LEXICAL AND GRAMMATICAL UNITS IN INTERCULTURAL-BASED ENGLISH MATERIALS FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

This current study focused on the development of intercultural-based instructional activities for elementary school students specifically in English subject. Lingual forms manifested in lexical and grammatical units were perceived to be able to capsulate various components of English subject in elementary school. The formulation of intercultural-based lingual forms is pivotal particularly as the basis in developing intercultural instruction so as to equip students with the skills to interact and communicate in English actively and efficiently. Intercultural instructional activities in elementary school is to be departed from students’ characteristics, learning needs, proficiency levels, and learning styles. The designed instructional activities were expected to initiate students’ English knowledge contextually; it is the necessary background to comprehend the foreign language based on social and cultural contexts of its native speakers (Gunarwan, 2007: 71). Descriptive qualitative design was employed. The variables were English instructional materials for Grade IV, V, and VI. The subjects were 2 English teachers. By means of observation and interview, this study has collected 55 data in the forms of lexical and grammatical units in intercultural-based English instructional activities. The lexical units included cultures, social or foreign values of English, some aspects not existing in Indonesian cultures or shared aspects existing in both cultures but of different lexical items translated from English. The grammatical units belonging to intercultural-based instructional activities were markers on different sentence constructions between English and Bahasa

The Use of ICT and Online Learning Applications during the Covid-19 Outbreak in Indonesia

Abstract: The Use of ICT and Online Learning Applications during the Covid-19 Outbreak in Indonesia. Objectives: This study aims to describe the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) and online learning applications on the quality of education during the covid-19 pandemic. Methods: The research was conducted in the college using a qualitative descriptive method. Data was collected through structured interviews, observation, and document analysis. Findings: The results showed that: first, the use of ICT and online applications in college increased during the pandemic; second, by using ICT and online learning applications, the teaching and learning process for lecturers and students become more independent, creative, flexible, and encourage students to increase their academic product; third, the academic products of lecturers and students experienced a significant increase. Conclusion: Understanding the magnitude of the impact of ICT on improving academic quality, can encourage the college to develop ICT.Keywords: Covid-19 pandemic, university, ICT, education quality.Abstrak: Tingkatkan Kualitas Pendidikan Menggunakan Teknologi Informasi dan Komunikasi Ditengah Pandemi Covid-19. Tujuan: penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menggambarkan dampak teknologi informasi dan komunikasi (TIK,), dan aplikasi pembelajaran online terhadap kualitas pendidikan selama pandemic covid-19. Metode: Penelitian yang dilakukan di perguruan tinggi menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif. Pengumpulan data dilakukan melalui wawancara terstruktur, observasi, dan analisis dokumen. Temuan: Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa: pertama, penggunaan TIK dan aplikasi pembelajaran online di perguruan tinggi meningkat selama pandemi; kedua, dengan menggunakan TIK dan aplikasi pembelajaran online, proses mengajar bagi dosen dan mahasiswa menjadi lebih merdeka, kreatid, dan fleksibel sehingga mendorong mahasiswa meningkatkan produk akademik mereka; ketiga, produk akademik dosen dan mahasiswa mengalami peningkatan yang signifikan. Kesimpulan: Dengan memahami besarnya dampak TIK terhadap peningkatan kualitas akademik, maka bisa mendorong perguruan tinggi untuk mengembangkan TIK.Kata kunci: pandemi Covid-19, universitas, TIK, kualitas pendidikan. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23960/jpp.v12.i2.20222

Is Demonstration Effective In Teaching ESP Procedure Text? A Qualitative Study: How to Make a Scrunchie

Teaching procedural texts in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) can be challenging, often viewed as abstract and unrelated to real-world applications, especially in niche sectors like fashion design. This can hinder English language skill development within such industries. Addressing this, our study evaluates the effectiveness of demonstrations in teaching ESP procedural texts, specifically the crafting of scrunchies. Using a descriptive qualitative method, we identify the merits of demonstrations. Our results show that students not only understand but can also apply the procedural knowledge effectively, as evidenced by their successful creation of scrunchies. Enhanced engagement and participation levels during the learning process further validate the efficacy of the demonstration approach. These insights are pivotal for educators looking to refine their teaching techniques in ESP scenarios that require a balance between theoretical grasp and practical execution

Environmental risk perception of prospective biology teachers in Indonesia in the pandemic era

Environmental risk perception has a long-time travel in the public participation in environmental fields. This perception involves individually socially constructed physical and mental experiences that involve many factors just for knowledge, attitudes, and the culture that develops in society. An individual's understanding of environmental risk provides an overview of an individual's preparedness for appropriate environmental risk strategies and measures. This cross-sectional survey study aims to collect data on the environmental risk perception of Indonesian students. The survey data instrument used in this study is the environmental risk perception scale (ERPS) questionnaire, transformed into Google Forms in the Indonesian language. The target respondents were 1,267 students from 1,300 undergraduate population size of educational study programs in the field of biology who came from various institutions in Indonesia. Sexual category, grade point average (GPA), and university status to explore the perception of the active student environment of prospective biology teachers with various parameters. The results showed several interesting findings: the female sex is more sensitive to environmental risks, academic abilities play a more logical role in environmental risk analysis, and respondents who have taken environmental courses have a higher sensitivity to environmental risk

The Pedagogical Value of Student Conferences: A Study on Descriptive Text Instruction in Culinary Art Education

Teaching English within the culinary arts is challenging for many instructors. The field of culinary arts has its specialized terminology and distinct context, which sets it apart from general English teaching. In light of this, the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) program was introduced. ESP is designed to align English instruction with the specific needs of students in culinary studies, ensuring they are prepared academically and for their future roles in the industry. This research examines the effectiveness of student conferences in teaching descriptive texts, an essential aspect of culinary studies. Data collection involved interviews, classroom observations, and document reviews. The results were encouraging: student conferences emerged as a potent tool, leading to significant improvements in students' writing and comprehension abilities. When combined with the ESP approach, there was a notable increase in student motivation and engagement. These findings offer educators enhanced strategies for specialized English teaching in the culinary arts. Moreover, this study serves as a stepping stone for further research, aiming to refine English instruction in specialized domains

Best Practices Technique in Teaching Intercultural Competence of English to Young Learners: Some Classroom Activities in Primary Schools

The topic of intercultural competence (so forth IC) is essential recently in young learners' teaching/learning context. IC requires learners to develop relevant knowledge and skills regarding the target language and their cultural awareness. Teaching/learning process generally includes the learning of how the language works in terms of social function, generic structure, and linguistic features; otherwise, they also need to know how to use these forms appropriately to communicate successfully in the target language. This process of learning is related to communicative competence. This paper focused on best practices technique in teaching IC of English to young learners context, which is hope to contribute to the development of learners communicative competence. This idea is to claim that in EFL teaching, the knowledge about target language culture is an essential contextual factor to achieve the successful target in learning English in a meaningful way [1]. Some best practices concerning the intercultural activities are presented in a set of teaching technique/instructions as supported by the theory of [2] that links to life and learners’ experiences. The techniques revealed from this present study are; describing and explaining the culture, dialogues, skits and mini-dramas, masks and puppets, role play, songs and dances, games, outdoor activity, craft and making a poster. Those best practices bring a new paradigm of EYL teaching techniques

Intercultural Competence in Learning English as a Foreign Language in Indonesia: a Pragmatic Analysis

This paper reports the findings of my doctoral research on intercultural competence in learning English as a foreign language in elementary schools. The data were collected from the field research based on observation and interviews with teachers and students and were analyzed using descriptive quantitative and qualitative approaches. This research aimed at identifying speech acts of intercultural competence in learning English. It explores the contextual approaches to teaching and learning English with particular contents to cultures. The main research question is: How are the expressions of speech accused in the intercultural competence study conceptualized in learning English in elementary schools in Indonesia? Consequently, the intercultural competence requires the learners to develop relevant knowledge and skills regarding target language and culture as well as their cultural awareness. Intercultural competence in English for elementary schools is of urgency to acquire so as to equip students with interactional competence in using foreign language. Meanwhile, intercultural pragmatics as the theory of analysis constitutes the investigation on the process of acquiring the comprehension on speech acts and how the knowledge on speech acts in second language acquisition is achieved. This research has implications for English teachers, textbook writers, as well as the curriculum and pedagogy in Indonesia

WHY DO THEMES MATTER? THE TEACHERS’ VOICES ABOUT THEMATIC UNITS FOR TEACHING ENGLISH TO YOUNG LEARNERS

Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) in Indonesia has been an intriguing field that there never been ending studies about it. As a locally-tailored school subject that can be local content or elective subject without curriculum guideline, English for Young Learners (EYL) program is carried out in various ways by the primary schools in Indonesia. This present study aims to discover the essential role of implementing thematic model in TEYL. This paper discusses a phenomenological investigation of five EYL teachers who employ thematic units for teaching the pupils in different cities of Indonesia. Graduated from English education department, all participants have been teaching young learners English more than five years and planning their teaching based on their students’ needs by utilizing themes. Using semi-structured interview questions, the teachers were guided to explain their experience in valuing the themes for teaching English thematically, how to incorporating themes into TEYL, and challenges in implementing EYL thematic units. The data were analyzed thematically to get the emerging themes which correspond to this research topic. The results revealed that teaching English thematically is critical for young learners as their English learning scaffolding to achieve language skills and ability to communicate in particular discourse. All participants agreed that their students enjoyed the EYL thematic activities for gaining new knowledge using English despites challenges faced by the teachers in preparing the lessons