Edulitics (Education, Literature, and Linguistics) Journal

Readability of Pre-Tertiary English Course Books in Ghana: Unpacking the Metric-Grader Assessment Interface

Justine Bakuuro, Africanus Diedong, Damasus Tuurosong — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 17:40:58 +0000

Readability of texts is generally determined by the application of readability metrics. In most cases, the learner (grader) is not directly involved in assessing the readability of texts assigned to his/her grade. This study sought to determine the extent of reconcilability of metric and grader readability assessment values on the same texts. The textual data was culled from the Global Series English textbook series used in Ghanaian Senior High Schools for the teaching of the English language. Applying the mixed methods research, primary data was also collected from a total of 150 graders across the 3 grades of SHS in Ghana. Using a descriptive research design, within the constructivist research paradigm, the study reveals that metric and grader readability assessments do not agree to a very large extent. Only two percent (2%) of the texts were found to be suitable for their intended grades at the senior high school. The grader readability assessment of texts was found to be at variance with the metric readability assessment. Whilst most graders found most texts to be readable (over 96%), metric readability assessment found the same texts to be unreadable (about 98%). Both metric and grader readability assessments need to be conducted on the same texts to conclude properly on their realistic readability status before assigning them to respective grades. This is a result of the wide metric-grader readability assessment disparity. Where the grader readability assessment reveals a text to be readable and the metric readability assessment finds the same text to be unreadable, the grader assessment should be considered as that is a more realistic assessment.

Developing Teaching Listening Media for Seventh-Grade Students Using AVS Video Editor

Ahmad Thoyyib Shofi, Lailatul Masruroh — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 08:51:42 +0000

The use of instructional media has become essential in addressing challenges faced by teachers in delivering effective lessons. This research, therefore, focuses on the development of video as an instructional media for teaching English listening skills to seventh-grade students. The research identifies a gap in traditional teaching methods, where English teachers primarily rely on textbooks, resulting in passive student engagement and limited focus on listening skills. The lack of appropriate instructional media makes the problem more complicated, despite available resources like language laboratories, LCD screens, and sound systems. To bridge this gap, the researcher developed video created with AVS Video Editor to stimulate students' interest and improve listening skills. Hence, the research follows the research and development (R&D) approach proposed by Sugiyono (2010). The development procedure from Sugiyono, then is adapted to: 1) analysis, 2) data collection, 3) product creation, 4) validation of the product, and 5) product revision. The findings highlight the effectiveness of the developed video media in capturing students' attention and aligning with curriculum objectives. The validation process leads to constructive feedback, prompting revisions such as adding illustrations, adjusting audio volume, and improving pronunciation. The final product is in the form of videos containing some listening materials under the topic of Introduction, describing people, and giving direction. It also considers feedback from the experts and the teacher in order to give solutions to the teaching problems and provide valuable media for enhancing English listening skills in seventh-grade students in MTs Al Karimi.

Authentic Assessment through Analytic Teams Technique in Empowering Students’ Speaking Skills

Haris Hamdani, Ninuk Lustyantie, Fathiaty Murtadho — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 08:51:15 +0000

Learning in higher education is fundamentally an activity which is conducted in a planned and structured manner to create an environment and provide services that enable students to learn effectively. The major duty of lecturers is to organize and implement learning, as well as conduct an assessment of each content that has been taught. For that reason, this research is trying to investigate: (1) authentic assessments through analytic team technique implemented in English learning and teaching, (2) the types of authentic assessment used, (3) the teachers’ perception of the implementation of authentic assessment through analytic teams technique in empowering students’ speaking skills. This study applied qualitative design to apprehend the implementation of authentic assessment through analytic teams technique. Observation, interview, and documentation were conducted to get the data. The results showed that the authentic assessment through the analytic team's technique applied in the English lecturer class of Universitas Bhayangkara Jakarta Raya at the Communication Science Department is level good. Both lectures implemented authentic assessments through analytic team technique in the learning and teaching process. The types of authentic assessments were performance assessment, observation and question, presentation and discussion, experiments, storytelling, and self-assessment. Furthermore, the lecturers’ perception of the implementation of authentic assessment through the analytic teams technique can empower students’ speaking skills. This research implies that educators can enhance students’ speaking skills using authentic assessments through the analytic teams technique to better outcomes in students' speaking skills, and to take ownership of their learning.

The Use of Hello Talk Application for Speaking Skills: A Case Study of Online Language Learners for Senior High School

Ida Rosilah, Siti Maria Ulfa — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 08:50:04 +0000

In today's modern era, technological developments have brought many changes, even technology has also spread to the world of education. One of them is the technology of learning English this technology is known as Hello Talk the use of this application is also one of the impacts of the existence of technological developments. Hello Talk is an application to learn various languages, especially English. This research aims to find out how students use the Hello Talk application as a learning medium for English speaking skills this research is conducted online and the intended subjects are high school students who have long used the Hello Talk application as a learning media. This research is qualitative research and the data collection technique used by the researcher was the interview technique, the interview here involves 4 high school 11th-grade students. The results of this study indicate that the Hello Talk application can help students to practice speaking skills. Students stated that they preferred the teacher to use code-switching during class activities, even though they thought it to be relatively difficult to accomplish. In order to improve the learning process, they also suggested incorporating extra resources like online platforms and applications and encouraged engaged conversation in pairs or groups about their various subjects of study. In addition, the use of the Hello Talk application also has many features that can help develop students' speaking skills, such as Voice Room, Talking with native speakers, Calls, and voice notes.

The Use of Social Media as An English Learning Resource for The Students of Islamic University of Kadiri Kediri

Adry Nurdina Fajriah, Irwan Sulistyanto, Wawan Herry Setyawan — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 09:14:21 +0000

The aim of this research was to describe the kinds of social media that are mostly used and how students use social media as English learning resources. This research used a quantitative descriptive method with the data collection technique of a survey and simple random sampling technique. The subjects of research were all semesters in class A, Faculty of English Education, students of the Islamic University of Kadiri Kediri. The result of statistical calculations showed that YouTube was the social media platform that students used the most frequently as a resource for learning English, with 91.9% of students admitting to utilizing the platform to get better at listening. Next, according to 81.8% of students, they utilized YouTube to hone their speaking abilities. Additionally, 79.8% of students claimed to have used YouTube to advance their reading comprehension, and 77.8% claimed to have used it to advance their English writing abilities. The majority of students (37.97%) in the English Education faculty chose watching English videos as a resource for learning the language. Then, 32.49% of students said that an effective way to study English was to follow an English learning account. Furthermore, 29.54% of students claimed that speaking with native speakers in person was a useful way to learn English. Based on this research, it can be stated that the research that has been carried out has obtained positive results in accordance with existing theory and has benefits for the faculty, students, readers, and future researchers to increase insight in choosing the use of social media that can be used as an English learning resource. Thus, it can be concluded that social media YouTube can be a useful and effective tool for students to learn English.

Women's Simple Characters for the Downfall of the Mayor of Casterbridge in Thomas Hardy's the Mayor of Casterbridge

Thu, 13 Jun 2024 09:27:18 +0000

There are a lot of studies about characters, most of which are about characters dealing with the good and bad characters as the result of the study. This study challenges the previous studies above that study on characters not merely deal with and bad but deal with survival through the characters. In Thomas Hardy’s the Mayor of Casterbridge, I study about women’s simple character for the downfall of the Mayor of Casterbriidge. Using New Criticism focusing on the characterization as well as close reading as a method, this study shows the result that the four women: Susan Henchard, Lucetta, Elizabeth Jane, and the furmity woman are above the greatness of the Mayor of Casterbridge through their simple character; Susan Henchard by her simple and natural act for the sake of her daughter future, Lucetta by her simple act to marry another man for fear of the terrible marriage with the Mayor of Casterbridge, Elizabeth Jane with her simple character to ignore the Mayor of Casterbridge for tricking her real father, and the furmity woman with her simple testimony of the terrible wife sale by the Mayor of Casterbridge. All women’s simple characters put the Mayor of Casterbridge in complete downfall in love and in business. In conclusion, though being a great man in the Casterbridge, Michael Henchard undergoes a complete downfall by the simplicity of the characters of the women. Finally, simple character is worth studying to prevent people to be arrogant.

Exploring The Use of Narrative Texts in Teaching Writing for EFL Classroom

Cardianti Qatrinada, Tri Wintolo Apoko — Sat, 22 Jun 2024 19:43:22 +0000

Narrative text is one of the writing types used by English teachers to provide to teach, and the use of narrative text is believed to be important for English teachers to apply in EFL English writing classroom. Thus, this study aims to explore the use of narrative texts in teaching English writing at secondary schools and investigate teachers' perceptions of its efficacy in enhancing students' writing skills. This qualitative research investigates the implementation of narrative texts in teaching writing in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms and explores teachers' perceptions of their use in improving students' writing skills. This research utilizes a qualitative descriptive research design to investigate the implementation of teaching writing through narrative texts and teachers' perceptions of their efficacy in improving students' writing skills. Data collection involved observations and semi-structured interviews with two experienced 10th-grade English teachers in one of reputable private senior high schools in Jakarta, Indonesia. This research highlights the paramount significance of incorporating narrative texts to enhance English writing proficiency among high school students. Despite teachers acknowledging their merits, challenges such as vocabulary constraints and translation hurdles persist. Nevertheless, narrative texts, particularly fairy tales, serve as catalysts for fostering students' creativity and critical analysis. Employing strategies that prompt critical inquiry is imperative. Consequently, narrative texts emerge as indispensable tools in high school English writing pedagogy, demanding innovative methodologies to surmount obstacles and elevate students' writing acumen effectively.

Intensive English Course in Online Class Through WhatsApp and English Discovery as MALL Platform in Speaking

Waode Hamsia — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 17:40:01 +0000

Technology in education is used as a tool to achieve learning goals. The utilization of technology in the field of education can make it easier to get information. This research aimed to investigate the utilization of technology to find out how students respond to using WhatsApp as a Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) platform in learning outcomes in speaking skills. The researcher used a narrative qualitative method as a research design which came from observation, questionnaires, and interviews. Moreover, the research design for the students’ responses observed the teaching-learning process. The subjects of this research were 20 students in the second semester of the academic year 2022/2023 at Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya. This research showed that WhatsApp as a Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) platform makes students interested in and enjoy learning English through Intensive English Courses in online classes. Therefore, this learning medium is online learning with a collection of substances open on the English Discoveries platform. In online learning, speakers can check how understudy learning comes about particularly through the Teacher Management System (TMS) hence, teachers can continuously grant input for each student’s online learning advance. Since they can learn anywhere and anytime that was as a new experience in learning English for their daily activities in speaking ability.

Reflexive Pronoun Deixis in Harry Bradbeer’s “Enola Holmes 2 (2022)” Movie

Amanda Revia Salsabila Ahmad, Deny Kuswahono, Yulis Setyowati — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 17:45:37 +0000

Deixis is referring to something depending on the speaker's and addressee's current time, location, and context through an utterance. In this study, the writer focused on the analysis of the reflexive pronoun deixis. The aims of the study are to find out the reflexive pronoun deixis and the function of the reflexive pronoun deixis found in the Enola Holmes 2 movie. This research applied qualitative descriptive methods and analyzed based on the deixis types by Levinson (1983). The data used for this research was acquired by analyzing the utterances spoken by the characters in the movie. The steps to analyze the data included: (1) identifying the reflexive pronoun deixis by classifying the data into first-person reflexive pronoun, second-person reflexive pronoun, and third-person reflexive pronoun, (2) interpreting and describing the findings, and (3) drawing a conclusion of its findings. The writer found 18 data of reflexive pronoun deixis in the Enola Holmes 2 movie. References found in this research were; myself, ourselves as first-person reflexive pronoun deixis; yourself, yourselves as second-person reflexive pronoun deixis; and herself, themselves as third-person reflexive pronoun deixis. The result showed that the most dominant reflexive pronoun deixis found in this research is the second-person reflexive pronoun deixis, where the character gives advice to another character, so people who like watching films can get moral value from the conversation of the movie.