Acitya: Journal of Teaching and Education

Difficult Aspects of Reading Comprehension Faced by Non-English Department of Vocational Students

2024-04-01T04:39:19+00:00

Understanding and interpreting text is a fundamental skill for students across disciplines, not limited to those in the English Department. Proficiency in reading comprehension not only enhances vocabulary and writing abilities but also fosters overall academic growth. This research endeavors to pinpoint the primary challenges encountered by first-semester students at Politeknik Negeri Banjarmasin in comprehending written material. Employing a descriptive quantitative approach, the study aims to identify the most daunting aspects of reading comprehension. A reading comprehension assessment comprising 40 multiple-choice questions, administered via Google Form, was utilized to gather data. Analysis revealed that students encounter significant hurdles in this domain. Across all question types, spanning the five facets of reading comprehension, difficulty levels were consistently high. Particularly, questions assessing the determination of the main idea posed the greatest challenge, with 60% of students struggling in this area, followed by making inferences (44%), locating references (41%), understanding vocabulary (36%), and grasping detailed information (34%). Notably, identifying the main idea emerged as the most formidable task, whereas discerning detailed information proved relatively less challenging. These findings serve to highlight areas for improvement in understanding main ideas and inform strategies aimed at enhancing comprehension skills.

The Influence of Gender on Students’ Academic Achievement in a Nursing Diploma Program

2024-04-01T05:01:24+00:00

Different from education in general, nursing education is dominated by the female gender both in Indonesia and in the world. There is still debate about whether gender has an influence on student achievement, including in nursing education. Research objective is to find out the influence of gender on the achievement of nursing diploma level students who are dominated by female gender.

This research is a quantitative research, namely retrospective descriptive. The population in this study were students of the Nursing Diploma Three Study Program with a sample size of 93 students. The sampling technique used in the research was total sampling. The instrument used in this research is secondary data, namely by looking at the documentation of student gender biodata, and learning achievement is the Cumulative Achievement Index (GPA) from the student’s Study Result Card after graduation. The statistical test used in analyzing this research is the independent t test; with a significance level of 0.05. Based on bivariate analysis, it is known that there is a relationship between gender and learning achievement with a significance value of 0.03 <0.05. The results indicate that there is a difference in the achievement of female students compared to male students. Female students have an average Grade Point Average of 3.51 with honors, while male students have an average Grade Point Average of 3.44 with a satisfactory grade. From the research it is concluded that there is an influence of gender on the achievement of nursing diploma program students.

Fostering Creative Writing through Poetry in EFL Classroom

2024-04-25T03:51:12+00:00

This study was conducted to examine how the ELT teacher implements creative writing through poetry in the ELT classroom during pandemic and to describe how the students express their emotions through tone of poetry in their creative writing. It is due to the existence of creative writing in language teaching and learning practice is significant to gaining students’ creativity and thinking. One of them is writing poetry. However, few literatures discussed on the method used by teachers through writing poems as well as the concern for emotion and tone embedded in students’ writing products. This study used qualitative descriptive with Indonesian EFL university students of the non-English department at an Islamic University in Indonesia as the participants. The result shows that teachers use student-centered methods to implement creative writing through poetry in the classroom during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was organized using Zoom Meeting with performing Warm-Up, Lead-In (Creation of Poem and Reading the Poem), and Follow-up. In addition, it was also found that the student’s creative works posted on Instagram were based on the negative variations of poetry tone including threatening, painful, and discouraged. The study underscores the pedagogical efficacy of student-centered creative writing in ELT, highlighting its role in enhancing emotional intelligence and validating the integration of digital platforms for remote learning. It advocates for culturally responsive curricula that leverage creative expression as a conduit for emotional articulation and critical thinking

Connectivism as a deterrent pedagogical approach for blind students at Historically Disadvantaged Institutions

2024-04-01T05:10:21+00:00

The educational domain, like other spheres of human endeavour, was impelled to improvise and undergo unforeseen transitions because of covid19. These transitions, among other things, affected teaching and learning processes that had to shift from physical to online mode. Dissimilar to traditional learning approaches such as cognitivism and constructivism which emphasise the cruciality of learning context, connectivism is underpinned by the notion that learning is disseminated through networks using diverse virtual learning platforms. In the case of blind students, these learning platforms require up-to-date technologies for accessibility purposes. The availability of updated technologies is an outstanding matter in most Historically Disadvantaged Institutions (HDI) of higher learning. This disadvantages the affected students in terms of academic progression. Thus, this study aims to divulge the challenges faced by blind students at HDI of higher learning through the Connectivism paradigm. A qualitative descriptive design will undergird the study. Five blind students from HDI will be purposively sampled and interviewed. The findings will be presented and analysed through Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA), and viable recommendations will be made.

Examining Moves and Steps in Discussion Chapters of TEFL Master’s Theses by Indonesian Postgraduates: A Genre Analysis

2024-04-01T05:22:07+00:00

The discussion chapter holds a paramount position in a thesis, being regarded as the most crucial and challenging part to compose, particularly for university students. The present genre investigation highlighted the focus on language use and communicative practices. This research seeks to investigate the rhetorical organization, moves, and steps, employed by Indonesian postgraduates while writing the discussion chapter of their theses within the field of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). We examined five theses from postgraduate students whose data were obtained from the university repository. Data were analyzed with the framework proposed by Chen and Kuo (2012). The overall word count is 9204 words. From the analysis conducted, it was found that Move 2 Step 1: Reporting major findings (41.4%), Move 4 Step 2: comparing the results with literature (21.9%), and Move 4 Step 3: accounting for results (20.7%) were highly used in the data. However, two steps were least used in the data; namely, Move 3 Step 1: making conclusions of results and Move 6 Step 2: indicating the significance of the study. Our findings provide insights into how postgraduates structure their arguments, present findings, and interact with existing literature.

The Use of Interactive Worksheet to Teach Speaking

2024-04-01T05:25:33+00:00

The purpose of the study is to show how Interactive Worksheets can be used to deliver speaking. The interactive worksheet was made by the instructor and is accessible online to encourage students to speak more. Students get the chance to express themselves in a stress-free and enjoyable way. The study used a descriptive qualitative research design and methodology. The sources of the data are the online interactive worksheet and the responses from students to it. Data collection techniques include observation, interviewing, and documentation. The triangulation methodology is used by the researcher to evaluate the data's adequacy Techniques for analyzing data include data condensing, data displaying, conclusion, and verification. The study's findings indicate that: First, help students practice speaking aloud without pressure. Secondly, encouraging their creative learning and speaking. Third, concentrate on assisting the students in developing their speaking skills. Just have fun when they speak, that's all. The disadvantage is that students may find it challenging to understand and accurately pronounce terms used in the text. In order to look up challenging terms, students can implement lively game combinations. The researcher offers suggestions for future research, educators, and students in this study.

Accelerating EFL Learners’ Speaking and Listening Skills through the Audio-Lingual Teaching Method

2023-12-13T09:13:03+00:00

Teaching English as a foreign language is a great challenge for EFL teachers in Indonesia because they are expected to be more creative and innovative in arousing students' attention during the learning-teaching process. The Audio-Lingual Method (ALM) is one of the teaching methods in foreign language learning that may be utilized in teaching speaking and listening skills. This conceptual article attempts to explore how ALM can accelerate EFL learners’ speaking and listening skills. Therefore, it discusses the concept of ALM, the strategy of ALM in learning speaking and listening skills, as well as the benefits of using ALM in learning language skills. A descriptive qualitative research approach with library research design was utilized to review and explore the concept, strategy, and benefits of using the ALM in accelerating EFL students’ speaking and listening skills. This method enables researchers to delve into relevant information and experts' perspectives on the ALM. In addition, it gains more insight into learning and teaching speaking and listening skills, and reviews the learning of speaking and listening skills using the ALM. The data were obtained from previous research findings, related articles, and documentation on the ALM. The data were qualitatively analyzed and comprehensively described the issues and provided valuable insights for all stakeholders in the field of education, including EFL teachers, students, school curriculum developers, and researchers.

Digital Storytelling Research Trends in Indonesia: A Systematic Literature Review

2023-12-01T01:34:40+00:00

New technologies have largely brought about positive changes in educational settings, enabling educators to improve their expertise and, consequently, elevate the quality of education. Studies reveal that incorporating these technologies leads to increased student engagement, higher levels of achievement, and greater motivation. Digital storytelling is perceived as an ideal method to meet the learning needs of digital native students while also improving their skills for the 21st century as it can be used as a medium for literacy and creativity. This research was conducted through a library approach, analyzing numerous articles focused on digital storytelling. This systematic literature review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of digital storytelling research in Indonesia, shedding light on emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities in this field. The findings highlight key responsibilities for teachers using digital storytelling, emphasizing the importance of developing technology skills, as well as, it uncovers any shifts in focus over time and highpoints gaps in the existing literature, providing valuable insights for future research directions.

Developing a Local Wisdom-Based Digital Resource for English for Tourism in Vocational High Schools in Banjarmasin

2024-01-24T00:30:13+00:00

Tourism graduates from various SMKs in South Kalimantan are expected to be able to become initiators of tourism development both at the regional and national levels and be able to become a driving force for tourism actors in building economic competitiveness through the tourism sector. English as an international language is needed by the community, especially for Indonesian tourism. As one of the required subjects taught in vocational high schools, the problems arises in teaching English because there are no attractive and interesting learning resources for teachers and students about teaching English specifically for tourism majors in vocational high schools in Banjarmasin. Teachers in some schools in Banjarmasin, especially in wetland areas, have limited access to information on teaching English for Tourism. In relation to the university policy and seeing the importance of achieving teaching and learning objectives as well as the lack of suitable digital learning resources for teaching English for tourism students, especially those located in wetland areas, this research aimed to produce digital learning resources in the form of a website which is based on local wisdom for vocational high school students. This research applied a Research and Development design because it aimed to develop a product by paying attention to the needs analysis. It is expected that the results of this research can not only improve students' academic performance but also facilitate teachers to conduct effective and meaningful teaching in wetland areas.

Balinese Taboo Words Used in Kerobokan Village, Badung Regency

2024-01-08T04:20:24+00:00

The objective of study is to identify the taboo words used in Kerobokan Village, especially in the concept of Tri Hita Karana. This study was designed in descriptive qualitative research, which combines the sociolinguistic and ecolinguistic approaches of this research methodology. The data was obtained by utilizing in-depth interview techniques by three selected informants. Techniques of data analysis used Miles and Huberman’s theory. The findings revealed that 45 taboo words were found in Kerobokan Village, Badung Regency, which were categorized into three classifications: Parahyangan (four taboo words), Pawongan (36 taboo words), and Palemahan (five taboo words).

Artificial intelligence or augmented intelligence? Experiences of lecturers and students in an ODeL university

2024-05-23T16:41:43+00:00

This study investigates the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and augmented intelligence (AuI) in an open distance e-learning university, focusing on lecturers’ and students’ experiences. Using qualitative methods: focus group discussions and e-mail interviews, it examines the adoption and exploration of these technologies, particularly in academic writing skills development. The research applies diffusion of innovations theory and technology acceptance model to understand the dissemination and acceptance of AI and AuI, emphasising perceived ease of use and usefulness. It contrasts perspectives between lecturers and students, revealing varied views on AI utilisation in academic writing. Despite differences, both groups express positive experiences and benefits from AI. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the transformative impact of AI and AuI on teaching and learning in a distance learning university. AI has far-reaching effects on lecturers, students, and policymakers as they navigate the integration of intelligent systems in distance learning contexts.