat their interlocutor’s arguments is high or on everyday conversations
whose participants are from different statuses. Accordingly, what they utter represents
how they should behave instead of how they would behave.
Besides this theoretical gap, in practice, we found that in classroom discussions
students sometimes do not recognize the (im)politeness aspects of their disagreeing
expressions as many of them frequently state strong disagreement, such as bluntly
negative adverb ‘No’ or the performative ‘I don’t think so’, that is linguistically too
simple (Bell, 1998), short and minimalist (Beebe & Takahashi, 1989; García, 1989)
which appear too direct, harsh, or rude because of the absence of surface features and
mitigating devices (Kreutel, 2007). Hence, this study investigates arguing exchanges
between peers on everyday topics since research examining this ordinary yet very
complicated speech act in everyday conversations with a conversation partner of
relatively equal status or power is very rare. Meanwhile, it is essential to make students
aware of the impoliteness aspects of their disagreement and to make teachers
acknowledge how to train EFL students to express disagreement in English effectively
and appropriately.
Aspects of both politeness and impoliteness are included in this study since both
are important in capturing the interpersonal phenomena (Culpeper et al., 2017) while
politeness theories inadequately explain things happening in non-cooperative
‘impolite’ interaction (House, 2012). To explain polite linguistic behavior, Leech
proposes five pairs of politeness maxims that affect how speakers communicate. The
general strategy of those ten principles is: to be polite, speakers express something or
imply meaning favorable to others and/or unfavorable to oneself (Leech, 2014). As
assigning high value to others’ concerns and low value to one’s own is regarded polite,
violating this principle is the criteria to consider linguistic behavior as impolite.
Therefore, to thoroughly explore the interpersonal phenomena in EFL students’
arguing exchange, this study has the following objectives:
• to discuss the (im)politeness in students’ argumentative conversation,
• to describe their disagreeing strategies,
• to explain their strategies in mitigating the disagreement.
To achieve those objectives, this study seeks to answer the following questions:
1. How do EFL students observe and violate the politeness maxims in argumentative
conversations?
2. How do they express their disagreement?
3. What are the mitigating strategies they use to express the disagreement?
The agreeing-disagreeing discourse of the students was examined using the
theory by Leech (2014). Students’ disagreement was divided into three categories:
‘strong’, ‘mitigated’, and ‘strong yet mitigated’ to see how they employ the strategies
for resolving differences (Kakava, 1993). In order to examine how they express their
disagreement; this study also makes use of Locher’s (2004) seven mitigation tactics.
 E. Nursanti, E. Andriyanti & I. A. Wijaya, (Im)politeness employed by multilingual
Indonesian EFL learners in argumentative conversations | 1003

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Politeness Principles and Impoliteness

Considering the transactional and interactional major functions of language

(Brown & Yule, 1983; Widdowson, 1984), being polite in communication is of the
same importance as being informative. Therefore, politeness rules or principles must
be fulfilled by speakers. Lakoff (1973) proposed three principles: 1) do not impose, 2)
give options, and 3) make your receiver feel good. Leech (1983) formulates the
principles into six maxims: tact, generosity, approbation, modesty, agreement, and
sympathy. Brown and Levinson (1987) criticized the six maxims for being too many
and proposed four politeness strategies: bald on record, positive politeness, negative
politeness, and off record.
Brown and Levinson’s (1987) theory is widely applied to studying politeness in
various languages. However, they show some shortcomings. First, bald on record does
not show politeness. Second, they only consider politeness as a pragmatically universal
concept without considering cultural differences (Haugh & Chang, 2015; Jegarlooei &
Allami, 2018). Their concept of positive and negative politeness is more oriented to
individualistic culture in Western countries (Leech, 2014) at a specific point in time
(Culpeper & Demmen, 2011).
Leech (2014) then reformulated his previous six maxims of politeness (Leech,
1983) into five pairs consisting of ten maxims. The increased number of maxims is not
maxim proliferation, as accused by Brown and Levinson (1987) since all these maxims
embody variants of the same principal constraint: the general strategy of politeness:
“In order to be polite, S expresses or implies meanings that associate a favorable value
with what pertains to O or associates an unfavorable value with what pertains to S -”
(Leech, 2014, p. 90) where S refers to speaker/self and O refers to other person(s).
These ten maxims must be fulfilled by speakers to carry out the politeness principles.
As these ten specific maxims are more specific and provide less risk of
misunderstanding, they make the politeness strategies applied by speakers across
cultures easy to see due to the very clear parameters. Therefore, this study used the
theory proposed by Leech (2014) to look at the politeness strategies the EFL students
employed in agreeing-disagreeing discourse (see Table 1).

Table 1. The component maxims of the general strategy of (im)politeness (Leech,

2014, p. 91, 221)
No. Maxim Politeness Impoliteness
Strategy Typical Strategy Typical speech-
speech-event event type(s)
type(s)
1 Generosity Give a high value Commissives Give an Refusing,
to other’s wants unfavorable value threatening
to other’s wants
2 Tact Give a low value Directives Give a favorable Ordering,
to the speaker’s value to the demanding
wants speaker’s wants
3 Approbation Give a high value Compliments Give an Insulting,
to other’s unfavorable value complaining,
qualities to other’s qualities telling off
1004 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1000-1021, 2023

Table 1 continued…
4 Modesty Give a low value Self- Give a Boasting, being
to the speaker’s devaluation favorable/high complacent
qualities value to the
speaker’s qualities
5 Obligation Give a high value Apologizing, Give an Withholding
(of S to O) to the speaker’s thanking unfavorable/low thanks or
obligation to value to the apologies
other speaker’s
obligation to other
6 Obligation Give a low value Responses to Give a Demanding
(of O to S) to other’s thanks and favorable/high thanks and
obligation to the apologies value to other’s apologies
speaker obligation to the
speaker
7 Agreement Give a high value Agreeing, Give an Disagreeing,
to other’s disagreeing unfavorable/low contradicting
opinions (with value to other’s
mitigation) opinions
8 Opinion Give a low value Giving opinions Give a Being
reticence to the speaker’s favorable/high opinionated
opinions value to the
speaker’s opinion
9 Sympathy Give a high value Congratulating, Give an Expressing
to other’s commiserating unfavorable/low antipathy to O
feelings value to other’s
feelings
10 Feeling Give a low value Suppressing Give a Grumbling,
reticence to the speaker’s feelings favorable/high grousing
feelings value to the
speaker’s feelings

Following Leech’s theory, being polite means that a speaker expresses or implies
meanings associated with a favorable value to others or associating an unfavorable
value to oneself. Reversing this concept of politeness, the impoliteness strategy
proposed by Leech (2014) is “S will express/imply evaluative meanings that are
favorable to S and unfavorable to O” (p. 221). While the goal of politeness is concord
and face maintenance, impoliteness pursued by the ‘self-serving strategy’ is directed
towards discord and face attack (Leech, 2014). In other words, obeying or observing
the maxims is the strategy of politeness while violating any of them is the impoliteness
strategy.

2.2 On Argumentation and Disagreement

van Eemeren et al. (2014) define argumentation as a communicative act to

resolve different opinions between individuals. This verbal, social, and rational
activity aims at convincing the addressee of the standpoint of acceptability (van
Eemeren & Grootendorst, 2004). On the key notion of verbal conflict, Hinton (2021,
p. 46) states that “argumentation is reasoning plus conflict, reasoning accompanied by
doubt or disagreement”. Since expressing disagreement forces arguers to put both their
and the interlocutor’s faces at risk (Tseronis, 2021) which may lead to conflict and
feelings of discomfort (García, 1989; Pomerantz, 1984), this opposition stance is
usually avoided in interaction. Therefore, disagreeing is regarded as a dispreferred
 E. Nursanti, E. Andriyanti & I. A. Wijaya, (Im)politeness employed by multilingual
Indonesian EFL learners in argumentative conversations | 1005

response (Leech, 2014; Pomerantz & Heritage, 2013; Schegloff, 2007; Sifianou, 2012)
because to disagree with one another is “uncomfortable, unpleasant, difficult, risking
threat, insult or offense” (Pomerantz, 1984, p. 77).
The socially problematic disagreement is closely associated with confrontation
and conflict. It makes the pragmatic act of disagreement far more difficult than the
agreement (Lawson, 2009). Waldron and Applegate (1994), characterized verbal
disagreement as a taxing communication event since conflicting goals, negotiation,
and the need to manage self and other actions are involved. This complexity makes
disagreement often uttered hesitantly, indirectly, more slowly, or with mitigation
(Kreutel, 2007; Pomerantz, 1984; Tanaka, 2008) to lessen the offense. The
confrontational nature of disagreement leads a speaker to choose whether to state the
different standpoint directly by unmitigated disagreement, indirectly by mitigated
disagreement or combining both methods.
The expressions of disagreement are related to the observance and violation of
the agreement and opinion reticence maxims (see Table 1). When speakers deny
others’ opinions directly, they violate the agreement maxim because they do not show
any consideration for the interlocutor’s opinion. However, when the disagreement is
expressed indirectly or with mitigating devices, such as ‘Do you really think so?’, ‘I
would have thought …’, ‘Yes, but don’t you think …?’, and ‘I agree, but …’ (Leech,
2014, p. 97), the speakers observe the agreement maxim as they avoid directly
contradicting the interlocutor’s opinion. Then, if an opinionated behavior, shown by
overvaluing one’s own opinion, follows the disagreement, the opinion reticence
maxim is violated. However, when the confrontation is followed by a softened force
of opinion, the observance of opinion reticence maxim takes control.
As culture and context play a significant role in influencing the way
argumentation is conducted (Sifianou, 2012), the disagreement strategies conveyed by
foreign speakers might sound unnatural for native speakers. This is what some studies
found that English non-native speakers tend to express more direct disagreements
(Beebe & Takahashi, 1989; House, 2008; Kreutel, 2007) whose features are considered
undesirable for English native speakers (Kreutel, 2007). Such employment may
indicate a lack of native-like proficiency (Beebe & Takahashi, 1989), a lack of proper
disagreement strategies (Kreutel, 2007), and a lack of pragmatic competence (Bardovi‐
Harlig & Hartford, 1990) which makes their statements appear impolite.
To see how the EFL learners apply the disagreement strategies, whether they
are ones potentially threatening others’ faces, dangerous for collaboration or not, this
present study categorized students’ disagreement into three: ‘strong’, ‘mitigated’, and
‘strong yet mitigated’ forms of disagreement (Kakava, 1993). Since the mitigated form
is considered a more favored strategy, a further investigation into how the mitigated
disagreement is expressed is needed to see whether the strategies are effective and
pragmatically appropriate for the cultural norms of English-spoken communication.
This study also uses Locher’s (2004) seven mitigating strategies: using hedges, giving
personally or emotionally colored reasons, using modal auxiliaries, shifting
responsibility, objecting through a question, using ‘but’, and repeating previous
utterances. Locher’s participants were composed of individuals from different cultural
backgrounds, including English native speakers, making it considered suitable as well
as theoretical underpinning.
1006 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1000-1021, 2023

3. METHODS

3.1 Research Design and Data of the Study

The explanatory sequential mixed method (Creswell, 2014) was used to

investigate the (im)politeness of Indonesian EFL learners’ argumentative
conversations. Analyzing the quantified data was conducted in the first stage,
especially to look at the occurrences and the meanings, and analyzing the qualitative
results was done in the second stage for a more precise and deeper interpretation of the
phenomena.
The data were utterances spoken by students collected from a role play in a
speaking class. Before they performed a role play, common English expressions to
show agreement and disagreement in argumentative conversations were demonstrated.
A range of topics for the conversation was given at once so that they spoke
spontaneously based on the flow of their instant ideas. The unit of analysis was speech
event related to the illocutionary functions of the utterances, which are based on
Leech’s (1983) four categories: 1) competitive e.g., ordering, asking, demanding,
begging, 2) convivial, e.g., offering, inviting, greeting, thanking, congratulating, 3)
collaborative e.g., asserting, reporting, announcing, instructing, and 4) conflictive e.g.
threatening, accusing, cursing, reprimanding. A single utterance may consist of more
than one speech event. For example, an utterance ‘That’s a really good idea. Thank
you, Vita!’ consists of two speech events, complimenting and thanking. In this case,
the utterance was considered as two data.

3.2 Participants

The participants were 78 first-year EFL undergraduate students coming from

different parts of Indonesia and joining a speaking course in a state university’s English
department. They were divided into four classes, each of which consisted of 16-22
students. Their having English classes for one and a half-semester in the department
means that their level of English proficiency was intermediate on average. To avoid
unnatural biased conversations, students were not informed about their participation in
this research project. Before the role-play, the lecturer gave some sample expressions
of agreement and disagreement. Then, students had to perform the role play at that
moment with the expectation that they would perform the dialogue spontaneously.
They were free to choose a partner, a topic to discuss, and whether to agree or disagree
with their partner. Ten-minute preparation was given for each pair to determine the
topic and set up a call recorder. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic during data
collection, they performed the dialogue from their homes through a telephone call.

3.3 Data Collection and Data Analysis

After the students finished their conversations, the audio recording was then sent
to the teacher to be transcribed and coded. The extracts presented in this paper were
taken verbatim from the transcription without any grammatical corrections. To collect
and analyze the data, a datasheet was provided. It contains three columns: 1) maxim
observance/violation, 2) speaker’s standpoint, and 3) mitigating strategies.
 E. Nursanti, E. Andriyanti & I. A. Wijaya, (Im)politeness employed by multilingual
Indonesian EFL learners in argumentative conversations | 1007

The first column was divided into ten columns related to politeness maxims: 1)
generosity, 2) tact, 3) approbation, 4) modesty, 5) obligation (of S to O), 6) Obligation
(of O to S), 7) agreement, 8) opinion reticence, 9) sympathy, and 10) feeling reticence.
The second column on the speaker’s standpoint was divided into two: 1) agree ,and 2)
disagree, where the latter was divided into three more columns: 1) strong, 2) strong yet
mitigated, and 3) mitigated. The third column on mitigating strategies was divided into
six: 1) questions for objection, 2) temporizing hedges, 3) personal or emotional
explanations, 4) appreciation prefaces, 5) vulnerability markers, and 6) combination.
The use of mixed methods design requires two steps of data analysis. The
quantitative analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics with the aid of
Microsoft Excel. This analysis resulted in statistical findings on which politeness
maxim, disagreeing strategy, or mitigating strategy is more dominant and which one
is less dominant. Meanwhile, in the qualitative analysis, the activities involved
classifying the data according to the (im)politeness principles, disagreeing strategies,
as well as mitigating strategies, and interpreting the context of the data, and comparing
the findings to previous studies and other relevant literature.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Maxim Observance and Violation

Maxim or “a constraint influencing speakers’ communicative behavior that is

aimed at achieving a particular goal” (Leech, 2014, p. 90) might be observed or
violated to fit a speaker’s communicative intention. The speech event observing the
maxims comprises two functions: pos-politeness and neg-politeness. The former gives
positive value to the interlocutor while the latter functions as mitigation to the offense
caused by a speaker’s utterance.

Table 2. Speaker’s behaviors regarding the politeness maxim.

No. Speaker’s behavior Type Frequency Percentage
1 Observing the maxims Pos-politeness 290 53.31%
Neg-politeness 161 29.60%
2 Violating the maxims Pos-politeness 44 8.09%
Neg-politeness 49 9.00%
Total 544 100.00%

From Table 2, the number of maxim observances (451) was much more than that
of the violation (93), this implies that applying politeness strategies was necessary
regardless of age differences and the type of exchange. The dominance of pos-
politeness observance (290 data) over the neg-politeness (161 data) indicates that in
the argumentative conversation between peers, students were more oriented to others
than to themselves. They frequently used strategies to enhance others’ faces to
maximize social and interpersonal relationships. The occurrence of each maxim is
displayed in Table 3, while the data examples of the participants’ utterances are
presented in the Appendix. Maxims in odd numbers refer to pos-politeness and those
in even numbers denote neg-politeness.
1008 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1000-1021, 2023

Table 3. Maxim observance and violation in argumentative conversations.

No. Maxim Observance (politeness) Violation (impoliteness)
Frequency Percentage Frequency Percentage
1 Generosity 10 1.84% 1 0.18%
2 Tact 20 3.68% 21 3.86%
3 Approbation 36 6.62% 3 0.55%
4 Modesty 3 0.55% 0 -
5 Obligation (of S to O) 35 6.43% 0 -
6 Obligation (of O to S) 10 1.84% 0 -
7 Agreement 104 19.12% 40 7.35%
8 Opinion reticence 109 20.04% 4 0.74%
9 Sympathy 105 19.30% 0 -
10 Feeling reticence 19 3.49% 24 4.41%
Total 451 82.91% 93 17.09%

4.1.1 Maxim observance (politeness)

The three most dominant observed maxims were agreement, opinion reticence,
and sympathy. The prevalence of the first two fits the nature of the argumentative
conversation, whose utterances are mostly on speakers’ standpoints to support or
counter a preceding opinion. The slight difference between the agreement and opinion
reticence maxims did not mean that most students were reluctant to argue with their
peers. This 20.04% occurrence of opinion reticence maxim demonstrated the number
of opposing arguments delivered in mitigated ways to avoid offense.
The only maxim that was not opinion-related but frequently employed was the
sympathy maxim (19.30%), manifested in greeting, commiserating, congratulating,
and good-wishing speech events. This indicates that emotive concern played a
significant role to support politeness, even in an interaction involving many
incompatible perspectives. The high occurrence of the sympathy maxim supports the
idea that showing interpersonal supportiveness is one of the most essential traits of
human nature which is crucial for establishing social bonds (Meiners, 2017). The small
number of observances of other maxims (see the extracts in the Appendix) implies that
politeness principles are essential to apply regardless of the kind of discourse people
are involved in. In argumentative conversation, those maxims are mostly employed
either in the opening or closing part of the conversation aiming at maintaining “social
equilibrium and friendly relations” (Leech, 1983, p. 82).

4.1.2 Maxim violation (impoliteness)

The maxim violation was much less in number, most frequently appearing in
agreement, feeling reticence, and tact. The violation of the agreement maxim, realized
by direct disagreement, was only about one-third of the agreement and opinion
reticence of maxim observance, implying that the participants were reluctant to state
their disagreement in direct ways that tend to be aggravating.
Meanwhile, the frequent violation of feeling reticence and tact maxims
characterized communication between peers. Violating the feeling reticence maxim
means that they did not have to suppress their feelings. Instead, they could grouse or
grumble comfortably to their close friends although it was sometimes started with a
statement of intention, such as ‘I want to talk about something to you’ or a question of
availability, like ‘Are you busy right now? to lessen the imposition caused by the
 E. Nursanti, E. Andriyanti & I. A. Wijaya, (Im)politeness employed by multilingual
Indonesian EFL learners in argumentative conversations | 1009

complaint. In violating the tact maxim, the participants did not always convey their
directions in the form of polite requests as sometimes they needed to give advice, in
the form of a command, upon the problems grumbled by their peers. This implies that
not all speech events violating the maxim signified discord or face attack (Extract 1).

Extract 1:
1 P1 : Before we start, I wanna ask you, are you busy right now?
2 P2 : No, just talk to me.

P1 was calling P2 by phone to talk about a problem with P1’s younger brother.
P2’s utterance which violated the tact maxim by expressing direct command was not
face-threatening. Instead, it shows that she cared about P1’s problem. The expression
‘just talk to me’ implies ‘I’m ready to listen to your problem’. This direct command
indicates that they have a close relationship and that the non-observance of the
politeness maxims is closely related to intimacy.
Another maxim violation was mock impoliteness or banter that was not intended
to offend (Extract 2).

Extract 2:
1 P3 : I’m good. I’m training all of my muscles to the gym lately.
2 P4 : Really? No way. You are the laziest person when asked to do something troublesome.
How it can be?
3 P3 : Yeah (while laughing). Everyone can change, Dude.

P3 and P4 are close friends, but they had not met each other for several months
because of the pandemic. By stating negation forcefully and giving low value to other’s
quality, P4’s statement violated the agreement and approbation maxims. However, P3
laughed after hearing the disagreement and the insult. This statement was impolite or
offensive on the surface but, created affiliative social effects. This impoliteness could
instead be a means to strengthen the participants’ familiarity and intimacy.
Extract 2 shows that violating the politeness maxim among close friends can be
used to maintain solidarity (Bernal, 2008; Drew, 1987). Such mock impoliteness
delivered by P4 is a main characteristic of camaraderie since exchanging insults or
impolite remarks and treating these as nonserious signals the participants’ solidarity
(Leech, 2014). Culpeper (2011) considers this as a societal safety valve where people
can be impolite with impunity. Therefore, perceiving impoliteness as features that
violate social norms of interaction (Beebe, 1995) and are “plausibly interpreted as
intentionally and negatively confrontational” (Lakoff, 1989, p. 103) which may lead
to social conflict (Culpeper et al., 2003) cannot be applied in this context. The
speaker’s intention and the hearer’s perception of the utterance need to be considered.
The next discussion explores the (im)politeness in opinion-related expressions,
especially on disagreement, and the strategies to express this undesired response that
is often considered impolite and potentially leads to a conflict.

4.2 (Im)Politeness in Disagreement

People tend to avoid disagreement in their interactions because it is a

dispreferred response that is negatively affective, face-threatening (Kakava, 2002;
Walkinshaw, 2007), and generally harmful to social harmony (Heritage, 1984).
However, this study found that the occurrence of disagreement was higher than
1010 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1000-1021, 2023

agreement. Disagreement is normal, especially in peer or power-equal talk, as found

by Beebe and Takahashi (1989), and in intimate settings, as in Kakava (2002). The
dominance of disagreement in this study was also supported by the classroom setting
where the students were in a speaking class and they realized that their performance
would be assessed by the teacher. Therefore, the opposition they conveyed was a way
to show their language competence by proving that they had a better argument than
their interlocutor.

Table 4. Speaker’s standpoints and disagreement strategies.

No. Standpoint Strategies Frequency Percentage
1 Agree 104 41.11%
2 Disagree Strong 27 10.67%
Strong yet mitigated 13 5.14%
Mitigated 109 43.08%
Total 253 100.00%

The number of agreeing standpoints (41.11%) and mitigated disagreement

(43.08%) indicates maxim observance. The disagreement conveyed in either strong
(10.67%) or strong yet mitigated ways (5.14%) means the speakers violated the
politeness maxim. Although the agreement was lower than the disagreement in
number, it indicates that some students preferred avoiding conflict or thinking
critically to disprove their partner’s opinions. Moreover, to disagree is more
complicated than to agree since the speaker will be in dispute with the interlocutor on
a content level while protecting their partner’s and/or their own face (Locher, 2004).
These difficulties make some students prefer giving affirmative responses.

Extract 3:
1 P5 : … I mean the topic that our lecturer gave us is very unusual and hard, of course.
2 P6 : Yeah, right. And not only that, the due date is killing me. …
3 P5 : You tell me. That is exactly the first thing in my mind when I heard about the due date. …)
4 P6 : Yeah. This pandemic is really giving everyone trouble, ….
5 P5 : You said nothing but a fact. ….

In Extract 3, both speakers fully agreed on the idea that the online class held
during the COVID-19 pandemic was hard. They understood and approved each other’s
opinions by using support markers ‘yeah, right’, ‘you tell me’, ‘exactly’, ‘yeah’, and
‘you said nothing but a fact’. Emphasizing and giving additional information to
complete the previous idea were the strategies to demonstrate their cooperation. By
showing agreement, the exchange went smoothly without any chance to threaten each
other’s face.
However, for students with oppositional stances, the situation would be complex.
Therefore, disagreeing strategies are sometimes needed. The strategies are classified
by Kakava (1993) as strong, mitigated, and strong yet mitigated forms of
disagreement. As shown in Table 4, conveying opposition directly through strong
disagreement is the second most dominant strategy. Two ways in which strong
disagreement is realized are aggravating disagreement and disagreeing baldly.
Aggravating disagreement or the unmodulated fashion of disagreement is
characterized by the abandonment of all polite language features. In this study, a
student expressed aggravating disagreement through a protesting exclamation.
 E. Nursanti, E. Andriyanti & I. A. Wijaya, (Im)politeness employed by multilingual
Indonesian EFL learners in argumentative conversations | 1011

Extract 4:
1 P7 : Well, welcome to the modern society where the responsibility has changed. …
2 P8 : That’s ridiculous!

By stating such emphatic disagreement, P8 firmly opposed P7’s opinion that

men and women were equal in domestic jobs. Not only the violation of the agreement
maxim but impoliteness was also displayed from the use of the word ‘ridiculous’. This
was an insult and negative judgment that P7’s argument was stupid or unreasonable.
However, since P8 uttered that strong disagreement while ending the conversation, this
also suggests that he did not have a better argument to counter P7’s opinion.
Expressing disagreement in negative assertions to end a conversation means that the
affront is not on the surface level as banter. This strategy should be avoided in
argumentative discourse because of communication breakdown and conflict that
potentially occurs.
Disagreeing baldly is a less offensive way to express strong disagreement than
aggravated disagreement. For the first strategy, the students employed disagreeing
baldly using performative, such as ‘I don’t think so.’ which was used frequently, ‘I
disagree.’ which was used rarely, and ‘I don’t agree.’ which was employed in three
utterances only. Stating blunt opposition, such as ‘That’s not right.’, or ‘That’s not
always factual.’, was the second strategy. The last strategy was employing the bare
negative form ‘No’ which was very rarely used by the students. Since those features
are not commonly used by English native speakers in normal conversation, Kreutel
(2007) categorized those direct and simple manners of disagreeing as the undesirable
features associated with non-native speakers of English. Employing those strategies in
disagreeing may indicate a lack of native-like proficiency (Beebe & Takahashi, 1989),
a lack of proper disagreement strategies (Kreutel, 2007), and a lack of pragmatic
competence (Bardovi‐Harlig & Hartford, 1990) which makes their statements sound
rude. However, this study found contradictory findings to the previous ones
considering that the number of direct disagreements in this study was much lower than
the mitigated disagreements. This is similar to the study of Fernandez (2013) on EFL
Egyptian speakers and Lawson (2009) on Japanese English speakers. Besides their
awareness that direct disagreement is offensive and impolite, the participants’
avoidance of direct disagreement is probably influenced by their local cultural values.
As they are mostly Javanese with their monocultural identity (Nursanti & Andriyanti,
2021), the two basic principles of Javanese social life, avoiding conflict and respecting
others (Magnis-Suseno, 1997) must have been upheld in their daily interaction.
To avoid too strong disagreement, some students combined direct and indirect
manners by stating strong yet mitigated disagreement (Extract 5).

Extract 5:
P9 : No, I’m sure you’re just exaggerating it. I mean, come on, we’re student, and I think it’s
understandable if we can’t afford some books, right? Tuition and living cost are expensive
enough. Plus, I don’t think the author would know that just one more person download it,
right?

P9 opposed his interlocutor who stated that downloading and sharing e-books
was unkind to the writers. The bare negative ‘No’ and the aggravating ‘I’m sure you’re
just exaggerating it’, which were too direct and strong, were followed by several
hedges, such as ‘I mean …’ intended to give further justification and ‘I think/I don’t
think …’ to make the argument less opinionated. Moreover, asking for the
1012 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1000-1021, 2023

interlocutor’s agreement by stating ‘… right?’ made it even less compelling. By raising

such acknowledgment-seeking inquiry, the speaker tried to reach a consensus between
both parties.
The strong yet mitigated disagreement in the 13 utterances became the least
strategy employed by the students. In all those 13 expressions, hedges were used to
soften the strong disagreement they just stated. ‘I mean’ and ‘well’ became the most
frequent ones. It is assumed that those students chose to directly disagree with their
partner, but then realized that their utterance might offend their interlocutor. Therefore,
using hedges followed by an elaborative argument was their effort to compensate for
the offense.
The finding that disagreeing by using mitigating devices was the most dominant
strategy contrasts with that of Kreutel, (2007) and House (2008), whose research
participants were from diverse linguacultural backgrounds, but conformed to ones
employed by English non-native speakers from Asia, such as Chinese (Liang & Han,
2005; Yan, 2016) and Vietnamese (Nguyen, 2009). It supports the view of conflict-
avoiding (Lopez-Ozieblo, 2018) or collectivistic (Scollon & Scollon, 2001) self of
Asians, where group membership is their primary concern in communication.

4.3 Mitigation in Disagreement

Besides showing the speakers’ concern in developing a good rapport, the higher
frequency of mitigated disagreement over the unmitigated one also indicates students’
pragmatic competence in delivering disagreement in informal conversational contexts
in English. However, a further investigation into how they realized the mitigated
disagreement linguistically needs to be carried out to explore whether the strategies
are effective and pragmatically appropriate for the cultural norms of English-spoken
communication.

Table 5. Linguistic means for mitigating disagreement.

No. Disagreeing strategies Frequency Percentage
1 Questions for objection 19 17.43%
2 Temporizing hedges 8 7.34%
3 Personal or emotional explanations 22 20.18%
4 Appreciation prefaces 29 26.61%
5 Vulnerability markers 3 2.75%
6 Combination 28 25.69%
Total 109 100.00%

Table 5 shows that the appreciation preface was the most dominant linguistic
means to mitigate disagreement. The participants’ tendency not to embarrass others by
regarding the addressees’ opinions as weak or wrong was possibly the factor
contributing to this dominance. For them, acknowledging or understanding others’
perspectives was an essential start to stating an opposing stance politely. They
typically conveyed this appreciation preface in yes-but formulae, where the ‘yes’
ranges from simple acknowledgment, such as ‘Yeah’ or ‘That’s true’ to a more
elaborated one as ‘You’re absolutely right. It makes sense that the environment can
give an impact on the children, …’. Besides acknowledgment, an appreciation was
also shown in the form of respect, as ‘I respect your opinion, of course, …’. This idea-
crediting strategy can be a positive way of showing solidarity. It has an affiliative
 E. Nursanti, E. Andriyanti & I. A. Wijaya, (Im)politeness employed by multilingual
Indonesian EFL learners in argumentative conversations | 1013

function by preserving the addressee’s integrity without overt disagreement (Waring,

2001). Considering that the ‘yes-but’ formulae are the ones commonly produced by
native speakers (Kusevska, 2015) or advanced learners (Hüttner, 2014) to express
disagreement, the dominance of appreciation preface supported the previous finding
that most participants had relatively high pragmatic competence and linguistic
proficiency.
After the appreciation preface, the next dominant strategy was the personal or
emotional explanation. ‘I think’ and ‘in my opinion’ became the starters most
frequently used. Some participants even used several phrases at once to emphasize the
subjectivity of their opinion. When arguing that giving gadgets to children was not
always harmful, P10 used such a strategy (Extract 6).

Extract 6:
P10 : I mean, to be honest, I think there is advantage, because my mother likes to download those
educational games for children, so …

By employing three hedges, ‘I mean’, ‘to be honest’, and ‘I think’,

simultaneously, the speaker softened the disagreement by stressing that her next
statement was her own point of view. Such a strategy protects both faces of the speaker
and the addressee because a better and more valid reason from the addressee is
welcome, yet the speaker’s own opinion cannot easily be criticized since it is based on
his/her own feeling (Locher, 2004).
Although it indicates a personalized point of view, ‘I think’, which became the
most common phrase used by the participants, was not always meant to soften a
disagreement. It can be a way to strengthen the argument (Kusevska, 2015; Locher,
2004), especially when it is placed in the middle or at the end of an utterance.

Extract 7:
P11 : I consider that old-fashioned. Both male and female can be taught as the homemaker, like the
housewife and the househusband. I think there’s nothing wrong with men do the households.
They’re cool, you know …

After stating a disagreement, by uttering a contradictory proposition to the

previous claim, and giving a further explanation, the speaker used ‘I think’ to
emphasize her belief. In this context, ‘I think’ is not a hedge but a booster that helps
strengthen an utterance force. With a wide range of meanings and functions the phrase
‘I think’ can express, the participants relatively used it appropriately.
Objection through question was the next dominant strategy. It was realized in
two forms, with question particles, and with negative interrogatives. They can be a
means to display a different view since inquiries with particles, such as when, what,
who, why, where, and how, questions the interlocutor’s prior claim and demands
evidence for the claim, while ones with negative interrogatives, such as ‘isn’t it’,
‘doesn’t it’, and ‘don’t you’, challenge the addressee to acknowledge the question
content, while he/she feels likely to reject it. Among the five single strategies of
mitigated disagreement, objection through question is the most aggravating, especially
the one with question particles since it strikes the addressee’s competency as he/she
cannot back up his/her claim.

Extract 8:
1 P12 : Uh, we’re on his side, right? Just control him.
1014 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1000-1021, 2023

2 P13 : With what? ... What if my brother out of my sight?

3 P12 : That’s not the way I see it. Your brother is children too. Don’t be so panic.

When P12 and P13 were arguing about the effects of the internet on P13’s little
brother, P13 challenged P12 who saw controlling her brother as a simple thing,
signified by the word ‘just’. P13 then questioned the way to control him in an
aggravating manner which attacked P12’s face. Besides some grammatical errors that
showed the potent influence of her local/national language on her English, the way
P13 expressed her disagreement was inappropriate. Instead of questioning ‘With
what?’ P13 should have asked ‘How?’.
Using temporizing hedges became the second least dominant strategy. These
delay devices and hesitation cues protected the speaker’s face as it indicates his/her
wish to continue the conversation despite his/her temporary difficulties to find the next
point or to verbalize the point in the best way (Locher, 2004). The most common
temporizing hedges they used were ‘well’, ‘uhm’, and ‘uh’. They were mostly spoken
at the beginning of an utterance. P13’s response to a colleague’s complaint about a
rumormonger exemplifies this.

Extract 9:
P13 : Uh, about–about the spreading hoax, uhm, well, I think it’s bad, uhm and I think I don’t
agree about you telling his behavior to your manager …

Several continuous hesitation markers, ‘uh’, ‘about–about the spreading hoax’,

‘uhm’, and ‘well’, prior to the disagreement signified that the speaker was not ready
to respond to the previous statement. Since for non-native speakers, these markers may
signify a preparation for forthcoming planning (Reed, 2000) or speech production
difficulties (Tavakoli, 2011), such hedges may indicate their concern to avoid face-
aggravating disagreement and/or their low acquisition of English. The similarity of
temporizing hedges and filled pauses, which both represent the unsmooth oral
delivery, suggests that using too many temporizing hedges in arguing exchange should
be avoided because they characterize disfluency in the oral performance of EFL
learners.
The least dominant strategy the participants used was vulnerability assertion
which conveys confusion, uncertainty, or admittance that their arguments are
inaccurate, inconsistent, or implausible (Waring, 2001).

Extract 10:
P14 : I’m not sure about that. It depends on the individual responsibility and their performance.

The uncertainty marker of ‘I’m not sure about that’ is a discourse strategy to
soften the speaker’s original assertion that she rejected to accept the previous claim
that working from home because of the COVID-19 outbreak was manageable.
Although signaling weak disagreement, “prefacing a disagreement with a declaration
of insufficient knowledge reduces the speaker’s commitment to the truth of the
proposition expressed in the disagreement, hence mitigating its face-threatening
effect” (Tsui, 1991, p. 61). Considering that the exchange was done in a speaking class,
the participants’ reluctance to employ the strategy was possible to anticipate the others’
judgment of their weak opinions or low speaking competence.
 E. Nursanti, E. Andriyanti & I. A. Wijaya, (Im)politeness employed by multilingual
Indonesian EFL learners in argumentative conversations | 1015

While each of the previous five strategies was employed to show politeness and
solidarity, using one strategy might strengthen social comity even more since the
disagreement becomes more softened. This might be the reason why the combination
is quite preferable. The most common combinations they employed were ‘appreciation
preface - question for objection’ and ‘temporizing hedge - vulnerability marker’. Some
students even used more than two strategies at once, like P14 in responding to her
interlocutor who insisted that husbands should help their wives do household chores.

Extract 11:
P14 : Well. Maybe. But don’t you think that he’s busy doing his job at the office? I’m sure that
he’s very tired when he come home.

In extract 11, the speaker used three mitigating devices: 1) the temporizing hedge
‘well’ marking her hesitance to continue the statement, 2) the appreciation preface
‘maybe’ showing her partial agreement with the prior claim, and 3) the question ‘Don’t
you think …?’ to propose an opinion indirectly. This combination indicates that some
factors initially hindered her to utter the disagreement directly although in the end an
intensifier ‘I’m sure’ boosted her vehement opposition. The employment of such a
combination made the disagreement less aggravating. However, besides facilitating
politeness, the mitigating devices also weaken the force of an argument. The more they
are used, the weaker the opinion will be. Therefore, EFL learners should consider the
context where a disagreement is stated.

5. CONCLUSION

Although the argumentative exchange is associated with conflict because of

different standpoints between or among the speakers, the dominance of politeness
maxim observance over its violation in this study indicates the participants’ awareness
of the importance of applying politeness strategies in communication regardless of the
kind of discourse they were involved in. Their preference to express disagreement in
mitigated strategies as commonly employed by English native speakers or advanced
learners implies that their local culture influences their (im)politeness forms in the
target language. Idea crediting in the form of acknowledgment and respect that they
employed frequently in their disagreement was a positive strategy not to degrade
others’ opinions as the speaker tried to show solidarity by maintaining the addressee’s
integrity. Those three findings show the participants’ attempts to avoid conflict and
imply that they have a strong collectivistic self of Asians whose primary concern in
communication is group membership.
However, despite its function of facilitating politeness, as mitigating strategies
might lessen the strength of an argument, using them too much would result in a weak
opinion. Therefore, considering the context of what situation the argument is uttered
is essential. Regarding that both linguistic and cultural knowledge are needed in
conveying disagreement in a foreign language, improving the pragmatic competence
of EFL learners in argumentative conversations is necessary. This might be done, for
instance, by increasing their awareness of politeness by giving them different
perspectives from non-Asian cultures.
Even though the data of the study were taken from role-play, the participants
spoke naturally and spontaneously. However, the speech events did not occur in real
1016 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1000-1021, 2023

social settings so the students’ (im)politeness strategies might also be influenced by

factors irrelevant to socio-cultural contexts, such as their desire to get a good grade.
Besides, the data of the study were interpreted from the listener’s point of view based
on the theories on (im)politeness, agreeing-disagreeing strategies, and other relevant
literature without verifying them with the speakers. Thus, it is recommended that
future research on the same topic can collect data from natural language use and verify
the speakers’ motives in employing certain (im)politeness strategies by using
additional data collection techniques, such as surveys or interviews.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The researchers feel indebted to Fakultas Bahasa, Seni, dan Budaya, Universitas
Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for the funding.

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APPENDIX

Examples of data on speakers’ behavior related to politeness maxims*

No. Maxim Observance Violation
(politeness) (impoliteness)
1 Generosity (Promising) Yeah, I will remind (Refusing) I’m not in the good
you of your topic I think that suits mood to accompany you.
you essay later.
2 Tact (Requesting) Could you explain (Commanding) Just control him.
again to me about the assignment? I
feel I don’t quite understand about it.
3 Approbation (Complimenting) Oh my God, April! (Insulting) You are the laziest
That’s awesome! I’m really person when asked to do something
impressed with the progress that troublesome.
you made. …
4 Modesty (Self-devaluating) I just think that -
he’s too nice for me.
5 Obligation (Thanking) Nice, I really appreciate -
(of S to O) your help.
6 Obligation (Responding to thank) Oh, it’s okay, -
(of O to S) okay, okay.
7 Agreement (Agreeing) If that’s the case, I’ll be (Disagreeing directly) I totally
on the same page with you. disagree about that. Your mother
rightly, ask you to do that because …
 E. Nursanti, E. Andriyanti & I. A. Wijaya, (Im)politeness employed by multilingual
Indonesian EFL learners in argumentative conversations | 1021

Appendix continued…
8 Opinion (Giving less opinionated opinion) (Giving opinionated opinion) I
reticence Yes, you have a point there but, believe that woman who should stay
don’t you think that people will get at home. Homemaker!! That’s the
addicted to watch YouTube? term that they used back then for
women.
9 Sympathy (Sympathizing)… So how was your -
study from home? Is it any
difficult assignment?
10 Feeling (Suppressing feeling) Hi, I’m doing (Grumbling) Yeah, that’s really bad
reticence great actually. It’s been three weeks for me. I’m really bored at home
I’m locking down myself and do and I don’t know what I have to do
online classes. Other than that, I feel then. There’s so many homework
unproductive at home. I’ve always that we should do and make me
felt bored. I wish I could go outside. depressed about that.
*
The italicized words in parentheses denote the speech event. The words in bold are linguistic
clues that help classify the speech event as complying with each of the maxims.
1022 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1022-1040, 2023

Examining the Framing of ‘COVID-19

Vaccines’: A Corpus-Based Investigation
of Malaysian Newspapers
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Norasyikin Abdul Malik*1

Mohamad Syafiq Ya Shak
Nurul Ain Hasni

Academy of Language Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA Perak Branch, Seri

Iskandar 32610, MALAYSIA

Abstract
The widespread dissemination of misinformation or the ‘infodemic’
surrounding COVID-19 poses a significant challenge as the virus
continues to spread globally, compounded by the reluctance of many
individuals to accept ‘COVID-19 vaccines’. While existing research has
predominantly explored how the media framed the disease, its
psychological impact, and the presence of disinformation in its messaging,
limited attention has been given to the portrayal of ‘COVID-19 vaccines’
in the media and their reception among the general population. This study
employs a corpus-based methodology to examine the framing of ‘COVID-
19 vaccines’ within a specific English Malaysian newspaper corpus. The
data for analysis was gathered through the compilation of news reports
from The Star, one of the nation’s primary English newspapers. The
analysis showed that the vaccine was positively framed and correlated with
keywords like ‘special’, ‘effective’, and ‘important’, as well as with
keywords indicating its importance to one’s health and the masses.
However, two negatively connoted keywords were also used to describe
the act of immunisation. This study’s findings can encourage informed
decision-making on COVID-19 vaccination by dispelling unwarranted
fears. Positive news coverage can boost confidence and prevent panic
while mitigating negative emotions and risk perceptions. These findings
can help media practitioners better frame vaccine-related issues in their
writings and understand how the public perceives them.

*
Corresponding author, email: noras967@uitm.edu.my

Citation in APA style: Malik, N. A., Shak, M. S. Y., & Hasni, N. A. (2023). Examining the framing
of ‘COVID-19 vaccines’: A corpus-based investigation of Malaysian newspapers. Studies in English
Language and Education, 10(2), 1022-1040.

Received May 11, 2022; Revised December 10, 2022; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.25883
 N. A. Malik, M. S. Y., Shak & N. A. Hasni, Examining the framing of ‘COVID-19 vaccines’:
A corpus-based investigation of Malaysian newspapers | 1023

Keywords: Corpus-based analysis, COVID-19, mass media, news article,

vaccination.

1. INTRODUCTION

News has evolved to be an important source of information with the capacity to

influence public opinion and behaviour. It is believed that news is a tool for reporting
events to the community and its surroundings which are delivered through mass media
(Luhfi et al., 2021). The importance of news in shaping public opinion and activity is
significant that the type of news disseminated by the media determines the pattern of
movement within a community group.
In the context of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the media rushed to cover the
latest epidemic which has halted the world. People’s paranoia fuelled more media
coverage of the occurrences. Each media organisation depended on a variety of sources
to present the news (Ogbodo et al., 2020). Malaysia was no exception to this
unprecedented global circumstance. As the outbreak continued to unfold, the
Malaysian government decided to opt for the procurement of vaccines and the planning
of immunisation for the public. Many media outlets report on the COVID-19
vaccination every day beginning in December 2020, during a period when diverse
parties investigated, questioned, disputed, supported, and disagreed on the COVID-19
vaccines. Most nations, including Malaysia, endorsed the choices. However, there
were others who opposed the idea of vaccination. Subsequently, the media has
extensively covered the topic of vaccination as a means of addressing the outbreak.
It has been recognised that the framing of news plays a crucial role, not only in
shaping public perception and discussions, but also in effectively communicating the
management of disease outbreaks (Mutua & Ong’ong’a, 2020). It is worth noting that
this process is impacted by several aspects such as human interaction by a reporter and
media competitiveness, which might result in undesirable effects in some situations
(Adekunle & Adnan, 2016). This news framing can be sometimes misleading and
some of it may be false (Hua & Shaw, 2020). There are cases where media frequently
abound with health-related misinformation, including misleading information
regarding vaccination (Altay & Mercier, 2020). Gislason (2013) states that the
utilisation of a specific news frame during a health crisis has substantial implications
for public comprehension and responses to the outbreak. Therefore, it is crucial to
consider how news is framed, as it can impact the public’s acceptance of COVID-19
vaccines.
Based on the recent literature, researchers worldwide have shown significant
interest in studying news framing, particularly in the context of COVID-19, in contrast
to previous epidemics (Mutua & Ong’ong’a, 2020), for example, investigating how
the media frames COVID-19 in newspapers or mass media outlets (Mutua &
Ong’ong’a, 2020) and examining the framing of COVID-19 vaccination in Malaysian
local newspapers (Siang & Balaraman, 2022). Despite extensive research on COVID-
19, there is a notable lack of research regarding how vaccination is framed specifically
in the Malaysian context. This represents a limited scope that warrants further
expansion and investigation. Furthermore, most media studies on news framing
employ content analysis, which is undoubtedly qualitative in nature. To fill this gap,
1024 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1022-1040, 2023

this study seeks to emphasise the use of both qualitative and quantitative (corpus)
approaches in analysing the local news framing of the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’. This
paper aims to address these gaps by conducting an analysis of the usage of the keyword
‘COVID-19 vaccines’ in Malaysian online newspapers. Additionally, the study seeks
to determine whether the framing of the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ keyword in Malaysian
newspapers is predominantly positive or negative. To achieve the aims of the present
study, two research questions were crafted:
1. What are the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ related keywords used in English Malaysian
newspapers?
2. Are the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ related keywords framed positively or negatively in
the English Malaysian newspapers?
These research questions become the guide for the researchers to map a research
design in order to meet the following objectives of this study:
1. To examine the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ related keywords used in English Malaysian
newspapers.
2. To learn whether the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ related keywords are positively or
negatively framed in Malaysian newspapers.
By achieving these objectives, the findings of this study provide a foundation for
further investigation into the role of news report framing in shaping public opinion and
for the development of best practices for responsible journalism.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Corpus Analysis in Studying News Framing

Corpus analysis is a method of studying large bodies of text, or ‘corpora’, in

order to identify patterns and trends in language use. This approach is particularly
useful in analysing news framing because it allows researchers to identify and measure
the prevalence of specific words, phrases, and frames across a wide range of news
sources and over time. Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) state that “framing research
examines how language and other symbolic devices frame issues by emphasising
certain aspects and downplaying others” (p. 11). By using corpus analysis, researchers
can identify the prevalence of specific frames and language use across a range of news
sources, allowing them to gain insights into how news media shapes public perceptions
of issues. For example, Han et al. (2017) examined Chinese media coverage of climate
change from 2005 to 2015 and identified six frames used in reporting, with the
environmental and human impact frame being the most common. The use of certain
frames was associated with specific information sources, and the study revealed that
party-sponsored Chinese newspapers framed climate change from the perspective of
global collective efforts.
Meanwhile, another example can be seen from a study conducted by van Gorp
(2005) who used corpus analysis to examine news coverage of the European Union in
Dutch and French newspapers. The study found that different frames were used to
represent the EU in different countries, with French newspapers emphasising
economic and political integration, while Dutch newspapers focused more on issues
of sovereignty and national identity. Overall, these studies demonstrate how corpus
analysis can be a valuable approach in analysing news framing, as it allows researchers
 N. A. Malik, M. S. Y., Shak & N. A. Hasni, Examining the framing of ‘COVID-19 vaccines’:
A corpus-based investigation of Malaysian newspapers | 1025

to identify and measure the prevalence of specific frames and language use across a
range of news sources.

2.2. Media Framing Theory

Mass and news media framing can be defined as the ability of news organisations
to impact public perception and behaviour by subtly changing how information is
presented (Lecheler & de Vreese, 2019). In a greater sense, it is a notion relating to
how the media influence or direct the public to interpret a news item by emphasising
a new perspective based on its appraisal of and linking to earlier comparable instances
(Siang & Balaraman, 2022). This situation substantially impacts how people
understand and respond to the story. Kahlstrom and Norin (2012) noted that its purpose
is to emphasise and choose how news items are presented within a predetermined and
limited context.
It is essential to consider how societal issues are framed and presented by the
media (Siang & Balaraman, 2022). Morissan et al. (2020), for instance, insisted that
examining media framing is crucial since it influences public perception. Scheufele
and Tewksbury (2007) agreed on this motion as they claimed that if media framing is
done correctly, it can influence and modify people’s and even society’s values and
beliefs. On the other hand, if the framings are not relevant, the audience may reject
them (Yioutas & Segvic, 2003), resulting in media credibility being harmed.
Based on past literature, an adaptation of Fatima’s (2020) descriptions and
indicators of media framing is utilised as a guideline in the present study. Media
framing generally can be divided into two frames, which are constructive/positive and
negative. The constructive/positive frame can be further segmented into several more
frames: solution-oriented frame (efforts made by the government in tackling the issue
at hand), future-oriented frame (how a scenario will pan out while addressing the
‘what-now?’ concern), public-oriented/empowerment (engages in issues with the
public on their common ground), inclusiveness/diversity (incorporating perspectives
and stories from around the world), mathematical (statistics and situational contexts
related to an issue), co-creation (language use that reflects empowerment and
engagement), concern (for unaffected areas and people disproportionately affected by
a crisis and its international spread), and solidarity (empathy for the parties involved
and the use of language that makes the party being credited look powerful). Adding to
this list, the use of positive words can be another indicator of positive framing in a text.
Azevedo et al. (2013) mentioned that affective abstract concepts of ‘good’ and ‘bad’
are spatially epitomised as ‘up’ and ‘down’, respectively.
On the other hand, Fatima (2020) described negative frames in several ways:
blame-attribution (phrases or words that reflect the assignment of blame to a specific
party), conflict (struggle and arguments of the parties involved), consequences (bad
outcomes that may cause anxiety rather than favourable outcomes), sensational
language (sensational and exaggerated phrases and linguistic structures), uncertainty
(about the unknown and anxiety of potential risks to an issue), the use of ‘us’ and
‘them’ (manipulates warmongering and conflicts to divide the world), and denial
(refuse to grasp the severity of an issue by downplaying it and lowering the perception
of responsibility of the parties involved).
1026 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1022-1040, 2023

2.3 Framing of News Reports Related to COVID-19 Vaccination

A news report is a form of journalism that presents information about recent

events in a factual and objective manner. Genuine news reports may present opinions,
even though many journalists believe that news should only present facts and not
opinions (van Dijk, 1990). News reports can be found in a variety of media outlets
such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and online news websites. They
typically follow a standard format which includes a headline, lead paragraph, body,
and conclusion and are written in a clear and concise style to convey information to
the reader or viewer. The report would provide details about what happened, when it
happened, who was involved, and any other relevant information, without including
any personal opinions or biases.
Since the commencement of COVID-19 vaccine distribution in late 2020, studies
conducted on the framing of news reports related to ‘COVID-19 vaccination’ and how
it might have influenced vaccine take-up among individuals are still in their initial
stage. For instance, a study conducted by Piltch-Loeb et al. (2021) attempted to
examine the impact of various information channels on the acceptance of ‘COVID-19
vaccines’ in the United States during the initial phase of their rollout in the country.
With regard to vaccine acceptance, they discovered that “traditional channels of
information, especially national TV, national newspapers, and local newspapers
increased the likelihood of vaccine acceptance” (Piltch-Loeb et al., 2021, p. 1).

2.4 The Previous Studies on News Report Framing

News report framing is an important aspect of media communication that can

shape public opinion and attitudes towards various social, political, and health-related
issues. Over the years, researchers have conducted numerous studies to examine the
ways in which news reports are framed and how these frames can influence people’s
perceptions and behaviours.
Palm et al. (2021) studied how COVID-19 vaccination messages influenced
vaccine acceptance among Americans. Effective messages significantly influenced
intentions to vaccinate, beliefs about others’ vaccination, and the importance of
collective action. To increase success, messages should emphasise safety, positive
social norms, and the independence of vaccine development from politics.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, studies investigated how news reports on
vaccination in mass media affected vaccine hesitancy. Yu et al. (2016) found that
public confidence in the Hepatitis B vaccine in China was undermined by media
reports highlighting its side effects and the reported cases of infant deaths following
its administration. Similarly, Tran et al. (2018) reported a high rate of vaccine
hesitancy and refusal in an urban setting in Northern Vietnam after people learned
about the adverse effects of vaccination through the media.
Studies related to how news reports on vaccines, particularly the COVID-19
vaccines, have influenced people’s perception of vaccination in Malaysia is still
limited. Ghazali et al. (2020) conducted a study on vaccination coverage in Malay
newspapers, but it was conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, and they found that
vaccination efforts in Malaysia did not receive sufficient attention from newspapers.
There is a scarcity of research regarding the impact of Malaysian news reports
on COVID-19 vaccination on individuals’ beliefs and intentions to receive the vaccine.
 N. A. Malik, M. S. Y., Shak & N. A. Hasni, Examining the framing of ‘COVID-19 vaccines’:
A corpus-based investigation of Malaysian newspapers | 1027

It is crucial to address this issue since newspapers and mass media play a crucial role
in influencing public perceptions and attitudes during health epidemics like Ebola,
SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. The information delivered through mass media has the
power to influence public opinions and behaviours (Catalan-Matamoros & Elías, 2020;
Mutua & Ong’ong’a, 2020).
Vaccination message framing can impact readers’ vaccination attitudes; a
positive frame can lead to a positive attitude (Altay & Mercier, 2020). It is crucial to
crafting vaccine messages carefully, considering factors that influence message
acceptance (Palm et al., 2021).

3. METHODS

The present study aims to analyse how the Malaysian press framed the ‘COVID-
19 vaccines’ in the headlines and news articles. Hence, the study adopts a corpus-based
approach, involving corpus analysis on wordlist, keyword lists, and collocate analysis
to identify news frames in the studied corpus.

3.1 Data Collection: Building ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ Related News Reports in

Malaysian English Newspapers (CovVac-MEN) Corpus

Data for the study was gathered by compiling news reports from The Star, one
of the prominent English newspapers in Malaysia, spanning from July 23, 2021, to
August 8, 2021. This timeframe coincided with the second phase of COVID-19
vaccination in Malaysia. In phase two, the COVID-19 vaccines were administered for
the first time to the public (prioritising senior citizens, disabled, and high-risk
individuals) after it was administered to all ‘frontline’ workers (e.g., health workers
and police force) (Jawatankuasa Khas Jaminan Akses Bekalan Vaksin COVID-19
[JKJAV], 2021, as cited in Suah et al., 2021). Thus, the analysis made of the selected
corpus might shed some light on how the media portrays the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ to
the public which then influences the public acceptance of the vaccine. The Star
newspaper publisher was chosen in this study because of its wide circulation within
Malaysia. It was launched on June 23, 1995, and its online platform, The Star Online,
is Malaysia’s first news website and is recognised as one of the best in Asia by the
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) (The Star,
2022). Since the present study focused on the framing of the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ in
news articles, the type of articles selected for the purpose of the current study was only
the news reports/story featured on the front page and Nation news category where the
terms associated with the pandemic were selected. The news reports/stories were
identified after making a search based on these keywords: ‘COVID-19’, ‘coronavirus’,
and ‘vaccine’. If any of the keywords were mentioned in the headline or news content,
the news reports/story were included in the analysis. In addition, the relevant news
reports/story were collected using search items featured under a subtopic called ‘The
COVID-19 Watch’ on the news press’ official website, https://www.thestar.com.my/.
The search capitulated 538 news reports/stories. The distribution of the selected news
articles based on dates within the selected time frame is presented in Figure 1.
From Figure 1, the distribution of news reports highlighting the news coverage
about the COVID-19 vaccines was generally high every day as the COVID-19
1028 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1022-1040, 2023

vaccination in Malaysia was still in the second phase. These news articles were
extracted, saved in Word documents, and cleaned before they were analysed in
#LancsBox 5.0 online software. The CovVac-MEN corpus has 12420-word types that
consist of 178675-word tokens and 9.870 lemmas. Although the size of the specialised
corpus used in this study was relatively small, it provided valuable preliminary insights
into the framing of ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ in the selected media. Significant keywords
and their collocates were identified by comparing the wordlist of the specialised corpus
to a reference corpus. The chosen reference corpus was the British National Corpus
(BNC) Baby 2014, extracted from the larger BNC 2014 data pool.

Distribution of News Articles

50
40
30
20
10
0

Distribution of News Articles

Figure 1. Distribution of the selected news articles.

3.2 Data Analysis

The data was analysed by using the #Lancsbox 5.0 which offers a wordlist,
keyword list, and collocate features for text analysis. No reference corpus was used
because the comparative analysis was not involved. By analysing the keywords
‘vaccine’ and ‘COVID-19’ in the keyword list and their collocates, significant
associations with other words in the corpus and how the keywords were framed in the
corpus were revealed. This also revealed whether the keywords were negatively or
positively associated with the said discourse. From the keyword list, salient lexical
items could be identified as the list showed not only the overly used words in a corpus
but also statistical significance tests by using the log-likelihood test (LL) to determine
which words were significant in a corpus and are worth further investigation. McEnery
and Hardie (2011) suggested that key items with an LL value of over 7.0 are deemed
significant; thus, the researchers used this LL measure to determine the significant key
items. Once the significant key items were sorted, the final corpus analysis of collocate
was executed. Lists of collocates were generated to learn what words highly co-
occurred with the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ in the newly built specialised corpus. The
Mutual Information (MI) statistical test was utilised to calculate the collocational
strength because it is one of the most frequent statistical formulae employed by
researchers in corpus research (Cheng, 2012; Hunston, 2002). In the present study, the
researchers set the MI score of 3.0 or above to consider a collocate as significant
(Hunston, 2002). Therefore, using the MI Score value, the ‘COVID-19’ collocates
could be identified, which then revealed the lexical framing of the ‘COVID-19
vaccines’ in the selected Malaysian English newspapers. The researchers investigated
lexical framing by referring to the descriptions and indicators of frames as proposed
by Fatima (2020).
 N. A. Malik, M. S. Y., Shak & N. A. Hasni, Examining the framing of ‘COVID-19 vaccines’:
A corpus-based investigation of Malaysian newspapers | 1029

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Keyword List

Table 1 presents the keyword list from the CovVac-MEN corpus, after a
comparison was made to the selected reference corpus, BNC2014Baby. The top ten
words with the highest Log-Likelihood (LL) value, referring to the ‘COVID-19
vaccines’ within the corpus, were identified from this keyword list.

Table 1. List of keywords referring to the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’.

No. Keywords Log-L. Value
1 Vaccine 3809.46
2 Vaccination 3354.47
3 Vaccinated 2181.55
4 Vaccines 1404.86
5 Immunisation 864.24
6 Vaccinations 770.76
7 Jabs 391.08
8 Shots 186.18

The analysis in Table 1 reveals that the term ‘vaccine’ stands out as the most
significant keyword (LL=3809.46) within the corpus when referring to ‘COVID-19
vaccines’. Conversely, the term ‘shots’ is identified as the least salient keyword
(LL=186.18) in the keyword list used to denote ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ in the corpus.
In order to gain the big picture of the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ notion, there is a need to
focus on a small number of keywords that are both relevant and statistically significant
to the representation of the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’: ‘vaccine’, ‘vaccination(s)’,
‘vaccinated’, and ‘immunisation’. Once the salient keywords were determined, the
keywords were further analysed in collocation analysis to investigate the lexical
framing of the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ in the CovVac-MEN corpus.

4.2 Identified Frames of the ‘COVID-19 Vaccines’

Brezina (2016) defined collocation as words that systematically co-occur in a

corpus “to create a range of cross-associations that can be visualised as networks of
nodes and collocates” (p. 90). Collocation analysis sheds light on significant
associations between words used within a corpus by providing statistical evidence of
their co-occurrence (Williams, 2001). In the study, the significant association between
words can help the researchers to identify how the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ was framed
in the CovVac-MEN corpus. The collocation analysis revealed several frames that
signified various semantic preferences and discourse prosodies as shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Categories of the collocates.

Frame Categories Collocates
Positive Acceptance receive, want, given, received, gave, getting, get, fully,
completed, outreach, nationwide, registered
Types of People people, students, employees, Malaysians, adults, workers,
individuals, migrants, citizens, seniors, family, recipients
Collective Group population, members, states, country, district, herd, committee,
countries
1030 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1022-1040, 2023

Table 2 continued…
Accessibility mobile, walk-in, open, public, digital, certificate, MySejahtera
Well-being antibodies, immunity, immunisation, health
Intensity boost, increase, more, least, high
Positive Adjectives important, effective, special
Economy tourism, industry
Negative Political Entity minister, government, administer, states, country, Khairy,
Adham
Figurative Speech jab, jabs, shot, shots

As illustrated in Table 2, eight categories related to positive semantic preferences

for the notion of the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ and two categories related to negative
semantic preference were identified from the examined corpus. The frames are based
on the adapted descriptions and indicators proposed by Fatima (2020).

4.2.1 Positive frames based on categories of collocates

The first positive frame contained such collocates as ‘receive’ (MI: 5.52), ‘want’
(MI: 5.3), ‘given’ (MI: 4.91; 6.29; 7.14), ‘received’ (MI: 4.75; 5.72; 3.34; 5.39), ‘gave’
(MI: 7.65), ‘getting’ (MI: 5.83), ‘get’ (MI: 6.64; 6.49), ‘fully’ (MI: 8.23), ‘completed’
(MI: 4.76), ‘outreach’ (MI: 6.63), ‘nationwide’ (MI: 4.44), and ‘registered’ (MI: 5.47)
suggested the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ acceptance among the public since most of the
collocates were statistically and significantly associated with the keyword ‘vaccine’.
The listed collocates are mainly action verbs indicating the statistics or number of
people ‘receives’/’received’, ‘want’, ‘gets’, ‘getting’, ‘given’, or ‘completed’ the
‘vaccine’. For example, ‘2,113,511 people or 34.3% of the Klang Valley’s adult
population have received their second dose’. When statistics or figures are used in
newspapers it is considered to be a constructive or positive element in media framing
(Hermans & Gyldensted, 2019). This finding suggested a positive semantic preference
for the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ because these verbs were used to indicate the public
demand or desire to take the vaccine voluntarily. The collocates ‘fully’ and
‘completed’ indicate the notion of complete vaccinations, involving the administration
of both required doses, regardless of the specific vaccine received. Furthermore, the
collocates ‘outreach’ and ‘nationwide’ suggested a broad acceptance of COVID-19
vaccination among the general population. These findings are in line with the results
obtained from the study conducted by Syed Alwi et al. (2021) who found a substantial
level of vaccine acceptance among Malaysians, with an overall acceptance rate of
83.3%. This positive framing is believed to enhance the impact of public acceptance,
consequently aiding in mitigating the burden of COVID-19.
The second frame contains collocates which refer to types of people: ‘students’
(MI: 6.93), ‘employees’ (MI: 6.49), ‘migrants’ (6.02), ‘Malaysians’ (MI: 5.81),
‘family’ (MI: 5.79), ‘adult’ (5.73), ‘workers’ (MI: 5.70), ‘recipients’ (MI: 5.69),
‘individuals’ (MI: 5.50), ‘citizens’ (MI: 5.05), and ‘people’ (MI: 4.98). All these words
are the collocates of ‘vaccinated’ except for ‘migrants’ and ‘citizens’, which are the
collocates for ‘vaccination’ and ‘recipients’ which is the collocate for ‘vaccine’. The
inclusion of diverse target groups of people in newspapers is deemed to be constructive
in nature (Fatima, 2020), as it incorporates perspectives and stories from diverse
groups of people while constructing views that counter the newspaper’s polarisation
(Hermans & Gyldensted, 2019). In addition, the finding indicates that a specific target
 N. A. Malik, M. S. Y., Shak & N. A. Hasni, Examining the framing of ‘COVID-19 vaccines’:
A corpus-based investigation of Malaysian newspapers | 1031

group of individuals was prioritised for vaccination. Clearly, students and

employees/workers were framed as the target group for vaccination based on the high
MI scores. MCO execution was found to have a critical effect on students’ negative
emotional symptoms, happiness, and work-life balance (Yunus et al., 2021).
Meanwhile, due to the cash flow issues faced by many SMEs, they had to allocate
funds towards fixed expenses, despite minimal or no sales, hence leading to financial
instability and a potential crisis of bankruptcy (Hasin et al., 2021). Apart from that, the
data showed that migrants had a slightly higher MI value than Malaysians which may
indicate the importance of the vaccine to the immigrants as compared to Malaysians.
This observation could be attributed to the rising number of positive COVID-19 cases
detected among migrant workers (Wahab, 2020).
The third frame includes the collocates linked to a collective group: ‘population’
(MI: 6.06), ‘members’ (MI: 5.39), ‘state’ (MI: 3.13; 3.38; 4.20), ‘states’ (MI: 3.99;
4.33), ‘country’ (MI: 4.57), ‘district’ (MI: 5.79), ‘herd’ (MI: 5.07), ‘committee’ (MI:
5.11), and ‘countries’ (MI: 4.73). These collocates suggested the notion that the
‘COVID-19 vaccines’ was linked to being accepted or received in large groups,
framing a positive idea of wide approval or acknowledgement by the masses. In
addition, the collocates of these collective groups highlighted the action or effort made
by the masses (Pattison et al., 2022), in this case, ‘COVID-19’ immunisation. This
notion further strengthened the first frame which carried the idea of positive
acceptance of the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ among the public. Some of these words were
used to describe a high statistic or a huge number of people who had been fully
vaccinated. As extracted from the text, these excerpts highlight the use of some of
these words in presenting mathematical figures:

Excerpt 1: “...from the CITF, 96.7% of the adult population in the Klang Valley have received at least
a dose of vaccine...”

Excerpt 2: “…for Sabah, the target to reach 80% herd immunity in Sabah can be realised before…”

Excerpt 3: “…Teaching Profession (NUTP) is urging its 220 000 members to get vaccinated to help
keep the…”

The excerpts show that the words ‘population’, ‘herd’, and ‘members’ were used
to indicate a high percentage or number of people who were vaccinated and a high
percentage of herd immunity that was expected to be reached. The use of the figure
highlights a positive framing through the use of mathematical elements in newspapers
(Hermans & Gyldensted, 2019). Matthes and Kohring (2008) found that news reports
that used large numbers to describe the benefits of a policy tended to be more positively
framed than reports that used small numbers. Through the incorporation of
mathematical elements into news stories, journalists can help to frame complex issues
in a positive light and highlight successful solutions to societal problems (Hermans &
Gyldensted, 2019). This evidence reflects the importance of high acceptance of the
COVID-19 vaccines to curb the pandemic (Syed Alwi et al., 2021).
The next frame includes the collocates that suggested the idea of accessibility to
the COVID-19 vaccination: ‘mobile’ (MI: 7.50), ‘walk-in’ (MI: 6.07), ‘walk-ins’ (MI:
4.92), ‘open’ (MI: 5.09), ‘public’ (MI: 4.97), ‘digital’ (MI: 7.60), ‘certificate’ (MI:
8.05), ‘MySejahtera’ (MI: 5.36). The 133 collocates of ‘vaccination’, ‘certificate’ and
‘digital’ were found to be statistically significant. The collocate ‘certificate’ frames the
1032 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1022-1040, 2023

COVID-19 ‘vaccination’ as authentic, verified, authorised, and something that carries

credentials. This could promote people’s confidence in the act of immunisation.
Meanwhile, ‘digital’ (which relates to vaccination certificates) and ‘MySejahtera’ (i.e.,
an application developed by the government of Malaysia in managing the COVID-19
outbreaks) linked ‘vaccination’ to the positive semantic preference for online,
paperless, sophisticated, convenient, and advanced. Besides, the collocates ‘mobile’
and ‘walk-in’ linked the positive frame of ease and convenience to the COVID-19
vaccination. Meanwhile, the collocates ‘open’ and ‘public’ implied the idea of no
secrecy, not hidden, nationalised, official, and democratic to the COVID-19
vaccination. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
recognises five foremost policy dimensions that drive people’s trust in government
institutions: responsiveness, reliability, integrity, openness, and fairness (OECD,
2020). The collocate ‘open’ allows the public to reflect on openness and fairness,
allowing the public to be aware and comprehend what the authority is doing,
specifically about COVID-19 vaccination. All these collocates have suggested positive
framing of the act of immunisation because the highlight of the government’s efforts
pertaining to an issue, in this case, the COVID-19 pandemic, indicates solution-
oriented framing (Fatima, 2020; Hermans & Gyldensted, 2019). Therefore, this
positive frame may positively influence public acceptance and confidence in the
vaccine.
Apart from that, the fifth frame was based on the collocates associated with
health or well-being: ‘antibodies’ (MI: 5.52), ‘immunisation’ (MI: 3.32), and ‘health’
(MI: 3.29). The findings further revealed significant associations between the keyword
‘vaccinated’ and the collocates ‘achieve’/’achieved’/’achieving’, ‘herd’, and
‘immunity’. These associations of keywords clearly signify positive framing of the
‘COVID-19 vaccines’ in achieving herd immunity in Malaysia. Figure 2 displays the
collocation graph of the keyword ‘vaccinated’ generated by the #LancsBox 5.0
software based on the MI measurement.
The collocation graph in Figure 2 describes the notion that when individuals
listed in the first frame had been fully ‘vaccinated’, it helped society achieve herd
immunity. These collocations strengthened the third category that associated the act of
vaccination with the significance of one’s well-being and health. It also indicates a
future-oriented frame as it highlighted how the situation with regard to COVID-19 will
unfold in the future (Hermans & Gyldensted, 2019). The positive frame would assist
in boosting people’s tendency to take the vaccine not just for the sake of their health,
but also for the community. This notion is supported by Loomba et al. (2021) who
found that many respondents in the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US)
would want to be vaccinated if it means protecting their families, friends, or people in
the at-risk groups rather than if the vaccine worked solely for themselves. Thus, with
this positive frame, it is hoped that public acceptance of the vaccine can be increased.
Besides the health or well-being frame, the analysis also revealed another
positive frame encompassing verbs, adjectives, and nouns indicating frequency or
intensity. The collocates under this frame are ‘boost’ (MI: 6.53), ‘increase’ (MI: 4.87),
‘more’ (MI: 4.45), ‘high’ (MI: 4.13), and ‘further’ (MI: 4.86), ‘booster’ (9.05), and
‘very’ (MI: 4.79). These collocates constructed semantic preference of strength or
power to the keyword ‘vaccination’. This might indicate that the act of immunisation
had a certain force to change, improve, uplift, or push to a higher, broader, or bigger
quantity or size. Azevedo et al. (2013) stated that affective abstract concepts of ‘good’
 N. A. Malik, M. S. Y., Shak & N. A. Hasni, Examining the framing of ‘COVID-19 vaccines’:
A corpus-based investigation of Malaysian newspapers | 1033

and ‘bad’ are spatially epitomised as ‘up’ and ‘down’, respectively. For instance,
Meier and Robison (2004) used a reaction time paradigm to determine that positive
words were categorised more quickly as positive when presented at the top compared
to the bottom of a monitor, whilst the opposite was true for negative words. Therefore,
the collocates of ‘boost’, ‘increase’, ‘high’, ‘more’, ‘further’, and ‘very’ framed the
idea of vaccination positively among the readers.

Figure 2. GraphColl for ‘vaccinated’.

Another positive semantic preference that was identified is positive adjectives

which indicated the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ as essential and crucial. From the 126
generated collocates, it was identified that the keyword ‘vaccine’ was statistically and
significantly associated with several words indicating positive notion: ‘important’ (MI:
5.70), ‘effective’ (MI: 5.35), ‘special’ (MI: 4.90), and ‘registered’ (MI: 4.71). These
adjectives carry a positive connotation to the COVID-19 vaccines by describing it as
functioning, unique, legalised, or authorised. Palm et al. (2021) found that effective
messaging about COVID-19 vaccination can significantly influence the public’s
decision to get vaccinated, particularly when there is a strong emphasis on safety and
efficacy. Kaplan and Milstein (2021) reported that even a public announcement on
vaccine effectiveness at 95% influenced small increases in the acceptance of vaccines
among a sample of the United States population. There were also significant increases
in the probability of taking a vaccine. This is because the probability of vaccine
efficacy had the largest effect among the three factors in vaccine acceptance decisions
(Kaplan & Milstein, 2021). Therefore, framing the vaccine positively, particularly as
being effective could influence the public’s decision to get vaccinated.
The last category that indicated positive semantic preference identified from the
corpus was economy. The collocates under this category were ‘tourism’ (MI: 4.11)
and ‘industry’ (MI: 6.31). Even though there were only two collocates identified under
this category, it highlighted the importance of the COVID-19 vaccination to the
country’s economic state. The examples taken from the corpus:

Excerpt 4: ‘the move was made to revive the state’s tourism sector which had long been affected by
the COVID-19 pandemic’
1034 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1022-1040, 2023

Excerpt 5: ‘…a boost to domestic tourism and we expect the hotel industry to stay afloat with this
incentive.’

The excerpts illustrate that the collocates ‘tourism’ and ‘industry’ indicate the
presence of future-oriented frame, i.e., a positive frame, that discusses how a scenario
will pan out in the future (Hermans & Gyldensted, 2019). Like other affected countries,
the COVID-19 outbreaks and the MCO implementation have tremendously impacted
Malaysia, incapacitating numerous economic segments in the country (Wahab, 2020).
This is evident from, among others, booking cancellations made by customers for
flight tickets and hotel reservations. Consequently, the number of tourists declined due
to lockdowns in several countries including Malaysia as well as inhibiting tourist
arrivals from other countries (Shaari et al., 2021). Thus, by framing the COVID-19
vaccination as critical to the nation’s economy, it may positively persuade the public’s
acceptance of the vaccine.

4.2.2 Negative frames based on categories of collocates

Despite the positive framing of the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ in the CovVac-MEN

corpus, two categories indicated negative framing of the notion in the newly built
specialised corpus. The first category that might indicate a negative semantic
preference for vaccination was the political entity. The collocates involved were
‘minister’ (MI: 6.7), ‘government’ (MI: 3.56), ‘administer’ (MI: 8.0), ‘administered’
(MI: 6.35), ‘state’ (MI: 3.13; 3.38; 4.20), ‘states’ (MI: 3.99; 4.33), ‘country’ (MI:
4.57), ‘countries’ (MI: 4.73), ‘Khairy’ (MI: 3.88; 8.16), and ‘Adham’ (MI: 6.07). Even
though this association suggested the COVID-19 vaccination as one of the
government’s efforts in combating the pandemic, an overall positive tone towards the
government could change to a negative tone if the government is not the main source
of the news item (Adiprasetio & Larasati, 2020). Hence, it might backfire since the act
of immunisation was reflected to be influenced by and related to political agenda. This
is because vaccination choice can be influenced by the belief in conspiracy theories
(Germani & Biller-Andorno, 2021) and lack of trust in authorities (Kumar et al., 2016),
which subsequently might influence the success of the anti-vaccination movements.
By associating vaccination with the political entity, it might misinform the public,
specifically the anti-vaxxers, regarding the true objective of immunisation. Hence, the
media need to be careful in disseminating information with regard to the COVID-19
vaccines and identify potential communication strategies that might avoid negative
framing of immunisation.
Besides political entity, figurative speech was another frame identified in the
CovVac-MEN corpus. The collocates under this frame are ‘jab’ (MI: 4.50), ‘jabs’ (MI:
5.24), ‘shot’ (MI: 3.56), and ‘shots’ (MI: 4.24). The use of ‘jab’/’jabs’ and
‘shot’/’shots’ in referring to vaccine injections might seem harmless as they were
commonly found in various discourses. Nevertheless, ‘jab’ and ‘shot’ are not only
defined as a dose of medicine or drug injection but their definitions are also linked to
negative semantic preference, implying violent metaphor. Merriam-Webster Online
Dictionary (n.d.) defines ‘jab’ as: (i) to pierce with or as if with a sharp object (stab),
(ii) to poke quickly or abruptly (thrust), (iii) to strike with a short straight blow (a term
used in boxing), and (iv) to pointedly tease or mock (someone). While ‘shot’ is defined
as (i) an act of shooting, (ii) a directed propelling of a missile, which contains negative
connotation to the act of vaccination. This is because ‘jab’ is described as an action
 N. A. Malik, M. S. Y., Shak & N. A. Hasni, Examining the framing of ‘COVID-19 vaccines’:
A corpus-based investigation of Malaysian newspapers | 1035

that is performed suddenly and violently—stab and thrust. Furthermore, it is also a

term normally used to refer to an assault movement in boxing that is linked to a violent
metaphor. In the meantime, ‘shot’ can also be used to refer to a directed discharge of
a firearm like a gun, implying a war metaphor. Figure 3 further illustrates how these
collocates associate with the COVID-19 vaccines.

Figure 3. GraphColl for ‘vaccine’ with ‘jab’ and ‘shot’.

Semino (2021) stressed that violent metaphors, though they have been
extensively utilised in communications about the COVID-19 pandemic, have also been
widely criticised since they inappropriately personify the virus as a malicious foe,
triggering extreme anxiety, possibly legitimising authoritarian governmental
measures, and entailing that those who die did not fight hard enough. She suggested
that such metaphors should be avoided especially in public communication. She
believed that other appropriate and versatile metaphors in communications related to
the pandemic with an aim to reduce it should be considered. This is because such
metaphors might trigger the feeling of anxiety in taking the COVID-19 vaccines.
Klemm et al. (2016) state that any use of sensational, exaggerated words and language
structure should be avoided particularly in newspaper writing as it frames an issue
negatively. Therefore, it is highly significant for any communications related to
vaccines, specifically the COVID-19 vaccines, to be thoroughly and meticulously
written, based on what linguists have learned regarding the factors that influence
message acceptance (Palm et al., 2021).

5. CONCLUSION

To recapitulate, the study aims to answer these research questions: (1) What are
the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ related keywords used in English Malaysian newspapers?
and (2) Are the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ related keywords framed positively or
negatively in the English Malaysian newspapers? Based on the results, it can be
deduced that the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ related keywords were statistically and
significantly mainly correlated with verb, noun, adjective, and adverb collocates that
indicated both positive and negative framing of the notion ‘COVID-19 vaccines’. The
1036 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1022-1040, 2023

analysis revealed that generally the ‘COVID-19 vaccines’ was positively framed in
different ways in the newspaper. The identified categories of the positive frames are
acceptance (e.g., ‘receive’, ‘want’, ‘completed’), groups of people (e.g., ‘students’,
‘employees’, ‘migrants’), collective groups (e.g., ‘population’, ‘members’,
‘committee’), accessibility (e.g., ‘mobile’, ‘walk-in’, ‘digital’), well-being (e.g.,
‘antibodies’, ‘immunity’, ‘health’), intensity (e.g., ‘boost’, ‘increase’, ‘least’), positive
adjectives (e.g., ‘important’, ‘effective’, ‘special’), and economy (e.g., ‘tourism’,
‘industry’). Nevertheless, there were two categories of negative frames which were
used to describe the act of COVID-19 immunisation. They were political entities (e.g.,
‘minister’, ‘government’, ‘Khairy’), and figurative speech (e.g., ‘jab’, ‘shot’).
The present study is among the first attempts to delve into the news frames,
specifically by the Malaysian newspapers in reporting COVID-19 vaccines related-
news. Therefore, the findings from this study can become one of the main references
for future researchers who are keen on media studies related to the COVID-19 vaccines
in the Malaysian context. In terms of methodological perspective, since most of the
research on media frame is mainly conducted qualitatively via content analysis, the
present study exemplifies how the news frame can be identified systematically via a
corpus-based approach. This study’s findings can encourage informed decision-
making on COVID-19 vaccination by dispelling unwarranted fears. Positive news
coverage can boost confidence and prevent panic while mitigating negative emotions
and risk perceptions. These findings can also enhance the vaccination campaign in
Malaysia.
Limitations of the study include the use of a small corpus from one newspaper,
the focus on only one type of news article, and the limited discussion of keywords and
collocates in context. Future research should compare how different newspapers have
framed the COVID-19 vaccines and explore the role of mass media in the vaccination
drive through feature articles and opinion pieces. Additionally, analysing the news
frame of COVID-19 vaccines-related news reports in Malay newspapers might
produce different research findings.

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1041 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1041-1061, 2023

The Language Contact Phenomenon in

Thailand: English Borrowing,
Comprehension, and Public Attitudes
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Wararat Whanchit*
Nootchanat Sukkaew

School of Liberal Arts, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160,

THAILAND

Abstract
As the English lexicon has become more frequently borrowed and used in
Thai mass media and social media, Thais are quickly adapting to such
foreignness and are open to language contact-induced change. The current
study explores the extent of the public’s familiarity with borrowed words
in contemporary Thai public media and attitudes toward language
borrowing. The study participants comprised 120 Thais who voluntarily
completed a questionnaire. They were from different age groups and were
relatively highly educated. The instrument for the data collection was an
online three-part questionnaire probing demographic information, an
individual’s comprehension of the borrowed lexicon as tested via 15
questions of lexical borrowing in context, and personal views probed in
the questionnaire questions about English lexical borrowing. Follow-up
interviews with six selected respondents according to age groups verified
and elicited attitudes toward lexical borrowing. The findings revealed that
high exposure to English resulted in a high level of comprehension,
especially when words were transcribed in the Thai script with tone
markers. If the borrowing was in Romanized script, it was less likely to be
understood. The majority of the respondents recognized the need for
English language borrowing in Thai communication, especially for
terminology. They also expressed positive views toward the adoption of the
practice. English was perceived as necessary for effective Thai
communication, particularly among acquaintances and professionals. The
ubiquity of English in Thai society today has led to general adaptability

*
Corresponding author, email: wwararat@mail.wu.ac.th

Citation in APA style: Whanchit, W., & Sukkaew, N. (2023). The language contact phenomenon in
Thailand: English borrowing, comprehension, and public attitudes. Studies in English Language and
Education, 10(2), 1041-1061.

Received June 7, 2022; Revised January 18, 2023; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May 31,
2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.26277
 W. Whanchit & N. Sukkaew, The language contact phenomenon in Thailand: English
borrowing, comprehension, and public attitudes | 1042

and acceptance of borrowing as part of language evolution; such practices

are no longer a sign of prestige. The study suggests that language
classrooms should consider using borrowed English lexicons to assist Thai
EFL learners in developing English proficiency.

Keywords: Code-mixing, language contact, language-induced change,

lexical borrowing, mass media, Thai.

1. INTRODUCTION

Language contact, one cause of language-induced change, is a prevalent

sociolinguistic scenario in any language community. In Thailand, English plays a
significant role and has dramatically influenced language change among Thais. Thus,
the borrowing phenomenon is commonly observed in everyday conversation, social
media platforms, advertisements, official documents, news reports, television
programs, or any public media. Such lexical borrowing seems necessary for effective
communication as many English words have been adopted and have become well-
established in Thai. They may be identified as ‘borrowed’ or ‘loaned’ words. Many
foreign words are officially recognized and compiled in the official loanword database
of the Office of the Royal Society of Thailand1. Such borrowing and loans confirm the
trace of language contact-induced change in our society, where foreign languages are
in contact with the native language, resulting in language contact-induced change
(Auer, 2020).
While factors involved in language change include politics, history, education,
business, and social interaction, such changes may introduce a new variety of native
languages (Endarto, 2020). Conventionally, knowledge of English might have
empowered and earned Thai people high respect (Jindapitak & Teo, 2011) and implied
a particular image or social status (Trakulkasemsuk, 2012). Today, it appears common
for a Thai language user to switch to an English word because of the absence of direct
equivalence of Thai words. Practically, English borrowing now appears natural among
multilingual Thai speakers, and it helps clarify or strengthen communication semantics
(Narkkaew, 2011).
Given that English borrowing is increasingly common, many popular loanwords
have become a ‘must-know’ part of everyday Thai for effective communication. More
commonly recognized loanwords refer to innovation and standard technical terms
representing new inventions, such as ‘the internet’, ‘the computer’, or ‘the highway’.
In other cases, English words are known as popular loanwords, such as ‘bill’, ‘mobile’,
or ‘treatment’, that accommodate everyday communication. A demand to refrain from
borrowing while speaking Thai would pose a significant challenge since these English
lexicons are now well-accepted in the public media and are officially recognized.
However, the adoption of lexicons from English as the donor language (Winford,
2010) into Thai as the recipient language has not led to the greater efficiency of English
language education in the country. In other words, the prevalence of English in the
Thai media has yet to convince the public to develop greater English competency. To

1
The Office of the Royal Thai Society of Thailand [www.orst.go.th] is responsible for the appropriate
use of the Thai language and issues regulations concerning Thai as a national heritage language,
usually in form of a gazette or ratchakitcha [https://ratchakitcha.soc.go.th/].
1043 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1041-1061, 2023

most Thais, English is only a medium to communicate with foreigners; there is no need
to know it unless one deals with foreigners. Even though English is compulsory in
school, the average Thai citizen is admittedly not highly competent in English, as
evidenced by the average score for English in the Ordinary National Education Test
(O-Net) of secondary education; roughly around 30 percent in 2016-2020 (Mala,
2021). This repeated low average score in recent years has stimulated broad criticism
of the nation’s failure to improve English language education. Among the factors that
have been blamed are the learning environment, social factors in the classroom,
personal learning attitudes, and many others (Waluyo & Tuan, 2021).
The mismatch between English prevalence in the country and Thai people’s
English competence has led us to develop an interest in bridging the gap between
sociolinguistic phenomena and English language education. For example, studies in
Japan show that English borrowing allows more exposure to the L2 used as cognates
(Daulton, 2008) and builds vocabulary capacity, especially in borrowed lexemes
(Ogasawara, 2008). Such notions could be applied to Thai EFL learners for future
pedagogical development. Thus, a better understanding of sociolinguistic phenomena
seems crucial to developing English language competency.
Several studies conducted in Thailand’s context provided interesting views on
the lexical borrowing phenomenon and influenced the current study. For instance, in
terms of language contact, Bennui (2019) investigated the role of the Thai language
being code-mixed in tourism magazines written in English. The approach proved that
the two languages in contact influence each other. Our study, on the other hand, looked
at the use of English in Thai mass media which seemed to be growing in number. Other
studies in this area explored the types of borrowing (Narkkaew, 2011), the intentions
of borrowing (Soh et al., 2020), and the differences in borrowing among age groups
and professional experience (Ramat et al., 2019). None of these have explored the
audience’s perception of language borrowing.
Troyer (2012) explored the use of English in 82 Thai advertisements in Thai
online newspapers to identify the status of the world Englishes linguistic virtual
landscape in the Thai context. Troyer’s focus on language in advertisements triggered
our interest in exploring a broader linguistic virtual landscape. The current study pays
attention to news articles and headlines where the communicative intention should be
taken more seriously than the advertisement. It may be true that language code-mixing
could enhance creativity (Padival et al., 2019), but it is unclear to what extent it
effectively conveys the message. In terms of public opinion towards the practice of
code-mixing in Thai newspapers, Kumtanit and Srisakorn (2016) surveyed a sample
size of 30 people from three different age groups. Despite the claim that the
participants reported no negative effect of code-mixing on comprehension, evidence
of proof of their understanding was not present.
Thus, in our view, research has yet to adequately examine the level of public
comprehension when English words are incorporated into Thai with empirical
evidence. Also, we see the need to identify the public attitudes toward pervasive lexical
borrowing in Thai society. The implications derived from this study could benefit
educators in planning an effective pedagogical model or developing a guideline to
accommodate EFL curricula in Thailand or a similar context.
The study was developed with two objectives, namely to determine whether the
commonness of lexical borrowing matches the general public’s comprehension of the
 W. Whanchit & N. Sukkaew, The language contact phenomenon in Thailand: English
borrowing, comprehension, and public attitudes | 1044

borrowed items and to explore the public view towards English borrowing as part of
language contact-induced change. It addresses two research questions:
1. To what extent does the public comprehend English-borrowed lexicons in the Thai
public media?
2. What are the attitudes towards English influence on lexical borrowing in daily Thai
mass media?

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

This section provides a brief report of the relevant literature on language contact,
lexical borrowing, public attitudes toward lexical borrowing, and the adoption of
lexical borrowing in Thailand, to present a background understanding for this study.

2.1 Language Contact

Language contact is a crucial subfield of sociolinguistics. It encompasses

language phenomena that have attracted public and scholarly attention in recent
decades, as explored in human communities worldwide (Adamou & Matras, 2020).
When any two languages are in contact, they will influence each other resulting in
linguistic changes. For many nations, the influence of a foreign language is notably
traced to the colonial era, such as in India, Malaysia, and Singapore, countries where
English is currently a second and official language. In others, language contact can
occur through migration (Clyne, 2003; Tramutoli, 2021) or by geographical proximity,
resulting in language code-mixing, as reported in mixed English and Spanish in
Gibraltar (Goria, 2021). These examples, however, are not typical of English influence
on the Thai language because Thailand was never colonized and did not experience a
large influx of English-speaking migrants. According to Snodin (2014), the English
influence on the Thai language, especially when people code-mix, is typically
attributed to globalization. In Kachru’s (1985) famous three concentric circles model,
English, with a status of foreign language in Thailand, is classified as an Expanding
Circle. Before English, however, the Thai language had a large amount of loanword
adoption from Pali, Sanskrit, and Khmer, whose influence has long been rooted in Thai
language development. Although the decisive influence of these languages has been
discontinued, their adoption has marked their historical importance and has long
indicated social class and prestige. For instance, Sanskrit and Khmer loanwords are
recognized in royal terminology and appear in archaic languages (Pattillo, 2021).
Contact with the English began to become more prominent at the royal court of
Thailand, then ‘Siam’, during the reign of King Rama III (1824-1851) of the Bangkok
Period (Trakulkasemsuk, 2018). Contact with Western nations later compelled all
Thais to learn English in school as a primary foreign language, and English became a
second official language in the country. Thus, it is not surprising to see the extensive
use of English in Thai media and business. The usage of English in Thailand has
altered the country’s linguistic landscape; English has become a language of prestige
and professionalism (Trakulkasemsuk, 2012; Vivas-Peraza, 2020). However, the
integration of English into the Thai language is nevertheless subject to the domination
of the native language in terms of syntax and stylistics. For instance, as Snodin et al.
(2017) have reported, the adoption of English names by Thai products is aimed at
1045 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1041-1061, 2023

appealing to international buyers. English words may not express appropriate

semantics when styled in Thai. To some scholars, the modification of English used in
Thai society may show that ‘Thai English’, ‘ThaiE’, or ‘Tinglish’, are in fact variants
of world Englishes that will likely become more established in the near future
(Buripakdi, 2011; Snodin, 2014; Trakulkasemsuk, 2012; Vivas-Peraza, 2020).
According to findings in previous studies, Thais have assimilated the English lexicon
and idioms to meet the Thai language’s rules and styles. Communication technology,
in particular, has promoted linguistic contact and, to some extent, led to the further
evolution of the native tongue.

2.2 Lexical Borrowing: A Contact-Induced Language Change

A typical result of language contact is lexical borrowing. Based on Haspelmath

and Tadmor (2009), once a language is in contact with another, it is likely that contact-
induced changes will follow. The recipient language borrows, transfers, incorporates,
or copies elements from the donor language into its system. Consequently, the
recipient language would contain ‘foreignism’ as a form of mixed language codes.
Studies may refer to lexical borrowing as code-switching and code-mixing, the
standard interchangeable terms referring to the alternative use of multi-linguistic
codes. These deliberate or conscious actions of borrowing initiated by a language user
will first start to influence others until the borrowed items become a norm, as pointed
out in Haugen’s (1950) classic study of linguistic borrowing. The group consciousness
of borrowing will then affect a language’s structure (Thomason, 2007, p. 45).
When a borrowed item is code-mixed in one’s native language, Poplack and
Walker (2003) reviewed Muysken’s (2000) three main types: insertion, alternation,
and congruent lexicalization, as exemplified below.
(1) Insertion refers to using a borrowed word in the sentence.
For example: ข่าวนี้ฮอต khao nii hot
this news hot
‘The news is hot’.
(2) Alternation refers to switching to another language at a clause level.
For example: จริ งไหม that’s impossible
Jing mai that’s impossible
‘Really? That’s impossible’.
(3) Congruent lexicalization usually occurs between two typologically not-too-distant
languages in which the structures are rather similar. However, when this happens
in a typologically distant language pair, the structure may be fused and the speaker
is prone to refer to the native language structure. Thus, a Thai speaker may make
the following statement.
For example: ไม่ มไี ฟล์ ออดิโอ
mai mee file audio
no have file audio
‘There is no audio file’.
Generally, code-mixing is not grammar-bound and occurs at the intra-sentential
level, unlike code-switching that is commonly more employed by a bilingual speaker
with equal competency in two languages as a communicative strategy and with
agreeable grammar usage (Poplack, 2018). At the inter-sentential level, code-
switching notably happens when a user automatically picks a grammatical form of a
 W. Whanchit & N. Sukkaew, The language contact phenomenon in Thailand: English
borrowing, comprehension, and public attitudes | 1046

transferring language to mix with the dominating one, more likely at their convenience
(Soh et al., 2020; Tanabut & Tipayasuparat, 2019).
At present, most societies are engaged in dynamic language movement. In multi-
cultural societies in Southeast Asia, like Malaysia, Singapore, or the Philippines where
language variations are broadly observed (Rusli et al., 2018), lexical borrowing and
code-mixing reportedly accommodate communication, create a multicultural social
identity, as well as project a socially meaningful act (Zenner et al., 2019). For example,
in the Philippines, English and Tagalog are mixed for everyday communication
(Tajolosa, 2013) and differ among users from different generations (Dreisbach &
Demeterio, 2021). In addition, borrowing can occur even when a dialect influences the
national language due to its commonness or popularity, such as in the case of over 130
Acehnese words being integrated into Bahasa Indonesia and resulting in language
enrichment (Wildan et al., 2022). The same practice is observed when the Thai
language uses words from regional dialects. Words such as roy in the southern dialect
meaning delicious, or sap in the northeastern dialect meaning delicious, or spicy, for
instance, are well-understood all over Thailand.
One agent to promote widespread lexical borrowing is undoubtedly the mass
media and social media. A recent study in Indonesia explored the significant role
played by social media influencers who deliberately code-mixed. Besides the difficulty
of finding appropriate Indonesian words to express their meaning, influencers also
expressed their intention to assist their followers’ development of English language
skills (Sutrisno & Ariesta, 2019). No matter what the purposes of code-mixing may
be, these mixed codes must be mutually understood so that communication becomes
effective and unity is maintained through shared background knowledge (Botha,
2017).

2.3 Attitudes of the Public towards Contact-Induced Language Change

Based on Albarracin and Shavitt (2018), attitudes are evaluative reactions to an

object, also referred to as ‘evaluative judgments’ or ‘values’, which imply one’s
judgment based on one’s own feelings. Thus, language attitudes can be defined as
evaluative reactions to language and relevant context. Garrett (2010) asserts three
components in attitudes: cognition, affect, and behavior. To simplify this, the construct
of attitude involves one’s desire, values, motivation, emotions, and choice of action
that an individual has (Dragojevic et al., 2021). According to Bar-Anan and Nosek
(2014), attitudes can be measured by direct measures and indirect measures. A
common direct measure that is also employed in this study is having respondents self-
report their opinion about the object, concept, or practice. Data obtained through
responses in spontaneous evaluative reactions can be used for attitude inferences
(Albarracin & Shavitt, 2018). For indirect or implicit measures of attitudes, seven
indirect measures of evaluation and self-concept will engage the respondents in
psychometric properties (Bar-Anan & Nosek, 2014).
Referring to language borrowing, one may perceive it differently depending on
one’s values and background. For instance, on the one hand, English is viewed as an
international language, rather influential, widely embraced in multiculturalism, and
undoubtedly well-recognized for lexical loans. On the other hand, the privileged place
of English in some countries might evoke negative attitudes and imply a ‘language
imperialism’ as a result of the colonial period. Thus, it should be noted that before
1047 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1041-1061, 2023

multilingualism became more natural and welcome as seen nowadays, it was once seen
as potentially a psychological or social handicap, disturbance, and even a risk to ethnic
identity (Otwinowska, 2016; Thomason, 2007).
The picture has changed now. As Matras (2013) clearly states, global mobility
is currently the norm, and it surely has resulted in linguistic changes. In Thailand’s
context, lexical borrowing is as noticeable as in other countries. The Thai language
borrows words signifying items or concepts from another culture (e.g., oasis, ice
cream), the word representing innovation (e.g., fitness gym, software), and even slang
(e.g., cool), and they contribute to language evolution.

2.4 English Adoption and Lexical Borrowing in Thailand

In surveying the previous studies conducted since the beginning of the 21st
century, we found the practice of lexical borrowing to be relatively ubiquitous, with
researchers trying to explain the English-Thai code-mixing mechanism. The growth in
research interest among contact linguists is in parallel with the increasing public
recognition and deliberate integration of lexical borrowing in society, as evidenced by
many studies confirming the prevalence of English loanwords in Thai media, such as
Kannaovakun and Gunther (2003), Kongkerd (2015), Ruanglertsilp (2018), and
Yutthayotin and Tippayasuparat (2018). Fundamentally, the Thai language borrows
from English the sound-meaning pairs or lexeme stems (Matras & Sakel, 2007). The
features are “material” borrowing, rather than “structural” (Haspelmath & Tadmor,
2009, p. 38). An orthographical adaptation usually follows the lexical borrowing to
match the Thai native language, using a completely different set of alphabets from the
Roman script. It is also worth mentioning that lexical borrowing tends to be more
common in the academic setting, in which scholars and researchers borrow vital terms
such as verbs and nouns when discussing issues among themselves in Thai (Waluyo
& Tuan, 2021).
In the past, the primary motivation for borrowing the English lexicon in Thai
communication might have been the prestige of English in the country (Jindapitak &
Teo, 2011) and the influence of the educated classes (Hoffer, 2002). It should be noted
that English words are prevalent in most societies and are used for various functions.
For instance, English words can emphasize and clarify meaning, even if Thai
equivalents exist (Yutthayotin & Tippayasuparat, 2018). To illustrate this, the word
‘life’ is often placed as a collocation with ‘สด’ [sod], meaning ‘life’ or ‘fresh’ in Thai.
When phrased together, [laif sod] means to broadcast live, which appears redundant in
this form. In other cases, lexical borrowing and code-switching are used to express
politeness and respect, as reported in Kongkerd’s (2015) analysis of Facebook
conversations as well as presenting group identities (Yiamkhamnuan, 2011).
The practice of lexical borrowing in public media such as dramas, TV series,
sitcoms, reality shows, and advertisements is observable. For instance, Kannaovakun
and Gunther (2003) report common code-switching in sports programs, groups of
experts, celebrities, and authorities. People who have experienced living abroad tend
to code-switch more often, and women code-switch more often than men, as reported
by Ruanglertsilp (2018) in the reality show, ‘The Face Thailand Season Two’ and ‘The
Face Men Thailand Season One’. One apparent feature of English loanwords in Thai
worth mentioning here is their adjustment, probably to remove foreignism. For
example, the words are shortened and frequently combined with Thai through the
 W. Whanchit & N. Sukkaew, The language contact phenomenon in Thailand: English
borrowing, comprehension, and public attitudes | 1048

technique of hybridization, as Yutthayotin and Tippayasuparat (2018) found in the

Thai sitcom, ‘Pentor’. In addition, in the case of English lexical items used by
teenagers in the Thai TV series, ‘Hormones’, apart from the word function change, the
use of English words can also follow the Thai style of adjective repetitions in order to
convey emphasis (such as ‘chill-chill’, sounding ‘chew-chew’ [chew-chew] in Thai)
(Musor, 2017). Studies also show that English lexicons are necessary to clarify the
message, especially in advertisements (Chantarothai, 2011; Kumtanit & Srisakorn,
2016). Without English words, the products could fail to reach their potential
consumers.
In summary, previous studies have hinted that English serves a communicative
function when borrowed into Thai communication and that Thai mass media are prone
to have adopted English words in everyday use. However, there are cases where it also
projects redundancies. In terms of attitudes, the growing global mobility may also have
resulted in favor of lexical borrowing, but more empirical evidence is still needed.

3. METHODS

3.1 Research Design

The current study employed the mixed-method research design because it dealt
with quantitative data through an online questionnaire and purposive sampling
interviews as a follow-up for result clarification. The incorporation of qualitative data
allowed data verification with the interviews with six respondents from different age
groups. The unstructured interviews elicited the respondents’ views and attitudes when
answering open-ended questions. By employing this method, the data from the two
sources (quantitative and qualitative) could be used in support of each other and to
allow in-depth discussion from the broader perspective gained from interviews
although they could yield biased responses due to the researcher’s presence (Creswell,
2009, p. 197).

3.2 Sample and Participants

The sample was 120 respondents who consented to participate in the study, as
shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Overview of the participants (N = 120).

Category Detail Number (people) Percentage
(%)
Gender Female 76 63.2
Male 44 36.8
Age 15-20 14 11.7
21-25 18 15
26-30 10 8.3
31-35 29 24.2
36-40 14 11.7
41-45 11 9.2
46-50 17 14.2
Above 50 7 5.8
1049 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1041-1061, 2023

Table 1 continued…
Education Bachelor’s 61 50.8
Master’s degree 44 36.7
PhD 9 7.5
High school 2 1.7
Secondary school 1 0.8
Primary school and below 1 0.8
Others (e.g., vocational 2 1.7
diploma)

The demographic data show that most respondents were female, aged 31-35
years (24.2%), followed by 21-25 years of age (15%). The smallest group was above
50-year-old age group (5.8%), including a woman aged 92, without digital literacy.
She was assisted through the questionnaire and further interviewed for extra
information. In terms of educational background, half of the respondents (50.8%) held
or were pursuing a bachelor’s degree. In comparison, the ones with a master’s degree
came second (36.7%), thus, implying a high education background for the majority.
Regarding this unequal distribution, we would tend to classify our participants as
highly educated with some exceptions, in order to clarify the results and discussion.
Unlike Poplack’s study (2018) which classified participants’ educational attainment
and claimed that there was no significant effect on lexical borrowing, most of our
participants had completed high school level; hence, they tended to represent a highly
educated sample group.
Regarding the participants’ English language ability, the self-rating results
revealed that 61.7% identified their level of knowledge of English as moderate, while
15.8% identified themselves as having a low level of English. As many as 22.5% of
the respondents identified themselves as having acquired a high level of English
knowledge, which might align with their level of education.

3.3 Data Collection Technique

3.3.1 Data collection process

Before the actual step of collecting data, four pre-requisite steps were taken to
prepare the research instrument. In the first step, the researchers collected 100
borrowed lexicons from Thai mass media in January-June 2019 when the study project
started. In the second step, the lexical items were selected based on their ubiquity. At
this point, one hundred compiled words were sorted according to how frequently they
appeared. The criterion helped identify the level of familiarity the public may have
with the borrowed lexicon. In step three, we developed 15 word-in-context items for
comprehension testing. Step four involved the technical stages, namely, designing the
questionnaire of Google Forms and pilot-tested it with five colleagues. The actual data
collection stage included administering the online questionnaire and interviewing with
purposively selected sampling.

3.3.2 Questionnaire

The main instrument was an in-house questionnaire in Thai, launched online for
five days, accessible via the link posted on the Facebook social media platform, which
 W. Whanchit & N. Sukkaew, The language contact phenomenon in Thailand: English
borrowing, comprehension, and public attitudes | 1050

is popular among Thai communities. It was voluntarily completed by 120 respondents

who consented to participate in the study. The questionnaire consisted of three
sections. The first section aimed to gain general information about the respondent. The
second section contained a set of 15 closed-ended questions with context clues adapted
from Thai news, headlines, and advertisements in the contemporary media available
at the time of the study (see Appendix 1). The selected words borrowed from English
included: ‘hot’, ‘idea’, ‘character’, ‘grab-bike’, ‘barrier’, ‘moment’, ‘real-time’,
‘mouth’, ‘damage’, ‘street food’, ‘checklist’, ‘digital’, ‘deal’, ‘influencer’, and ‘pain
point’. The test items were limited to 15 so that the respondents would not be too
overloaded when doing the online questionnaire. Each question came with three
choices of English-borrowed words or phrases to choose from: one designated as the
most appropriate for the context, and two distractors. These lexicons were selected
from 100 words used in Thai mass media primarily compiled as they played an
essential role in Thai communication (see Appendix 2). The sources of this
compilation were popular webpages for local news, advertisements, and banners (such
as Sanook.com, dek-d.com, Thairath news online, Khaosod news online, and
marketingoops.com). The lexicons were classified based on their commonness,
frequency of use, and level of familiarity by the researchers. The unfamiliar ones were
written in English script, also marked ‘barely known’, and were selected to check the
user’s recognition of the English word when used in Thai communication. The third
section of the questionnaire dealt with respondents’ beliefs and attitudes in nine
questions (see Appendix 3). Respondents were asked to judge on a scale, ranging from
1–Not True, 2–Sometimes True, 3–True, and 4–Absolutely True. The section aimed
to explore respondents’ consciousness of lexical borrowing being used and their
opinion about the English lexical borrowing phenomenon in Thai media.

3.3.3 Interview

The interviews were conducted to reaffirm the data on attitudes, a week after
collecting the questionnaire data. Six purposively selected respondents of different
ages (aged 19, 33, 40, 48, 51, 92) were interviewed either in person or via phone calls,
and notes were taken. The interview questions repeated the questionnaire to explore
and reaffirm respondents’ attitudes (Appendix 3).

3.4 Data Analysis Technique

The retrieved data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively and classified
into four sets: demographic information, the percentage of respondents’ correct
answers from the test set, the respondents’ opinions about lexical borrowing, and
interview notes. The data from the test and questionnaire were analyzed by using
numeric analysis, as they involved closed-ended questions and pre-determined
approaches (Creswell, 2009). The responses were then calculated for average attitudes
and percentage of accuracy. On the other hand, the interview data extracted answers
from open-ended questions and then interpreted the attitudes and opinions of
individuals. This data complemented the findings from the quantitative data (Combs
& Onwuegbuzie, 2010). Selected examples of statements from individual interviewees
were translated into English and given to exemplify the point being addressed.
1051 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1041-1061, 2023

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The study reported results in two main areas: 1) comprehension of the selected
borrowed lexicon and 2) attitudes towards lexical borrowing usage and English
borrowings in Thai communication.

4.1 Public Comprehension of the Selected English Borrowed Lexicons in the

Thai Public Media

The data from 120 respondents revealed a high level of public understanding of
the selected English lexicons when borrowed into Thai, based on the 15 close-ended
questions gauging an individual’s comprehension of specific code-switched items. The
correct answers were an average of 89.9 percent, signifying that the respondents were
familiar with the English borrowed lexicons.

4.1.1 Established loanwords in Thai communication

Sequenced according to the degree of correct use, Table 2 illustrates the

percentage of accurate responses. The more highly understood lexicons may indicate
the probability of established loanwords from English. Note that phrases appear in
orthographical adaptation, hybridization, and pure Roman script forms.

Table2. Comprehension of English lexical borrowing in Thai headlines.

No. English code-mixed item Level of the correct answer
(%)
1 ฮอต ‘hot’ 99.2
2 ไอเดีย ‘idea’ 99.2
3 คาแรกเตอร์ ‘character’ 99.2
4 แกร็บไบค์ ‘grab-bike’ 99.2
5 แท่งแบริ เออร์ ‘taeng barrier’ 97.5
6 โมเม้นต์ ‘moment’ 96.7
7 เรี ยลไทม์ ‘real-time’ 95.8
8 เม้าท์ ‘mouth’ 95.8
9 ดาเมจ ‘damage’ 94.2
10 สตรี ทฟู้ด ‘street food’ 90.8
11 checklist 89.9
12 ยุคดิจิทลั ‘yuk digital/ digital era’ 88.3
13 รื้ อดีล ‘rue deal / reconsider the deal’ 73.3
14 influencer 60.0
15 pain point 58.8

As Haspelmath and Tadmor (2009) argued, lexical borrowing after a while can
lead to the creation of an established loanword. The data above may indicate that the
top four words: ฮอต ‘hot’, ไอเดีย ‘idea’, แกร็บไบค์ ‘grab-bike’, and คาแรกเตอร์ ‘character’ were
well recognized, and could be considered loanwords as they conveyed clearer meaning
than their Thai counterparts. Our observation in mass media confirmed a higher
frequency of the top eight words, which may have established themselves as loanwords
by now, as supported by five interviewees. The only person who did not know these
 W. Whanchit & N. Sukkaew, The language contact phenomenon in Thailand: English
borrowing, comprehension, and public attitudes | 1052

words was a 92-year-old female respondent, who reported that she did not know
English [Interviewee 06, aged 92]. She made random guesses with her granddaughter’s
assistance on the form while one of the authors was observing. The participant might
have represented a conventional speaker of the Thai language with little exposure to
English borrowing. However, with a small data size, we cannot claim that age groups
matter in borrowing, unlike that of Alnamer and Alnamer (2018) who found younger
generation employed loanwords more frequently. Additionally, as borrowing reflects
contact-induced change, the change in the Thai language affects more noticeably with
nouns, which are content words. This aligns with Poplack (2018), specifying nouns as
the most prominent lexical borrowing, and not structural one. Matras (2020) further
implies such need of borrowing as serving pragmatic motivation.

4.1.2 Uncommonly borrowed lexicon

Among the 15 items, the borrowed words in English script were ranked bottom
of the list. The phrases ‘pain point’ and ‘influencer’ appeared to be the least familiar
to the respondents, with 58.8% and 60% of correct answers, respectively. This may
indicate either the respondents’ unfamiliarity with words in the Roman script or the
inclusion of a loanword to the recipient language in which the concept did not exist.
The latter supports the notion that the insertion process in borrowing is a result of
cultural influence (Monaghan & Roberts, 2019). These terms are used in business
newspapers that target a specific audience with background knowledge in marketing
and business, as reflected in Vivas-Peraza (2020), highlighting the original need for
lexical borrowing to enhance professionalism. One interviewee verified this
phenomenon. Working in the financial service sector, Interviewee 05 maintained that
terminology is much more explicit and precise when expressed in English.

(1) I do not mind using English in Thai communication at all. English terms are necessary for our
specific profession in the financial services sector, for instance, terms like ‘traditional asset’,
‘digital asset’, or ‘hedge fund’. [Interviewee 05, aged 51].

Another unfamiliar borrowed phrase for which over a quarter of respondents

chose incorrectly was the phrase ‘รื้ อดีล’ [rue-deal], meaning ‘to reconsider the deal’, as
in the question item 13 (showing in order, the Thai statement, the English transcript,
the word meaning, and the meaningful English statement):

หงส์ … คุยกุนซื อทีมคนใหม่

[Hong…khui kunsue theem khon mai]
Swan…talk coach team person new
‘Liverpool…talk over new manager’.

For this item, 73.3% of respondents answered correctly while over one-fourth
chose ซัมมิต ‘summit’ or ไลฟสไตล์ ‘lifestyle’ instead. The use of hybridization, or mixing
a Thai verb with the English noun ‘deal’, reflects a stylistic aspect of linguistic
borrowing by maintaining the morphology and syntax of the recipient language
(Poplack, 2018). A new lexical item is introduced instead of being paraphrased in the
recipient language and is considered necessary borrowing (Winter-Froemel, 2017).
1053 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1041-1061, 2023

The word ‘deal’ is borrowed in business but not as often in everyday conversation,
resulting in incorrect answers by a quarter of respondents.
In contrast, the hybridized phrase ‘yuk digital’ was better understood with over
88% of correct answers. The word ‘digital’ expresses a new concept, and thus has
become an established loanword. At large, educated Thai speakers comprehend the
borrowed lexicon ubiquitously used in everyday life. For one thing, as the participants
are frequent users of social media, they likely absorb the English borrowing that
appears on social media. According to Winford (2010), this indicates the foreign model
influencing the native replica, which is rather prevalent in a community with language
contact.

4.2 Public Attitudes towards Lexical Borrowing

4.2.1 Necessity of lexical borrowing

Regarding the necessity of lexical borrowing, the Thai community tends to have
some skeptical views, as reflected in the average score of 2.62/4, shown in Table 3.
They accepted the practice as being necessary as also found in the studies by
Chantarothai (2011), Kumtanit and Srisakorn (2016), and Lee (2020), but the interview
data suggest the need to avoid overuse of borrowing. In fact, nearly a quarter (24.2%)
perceived English in headlines as extra and not necessary.

Table 3. Views of the necessity of lexical borrowing.

No. Statement Not true Sometimes True Absolutely Average
(1) true (2) (3) true (4) points/4
1 I agree with the use of 13 37 (30.8%) 53 (44.2%) 17 (14.2%) 2.62
foreign words in Thai (10.08%)
public media.
2 I think Thais need a 29 48 (40%) 32 (26.7%) 11 (9.2%) 2.21
foreign language in the (24.2%)
news headlines.
3 I see lexical borrowing as 17 36 (30%) 46 (38.3%) 21 (17.5%) 2.59
necessary because the (14.2%)
meaning cannot be
conveyed in Thai.
4 Mixed codes in the Thai 17 21 (17.5%) 52 (43.3%) 30 (25%) 2.79
language reflect a (14.2%)
multicultural identity.

Nearly 40% of the respondents perceived English as necessary when there was
no equivalent word in Thai, while only 14.2% felt that Thai words were adequate for
communication. This seems to confirm the classic view that “borrowing always go[es]
beyond the actual needs” (Myers-Scotton, 1992, p. 29). The interview data below
supports a motivation of lexical borrowing for social identity and dynamics (Zenner et
al., 2019).

(3) To me, it is important to use English in media and everyday communication. It makes our
conversations more casual with friends. Using Thai words may sometime sound rather formal. We
find English words more common. [Interviewee 01, aged 19]
 W. Whanchit & N. Sukkaew, The language contact phenomenon in Thailand: English
borrowing, comprehension, and public attitudes | 1054

The respondents’ openness and approval of lexical borrowing in this study imply
Thai society’s multicultural identity. That signifies an optimistic view of the adoption
of a foreign language in the community, a finding which is similar to the academic
view in South Korea (Lee, 2020).
Other than that, borrowing is necessary for professionals. As Winford (2010)
suggests, the terminology is ‘learned borrowing’. Words are borrowed in a scholarly
way for one’s education, and this phenomenon may not result from language contact.
Interviewee 05, a corporate secretary in the stock exchange, clarified her view:

(4) I need to use English terminology for work. I do not think the meaning in Thai will be understood.
English terms are necessary for our specific profession in the financial services sector, for instance,
‘traditional asset’, ‘digital asset’, or ‘hedge fund’. [Interviewee 05, aged 51]

At present, we may safely state that Thais are highly familiar with English, the
most influential foreign language, especially in the field of education and in
professional circles. Historically, knowledge of English implied social prestige and
power (Jindapitak & Teo, 2011), but this might no longer be true in Thai society today.
Our data imply that the lexical borrowing phenomenon is now more a necessity against
luxury, as described in Winter-Froemel (2017). For us, this necessity reflects the user’s
“conscious selection and automatic production,” as Verschik (2017, p. 2) suggests, and
serves the purpose of communication in terms of personal and professional
relationships.
Some additional pieces of information were retrieved from the interviews.
Interviewees 03 and 05 stressed the essence of borrowing, especially in an
international community, and the academic need. In the case of terminology without a
Thai counterpart, English words are more acceptable. Three interviewees [03, 04, 05]
raised an issue of mass media using English borrowing. They appealed that the
message may fail to reach an audience without English knowledge. Indeed, while more
common words, such as ‘hot’, ‘winner’, ‘new look’, or ‘champion’ can reach most
audiences, the terms for example ‘inspired’, ‘contribute’, and ‘disruptive’ are more
appropriate for a scholarly audience than for the general public. For example,
Interviewee 04 recalled her experience when encountering unfamiliar English words:

(5) I do not understand words like ‘contribute’ or ‘disruptive’ when they are used in media. I feel lost
and question if the article reaches other audiences. [Interviewee 04, aged 48]

Additionally, one respondent interestingly discussed the mistaken use of English

forms, such as ‘fitness’ instead of ‘fitness gym’, ‘social’ instead of ‘social media’, or
‘featuring’ being used in a different way from the original English usage. This point
suggests the need for further study of the role of language misuse or deviation in Thais’
use of English.
To sum up, English lexical borrowing in Thai was necessary. However, it should
be conducted discreetly, such as when there was no counterpart in the matrix language
(or the native one). Thais had a tendency to openness and adaptable towards word
borrowing in Thai public media. Adopting English was by no means a threat to the
Thai language. Instead, it was perceived as a cultural ‘hybridization,’ or
‘transculturation’, similar to how Sokolova (2020) describes the use of English in the
Italian tourism industry.
1055 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1041-1061, 2023

4.2.2 Attitudes towards and acceptance of lexical borrowing

Based on the questionnaire data, the respondents’ attitudes toward lexicon

borrowing in Thai society revealed a wide acceptance and refusal of the negative view
of lexical borrowing. Such acceptance corresponds to our early assumption that
English mixed codes are well-integrated into the Thai language for everyday
communication. In Table 4, nearly half (49.2%) of the respondents did not see lexical
borrowing as a sign of the users’ low language competency at all, and only 2.5%
judged borrowing as low competency in Thai. This may imply more acceptance to use
English words instead of Thai.

Table 4. Attitudes and acceptance of lexical borrowing.

No. Statement Not true Sometimes True Absolutely Average
(1) true (2) (3) true (4) point
5 English-borrowed items 59 (49.2%) 37 (30.8%) 21 (17.5%) 3 (2.5%) 1.73
in Thai reflect the low
language competency of
the user.
6 The use of the English 63 (52.5%) 46 (38.3%) 7 (5.8%) 4 (3.3%) 1.60
lexicon indicates the
user’s pretentious
manner.
7 I feel annoyed when 51 (42.5%) 43 (35.8%) 19 (15.8%) 7 (5.8%) 1.85
English is used in Thai
communication.

For whether or not English borrowing has projected a certain image of the user,
the study found that over half of respondents (52.5%) refused to associate the use of
English with a negative image. This supports Buripakdi’s suggestion (2011) of wider
adoption and mix of English in Thai, and that knowledge of English may not indicate
prestige (Trakulkasemsuk, 2012). However, quite many people (nearly 40%) linked it
with a perception of pretentiousness, probably when English words are used
unnecessarily or employed in an exaggerated manner. In the same direction, the
majority of respondents (precisely 42.5%) showed no annoyance over borrowed items
in public media, while a slightly smaller group (35.8%) admitted that such usage could,
at times, be annoying. Since this kind of attitude had not been mentioned in previous
studies about lexical borrowing in Thailand, it shed light that the overuse of English
words can lead to negative feelings in the hearers. Since the questions in this set aim
to probe negative attitudes toward English borrowing, the low average points imply a
tendency of acceptance. Participants’ positive attitudes toward borrowing match the
broad adoption of borrowing worldwide (Tanabut & Tipayasuparat, 2019; Thomason,
2007).

4.2.3 Self-evaluation and personal preference in lexical borrowing

The self-rating questions further explored the respondents’ attitudes toward

lexical borrowing and their practice. The data in Table 5 confirm that these educated
respondents comprehended the English words used in media. Five but one
(Interviewee 6) interviewees confirmed their familiarity with the borrowed lexicon.
This triangulation also implies Thai familiarity with ‘foreignism’ in everyday life.
 W. Whanchit & N. Sukkaew, The language contact phenomenon in Thailand: English
borrowing, comprehension, and public attitudes | 1056

Table 5. Comprehension and personal preference in lexical borrowing.

No. Statement Not true Sometimes True Absolutely Average
(1) true (2) (3) true (4) points/4
8 I understand the 1 (0.8%) 26 (21.7%) 56 (46.7%) 37 (30.8%) 3.08
meaning of foreign
words in Thai
headlines.
9 I prefer spelling in 15 (12.5%) 20 (16.7%) 46 (38.3%) 39 (32.5%) 2.91
English when the word
is borrowed from
English.

Informants confirmed in the interview that English had been a part of their
everyday communication.

(5) Most of the time I understand foreign words in public media. Even if I do not get it right away, I
can guess the meaning from context. [Interviewee 01, aged 19]
(6) English words are needed especially for the communicative function. [Interviewee 03, aged 40]
(7) I don’t understand English, but I don’t mind that people use it. [Interviewee 06, aged 92]

Apparently, only a minor portion of respondents without English knowledge

reflected a difficulty with English borrowing. We would argue that however small
portion that could be, media producers should not assume that all their readers have
good English backgrounds.
Statement 9 explored whether the Thai respondents preferred using English
scripts when borrowing. Over a third (38.3%) of the respondents specified their
preference for English spelling instead of the orthographically adapted Thai, and
nearly a third (32.5%) was inclined towards the English written form. Preference for
Roman script could result from the group’s high exposure to English. An insightful
perspective about English spelling was from interviewee 05, aged 51, a corporate
secretary. She maintained that the English spelling gives a straightforward meaning
while English words rendered in the Thai script may be confusing because much of
current English language terminology has no standardized Thai transcription. Since
language borrowing is ubiquitous and inevitable (Poplack, 2018), we would encourage
Thai citizens to develop English competency to smoothly adapt themselves to the
global multicultural trend.

5. CONCLUSION

The English borrowing shows evidence of language contact that resulted in

richness in the recipient language. The study argued that English lexical borrowing
was a widely welcome language contact phenomenon in Thai society. It showed that
borrowed English words in Thai media were well-understood by the public with a high
educational background and access to online technology. The nature of borrowing is
more for material borrowing than structural borrowing, with nouns as the most
prominent lexical borrowing. The English borrowed nouns, such as ‘idea’, ‘character’,
‘grab-bike’, ‘moment’, and ‘street food’ was well understood. The deliberate use of
these words may imply the need to refer to them as established loanwords. Another
common category for English borrowings in Thai is adjectives, such as ‘hot’ and ‘real-
1057 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1041-1061, 2023

time’, which convey particular concepts and may be more convenient to use than the
translated Thai. It is worth noting, though, that orthographic adaptation in Thai is
necessary for word recognition or the borrowing may fail to be communicated due to
the generally low level of English proficiency among the Thais.
Regarding public attitudes towards borrowing, English’s role as a global
language created a broad acceptance of this phenomenon in Thailand. The
‘foreignness’ of English has been deliberately incorporated into the native language,
perhaps as a result of the multilingualism of the host society, and out of necessity. Such
positive views are expressed even more strongly now with the current widely accepted
argument that knowledge of another language is essential for the workforce of the 21st
century. The positive attitudes also imply openness and adaptability to trends in global
communications. However, the pervasion of English borrowing may not lead to Thai
citizens being highly competent in English. While serving effective Thai
communication, the English words in context may not improve an individual’s strength
in English. For instance, although our data pointed to a preference for Romanized
forms in the headline, the point still needs clarification since Roman-scripted items in
the questionnaire were not always well understood. This aspect appears to us as
another intriguing phenomenon worthy of further investigation that would benefit
English education in Thailand. Language learners and educators should be urged to
put more effort to decode foreignness in their language for thorough comprehension.
As seen, the public adoption of English loanwords in Thailand suggested a
movement of contact-induced language change that goes along with the world’s trend
and seems to affect the country’s linguistic landscape, especially in the urban areas.
Thus, there should be implementations at the policy level. In regard to the official
loanword database of the Office of the Royal Society, we have noticed that the
database requires updating since many borrowings have yet to be compiled as official
loanwords despite their commonness in Thai communication. In addition, despite the
regulations for transferring English words into Thai issued in 1989 by the Royal Thai
Society (Thailand Gazette, 1989), many borrowings are not always unified nor
conformed to the regulations. Therefore, the current linguistic phenomenon of lexical
borrowing in Thailand requires an update of the loanword database and management.
Despite attempts to reach the general public, the current study has several
limitations: a non-inclusive group of participants and a short data collection period.
Future research should strive to reach a larger audience with a wider variety in terms
of age, gender, education, and profession to yield strong empirical evidence.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the Center of Geosocial and Cultural Research for Sustainable

Development (GSCR) at Walailak University for funding this study.

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1062 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1062-1083, 2023

Linguistic Landscape in Malaysia:

The Case of Language Choice Used
in Signboards
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Siti Salwah Mansoor

Nurul Huda Hamzah
R. K. Shangeetha*

Department of English Language, Faculty of Languages and Linguistics,

Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, MALAYSIA

Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the languages used in shop signs in three
different areas in Semenyih, Selangor, Malaysia. Using a mixed-method
approach, this paper identified the preferred language for shop signs in
the town of Semenyih, Pelangi Semenyih, and Setia Ecohill, as well as
examined the relationship between the language choice in signages and
linguistic landscape in Malaysia. A total of 180 signboards was
photographed to ensure the impartiality of data collection, and they were
coded based on four aspects: full names of the shops in various languages,
the business scope of the shops, the number of languages used in shop
signs, size of the scripts, and layout of languages highlighted, adopted from
the study of Shang and Guo (2017). Questionnaires and interviews with
the shop owners were also employed to elicit information about their
preferences regarding the language choice for their shop signages, which
shed light on the impact of the development in Semenyih towards the choice
of shop signages. The findings revealed that, despite the regulations
imposed by the local city council (Majlis Perbandaran Kajang (MPKJ) or
Kajang Municipal Town Council) on the permissible shop signages, the
shop owners still used languages other than the Malay language in their
signboards, such as English, Mandarin, and Tamil, with English being the
most dominant one. This indicates that, as the towns develop, the linguistic
landscape here changes with importance being given to signboards in
English compared to Malay.

*
Corresponding author, email: shangeetha@um.edu.my

Citation in APA style: Mansoor, S. S., Hamzah, N. H., & Shangeetha, R. K. (2023). Linguistic
landscape in Malaysia: The case of language choice used in signboards. Studies in English Language
and Education, 10(2), 1062-1083.

Received September 30, 2022; Revised December 28, 2022; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online
May 31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.28338
 S. S. Mansoor, N. H. Hamzah & R. K. Shangeetha, Linguistic landscape in Malaysia: The
case of language choice used in signboards | 1063

Keywords: Dominant language, linguistic landscape, rural development,

signboards, shop sign policy.

1. INTRODUCTION

Studies on the linguistic landscape (LL) have been carried out around the globe
for decades. According to Landry and Bourhis (1997, p. 25), linguistic landscape (LL)
can be conceptualised “as the language of public road signs, promotional billboards,
street names, place names, commercial shop signs, and public signs on government
buildings”. However, Backhaus (2007) argued that previous research of the linguistic
landscape domain found that recognising the difference between official and non-
official signage is a crucial variable. One of the important aspects to consider when
studying linguistic landscape is the demography of races as the historical and
geographical factors cause proportions of different ethnic groups to vary across regions
(Albury, 2021). Malaysia is known as a multilingual country and in Semenyih (a
district in Selangor) with a population of 91.808 as of 2020, 45.5% are Chinese, 39.8%
are Bumiputeras, 14.5% are Indians, and the remaining is composed of other races
(City Population, 2020).
Cultural or social practices represented in linguistic signage can be linked to a
community’s identity; however, language usage in signage does not necessarily rely
on its need to be recognised by the government. Syed et al. (2015) revealed that size
symbolises the importance of language in signage. They found that language or
languages on the signs with a larger font size are allocated in a greater space. Similarly,
according to Lai (2013), signs which are written in capital letters and have larger font
sizes, command more attention from the audience. Meanwhile, in a study conducted
by Scollon and Scollon (2003), the preferred code is usually put on top, on the left, or
in the centre position, and the marginalised code is on the bottom, on the right, or the
margins. Hence, the linguistic objects become a medium where information is
transmitted to the public, and the language used indicates who the expected viewers
are. Landry and Bourhis (1997, p. 26) stated that language choice in LL represents the
“power and status relationship that exists between the various language groups present
within a given administrative or geographical region”.
Even though Malaysia is one of the countries well known for its multilingualism,
the studies on the linguistic landscape in the Malaysian context are still limited. The
research on shop signs from a sociolinguistic perspective is often carried out in big
cities, such as Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, and Ipoh. There are very few studies
concerning the linguistic landscape of small towns which are going through
development. To reveal how the development of a place influences the LL, Semenyih
district, one of the fastest-growing areas located in the Southeast of Selangor, was
selected as the focus of the study. Semenyih, which was once known for its recreational
offerings and rubber plant estate, has become the fastest-growing area in the South of
Selangor. In 2005, Nottingham University opened its branch in Semenyih, attracting
local and international students to enrol in the university actively. This development
brought significant changes in the landscape and increased the number of migrants in
Semenyih. Over the years, connectivity to other locations has been enhanced through
the existence of highways. Semenyih, which was once a quiet village, is going through
1064 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1062-1083, 2023

a development phase in terms of infrastructure and economic boost in tourism and

agriculture.
In Semenyih, the names on the business signages are in Malay, Chinese, Tamil,
and English. According to Hussein et al. (2015), English is linked to the development
of cities and represents the idea of prestige and modernisation. The town council,
Majlis Perbandaran Kajang (MPKJ) or Kajang Municipal Town Council, sets the
standard format for what can be written on the signboard before it is displayed. The
shop’s name can be in any language, but its business description must be in the Malay
language. It would be interesting to find out the reason behind the use of other
languages, particularly English, despite the rules and regulations imposed by the
MPKJ. As such, this study aims to identify the language choice on shop signs in three
locations in Semenyih, Selangor, and examines the relationship between the
development of Semenyih and the usage of English in shop signs. Based on the
objectives identified, this study formulated two main research questions:
1. Which language(s) or code(s) are preferred in the shop signages?
2. How does the language choice on shop signs relate to the development of the area?
This study contributes to identifying how the development of Semenyih changes
the linguistic landscape of a small town.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Languages used in public signs serve two main functions: symbolic and
informative (Backhaus, 2007; Landry & Bourhis, 1997). According to Kasanga
(2012), the languages displayed on public signs serve as an indication of the languages
that hold local relevance or provide evidence of the languages that are becoming
locally relevant. In other words, the significance, power, and pertinence of a language
can be measured by the degree of its presence in the linguistic landscape. LL, which is
associated with multilingualism and multiculturalism, has become a natural
phenomenon in a world experiencing rapid changes and the blurring of borders due to
globalisation. Regardless of being at the international or local levels, the changes
reflect the linguistic landscape of a place. Therefore, LL is crucial because it helps
society understand the world they live in. Numerous case studies have been conducted
all around the globe, and relationships between the linguistic landscape and various
aspects of society have been investigated. Alomoush (2019), who studied the
landscape in Jordan, noted that as the town grows, foreign languages, particularly
English, start to appear in shops and other public media. English as a lingua franca is
also labelled as a language of modernisation because it is essential to boosting the
economy and becoming the measure of the status quo in society.
The effect of globalisation can be seen through LL. A study by Lanza and
Woldemariam (2009) revealed that most of the shop signs displayed in the downtown
and main shopping areas of Mekhela, Ethiopia, are mostly bilingual rather than
monolingual. Some shop signs here combined English with their first language while
some others totally used English for the names and descriptions of the shops. The
authors concluded that the effect of globalisation had influenced the use of English as
a global language.
Shang and Guo (2017) discovered that the Singapore neighbourhood market’s
linguistic landscape and geographic distribution represent the relative power and status
 S. S. Mansoor, N. H. Hamzah & R. K. Shangeetha, Linguistic landscape in Malaysia: The
case of language choice used in signboards | 1065

of language groups inhabiting the multilingual region. Despite having four official
languages (English, Malay, Mandarin, and Tamil), English is still prevalent and
appears on most of the shop signs here. Mandarin is frequently seen coexisting with
English, whereas Malay and Tamil are uncommon. Due to the importance of English
and its status as a global language, English coding appears on most shop signs in
neighbourhood marketplaces (ibid.). Shang and Guo (2017) concluded that English
shop signs are due to language ideology, in which English is considered an essential
language to boost the country’s economic development. The appearance of other
official languages and English shows the ethnic language status in the community and
reflects the owners’ identity and their view of the languages. As a result, both English
and Mandarin have a significant presence in the Singaporean community, while the
other two ethnic languages are marginal.
LL research in other multilingual cities in Hong Kong showed similarities to
Singapore. A study conducted by Finzel (2013) indicates that the English language
used in shop signage does not reflect the language competency of the majority of the
public; instead, it represents the ideas of prestige and modernisation. Danielewicz-Betz
& Graddol (2014) revealed in their research that the regular use of English in public
signages in Hong Kong, together with traditional written Chinese characters and
spoken Cantonese in public announcements, serves an important role in demarcating
Hong Kongers’ identity from that of mainlanders. Besides, Hong Kong has become a
well-known shopping paradise for millions of domestic and foreign tourists, which
drives the widespread use of English in its linguistic landscape.
This is verified by Thongtong (2016), whose study focuses on Chiang Mai. It
was discovered that tourists from different parts of the world influence the
environment in Chiang Mai. Tourism has been one of the factors that influence the
presentation of language varieties in public signage. The majority of public signs,
particularly shop signage with business descriptions, are written in Thai but coexist
with English. According to Thongtong (2016), English is used to bridge
communication between locals and tourists. Similar studies in Ipoh and Georgetown
in Malaysia revealed that multilingualism helps boost the tourism industry by easing
communication for tourists from different regions (Tang & Tan, 2015).
However, a study conducted by Ross (1997) on LL in Milan concluded that the
use of English on the streets of Milan does not play the role of a lingua franca, nor is
it used to address tourists. Instead, it is used as an attractive and fashionable language
having a kind of prestige even though the local population does not genuinely
understand it. Ross (1997) concluded that non-local languages, such as English in
Milan are not used to index a particular ethnolinguistic group but for the instrumental
purposes of commodification. The findings are similar to a study carried out by
Khazanah et al. (2021) where English used on the signboards in Yogyakarta has a
symbolic purpose, which is to reflect the city’s cosmopolitanism and fashionable
appearance.

2.1 Linguistic Landscape in Malaysia

There are very limited studies on the linguistic landscape carried out in Malaysia.
Syed et al. (2015) studied how politics, economics, and identity shape the linguistic
landscape of five neighbourhoods: Little India, Bukit Bintang, Bank Negara, Masjid
Jamek, and China Town in Kuala Lumpur. Their findings showed that private signage
1066 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1062-1083, 2023

has led to the extensive use of the English language in the bilingual and multilingual
signs category. It also surpasses other languages and appears in more space and size
in the signage. Meanwhile, Malay is recorded in the second order after English within
the same category. In contrast, Mandarin and Tamil appear remarkably in the areas of
China Town and Little India.
Another study related to the language of Italian in the linguistic landscape of
Kuala Lumpur at the Pavilion Shopping Mall was carried out by Coluzzi (2017). The
study found that the use of the Italian language in the shop signages was due to the
economic value and the prestige of the language even though some of the businesses
available are not related to fashion or food which Italy is famous for. Besides, this
language connotes the symbol of exoticism. According to Jaworski and Yeung (2010),
the Italian language may evoke a positive image that attracts potential customers.
Anuarudin et al. (2013) explored the multilingual practices in 63 billboard
advertisements along the highway at the area of Kuala Lumpur International Airport
(KLIA) toll booth to KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport). The results showed
that 79.03% of the samples were categorised under privately-sponsored signs. The
multilingual signs dominated the total of the overall signs compared to the
monolingual signs. This is to cater to both foreigners and local people. In contrast, the
government-sponsored signs appear to follow the national policy as they use the
national language as the main language while other languages are used only for
complementary purposes.
Ariffin and Husin (2013) looked at the patterns of language use in shop signs in
four towns in Malaysia. The study revealed that in big towns, English was the preferred
language for shop signs as it was considered a global language, whereas, in small
towns, the Malay language or a mixture of Malay and English or a mixture of Malay,
English, or another native language were preferred. Ariffin and Husin (2013)
concluded that the language chosen for the signs was related to the type of township,
the shop’s location, and the targeted customers.

2.2 Functions of Linguistic Landscape

There are two functions in the study of linguistic landscape, namely informal
and symbolic. According to Landry and Bourhis (1997), an informal function serves
as information on the linguistic characteristics and geographical boundaries of a
particular linguistic group and provides a selected language for communication in a
certain area, whereas the symbolic function includes the perception of members of a
language group which has values and status of their own languages.
The study of the linguistic landscape is an efficient way to identify the linguistic
repertoire of a selected area. This is because there are many languages available on
signs, such as unilingual, bilingual, or multilingual. The dominance of one language
compared to other languages in public signs indicate the power and status of the
language (Cenoz & Gorter, 2008; Dagenais et al., 2008; Leeman & Modan, 2009;
Papen, 2012). This can be seen in the number of signs using the dominant language
compared to those using the weaker language (Landry & Bourhis, 1997). Similarly,
the order of the languages in the signs may also reveal their importance in society, their
linguistic repertoires, and the status of the ethnic group associated with each of the
languages (Backhaus, 2007).
 S. S. Mansoor, N. H. Hamzah & R. K. Shangeetha, Linguistic landscape in Malaysia: The
case of language choice used in signboards | 1067

Moreover, the study of the linguistic landscape can determine the diglossic
nature of a particular bilingual and multilingual setting of a certain area (Landry &
Bourhis, 1997). Language with a higher status used for formal functions appears more
frequently in public signs compared to languages with lower status and informal
functions, such as those used at home and in local communities. Therefore, this
example can be set as an indicator of communication among the citizens based on their
linguistic landscape.

2.3 Malaysia’s Current Policy on the Use of Language in Public Signs

Based on the guidelines for business signboards from the Ministry of Housing
and Local Government, there are three items pertaining to the use of language/s and
their size: (1) the business type must be stated in Malay, clear, readable, and placed in
the top left corner of the signboard, (2) Malay must be used in all brand names on the
signboard, either on its own or together with other languages, except for special brands,
and (3) the height of words in other languages must not exceed 3⁄4 of the height of
Malay words. These guidelines serve as a general reference for business premises
nationwide, but it is up to the respective local governments whether relevant
adaptations are necessary (Government Gateway Online, n.d.).
The Kajang Municipal Town Council (n.d.) has provided official guidelines for
signage outside business premises in regards to the language and size of scripts: (1) it
is compulsory to display a description of the business in Malay, which has to be written
on the left, separated from other words, and (2) the font size of the description of the
business must be at least 75% of that of the name of the company. As argued by Wang
and Xu (2018), the presence of Malay on signs merely fulfils a symbolic function
rather than an informational function, which is due to ‘socio-political consideration’.

3. METHODS

A mixed method approach was employed in designing the methodology where

both quantitative and qualitative procedures of research were integrated into the data
collection. The quantitative research involved classifying signs identified according to
the types of businesses represented and the languages found. In multilingual signs, the
study applied Reh’s notion of bilingual distribution of information across languages.
Reh (2004) identified four types of multilingual information arrangements for
interpretation. The first type is duplication where all the information is presented in
more than one language. The second type is known as fragmentary where the full
information is only given in one language, but some chosen parts have been translated
into an additional language. The third type is called overlapping where the information
part is repeated in at least one more language whereas other parts of the text stay in
one language. The fourth type is known as complementary where the content of two
or more languages in the signs are expressed completely differently; however, in order
to comprehend the whole message, knowledge of the language is needed.
1068 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1062-1083, 2023

3.1 The Data

In this study, three areas in Semenyih were selected for data collection, namely
Semenyih town, Pelangi Semenyih, and Setia Ecohill. They were chosen due to the
following factors: (1) they are developed over a different period (time), (2) there is a
high intensity of various types of shops, and (3) various patterns can be seen on a
variety of shop signs. Sixty shops from each site were selected as samples for this
study, making a total of 180 shop signs. The shop signs were categorised based on the
order of language appearance and the letter size on the signs to determine whether they
adhere to the official policies. The shops in Semenyih town have been in business for
more than 50 years. The shops provide daily necessities for the residents living in the
nearby villages and new neighbourhood areas. The second site, Pelangi Semenyih, was
developed in 2000. Unlike Semenyih town with old shop buildings, Pelangi Semenyih
has a typical commercial setup. Most of the shops have been in business for less than
10 years while some have only been in business for merely a year. Setia Ecohill, which
is a new neighbourhood area, has eight blocks of shop rows that serve the residents of
the surrounding neighbourhoods. There are approximately 80 shops that sell various
types of goods and services.
Sample shop signs displayed outside the shop premises were photographed using
a smartphone from February 2021 to April 2021. Shops that do franchise businesses
in other countries, such as Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Subway, McDonalds, and Kentucky
Fried Chicken, are not included because the brand names are not created by the local
shop owners but by the franchise owners. The participants in this study are shop
owners or people in charge of the shop. Thirty-five owners responded to the
questionnaires, and out of the 35 responses, five shop owners were interviewed. All
guidelines have been taken into account when collecting data for this study. The shop
owners were informed about the study, and a consent form was sent to all the shop
owners. Only those who gave their consent participated in this study.

3.2 Questionnaire

The questionnaire was adopted from Hussein et al. (2015); it was based on a
Likert scale to elicit information about the shop owners’ attitudes, preferences, and
opinions on the language they used for the shop signs. There was a total of 35
respondents: 6 from Semenyih town, 17 from Pelangi Semenyih, and 12 from Setia
Ecohill. The questionnaire was printed in two languages, Malay and English, as some
shop owners are only competent in either one of the languages.

3.3 Telephone Interviews

Of the thirty-five shop owners who gave feedback on the online questionnaire,
five agreed to be interviewed. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, movement, and travel
to interview the shop owners or the person in charge of the shops were not allowed;
hence, the interview was done over the telephone. The researchers formulated five
questions to get first-hand information on the attitude of the shop owners regarding the
language choice on their shop signages. The questions aimed to identify: (1) the
number of languages preferred on a shop name, (2) the importance of the chosen
languages, (3) the order of the languages on the sign, (4) reasons for using languages
 S. S. Mansoor, N. H. Hamzah & R. K. Shangeetha, Linguistic landscape in Malaysia: The
case of language choice used in signboards | 1069

other than Malay, and (5) opinion on the English language on the signs. The interview
was carried out in two languages, Malay and English. The shop owners’ language
choice revealed their preference for one language over another.

3.4 Data Analysis Procedure

The photos of the shop signs were coded manually and transferred into a
Microsoft Excel spreadsheet based on their geographic locations. The signs were
categorised based on the criteria set by the researchers as follows:
• the language used for the name of the shop and its description
• code combination on bilingual and multilingual signs
• the dominant language used in the signboards
• the role of English in the shop signs
These factors contribute to a better understanding of the language choices made
by local shop owners and reveal the shop owners’ choices in relation to the
development of Semenyih. The questionnaires, which the participants completed, were
coded manually into the Excel spreadsheet and recorded according to their site. Each
question with the same answer was counted, and the percentage was calculated. The
result was tabulated based on a five-point Likert scale that comprise the selection of 1.
SA: Strongly Agree, 2. A: Agree, 3. UN: Undecided, 4. D: Disagree, and 5. SD:
Strongly Disagree with each statement given. As for the interview sessions, notes were
taken during each of the interviews and only the answer given by the shop owners were
recorded and transcribed. The data was analysed based on two categories: (1) the order
of the languages, and (2) the importance of the English language. The answers obtained
from the questions (coded as R1-5 to represent respondents 1-5) were used to further
explain the reasons for the respondents’ language choice(s) on the signs.

4. RESULTS

4.1 The Language(s) or Code(s) Preferred in the Shop Signages

Languages found on shop signs at all three sites comprise Malay, Chinese,
Tamil, and English as illustrated in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3.

Table 1. Language choice in Semenyih Town.

Languages Number Percentage
Malay 31 52%
English 26 43%
Chinese 2 3%
Tamil 1 2%
Total 60 100%

As shown in Table 1, Malay shop signs are the most popular in Semenyih town,
accounting for 52% (N=31), while English names account for 43% (N=26). Chinese
and Tamil signages appear the least, accounting for a total of 5% (N=3). The
prevalence of Malay language signage in Semenyih town demonstrates that business
owners implemented a language policy requiring that the national language be used
for all advertisements, whether alone or in conjunction with other languages. As seen
1070 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1062-1083, 2023

in Figure 1 below, the shop name is coded in the Malay language whereas the
description of the shop is in Malay and Chinese. However, the script of the Chinese
coding is smaller than the Malay coding.

Figure 1. A Malay-coded shop sign in Semenyih.

The two Mandarin signs found at the premises were a traditional medical
Chinese shop and a Mandarin tuition centre specifically catered for students enrolling
in Chinese schools. The Tamil shop sign was identified as a shop selling religious
products. It is noted that Malay shop signs were found at the shops that provided daily
essential products and services, such as supermarkets, pharmacies, clinics, and bicycle
repair shops.

Table 2. Language choice in Pelangi Semenyih.

Languages Number Percentage
Malay 10 17%
English 50 83%
Chinese 0 0%
Tamil 0 0%
Total 60 100%

In Pelangi Semenyih, as illustrated in Table 2, the Malay shop names accounted

for only 17% (N=10), while the English shop names accounted for 83% (N=50). There
were no signs in Mandarin and Tamil here. Malay food and Islamic daycare were
among the businesses with Malay-coded shop signs. Service-oriented companies, such
as hair salons, printing and photocopy shops, interior design services, tuition centres,
western food outlets, cafés, and spas accounted for most English shop signs. As shown
in Figure 2, shop names were coded in English. However, the Malay language was still
included at the top left corner of the shop signs to adhere to the regulations made by
the MPKJ.

Figure 2. English-coded shop signs.

 S. S. Mansoor, N. H. Hamzah & R. K. Shangeetha, Linguistic landscape in Malaysia: The
case of language choice used in signboards | 1071

Table 3. Language choice in Setia Ecohill.

Languages Number Percentage
Malay 19 32%
English 36 60%
Chinese 5 8%
Tamil 0 0%
Total 60 100%

Setia Ecohill, on the other hand, as shown in Table 3, recorded 32% of Malay
store names (N=19) and 60% of English store names (N=36). The English language
signs were more prevalent, similar to Pelangi Semenyih. This pattern is reaffirmed by
Shang and Guo (2017) who stated that the dominance of English in store signs is due
to language ideology, contending that English is the most important language for the
country’s economic prosperity. Signs in the Mandarin language accounted for 8%
(N=5), while Tamil signs were non-existent in this area.
Figure 3 summarises the language preferences for signage in the studied areas.
A sum of 180 samples was gathered, with 26.1% (N=47) being monolingual, 63.3%
(N=114) being bilingual, and 10.6% (N=19) being multilingual. It can be noted that
bilingual signs were the most common signs in the three areas, while multilingual signs
are the least common here.

Figure 3. Prevalence of monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual signs.

In terms of language prevalence in shop signs, Malay had the highest frequency
in Semenyih town, accounting for 80% of 60 store signs (N = 48). The Malay language
appeared in monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual shop signs, with bilingual shop
signs having the most usage. The prevalence of Mandarin coding was 63%, followed
by English (55%) and Tamil (10%). Chinese and English coding, and English and
Tamil coding were mostly used to describe retailers and products.
However, in Pelangi Semenyih, English had the highest occurrence in shop
signs, accounting for 85% overall (N=51) instead of Malay coding, which accounted
for 48%. English can be seen in all sign styles; however, bilingual store signs were the
most common ones. English coding was frequently used in conjunction with Malay in
business names and the description element of business signs.
The frequency of English language coding in Setia Ecohill was 77% (N=43),
higher than the Malay frequency of 27%. The English language appeared in all sign
patterns, as it did in Pelangi Semenyih, though it was most prevalent in bilingual store
signs. Along with the Malay language, the English code was incorporated into shop
1072 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1062-1083, 2023

names and sign descriptions. In terms of Mandarin coding, Setia Ecohill had a more
extensive distribution than Pelangi Semenyih. The same was true of the Tamil
language.

4.2 The Relationship between the Language Choice on Shop Signs with the
Development of the Area

The languages used to name stores were decided by the shop owners that
included the shop owners’ identity, target customers, and nature of the businesses. The
value of the company was also coded in some of the store signs to describe the types
of business. The data obtained yielded three types of linguistic patterns: monolingual,
bilingual, and multilingual coding, as shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Language prevalence in Semenyih.

Languages Semenyih Town Pelangi Semenyih Setia Ecohill
Number % Number % Number %
Malay 7 11.6% 9 15% 10 16.7%
English 2 3.3% 28 46.7% 15 25%
Chinese 2 3.3% 0 0% 0 0%
Malay + English 15 25% 15 25% 22 38.4%
Malay + Chinese 16 26.7% 2 3.3% 3 5%
Malay + Tamil 1 1.7% 0 0% 0 0%
English + Chinese 4 6.7% 2 3.3% 8 13.3%
Malay + English + Chinese 13 21.7% 4 6.7% 2 3.3%
Total 60 100% 60 100% 60 100%

From Table 4, it can be seen that bilingual shop signs are the most common ones
in the three sites, followed by monolingual and multilingual shop signs.
The appearance of monolingual and multilingual shop signs in Semenyih town
was at 18.3% (N=11) and 21.7% (N=13) respectively, while bilingual shop signs were
the highest at 60% (N=36). In these bilingual signs, the code combination of
Malay/Chinese was the most prominent. As shown in Figure 4, the shop sign was
mainly coded in Malay and placed at the top position, accompanied by Chinese
characters at the bottom.

Figure 4. Bilingual shop sign in Semenyih Town.

Many signboards in Semenyih town had this pattern of coding due to a high
percentage of the Chinese population (70%) in Semenyih town, whereas the numbers
of Malay and Indian people residing here were lower at 27% and 3%, respectively
(City Population, 2020). The percentage of monolingual shop signs was mainly
contributed by Chinese traders running restaurants, gold shops, and pawn shops for
over 50 years. Shop signs coded in Malay typically belonged to sundry traditional
shops, Malay restaurants, and clinics. Shop signs with Tamil coding appeared the least
 S. S. Mansoor, N. H. Hamzah & R. K. Shangeetha, Linguistic landscape in Malaysia: The
case of language choice used in signboards | 1073

and were generally owned by shops selling goods for Hindu prayers and culture-related
activities.
In Pelangi Semenyih, 61.7% of shop signs were monolingual, 31.7% were
bilingual, and only 6.7% were multilingual. The monolingual shop signs were mostly
coded in English, and the shops using this pattern of coding were mostly service-
oriented businesses, such as barbers, hair salons, and printing services. Fashion,
accessories, and food outlets also displayed this pattern of shop signs. As for the
bilingual shop signs, the highest percentage of the coding was contributed by the
combination of English/Malay coding. Most of the shop names used English names
with the Malay description or Malay names with the English description.
The percentage of monolingual signs in Setia Ecohill was higher than that in
Semenyih town, but it was lower than that of Pelangi Semenyih. The monolingual code
was mostly seen in restaurants and Islamic childcare centres. As for multilingual shop
signs, Setia Ecohill had slightly fewer multilingual shop signs than Pelangi Semenyih.
Shops with multilingual signs generally target consumers from all ethnicities. An
example of this is in Figure 5, in which the shop sign had Malay, English, Mandarin,
and Tamil. Even though the languages were crammed into the display, the shop owner
did this to attract customers speaking the languages to purchase their products.

Figure 5. A multilingual sign in Semenyih Town.

From the multilingual shop signs found in all three areas, it can be seen that the
first type of Reh’s (2004) multilingual information arrangement, namely duplication,
was applied to all signs. As illustrated in Figure 5, the entire displayed text was
translated into other languages. There are three other types that Reh identified, namely
fragmentary, overlapping, and complementary, which were non-existent in the shop
signs being studied. This could be due to the fact that knowledge of other languages is
needed to comprehend the information given in the other three types. Lacking this
knowledge may not serve the purpose intended by the shop owners.
Scollon and Scollon (2003) state that the dominant language/s for shop names
contributes to the reasons for different scripted patterns in other languages. It reveals
why a particular language/s is scripted in a certain manner. The prominent name can
be seen as the major name on store signs, whereas other variations are extra or auxiliary
in function. Therefore, the font size and layout sequence of the languages presented on
shop signs is observed to determine the most dominant language/s for the shop signs.
This is only applied to bilingual and multilingual shop signs. Generally, a language
script presented larger than the other languages shows the prominence of that
language, as shown in Table 5.
Table 5 shows that in Semenyih town, languages other than Malay and English
were most likely supplementary to their functions. The presence of shop signs with
Malay and English scripts presented larger in size than the other scripts accounted for
43% (N=26) each, whereas the presence of shop signs with the same script written in
1074 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1062-1083, 2023

equal size was 14% (N=8). In contrast, shops in Pelangi Semenyih and Setia Ecohill
showed that the presentation of English script in shop signs predominated the Malay
script with 63% (N=38) and 47% (N=35), respectively. This demonstrates that the
English script is more prevalent in usage and function than the Malay language.
According to Lai (2013), signs written in capital letters and larger font size command
more attention from the targeted audiences.

Table 5. The font size of signs in Semenyih.

Language Font Semenyih town Pelangi Semenyih Setia Ecohill
Size Number % Number % Number %
Equal font size 8 14% 6 10% 13 27%
Malay font size > 26 43% 16 27% 12 26%
English font size > 26 43% 38 63% 35 47%
Total 60 100% 60 100% 60 100%

Table 6 presents the main language choice of the shop owners for their
signboards in each research location. Malay and English language were the most
dominant languages used in the 180 signboards. Table 6 shows that Malay was the
main language used in signboards in Semenyih town while signboards in English as
the main language were prevalent in Pelangi Semenyih and Setia Ecohill. This attests
to the fact that the development of Semenyih influences the usage of English in the
signboards. Pelangi Semenyih and Setia Ecohill are newly-developed areas with shops
operating for less than ten years. Shops in Semenyih town, on the other hand, have
been in business since the 1970s.

Table 6. Main language choices for the shop signs in Semenyih.

Languages Semenyih Town Pelangi Semenyih Setia Ecohill
Number % Number % Number %
Malay 31 52% 10 17% 19 32%
English 26 43% 50 83% 36 60%
Mandarin 2 3% 0 0% 5 8%
Tamil 1 2% 0 0% 0 0%
Total 60 100% 60 100% 60 100%

4.3 Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

4.3.1 Questionnaire

Table 7 displays the results of the Likert-scale questionnaire designed to

ascertain the shop owners’ attitudes, preferences, and opinions regarding their choice
of shop signs.

Table 7. Owners’ attitudes, preferences, and opinions regarding shop signs.

No. Statements SA A UN D SD
1. Attitudes towards English names are 17 10 8
positive. (49%) (29%) (22%)
2. English shop names can attract more 16 13 3 2 1
customers. (46%) (37%) (9%) (6%) (3%)
3. English names are more stylish and 10 19 1 5
prestigious. (29%) (54%) (3%) (14%)
 S. S. Mansoor, N. H. Hamzah & R. K. Shangeetha, Linguistic landscape in Malaysia: The
case of language choice used in signboards | 1075

Table 7. Continued…
4. The type of goods I sell plays a role in 12 16 7
deciding the type of name. (34%) (46%) (20%)
5. The educational level of my customers 17 2 16
plays a role in the choice of my business (48%) (6%) (46%)
name.

The five questions in Table 7 were divided into two categories: a) attitudinal and
linguistic factors, and b) commercial and other factors.

a. Attitudinal and linguistic factor

Questions 1 to 3 reflected the attitude and linguistic factors of the shop owners’
language choice for the shop sign. Based on Table 7, shop owners had a positive
attitude towards shop names in the English language, accounting for 78% (N=27).
Hussein et al. (2015) discovered that using foreign names on shop signs was influenced
by prestige, positive attitudes toward foreign names, commercial interests, types of
goods/services provided, and educational and economic levels of the customers.
Besides, most shop owners shared the same perception that shop signs in English are
more stylish and prestigious. This resonates with Ross’ (1997) finding that English is
seen as an attractive and fashionable language with prestige although it is not widely
understood by the local population he studied.

b. Commercial and other factors

Questions 4 and 5 determined whether the types of goods and customer

educational levels play a part in shop signs. The main reason for setting up businesses
is to gain commercial profits. Therefore, shop owners tend to do their best to create a
positive image of their shops, including choosing suitable shop names with the right
language. In other words, the names should not only be suitable for their business but
should also be attractive to the target customers. This is reflected in the results in which
80% (N=28) of the shop owners agreed that the types of products determine the type
of name chosen. Additionally, Leung (2010) mentioned that English is the
predominant language associated with the development of a city, thus opening more
opportunities in the economic sector and frequently representing the identity of the
upper-class group. In terms of the customers’ educational levels, over half of the
owners, or 48% (N=17) agreed that this factor did not play a role in the language
chosen for the shop signs while the rest, or 46% (N=16) stated otherwise.

4.3.2 Interviews

The questions from the interview results were divided into two categories: a) the
order of the languages, and b) the importance of the English language.

a. The order of the languages

Questions 1 to 3 reflected the shop owners’ preference for the number of

languages used and their orders on the shop signs. Respondent 1, the owner of a pet
1076 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1062-1083, 2023

shop, said that she preferred two languages in her signboard, namely Malay and
English. Below is her response:

(1) R1 : My customers are all from different races and different age groups. They live in nearby
neighbourhoods. Many speak Malay and English.

Regardless of their ethnicity, most of her customers spoke Malay and English:
hence, she chose to use both languages with Malay being at the top position and
English at the bottom. She mentioned that the use of Malay in the sign is to comply
with the MPKJ’s requirements to avoid any summons or penalties.
Respondent 2 preferred Malay and Chinese as he was running a Chinese food
restaurant. Similar to Respondent 1, Malay was coded first. The following excerpt
contains his opinion:

(2) R2 : Bahasa Melayu letak dulu dalam papan tanda, lepas itu Cina. Nama Cina itu diberi oleh
datuk saya punya bapak. Orang Cina datang kedai saya. Bukan semua Cina boleh baca Cina
ma, kena letak Melayu kerana semua orang boleh baca Melayu ma.
[Malay language should be allocated first in the signage, followed by Mandarin. The name
of the shop is in Chinese characters because it was the name given by my great-grandfather.
My customers are all Chinese. Not all Chinese can read Mandarin. Thus, the Malay language
has to be included as everyone can read it.]

Similar to Respondent 1, Respondent 2 believed that all shop owners must follow
the local council’s regulations. He used Malay and Mandarin the sign with Malay
being coded first, followed by Chinese characters.
Respondent 3 was running a printing business in Pelangi Semenyih and used
both English and Malay on his signboard. Below is his statement:

(3) R3 : I actually prefer having only one language on my sign, which is English. However, I cannot
have it only in English as I need to follow the rules set by MPKJ, so my signboard has both
Malay and English.

The excerpt in (3) revealed that, although he preferred his sign to be in English,
he still included a brief description of the shop in Malay at the top left of the sign to
adhere to the rules imposed by the town council.
Respondent 4 selling Indian traditional clothes preferred having three languages
on her signboard, namely Malay, English, and Tamil.

(4) R4 : My sign has three languages cause most people living here speaking Malay and also speak
English so important. Tamil is a must cause my shop sells traditional clothes for Indian
people.

In terms of language orders, Respondent 4 placed Malay at the top position,

followed by English and Tamil at the subsequent positions. Similar to the other
respondents, the Malay language was prioritised.
Respondent 5 preferred both English and Malay language in his shop sign. His
shop sold vapes, and most of his customers were young people who can speak Malay
and English. In his signboard, English was coded first, followed by Malay.

(5) R5 : My customers are young and look trendy and speak Malay and English. Many customers
from the Middle East and China come to my shop.
 S. S. Mansoor, N. H. Hamzah & R. K. Shangeetha, Linguistic landscape in Malaysia: The
case of language choice used in signboards | 1077

All of the shop owners included Malay in their shop signs to comply with the
local council’s requirements. Malay was given a higher emphasis, reflected by its
placement in the first order. English was placed in the second position after Malay, as
revealed in the interviews with four of the five shop owners.

b. The importance of the English language

Questions 4 and 5 provided insight into the shop owners’ reasons for choosing
languages other than Malay, particularly English. Respondent 1 argued that English
must be included in her shop sign because of the increasing number of foreign buyers
visiting her shop, especially those from Arab, Bangladesh, and China. She also
believed that English is important if she wants to open another branch for her pet shop
in cities, such as Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. Below is her excerpt:
(6) R1 : My customers are from Arab countries. I also have from Bangladesh and China. All
foreigners so my signboard must be in English. I also want to open branches in big cities like
KL (Kuala Lumpur) and PJ (Petaling Jaya) so English is important.

Respondent 2, the owner of a Chinese restaurant, did not include English in his
shop sign but argued that English is important for certain types of business, especially
those dealing with foreigners or even locals who cannot speak Malay.
Respondent 3 perceived English as the most suitable language for his shop sign.
Below is the excerpt:

(7) R3 : English is very important for my shop sign as the word ‘printing services’ does not have the
correct meaning in the Malay language.

Respondent 3 perceived that the service he provided would not translate well to
Malay; hence, having the sign coded in English is important.
Respondent 4 believed that English is crucial for its role as a global language,
driving her to use English in her signboard. Tamil was also included in the sign as her
shop was selling Indian traditional clothes. There was a Tamil-coded script as well,
but it was mainly to create a cultural image and identity for her shop. Below is her
excerpt:

(8) R4 : The majority of my customers are Indians but not all understand and read Tamil. Some only
speak a little Tamil. I put the Tamil language on the sign cause I sell Indian clothes.

Respondent 5 emphasised the importance of English in signage, as stated in the

following excerpt:

(9) R5 : Must have English in the shop sign as you know, it sounds more stylish and classier. That’s
why the main language in the sign of my shop is English

Respondent 5 also considered English important because many foreigners,

especially those from the Middle East and China, patronised his shop.
All of the shop owners acknowledged the importance of the English language as
it caters to their foreign customers. Even Respondent 2, who did not have English in
his signage due to the nature of his business, also shared the same opinion about this.
1078 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1062-1083, 2023

5. DISCUSSION

5.1 The Language(s) or Code(s) Preferred in the Shop Signages

The data showed that the Malay language appeared in different sections of the
shop signs. Malay, which is Malaysia’s official language, appeared on most shop signs,
either as the shop’s name or as a description of the business characteristics. In Pelangi
Semenyih and Setia Ecohill, shop names in English were more dominant (83% and
60%, respectively) while the remaining shop signs were coded in Malay and other
ethnic languages. Despite the regulations imposed by the local authorities (MPKJ),
many shop owners did not strictly follow them for reasons related to the target market,
culture, and business traits. This is supported by Wang and Xu (2018) that the inclusion
of Malay in shop signboards serves only as a symbolic role rather than an informational
role due to socio-political considerations. As Malaysia is a multilingual country, one
can see that language use on shop signs is likely to be varied, as a means of reflecting
national ethnolinguistic diversity. Shop owners might choose a language other than
Malay (e.g., English) as the dominant language on a sign to show modernity, boost
commercial opportunities, and attract shoppers who are familiar with English (but not
Malay, Chinese or Tamil, the latter two being in a non-Romanised script) prestige, as
suggested by Ariffin and Husin (2013). They argue the use of foreign words and
phrases, especially English, for the local name places such as residential areas, streets,
and shops has become a very common practice in Malaysia. Their analysis has
indicated that English is the preferred language for the store signs in larger cities while
those in the smaller and provincial towns for different reasons.
The findings also revealed that English outperformed other languages in text
size, space, and prominence in Pelangi Semenyih and Setia Ecohill, accounting for
70.79% of the total samples. This indicates that the visibility of the English language
is more prominent in these areas. Meanwhile, Malay and English were allocated
approximately equal sizes in 43% of the signs in Semenyih town. This suggests that
despite the official policy that the Malay language should have a prominent position
in signs, English is still considered as essential as Malay, even in public signage.
Similar results can be found in the previous studies carried out by Cenoz and Gorter
(2006). They reported that 28% of the signs in Friesland and 37% in Ljouwer-
Leeuwarden contain the presence of English. Besides, the use of English is also
associated with success, sophistication, and international orientation (Piller, 2001).
Furthermore, Cenoz (2009) mentioned that the use of English on signage could
increase sales for economic reasons.
Scollon and Scollon (2003), drawing upon Kress and van Leeuwen (1996), note
that the preference for one code, or dominance of one code over another, can often be
read from its position relative to the non-dominant code. They explain, “the preferred
code is on top, on the left, or in the centre and the marginalised code is on the bottom,
on the right, or the margins” (Scollon and Scollon 2003, p. 120; Shohamy & Gorter
2008, p. 108). This is in line with the findings, where it should be noted that
neighbourhood stores operated at the lower-end marketplaces with their target
customers being the residents of the surrounding areas. According to Leeman and
Modan (2009), signs printed in non-Roman scripts transmit different meanings to
differing viewers. Some potential customers are housewives or elderly people who do
not speak Malay or English and as a result, shop names in Mandarin can provide
 S. S. Mansoor, N. H. Hamzah & R. K. Shangeetha, Linguistic landscape in Malaysia: The
case of language choice used in signboards | 1079

necessary information to them. This explains the use of Mandarin in shop signage as
it is the most practical language both for shoppers and shop owners.
The prevalence of Tamil was the lowest due to the population markup being only
3%. Nevertheless, Tamil shop signs can still be spotted in Semenyih town whereas
they were non-existent in Pelangi Semenyih and Setia Ecohill. Businesses with Tamil
signs are typically shops selling religious products for the Hindu community or
providing barber service. This proves that they practise the language policy of
displaying Bahasa Melayu on the sign as Shohamy (2006) stated that the presence of
languages in public space indicates symbolic messages about the importance, power,
significance, and relevance of certain languages than the others. Besides, this is
another way to uphold the status of the Malay language chiefly for nationalistic and
political reasons (Omar, 1987). However, other languages such as Tamil and Chinese
are of relatively minor significance in the linguistic landscape of both areas. Hence,
the visibility of these languages demonstrates the enrichment of linguistic diversity in
the setting chosen.

5.2 The Relationship between the Language Choice on Shop Signs with the
Development of the Area

In Semenyih town, businesses operating for more than 50 years have their shop
signs coded in Malay accompanied by other ethnic or foreign languages. Because
Malay is the country’s official language, it is natural for the shops to have codes in
Malay. It is also expected that the target customers will understand the language.
Another important reason for the presence of Malay code on the shop signs is to
comply with the government’s regulations.
The use of English coding in shop names and descriptions chosen by shop
owners symbolised the shop’s identity and provided business details for marketing
purposes. In Pelangi Semenyih and Setia Ecohill, English coding in shop signs was
widely used, either as the name of the shop or as the description of the business, as
these are new residential areas. The frequency of English coding usage has increased
over the years due to the towns’ development. For example, Nottingham University in
Semenyih has both local and international students, whereas Tenby International
School in Setia Ecohill serves both locals and foreigners. Syed et al. (2015) stated that
English has become the most common second language in the world, thus serving as
a communication bridge. Languages are never neutral. In this case, the role of English
reflects its supra-national position. It gives advantages to local elites, expatriates, and
foreign tourists, thus marginalising those who do not know English. It acts as a
linguistic resource that benefits certain groups, such as elite locals, expatriate residents,
and foreign tourists (cf. Ben-Rafael et. al. 2006), offering not only information but
subliminally privileging English in the linguistic landscape of Semenyih.
The occurrences of English coding in the store signs were based on the most
recent development of the sites. It appeared in monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual
signs, showing the increasing awareness of the shop owners of the correlation between
English and prestige. Shop signs in English help potential customers from various
linguistic communities understand the gist of the information delivered in the signs. In
this sense, English shop names serve as universal advertisements delivered to all
customers. Thus, shop signs in English fulfil the symbolic function, allowing the shop
owners to keep abreast of business trends in the world. These factors might be the
1080 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1062-1083, 2023

reasons why most shop signs have a space, big or small, reserved for English shop
names.
The existence of the other local languages in the shop signs is closely related to
the demographic structure of the area. For instance, in the town of Semenyih, shop
signs coded in Mandarin were higher in number than in Pelangi Semenyih and Setia
Ecohill. Since the Chinese are the largest ethnic group in Semenyih town, it is
understandable that business owners here used Mandarin for their shop names to attract
customers from the same ethnic group. Shop signs in Mandarin can easily be found in
Semenyih town, typically at Chinese food restaurants, traditional Chinese medical
shops, and Chinese kindergartens. On the other hand, Tamil is not a preferred language
for the signs in Semenyih due to the lack of target customers.
The determination of what the ‘dominance’ of one code means, however, is
subject to a further, or simultaneous, reading of the sign’s source. Gorter (2006), in his
introduction to the International Journal of Multilingualism’s special issue on
Linguistic Landscape, notes that almost all writing on this topic assumes a fundamental
difference in choice of code and other sign elements by the producers of ‘top-down’
signs (governments and public agencies) and the non-official interests that make signs
from the ‘bottom-up’. Remarking that choices such as which code to place in the
‘dominant’ position vary significantly between top-down and bottom-up authors. He
writes, “the main difference between these two wide categories of Linguistic
Landscape elements resides in the fact that the former are expected to reflect a general
commitment to the dominant culture while the latter is designed much more freely
according to individual strategies” (Gorter, 2006, p. 10). This sense is echoed by Ben-
Rafael et al. (2006, p. 26), who claims, “LL analysis focuses at the same time on the
simultaneous actions of institutions and autonomous actors which together give shape
to the linguistics of the public space”.

6. CONCLUSION

Based on the analysis and discussion, it can be summed up that the linguistic
choices available on these sites represented the businesses’ social, economic, and
cultural importance. The linguistic landscape changed following the rate of
development in Semenyih town, Pelangi Semenyih, and Setia Ecohill. This is clearly
shown by the use of the English language in the new development areas, namely
Pelangi Semenyih and Setia Ecohill. The shop owners’ choice of code for shop signs
was primarily influenced by prestige, marketability, and the shop owner’s knowledge
of the language. The use of English codes on shop signs increased in all three sites as
these new areas kept growing. Furthermore, most business owners believed that a
business sign in the English language is more elegant and sophisticated, attracting
customers and can be remembered easily by the public. Regardless of such opinions,
the inclusion of Malay on signage serves a symbolic function because it is the national
language of Malaysia and helps to solidify Malaysian identity on business premises.
The findings of this study contribute to the understanding that languages used as
codes in shop signages have specific intentions and are also influenced by the
development of a town. Each language represents certain meanings intended to be
understood by the public and reflect the business’s identity. The environment has an
impact on the wording chosen for coding as well as English influences the landscape
 S. S. Mansoor, N. H. Hamzah & R. K. Shangeetha, Linguistic landscape in Malaysia: The
case of language choice used in signboards | 1081

of the new communities. Even though the local council compels shop owners to
observe the criteria for the display of shop signs, the sign guidelines are downplayed
for their symbolic function rather than their informational function.
The current study, however, does have some limitations. The data collected were
partial to specific locations in Semenyih; therefore, the findings cannot be generalised.
Out of 60 shops, only 35 shop owners agreed to participate in the questionnaire, and
only five shop owners gave consent for a telephone interview. To gain a better
understanding of the language choices in signs, it is recommended that more research
into the linguistic landscape of Malaysian cities and towns be conducted. Additional
research conducted will contribute to gaining insights relevant to the current trends in
language selection for signage. Furthermore, a comparison of the linguistic landscape
between rural and urban areas is recommended for future investigations to understand
deeper the relationship between a site’s development and language.

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1084 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1084-1102, 2023

The Sociopragmatic Study of

Speech Acts in Go’et Ira in the
We’e Mbaru Cultural Rite
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Gabriel Fredi Daar*

Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Universitas Katolik Indonesia

Santu Paulus Ruteng, Flores 86523, INDONESIA

Abstract
We’e Mbaru is a cultural rite of entering a new house in the Manggarai
speech community speaking the Pasat-Ruis dialect in Flores Island, East
Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. Ira is one of the phases in this
cultural tradition. At this stage, a Tongka (spokesperson) and participant
representatives conduct cultural interactions using go’et (expression or
proverb). This study aimed to analyze the speech acts of go’et in the Ira
phase. The study used a qualitative method with a phenomenological
approach. Data were collected using in-depth interviews with seven key
informants, taken purposively with the main criteria of having adequate
knowledge of Manggarai culture, good ability to use go’et, and experience
as a Tongka. The results showed that the speech acts of go’et in the Ira
phase included representative and directive acts (illocutionary acts). The
study also found that the expressive speech act of gratitude, prayers, and
hopes, and the speech act of giving financial support are categorized as
perlocutionary speech acts. The use of go’et by a Tongka and participant
representatives is considered a language politeness strategy effective for
refining the language used, especially for avoiding face-threatening acts.
Tongka and participant representatives need to understand the context and
situation of the speech so that the choice of go’et is appropriate and
conveyed judiciously.

Keywords: Cultural rite, go’et, Ira phase, Manggarai, speech acts, We’e
Mbaru.

*
Corresponding author, email: freddydaar@gmail.com

Citation in APA style: Daar, G. F. (2023). The sociopragmatic study of speech acts in Go’et Ira in the
We’e Mbaru cultural rite. Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1084-1102.

Received June 20, 2022; Revised September 2, 2022; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May
31, 2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.26545
 G. F. Daar, The sociopragmatic study of speech acts in Go’et Ira in the We’e Mbaru
cultural rite | 1085

1. INTRODUCTION

Communication is more than just transferring information. Speakers act when

they speak. Even when a speaker transmit information, he or she not only the sender
but also the transmitter of a message (Weigand, 2016). In communication, a linguistic
error may not have many serious consequences and may not lead to severe
misunderstandings (Jiang, 2015). Nevertheless, a pragmatic failure has the potential to
cause misunderstandings. A listener from another culture can consider a speaker rude,
dishonest, or hostile if he or she does not understand certain cultural norms (Schnurr
& Zayts, 2017). According to Kádár and House (2020), communications in the ritual
frame are anchored in common situations. There are always rights and obligations to
consider. The interaction is not the same as the concept of bidding norms.
This study reviewed the speech acts in go’et, used in the cultural speech of the
We’e Mbaru (the cultural rite of entering a new house) in the Manggarai speech
community of the Pasat-Ruis dialect, in Flores Island, East Nusa Tenggara Province,
Indonesia. Go’et is an expression or proverb in the Manggarai language which is rich
in meanings and values, serving as a guide in directing humans to achieve a life that
follows better norms (Payong, 2022). This phenomenon is interesting to study in the
context of interpreting an utterance that is inseparable from the situation and context.
One of the phases conducted in the We’e Mbaru is known as Ira.
Ira allows all participants partaking in the We’e Mbaru to convey certain
speeches and actions to express support to the cultural rite process. A Tongka
(spokesperson) provided by the owner of the new house allows the participants to
express their support by using a go’et (expression or proverb). The expressions provide
models, directions, and instructions for Manggarai people in living their lives (Deki,
2011). Further, Sutam (2016) stated that go’et is a proverb that is the same as torok.
However, torok, which contains expressions of the Manggarai people, is more of a
prayer or a form of gratitude. The term go’et is defined as a proverb that has been used
over generations and is usually used at gatherings to hold cultural rites (Moses, 2019).
It is a speech in the Manggarai community that serves to communicate particular
messages to listeners, but not used in daily communication. It is only used in certain
situations such as cultural activities and is usually spoken by elders with cultural
knowledge and good Manggarai language skills. In its implementation, go’et has
various values and meanings, such as religious go’et, health go’et, friendship go’et,
motivational go’et, and advice go’et (Moses, 2019).
Culture is interpreted in what might be described loosely as its anthropological
sense (Mahadi & Jafari, 2012). Likewise, the meaning of go’et needs to be interpreted
by the participants so that the illocutionary acts and the perlocutionary acts performed
are under the speaker’s intentions. Speech events can occur anywhere, for example, in
the market between a trader and a buyer at a specific time, with certain topics of
conversation, and in certain situations (Adhiguna et al., 2019). Likewise, in the context
of the Manggarai culture, speech events can occur between the parties involved in the
cultural event. For example, in the We’e Mbaru, the interactions are between the
Tongka and the participants of the event.
A speech act is producing an utterance in certain circumstances representing an
action (Musriyono & Saptono, 2018). The speaker’s language ability in dealing with
specific situations determines the speech act (Apriastuti, 2017). Therefore, meaningful
interaction is not only determined by knowledge of the language but must be supported
1086 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1084-1102, 2023

by situational and contextual factors in the use of the language as well. In this context,
the speech act is a central entity in pragmatics. Therefore, Dewi et al. (2020) stated
that one aspect that needs attention in interaction is the contextual meaning of the
language used. Contextual meaning is concerned not only with the form of linguistic
expression used but also anything outside of the intended linguistic form, including
the communication context, the participants, the subject of the discussion, and the
conditions or atmosphere in which the communication takes place. Context includes
issues related to a spoken word’s physical or social environment and background
knowledge shared by the speaker and interlocutor. It helps the interlocutor interpret
the message’s meaning (Nadar, 2013).
A speech act performs in language and communication (Wardhaugh, 2006), and
the illocutionary aspect describes the speaker’s pragmatic intention (Abels et al.,
2021). An illocutionary act refers to doing something when we say something (Jiang,
2015). The perlocutionary speech act is one type of speech act that occurs as a result
of an utterance. This act is what is achieved by saying something. Therefore, the
perlocutionary act must be viewed as a connection between two events. The cause is
the production of speech by the speaker. Perlocutionary is the effect of the utterance
(locutionary) spoken with a particular intention (illocutionary) (Jiang, 2015).
Studies on speech acts in different settings have been conducted by many
scholars (Brown & Matusitz, 2019; Chejnová, 2021; Dawson, 2015; Gerstenberg,
2020; Hanna & Richards, 2019). Furthermore, studies on speech acts in various
cultural rites have been conducted by some researchers, such as the speech acts
addressed to Hadza infants in Tanzania (Abels et al., 2021), the refusal of request
speech act in Persian, English, and Balouchi languages (Moafian et al., 2019), and
cultural scripts and the speech act of opinions in Irish English (Gąsior, 2015). In the
context of this study, studies on the use of go’et in the Manggarai speech community
have also been conducted by some scholars. For example, Moses (2019) analyzed the
rhetoric and meaning of go’et in the Wuat Wa’i event, Sanjaya and Rahardi (2021)
analyzed metaphorical ecolinguistic values of local wisdom for traditional Manggarai
wedding ceremonies. These studies explain how go’et is as intangible local wisdom,
and is part of the ethics and spirit of life of the Manggarai people (Ndung, 2019).
Hence, to date, very limited studies have focused on the speech acts in go’et,
specifically used in the Ira phase during the We’e Mbaru cultural rite. This study then
aims to fill in this research gap. The following is the research question of this study:
What speech acts of go’et are used in the Ira phase of the We’e Mbaru cultural rite?
By studying the speech acts found in go’et used in the interaction among the
participants in the Ira phase of the We’e Mbaru cultural rite, it is expected that the
embodiment of the Manggarai’s social relationships and cultural values can be better
understood.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Language and Culture

Culture and language are inseparable. Language is not constant as it keeps

changing in different ways (Labov, 2005), and this language growth is significantly
 G. F. Daar, The sociopragmatic study of speech acts in Go’et Ira in the We’e Mbaru
cultural rite | 1087

affected by culture (Govea, 2007). Cultural differences lead to language differences,

and culture influences language presentation (Geng, 2010).
According to compositional approaches, culture may be seen in all facets of
social life. Different levels of ‘cultures’ can encompass more readily observable rituals
and behaviors and covert ideals, beliefs, and presumptions (Schnurr & Zayts, 2017).
Culture is a set of unconscious-based behaviors and ways of being. It is generally
defined as the set of inherited and innate ideas, attitudes, beliefs, values, and
knowledge that comprise or form the common ground of social action (Mahadi &
Jafari, 2012). As a mental program, it affects almost every aspect of human
functioning, including verbal interactions and verbal expression (Moafian et al., 2019;
Prykarpatska, 2008). To understand other cultures, one must be more flexible to
understand the languages as well, along with the inner and interpersonal relationships,
traditions, and anything else related to the development of cultural understanding
(Rachmawati, 2020).
Language is not only a product of cultures but also a symbol of culture. Language
is a cultural instruction, and culture is determined by language (Fauzia et al., 2022). A
language’s development frequently impacts the culture it is connected to, and cultural
norms are often expressly encoded in the language (Kuo & Lai, 2006). Therefore,
speech acts as part of pragmatic theory are relevant to be studied from its use in
different languages and cultural discourses.

2.2 The Speech Acts Theory

Speech acts are verbal communication, and how they are used will depend on
the situation (Ordenes et al., 2019). Speech acts, which refer to the performative aspect
of communication in which phrases and actions are seamlessly woven together,
emphasize the importance of the action that the message wants to convey (Barinaga
2009). The concept of speech acts begins with the idea that when a person speaks, they
perform utterance acts, propositional acts, and illocutionary acts. Speech act theory is
based on the premise that speakers use language to perform intended actions. Listeners
infer the intended meaning from the speaker’s words (Brown, 2019; Gumperz, 1982).
Referring to Austin’s (1975) speech act theory, there are three types of speech
acts: locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary (Wardhaugh, 2006). Locutionary
acts are speech acts that are easier to understand. They are connected to an expression’s
literal meaning. Locutionary activities are spoken expressions such as saying
something, conveying information, talking, asking, and so on. Locutionary utterances
obey the truth conditions and require an understanding of reasons/feelings and
references, and these references depend on the speaker’s knowledge at the narration
time (Dejarnette et al., 2015).
The illocutionary act has a particular function or ‘power’, called illocutionary
power. In simple language, illocutionary power is the speaker’s intention (Brown,
2019). The illocutionary act is the key to interpreting an utterance. In the context of
cultural interaction, understanding an utterance’s cultural meaning can be improved
by examining its illocutionary force (Bouchara, 2015).
Perlocutionary acts are behaviors or mental states that result from or are brought
on by speech. These acts are produced or achieved by saying something. These acts
interpret the speaker’s intent by the listener (Dejarnette et al., 2015), and it must
therefore be understood as a causal relationship between two events. The cause is the
1088 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1084-1102, 2023

production of speech by the speaker, and the perlocutionary is the impact of the
utterance that contains a specific intention (illocutionary). Perlocutionary acts are more
natural, not governed by convention, and cannot be confirmed by question (Hanna &
Richards, 2019; Jiang, 2015).
Searle (1979) developed Austin’s (1975) illocutionary acts into five categories:
(1) Representatives, or assertive, are speeches that bind speakers to the truth of the
propositions expressed, for example, stating, suggesting, boasting, complaining,
and claiming.
(2) Directives are utterances intended for the speech partner to act according to the
speech, for example, ordering, begging, advising, and recommending. Weigand
(2016) called the directive speech act an initiative speech act. Its specific quality
is a claim to a practical action’s performance.
(3) Commissive acts require the speaker to commit to doing something in the future.
The illocutionary point of a commissive speech act, according to Dawson (2015),
is to bind the speaker to do something.
(4) Expressive, namely the expression of attitudes and feelings about a situation or
reaction to the attitudes and actions of people. According to Yule (1996), the
speaker’s feelings and the effects of what they or their conversation partner do are
expressed through expressive speech acts. They have the effect of signaling and
expressing the current psychological state of the speaker (Witek, 2021). Thus, in
this respect, they resemble sincere and overt natural manifestations of
psychological conditions
(5) Declarative, i.e., illocutionary, causes change or conformity between proposition
and reality. According to Yule (1996), a declaration is a type of speech act that
changes the world through speech.

3. METHODS

3.1 Research Design

The study used a qualitative method with a phenomenological approach, because

it is based on a phenomenon in the field, namely the use of go’et in cultural
interactions, specifically at the We’e Mbaru cultural rite. Through in-depth interviews
and participatory observations, the meaning, cultural values, and types of speech acts
used in cultural interactions were captured. The study involved all aspects, including
how go’et in the Ira phase is used by the spokeperson (Tongka) and the participant
representatives in the We’e Mbaru in the Manggarai Pasat-Ruis dialect. Austin (1975)
and Searle’s (1979) speech act theories were used to explain the relationship between
the participants in the Ira phase of the We’e Mbaru ritual speech events.

3.2 Participants

The participants in this study were seven elders, aged 60 to 70, from the Pasat-
Ruis dialect community. They are from one village, Sambi Village, with three
Gendang (customary administrative area) in the Manggarai regency, Flores Island,
East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. The participants were purposively chosen
based on the following criteria: 1) living in the Pasat-Ruis dialect community for over
 G. F. Daar, The sociopragmatic study of speech acts in Go’et Ira in the We’e Mbaru
cultural rite | 1089

20 years, 2) having the knowledge of Manggarai culture, 3) having the knowledge and
skill of using go’et in the cultural event, and 4) having experience of being a Tongka
(spokesperson) in the Manggarai cultural events.

3.3 Data Collection and Data Analysis

Data were collected through interviews and participatory observation.

Interviews were recorded using a voice recorder, and the researcher asked nine
questions to the participants as the main questions to obtain data. These questions
relate to (1) the meaning of the We’e Mbaru cultural rite, (2) the time of conducting
the event, (3) people invited to the event (4) the meaning of Ira, (5) the time Ira is
held, (6) the utterances (of the speakers and addressees) at the Ira stage, (7) how go’et
is used, (8) the meaning of go’et, and (9) what the speaker expects from the speech
delivered. The researcher conducted participatory observations to complete the
interview data by involving himself directly in the We’e Mbaru cultural rite. An
observation guide was used in the process. The interview data and observations results
were analyzed descriptively using the interactive model proposed by Miles et al.
(2014), consisting of data collection, reduction, display, verification, and conclusion.

4. RESULTS

This section presents the results from this study.

4.1 The Meaning of We’e Mbaru Cultural Rite

Based on the results of interview data analysis, the We’e Mbaru is a traditional
event that indicates the house owner is starting to occupy a new house.

(1) “Maksudn’ one mai adak We’e Mbaru kut tombo wali dia latang te sembeng de Morin agu Ngaran
puung du wangkan turung agu cemoln’ pande mbaru. Nenggitu kole wali dia latang te sanggen
ceki. Ai le ngaji dise ngance cemoln pande mbaru. Adak wee mbaru kole kut pecing le naga mbaru,
ai mbaru poli panden agu kut kaeng laing gah. Nenggitu kole kut pande hambors sanggen beci,
semen, pasir, watu, seng, paku agu haju latang pande esen mbru”. (LT)
[The purpose of the We’e Mbaru cultural rite is to express gratitude to God, the creator, for His
guidance during the house construction process. Likewise, thanksgiving is given to the ancestors.
The construction of the house was completed because of their prayers. The We’e Mbaru also means
that the Naga Mbaru knows that the house has been built and will be occupied. In addition, the
We’e Mbaru cultural rite has the intention of reconciling all the components in building a house
including sand, cement, stone, wood, sing, and nails].

There are several meanings for the We’e Mbaru event. First, the homeowner
expresses gratitude to God for His provision so that the homeowner can complete the
house construction process. Traditionally, the event signifies that the house owner
expresses gratitude to an invisible subject, namely the ancestors who have contributed
during the house construction process. Second, the We’e Mbaru cultural rite aims to
symbolically notify the Naga Mbaru (the invisible owner of the house; the house itself)
that the house has been built and will be occupied. In this context, the event aims to
prevent Babang Agu Bentang (feelings of being unappreciated due to disrespect) the
Naga Mbaru along with other invisible subjects believed to be around the house
1090 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1084-1102, 2023

construction area. Third, We’e Mbru is an event for the reconciliation process between
all the components of a house building, such as cement, sand, stone, wood, zinc, nails,
and others. The Manggarai people believe that the reconciliation of these elements
through the We’e Mbaru cultural rite brings positive energy and extraordinary strength
to a house building that can prevent it from danger.
In this cultural process, the Manggarai speech community conveys gratitude and
plea so that the house owner receives abundant sustenance, is blessed with health, and
is successful in every business when they occupy a new house. In this context, We’e
Mbaru is a cultural event of gratitude and supplication.

4.2 Illocutionary Acts of Go’et in the Ira Phase of the We’e Mbaru Cultural Rite

In the procession of the We’e Mbaru, the owner of the house and his family invite
several groups of participants, including Pa’ang Ngaung (all members of the
community), Anak Wina (the family of the house owner’s sisters), and Anak Rona (the
family’s brothers). In addition, the house owner provides a Tongka (spokesperson)
with good knowledge and skills in the Manggarai language and culture. Therefore, the
Tongka is the representative of the house owner in conveying specific speech to the
participants.
Ira is one of the essential stages in the traditional We’e Mbaru procession. Ira
starts when a Tongka delivers a speech asking for the participants’ willingness (Pa’ang
Ngaung, Anak Rona, and Anak Wina) to give support and witness the process of the
We’e Mbaru cultural rite. The speech is accompanied by the delivery of a bottle of
Tuak (the traditional drink of the Manggarai speech community containing alcoholic
substances) to the representative of each group. Tuak symbolizes a sense of respect for
the participant representatives. (2) is the text of Ira’s speech delivered by the Tongka:

(2) “Ite ase kae pang ngaung, anaki wina, anak rona. Mangan nggewit weki potomoso dite, ai le wie
hoo kut adak wee mbaru weru de ase kae dite … (ngasang data ngara mbaru). Damas ko ngoeng
ata ngara mbaru latang wee leng weki, pesei api dari leso, koe ngger one agu radak ngger wa,
maut co’o it ese kae pang nagung, anak rona, anak wina latang te lewang ngger peang agu po’e
ngger one. Damas ko ngoeng, lites reing agu regas. Io hitu koe bajar dehami, titis”. (SA-Tongka)
[Brothers and sisters (pa’ang ngaung/anak wina/ anak rona), we invited you all because tonight
we will be holding a cultural event of We’e Mbaru (entering a new house) for our brother, …
(name of the new house owner). We, as the family, expect prayers from you all (pa’ang
ngaung/anak wina/anak rona) for our brothers and sisters … (name of the new house owner) so
that they are kept away from various kinds of challenges and dangers while occupying a new
house. They might want the illness and disease to come; we leave it to you all (pa’ang ngaung/anak
wina/anak rona) to forbid and wish the best for them.]

The utterances of the Tongka in (2) contain several go’et phrases with
illocutionary speech acts. Some of the illocutionary speech acts are shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Illocutionary speech acts of go’et.

No. Illocutionary speech acts of go’et Meaning
1. nggewit weki poto moso invite
[touch the body]
2. We’e leng weki sick (dying)
[go home with the body]
3. pesei api dari leso easy to get sick and easy to accept negative/evil spirits
[fire, sunburned]
 G. F. Daar, The sociopragmatic study of speech acts in Go’et Ira in the We’e Mbaru
cultural rite | 1091

Table 1 continued…
4. koe ngger one agu radak ngger wa decreased family productivity due to illness or other
[small inward, short down] opposing forces
5. lewang ngger peang, po’e ngger one reject all badness/protect the family from all evil
[refuse to go out, pull in] things internally and externally

From Table 1, it can be seen that each go’et phrase has a different intention
(illocutionary act). The intentions of the phrases can be classified into two categories.
They are explained in the next sub-sections.

4.2.1 Illocutionary act of reinforcing information and asking for support

The use of goet in (3), nggewit weki poto moso, aims to state that the family has
invited all the participants to attend the We’e Mbaru cultural rite. The use of this go’et
plays a role as an invitation and undertaking the cultural event. In addition, it aims to
refine the language used by the Tongka so that the participants feel valued and
respected as guests invited by the house’s owner.

(3) nggewit weki poto moso

[touch the body]
invite

The go’et in (4), (5), and (6) are uttered subsequently in one sentence. This
indicates that the three go’et phrases have similar intents and purposes. The Tongka
implicitly stated that the participants (Pa’ang Ngaung, Anak Wina, and Anak Rona)
are expected to be the parties that support and provide moral and material assistance if
the house owner is sick or is in a state of having nothing.

(4) we’e leng weki

[go home with the body]
sick (dying)

(5) pesei api dari leso

[fire, sunburned]
easy to get sick and easy to accept negative/evil spirits

(6) koe ngger one agu radak ngger wa

[small inward, short down]
decreased family productivity due to illness or other opposing forces

In addition, the use of go’et in (7) shows that the Tongka expects the participants
to be the parties who indirectly reject all forms of evilness that may occur to the house
owner.

(7) lewang ngger peang, po’e ngger one

to reject all evilness/protect the family from all bad things internally and externally

The delivery of hope is closely related to the belief of the Manggarai people in
the Pasat-Ruis dialect that the Pa’ang Ngaung are the closest people who can help each
other in social life. Pa’ang Ngaung is considered a symbol of togetherness, having
greater power than living individually. Anak Wina is a party that consistently supports
1092 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1084-1102, 2023

the success of every house owner’s cultural event, financially and through other
contributions. Anak Rona is considered a party that must be respected and appreciated
due to its status as the source of the inheritance of offspring. These cultural values
need to be acknowledged by the Tongka as a speaker. Knowledge of these cultural
values helps the speaker use the go’et appropriately so that the interlocutor can
understand the speech and achieve the aim of the cultural event. Interpretation and
understanding of cultural values are aligned with Hymes’ (1972) theory of
ethnographic communication. Those involved in the interaction in a particular context
of culture should understand the norm of interaction and interpretation. These two
things help both speaker and listener interact harmoniously, and these can achieve the
objective of communication.

4.2.2 Illocutionary act of influencing the interlocutor to perform an action

By referring to cultural values in the Manggarai speech community of the Pasat-

Ruis dialect, the use of go’et in the Ira phase of the We’e Mbaru cultural rite implicitly
has the intent of influencing the interlocutor and all the participants as a whole to take
action (see examples of the go’et in (3) to (7)). The illocutionary speech act indirectly
affects the participants to provide support in the form of material. The support is not
an obligation. However, it is a sign that the participants fully support the process of
traditional events and the life journey of the homeowner in his new house.
The speaker’s illocutionary speech act of go’et is observed as the off-record politeness
strategy. The speaker influences the interlocutor to take action indirectly and politely.
The actions taken are then determined by the ability of the interlocutor to understand
the meaning of go’et and the ability to understand cultural and traditional values in the
context of the We’e Mbaru cultural rite. This finding aligns with Brown’s (2015)
concept of politeness as the ‘correct’ social behavior. He urged that politeness is
associated with specific verbal constructions and formulaic expressions, which can
vary significantly among languages and cultures.
Communicating intent and state of affairs form the meaningful structure of every
speech act. The speaker realizes action schemes by linguistic means in communicative
situations. They are performed verbally, not in sentences, and no longer in expressive
forms. In speech situations, tangible physical objects and conditions can become
situational manifestations (Weigand, 2016). The speech act of influencing the
interlocutor to act by using go’et in the Ira phase is the construct of the conscious
action model. Although spoken politely, the speaker must explain the action taken
according to the situation and the context of the event.

4.3 Perlocutionary Acts of Go’et in the Ira Phase of the We’e Mbaru Cultural
Rite

Illocutionary acts conveyed by the Tongka need to be interpreted by the

interlocutor (participant representatives). They help perform the perlocutionary acts
following the speaker’s intentions. Thus, by using the knowledge of the go’et
meanings in the Ira phase, the participant representatives (Pa’ang Ngaung, Anak Wina,
and Anak Rona) did perlocutionary acts expected by the Tongka. The following is the
speech text of the interlocutors (Pa’ang Ngaung/Anak Wina/Anak Rona) in response
to the speech delivered by the Tongka:
 G. F. Daar, The sociopragmatic study of speech acts in Go’et Ira in the We’e Mbaru
cultural rite | 1093

(8) “Io…neho reweng dami ase kae pa’ang ngaung/anak wina/anak rona, gauk le pagat langkas agu
moso mese dite. Reweng dami ase kae pang agu ngaung, ai neho mbaru hoo latang te kaeng lewe
le agu depa sena (...). Tegi dehami kali ga, neho ka’eng mbaru hoo porong bolek loke agu baca
tara, ngo duat uma lopo lompa koes woja, lobo tajuk koes latung, piara koe weang mese, ita ata
milat keor ata mbeot, beka agu buar. Piara koes ela, has kina naang, piara koe manuk, jahar
koes manuk pening. Ngo kole one weki bolek loke baca koe tara, damas ko ngoeng ite ata ngara
mbaru toe bolek loke agu toe baca tara, toe has ela naang, toe jahar manuk pening, toe beka agu
buar, maut toe lami ase kae pa’ang ngaung/anak wina/anak rona latang te re’ing agu regas”.
(BD-Pa’ang Ngaung/Anak Wina/Anak Rona)
[We are the brothers and sisters (pa’ang ngaung, anak wina and anak rona). Because of your
kindness, we are invited to this traditional event. From the bottom of our hearts, we, as brothers
and sisters (pa’ang ngaung, anak wina, and anak rona) convey that this new house is a place to
live in for the rest of our brother’s life, (name of the owner of the house). We hope they will always
be given health and success in all kinds of business as long as they occupy this new house, farming
(rice and corn), pig farming, and chicken farming. May they be blessed with offspring. We brothers
and sisters (pa’ang ngaung, anak wina, and anak rona) also pray that they will be kept away from
various bad things while occupying their new home.]

Based on (8), there are some go’et phrases used and considered to be
perlocutionary acts, as presented in Table 2:

Table 2. The perlocutionary acts of Go’et.

No. The Perlocutionary Acts of Go’et Meaning
1. pagat langkas agu moso mese kindness
[one inch high and an area of land for fields]
2. kaeng lewe le agu depa sena live forever
[occupied forever/for life]
3. porong bolek loke agu baca tara I wish you good health and success
[I hope your skin is bright and your face is fresh]
4. porong lobo lompa koes woja, lobo tajuk koes may the rice plants thrive, and the corn
latung plants thrive
[I hope rice is at the end of the iron, and corn is
at the end of the pointy wood]
5. Porong has kina na’ang hopefully, the number of domestic pigs
[lots of pigs squeaking] will increase
6. Porong jahar koes manuk pening hopefully, the pet chickens will grow a lot
[noisy domestic chickens in the coop]
7. Porong ita ata milat, keor ata mbeot hopefully, there will be more pets
[found the wild, returned the lost]
8. Porong beka agu buar I hope you have many children and
[multiply for a human being] grandchildren

Table 2 depicts that the speech acts performed by the participant representatives
are the results of the illocutionary speech acts conveyed by the Tongka. Therefore, the
participant representatives need to be able to interpret the meanings of the utterances
brought through the illocutionary acts of go’et Ira. Some kinds of perlocutionary
speech acts conveyed from the data are explained in the next sub-sections.

4.3.1 Perlocutionary acts of gratitude

The perlocutionary acts of gratitude are conveyed using the following go’et:

(9) pagat langkas agu moso mese

[kindness]
1094 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1084-1102, 2023

The interlocutors (participant representatives) express their gratitude for the

kindness of the new homeowner who has invited them to the We’e Mbaru cultural rite.
In the tradition of the Manggarai community, an invitation is a form of appreciation
for the participants’ existence in the togetherness of social life. The inviter realizes that
he can make a cultural event a success with the help of fellow citizens in the
community. In addition, invitations show their existence as social beings who fill each
other’s shortcomings. Thus, the perlocutionary act of gratitude indicates the awareness
of the magnitude of the meaning of the house owner’s invitation, which is interpreted
through cultural values and social life.

4.3.2 Perlocutionary acts of prayers and hopes

Based on the text delivered by the interlocutor (participant representatives), it

can be seen that the speech begins with go’et in:

(10) kaeng lewe le agu depa sena

[occupied forever/for life]
live forever.

The go’et in (10) has a figurative meaning that the house owner will occupy the
new house for life. The house owner uses the house to shelter from the rain and the
sun. A house is also a place of rest. By knowing these cultural values, the interlocutors
can convey speech acts of prayers and hopes by using the following go’et:

(11) porong bolek loke agu baca tara

[I hope your skin is bright and your face is fresh]
I wish you good health and success.

The Manggarai speech community believes that health is the key to the success
of any activities in family life. Families who are physically and mentally healthy have
the opportunity and ability to work. Furthermore, they will get income from their work
to meet their life needs. Happiness is a simplicity manifested through health and
success in every business. Thus, the use of go’et (11) shows that the interlocutors
perform speech acts through prayers and hopes that the new house owner will always
be blessed with health, success, and happiness in his or her new house.

(12) porong lopo lompa koes woja, lobo tajuk koes latung
[hope rice is at the end of the iron, and corn is at the end of the pointy wood].
May the rice plants thrive, and the corn plants thrive.

In the phrase of go’et in (12), two lexicons refer to the tools used by farmers in
Manggarai to grow rice and corn, namely Lompa and Tajuk. Therefore, the use of the
go’et shows the proximity of the Manggarai people, which use rice and corn as their
primary source of livelihood. Thus, the go’et in (12) shows that the interlocutors
(participant representatives) pray for the house owner that they will always be
successful in agricultural activities (rice and corn) after living in the new house.

(13) porong has kina naang

[lots of pigs squeaking]
Hopefully, the number of domestic pigs will increase.
 G. F. Daar, The sociopragmatic study of speech acts in Go’et Ira in the We’e Mbaru
cultural rite | 1095

(14) porong jahar koes manuk pening

[noisy domestic chickens in the coop]
Hopefully, there will be more chickens.

The Pasat-Ruis dialect community in Manggarai generally uses the agricultural

sector as their main livelihood. They also raise several types of livestock, used as life
support, primarily to financially support their children’s education. The livestock
includes chickens, pigs, and large animals, such as cows and buffalos. The choice of
‘pigs’ in the goet in (13) is because the Manggarai people are mostly Catholics who
allow the livestock. Pigs have a reasonably high economic value and a broad market
target as the leading animals used in most cultural events in their community.
Therefore, the use of the go’et in (13) and (14) refer to the hope that the family’s
economy will improve through raising chickens and pigs. Therefore, the interlocutor
conveys the speech act through prayers and hope that the homeowners have success in
the business of raising chickens and pigs while living in a new house.
In addition to the two go’et phrases in (13) and (14), the interlocutor also uses
the phrase of the go’et below:

(15) porong ita ata milat, keor ata mbeot

[found wild, returned lost]

The goet in (15) refers to livestock that is close to the economic life of the
Manggarai community. It does not explicitly mention the type of animal. However,
the interlocutor understands that the lexicon milat and mbeot refers to a large, four-
legged animal that was initially wild but later turned into domesticated animals by the
community, namely buffalo and horses. Therefore, the use of this go’et shows that the
interlocutor conveys speech acts of prayers and hopes that all the large four-legged
animals that are kept will develop and multiply as long as they occupy the new house.
The interlocutor also uses the phrase in the following go’et:

(16) porong beka agu buar

[I hope you have many children and grandchildren]

The use of the go’et in (16) is a perlocutionary act of prayer and hope that the
owner of the new house will be blessed with many offspring. The go’et is influenced
by the life philosophy of the Manggarai community, who believes that the amount of
sustenance in the family is directly proportional to the number of descendants, “the
more offspring, the more sustenance”. However, this philosophy may be less relevant
to current conditions, which are more influenced by the flow of technological
developments, high population growth, and low number of jobs. Nevertheless, the
go’et is still relevant when referring to success in the livestock sector.

4.3.3 Perlocutionary act of giving financial support

Perlocutionary acts of certain utterances, attitudes, or actions are results from the
illocutionary acts of the speaker. In the study, the illocutionary act of the Tongka
resulted in the perlocutionary act of certain thoughts, utterances, and actions. The
interlocutor interprets the intent and purpose of the spokesperson’s speech (Tongka)
in the context of Manggarai culture. In delivering perlocutionary acts, the interlocutor
1096 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1084-1102, 2023

not only conveys perlocutions of prayers and hopes but is also expected to take specific
actions by handing over a certain amount of money. It is followed by the actions taken
by all the participants of the We’e Mbaru cultural rite.
There are two cultural values in it. First, the interlocutor and all participants have
a sense of solidarity to help the We’e Mbaru cultural rite process. It is based on the
awareness that the event’s success is supported by sufficient financial availability.
Second, the interlocutor and all participants have a moral responsibility as fellow
members of the community. It indicates that they are always ready to help the house
owner with any difficulties when he lives in the new house.

5. DISCUSSION

From the data analysis, the use of go’et in the Ira phase in We’e Mbaru contains
speech acts. Based on Searle’s (1979) speech act theory, there are three types of
illocutionary speech acts found in the goet of the Ira phase. The first is representative
speech acts in the Tongka’s speech to reinforce information. Illocutionary speech acts
are a crucial component of speech act theory (Jiang, 2015). An illocutionary act is an
act through saying something, which means we do something when we say it (Austin,
1975). Searle (1979) stated that representatives are speeches that bind speakers to the
truth of the propositions expressed. The speaker uses the representative speech act in
the go’et to communicate and inform the substance of the traditional event during the
Ira phase. It is stated to the participants so that they know the reason they are invited.
The second is the directive speech act in the Tongka’s speech, in which he
requested the participants to support the We’e Mbaru process. Weigand (2016) called
the directive speech act an initiative speech act. Directives are utterances intended for
the speech partner to act according to the speech, for example, requesting, ordering,
begging, advising, and recommending. According to Green (2015), one can make a
statement that implies or invites the audience to do something without expressly
requesting them. In this study, the directive speech act is used by the Tongka to ask all
participants to pray and wish for a better life for the new house owner. The directive
speech act is not conveyed lexically. Instead, the Tongka uses go’et, which needs the
listeners’ interpretation to understand the spokesperson’s meaning. In this context, the
circumstance should be precise so that the intended action can be completed (Brown
& Matusitz, 2019), and the audience’s reaction to the activity reflects what they believe
the speaker is trying to convey (Fauzia, et al., 2022; Nadar, 2013).
Directive speech act in the Tongka’s speech influences the interlocutor to take
action. One important finding related to the implementation of the illocutionary speech
act through the study is that the use of go’et in the Ira phase is regarded as a politeness
strategy performed by the Tongka to the listener, which is categorized as an off-record
politeness strategy (Coulmas, 2006; Maros & Rosli, 2017; Mugford, 2022). The
speaker uses a directive speech act to request, and even to command reasonably. The
ability of a listener to understand the meaning of the go’et and knowledge of cultural
value determines the appropriate perlocutionary act taken. Yaqin et al. (2022), through
their study, highlighted that the importance and value of communication are impacted
by speech acts and utterances that are related to the cultural context; culture determines
the goal of the utterances within a culture. In this view, being polite is considered
appropriate and expected behaviour. Linguistics research often distinguish between
 G. F. Daar, The sociopragmatic study of speech acts in Go’et Ira in the We’e Mbaru
cultural rite | 1097

appropriate behavior, expected in certain situations, and polite behavior, which has
some added value (Chejnová, 2021). Watts (2003) used a different term to refer to
expected behavior. He uses the term ‘politic behavior’ which involves mutually shared
forms of consideration for others in a given culture. He considered rudeness an
observable political violation, which resulted in negative reviews from participants.
Polite behavior is an observable ‘addition’ to political behavior, which can be rated
positively but can also be evaluated negatively.
Govea (2007) stated that language growth is significantly affected by culture.
Language and culture are inextricably linked. Cultural differences lead to language
differences (Moafian et al., 2019). Thus, the interlocutor in the We’e Mbaru needs to
understand two things: (1) the context and situation of the speech, and (2) the ability
to understand the traditions that are usually carried out in the Ira phase.
Communication in a speech event is intimately tied to non-linguistic aspects, including
where, when, who is the speaker and the opponent, speech content, purpose, and tone,
and is brought into the speaker’s mental state (Qalyubi, 2017). Thus, in this study,
findings related to perlocutionary speech acts include, first, the perlocutionary acts of
gratitude and, second, the perlocutionary acts of prayers and hope. Both types of
speech acts are classified as expressive speech acts. Expressive is an expression of
attitudes and feelings about a situation or reaction to people’s attitudes and actions
(Witek, 2021). In line with that, according to Yule (1996), expressive speech acts state
what the speaker feels caused by what the speaker or speech partner does, such as
regretting, apologizing, welcoming, and thanking. According to Green (2009), a
characteristic feature of expressive speech acts is that they are designed to provide
propositional knowledge that allows the proof of psychological states. The expressive
speech act is designed to signal and express inner states of being materialized in their
sincere condition, while affirmations are intended to express beliefs, requests, desires,
promises, apologies, and regret (Ludwig, 2020; Witek, 2021). Since expressive speech
acts both signal and show speakers’ current psychological states, in this research, the
expressive speech act is used to convey participants’ gratitude for inviting them to the
cultural event of We’e Mbaru. In addition, it is used for saying prayers and hopes for
the future life of the new house owner. The expressive act expresses the speaker’s state
of mind or attitude toward a proposition and impacts the listener (Hanna & Richards,
2019). By using expressive speech act, the listeners, particularly the new house owner,
feel appreciated, cared for, and loved. He is a part of the community as well.
Second, the perlocutionary acts of giving financial support. It results from the
illocutionary speech act conveyed by the Tongka. As Green (2015) argued, one can
say one thing and indicate or ask the listener to do something else, even if it is not
directly stated. It is found that the participant representatives did not make bargaining
or refused the illocutionary acts of the Tongka to avoid the face-threatening act (FTA).
Refusal is the utterances the listeners do not want to hear (Jiang, 2015). Even though
Wannaruk (2008) stated that the speech act of refusing is a face-threatening speech act
where communication breakdowns may commonly occur, it does not exist in the Ira
phase of the We’e Mbaru cultural rite. In this speech event, the interlocutor’s
understanding of the We’e Mbaru assists the effort to avoid the face-threatening act.
Leech (1983) defined politeness as a type of behavior used to create and maintain
harmonious interactions, while Lakoff and Sachiko (2005) advocated that politeness
facilitates future interactions by reducing the potential for conflict and confrontation
to exist in all human interactions. The interlocutors must therefore employ specific
1098 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1084-1102, 2023

strategies to mitigate the threat based on a reasonable assessment of the risks faced to
avoid FTAs (Maros & Rosli, 2017). In this study, the researcher observed that the use
of go’et in the Ira phase is considered a specific strategy to avoid FTAs, and is
expected to respond to the speaker’s intention. The speech act of giving some amount
of money aims to avoid the FTA of the Tongka, interlocutors, and other participants.

6. CONCLUSION

Based on the data, the study shows that the illocutionary speech acts of go’et in
the Ira phase are representative speech act of reinforcing information, directive speech
act of requesting the participants to give support for the process of We’e Mbaru cultural
rite, and directive speech act of influencing the interlocutor to take an action for
providing material support. Meanwhile, the perlocutionary speech acts include the
perlocutionary acts of gratitude, prayers, and hope, and the perlocutionary act of giving
financial support.
Using go’et in the Ira phase by the Tongka and participant representatives is one
of the language politeness strategies considered adequate for refining the language
used and especially avoiding the face-threatening act of both the speaker and listeners.
The Tongka, as a spokesperson, and interlocutor (participant representatives), needs to
understand the context and situation of the speech so that the choice of go’et in speech
is appropriate and can be conveyed properly. Thus, the selection of Tongka as the
spokesperson and the interlocutors (participant representatives) needs to consider the
cultural and language knowledge possessed to optimize harmonious interaction
between the two, and to avoid face-threatening acts caused by linguistic errors.
Although this study has presented the speech acts in the go’et of the Ira phase at
the We’e Mbaru cultural rite, there are some limitations to be considered for future
related studies. First, this study only focused on the use of go’et in the Ira phase of the
We’e Mbaru, meanwhile, go’et is commonly used at various stages in many traditional
events of the Manggarai speech community. Second, the researcher only conducted
the study on three Gendang (customary administrative areas) in one village in
Manggarai. Manggarai is a district that has dozens of Gendang (customary
administrative areas) with slightly different cultural characteristics. Therefore, further
research can be carried out by examining the go’et speech acts in other traditional
events as well as language politeness strategies in speech between the Tongka and
participant representatives. Go’et is a cultural treasure in language of the Manggarai
community, and can be further studied from various perspectives to add knowledge in
the field of pragmatic studies.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was carried out with financial assistance from Lembaga Pengelola
Dana Pendidikan (the Indonesia Endowment Funds for Education) or LPDP Indonesia
in 2022.
 G. F. Daar, The sociopragmatic study of speech acts in Go’et Ira in the We’e Mbaru
cultural rite | 1099

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1103 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1103-1118, 2023

American Orientalism: A Critical Reading

through Edgar Allan Poe
P-ISSN 2355-2794
E-ISSN 2461-0275

Loiy Hamidi Qutaish Alfawa’ra 1

Jameel Ahmed Alghaberi*2
1
Department of English, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, INDIA
2
Department of English, Thamar University, Dhamar, YEMEN

Abstract
To date, The Arabian Nights still create frames of reference outside its
fictive core. The article critically examined the adaptations and
appropriation of the classic Arabian Nights by Edgar Allan Poe and how
he invested his interest in the Orient to advance his career as a writer.
More specifically, the aim was to study the links between European
Orientalism and the new version of the Orient constructed in the United
States. Various modes of reading and approaches were used to critically
interpret the primary texts. Orientalism and postcolonial theories provided
a theoretical framework for the study, and the deconstructive approach
was applied in certain contexts to deconstruct and dismantle the
stereotyping and mythologizing of the Orient. The article contributed to
the growing scholarship on American oriental discourse by offering a
counter perspective. Poe’s poems and short stories all perpetuate negative
oriental representations. His obsession with the Orient is not reflected as
aesthetic appreciation but it is rather appropriation that distorts and never
restores. Poe’s oriental discourse is only examined lately by Arab critics
of American literature and more specifically it surfaced through
translations of his works into Arabic. Through stereotypical duplication in
the world of realism, a fake Orient has become there in the world of reality.

Keywords: Arabian Nights, imagined other, orientalism, stereotyping.

*
Corresponding author, email: abujamaljameel@gmail.com

Citation in APA style: Alfawa’ra, L., & Alghaberi, J. (2023). American orientalism: A critical reading
through Edgar Allan Poe. Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1103-1118.

Received April 7, 2022; Revised February 5, 2023; Accepted April 7, 2023; Published Online May 31,
2023

https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v10i2.25564
 L. Alfawa’ra & J. Alghaberi, American orientalism: A critical reading through
Edgar Allan Poe | 1104

1. INTRODUCTION

Edgar Allan Poe’s fiction exhibits various oriental images and his writing stands
as evidence of the 19th century American obsession with the Orient (Simour, 2013).
Poe was influenced by the British version of Orientalism and his study of the classics
furthered his knowledge of the Orient. He had never visited or experienced the Orient
himself; therefore, he completely relied on European books of Orientalism and travel
narratives to formulate his own idea of the East (Fleming, 2000). The European
Orientalists provided 19th century American authors with inauthentic and highly-
biased materials about the Orient. As it did in Europe, the Orient provided the United
States with a convenient and already-formulated antagonistic way to define itself
immediately after the independence of the United States (Vogeley, 1995). The identity
that an emerging country strove to formulate relied heavily on a counter-definition of
the Orient.
Edgar Allan Poe was among the first American authors to appropriate oriental
aesthetics and introduce the Orient to American readers rather in a European guise
(Montgomery, 2010). The translations and appropriations of The Arabian Nights, as
they did in Europe, generated new versions that did not necessarily identify with the
original one. Galland’s translation, however, served as a springboard for further
literary and cinematic creations and appropriations. In any case, the different versions
of the Arabian tales attest to the strong influence of such stories on popular folk
narratives in Europe and the United States. More importantly, the Orient in 19th century
America was a literary source for further appropriations and adaptations, providing an
alternative aesthetic space. The imagined ‘other’, the charm, and the glamour of the
Orient captivated poets and storytellers apart from the readership and commercial
payoff (Cassidy, 2001).
The aim of this study is to study the links between European Orientalism and the
new version of the Orient constructed in the United States. The argument is that
American Orientalism scholars have been politicized and are largely ideologically
oriented and driven. For neo-Orientalists of the United States, knowledge production
is a vital element of dominating the Middle East. Therefore, they try hard to control
the Middle East and Islamic studies and any related associations that produce
knowledge about the Orient. It is also realized that the United States has begun
incorporating distorted notions of ‘the Orient’ into its social and political formations
long before the arrival of Arab immigrants. Orientalist perceptions and images were
widespread throughout the United States due to the European influence on 19th century
American writers, and Edgar Allan Poe is just one example (Dallh, 2007). The Orient
portrayal was embedded in and became part of many levels of cultural expression. It
was delivered not only through literature but also through a variety of channels.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

With regard to the construction of the ‘Orient’ in the American imaginary, Kleitz
(1988) highlighted that the Orient in the 19th century was an object of fascination for
American writers and artists altogether. She examined the influence of the Orient on
the imagination and work of some American authors, including Edgar Allan Poe. Her
analysis revealed that many American authors of the 19th century exhibited an
1105 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1103-1118, 2023

enormous interest in the Orient and their interest originated either from a religious
purpose or an aesthetic appreciation. Some traveled to what is known today as the
Middle East for pilgrimage purposes, and many others made their expeditions across
the Nile River in Egypt for exploration of a civilization. However, Kleitz (1988) argued
that the Orient by the 19th century was no longer an imaginary biblical landscape for
Christian Americans. The scope widened and the writers began to navigate the essence
of the Arabic culture in particular and the Islamic faith in general.
The most important and central British figures that influenced the evolution of
the American version of Orientalism were Thomas Moore and Lord Byron. These two
writers were immensely popular in the United States as they were in Britain (Kleitz,
1988). Their influence was decisive in extending the oriental experience to the
American readership in the 19th century and beyond. They injected American literature
with the early images of the Orient, and they simultaneously paved the way for more
exploration of Islamic culture. More importantly, different government entities were
receptive to this British influence. Kleitz (1988) explained that the American
educational system had much to do with shaping the 19th century images of the Orient.
He argued that schools, colleges, and universities built their curriculums around the
famous McGuffey readers that included oriental tales based on The Arabian Nights
(Kleitz, 1988).

2.1 The Exotic Oriental Nights: Poe’s Threshold

Edgar Allan Poe is regarded as one of the earliest American writers to manipulate
oriental aesthetics and write about Islamic culture. Though it was not a direct influence,
The Arabian Nights had a great effect on Edgar Allan Poe. The allusions to this oriental
text appeared in almost all his works. The Arabian tales even became a literary
touchstone for him; he referred to them in letters and journals. Poe clearly represented
the 19th century American hunger for exoticism. His poems ‘To Helen’, ‘Al Aaraaf’,
and ‘Israfel’ reflected his manipulation of the exotic oriental landscape to imbue his
verse with mystery and allure. Poe was profoundly influenced by Thomas Moore, and
like Poe, Moore had never visited the Orient. Moore’s oriental romance ‘Lalla Rookh’
was central to Poe’s version of Orientalism, sparking an interest in the Middle East
and foregrounding more versions of American Orientalism(s). Seven of Poe’s tales can
be easily identified as oriental tales. Among these were ‘A Tale of Jerusalem’ and ‘The
Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade’ in which the oriental setting was used as
a landscape. Kleitz (1988) identified that in Poe’s tales, the Orient was an exotic and
romantic location where almost anything could take place. The structure and style of
the Arabian tales provided him with ample materials to experiment with and offered
new literary works to his readership.
Another important factor that drew the Americans’ attention to the Orient
emerged from the war against the Barbary States in North Africa. The United States’
involvement in the Barbary countries in North Africa drew American national
attention, and this introduced the Orient as a setting for the further creation of tales of
adventure. As Kleitz (1988) pointed out, the earliest American oriental tales were
simply moral and spy tale, but other types of tales appeared, including historical,
religious, and romantic tales which gained more popularity. The Barbary Wars
definitely established the Orient as an enemy in the American psyche, and the writers
were very quick to manipulate the growing sentiment and mold it in their literary
 L. Alfawa’ra & J. Alghaberi, American orientalism: A critical reading through
Edgar Allan Poe | 1106

works. Americans of the 19th century began to respond to the depictions of the Orient
and it shaped their idea of the whole area. However, 19th century American romantic
Orientalism appeared largely as a popular phenomenon with little depth (Kleitz, 1988).
The damaging myths and dehumanizing stereotypes in Poe’s fiction and many other
sources caricatured the Orient, and this had been the raw material for Hollywood
movies. The aim was to move beyond the European orientalist paradigm and
problematize Poe’s re-visiting of The Arabian Nights.

2.2 The American Orientalism

The study of the Orient in the United States in the 19th century was not systematic
as in Europe. This phenomenon, according to Kleitz (1988), resulted mainly in some
exotic travel books, flurry poems, and tales inspired by the mysteries of Egypt and The
Arabian Nights. It is clear that 19th century American Orientalists, including Poe, were
profoundly affected by the growing Western contact with the Orient, but very few
Americans of this period had personal experiences in the Orient. The Orient was
mostly a made-up world that, to varied degrees, met the psychological and spiritual
demands of American writers in a way that the West could not (Kleitz, 1988).
American writers of the 19th century relied heavily on European translations and
adaptations of The Arabian Nights. Their experience with the Orient remained largely
based on abstractions. Nevertheless, this phenomenon continued in the United States,
and it also incorporated new forms and various sources of representation. According
to Makdisi and Nursbaum (2008), The Arabian Nights continued to be abridged and
re-imagined in children’s books all over the world. This reflected the approach that
American literature took in shaping a perspective of the Orient. Though no direct
contact with the Orient was recorded, American literature followed the same European
colonial features, mainly the English and French works of literature.
Since its publication, Orientalism by Edward Said (1978) has become a classic
in the fields of postcolonial studies and many others. A significant portion of the work
deftly follows the emergence of Western stereotypes of the East and explains how the
unfavorable portrayals of Arabs in particular have persisted in literature, cinema, and
other forms of media. It is crucial to remember that the American heritage of
Orientalism differs from that of the British and the French, as outlined by Said (1978).
The American experience in Eastern nations has been characterized as being
significantly less direct and hence focused on abstractions (Alghaberi & Mukherjee,
2022). On the other hand, during the colonial era, the British and the French had
numerous extended cultural exchanges with various nations in the East. Little (2008,
p. 11) demonstrated that “in 1776 what the average American knew about the Middle
East and its peoples likely came from two sources: the King James Bible and
Scheherazade’s Thousand and One Arabian Nights”.
Edgar Allan Poe’s The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade is one of the
texts that emerged under a second-hand influence, yet it contributed much to the
ostracizing of the Orient and the persistence of stereotypes in the United States. It is
argued that the American version of Orientalism can be traced to Poe’s writing. Apart
from European Orientalism, the American Orientalists appropriated the Oriental
discourse to render it devoid of truth and authentic representations. Poe is a significant
example in this regard for two main reasons. First, he had been influential for many
generations of writers. Second, he exaggerated the ways of reconstructing the Orient
1107 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1103-1118, 2023

literature in a form that suited imperial purposes. His short story was rather a criticism
of the oriental discourse, its construction, and reconstruction. Since his source of
information about the Orient was based on fiction, the authenticity of his portrayal
could be easily questioned. Poe’s creation of the fantasy Orient means shaping the
national imagination of the Americans, a case whose repercussions were manifested
in the racial profiling and discrimination in the United States of today.

3. METHODS

Various modes of reading and approaches were used to critically interpret the
primary text. Orientalism and postcolonial theories provided a theoretical framework
for the study and the deconstructive approach was applied in certain contexts to
deconstruct and counter the stereotyping and the mythologizing of the Orient. Edgar
Allan Poe’s (1845) The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade was critically
studied in relation to the influences on Poe and the influences of his works on other
writers. The article offered a critical reading of Poe’s Orientalism and how he was
influenced by the European version of Orientalism. The textual analysis situated and
located the oriental reflections in Poe’s writing.
The influence that The Arabian Nights exerted upon different cultures and
literary traditions all over the world is widely acknowledged. Antoine Galland‘s
translation of this masterpiece opened new avenues for numerous adaptations, re-
creations, and simulations, making it influential in the West. However, the reception
of The Arabian Nights did not go without criticism and distortion. Edgar Allan Poe,
for instance, not only used the text as a springboard for new creations but also invested
in appropriating the oriental aesthetics and the rich oral tradition of the East. His
interest in exoticizing the Middle East where The Arabian Nights emerged is not
innocent at least from a postcolonial perspective. This study offered a deconstructive
reading of Poe’s text, an attempt to re-interpret The Thousand-and-Second Tale of
Scheherazade in post-colonial paradigms as well.

4. RESULTS

4.1 The Exotic Oriental Nights: Poe’s Threshold

4.1.1 Poe’s early mystics

Edgar Allan Poe was a scholar of the classics. He was deeply rooted in the
Western canon, and a significant portion of his adult life was spent hopelessly bound
up with the Anglo-American canon, both of which had a clear impact on his writing
and literary imagination. His early poems bore a close resemblance to those of Lord
Byron and P. B. Shelley. Interestingly, Poe’s knowledge or awareness of other nations
came mainly through his reading of both non-fiction and literary classics and
masterpieces of them.
Edgar Allan Poe has always inspired American writers of fantasy to the point
that they use the invented exotic nature that The Arabian Nights has about the Orient
to the West. This has been perpetuated by Orientalist writers as realistic features of the
 L. Alfawa’ra & J. Alghaberi, American orientalism: A critical reading through
Edgar Allan Poe | 1108

whole Orient, ignoring all about the Orient’s diversities and cultures. This issue has
been the crux for post-colonial writers who have noticed the amount of prejudice used
in Orientalists’ writings against the East. The Arabian Nights stories have mistakenly
been regarded as a representative of the real Orient.
Making the unreal realistic in the minds of readers is not a difficult task;
however, it needs a systematic and continuous perpetuation to make readers believe
that the world of exoticism exists somewhere in the East. The stories of The Arabian
Nights were translated at the beginning of the 18th century by Antoine Galland into
French (1704-17). It was then translated into English within the same period by an
anonymous ‘Grub Street’ translator and into many other languages. One might wonder
why would these fantasy stories become this important to be translated into a number
of languages in such a manner. The significance of these stories relies not only on
being entertaining but also on something else that the translators needed; the power of
exoticism propagated by a colonial enterprise. The characterization, style, and events
of the stories are all charming to readers; something new that they do not find in their
normal lives. The use of fantasy in The Arabian Nights enabled writers to think of new
settings and create new worlds that suit children’s literature and popular and folk
literature. The real East had no longer been a real place in the minds of Orientalists;
they misrepresented it and invented a fictitious East corresponding to their interest and
attitudes in ‘othering’ different cultures. Hence, stories in The Arabian Nights have
become real in the minds of Western readers depending on the stereotyped images
drawn and perpetuated in Orientalists’ writings.
Without experiencing or knowing about the real Orient by themselves, Western
readers are exposed to the imaginative Orient that has already been woven into the
travel narratives in which writers had never actually visited the Orient. The readers
solely depended on The Arabian Nights and similar tales for knowledge of the Orient.
Writers and readers of such tales found a new form of literature as a source of
entertainment and information about what lay overseas. They found depictions of the
estrangement and otherness that they liked in the Orient. Moussa-Mahmoud (1988)
suggested that readers will enjoy seeing and hearing them without having to go out of
their way to look for them abroad. The Nights’ tremendous imaginative force, the
dazzling magnificence of its descriptions, and the realistic and cozy ambiance of some
of the stories have persisted in capturing the imagination of Europeans to this day.

4.1.2 Conceptualizing the Orient through travel narrative

Travel narratives did nothing but confirmed the images of the nights because the
writers who wrote them had to read about the Orient before visiting it. They had
already constructed a certain picture of the place and people that they might encounter
later. In addition, most of the writers of travel narratives like George Orwell, James
Capper, and Mary Wortley Montagu had their own aims prior to visiting the Orient.
When they wrote down their experiences in the Far East, they wrote them based on the
ideologies they already had and colonial purposes. The Orient was fixated on an
Orientalist framework constructed to serve certain purposes. Writers were expected to
supply the readers with something exotic; something different that is not relatable to
Western culture and philosophy. Poe was able to capture and draw upon the European
oriental constructions. His story is a reflection of the excessive interest in mystifying
the Orient.
1109 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1103-1118, 2023

In their book, Kennedy and Warner (2013) identified that the most noticeable
negative images are magic, romance, Jennies, ignorance bloodthirsty people, and
anything that relates to supernatural events in the East. This study suggested that the
colonial ambition in creating the Exotic Orient was the reason behind such influences
and these impacts were politically planned to serve colonial interests. Colonial powers
had to silence other nations and worked hard to convince them that colonization was
in their interests. This is reflected in literary discourse, creating stories to also persuade
the local European community of the colonial endeavors using the soft power of
literature.
The versions emerging after Halland’s translation remain derivative
appropriations that testify to the significance of The Arabian Nights as a literary source
of entertainment even if they carry elements of political and cultural inferiority. The
colonial interests, aesthetic appropriation, and a sense of inferiority dominate the
reception of the tales in Europe and the United States as well. In sum, the numerous
translations of The Arabian Nights, re-creation and appropriations, adaptations, and
travel narratives all ‘inferiorized’ and ‘othered’ the Orient, depicting an entire ethnicity
as evil, foolish, and savage. The Orient is clearly fetishized and caricatured not merely
to garner wider readership/viewership and revenues to authors, publishers, and
producers, but it also served in creating cultural dichotomies ‘us’ and ‘them’, ‘here’
and ‘there’ which are part of the colonial enterprise. Though the name of Poe’s work
The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade (Poe, 1845) is similar to its inspiring
stories of The Arabian Nights, we cannot make a direct comparison between the two.
Poe’s story is easily evaluated as satirical, mocking the final scenes of The Arabian
Nights. Nothing more is added to Poe’s work, except making more exoticism to the
original story of Scheherazade and making its ending scenes bloodier, depriving the
Sultan of any kind of mercy presented in the original work of Alf Layla Wa Layla. This
rendition is a compulsion to demonize the Orient. The preoccupation with depicting
the Orient as violent is perhaps a sign of the power relationship between the Orient and
the Occident.
In all the tales and poems, Poe’s relationship and understanding of the Orient
were merely virtual. Abstract imaginations were drawn from the translations of The
Arabian Nights and the Holy Quran, and the classics available at Poe’s disposal. Poe
never visited the Orient and never experienced the cultural specificities of the East.
The problem with some critics is that they do not relate the concept of ‘Orientalism’
with any kind of political stance. The majority thinks of Orientalists’ literary works as
sources of knowledge about the Orient, considering The Arabian Nights as a
demographic and ethnographic book that tells facts about the Orient. This,
unfortunately, blurred the distinction between the ‘real’ and the ‘imagined’.
The popularity of the tales spread swiftly throughout Europe in particular and
they inspired numerous imitations, stage adaptations, and collections of tales in
different parts of the world. This popularity, as Kleitz (1988) pointed out, affected
every major writer of the eighteenth and 19th centuries to certain degrees. Many writers
were obliged to at least make references to the Arabian tales and their charming
characters in order to reach a wider readership and gain fame. However, such pressure
on writers made them sway away from the original tales and blend in their own
creations to fulfill the needs of the readers and publishers.
The Orient is defined by a collection of recurrent images and cliches, and how
colonialism and imperialism put this knowledge of the Orient into effect subsequently
 L. Alfawa’ra & J. Alghaberi, American orientalism: A critical reading through
Edgar Allan Poe | 1110

(Moosavinia et al., 2011). Orientalism refers to the portrayal of the Self or Occident
and the Other or Orient, where the Self is given preference and the upper hand in order
to define and reimagine the submissive, silent, and weak Other. For Said (1978), this
geographical line between the Occident and the Orient is arbitrary, and many Western
scholars, orientalists, including Burton, Lane, Lyall, and Massignon, as well as writers
like Aeschylus, Shakespeare, Austin, Flaubert, Kipling, and Conrad, have contributed
to forming and/or misrepresenting the Orient in the discourse (Moosavinia et al.,
2011). Thus, misrepresenting the Orient has been a task that has never been innocent
because it has been going through a systematic process of depicting the other and
perpetuating it to a sense that looks realistic for Western and American readers.
Besides, through explorations, and expansion of colonialism, the West managed to
know about the Orient. This knowledge about all that concerns the Orient helped
greatly in controlling it. The knowledge of Daniel Butt in Colonialism and
Postcolonialism (Butt, 2013) maintains, ‘is not innocent but profoundly connected
with the operations of power’ (p. 9). The power determines what the reality of both
East and West might be. Knowledge of the Orient was generated out of this cultural
strength, “in a sense creates the Orient, the Oriental, and his world’” (Ashcroft et al.,
2003, p. 188). The power relationship is often invested to demarcate a superior culture.
In her comment on Poe’s writing, Leidecker (1936) argued that if Poe had much
knowledge of Persia and Persian literature, he would not divulge it in his writings. She
observed that every reference in Poe’s poems and stories seems to disclose knowledge
received second or third-hand. Poe, in this regard, wrote his texts exclusively to
American readers regardless of cultural authenticity. Nonetheless, Poe’s tales
constructed a particular Orient in the American Psyche which still reverberates in
various pop culture forms. The Arabian Nights are recommended to be read to know
about the Orient, and of course, Poe’s oriental works are read for the same purpose,
namely to read about the constructed Orient which exists only in literary texts.

4.2 Poe’s Discursive Intertextuality

4.2.1 Re-framing The Arabian Nights

Edgar Allan Poe, an American writer, first published The Thousand and One-
Half Tale of Scheherazade in the Philadelphia magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book in
February 1845. It was marketed as a follow-up to The Thousand and One Nights,
which detailed the exploits of well-known character Sinbad the Sailor. In the story,
on the thousand and second night after her wedding, Scheherazade told her husband,
the King, a story in which Sinbad traveled the world on what he believed to be the
back of a monster. Sinbad was unaware that he was actually voyaging on a steamship
from the 19th century. He witnessed and heard about numerous events that, based on
Sinbad’s accounts, appeared to be fantasies. All of the astounding happenings that
Sinbad detailed were explained in the story’s thirty-four footnotes as being historical
truths or scientific facts from the 19th century. Allan Poe’s short story started where
The Arabian Nights’ tale ended. Poe provided a summary of the Arabian tales, and
Scheherazade brought Sinbad back. She took the story into strange and amazing
places, and each episode became more fantastic. Nevertheless, the King grew skeptical
of the weird creatures and the eerie lands. He then accused Scheherazade of telling lies
and subsequently ordered her death.
1111 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1103-1118, 2023

Poe began his story by invoking an old saying below:

(1) “…truth is stranger than fiction.” (Poe, 1845, p. 1).

The story is simply a satirical variation of The Arabian Nights. In The Arabian
Nights, the main character, Scheherazade, wed an envious King who–as he had done
for his past wives–sentenced her to death the day following the wedding. She recited
a story on the evening of their wedding, and the King delayed her demise until the next
day so that she might complete it. By spinning tales for 1.001 nights, she managed to
stay alive. These stories were bred between fairytales and fantasy stories, celebrated
as pioneering examples of Arabic literary tradition. Scheherazade in The Arabian
Nights was depicted as a creative and charming damsel whose wit won her husband’s
trust. As a result, she survives by telling the stories. The feminist inquiry posited
Scheherazade role in constructing and controlling the tales as a triumphant narrative
in which Scheherazade turned from a helpless to a powerful woman.
In Poe’s short story, Scheherazade met a drastic fate due to a change in the
storyline. The King’s skepticism grew when he heard unusual twists in Sinbad’s
adventures. Poe injected his story with 19th century inventions which the King found
nonsense. The King frequently interrupted the story with outbursts which clearly
showed his disapproval and uneasiness with the exaggeration that did not resemble the
Sinbad stories in the Arabian tales. Despite the King’s interruptions, Scheherazade
continued to recount the Sinbad story, but it eventually drove the kind wary. The King
no longer found interest in the adventures of Sinbad and he ordered ‘throttling’
Scheherazade. Poe’s addition of a second night to the one thousand nights and one
bitterly served the fate of Scheherazade.
Poe’s story was premised on two narrative frames that attempted to establish the
story as an addition to The Arabian Nights. The invention of the ‘Tellmenow
Isitsöornot’ foregrounds the narrator’s quest in the frame of ‘some Oriental
investigations’ to discover an old text telling the truth about Scheherazade’s fate. The
unnamed narrator also used the frame story of Sinbad to re-creates tales by mixing 19th
century inventions. The introduction of Western inventions in the storyline upset the
King, and he no longer found the stories interesting.
Poe began his story by using meta-fiction as a technique to startle the readers
and prepare him/her for his narrative; “truth is stranger than fiction” (Poe, 1845, p. 1).
Poe’s story took the form of an epilogue to the Near Eastern and Indian folktales of
The Thousand and One Nights (Pangborn, 2010). He attempted to destabilize the trust
and beliefs of the readers in order to accept new truths and claims he proposed. By
referring to the truth as stranger than fiction, he subsequently proposed certain claims
in a satirical manner to question the originality and ridicule the popularity of The
Arabian Nights. He referred to ‘Tellmenow Isitsöornot’ which was completely his
invention to base his claims. This book did not exist at all, and Edgar Allan Poe
invented it as a joke in The Thousand-And-Second Tale of Scheherazade. Poe
pretended to draw the story of Scheherazade from this book which undoubtedly
disclosed Poe’s intentions to distort the Arabian original story. Poe underlined the aim
of his short story in the very first pages. He believed that he had discovered a literary
error, and he thought it was his concern to rectify that error:
 L. Alfawa’ra & J. Alghaberi, American orientalism: A critical reading through
Edgar Allan Poe | 1112

(2) “I was not a little astonished to discover that the literary world has hitherto been strangely in error
respecting the fate of the vizier’s daughter, Scheherazade, as that fate is depicted in The Arabian
Nights”. (Poe, 1845, p. 8).

This kind of discovery was rather an attempt to access the Arabian tale and shape
it into an Oriental mold serving the interest of the neo-American version of
Orientalism. He tenderly referred to his reader as ‘inquisitive’, signaling a detour to
present a new plotline for The Arabian Nights which is widely known to readers in
Europe and different parts of the world. The ‘inquisitively’ that Poe evoked dragged
the readers to an alternative reading of the Arabian tale, one that is awkward and silly.
Poe’s deconstruction of The Arabian Nights was understood rather within an
imperialist frame that attempted to render the whole system of Orientalism devoid of
any truth and artistic values.
Poe’s short story might be read as a distortion since it did not fall within an
appropriative paradigm. Providing a summary of a popular classic text and proposing
a horrible ending to that text depending on an ill-informed Oriental depiction revealed
much about the reception of Arabic literature in America. Although Poe was mainly
influenced by British Orientalists, he surpassed them and founded his own type of
Orientalism. British writers resorted to oriental aesthetics and Islamic artistic creations
for inspiration, whereas Poe ridiculed and satirized The Arabian Nights and devalued
its artistic and literary essence. His constructed half-image of the Arabs and their
culture overshadows his short story, leading him to suggest a fate for Scheherazade,
the main character in The Arabian Nights. It is therefore imperative to highlight the
ideological impetus behind Poe’s re-writing of Scheherazade as a character and re-
designing of The Arabian Nights as a literary text.
Pangborn (2010) argued that English writers accessed an orientalist discourse
for two main reasons related to imperialism and modernity. This interpretation
contends that Poe’s story was an effort to advance imperialist goals and to combat a
more chaotic and alienating modernization. Poe did not seem satisfied with the fate of
Scheherazade as depicted in The Arabian Nights. He used her character to extend the
tale for another night to design his desired fate for the character that he thought was
typical of the Eastern King. By doing this, Poe’s aim in the story was to reinforce the
inferior Eastern other and to propagate an imperialist American policy for a newly
emerging nation.

4.2.2 Caricaturing the Orient

In Poe’s fiction, the Orient was employed to deliver cheap laughter and vilify
any culture that is different from American norms. Schueller (2001) pointed out that
Poe was interested in politics. He had his own political journalism which was not away
from the imperial interests that the USA had embraced since its growth. Poe, for
instance, was obsessed with oriental discourse; an obsession that he inherited from
European influence.
In his works, Poe repeatedly presented images of the Orient in a distorted
manner. He, through the characterization of Scheherazade, sexualized the whole East
by attempting to further expose the notion of ‘Hareem’ which is a common theme in
the oriental discourse. Schueller (2001) noted, “yet, Poe’s tales were also influenced
by the vogue for Egyptology and the interest in missionary and quasi-missionary travel
to the Near East, just as were the writing of Cummins, Deforest, Murray, and Ware.
1113 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1103-1118, 2023

Like many of his contemporaries, Poe had a deep interest in the Near East” (p. 21).
The obsessive interest in the Orient is indicative of the colonial legacy, and it can be
revealed when texts are read critically. There should not necessarily be explicit
similarities between the Orientalists’ works and the works influencing each other due
to intercultural exchange. However, hegemonic ideologies are usually uncovered in
texts emerging from Europe and the United States. Clearly, the similarities between
Poe’s tales and The Arabian Nights “do not depend primarily upon references and
allusions or upon resemblance which may arbitrarily exist between particular stories”
(Marzolph et al., 2004, p. 66). More essential than that is the relationship. It comes
from a fundamental understanding that goes beyond just the purpose of fiction and the
kinds of resources that best support the art of the storyteller. It is concerned with the
nature of a man himself.
Poe might have used the tile and style of The Arabian Nights while narrating his
own work, but he recreated the work to serve certain his aims. By following the
European model, he rather originated a new version of Orientalism in the United
States. Though his story of Scheherazade was short compared to the stories of The
Arabian Nights, he managed to make it more exotic and more violent. He directed the
readers that all these extraordinary events, supernatural creatures, human greed,
violence, and submissiveness were found in the Near East, and the mission of the
American/Western man was to go there and make things good as the colonial
discourses entailed.
Said (1978, p. 271) posited that “the representations of Orientalism in European
(American) culture amounts to what we can call a discursive consistency, one that has
not only history but material (and institutional) presence to show for itself”.
‘Discursive consistency’ in colonial literature is framed by the mythically exotic
images of the Orient, especially when it is supported by the mysterious and fantasy
stereotypes that have been operated on the Oriental. In Poe’s works, the Orient was re-
invented and re-constructed. Stereotypes were thereby revived. Eventually, Poe’s
poems and short stories all perpetuated the negative oriental representations. His
obsession with the Orient was not reflected as aesthetic appreciation but rather an
appropriation that was distorted and never restored. Poe’s oriental discourse was only
examined lately by Arab critics of American literature, and more specifically, it
surfaced through translations of his works into Arabic. Through stereotypical
duplication in the world of realism, a fake Orient appeared in the world of reality.
In his Le Harem Colonial: Images d’un sous-erotisme, Alloula (1981) focused
on how different travel books, photographers, and writers were all interested in
exoticizing the Orient. He pointed out that “what he (the photographer of some French
postcards of Algerian women) brings back from his expedition is but a harvest of
stereotypes that express both the limits of fabricated realism and those of models
frozen in the hieratic poses of death” (p. 35). The clichéd images of Eastern women in
books like The Arabian Nights and The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade
are part of a cultural onslaught inherited from a colonial legacy. Photographers tried
to depict Algerian women in the same way that orientalists had done in the past, turning
the reality of poor, innocent colonized women into lustful, seductive half-naked
women in order to make their imaginations come to life. Alloula realized that Algerian
women were framed as idle that lie adorned as if ready for unending festivities, the
harem is deeply fascinating and equally disturbing (Alloula, 1981). It seems that most
of the Western expeditions to the Middle East were all invested in proving that The
 L. Alfawa’ra & J. Alghaberi, American orientalism: A critical reading through
Edgar Allan Poe | 1114

Arabian Nights is a real depiction. Such orientation blurred the boundaries between
The Arabian Nights as a fiction and the Orient as a reality that exists. Their writings
became historical and geographical records for all those who want to know about or
visit the East. Hence, there is a lack of scholarly deliberation that is critical and
appreciative. More importantly, the Arab world had really failed to represent itself and
confront the European and American machine of stereotypes. The oil, wealth, and hi-
tech cities in the Gulf countries had not helped but added layers to the mystery and
fascination in the Orient, resulting in new images and stereotypes.
Further examination of Poe’s The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade
reveals that it is a historical record of the ‘Other’ rather than being just mere fantasy
stories for entertainment. Poe never made a reference to the specificities of other
countries and nations in Asia and North Africa. His lack of firsthand experience led
him to consider all these places as having one culture and one entity. However, the
Middle East, being the birthplace of Christianity, is of greater significance to Poe. It is
appealing to him, yet the influence of European oriental discourse on him renders it
‘different’. Apart from religiosity, Poe’s interest in the Orient is ascribed to his
attempts to buy readership. The popularity of the Arabian tales in the 19th century
obliged Poe to re-create and render the tales so that they reach the readers directly. His
rendering of a story in The Arabian Nights into The Thousand-and-Second Tale of
Scheherazade gives us an idea about Poe’s approach to the Orient. His re-creation of
Scheherazade is appealing yet it recycles several images and stereotypes in the
European oriental discourse.
Therefore, the perpetuation of the newly-framed images of The Arabian Nights
is continued in The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade and the other works
of Poe, authorizing the colonial discourse in the minds of Western/American people
who are made certain that the Orient truly needs to be freed from its people who had
already been dehumanized. Hegemony thus gains legitimacy and is formally exercised,
especially in light of the Orient’s failure to successfully project itself to the globe
during the previous two centuries. Neocolonialist manifestations (military, economic,
and cultural) are now being justified by the newly created frame and false
representation of the East. Even Arabs themselves contribute to the growing
scholarship of Orientalism. There are scholars who work for this enterprise, acting as
cultural informants in American and European universities. More importantly, the
American and Western mainstream media after 9/11 presented a refashioned
Orientalist propaganda in line with the Bush’s administration ‘War on Terror’ in the
Middle East. In addition to this, Keskin (2018) argued that neo-Orientalist perspectives
on ‘liberating Muslim women from Muslim men’ was one of the driving forces of the
‘War on Terror’ and led to a variety of responses from postcolonial feminists and
critics of American imperialism.

4.2.3 Poe’s influences on later genres of Orientalist works

By examining Poe’s influences on later genres of literature, we can understand

that Poe’s works have become sources of study within which there are various oriental
representations that have their own impacts on the minds of Poe’s admirers and
readers. Writing does not remain words on pages, but they become a part of the
readers’ experience, mentality, thoughts, and behavior. Cultures are mainly
constructed by thoughts that are transferred from the world of realism to construct a
1115 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 1103-1118, 2023

new reality. Critics must come to terms with the fact that Poe used his fiction to support
human oppression. It is thus not just the conventionality of Poe’s racist and imperialist
fantasies that we should condemn but also the extent to which Poe has employed his
undisputed powers as a creative writer to weave such fantasies into what has for so
long been appreciated for its aesthetic qualities (Ginsberg, 2002). Literature thus
becomes a constructor of new ways of thinking rather than being just a source of
entertainment. The literary abilities that Poe enjoyed have facilitated his outreach to a
wider American readership, authors, and media which, in return, absorbed Poe’s
creative thoughts, political stands, and Orientalist discourses. Poe’s imagination and
political thoughts were shaped by his orientalist readings and participation in the 19th
century American oriental discourse.
Consequently, the images that the American literature derived from Poe’s
orientalist works continued perpetuating the same clichés and frames about the Orient.
In Poe’s poems and stories, the Orient is so exotic that it is full of “poisoned arrows
and poisonous snakes” and “millions of black and yellow men, beards, turbans,
temples, and colonial skirmishes fill out Poe’s Orientalist fantasy” (Mernissi,
2001). Ziter (2003), however, argued that “the precision of his historical events is
unusual amid the huge volume of xenophobic Western writings about the exotic and
mysterious Orient” (p. 93). The images of the Orient supplied by the appropriations of
The Arabian Nights had become a fascinating option to break the monotony and offer
something new for those who want to know about the East. This obsession emerged
from a need to explore the exotic, romantic, supernatural creatures, and magic in
another part of the world. Unfortunately, this led to the creation of a polarizing
discourse of ‘us’ and ‘them’, ‘here’ and ‘there”.
More importantly, the American version of Orientalism is deeply politicized and
hence reflects dehumanizing portrayals of the Orient as a whole. Poe borrowed his
Oriental tropes and images from British writers and his writing later contributed to the
founding of the American version of Orientalism which is much less direct and based
on abstractions.
Poe himself was a text rather than just an author of his works. He was aware of
what he was writing because he was a critic whose writings in poetry, prose, or fiction
are full of debatable discourses that aim at shaping the way of thinking of the new
generations of America. Poe’s interest was directed toward the most strange and odd
mysteries. All that was incomplete, unresolved, unexplained, unchallenged, Poe was
bound to complete it with his imagination; thus, he had narrated mysterious secret
documents of inexplicable crimes and discoveries. Poe also tracked out the
possibilities of mesmerism, and the prospects of Ariel’s navigation — such themes fell
under his interests and appealed to his readers (Peeples, 2004). Poe’s The Thousand-
and-Second Tale of Scheherazade is thus according to Peeples’ prediction a
completion of The Arabian Nights which Poe thought of as incomplete; hence, he
added another night where Scheherazade should commit a mistake in front of the King
who was no longer amused by her story and thus ordered her execution.

5. CONCLUSION

The study aimed at exploring the Oriental influences on Edgar Allan Poe and
how he received such influences and internalized them. Poe is considered a central
 L. Alfawa’ra & J. Alghaberi, American orientalism: A critical reading through
Edgar Allan Poe | 1116

figure in 19th century American literature, and he can be credited with foregrounding
the American version of Orientalism. Though he had no firsthand experience in the
Orient, he relied heavenly on the translations of The Arabian Nights and other Oriental
works. In addition, his readings and study of classics enabled him to create his own
version of Orientalism. The emergence of American Orientalism can be traced to
Edgar Allan Poe’s works. The Arabian Nights is no longer a source of aesthetic values,
but it has been used as a repertoire of stereotypes and dehumanizing images. The
difficulty of separating politics from Oriental discourse demonstrated how the
boundaries between the American depiction of the Orient and reality had all been
blurred. Even feminist studies had failed in examining the character of Scheherazade
outside the sensual paradigm and sexual representation. Moreover, oriental aesthetics
was appropriated for commercial gain, and Scheherazade and Arabian lore were very
often the targets. Edgar Allan Poe’s The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade
clearly reflected the reconstructions and re-creations of the oriental discourse and how
it was eventually rendered devoid of any truth or authentic representation. The Orient
provided Poe with an exotic landscape and the mysterious allure that readers received
well. His fiction drew the public attention to the Orient as a setting for magic and
marvelous tales of fantasy. Poe’s concept of ‘Arabesque’ is not only central to
understanding his works but also to 19th century American Orientalism.
In an attempt to explain the 19th century American interest in the Orient, it is
realized that it springs either from the significance of the holy land to Christianity or
due to an excessive obsession with the exotic. For some writers, the interest in the
Orient is connected to a personal search for a spiritual source. Nevertheless, there are
many other reasons which explain the subsequent interest in the Middle East, such as
the institutionalization of Orientalism, the emergence of the United States as a
superpower, and the creation of Israel in the Middle East. The study was limited to a
literary analysis of Edgar Allan Poe’s oriental attitude. Poe’s The Thousand-and-
Second Tale of Scheherazade is the primary text in this study, and further studies would
find more recent literary works to critically examine how American Orientalism
survived through the ages. In addition, caricaturing the Arab/Orient in American pop
culture is a further scope worthy of exploration.

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Limitations of your study should be addressed. Recommendations for future research
related to your topic should also be mentioned.
1121 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 2023

Acknowledgments (optional): give credit to funding bodies and departments that have
been of help during the project, for instance, by supporting it financially.

References: follow the APA 7 style.

All names/references mentioned in the text/article should be listed in the References

section. Names not mentioned in the text/article should be removed from the References
section.

Appendices (optional): if there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as
Appendix A, Appendix B, etc. Formulae and equations in appendices should be given
separate numbering: Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix, Eq. (B.1), and
so on. Similarly, for tables and figures: Table A.1; Fig. A.1, etc.

Further guidelines are provided below.

Headings and subheadings should be presented as follows (provide a space between the
headings and sub-headings):

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Subheading of the Content

1.1.1 Subheading of the content

Indent the first line of every paragraph by 1 cm.

For Tables, the title size is 12, and the content size is 10. Number the tables subsequently
throughout your article, and the title is written above the table (see previously published
issues, for example).

For Figures, the title size is 12, and the content size (if any) is 10. Number the figures
subsequently throughout your article, and the title is written below the figure (see
previously published issues, for example).

References:
The reference list should be arranged alphabetically following the guidelines of the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). For example:

1 author (Clarke, 2010)

2 authors (Lightbown & Spada, 1993)

3 authors (Reid et al., 1989)

Short quotations (less than 40 words):

 Back Matter | 1122

Deterding (1997, p. 54) said, “connected speech represents somewhat more natural data
than the rather artificial vowels derived from specially articulated citation speech”.

Long quotations (more than 40 words):

From the acoustic standpoint, even the sounds of words used by a speaker are one of the
forms of his or her identity. Accordingly, Jacobi (2009) explained that:

Along with communicating meaning, the acoustic signal is a product of physical

properties and changes, as well as, more generally all those factors that form the identity
of the speaker, such as social affiliation or family origin. The choice of words but also
the way they are realized differs from speaker to speaker, as well as within a speaker.
Even more, from an acoustic point of view, each utterance is unique. (Jacobi, 2009, p. 2)

Reference Manager

Before copyediting after article acceptance, the Editors will hyperlink the references with
corresponding in-text citations. All references and in-text citations should be in the APA
7th edition and present inside the article’s main body. References that are not cited should
be removed.

Template

For consistency and convenience, please use the TEMPLATE we already prepared for
the author(s).

Article Selection and Publication Process

1) Upon receipt of article submission, the Editor sends an email of confirmation to the
corresponding author within one and two weeks. If you fail to receive this confirmation,
your submission/email may be missed. The author should pay no submission charge at
this stage.

2) Peer review. We use a double-blind system for peer review; both reviewers’ and
authors’ identities remain anonymous. The article will be peer-reviewed by two
reviewers. The review process may take 3-4 months.

3) Notification of the result of the review is by email.

4) The authors revise the article according to the feedback and suggestions by reviewers.
Upon acceptance, a publication fee is to be paid by the author to the journal. The
publication fee is accessible at:
http://jurnal.usk.ac.id/SiELE/about/submissions#authorFees

5) After publication, the corresponding author will receive an email notification on the e-
journal in PDF that is available on the journal’s webpage and free of charge for download.
1123 | Studies in English Language and Education, 10(2), 2023

6) It usually takes about 6 months to 1 year from submission to publication, with an

average of 7 months.

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors must check off their submission’s compliance
with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not
adhere to these guidelines.
• The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal
for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
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file format.
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of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

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Author Fees
This journal charges the following author fees.

Article Processing Charges: 2000000.00 (IDR)

 Back Matter | 1124

Starting from September 2022 (Volume 9, Issue 3), Article Processing Charges (APC)
for Indonesian authors is IDR. 2,000,000 (two million rupiahs)
APCs for international authors is USD 160.00

Authors are required to pay Article Processing Charges (APCs) as a part of the
publication process.

Payment can be made through bank transfer (for Indonesian authors) and PayPal (for
international authors)
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION
UNIVERSITAS SYIAH KUALA
BANDA ACEH—ACEH, INDONESIA