Analysis on Analytical Exposition Texts Written by 11th Grade Students from SMAN 1 Sungairaya

The purpose of this study is to describe the students' writing ability by analyzing the student's analytical exposition text through qualitative research. The research subjects in this study consist of 30 eleventh-grade students from SMAN 1 Sungai Raya. The researchers employ 6-traits of writing rubrics to examine the students’ works. The findings mainly focus on two pivotal aspects, which are the development of students' ideas and organization and their proficiency in students' written conventions. The analysis shows that the majority of the students are able to write a simple and clear main idea. The researcher found that most of the students use multiple details or reasons to support the main idea. They are capable of constructing the analytical exposition text, which elaborates ideas, supports, and details the language features and generic structure of the text, and the writing convention. Based on the analysis of conventions in students’ writing, the students demonstrate varied levels of competence in writing conventions, showing strengths in some areas like punctuation and grammar but facing challenges, particularly in spelling and specific aspects of capitalization. In conclusion, they have good basic writing skills but need practice and exposure to writing English

The Portrayal of Stages of Grief in Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021)

Grief is a common theme in literary works, including film. While ample studies have been done to analyze stages of grief in films, these studies did not consider the role of film techniques in the portrayal of this theme. Therefore, this paper will explore how stages of grief are portrayed through the mise-en-scene and cinematography in Hideaki Anno’s Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021). Kübler-Ross’s (1969) model of stages of grief consisting of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance is used. In this movie, there are two grieving characters, namely Shinji Ikari, the main character of the movie, and Gendo Ikari who is the main antagonist of the story and Shinji’s father. Anger, depression, and acceptance are three of the five stages of grief that Shinji Ikari goes through. On the other hand, Gendo Ikari goes through the other two stages: bargaining and denial. The findings show how mise-en-scene and cinematography components, particularly shots and angles, help the filmmakers convey the emotional development of characters in coping with their grief. This study highlights that analyzing grief in films should go beyond narrative by examining how mise-en-scène and cinematography visually express characters’ emotional journeys, demonstrating that film techniques are essential in conveying the stages of grief. It suggests that a holistic approach, integrating both literary and cinematic analysis, offers deeper insight into how grief is portrayed and experienced in film

English Native Speakers and Indonesian Speakers’ Concept of Verb 'Increase': A Corpus-Based Lexical Semantic Approach

In conveying meaning, most Indonesian speakers still struggle in determining collocations properly, particularly for words that have the same denotative meaning in English. This research aims to reveal the English native speakers’ and the Indonesian speakers’ concept of verb ‘increase’. The semantic field in this study is based on syntagmatic relations or what is called collocation. The research method in this research adopts a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches with descriptive and comparative methods and corpus linguistic methodological approach. The research data comes from digital texts in the field of economics of British students (British Academic Written English/ BAWE) and independent digital texts containing articles from Sinta 2 accredited national journals (Indonesian Economic Written English/ IEWE). The results show that the concept of the verb increase used by English native speakers is identical with Indonesian speakers that represents the spatial concept 'up'. Comprehending the concept, therefore, will enable Indonesian speakers to improve their comprehension of English VN collocations, as well as the accuracy of the VN collocations

Fostering Literacy Culture by Optimizing Reading Corner at Elementary School

Literacy is not just the ability to read and write, it involves the ability to understand, engage, use, analyze and transform both written and spoken texts. Schools have an important role in building a literacy culture in schools. One of them is creating a literacy-friendly physical environment. Reading corner is an example of a physical environment that supports the development of a literacy culture at school. This study aimed to study the implementation of reading corner activities in order to foster literacy culture as applied in an elementary school and to identify the students’ reaction to the activities in reading corners. This case study was carried out at Kaliombo elementary school Kediri. The data from school principals, teachers and students were gathered through interview, questionnaire and documentation. The data was analyzed using qualitative data analysis and percentage computation. The results showed that the literacy culture built in the reading corner was carried out in several ways: (a) composing a certain schedule for each class to read certain books and do activities in the reading corner; (b) providing interesting and varied new books to boost the students’ interest in the reading corner; (c) creating literacy-related activities in reading corner. The study finds that students had positive reactions to the implementation of activities in the reading corner to foster literacy culture. This study also implied that the reading corner is worth developing in elementary school as it facilitates students with numerous activities that encourage the formation of a literacy culture

Photo Story-Telling of South Amarasi Folklore: A Strategy to Enhance English-Speaking Skills in Young Learners

This study investigates the impact of South Amarasi folklore-based photo storytelling on young learners' English-speaking skills and cultural awareness in under-resourced educational settings. Conducted in Sahraen Village, South Amarasi—specifically at Rumah Singgah Sore Oetepas (a non-formal learning center) and SD Inpres Sahraen (a formal elementary school)—this research employs a qualitative approach supported by descriptive statistics. It evaluates how incorporating local folklore into English lessons can enhance language acquisition and student engagement. The study explores several key questions: How effectively is South Amarasi folklore improving English skills among young learners? What factors influence students' progress through photo storytelling, including prior knowledge and classroom dynamics? How do teachers perceive the integration of local folklore in teaching, particularly regarding its impact on language skills and cultural awareness? These questions are thoroughly addressed through classroom observations, interviews, and pre- and post-test assessments. Findings reveal that folklore-based photo storytelling significantly boosts students' English-speaking abilities and engagement, particularly in environments with limited resources. This research contributes to the broader discourse on culturally responsive teaching, highlighting the value of local content in language education and curriculum developmen

Analysis of the Need For Animated Video Teaching Materials in Beginning Reading Instruction for First Grade Elementary School

In the realm of education, the instruction of early reading in first grade of Elementary School holds a pivotal role in establishing the foundational literacy skills for students. However, educators often encounter challenges in delivering these instructional materials. One proposed solution is the utilization of teaching aids in the form of animated videos. The aim of this study is to analyze the necessity of using animated video teaching materials for early reading in first grade of elementary school and to comprehend the extent to which teachers' needs are related to the instruction of early reading for their students. Through this research, it is anticipated to provide recommendations to all educational stakeholders to understand and address the requirements for the utilization of digital teaching aids, specifically animated videos, in the instruction of early reading in first grade of elementary school. This research employs a qualitative descriptive method involving 30 class teachers from 23 elementary schools as the sample. The findings indicate that educators still tend to rely on conventional teaching aids, particularly concerning the utilized instructional media. It is found that there is a need for diverse and complex digital teaching materials, specifically animated videos, as well as the necessity for support from all relevant stakeholders to fulfill the educators' needs in elementary schools. The implications of this research are expected to enhance students' proficiency in early reading instruction for first-grade students using animated video teaching aids in the current digital era

Images of Translocality of EFL Learners within an ELT Hybrid Modality

This study examines the thought processes of English as a First Language (EFL) learners as they complete their grades 11 and 12 at identified senior high schools in the province of Cavite, the Philippines.  It attempts to describe the communication situations EFL learners engage in with their Filipino teachers and classmates in an Oral Communication class. The first phase of the study covers the recording of their thought processes through diary logs and open-ended questionnaires.  Their reflections were then subsequently coded and interpreted using Content Analysis.  Results arrived to reveal three (3) dominant themes bearing six (6) categories of each projecting subcategories that further describe the challenges EFL learners face as they operate within the context of translocality, all in the hope of completing senior high school in the Philippines. Anchored on the intent that this will strategically prepare them for completing a college degree in their parents’ country of origin where education is relatively cheaper, EFL learners seem to suppose that the communication situations they engage in specifically in an Oral Communication class have remarkably displaced them despite the assumption that they have already acquired optimum ability in Spoken English

The Implementation of Project-Based Learning through Merdeka Curriculum to Improve Speaking Skills at SMP Swasta Santo Xaverius 1 Kabanjahe

This study is done to find out the effectiveness of Project-Based Learning through the Merdeka Curriculum at SMP Swasta Santo Xaverius 1 Kabanjahe in speaking ability enhancement. Moved by a gap in the application of practical abilities pertaining to language education, this study was conducted with the quasi-experimental method to compare the speaking abilities of the experimental class using the Project-Based Learning process with a control class using traditional methods. The data were sourced from 30 seventh-grade students, both from pre- and post-tests and questionnaires. The results show that there is a high appreciation in the enhancement of speaking skills by the PBL group, wherein the post-test scores improved by an average of 19.46 %, against 14.6 % in the control group. The qualitative feedback also witnessed an increased engagement and confidence in speaking English among the students. These results underline the potential of PBL language learning and suggest its wider applicability within the framework of the Merdeka Curriculum

The Impact of AI Paraphrasing Tools on the Paraphrasing Skills of Filipino ESL Students

In this age of AI-assisted teaching and learning, there seems to be an overdependence on artificial intelligence among ESL learners, not only in accomplishing routine writing assignments, but even in writing academic papers such as thesis and dissertation.  This in-depth qualitative inquiry into the challenges encountered by ESL Filipino students in paraphrasing academic texts is part of a descriptive qualitative linguistic analysis of student-generated paraphrased academic texts and paraphrasing strategies, which revealed that participants resort to synonymous substitutions, with no significant change in the structural features of the original, leading to paraphrasing errors involving partial to total semantic loss. Results show that the failure to paraphrase effectively is consistent across all levels, namely senior high school, college, and graduate students. To probe into the challenges and difficulties experienced by the study participants, a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) was conducted. Three major themes emerged from the FGD: (1) The Challenge of Preserving Semantic Content and Fidelity; (2) The Best Words in the Best Order: Grappling with the Lexico-semantic and Morphosyntactic Demands of Paraphrasing; (3) Contending with Limited Vocabulary, Poor Comprehension and Lack of Practice Due to Overdependence on AI Paraphrasing Tools. A pedagogical paradigm was designed based on the major findings of the study for a sustainable instructional intervention

Translation Criticism: Implementing House’s TQA Model on “Jesus Paid It All” into Kirundi

The article probed into the quality of the Kirundi translation of Hall’s “Jesus Paid It All”, a hymn in The Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal (1985). The study is a translation criticism centered on House’s translation quality assessment (TQA) model. The descriptive qualitative method with inductive orientation was used. The primary data were collected from the original American English hymn “Jesus Paid It All” as written in the current church hymnal and the Kirundi lyric “Numv’ Umukiz’ ambwira”. Books and articles pertinent to translation criticism, House’s TQA model, and Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) hymnody were consulted for secondary data. Covert errors distorting the ideational and interpersonal meanings concerning Christ’s sacrificial atonement and the Christian individual’s response to it were found. They were characterized by shifts in the transitivity system, topical lexis, mood structure, and thematic construction. At the non-dimensional level, a manipulation of the original was discovered. The highest rate of overt errors was represented by the cultural filtering of the topical lexis and inadequate substitution of metaphorical constructions and culture-bound items. It was concluded that the TT is an inappropriate covert translation and its quality is inadequate