Full Text Register Journal Vol 13 No 1 June 2020

REGISTER JOURNAL
LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE TEACHING JOURNALS
Vol. 13, No. 1, June 2020 ISSN (PRINT) :1979-8903 ISSN (ONLINE): 2503-040X
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Dr. Ekawati Marhaenny Dukut, Unika Soegijapranata, Indonesia
Dr. Diana Rozelin, Sultan Thaha Saifuddin State Islamic University, Indonesia
Dr. Fahrus Zaman Fadhly, Universitas Kuningan, Indonesia
Noor Malihah, Ph.D, IAIN Salatiga, Indonesia
Fahmi Gunawan, S.S,M.Hum IAIN Kendari, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Norwanto, Ph.D, IAIN Salatiga, Indonesia
Kaspul Anwar, M.Pd, Universitas Jambi, Indonesia
Hanung Triyoko, .S., M.Hum., M.Ed , IAIN Salatiga, Indonesia
M. Zaini Miftah, M.Pd , IAIN Palangka Raya, Indonesia
Dr. Setia Rini, IAIN Salatiga, Indonesia
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REGISTER JOURNAL
LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGE TEACHING JOURNALS
Vol. 13, No. 1, June 2020 ISSN (PRINT) :1979-8903 ISSN (ONLINE): 2503-040X
TABLE OF CONTENT
Journal Writing: Effects on Students’ Writing Proficiency and Student/Teacher

Attitudes
Aynur Yurekli, Anita Afacan ………………………………….……………….1-48
EFL Classes Must Go Online! Teaching Activities and Challenges during

COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia
Arief Eko Priyo Atmojo, Arif Nugroho ………………………………………..49-76
Lecturers’ Attitudes towards Online Teaching in the Learning Process

Harisa Mardiana ……………………………………………………….………..77-98
The Scavenger Hunt: A Technique for Enhancing Culture Learning and

Intercultural Communication Practice
Martha Nandari Santoso ……………………………………….……………..99-122
Investigating Cultural Dimensions in EFL Textbook by Using Byram Checklist

Soni Ariawan ………………………………………………….……………..123-152
Diachronic Corpora as a Tool for Tracing Etymological Information of

Indonesian-Malay Lexicon
Kamal Yusuf, Dewi Puspita ………………………….……………..………153-182
Examining Gender Representation in an Indonesian EFL Textbook

Zango Anisa Agni, Endang Setyaningsih, Teguh Sarosa ……………….…….183-207
Persuasive power concerning COVID-19 employed by Premier Imran Khan:

A socio-political discourse analysis
Zafar Iqbal, Muhammad Zammad Aslam, Talha Aslam, Rehana Ashraf, Muhammad
Kashif, Hafiz Nasir ……………………………………………………………208-230
REGISTER JOURNAL
Vol. 13, No. 1, (2020), pp.1-48
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Website: http://journalregister.iainsalatiga.ac.id/index.php/register/
Journal Writing and Diary Journal Writing: Effects

on Students’ Writing Proficiency and Student and
Teacher Attitudes
*Aynur Yürekli1, Anita Afacan2
School of Foreign Languages1,2

İzmir University of Economics, School of Foreign Languages
Address: Fevzi Çakmak, Sakarya Cd. No:156, 35330
Balçova/İzmir, Turkey
Phone: +90 232 279 25 25
E-mail: aynur.yurekli@ieu.edu.tr1, anita.afacan@ieu.edu.tr2
*Corresponding Author
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18326/rgt.v13i1.1-48
Submission Track:
Received: 31-03-2020
Final Revision: 23-05-2020
Available online: 01-06-2020
ABSTRACT
In today’s world, writing is no longer a natural activity, especially for the

younger generation. They look upon this activity as too complex, overwhelming
and sometimes irrelevant. These attitudes are amplified when having to write
in a second language. In EFL tertiary education, the expectations of academic
achievement have become far greater than actual student capabilities. This
study examined the possibility of using journal writing, both with and without
an audience, as a way to address this issue. It is believed that by engaging
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Aynur Yürekli, Anita Afacan
students in the act of writing without the burden of an academic topic, it will
indirectly impact students’ academic performance. Seventy-six undergraduate
students in three groups (one control and two experimental) were involved.
Data was collected in the form of pre-test and post-test writing, student focus
group meetings and an interview with the instructor. From the study, it was
found that dialogue journal writing with an audience contributed to an
increase in the proficiency level of students, especially in terms of their
organizational skills. In addition, students who undertook journal writing
expressed gains in self-confidence, and were aware of the role of journal
writing in this. Finally, journal writing was found to offer insight to the
instructor with regard to what is happening under the surface of a class, and
thus better address students’ needs.
Keywords: EFL, academic writing, writing proficiency, journal writing
INTRODUCTION
Along with the advancements in technology, the basic skills involved

in academic and daily communication have changed drastically. Especially,
when it comes to the skill of writing, the younger generation employs various
new means of communication. They use signs, abbreviations, symbols, which
are quicker and less ambiguous in expressing themselves. For example, rather
than writing “I like this photo”, they press a heart button, which transfers the
message effortlessly in less than a second. Therefore, we are dealing with a
generation that does not write as a part of everyday communication because
they see little value in it, and as a skill, it has started losing its authenticity.
Yet, at college, students are reminded about “writing” sentences,

paragraphs and essays, which seems to be one of the rare contexts where
students are expected not only to write, but to write academically. The
literature on skills development suggests that writing is the hardest skill in
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which to acquire competency because it is the least practiced (Hamp and

Heasly, 2006: 2). If we look at all four skills, we can easily claim that speaking
and listening are encountered on a regular basis, both in everyday
communication and academic environments as part of classroom interaction.
The skill of reading is key to many sources and is practiced quite often,
including internet searches (requiring constant skimming and scanning), class
assignments, and leisure reading. Yet, for the vast majority, writing, especially
of extended texts, is limited to course work.
As one EFL teacher expresses it, getting students to write is a challenge

because students are rarely encouraged or asked to write anything of any length
in their lives. As Seaboyer and Barnett (2018) put it, there is a ‘disability’
among university students regarding writing, and the desire and motivation has
perished. When we consider the EFL setting, the situation gets more
complicated because students are expected not only to write academically, but
also to do so in another language (Rafida, 2017). As Breeze (2012)
foregrounds, “the novel cognitive demands of university work are exacerbated
by linguistic difficulties, so that the task of writing a paper or an exam answer
is doubly complicated (p.9).”
EFL students at the tertiary level have two main challenges: a) regain or
re-train their existing writing skills, and b) adapt these to the academic writing
genre in English, a language in which they are usually not quite competent.
Therefore, the writing curriculum needs to address both needs so that students
are confident in the skill of writing and also able to transfer this confidence
into the academic writing context. Thus, the main motivation underlying this
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study is to offer writing instructors an insight on how to help students practice

writing communicatively by creating a positive attitude towards writing
through journals and dialogue journals. The advantages of journal writing are
numerous, yet whether journal entries should receive feedback from the teacher
or kept personal is inconclusive. This study aims to shed light on which of the
two impact students’ academic writing proficiency more, and which affects
their attitude more positively towards writing.
Challenges of writing in EFL
To understand specifically what is required from students, we need to

look at rubrics used to grade students’ writing, especially essays. A glance at
EAP essay writing criteria reveals a variety of rubrics available, and the
majority have four common components, even though they may be labelled
differently (Hawkey and Barker, 2004). One is task achievement or content,
which generally refers to the extent of content coverage, and how it relates to
the task specifications. In task achievement, students are basically expected to
generate ideas and information needed to respond to the task. Another
component refers to how well students use language, labelled variously as
accuracy, language use, or lexical/syntactic resources. The third component
relates to how well students organize their ideas, usually referred to as
‘organization’ or ‘coherence & cohesion’. Finally, there is writing fluency,
which refers to the amount produced, and its meaningfulness and relevance
considering the given time limitations.
The components in the scoring rubrics are also an indication of what is

expected of students’ writings. To sum up the expectations, students in an EFL
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setting are generally required to be fluent and accurate writers, capable of

generating content, organizing it in accordance with academic conventions,
and demonstrating these skills in their second or additional language, English.
When considering typical writing practice and instruction, it is not

unusual to find that minimal attention is devoted to empowering students with
writing fluency. It is assumed that writing is learned by practicing, so students
are directly exposed to the writing task or assignment. The usual pattern is as
follows: initiating the topic, which covers the purpose, guidelines and task
specifications about the writing; selection of a topic; supervision and feedback;
and finally, evaluation and assessment (Kruse, 2013). As a result, it is assumed,
often wrongly, that students are motivated, and the only action needed is to
help them structure content in compliance with academic conventions. The
fact that writing is rarely practiced and considered redundant in terms of
everyday use is frequently overlooked.
Moreover, writing in a foreign language has a complicated and

multifaceted nature, and there are different orientation towards writing that
shape classroom methodologies. Hyland (2016) refers to six different
paradigms; namely writing as expressive activity, cognitive activity, completed
activity, situated activity, social activity and ideology. As applied in academic
settings at university level, the product is given priority over all other
perspectives; i.e., writing is seen as a completed activity. Isolating this
communicative skill to the product only, also misleads writing teachers who
eventually limit their feedback on linguistic features of the written text, with
little value on writing as an expressive activity (Hubert and Bonzo, 2019).
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However, writing is recursive, and the text is only the final product of the
complex composing process. This is one major reason for the rise of process
writing.
Process writing
As opposed to product-oriented approaches to writing, process writing

foregrounds the stages that lead to a quality written text (Mirhosseini, 2009).
One of these stages is the generation of ideas and creation of content, which is
one of the cognitive processes involved in the composing process (Flower and
Hayes, 1981). For this stage to be successful and worthwhile, the writer must
engage in real purposeful communication and experiment with the language as
much as possible. Whereas this stage is almost automatic for those who are
writing in their first language, it poses great difficulties for writers in EFL
(Weigle, 2005).
An additional hindrance at this stage is the anxiety and apprehension

that foreign language writers experience (Lee, 2005). As such, teachers do not
only try to equip students with the necessary academic writing skills but also
seek ways to address and lower these factors. By referring to students, Johns
(1995) also acknowledges that trying to create authors even though they are
not ready as second language writers ignores the reality of the situation. Thus,
first developing students as confident writers and lessening their apprehension
should be the priority. Journal writing, in this respect, offers students the
opportunity to practice the skill of writing in a less-threatening writing task and
gives them a chance to generate ideas with a real communicative purpose.
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This study aims to examine and re-evaluate the prewriting stage of the
writing process: helping students to set a positive mindset by inculcating the
habit of ‘writing-only’, without the burden and stress of academic expectations.
In other words, it aims at increasing students’ confidence and fluency by
engaging them in the skill of writing, separately from formal class work.
Unlike the common practice of approaching writing as an activity that offers
teachers language production to focus on surface language use (Hubert and
Bonzo, 2019), it is believed that at the initial stages, focusing students on
content and meaning only will have an indirect impact on the writing
proficiency of students in an EAP setting.
Journal writing
Within this context, journal writing has been the focus of many studies,
hypothesizing that it would help improve writing proficiency in the EFL
environment (Lagan, 2000; Tin, 2004; Tuan, 2010; Alexander, 2001). Being
non-judgmental, journal writing is invaluable; it offers students the chance to
experience writing as an expressive rather than completed activity without
being judged on their mistakes, organization, content, or linguistic capabilities.
As such, it is seen as a very powerful and facilitating way to improve general
writing skills. Furthermore, journal writing promotes content creation and
organization while writing. If the activity is prolonged, it leads to more
disciplined thinking and greater accuracy (Tuan, 2010). It also serves the
communicative function involved in written language use.
There are two different approaches to student journal writing (JW); one
with no external audience: i.e. journal writing. Journal writing can be defined
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as a daily written record of a writer regarding their feelings, thoughts, and

anything they deem important without the fear of being evaluated, graded or
corrected (Barjesteh, Vaseghi, & Gholami, 2011). The second one requires
students to interact with the teacher through their journal entries: i.e. dialogue
journal writing (DJW). Dialogue journal writing is seen as "an informal written
conversation between the students and the teacher" (Larrotta, 2008, p. 21).
Staton (1991) stresses three major elements of dialogue journal writing, which
are written communication, dialogic conversation, and responsive relationship
(Staton, 1991, p. xvii). Both journal types have frequently been the focus of
research as alternative ways to facilitate students’ writing performance,
engagement in the writing task, student motivation and reduction of students’
writing apprehension (Holmes, 1994; Liao and Wong, 2010; Abdolmanafi
Rokni & Seifi, 2013, Peng, 2007).
When considered from a theoretical perspective, especially dialogue

journal writing, functions as a social and cognitive activity, which is in line
with Halliday and Hassan (1989) who describe learning as a social process;
and Swain (1995), who suggests comprehensible output as one of the major
factors involved in learning. Journal writing offers students the chance to
socially interact with their teacher through the medium of writing and turn this
interaction into comprehensible output practice. Finally, the Affective Filter
Hypothesis put forward by Krashen (1982) makes journal writing worthwhile
as it helps students to freely write without the pressure of mistakes, grades, or
judgements.
The literature suggests that both journal writing and dialogue journal
writing have a positive impact on not only writing proficiency, but also the
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affective factors involved, such as anxiety, lack of self-confidence and

apprehension (Lestari, 2018, Peng, 2007). In addition to its positive impact on
the quality of writing, journal writing also strengthens the bonds between the
instructor and the students. It serves as an informal communication tool where
students find the opportunity to share their experiences, fears, happiness, or
other emotions. Furthermore, it also serves as a tool for teachers to understand
their students beyond the surface level as individuals and helps them to
establish a stronger relationship (Kose, 2005).
Mukti (2016) studied the effectiveness of dialogue journal writing on

writing narrative texts with Indonesian students and found that students’
writings were positively affected. He also added that students responded
positively to the journal writing activity. Likewise, Lestari (2018) found that
Indonesian learners benefitted from journal writing positively in the sense that
their attitudes became positive, and there was improvement in students’
descriptive written products. Dabbagh (2017) investigated the effect of
dialogue journal writing on the writing proficiency of Iranian EFL learners and
found that the experimental group did much better on content, organization and
vocabulary. David, Azman and Ming (2018) focused on the effect of journal
writing on lowering Malaysian students’ writing anxiety and concluded that it
had a positive effect. (Madkour (2016) looked at digital dialogue journal
writing with university students in Saudi Arabia to see its effects on writing
and found that there was significant improvement in style and vocabulary
choice. Noyan and Kocaoğlu (2019) conducted a study with Turkish university
students to compare the effect of journal writing via WhatsApp to pen and
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paper journal writing. They concluded that both practices impacted the writing
proficiency of the students positively.
The benefits of journal writing are numerous, yet in an EFL setting,

these benefits are much more concrete. Learners of English conducting their
university studies in a language other than their own not only have to develop
confidence in writing, but also need to be able to produce text in an academic
setting. As Altinmakas and Bayyurt (2019) and Bacha (2010) point out,
students in EFL settings struggle with weak academic writing skills on top of
linguistic deficiencies and low motivation. Therefore, helping students to
develop their writing skills, gain confidence and adopt a positive attitude
potentially has a direct impact on their achievement.
Along with all its benefits, journal writing poses some problems, too.
One of the drawbacks of integrating journal writing into the writing curriculum
is getting students to write regularly. Especially, if journal writing is done on a
voluntary basis, students tend to withdraw from the task in the long run.
Consequently, it is important to find alternative incentives other than grading
to make students continue writing entries. In addition to withdrawal, Hapsari,
Santosa and Asib (2018) point out students’ problems finding ideas to write
about in a given time, which can affect the effectiveness of journal writing.
Finally, the burden that it creates on the teacher is a handicap, especially in
crowded classrooms. If the teacher is giving feedback to students’ entries: i.e.
dialogue journal writing, it might impact the willingness of the teacher
negatively (Hapsari, Santosa and Asib, 2018). Finally, journal entries run the
risk of being too personal. In such cases, the teacher might find it difficult to
write comments, or students might react to the feedback received (Rana, 2018).
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Studies in the area of journal writing mainly center around its effect on
students’ writing proficiency, student attitudes, motivation or self-confidence.
Not many studies consider the potential effect it might have on the teacher who
is implementing journal writing or dialogue journal writing in their classes, yet
it is a mutual activity in which students write and teachers act as the audience
and give feedback. In this present research, this aspect has been taken into
consideration and teacher attitude has been integrated as one of the variables.
This study investigates the effects of two types of free-writing activities:

a) journal writing and b) dialogue journal writing on Turkish students’ writing
proficiency, and attitudes towards academic writing. It further explores the
effects of dialogue journal writing on the student-teacher relationship. The
following research questions form the basis of the study: Do journal writing
and dialogue journal writing impact students’ writing proficiency? Do journal
writing and dialogue journal writing impact students’ attitudes towards
academic writing? Does dialogue journal writing impact the teacher’s attitudes
towards students’ behavior and engagement?
The first research question has a quantitative orientation whereas the last
two focus on qualitative data eliciting the affective factors involved in the
process, both for the students and the teacher.
RESEACH METHOD
An experimental design was followed to shed light on the answers of

the research questions guiding the study. Experimental methods aim at
discovering the effect of one variable on another to test the effectiveness of the
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intervention technique (Hyland, 2016). Here, the effectiveness of journal

writing and dialogue journal writing on students’ writing proficiency and
attitudes is tested.
Participants of study
The study was conducted at an English-medium foundation university

in Izmir, Turkey. The participants were 76 undergraduate students enrolled at
different departments taking ENG 101, an English for Academic Purposes
(EAP) freshman English course. The research was conducted as part of the
program and carried out in the normal teaching setting. Freshmen students
were purposely chosen, as these were students beginning to learn academic
writing.
The 76 students were enrolled in three different sections of the same

course. Students were expected to be at similar proficiency levels (B2), after
passing the English proficiency test at the beginning of the academic year.
Furthermore, the groups’ pre-test results also indicated comparable writing
proficiency levels. As such, each section was randomly assigned as Control,
Experimental-A (DJW) and Experimental-B (JW) groups.
Control Group: The control group consisted of 26 students ranging in

age from 17 to 22. There were 13 female and 13 male students. Fourteen
students were enrolled at the Faculty of Engineering, 6 at the Faculty of
Business, 3 at Law Faculty and 3 at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Experimental group A (DJW): The second group consisted of 24

students ranging in age from 18 to 23. There were 8 female and 16 male
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students. Thirteen students were from the Faculty of Engineering, 4 from the
Faculty of Communication, 4 from Business, and 1 each from Fine Arts,
Culinary Arts and Arts and Sciences. As the journal entries in this group were
collected by the teacher, students’ consent to use them for the study was taken
at the end of the research.
Experimental group B (JW): The last group consisted of 26 students

ranging in age from 18 to 28. Twelve of the students were female and 14 were
male. Seven were studying at the Faculty of Engineering, 6 at Fine Arts, 6 at
Business, 5 at the Faculty of Law, and 1 each at Communication, and Arts and
Sciences. Table 1 shows the details of the groups.
Table 1 Participant demographics
Control Group Exp. Group-A Exp. Group-B

n % n % n %
Female 13 50 8 33.33 12 46.15
Male 13 50 16 66.66 14 53.84
Faculties
Engineering 14 53.84 13 54.16 7 26.92
Science and Literature 3 11.53 1 4.16 1 3.84
Business 6 23.07 4 16.66 6 23.07
Communication - - 4 16.66 1 3.84
Fine Arts - - 1 4.16 6 23.07
Culinary Arts - - 1 4.16 - -
Law 3 11.53 - - 5 19.23
TOTAL 26 24 26
EAP context of the study
The ENG 101 course, Academic Skills in English I, is a 14-week

compulsory course for first year students at an English medium university in
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Turkey. As all students come with a B2 level of general English, the aim of
this course is to further develop students’ English background with the more
academic style required in their faculty courses. By the end of the course,
students are expected to be better equipped to function in their English medium
department courses, and better meet the demands in terms of academic skills
in English. At Izmir University of Economics, the course text is an in-house
published course book, Anchor 1, comprising of four units based on different
general academic topics designed to appeal to a wide variety of academic
interests. Each unit contains texts related to the theme of the unit in the form
of lectures, videos, and academic research papers. Students are required to
study the material and produce an output task in the form of a written response
to an issue related to the content. They are required to support their own ideas
with evidence presented in the input sections of the book.
Data collection instruments
The data was obtained in the form of a) pre-test and post-test, b) focus-
group interviews with volunteer students, and c) interview with the teacher.
Below is a detailed description of the sources of data:
Pre-tests and post-tests
Students were given a writing task in week 5 (after add-drop), which

aimed at serving as the pre-test of the study. The pre-test required students to
do the following:
‘Using information from your course book, together with your own ideas, write
an answer of approximately 250 words to the following question: Are colors
important in our lives? Why/Why not?’
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As the topic ‘colors and their importance in our lives’ was covered
during the lesson and input was provided on different aspects of colors and
their effects, students had already had the opportunity to form an opinion, thus
content was quite familiar.
The second task, which served as the post-test, was given in the 10th
week when the third unit was completed, after input on the topic of production
planning and setting up businesses in the form of lectures, research, and videos.
The second writing task necessitated students to:
‘Using information from your course book, together with your own ideas, write
an answer of approximately 250 words to the following statement: Explain the
most important factors involved in the development of either a traditional or a
virtual company.’
Pre- and post-test writings were graded using the in-house writing
rubric, in use for several years. Students were introduced to the rubric at the
beginning of the course and were familiar with its requirements. The highest
possible score was 30 points, and consisted of the following areas and
weighting, as shown in Table 2.
Table 2 Institutional grading rubric
Organization Content Fluency Accuracy Total
8 points 10 points 8 points 4 points 30 points
26.7 % 33.3 % 26.7 % 13.3 % 100 %
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Organization refers mainly to the academic conventions that need to be

followed, like writing topic sentences, building the body and concluding the
text. Content evaluation is based on the quality of the written response given
to the question, i.e. evidence and support provided to back up the topic. Fluency
reflects the coherence and cohesion within the text; finally, accuracy refers to
the variety and accurate use of lexis and structure.
Focus group meetings
To examine the participants’ reactions, at the end of the term, the

researcher conducted semi-structured focus-group meetings with eight
volunteers from each group. The purpose of the focus group meetings with the
students was to understand whether journal writing or dialogic journal writing
had an impact on their attitudes towards academic writing in general. The
meetings were guided by the following themes: a) attitude towards writing, b)
course impact on students writing, c) specific areas of improvement; i.e.
content generation, accuracy, writing fluency and organization, d) useful class
activities, and e) change in attitudes towards writing.
In addition to these five themes, students were asked to write down one
adjective they would use to describe the activity of academic writing. The 45-
minute focus group meetings were recorded and transcribed for analysis.
Teacher interview
At the end of the semester, an unstructured interview was held with the
teacher to understand her perspectives on journal writing and dialogue journal
writing. The aim was to elicit the teacher’s attitude towards the experience, and
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whether it affected her teaching, or approach to students. The interview lasted

about an hour and the responses recorded in note form, were subjected to an
explorative thematic analysis. The analysis was done by two independent
raters, and coding of utterances was based on emerging themes.
Experimental set up
The study was done with three groups of students, randomly assigned
as control, experimental-A and experimental-B. The following section
describes the experimental set-up for the three groups.
Control group
Twenty-six students enrolled in this group followed the 14-week

program and carried out the writing assignments required as part of the course.
There was no mention or encouragement of any form of journal writing. As
such, this group received no special or different instruction, and simply
followed the EAP programme.
Experimental groups
In this study, there were two experimental groups. In one, the teacher
collected and reviewed the journal entries, thus teacher presence was a
potential audience; in the other, journal entries were not submitted to the
teacher. The aim was to determine whether the teacher, as the audience, had
any effect on the students. Hamp-Lyons and Haesley (2006) suggest that
writing intended for the eyes of another, especially the teacher, creates learner
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discomfort and anxiety. The involvement of Experimental group-A and

Experimental Group-B was expected to shed light on this issue.
Experimental Group A- Dialogue Journal Writing
Twenty-four students enrolled in this group followed the 14-week

program, including the writing assignments required. As the first week of class
involved introductions and familiarization with the course, the implementation
of journal writing was delayed until after the 3rd week. At the beginning week
4, students were given a notebook to record their journal writings. It was
explained that, as writing is no longer an activity that people (especially
students) perform, to reverse this trend, each week they would be asked to
write a five-minute free-writing entry in the notebook. They were told to focus
on their thoughts, rather than accurate language. To prevent students from
struggling to come up with ideas, no word limits were given regarding the
length of the entries. It was also stated that their books would be collected at
the end of each week purely to prevent the books from getting lost or forgotten,
and that writing would not be graded. There were no limits as to the length of
their entries.
Over the course of the term, students participated in 11 five-minute

writing sessions at the end of the class. Students were given responses to their
entries only concerning the actual content, and not grammatical accuracy. Of
the 24 students, 18 wrote on a regular basis, completing all 11 entries. The
remaining six wrote between 6 and 8. By the end of the term, a dialogue had
emerged between the individual students and the teacher, who responded with
comments such as : ‘Hope this week is better.’, ‘I’m glad you had a better
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week.’, ‘I hope you’ve started your Spanish course by now.’ ‘happy birthday’
‘How was your party?’. There were also plenty of longer comments such as ‘It
sounds like you have got your motivation back. This is wonderful. Maybe it’s
the power of pop music. I hope you keep this energy up to get you through the
term and final exams.’ (See Appendix 1 for sample journal entries with
feedback).
Experimental Group B - Journal Writing
Twenty-six students enrolled in this group followed the 14-week

program including the writing assignments required. As with experimental
group A, the journal writing could not be started until the end of the third week
of the term. Unlike Experimental group-A, in this group, students were not
supplied with a notebook but were asked to use paper to free write for 5
minutes. As with the previous group, a rationale was supplied; students were
told to record their thoughts without focusing on language accuracy. No
instruction was given to submit papers to the teacher. After finishing, they
could leave with their papers. Students were free to keep or dispose of them.
No word-limit was set about journal entry length.
In total, 11 five-minute writing sessions were undertaken. Of 26

students, only 5 completed all 11 entries. Two students wrote very few entries,
and the rest wrote about 6 to 8. After two such writing sessions, one student
questioned why the instructor was not reading the papers, and therefore,
students were given the option to submit their entries. The few students who
did so received feedback only concerning the content; language errors were not
mentioned.
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RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Writing proficiency
The first research question guiding this study was related to the effect
of journal writing and dialogue journal writing on students’ writing
proficiency. To be able to answer this question, paired samples test was done
for the pre- and post-test scores of all three groups. Table 3 shows the pre- and
post-test results for the control group.
Table 3 Paired samples test-control group
Paired Differences
95% Confidence
Std. Interval of the
Std. Error Difference Sig. (2-
Mean Deviation Mean Lower Upper t df tailed)
Pair Writing1
1 - -3.950 19.127 4.277 -12.902 5.002 -.924 19 .367
Writing2
The paired samples test shows that there is no meaningful difference

between the pre- and post-test results of the control group (0.367 >0.05). The
average writing score for the pre-test in this group was 80.05 and post-test
average was 84.00. Despite an increase, it reflects no statistical significance. It
can be concluded that the control group students benefitted from the instruction
and made a moderate improvement.
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The results of the paired samples test for the first Experimental Group are
demonstrated in Table 4.
Table 4 Paired samples test-experimental-A

Paired Differences
95% Confidence
Pair Writing1
1 - -8.500 11.814 2.411 -13.489 -3.511 -3.525 23 .002
Writing2
The test analysis shows that there is a significant difference between

students’ pre- and post-test scores (0.002 >0.05). The average writing score for
the pre-test in this group was 73.63 and post-test average was 82.13. It can be
claimed that dialogue journal writing and subsequent teacher feedback on the
content of the journal entries had positively affected students’ writings. To
understand which component of writing caused the main difference, t-test was
carried out. Table 5 shows the results of the t-test.
21
Table 5 T-test results of experimental-A
Pre-test (N=24) Post-test (N=24)
Writing M SD M SD M t p
difference
Org 17.779 5.267 21.250 5.193 3.471 2.299 0.026
Content 24.579 6.852 27.638 4.949 3.058 1.773 0.083
Fluency 19.858 4.548 20.979 3.990 1.121 0.908 0.369
Accurac 11.504 3.389 12.200 2.316 0.696 0.830 0.411

y
The results indicate a significant effect of ‘organization’ on the overall

increase (0.026>0.05). Even though there was an improvement in the post-test
in all four rubric areas: i.e. organization, content, fluency and accuracy, the
major development was reflected in organization.
As for the second experimental group engaged in journal writing, the

paired sample test results (Table 6) show no significant difference between pre-
and post-test scores.
Table 6 Paired samples test-experimental-B
Paired Differences
95% Confidence
Pair 1 Writing1
- .091 12.943 2.759 -5.648 5.829 .033 21 .974
Writing2
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The pre-test score average of the second experimental group was 82.45.
The post-test scores, on the other hand, had an average of 82.36, showing
neither an improvement, nor a statistical significance between experimental-B
group averages.
Based on the results of the pre-tests and post-tests, it can be said that
DJW made the greatest impact on students’ academic writing skills. The
students in the control group benefitted from the instruction, yet the
improvement represented no meaningful difference between their pre- and
post-tests. The results of the experimental group, which received treatment in
journal writing (Experimental Group-B) exhibited a disappointing result in the
sense that they made no improvement in their writing proficiency scores. This
may partly be explained by the variable attendance in lessons, as this group had
the highest absenteeism of the three. Also, few of the students were involved
in the writing of journal entries, knowing that they would not be collected, or
read. As highlighted by Asadifard and Koosha (2013) and Ceylan (2019),
students do not prefer to write if they do not see a reason or communicative
value. Thus, the lack of an audience, in this case the teacher, made a difference
to students’ perceptions of the journal writing activity. Knowing their entries
would neither be collected nor graded, many students withdrew from the
activity.
The DJW group, with the highest gain in post-test scores, was further
analyzed based on the writing components effective in scoring. The literature
on the effects of journal writing suggests that students benefit from this
experience more in terms of writing fluency (Holmes and Moulton, 1997;
23
Peyton, 2000), but the results of this study only partially support this finding.
Students’ post-test writing scores show that DJW helped them in all four areas,
yet ‘organization’ improved most, supporting the view that the more students
write, the more practice they get in organizing their ideas while writing
(Lagan, 2000). An additional reason for the improvement in students’ writing
scores can be attributed to their self-confidence in writing, which is expected
to have developed during the journal writing experience. As Gruwell (2007)
also emphasizes, journal writing does not only improve writing skills but also
the attitudes of learners towards writing.
Students’ attitudes towards academic writing
To understand whether factors other than journal writing may have had
an effect on student writing, members from all three groups were included in
the focus group analysis. Thus, a total of three focus group meetings were held.
Below is the collection of student responses with samples from their utterances.
Control group
Eight students participated in the focus group meeting, which lasted 45

minutes. For the control group, the participants are referred to as CSt-1, CSt-
2…CSt-8 (C=Control Group, St=Student). The first question directed to
students was whether they liked writing in English. CSt-3, CSt-5 and CSt-6
indicated that they do not, considering it as a boring activity. For example, CSt-
5 openly said “I don’t like it. It’s quite boring”. CSt-1, CSt-4 and CSt-8 said
they liked it, CSt-2 said she loved writing, claiming “I love it – learn new
vocabulary, develop”. The remaining student had no clear idea about his
attitude.
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When asked about the efficiency of this course, and whether it helped
them develop their writing skills, CSt-1, CSt-2, CSt-4, CSt-7 and CSt-8 said it
helped them, especially in terms of the writing quizzes in their department
courses. CSt-7 said “My quiz grades got better towards the end”. CSt-3
mentioned that she learned how to cite and use sources claiming “I used to
copy-paste, now I know how to acknowledge studies”. CSt-5 wanted writing to
be a more casual activity, with less formal vocabulary and complained that
“there are too many rules”. CSt-6 mentioned that the course was focusing on
paragraph writing and not essays, implying that the writings required were
shorter than expected.
‘Which activities would you have liked to have done more of in the
class?’ was another focus group question. The majority said that they liked the
discussion parts the most, which prepared them for the writing in terms of
content. CSt-2 and CSt-8 specifically highlighted this by saying that “debates
and discussions teach a lot of things”. None of the students suggested any
additional writing activities in this regard.
The last question was about possible changes in students’ attitudes

towards writing. Only CSt-4 reported a change from hating writing to liking it,
which is indicated in his response “I hated it – now I love it”. CSt-5 said “it
didn’t change – I don’t like writing…but I know it has improved” suggesting
that his attitude had not changed, but he feels he improved. The rest of the
group mentioned no change in attitudes, whether these were positive or
negative. The adjectives that students were asked to describe writing were as
follows: adore, boring x 5, strategic, and it’s fun without coercion.
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As a conclusion, it can be stated that control group students benefitted

from the course, which is also evident from their score gains between pre- and
post-tests. Yet, their attitude towards writing as a skill seems to be more at a
mechanical level. The majority of students in the focus group consider writing
as a boring skill, indicating low motivation, and a generally negative attitude
towards writing. Literature on writing also suggests that it is not a very popular
skill and needs to be made more appealing to students. Asadifard and Koosha
(2013) make reference to Iranian students’ writing reluctance in the EFL
setting, and Ceylan (2019), in her study with Turkish EFL students, refers to
many factors such as lack of value and limited writing activities, stress or topic
familiarity that hinder self-confidence and success in writing.
Experimental group-A (DJW)
For experimental group-A, the participants are referred to as EA-St-1,

EA-St-2…EA-St-8 (EA= Experimental Group-A, St=Student). The first
question elicited students’ attitudes towards writing and whether they liked it.
Six positive responses clearly indicated a like for writing. EA-St-6 justified his
negative response as “mother tongue is Turkish…it is difficult to translate. I
like reading comic books so not used to formal writing”. EA-St-3 also
expressed a negative opinion claiming that it was ‘frustrating’ to write in
English.
Regarding the effect of this course, all students agreed that their writing
skills had developed as a result. EA-St-2 commented ‘Yes – a fresh start –
bring my English back’, whereas EA-St-7 said that he found the chance to
“revise and practice previous learning”. EA-St-5 thought the most effective
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part was the assessed writing tasks. EA-St-1 commented ‘I didn’t write
anything until this time – now I can write what I want’. As to which activities
were considered helpful, almost all made reference to the dialogue journal
writing activity. EA-St-1 referred to the journal writing: ‘Yes absolutely, mostly
the free writings we did at the end of the lesson helped me most’. EA-St-4 said
‘I didn’t find it forced. Write what we want’. EA-St-2 foregrounded sharing her
feelings and ideas: ‘I shared my feelings with the teacher’. Two students
acknowledged that dialogue journal writing was beneficial for learning and
practicing new vocabulary, and getting advice on content. Journal writing was
also considered useful for remembering the rules of the English language; EA-
St-1 said that she is ‘confident with everyday language, not with academic
language’, so it is easier to write the journal entry.
As for the components of writing, EA-St-4 and EA-St-5 said that

dialogue journal writing made it easier for them to generate content by
highlighting “it is easier to think of ideas quickly”, EA-St-7 believed that it
helped him use the language more accurately, and EA-St-1, EA-St-2 and EA-
St-8 said that it helped them organize ideas better and become more fluent by
claiming “it did help on language use and writing fluency”.
Regarding students’ preferences of activities that should have been

done more often, EA-St-2 mentioned that he was content with the current
situation. EA-St-1 and EA-St-5 mentioned vocabulary study as an area by
focusing on “finding the words adverb, adjective versions”. EA-St-3 suggested
more games and fun activities, and EA-St-6, more discussions during the
lessons.
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One of the focus group questions aimed at eliciting the change in

students’ attitudes towards writing. EA-St-1, EA-St-5, EA-St-7 and EA-St-8
said there was no change in their positive attitude. EA-St-2 said that it changed
completely, as he put it: ‘at first, I only used to write. Now I’m starting to think
what I write, how I write’. EA-St-4 described a change from a negative to
positive attitude as she started feeling ‘more confident in academic English’.
EA-St-6 said that she used to dislike writing, but now was ‘slightly’ more
positive. When students were asked to write an adjective or phrase to describe
the skill of writing, the following emerged: happy, amazing, fresh start, bring
English back to life, weary, entertaining, thoughtful, and boring.
Overall, the DJW group found journal writing quite effective in many
respects. Especially, they appreciated that, as journal writing was not a course
requirement, they had the freedom to reveal their feelings, emotions, opinions
to their teacher, and considered it as a useful tool to practice vocabulary. The
freedom of topic choice in journal writing was also foregrounded by Mukti
(2016) as one of the factors that makes dialogue journal writing worthwhile for
students. Thus, as highlighted in literature, dialogue journal writing has
positive effects on students’ writing proficiency, and on overcoming
apprehension (Alexander, 2001). Furthermore, the comments from the teacher
helped create an authentic purpose for writing. As students of this era rarely
use extended writing in their everyday communication, this is considered to be
a valuable outcome of dialogue journal writing in terms of student motivation,
expressed with positive phrases such as fresh start, and bringing English back
to life. Finally, the combination of increased motivation, the strengthened bond
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with their teacher and the freedom of topic choice impacted their writing
proficiency (Mukti, 2016).
Experimental group-B (JW)
For experimental group-B, the participants are referred to as EB-St-1,

EB-St-2…EB-St-8 (EB= Experimental Group-B, St=Student).The question on
whether or not students enjoyed writing in English yielded positive results. Six
said that they liked writing, EB-St-1 and EB-St-7 did not. EB-St-7 justified
his opinion, saying ‘I believe that when you write, you need to use more
information about language than you use while speaking’.
All students gave positive responses about the effectiveness of the
course and the impact it had on their writing skills. Especially EB-St-3 talked
at length about the effectiveness, concluding ‘I am happy that I get this course
and even though I didn’t work much out of the classroom, I participate in all
activities and they improved my language abilities’. EB-St-6 mentioned
organization as one of the areas he developed most, stating that ‘I used to just
write it right away, but now the planning techniques that we learned helps me
a lot’. Another student highlighted the importance of reading and taking notes
during the lesson as factors for improvement in her writing.
As to which activity they found most useful, almost all mentioned
journal writing at the end of the lesson. For EA-St-2, it helped develop
vocabulary, and she even mentioned that it benefited her speaking as well as
writing, because, as she put it, ‘you speak in your mind and write it down.
Improves speaking skills - daily life communication with other people’. EB-St-
8 discussed the psychological effect of journal writing in this codeswitched
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comment: ‘End of lesson writing – ‘faydalı – something you can’t say in class
– kağıda dökebilirsin’ (Eng: end of lesson writing is beneficial. Something you
cannot say in class, but you can put on paper).
When asked their opinion on which component of writing they
developed the most, all eight students highlighted organization of ideas,
coherence, and flow of writing. EB-St-2 and EB-St-4 reported that the journal
writings had a positive impact on writing fluency.
For the question about activities they would like more of, EB-St-7
suggested anything other than writing. EB-St-3, EB-St-5 and EB-St-8
indicated the end of lesson journal writing: ‘The end of week writings was my
favorite activity since we wrote about daily things and what we wanted to talk
about other than just book topics’. EB-St-1 mentioned more speaking activities
in the course.
Regarding students’ attitudes towards writing, six students reported no
change in their positive opinions, whereas EB-St-1 expressed no change in his
negative opinion. EB-St-7 admitted that he is slightly more positive after the
course. The adjectives students used to describe the writing activity were:
interesting, beneficial, productive, improving, absurd, improvement,
expression, and entertaining.
The JW group expressed positive feelings about writing and the
effectiveness of the course. The five-minute journal writing at the end of the
lesson was identified as the most popular activity by the students. Even though
the entries had no audience, they felt comfortable about being able to write on
a topic of their own interest, which gave them a genuine purpose. The positive
attitude of the majority shows that journal writing had an indirect impact on
motivation. Although, for this group, the post-test scores reveal no
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improvement in their writing proficiency, it certainly seems to have impacted

their engagement and self-confidence.
The fact that in both experimental groups, students responded
positively to the journal writing activity stresses the expressive paradigm of the
writing activity (Hyland, 2016). When writing is treated as a communicative
act rather than a completed product, students engage more and develop a more
positive attitude towards academic writing.
Teacher’s perspective
The final research question aimed at eliciting the teacher’s attitude

towards the experience of implementing journal writing into her academic
writing lesson. The analysis of the teacher interview generated interesting
findings that can be summarized under the following headings: authentic
written communication, understanding students, passive protest, change in
student attitudes, and extra work.
Authentic communication
The teacher highlighted that the most important gain of this experience,
especially with the DJW group, was the authentic communication between her
and the majority of her students. She reported that the content of the journal
entries usually centered around asking for advice (e.g. ‘how can I improve my
vocabulary?’, ‘I have too much work to do…how can I do it?’), sharing good
news (e.g. going to a job interview), sharing past experiences, goals and future
plans, explaining their life outside of the classroom (e.g. parents coming to
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stay, how difficult life is on your own), sharing observations about life (e.g.
how people take things for granted - after living on their own for the first time
and having no hot water…how getting the hot water made him so happy),
explaining injustices in the world, explaining/recommending a film or music,
discussing feelings about the class, talking about the workload of courses –
sharing worries and areas of anxiety. She pointed out these were instances of
genuine communication expressed in the medium of writing.
The expressive and communicative nature of writing (Hyland, 2016)

affected both the students and the teacher positively. The fact that real
communication was the key to the content of the journal entries, was also
confirmed by the teacher.
Understanding students
In relation to the content, the teacher highlighted many instances of

better understanding of students as individuals. She did not engage students in
journal writing in the control group, and did not read the journals written by
experimental group-2; nevertheless, she noted that ‘even though I did not have
a dialogue with these groups in the same way as the other group, I was more
aware of what might be happening to them outside of the classroom because
they were in the same faculties as my other group. I was also more tolerant
towards them when it came to a lack of interest that sometimes happens in the
classroom’. She added that she was better able to sympathize and had more
background information to help her engage and connect with her students. She
had not consciously focused on these issues before.
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As Lestari (2018) also pointed out, dialogue journals are a means for
individualized feedback and, as such, help teachers gather more information
about their students. The reflection of the teacher in this study clearly showed
that knowing more about the students helped her understand them better.
Passive protest
Another interesting area that emerged from the interview was the fact
that two students adopted a passive protest type of behavior regarding journal
entries, particularly in Experimental Group-A, where these were being
collected. One student refused to write his thoughts in English, but rather than
doing nothing, used a variety of other forms, mediums or languages to
communicate, such as drawing pictures to illustrate his feelings, recreating a
dialogue from a famous children’s movie (The Bee Movie), writing out a
children’s rhyme (What Shall we do with the Drunken Sailor?), creating a
picture from words studied in the class (creating a face using only reporting
verbs), writing in morse code/computer code and writing in French and Italian
(see Appendix 2 for sample entries). Rather than reacting, the teacher accepted
this as his way of communicating his thoughts. Another student, when given
the notebook for diary entries in experimental group-A, initially described it as
childish, like in primary school, but became engaged in writing as the course
progressed.
Some studies confirm that not all students have a positive approach to
journal writing, which may result from lack of time, motivation, or dislike
(Hapsari, Santosa and Asib, 2018). Here, too, a few students initially resisted
or found alternative ways to approach task. As the key is to use writing as a
33
way for communicating, the teacher gave students the freedom to choose the
medium they felt most comfortable with.
Change in student attitudes
The teacher said that she could clearly notice a change in students’
attitude towards writing in the experimental groups, in particular, in the
dialogue journal writing group. She quotes one student who, initially had a
negative attitude, but once engaged in journal writing, asked ‘Teacher, if you
have time, can I write a bit more?’ and she then wrote for 15 minutes, staying
after class was over. The teacher emphasized that most students were less
intrinsically motivated to write the academic tasks required in the course, yet
more willing to do the much less constrained journal writing. She said that this
did not disturb her, as she believed they were gaining confidence in terms of
writing, which they could eventually transfer to academic writing.
A positive attitude was one of the outcomes of the focus group meetings
with the students, too. The response of the teacher verified this. Besides the
positive effect of journal writing on writing proficiency of students, the
literature supports the affective nature of journal writing as well (Lestari, 2018;
Gruwell, 20017; Mukti, 2016; Debbagh, 2017). One of the most valuable
effects of this study was the change of student attitudes towards writing, which
was also quite overt and noticeable for the teacher.
Extra work
Despite all the benefits, the teacher also mentioned that it was a time-
consuming task, especially in larger classes. As the students wrote every week,
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she tried to finish her responses to all entries within the week, so students could
see them before the new entry. However, her final assessment of the experience
of journal writing, and the burden it presented, was that it had been worthwhile:
‘Reading the notebooks and writing comments did take some time, but I
always looked forward to reading the entries and never ever viewed it as
a burden. The time spent reading and replying was time well spent and
felt like I was contributing something to the class, students and myself in
the process. It helped me change the way of approaching some issues in
the classroom and gave me a deeper understanding of what students need
and want from an instructor.’
Among the few drawbacks of journal writing, increased workload on
the side of the teacher is the most prominent one (Hapsari, Santosa and Asib,
2018; Rana, 2018). It goes without saying that more work is involved in
reading journal entries and giving individualized feedback on the various
topics students may want to write about. Yet, the gains far outweigh the
burdens for the teacher in this study. However, it should be kept in mind that
the class sizes of the groups in this study ranged between 24-26. It could have
been less manageable with larger groups. Therefore, class size seems to be a
determinant factor when applying dialogue journal writing in the EFL
classroom.
CONCLUSION
There have been a variety of attempts to facilitate the improvement of

writing skills, especially targeted towards improving writing fluency,
particularly in EFL settings. As mentioned earlier, extended writing is not a
skill in daily use, yet students at English medium universities are expected to
perform writing tasks in English quite frequently in academic settings. Journal
35
writing and dialogue journal writing were introduced as alternative approaches

to writing designed to lessen the writing apprehension of students, to engage
them in authentic written communication, and to get them into the habit of
writing freely.
Especially dialogue journal writing promotes students’ writing

development on various grounds. It serves as a tool for students to practice the
language intensively in a non-threatening environment by lowering affective
factors involved in language production. Furthermore, it gives students the
chance to produce comprehensible output using their existing knowledge.
Finally, dialogue journal writing enhances real communication between the
teacher and the students, highlighting the expressive function of writing.
The results of this study refer to a two-fold gain. First, students were
able to practice and develop their writing skills by engaging in authentic
writing within a more flexible environment in terms of topic choice and teacher
feedback, which was limited to content only. Even though the writings that
students produced for the journals were non-academic in nature, there is
evidence that creating such opportunities will eventually result in an indirect
impact on their academic writing, as students develop confidence and fluency.
As part of the writing process, students are expected to generate content,
ideally with little apprehension or anxiety. The journal writing experience lays
the ground for students to practice this in a non-threatening setting.
The second outcome of this study is related to the teacher engaged in

this journal writing experience and her professional growth. Despite the extra
burden, and the reluctance of some of the students, journal writing offers gains,
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including invaluable insights to the teacher on the students as individuals. Once

connected to them through authentic communication, seeing the change in
approaches and attitudes to the teacher, based on more personal
understandings, the gains outweigh any extra burden. In some way, the
engagement in student entries has extended the teacher’s contact time with her
students, which is considered important for student growth as well.
This study focused specifically on the affective sides of writing and

whether lowering these and creating a bond with the teacher would indirectly
affect students writing proficiency. No analysis was done to examine the direct
effect of journal writing on students’ academic writing fluency. Further
research is needed to uncover the specific areas of writing proficiency that are
impacted the most by journal writing.
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APPENDIX-1 Samples of student diaries and teacher feedback
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APPENDIX-2 Samples of extra-ordinary student entries
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EFL Classes Must Go Online! Teaching Activities

and Challenges during COVID-19 Pandemic in
Indonesia
Arief Eko Priyo Atmojo1*, Arif Nugroho2
IAIN Surakarta, Indonesia12
arief.atmojo93@gmail.com1, arifnugroho.iainsurakarta@gmail.com2
Submission Track:
Available Online: 01-06-2020
ABSTRACT
In view of the COVID-19 pandemic and government policy to carry out online
learning, the present research is aimed at investigating how EFL teachers
carry out online EFL learning and its challenges. 16 EFL teachers volunteered
to participate in this research through invitation. The EFL teachers were
requested to make written reflections regarding their practices in carrying out
online EFL learning and the challenges they encounter. Five of them were
involved in a follow-up interview individually. Semi-structured interview was
administered. Data coding was done and appropriate extracts were informed
in results section. To validate the data, data coding was done independently by
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Arief Eko Priyo Atmojo, Arif Nugroho
both researchers, continued by several cycles of discussion. As results, the EFL

teachers have carried out online learning through a series of activities ranging
from checking the students’ attendance to giving score on the students’ works
synchronously or asynchronously depending on each school policy. Various
applications and platforms ranging from learning management system to
additional resource are employed. However, many problems emerge from the
students, the teachers, and the students’ parents along with the valid reasons.
Therefore, the online learning does not run well since it lacks of preparation
and planning. Implications for better online learning are discussed. Future
prospective researches are directed and encouraged.
Keywords: COVID-19, EFL teachers, online EFL learning, technology

enhanced language learning, technology in language learning.
INTRODUCTION
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) originating from Hubei Province
of the People’s Republic of China has become a current pandemic over the
world. Many countries have been affected by this virus. In late January 2020,
a global health emergency state was announced by the WHO Emergency
Committee as COVID-19 confirmed cases have been increasing internationally
(McAleer, 2020; Velavan & Meyer, 2020). COVID-19 has spread in all
continents, but Antarctica as of 26 February 2020. Latest news on COVID-19
have overloaded worldwide mass media every day in 2020 (McAleer, 2020).
In 1 April 2020, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Indonesia
has reached more than 1.500 cases (WHO, 2020). The National Disaster
Management Authority of Republic of Indonesia has decided to extend the
period of disaster emergency caused by COVID-19 pandemic until 29 May
2020 (BNPB, 2020). The global spread of COVID-19 pandemic causes class
suspensions resulting in the needs of online learning (Moorhouse, 2020).
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The Minister of Education and Culture of Republic of Indonesia has

instructed schools to carry out online learning since 17 March 2020 for
COVID-19 affected areas (Mendikbud, 2020b). Soon after that, the Minister
of Education and Culture of Republic of Indonesia has ordered all education
units to run online learning from 24 March 2020 due to the increasing spread
of COVID-19 and maintaining the health of students, teachers, and all
educational staffs (Mendikbud, 2020a). These policies lead students to learn
from home and teachers to work from home, too. It fully replaces face-to-face
learning in classroom setting into online learning which possibly lasts till the
end of semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It becomes a new challenge
for both students and teachers to run online learning. According to Cao et al.
(2020), these actions certainly give impact on education, particularly students’
growth.
Online learning researches usually explore stand-alone online learning
tools, instructional methodologies or techniques, unique environments within
a blended learning program, and comparison between classroom-based and
fully online learning. The emphasis is commonly on the students’ attitude,
perception, assessment, evaluation, satisfaction, and performance (Gonzalez &
Louis, 2018; Sun, 2014). Although a big number of research has been done
quantitatively and qualitatively to investigate the effectiveness of online
learning (Gonzalez & Louis, 2018), a research on online language learning
carried out during a pandemic is very rarely found, especially in English as
Foreign Language (EFL) context in secondary school settings as most online
language learning researches have been done in tertiary education level (Chin–
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Hsi Lin & Warschauer, 2015). This pandemic causes the fully online language
learning to occur in a sudden and completely unprepared situation. Whereas, a
particular research investigating fully online language learning is very rare
(Sun, 2014), especially during a pandemic.
English still becomes the most renowned foreign language in Indonesian
schools. It remains as the first foreign language. It has been officially taught in
Indonesian secondary schools since a long time ago (Jayanti & Norahmi, 2014;
Kam, 2002; Lie, 2007; Yusny, 2013). As a foreign language, English has
gained a special status among other foreign languages existing in Indonesia
because of many true causes (Lauder, 2008). Secondary school students are
required to take this subject since it is compulsory throughout secondary
schools in Indonesia. This subject is determined as essential among other
subjects. Students are also required to take this subject in national examination
(Jayanti & Norahmi, 2014; Lie, 2007; Yusny, 2013; Zein, 2018). Almost
11,000,000 students learn English in formal education every year and they are
very diverse (Lie, 2007). Undoubtedly, Indonesia has become one of the most
prospective markets to teach English (Zein, 2018).
In global context, English becomes a school subject and is required to
own a bargain in job position. It occurs as high unemployment exists and
English mastery is much appreciated in workplace, business, and tourism. It
shows the economic benefits of mastering English to people (Jayanti &
Norahmi, 2014; Smith, 1991). Not surprisingly, the current issues and trends
of English Language Teaching (ELT) are mainly concerned by education
experts, pedagogical practitioners, language policy makers, and linguists
(Jayanti & Norahmi, 2014).
In lights of the importance of English in Indonesia and international
world, the Ministry of Education and Culture issued a decree in 1967
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explaining the functions and purposes of teaching English in secondary

schools. English is believed to function in (1) accelerating national
development since a great deal of modern science resources are only available
in English; (2) creating relationships with other nations; and (3) implementing
national foreign policy. Moreover, the purposes of teaching English in
secondary schools are to equip students with the mastery of four English
language skills such as reading textbooks, communicating with and learning
from foreigners, and promoting Indonesian culture to other nations (Jayanti &
Norahmi, 2014; Smith, 1991).
Online learning goes on to spread internationally since students and
teachers feel comfortable and see possibility in setting up and accessing
opportunities to learn alternatively (White, 2008). Online learning means a set
of learning activities in a subject delivered through network giving access and
exchange of knowledge. This terminology has appeared specially to point out
an approach of teaching and learning which involves internet technology.
Online learning environment is not only useful for students to access
knowledge and materials but also to associate and make collaboration among
course participants (Krish, 2008). Online learning is also perceived as the
utilization of internet in accessing materials; having interaction with contents,
teachers, and other students; and gaining assistance in learning process to gain
knowledge, make meaning, and progress through learning experience (Ally,
2008). Online learning is defined as learning carried out from a distance
assisted by electronic devices, for instance tablets, smartphones, laptops, and
computers which require internet connection (Gonzalez & Louis, 2018).
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The widespread use of online learning inevitably brings students into

alternative places for online language learning (Plaisance, 2018). Online
language learning (OLL) may point various learning adjustments, namely a
web-facilitated learning, a hybrid or blended learning, and a fully virtual or
online learning. Moreover, the online language learning in EFL context in
secondary school settings during the COVID-19 pandemic takes place in fully
online language learning because students and teachers are not possible to
gather in a face-to-face context (Blake, 2011).
In view of the COVID-19 pandemic and government policy to carry out
online learning which causes students to learn from home and teachers to teach
from home too, this research investigates how EFL teachers carry out online
EFL learning and what challenges they deal with as well as valid reasons.
Drawing on written reflections data from secondary school teachers from
various cities in Indonesia, this research contributes to the realm of online
language learning researches. It enriches the knowledge of how EFL secondary
school teachers in Indonesia carry out online EFL learning in a sudden and
completely unprepared situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also sheds
some lights on the challenges they encounter during their practices of carrying
out online learning. Therefore, questions leading the present research are: (1)
How do EFL teachers carry out online EFL learning during the COVID-19
pandemic? (2) What challenges do EFL teachers deal with in carrying out
online EFL learning during the COVID-19 pandemic?
RESEARCH METHOD
Research context and participants
This research was carried out in Indonesia which ranks second in
language diversity among other countries worldwide (Zein, 2018), where
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English has been put into priority as the first foreign language and become
compulsory for secondary school students (Jayanti & Norahmi, 2014; Lie,
2007; Yusny, 2013; Zein, 2018). However, English is very rarely spoken in
Indonesians social life. It is mostly used for academic, professional, and
business purposes (Lie, 2007; Yusny, 2013).
Indonesian EFL teachers tend to use Indonesian for both written and
oral communication purposes in academic forums (Lie, 2007) and classrooms
(Marcellino, 2005). They do not keep their English proficiency after receiving
formal teacher education and training. Their proficiency is possible to decrease
as time goes by (Wulyani, Elgort, & Coxhead, 2019). Not surprisingly, many
Indonesian EFL teachers do not master the language they teach (Lie, 2007).
English is determined as a foreign language in the present research (Wulyani
et al., 2019).
The participants were 16 EFL teachers consisting of 12 females and 4
males from 11 different cities and 16 distinct secondary schools in Indonesia.
All teachers owned a college degree to teach English as a foreign language.
They had experience in teaching English as a foreign language which ranged
from 1 to 18 years. Their mother tongue is their regional languages
respectively. As a national language, Indonesian becomes their second
language functioning for communicative purposes among people having
distinct regional language and instructional media in schools and formal events
(Lie, 2007).
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Data collection and analysis

16 EFL teachers (called as T1–T16) volunteered to become participants
in this research through invitation. According to a list of questions, the EFL
teachers were requested to make written reflections regarding their practices in
carrying out online EFL learning and the challenges they encounter.
Furthermore, five of them (i.e. T3, T7, T8, T9, and T10) were involved in a
follow-up interview individually since they provided attractive narrations and
impactful topics in the written reflections and were determined feasible to be
investigated further. Semi-structured interviews were administered and took
place about 30 minutes for every interviewee. The participants were asked to
share detailed explanations on teaching procedures, online learning tools used,
and samples of materials, quizzes, assignments, as well as projects given to the
students to depict the practices of online EFL learning which they carried out
during the COVID-19 pandemic as pointed out in the written reflections. The
teachers were also led to discover the challenges they encountered in carrying
out online EFL learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and reveal valid
reasons behind. All interviews were recorded in audio format and transcribed
to be analyzed further. Agreement was obtained from all participants before
the research was carried out.
In lights of the research questions and recent online learning theories
(Ally, 2008; Gonzalez & Louis, 2018; Krish, 2008), the data were carefully
reviewed and significant codes reflecting the practices of online EFL learning
during the COVID-19 pandemic and its challenges were identified. Interview
transcripts were read several times to obtain initial points of the practices of
online EFL learning and its challenges. Data coding was done to exhibit
classification and emerging trends. Repetitive and unimportant data were also
deleted. Ultimately, appropriate extracts on the practices of online EFL
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learning and its challenges were informed in results section. Some changes in
terms of grammar were made to ensure the language efficacy of the extracts
without altering the intention and meaning. To validate the data, data coding
was done independently by both researchers, continued by several cycles of
discussion to achieve an agreement about the results.

This section conveys three key themes related to the practices of online
EFL learning and the challenges encountered. It includes what applications and
platforms used by the teachers, how they carry out online EFL learning, and
what challenges they encounter along with the valid reasons. For each of the
three themes, the most representative extracts from the participants’ responses
are picked out. The written reflections are labelled as ‘WR’ whereas the
interviews are labelled as ‘Int’.
Applications and platforms used by the teachers
The teachers use several applications and platforms which can be
categorized into eight types. They are as follows: (1) learning management
system; (2) chat and message; (3) video conference; (4) content maker; (5)
assessment; (6) video streaming and sharing; (7) online learning provider; and
(8) additional resource. The teachers do not employ game, artificial
intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality.
The teachers employ Google Classroom and Schoology for managing
their online learning in general.
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I decide to use Google Classroom because it does not need to be

installed on their smartphones, so the students do not complain about
spending their internet quota and requiring stable internet connection.
The students only need to login by using their Gmail account and input
the class code. So, it is easier and more accessible than other
applications (T14, WR).
The first application which I use is Schoology. I utilize it to post
materials related to Proverb and Riddle (T7, WR).
The teachers also employ WhatsApp to do many activities similarly to
learning management system.
I use WhatsApp to share materials, give information about task or
project, have discussion, provide question and answer session, and
give personal feedback to students (T8, Int).
Zoom is chosen to carry out possible activities in tele-conference setting.
I utilize Zoom to explain materials orally like in face-to-face meeting,
have oral discussion with students, and provide question and answer
session (T4, WR).
Several content maker applications are also employed by the teachers.
They are Autodesk SketchBook, TEDEd, and FastStone Capture.
The second application which I use is Autodesk SketchBook. It is used
to replace the function of whiteboard to present materials. We can
create materials in written and drawing forms (T3, WR).
TEDEd and FastStone Capture are both video maker application. I
utilize FastStone Capture to create a screen-casting video. In brief, I
explain the materials orally by showing PowerPoint slides.
Meanwhile, TEDEd is used to create a lesson video by editing
available online videos (T9, Int).
Google Forms, Quizizz, and Kahoot are assessment applications which
are employed by the teachers. They are used to create online quiz for students
in the forms of multiple choices, essay, and true or false alternatives.
I utilize Kahoot to create quizzes in multiple choices of four options
and true or false alternatives. I also use Google Forms to create quizzes
in multiple choices of four options and essay forms. Kahoot needs
more stable internet connection whereas Google Forms is more
accessible in unstable internet connection. Google Forms also
provides ease in score processing (T15, WR).
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I employ Quizizz to create quizzes in multiple choices form (T7, WR).

YouTube is mostly used by the teachers as visual materials resource in
the forms of video and animation.
I attach YouTube video links in my Google Classroom classes to
provide my students with visual materials (T2, WR).
Ruangguru is one of online learning provider applications. The teacher
takes some quiz items provided by this application.
I select some items of quizzes provided by Ruangguru which are
relevant with the materials that I teach. I do some screenshots with my
smartphones to capture some quiz items. I then share the selected quiz
items through WhatsApp and ask my students to answer them (T3,
Int).
The teachers also provide several websites as additional resources for
their students. Those websites are such as http://en.childrenslibrary.org/,
https://belajar.kemdikbud.go.id, and https://kelaspintar.id.
I ask my students to visit http://en.childrenslibrary.org/ and select a
book which is available on the website. I give them time in one week
to read the selected book. They are then required to write a review on
the book they read. It is typically a reading assignment, particularly
extensive reading assignment (T9, Int).
The teachers’ activities in carrying out online EFL learning
There are teachers who carry out their online learning in synchronous
mode and asynchronous mode. The synchronous mode means that the teachers
carry out online learning at certain time in a week. In the other hand, the
asynchronous mode means that the teachers carry out online learning in a range
of longer period, one week for instance. So, the asynchronous mode is more
flexible than the synchronous mode. However, majority of the teachers carry
out their online learning in synchronous mode since it is their schools’ policy.
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My school has set up the schedule for this online learning, so I must
follow the rule of my institution (T7, WR).
My school does not give specific schedule to conduct the online
learning. The most important thing is that each teacher must do
teaching activities such as providing materials or assigning task or
project for students every one week (T16, WR).
First, the teachers check the students’ attendance. The teachers then
adopt ready to use materials in the forms of PowerPoint slides, YouTube
videos, and Word documents or create their own materials in the forms of
videos, pictures, PowerPoint slides, Word documents, and PDF documents.
The materials are uploaded by the teachers into learning management system
such as Google Classroom and Schoology or shared through messaging
application such as WhatsApp. After that, the teachers explain the materials by
utilizing Zoom, for instance. The teachers’ explanation can also be included in
the materials such as in videos, Word documents, and PDF documents. The
teachers then create online quizzes in the forms of multiple choices, essays,
and true or false alternatives to assess the students’ mastery of the subject. The
teachers also assign the students to do some tasks and projects since some
teachers apply project-based learning in their online learning. To gain deeper
understanding and refine the students’ lack of knowledge, the teachers carry
out discussion along with the students. The teachers also provide question and
answer session to engage the students and solve their learning problems. The
teachers then give personal feedback on the students’ works. The feedback is
meant to help the students to progress in their learning personally. At the end,
the teachers give score for every student’s assessment.
I ask my students to indicate if they are present in the online learning
as scheduled by mentioning their name and say that they are present
in the comment of my attendance checking post in Google Classroom
(T9, WR).
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I download some ready to use materials related to my teaching topics

in the forms of PowerPoint slides. I also download several relevant
videos from YouTube to enrich the students’ understanding on the
topics. I then share those materials through WhatsApp (T8, Int).
I create some modules in PDF document format. I upload those
modules to Google Drive. Then, I give the Google Drive links to my
students so they can access the modules and read them as materials for
their learning. I create these modules since I think that materials
available on the students’ textbook is hard to be learnt independently
(T10, Int).
I upload my materials to Schoology as the learning management
system. I upload the materials in many classes that I teach since I teach
two different grades, namely grade tenth and eleventh (T7, WR).
I explain the materials through tele-conference facilitated by Zoom
application. Here, I explain the materials orally by seeing my students’
faces on my laptop screen (T16, WR).
I create materials in Word documents. I include my explanation which
is usually delivered directly and orally into the materials. So, I write
down the important points and briefs of the materials and my
explanation into the same Word document (T13, WR).
I create online quizzes in the forms of multiple choices, essays, and
true or false alternatives (T15, WR).
I assign my students a project to write a hortatory exposition text and
an analytical exposition text with topics related to COVID-19 (T6,
WR).
I carry out discussion on the generic structure of narrative text by
posing some questions first to stimulate the discussion. The questions
which I pose guide the students to critically understand the materials
and initiate their questioning and reasoning ability. The students may
answer my questions and ask other questions. So, there is knowledge
exchange in this lively discussion (T9, Int).
I facilitate question and answer session through WhatsApp. This
question and answer session takes place in WhatsApp group of each
class that I teach. Students are allowed to ask questions related to their
learning difficulties and lack of knowledge on the topics being taught
(T7, Int).
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I always give personal feedback to my students’ works through

Google Classroom private comments feature and WhatsApp personal
chat. I want my students to know what should be improved and how
to improve it for better results. It leads the students to have good
progress in their learning (T1, WR).
I always give score on my students’ works since it must be reported
on report books at the end of the semester. It also gives the students
insights and reflections on how much they master the subject (T2,
WR).
A series of activities carried out by the teachers is just like teaching
activities in face-to-face class generally. The chronological order of the
activities is similar to face-to-face class activities. The teachers just move the
face-to-face class into online learning environment. They still do not consider
much on the differences between face-to-face class and online learning. The
teachers also do not maximize the use of technology in online learning. They
do not employ game, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual
reality. It seems that teachers’ knowledge and skill on the use of technology in
online learning need to be improved. The teachers should also be creative and
innovative in providing activities for students in online learning environment.
In short, moving face-to-face class into online learning environment is not
enough. The teachers must be knowledgeable and skillful to teach through
online learning. They must master the content (the language they teach),
technology in online language learning, and pedagogy of foreign language
learning.
The challenges and valid reasons
Many problems emerge in the online EFL learning carried out by the
teachers. The problems come from the students, the teachers, and the students’
parents. The valid reasons behind these problems are identified. The first
problem is that some students do not have their own smartphone. It is usually
caused by the financial condition of their family.
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There are some students in my classes who do not own a smartphone.

Their parents cannot afford a smartphone for their children due to their
financial condition (T3, WR).
The second one is about unstable internet connection. The cellular signal
and internet coverage still become a problem in remote and rural areas. In fact,
some students live in remote, rural, and mountainous areas.
Some of my students complain about the unstable internet connection
since they live in remote and mountainous areas (T5, WR).
The financial condition of the students and their family also generate
another problem that is the inability to afford sufficient internet quota for
online learning. They can only afford a small internet quota that is not enough
to take part in the online learning comfortably.
Sometimes, my students do not have internet quota so they cannot
access the internet and participate in the online learning. This problem
happens because the income is not equally distributed to all
inhabitants. Not all students come from a family of high or medium
income which is able to afford decent livelihood (T8, Int).
Many students have low digital literacy. They find difficulties in
operating the applications and platforms used for online learning. A logical
reasoning behind this is that the students did not use to learn through online
learning and interact with those applications and platforms.
At first, my students do not know how to copy paste and edit text in
WhatsApp group to fill in the attendance list. Lots of my students also
find difficulties in operating Google Classroom since they have never
tried this application before. It makes me to create some tutorial videos
on the use of Google Classroom to help them understand the way to
operate it and how to copy paste and edit text in WhatsApp group
(T10, Int).
Besides having low digital literacy, some students also have low literacy
in general. They cannot understand the teacher’s instruction well although it
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has been written clearly. It is usually because they do not carefully read the
teacher’s instruction and lazy to read the teacher’s instruction. Sometimes, they
skip the instruction if the words are too many for them.
I must repeatedly give the same information to my students simply
because they are not careful enough to read the information. Their
literacy is not good (T10, WR).
Some students are not punctual in attending the online learning as
scheduled by the schools at certain time in a week. They are absent at the hours
the online learning scheduled and ask the teachers about what has been taught
and assigned in the afternoon. It happens since the students have
misperceptions in mind.
In my students’ opinion, learning from home is just like holidays.
They go to sleep from morning to almost afternoon. They do not attend
the online learning as scheduled in the morning until noon. They
contact me in the afternoon and ask if there is any task or project given
to them. Whereas, I do not serve them if it is not working hours (T11,
WR).
Some students submit their works after the deadline. This can be caused
by some reasons. Some students are lazy to do the task or project given by the
teacher. It can be because their internet quota runs out. They may also
experience unstable internet connection when submitting their works in the last
minutes. It can happen for students who do not have their own smartphones so
they must borrow their parents’ or siblings’ smartphones which are also used
for online learning too. It may also be caused by their misperception that their
works are not scored by the teacher.
Several students cannot meet the deadline of tasks. They submit their
works lately since they do not own smartphones. They must borrow
smartphones from their parents or siblings. Whereas, their siblings
also require the smartphone to participate in online learning (T9, WR).
Another emerging problem is students’ different level of mastery on the
subject which is generated from students’ cognition and learning style. It has
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been common that the students’ mastery on the subject vary in a class, even in
face-to-face class. It becomes a new challenge about how to teach students with
low cognition and various learning style in online learning environment.
I find difficulties in delivering the materials to the students who need
extra guidance in learning. It is due to their low cognition. It is rather
difficult for me to teach them through online learning (T8, WR).
It is difficult to provide learning experience based on each student
learning style. So, my students cannot achieve mastery on the subject
optimally since they are not provided with learning experience which
suits their learning style. It is hard and takes lots of time to prepare
various learning experiences based on each student learning style in
online learning environment (T7, Int).
Some students complain about the workload they have to do in online
learning. They suffer from lots of tasks and projects assigned to them with
deadlines.
The students feel heavier burden of learning through online learning.
It is because the students learn about 14 subjects through fully online
learning and all of these subjects have assignments to be done by the
students with deadlines (T7, Int).
Some students have low awareness on the online learning. They perceive
that online learning is not important. This problem happens because the
students have misperceptions about online learning. They assume that online
learning is informal and just like holidays so they are too relaxed.
Sometimes, several students forget to participate in the online
learning. They have low awareness on the online learning. They think
that it is informal. It seems cliché to them since they have never
experienced online learning before (T8, Int).
As the problems come from the students, the teachers also encounter
challenges coming from themselves. At first, the teachers find difficulties in
creating materials which are easy to learn in online learning setting since some
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teachers only use low technology applications due to the lack of facilities that
their students suffer from. It is also due to the teachers’ lack of experience and
knowledge in carrying out the online learning.
I have difficulties in creating materials which are still in accordance
with the core competence and the basic competence and easily
understood by the students in independent learning since many
students do not have adequate facilities to take part in an interactive
online learning, for example, having their own smartphones with
adequate specifications, stable internet connection, and adequate
internet quota (T10, Int).
The teachers also find a problem in giving personal feedback to the
students. It happens since the allotted time is still not enough and several
students submit their works lately.
I cannot give personal feedback in real-time to each student work. The
allotted time for online learning as scheduled by the school is not
enough. Some students also submit their works lately, so I cannot give
personal feedback to their works as soon as possible. The students also
reply my feedback at different time. It is better if we can give personal
feedback on the students’ works in real-time (T1, WR).
The absence of adequate facilities for high technology integration
becomes another problem in the online learning. It has been known that many
students get troubled with unstable internet connection, inability to afford
adequate internet quota, and lack of smartphones. Without adequate facilities,
the teachers cannot carry out an interactive online learning. They can only give
materials for independent learning at home, tasks or projects, and quizzes. Still,
the teachers must choose the applications which do not require much internet
quota and can still run in slow internet connection like Google Classroom,
Google Forms, and WhatsApp.
I have not been able to carry out an interactive and engaging online
learning since the facilities for online learning are still very minimal
and far to carry out an interactive and engaging online learning.
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Besides, the students’ financial condition still cannot afford the

required facilities (T3, Int).
Further, the teachers find difficulties in engaging low motivated and
passive students in online learning setting. It is indicated by few students who
get involved in discussion. Some students do not focus and even go to sleep
when they participate in tele-conference. It happens due to the students’
laziness, unstable internet connection, and low English language proficiency
which demotivates them to participate in discussion and question and answer
session conducted using English. The students’ English language proficiency
becomes another problem in this online learning. It is because the students do
not use English in daily communication both inside and outside classroom.
My students tend to be passive and do not say many words when I give
instruction or have discussion in English. They then ask about my
instruction using Indonesian. They usually participate actively in
discussion when we use Indonesian. They did not use to use English
in discussion and other daily activities. They get confused in
expressing their ideas and questions in English. They have low
English language proficiency (T6, WR).
The teachers also complain about their lack of preparation and readiness
in carrying out the online learning. It is because the online learning is not
planned and prepared before. It happens suddenly to respond the COVID-19
pandemic in Indonesia.
I feel that I am not ready to move from face-to-face class to online
learning since the online learning is carried out so suddenly in an
emergency condition and is not prepared in advance (T7, Int).
Moreover, the teachers find difficulties in teaching moral value to their
students. It is hard for them to educate their students morality through online
learning since the teachers and the students are separated by far distance.
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It is hard to teach moral value to my students through online learning

because of the distance so that I cannot provide exemplary attitude
directly and intensively to my students (T7, Int).
In online learning, it is also hard to strengthen the emotional bond
between the teacher and the students. It is due to the absence of physical touch
and interaction in online learning.
The emotional bond between the teacher and the students is not very
well facilitated since it is limited by far distance resulting in no face-
to-face meeting and physical touch such as smiling and shaking hands
which usually strengthen the emotional bond between the teacher and
the students (T7, Int).
Communication and interaction between the teacher and the students are
quite important in learning process. However, online learning still cannot
facilitate communication and interaction as well as face-to-face class. It
happens since the teacher and the students are limited by far distance. So, the
communication and interaction between them are not optimized.
My students cannot reach me directly when they do not understand the
materials or experience problems in learning. They find difficulties in
having communication and interaction with me in online learning
environment. I also reflect that online communication and interaction
cannot replace face-to-face meeting in learning context (T5, WR).
Another problem is the absence of parents’ care. Parents are hoped to
monitor and maintain their children in participating in online learning.
However, some parents do not take care of their children learning. They are
busy with their works and business.
Many parents do not monitor and take care of their children’s learning
through online learning. It is because they are busy to work and their
works cannot be done at home. They do not work from home since
they work in informal sector (T12, WR).
The last problem is that the excessive use of smartphones and laptops can
result in sore eyes. It is because the screen of smartphone and laptop emits
radiations which are not good for our eyes and health.
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I and my students experience fatigue and burnout when staring at our

smartphone or laptop screens for a long time. It is due to the radiation
effect from smartphones or laptops which are not good for our eyes if
we use them for a long time (T8, Int).
The results show that the teachers carried out online EFL learning during
the COVID-19 pandemic. The teachers employ many applicable applications
and platforms based on their knowledge and the possibility of their students to
access those applications and platforms due to the lack of the students’
facilities. Those applications and platforms range from learning management
system to additional resource. There are two ways in carrying out the online
learning, namely synchronous and asynchronous mode. The majority of the
teachers carry out the online learning in synchronous mode since their schools
or institutions have given the rule and exact schedule to carry out the online
learning. Moreover, the teachers carry out a series of activities to teach the
students through online learning ranging from checking the students’
attendance to giving score on the students’ works. However, many challenges
emerge from the students, the teachers, and the students’ parents. The cause of
each problem has been investigated and presented in the results section.
Many online learning applications quickly appear every day. Teachers
are allowed to deliver materials to their students’ smartphones. Teachers can
employ some educational applications, references, and games to facilitate class
activities (Son, 2018). Synchronous-based applications are useful to create
contexts and facilitate teachers and students to interact with each other in real-
time. Moreover, asynchronous-based applications can be utilized for low
technology use through discussions and written responses. A thorough and
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balanced mix of activities can attract students to online learning (Plaisance,

2018).
Teachers should provide simple, obvious, and proper instructions about
what to do, how to do it, and where students must submit their works. Activities
should be determined by considering objectives and arranged sequentially in
tasks reflecting real-life situations to gain students’ interest and make them
motivated (Gonzalez & Louis, 2018). Teachers must be able to recognize
disengagement, present meaningful activity, provide question and answer
session, and offer ice-breaking activity to maintain students’ engagement.
Sufficient challenge, resource, and feedback must also be provided for students
(Green, 2016).
Challenges include relating pedagogies with technologies, designing
interactive activities, enhancing formal learning, gaining students’ support, and
dealing with problems in the use of technology (Son, 2018). Other difficulties
in fully online learning are meeting scheduled participation and regular
learning, maintaining persistent engagement, becoming a self-directed learner
with high motivation, and socializing (Sun, 2014). Problems also come from
the inability to afford smartphone and internet quota for students as well as the
unstable internet connection. Good pedagogy will be nonsense if there are
problems in technology access (Burston, 2014; Cakrawati, 2017).
Preparing online learning spend more time than preparing face-to-face
class (Krish, 2008). Online learning needs a bigger investment than face‐to‐
face class to make it properly designed and implemented (Green, 2016). It must
be skillfully carried out to avoid friction and disengagement since online
students can feel like in isolation and disconnection (Plaisance, 2018). It also
requires more responsible and autonomous students. They have to be self-
directed learners with high motivation who spend time effectively to prepare,
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maintain, manage, and reflect on their learning and participation (Gonzalez &
Louis, 2018). Moreover, student-teacher and student-material interactions have
significant and positive effects on students’ satisfaction. Thus, teachers need
to scaffold interactions of student-teacher and student-material to enhance
students’ learning (Chin‐Hsi Lin, Zheng, & Zhang, 2017).
The challenges encountered must inspire teachers to be reflective, open,
creative, and adaptive to dynamic changes. It reminds teachers to keep
exploring technology for enhancing foreign language learning. Teachers need
to identify applications and use them based on the objectives. To select and
utilize suitable applications timely, teachers need practical preparation and
learning on recognizing applications, organizing activities, maintaining
students’ engagement, and evaluating students’ learning. Teachers are
encouraged to have active participation in professional development
opportunities to develop their competency on technology integration in
language teaching (Son, 2018). Training should be given to make them well-
prepared to carry out online learning in emergency incidents (Moorhouse,
2020).
CONCLUSION
The present research gives contributions to the literature on online
language learning in EFL context from teachers’ perspective. EFL teachers
have carried out online learning through a series of activities ranging from
checking the students’ attendance to giving score on the students’ works
synchronously or asynchronously depending on each school policy due to the
71
COVID-19 pandemic. Various applications and platforms ranging from

learning management system to additional resource are employed to carry out
the online learning. However, many problems emerge from the students, the
teachers, and the students’ parents. As results, the online learning does not run
well since it lacks of preparation and planning.
Planning and preparation should inevitably be done for better online
learning in the future since online learning requires more time than face-to-
face class to be well-prepared and ready. The teachers must be trained and
prepared with sufficient knowledge and skill to maximize their practices in
carrying out the online learning. The students have to be familiarized with
online learning to enhance their digital literacy and refine their misperceptions
about online learning. The students’ parents must also be notified to monitor
and maintain their children participation and engagement in the online
learning. However, the students’ lack of facilities on smartphones, internet
quota, and stable internet connection are still critical due to the financial
condition of the students’ families.
The future teacher education and training must include the integration
of technology in language learning, technology enhanced language learning,
information and communication technology in language learning, and online
language learning courses in their curriculum since the needs of technology
integration in language learning is inevitable. More researches are encouraged
to investigate the practices of online EFL learning in low technology context
and the needs of teacher professional development on technology integration
in language learning. As suggested by Moorhouse (2020), extensive researches
which explore the switch of face-to-face class into online learning are also
worth to carry out.
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Lecturers’ Attitudes towards Online Teaching in

the Learning Process
*Harisa Mardiana1
Universitas Buddhi Dharma, Tangerang, Indonesia1
E-mail: harisa.mardiana@ubd.ac.id1 , soehanadiharisa@gmail.com1
Submission Track:
ABSTRACT
The author's interest is to investigate the lecturers' attitudes towards online

teaching in the learning process which is the teaching for the 21st-century
learning process and to seek the relationship among lecturers’ attitudes, online
teaching and learning process. The problem is many lecturers in Tangerang
City area are afraid of using technology and some of them are stuttered and
technology illiterate. The lecturers still prefer face to face learning in the class
more campuses have provided Moodle as a platform of learning. With the
circumstances of Coronavirus, the learning has moved to e-learning. In this
research, the author used a mixed-method and the number of respondents was
104, data collection was obtained from questionnaires sent via Google Form
and distributed through WhatsApp to the lecturers in Tangerang City area.
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Data is translated into frequency and regression linear. The result showed that
73 lecturers change them toward e-learning and remain 27 lectures had
difficulty in teaching online and preferred traditional learning.
Keywords: Lecturers' attitudes, online teaching, and learning process
INTRODUCTION
Technological change has made life changes, including in education. In
education, the learning process can be through face-to-face or e-learning.
Technology development leads to innovation so that many emerging methods
are identified in e-learning. In this study, the focus is more on the increasingly
popular stage of higher education and helps lecturers and students and
institutions to develop further. But, many of the lecturers are afraid and
technology illiterate in using e-learning ( Chiasson, Terras, & Smart, 2015).
The problem in Indonesia today is the unpreparedness of lecturers and
institutions in responding to virtual learning. Many lecturers are confused
using the e-learning method, they understand better if learning uses face to face
which only sends and receives messages online. As happened in an online
lecture at a Tangerang City university, lecturers who are afraid of technological
change and technology stutterers prefer lectures using the traditional way of
teaching ( De, 2018). Despite being notified, the lecturers did not heed the
rules. Many lecturers do not agree to change learning from traditional or face
to face to e-learning although the institutions or campuses have provided the
training to use Moodle or some of the e-learning such as Google Classroom or
G Suite. The previous researcher by Chin., et., al (2018) indicated that in
teaching online, the lecturer strives to make the communication of the message
to be conveyed in learning appropriately to students as a whole, besides that
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when giving constructive feedback, the lecturer as a supporter finds a way to

promote positive messages and criticism from students. Another researcher by
Belisle (2006) revealed that the benefits of teaching online make learners
become independent and understand that people need to learn according to
their time. In teaching online, lecturers must have cognitive and metacognitive
strata so that learning is achieved ( De, 2018). Based on the researchers above,
the author concluded that teaching an online course is the encouragement and
support as the approach to foster positive morals in the classroom and the class
opens for 24 hours and 7 days a week, and lecturers can actively build a new
knowledge when interacting in the learning environment that is a strength in
online learning. The purpose of the research is to investigate the lecturers'
attitudes toward online learning and to seek online teaching in the learning
process.
Lecturers’ Attitudes
The important key for lecturers in teaching is to have adequate
knowledge. This must be addressed by the ability and skills of lecturers in
preparing their teaching. And it is reflected in lecturers’ attitudes who have a
conceptual teaching framework, especially with online teaching ( Bakia, Shear,
Toyama, & Lasseter, 2012). Unfortunately, not all lecturers have complete
knowledge about the tools available, especially in online teaching ( Arkorful
& Abaidoo, 2014). Lecturers’ attitudes in teaching online can be shown from
their knowledge, especially in teaching online. Their knowledge in online
teaching is a belief that can transform traditional teaching knowledge into
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online where the lecturers' attitudes are shown on "the true belief' and defines
knowledge as a dynamics human process that justifies personal belief in the
truth ( Dalkir, 2005). The lecturers believe that to produce innovation, it is
necessary to create and learn visual knowledge so that the knowledge becomes
new knowledge and spreads and is realized in learning products (p.58).
The lecturers do not depend on a textbook when teaching online. Also,
the adaptation of information communication technology will increase access
to resources. Technologies such as e-mail and the Internet tend to push
lecturers toward fundamentally different teaching (Mählck & Chapman, 2004).
Lecturers must have specific knowledge about technology and combine it with
existing pedagogical content knowledge (Hutchison & Reinking, 2011).
Another problem is, many lecturers neglect their ability to teach online, they
prefer teaching in front of the class through textbooks ( (Kebritchi, Lipschutz,
& Santiague, 2017)). Other research Davis, F. D (1989) identified a close
relationship between having technology use skills and the level of technology
integration in the classroom. The lack of computers on campus and access to
the Internet and infrastructure delays and training costs and poor ICT
competence are significant obstacles. According to Bray (2007) stated that
behavior in using e-learning systems has an inverse relationship between
computer experience and the use of e-learning. Many lecturers consider the e-
learning program to not meet the needs of them or students due to the lack of
integration of technology into teaching. However, the factors that influence the
successful use of technology and e-learning in learning are the attitudes and
beliefs of lecturers towards technology (Alazam , Bakar, Hamzah, a, &
Asmiran, 2013). Because e-learning in a university or institutional
environment has found pedagogic variations similar to face-to-face learning,
this shows that not all lecturers conduct online teaching on the same pedagogic
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basis, or the same technological and have a strict discipline and high
technological knowledge ( Bakia, Shear, Toyama, & Lasseter, 2012).
Online Teaching
Infrastructure plays an important role in online teaching, and if
infrastructure and training are provided, online teaching will run smoothly
(Mardiana H. , 2018). In learning how to synchronize and asynchronous can
be shown by instructors who can motivate students. According to Partlow &
Gibbs (2003) found that online teaching was designed from constructivist
principles that were relevant, interactive, project-based and collaborative and
controlled students in learning. Besides Keeton, M.T. (2004) stated that
effective online teaching practices are based on a face-to-face practice
framework and this requires teaching strategies that develop the creation of a
supportive environment for the activeness of students. It can rely on
synchronous. But Internet technology infrastructure in campus has to increase
bandwidth so that learning becomes synchronous. According to Perveen
(2016) synchronous e-learning involves active discussion, direct feedback and
there is familiarity in learning interactions. Hence, the involvement in the
classroom carries over to e-learning. Learning is more dynamic than through
media with time lags. The discussions were livelier and the questions were
answered immediately right away. The speed and closeness of synchronous
online learning generates the same level of accountability and involvement as
classroom attendance, so ideas that emerge can compete and complement each
other in real time and tight schedule dan good infrastructure of technology
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Internet. Whist a synchronous e-learning is facilitated by media such as e-mail

and discussion boards that connect work between students and lecturers, and
this discussion board can be used on students who cannot be online at the same
time. And asynchronous is the key to flexible e-learning. Many students take
online learning because this asynchronous is combined with education, family,
work and other commitments. According to ( Perveen, 2016) asynchronous e-
learning allows students to enter learning whenever they download documents
or send messages to lecturers or classmates. Students have a lot of time to
improve their contribution in learning compared to synchronous e-learning. To
reduce student confusion, it is necessary to prepare an explicit online portal
and instructional content. Do not hesitate to direct students to the teaching
material and to redo learning. In this way, other students can benefit from
reading questions and answers. It may also be that other people can contribute
with additional questions or answers and suggestions and solutions. However,
activating collaboration and connection in learning is justified ( De, 2018).
RESEARCH METHOD
This study uses a quantitative method mixed with a semi-structured
qualitative method, by investigating the relationship between variables
(Cresswell, 2014). The number of respondents was 104 and data collection was
obtained from the questionnaires sent via Google Form and distributed through
WhatsApp. A semi-structured qualitative method as the interview with 15
lecturers for 2-3 hours in December 2019 -February 2020. Data for the
independent (predictor) variables were from questionnaires which the author
used the 2 questions which dimension of lecturers' attitudes towards the
technological change and the lecturers towards online teaching.
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Hypothesis
There are three hypothesis on this research. They are: First, There is a
statistically significant relationship between the frequency-independent
variable of lecturers’ attitudes and the learning process, Second, There is a
statistically significant relationship between a frequency-independent variable
of online teaching and the learning process and Third, There is the independent
variable frequency of lecturers' attitudes towards online teaching in
participating best in predicting the dependent variable on the learning process.
Data Analysis
The research used five questions of each dimension were analyzed
using frequency for finding the most using the dimensions and regression linear
test for independence in the testing of statistical significance of the relationship
between lecturers’ attitudes towards online teaching and the learning process.
Fist to find the reliability and the correlation of data to obtain the next step of
the procedure.
To analyze the data, first, the study needs to find the reliability of data
and correlation between them. Table 1 is shown the reliability and correlation
between the lecturers' attitudes, online teaching, and the learning process.
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics Reliability and Correlations of Lecturers’

Attitudes and Online Teaching in the Learning Process
No Variables Reliability Correlation
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Lecturers’ Online Learning

Attitudes Teaching Process
1 Lecturers’ 0.700 1 0.650 0.897

Attitudes
2 Online 0.749 0.650 1 0.919
Teaching
3 Learning 0.897 0.897 0.919 1
Process
From the data above, the reliability of questionnaires is shown that

lecturers' attitudes are 0.700. It showed that the reliability is strong, the
reliability of questionnaires of online teaching showed of 0.749 and it is strong.
When the lecturers' attitudes and online teaching is in the learning process, the
reliability of questionnaires is shown 0.919, which means that significantly
strong. For the correlation between lecturers' attitudes and online teaching are
shown moderate, it is 0.650, but for the lecturers’ attitudes to the learning
process showed 0.897 means quite strong. From data questionnaires of
reliability and correlation are shown that the data is valid.
FINDING AND RESULT

Now, the research calculated frequency for each of the items in the dimension
of data. The first research is finding the frequency of lecturers' attitudes in the
learning process.
Table 2. Descriptive Statistics of the frequency of Lecturers' Attitudes,

Online Teaching in the learning process
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Variables Means SD Freq. (%)
Frequency of Lecturers in the learning process
Digital Literacy 3.63 0.558 70 67.3
Lecturers’ Collaboration 3.60 0.616 68 65.8
Lecturers’ on-time 3.58 0.618 65 62.5
Lecturers’ beliefs 3.51 0.623 60 57.7
Lecturers’ Spirits 3.38 0.728 54 51.9
Online Teaching in the learning process
Interactive in teaching 3.67 0.530 73 70.2
Online Knowledge Base 3.63 0.525 67 64.4
Ask and Comments 3.50 0.639 58 55.8
Lecturers’ preparedness 3.45 0.681 57 54.8
Lecturers' Training 3.39 0.716 54 51.9
Lecturers Online Learning Process
Lecturers’ attitudes 16.70 1.576 70 67.31
Online Teaching 16.64 1.672 73 70.19
Source: Data process

From the data of frequency of lecturers’ attitudes in the learning process
is shown that digital literacy is the highest frequency (70 participants or 67.3%)
and frequency from online teaching in the learning process is the highest (73
participants or 70.2%). In the interview was done, most lecturers have felt
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happy when the interaction between lecturers and students, also the interaction
can be lecturing and describing the material. Most of the lecturers explain the
material by sending the voice message. The students may color the material
which is important for them. Alamsyah, A. (2018) stated that the learning
process is a relatively permanent change from behavioral learning because the
practice is strengthened and the learning process is carried out in differences
in students' experiences and thoughts which will lead to different attitudes.
Also, the NSW report (2017) indicated that lecturers who have digital literacy
abilities and skills can design material online. The design of the material can
involve students to ask questions and make comments. Moreover, in answering
the material taught will lead to high interaction and learning can run smoothly.
The second highest frequency of lecturers' attitudes in the learning
process is lecturers’ collaboration (68 participants or 65.8%). The second
highest frequency of online teaching is an online knowledgebase (67
participants or 64.4%). The lecturers can collaborate with other lecturers
although they have a different subject of teaching, and this will make the
students have a broad knowledge. In successful collaboration with the others,
the lecturers must conduct the learning process, and the lecturers must have the
same level of knowledge, ability, and skills (Caskey & Carpenter, 2014).
Online knowledge is providing information, services and sharing online.
However, in analyzing the existing problems in learning, lecturers must
understand correctly because it requires a great effort in the learning process
so that the learning products provided must refer to a pedagogical approach
that can build the learning process can be reused if needed (Hajric , 2018); (
Dalkir, 2005).
The third highest frequency of lecturers' attitudes in the learning
process is the lecturers' punctual or on-time teaching (65 participants or
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62.5%). The third highest frequency of online teaching is to ask and comment
(58 participants or 55.8%). To be effective in teaching, lecturers must start with
time management and set priorities, organize the day around the most
important tasks (Darby, 2017). Setting priorities can help keep the noise on
track throughout the day, even if something unexpected happens and becomes
a workload. In the interview was taken, lecturers who are on time will become
qualified lecturers. Being able to manage teaching time, lecturers can also set
learning priorities. Crisis related to lecturer behavior will have an impact on
student learning outcomes and will lead to new crises ( Bakia, Shear, Toyama,
& Lasseter, 2012). When there are potential questions from students, it must
be utilized. According to Graesser and Person (1994), students ask several
questions in search of knowledge. If students only ask a few questions, then
the lecturer must ask whether students understand learning. Usually, students
do not ask for attention but the encouragement of lecturers to make students
ask is quality thinking or cognitive questions (White & Gunstone, 1992); ( Chin
& Osborne, 2018) with questions that are factual, procedural or outside of
human thought.
The fourth highest frequency of lecturers' attitudes in the learning
process is lecturers' beliefs (60 participants or 57.7%). And the fourth highest
frequency of online teaching in the learning process is lecturers preparedness
(57 participants or 54.7%). Belief focuses on instruction in presenting teaching,
and as a form of belief that aims to teach and can form students in a belief
system that consists of great confidence based on evidence and reason
(Richardson , 1996). The lecturer helps students to change their beliefs who
feel they do not understand into understanding. Moreover, the learning process
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can help students by identifying the value of their beliefs related to teaching (
Mardiana & Daniels, 2019). Moreover, the lecturers' must-have preparedness
in online knowledge and skills in using technology. For online learning,
institutions must build on the preparedness of the online learning infrastructure.
There is a big significant difference for lecturers who have the readiness to
teach. The reflection of lecturers who have continuous preparedness in
teaching and has great control and a good learning climate and can achieve the
full learning objectives ( Paolini, 2015). It can further be shown that teachers
who are well qualified and have high-quality teaching can close the
achievement gap between economically disadvantaged students and those who
are rich (Kneale, 2009).
The fifth frequency of lecturers’ attitudes in the learning process is
lecturers’ spirits (54 participants or 51.9%) and the fifth frequency of lecturers'
training is (54 participants or 51.9%). When we had the interview with the
lecturers about their spirit to teach the students, the lecturers stated that the
enthusiasm of spirit in teaching is to help students who do not understand
anything to become understand, from those who cannot do math problems to
know how to do mathematics. Making students independent is the pride of
lecturers, students can be independent because of the guidance of lecturers
which is to have a proud feeling. So that lecturers will continue to teach until
old age because of these circumstances. According to Slavin, R.E. (1991) the
spirit of learning is the tendency of a high heart to learn that obtain the
information, knowledge, skills through the effort of teaching or experience and
Hardjana (1994) stated that the spirit of learning and teaching is the spirit to
provide time, energy, effort to absorb and organize information, knowledge,
and skills that we receive and obtain through various means. Moreover, the
role of the lecturer is one of the factors that influence student learning
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achievement so that the lecturer is a component that has a strategic role in

learning and has the key to improving the quality, relevance, and efficiency of
education (Tosepu, 2019). Enable to optimally prepare their competencies,
lecturers must have the ability, expertise, and skills in teaching both online and
in front of the class. Hence, it can be ascertained that the better the competence
of lecturers, the student learning achievement will increase (Preston, 2012).
Having adequate behavior and abilities to develop students is the task of the
lecturer and is part of the competency (Alamsyah, 2018). Great lecturers
become important for student achievement, and hence, the lecturers can
develop sustainable professionals in their careers (Kelly, 2019). As the
interview to the lecturers was taken, the lecturers mentioned that an ideal
training is needed every semester because to face new challenges in education,
especially related to technology development, lecturers must update their
professionalism to be more adequate. Lecturers must understand digital
education solutions, including online teaching methodologies and how to give
online exams which sometimes give problems to students with an Internet
connection (Yucel, 2007). In the interview, one of the lecturers has indicated
that it is important to remember that not all lecturers immediately feel
comfortable using technology and hardware and software in an educational
platform. Training to achieve educational excellence must have a training
program that covers how technology plays a role in learning and learning
content management systems.
The last frequency is lecturers on the online learning process (70
participants or 67.31%). When the interview was done, most of the lecturers
would move from traditional teaching to online teaching to bring them to
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continue teaching. According to Redmond (2011) changes in teaching with

technology put lecturers under pressure so that they can embed technological
knowledge into online teaching so that lecturers are capable and skilled in
teaching online. Another researcher Chiasson., et., al (2015) mentioned that
with the change in teaching using technology, many lecturers have been
pressured because of instilling technology knowledge into online teaching so
that they are capable and skilled in teaching online. Therefore, teaching
simulations can challenge students to involve them in online-based activities
that require the development of lecturer and student skills. As a result, teaching
tools on the Internet will empower them to learn while doing something so that
their abilities and skills can be sharpened ( Mardiana & Daniels, 2019). It is
shown that from 104 lecturers, 70 lecturers wish to change towards e-learning
and 34 lecturers have difficulties using e-learning and preferred traditional
learning. The lecturers wish to continue teaching for their careers and they have
trained e-learning, had taken online learning courses to make them suitable in
the job. In online teaching, it is shown that 73 lecturers have moved to online
teaching, and 31 lecturers are still trying to learn about technology which
enables them to have the ability and skill in teaching online. Almost all
lecturers who have difficulty in online teaching do not move quickly to adopt
the technology. Bray (2007) and Davis (1998) revealed that generally lecturers
who find it difficult to use technology in teaching are lecturers who are
technology illiterate, are not skilled in ICT and make them difficult to change.
Most of them are lecturers who do not have a belief in using technology. Next,
the research showed the relationship between lecturers’ attitudes toward online
teaching and it is shown in table 3.
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Table 3. Descriptive Statistics of the Relationship between Lecturers’

Attitudes toward Online Teaching in Learning Process
Variables R R F Change Sig.
Squared Change
Lect. Att –learn.process 0.818 0.766 502.756 0.000
Online teaching- 0.919 0.845 557.349 0.000

learn.process
Lect. Attd.-Online-Learn 0.897 0.802 418.901 0.000

process
Source: Data process
From table 3 the descriptive statistics for the relationship lecturers' attitudes
towards online teaching in the learning process is shown that R is 0.818
indicated as predicted to predict the learning process, and R Squared measures
the proportion of the variable of lecturers' attitudes and learning process which
is shown 0.766. It means that the proposition of lecturers' attitudes in the
learning process is 76.7% and remain 23.4% is from others that it does not
include in this research. For F-Change showed 502.756>0.05 (James, G., et.,
al 2013). It can be the answer to the research hypothesis number 1. So, it
concluded that in lecturers’ attitudes and learning process that Ho is rejected
and Ha is accepted.
The relationship between online teaching and learning process is 0.919 and R
Squared is 0.845. It is indicated that the relationship between online teaching
and learning process is 84.5% and remain 15.5% is from other which does not
include in this research. For F-Change showed 557.349>0.05. So the
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hypothesis number 2 is answered and the conclusion is there is a relationship

between online teaching and learning process. And Ho is rejected and Ha is
accepted.
The relationship among lecturers' attitudes, online teaching and
learning process are shown R is 0.897 and R Squared is 0.802. It is indicated
that the relationship among lecturers' attitudes, online learning and learning
process is 80.2% and remain 19.8 is from others which do not include in this
research. For F-Change showed 218.901>0.05. So the hypothesis number 3 is
answered and it can conclude that in lecturers' attitudes, online teaching and
learning process, Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted.

Lecturers' attitudes have an important role in the online teaching and
learning process. Lecturers' attitudes are the important components in the
learning revolution which triggers the attitudes of lecturers to be more active
in teaching ( Mardiana & Daniels, 2019). The most important thing is
education focuses on students who maximize teaching resources and time.
From the frequency of the lecturer's online learning process, 70 lecturers from
lecturers' attitudes and 73 lecturers from online teaching are eager to improve
their attitudes and abilities and skills. This showed that 70 of 104 lecturers
eager to change. These changes can be viewed from how much the changes
and is shown from beliefs, as strong desires and changes in the knowledge and
abilities and skills gained in the experience, training and teaching readiness of
the lecturer (Kneale, 2009). While 30 lecturers from lecturers' attitudes and 27
lecturers from online teaching are having difficulty to change the face to face
teaching into online teaching. When the interview was taken, the main factor
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is because of they afraid of technology and technologically illiterate, so that it

takes them a long time to learn to change. Besides, they also do not have a
strong belief to change even though the change has been done by training and
increasing knowledge (Hajric , 2018); ( Dalkir, 2005).
In online learning, lecturers enter the realm of constant learning which
embraces the application of theory in the real world through multimedia, video,
and interactivity. Hence, lecturers can effectively utilize the power of
technology in online learning (Hajric , 2018). In the interview was done most
lecturers stated that the problem is the campus infrastructure that must
accommodate access to learning so that the benefits that have been used by
lecturers in teaching can be the progress of the campus and students. Therefore
the benefits of infrastructure must be accompanied by the ability of lecturers
to teach and understand digital literacy and use it into online curriculum
construction (Caskey & Carpenter, 2014). In certain contexts and small class
sizes, synchronization can be done well and supported by adequate Internet
technology. The positive effect is immediately felt by students and lecturers
after completing learning because by using a synchronous learning approach
like this can take place well.
Besides, online learning is increasingly in demand by all lecturers
because of the flexibility of the schedule and the cost-effectiveness of
education and learning opportunities located elsewhere through distance
teaching so that lecturers and students can access the learning ( De, 2018).
Besides, lecturer training in online teaching must be implemented so that
lecturers are more constant in teaching. Online teaching resources as a means
of updating and sharpening lecturers that force lecturers to continue to improve
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their teaching through professional development in the daily life of lecturers (

Dalkir, 2005). The advantage of using asynchronous is that e-learning is
flexible, pacing and affordability Lecturers who choose asynchronous because
of the many commitments that must be carried out and their families and other
needs, besides that students also have work that cannot be left out, so that using
the asynchronous approach to learning can be carried out, besides using the
asynchronous approach it provides lower costs even though to interact not in
real time but still can ask the lecturer via email or social media. The
acceleration of learning depends on the learner who offers the opportunity to
work at the same time learning with minimal costs.
CONCLUSION
Now Education is entering a new era - the era of online education. But
there is no other reason that can be avoided from teaching online. Online
education is an education that makes sense and is a useful learning method for
sharpening technology skills that require new skills. Lecturers who teach in
tertiary institutions can do their learning wherever they are, for example in
distant places that are not relevant for teaching, but the lecturers can teach.
However, lecturers need to plan to actively integrate online classes as
often as possible. In learning, it takes a time limit and calendar that determines
attendance directly. Posting announcements provide further explanation and
provide tips on upcoming assignments and reply to online discussion posts that
are important in answering student questions. So, when teaching directly
lecturers need not expect students to continue without regular guidance,
because the involvement of faculty and campus will apply on the Internet.
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In the future, if lecturers have mastered online teaching and they will
change, online learning will be fun and students can do quality learning just
like face to face learning. With a focus on online teaching knowledge, lecturers
are forced to know and deepen the technology that is the 21st-century teaching
reference. The ability and skills and expertise of lecturers to automate
teachings, such as methods, teaching materials and assessment digitally can
track student progress with reporting tools and analytic platforms created by
the campus. Moreover, student progress can be demonstrated in real-time.
Students are not only able to empower digital technology but can also go
beyond functional and relevant exploration of learning.
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The Scavenger Hunt: A Technique for Enhancing

Culture Learning and Intercultural
Communication Practice
Martha Nandari Santoso1*
Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, Indonesia1
E-mail : martha.nandari@uksw.edu1
Corresponding Author*
Submission Track:
ABSTRACT
In this changing era, which is characterized by the interconnected world, and

the increasing mobility of people, the need to be able to communicate inter-
culturally is evident. To be successful in intercultural communication, one
does not only need to be linguistically competent but also culturally
knowledgeable and sensitive. Bearing in mind these cultural needs, this paper
details the scavenger hunt technique as a tool for enhancing culture learning
and intercultural communication practice. Although this technique applies to
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Martha Nandari Santoso
students of any major, this study was specifically implemented to a group of

English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in Indonesia. Participants of
this study were nine (9) male and twenty (20) female students of The English
Language Education Program at a private university in Central Java,
Indonesia. The students did the scavenger hunt in a group of four or five
during their three-day trip to a multicultural setting in Indonesia: Bali island,
and documented the activities in vlogs. The students’ vlogs which were data
of this study were analyzed by using a qualitative content analysis approach.
The findings showed that the scavenger hunt task resulted in the students'
learning on cultural knowledge, intercultural communication, intercultural
adaptation, information technology, and soft skills. During the three-day
program, the students could also use English in a meaningful way. The study
presented the strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations of this study, as
well as some ideas for further research.
Keywords: culture learning, intercultural communication, EFL,scavenger
hunt.
INTRODUCTION
Several studies on the EFL teaching have indicated that linguistic skills
without cultural knowledge and awareness might be inadequate for effective
communication (Alptekin, 2002; Bahman, 1990; Council of Europe, 2001).
Cultural knowledge and awareness in the context of EFL today is not merely
directed to the culture of native speakers of English, but to the culture of the
world, as English is now used as a medium of communication across nations
(Alptekin, 2002). To facilitate culture learning and intercultural
communication, theories and practice within the classroom environment
might not suffice. Practice in real-world situations and problems, with the
first-hand experience, using experiential learning, has been reported to be
significantly useful (Shih, 2015). This kind of learning uses an approach that
focuses on the process (Wright, 2000). Practice like this kind enables students
to implement the lessons in the classroom (Myers & Jones, 1993).
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This article briefly reviews culture and intercultural communication

learning for EFL students and the use of experiential learning in the form of a
scavenger hunt technique for the students’ practice. The application of the
scavenger hunt exercises is described in detail, and the results of the activities
which the students documented in a form of vlogs are presented and discussed.
The article closes with a summary, which includes the strengths, weaknesses
of this study, and recommendations for future implementation of this
scavenger hunt technique. Some topics for further studies are also provided.
Culture learning and intercultural communication in EFL context
Culture, in brief, can be described as "a set of knowledge, behaviors,

attitudes, ideas, and traditions formed within, owned, and shared by a group
of people and passed down from generation to generation" (Shih, 2015,
p.409). Halverson (1985) developed the concept of culture in two big
categories: the big “C” culture and the small “c” culture. Shih (2015, p.409)
described Halverson’s categories of the big “C” culture as “visible aspects of
culture such as food, art, artifacts, geography, history, and institutions,” and
the small “c” culture as “less visible or invisible aspects of culture, such as
language symbols (verbal and nonverbal), values, beliefs, and behaviors
associated with a group of people”. While Lee (2009) listed the big “C”
culture referring to things like arts, history, geography, business, education,
festivals and customs of a target speech society and the small “c” culture
referring to values, norms, and beliefs that varies according to socio-cultural
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factors such as freedom, privacy, equality, informality, fairness, control over

time and competition.
Paige, Jorstad, Siaya, Klein, and Colby (2003) divided culture learning
in three aspects: the cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects. The
cognitive aspect of culture learning is the learning of knowledge of culture,
which includes the big “C” culture and small “c” culture. The affective culture
learning is when learners can accept the learned culture as something positive,
and the behavioral aspect of culture learning is when one is aware of the
learned culture and can behave appropriately in the learned culture. The three
elements of culture learning are best learned in context and under the
circumstances of the learned culture (Shih 2015). The static approach of
culture learning regards cultural knowledge as unchanging (Brooks, 1975).
The dynamic approach of culture learning considers culture as constructed by
a group of people so it may change and culture learning should be obtained
through interaction and communication with the local people (Paige et al.,
2003). Shih (2015, p.407) in her study argued that cultural knowledge could
be gained through “cultural immersion” such as “observing, participating in
experiential learning activities and engaging with a culture". Culture learning
is to enable students to reflect their own culture to or possibly in contrast to
another culture (McKay, 2002; Kramsch, 1993). In other words, learning the
culture of others is connected to the understanding of one's own culture.
A situation where people/s who have different cultural backgrounds

interact is called intercultural communication (Issa, 2016). “Intercultural
communication is a symbolic, interpretive, transactional, contextual process
in which people from different cultures create shared meanings” (Girik Allo,
2018, p.160). The students' knowledge of the diversity of culture is vital in
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cross-cultural encounters (Mc Kay, 2002). A misunderstanding may occur,

should people communicate without an understanding of each other's cultures.
"Culture determines what we perceive, how we react to situations, and how
we relate to other people” (Hall & Hall, 1990, p.136). With the increasing
mobility of people and the constantly changing world, people are likely to
encounter intercultural communication situations in their daily lives, the
workplace, and in almost all aspects of life. Therefore, culture learning has
become increasingly important and been included in the higher education
curriculum.
In the context of EFL in this globalized world, EFL students do not

use English to speak with native speakers of English only as they may be in
contact with people all over the world using English as the medium of
communication. Consequently, teachers can not teach the cultures of the
native speakers of English only, as they used to. McKay (2002) argued that as
English is widely spoken as an international language, the paradigm of the
target culture learning is no longer directed to the cultures of the countries that
use English as the first language, but to the international culture. In this way,
students may learn about the cultures of the peoples from the countries that
they are interested in visiting, although they may not be people whose first
language is English. Borrowing the terms of the three concentric spheres of
Global English proposed by Kachru (1985, p.12-15), the target of culture
learning can be of the culture of “inner circle” countries that include: USA,
UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, or of “outer or extended circle”
countries that use English as a second language, or of the “expanding circle”
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countries that use English as a foreign language. In the context of learning

English in Indonesia, where English is a foreign language, occasions, when
English is to be used, will likely be among people of different nationalities
with different cultural backgrounds. In other words, communication in
English will mostly be intercultural communication.
The scavenger hunt as a pedagogical tool
Scholars have found the advantages of employing authentic learning

activities or experiential learning to enhance learning. The scavenger hunt
technique, among the others such as problem-solving, and a group project,
belongs to this type of learning. In collinsdictionary.com, a “scavenger hunt”
is defined as “a game, usually played outdoors, in which the players must
collect various objects from a list of things they have been given."
(https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/scavenger-hunt).
As a pedagogical tool, a scavenger hunt technique has been used in

various fields, both in language and culture studies and in other areas. In
Business studies, for example, Doyle, Helms, and Westrup (2016)
implemented the scavenger hunt technique to nine students and two faculty
members from Dalton (GA) State College during their nine-day trip to
Monterrey, Mexico. They reported that "the use of scavenger hunt experiment
can be economical to the study abroad program and can replace the typical
city tour" (p.84). They also observed that students learned to read city maps
and use public transportation in the city. Other learnings from the scavenger
hunt in this study are "long-term interest in Mexico, in international travel, in
learning another language, and in pursuing careers in International business"
(p.85). The use of scavenger hunt exercises to support business schools are
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also acknowledged by some researchers, in particular to compensate the

students’ inadequate work experience (Shipp, Lamb & Mokwa, 1993), and to
support language awareness and learning (Doyle et al., 2016; Kaplan, 1997).
Another study was done by Renner, Cahoon, and Allegri (2016), who
investigated the use of scavenger hunt exercise for facilitating campus library
orientation for students of health sciences at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill (UNC). The results were described to be beyond orienting
students to the library. Both students and the library staff seemed to enjoy the
activity. It was reported that the library staff didn't feel like working extra, but
they felt the assistance they provided during the hunts was just like the course
of regular work.
The scavenger hunt was also done in some other settings. In Geography
courses, Krakowka (2012) used a scavenger hunt task as one of the types of
field trips. In his example, students received a map of the scavenger hunt about
Central Park, New York. Students had to answer questions and find a specific
location. The findings indicated that this activity enabled students to connect
between reality and theory, accentuate learning, and motivate students to
explore further. The Scavenger hunt is also used to enhance learning in the
field of archeology (Holzinger, Lehner, Fassold, & Holzinger, 2011), to
develop interest in a topic (Klopfer, Perry, Squire, Jan, & Steinkuehler,
2005), and to build student camaraderie (Kassens & Enz, 2018).
In the context of EFL, a number of studies revealed the benefits of the

use of the scavenger hunts in the teaching of intercultural skills and language
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skills. In a study conducted in Japan, Butler, Watkins, and Wilkins (2012)

used this technique successfully to nine EFL students at Kansai University of
International Studies. The nine students had to complete a scavenger hunt task
in a group of three students in the areas of Osaka and Kobe. The nature of the
task was to speak in English with their team members and English speaking
foreigners as they completed the task. For example, they had to shop for some
groceries at a store run by an English speaking foreigner, visit a coffee shop
and meet a foreigner who was the researcher's friend but who was unknown
to the students. They should speak to the foreigner who had a clue to do the
next scavenger hunt task. Findings indicated that the activity enhances
students’ autonomy of learning and integrates the learning of communication
across culture into their daily life activities.
Mclean (2006), in his article, reported that Altherton High School in

Louisville, Kentucky, USA implemented the scavenger hunt technique for
students from Korea, Somalia, Croatia, Iraq, Mexico, and other foreign
countries who came there to study English. These students had to do a
scavenger hunt of Louisville city landmarks. Students reported that they liked
doing the scavenger hunt. They loved the group work, they learned about the
technology downtown, and all of them enjoyed doing tasks outside the wall
of the classroom. Even the teachers who were involved in supervising the
students also benefited from the scavenger hunt task as they became expert in
using a GPS unit and got to know different places downtown.
A study of the use of the scavenger hunt technique for intercultural

learning, an essential aspect of language learning, was conducted by Wesp
and Baumann (2012). Participants of this study were nine undergraduate
students at a public university in St. Croix in the US Virgin Island (USVI) and
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11 undergraduate students at a public university on the US mainland.

Although both groups of students were majoring in Psychology, the
researchers affirmed the applicability of this technique in other settings for
intercultural learning by students of all majors, which include EFL students.
The nine USVI students were hosting the eleven US mainland students. The
scavenger hunt task was prepared by the hosting students to be completed by
the visiting students. The task was about historical issues, culture, language,
and food. Besides doing a scavenger hunt, they had other course activities,
which included dinner with the host students, class meals, and tours of a
plantation, a reef, and a social service program. The findings revealed that the
students believed the scavenger hunt was more effective for culture learning
compared to other activities in the course. It enabled the students to explore
different aspects of culture not only for the visiting students but also for the
hosting students as they devised questions, verified answers, and interacted
with their mainland counterparts. The activity was also reported to add
cultural contacts and lead to friendship as students continued interacting
through social media. Sampson and Jackson (2007), cited in Wesp and
Baumann (2012), highlighted that an enjoyable initial cultural experience is
vital to building a more receptive attitude to learning other cultures.
For the learning of English skills, the scavenger hunt has also been used
primarily in the EFL elementary students. In the study conducted by
Alghamdy (2019), 52 EFL elementary students in Al Baha city, Saudi Arabia,
were taught English through games, which included the scavenger hunt
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technique. The researcher found that the students' learning achievement

improved, and interactions among peers increased.
Wen and Copeland (2003) in their project also suggested making use of
the word - wall scavenger hunt technique for teaching vocabulary. In this
technique, students have to choose words from the resources that the teacher
has prepared in the classroom, such as magazines, posters, signs, or other
materials that have English texts for the students to peruse. The words of the
students' choice are then written on cards and collected in a grab bag. The
words were then learned by having students to guess the words with clues
from the teacher. In this way, students choose their own words they want to
learn. Wen and Copeland (2003) believed that this technique could be
engaging, low stress, and fun.
RESEARCH METHOD
In this study, the scavenger hunt exercise was applied to nine (9) male
and twenty (20) female EFL students of the English Education Program (EEP)
at a private university in Central Java, Indonesia, who were taking the
Language, Culture, and Identity course in semester two in the year 2018/2019.
One of the projects in this course was a three-day culture trip to Bali island
where the students had to do the scavenger hunt exercise.
Bali island was chosen for some reasons. First, Bali is a place in
Indonesia where we can find people from many different nationalities. In that
situation, exposure to English variety and opportunities to use English to the
international community should be huge. And since the Balinese have a
culture that is different from the culture of the students who mostly come from
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regions in Java island, this location choice would enable the students to
encounter numerous cultures both from the local Balinese and foreigners.
The project was given in week ten after students had learned about basic
cultural knowledge in the previous weeks in the classroom. The students were
divided into groups of four or five to arrange their Bali trip, and then to travel
and do the scavenger hunt exercise in their group.
The scavenger hunt exercise was designed based on several concepts.

First, students need to learn both the big “C” culture or the visible ones such
as food, arts, English variety, and the small “c” culture or the less visible ones
such as belief, norms, and values. To acquire the big “C” culture knowledge,
students had to: take out menus from five different restaurants, visit popular
cultural places in Bali, find artifacts such as children’s toys, local products,
and sweets or snacks that were foreign to them, look through travel brochures
or magazines to see businesses offered in the city and identify the origin of
those businesses.
As for obtaining the small “c” culture, students had to speak to both the
Balinese local people and foreigners, ask them about reasons for coming to
Bali and their opinions of Bali, interview the Balinese who is at least fifty
years old to know their views of Bali now and then, when they were young.
The second concept was based on Mc. Kay's (2002 ) and Kramsch’s
(1993) views that said that learning another culture should help understanding
one's own culture. Students were encouraged to use the analytical skills to see
similarities and differences in what they observed. For obtaining this
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objective, the tasks given were to find five similar and five different things
they found in Bali as compared to the ones in their hometown, compare food
there in Bali and Balinese food in their hometown.
The next concept was that the target culture is not necessarily the
cultures of the people who speak English as their first language, as English
now is an international language. Thus, students may choose their own target
culture to learn by giving them the freedom to choose people from which
country they would like to interact with or based on the country they would
like to visit. And since Indonesia is already a multicultural country, students
were also assigned to interact with the local people in Bali and people from
other islands different from their own.
Students did the scavenger hunt exercise with their group and recorded
the results in vlogs. After the trip, students wrote their trip reports
individually. The strategy used was adopted from the experiential approach to
culture learning proposed by Hess cited in Shih (2015), which consists of the
action-reflection-response strategy. The action was done through the
scavenger hunt exercise, which the students did in a group and documented in
vlogs. The reflection was done through making a trip report individually, and
the response was the cognitive, affective and behavior changes after the
learning experience.
The primary purpose of this study was to describe the scavenger hunt
activities and some examples of what the students did. The author did not
include what the students thought about the activities and the behavior
changes after the learning experience. The students’ documentation of the
scavenger hunt exercises in a form of vlogs which were data of this study were
processed by using a qualitative content analysis approach proposed by
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Kawulich (2004). Following the procedure in this approach, the author

watched the vlogs several times, took notes of the students’ main activities in
the vlogs, put them in a table and arranged them into categories to develop
themes.

Following the three-cycle strategy mentioned earlier: the action-
reflection response strategy, this three-day scavenger hunt experience in Bali,
which the students documented in vlogs, and the individual student's
reflection resulted in the completion of the first two steps (action and
reflection) of the strategy. But as mentioned earlier in the method, in this
study, the author focused on the actions and did not include discussions on the
reflections and response. The students’ actions during the scavenger hunt
activities which were documented in vlogs can be accessed from the links
presented in the following table.
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The presentation of this session is divided into three main categories:

the scavengers’ results and discussion on (1) the visible culture, (2) the less
visible culture, and (3) other learning. Topics on the big “C” such as food,
toys, cultural places, similarities and differences, and different expressions of
greetings belong to the visible culture. The less visible culture includes
intercultural communication practice with foreigners and local Indonesian,
and intercultural encounters and adaptation. The other learning comprises of
IT and soft skills learning. Each topic is described in the following paragraphs.
The visible culture
Food
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On the category of the more visible culture, one of the focuses of the
scavenger hunt exercise was learning about food in Bali, which covered both
Balinese food and food from other countries. In the vlogs, students made a
review of menus from Balinese, Japanese, Thai, Chinese, Singaporean, and
Middle Eastern restaurants. They admitted that it was the first time for them
to taste some of the food, such as ayam betutu (chicken cooked with Balinese
spices). Students also compared nasi campur (rice with various side dishes)
in Bali and nasi campur in their hometown, which they described to be
significantly different in taste. During their exploration of a traditional market,
students found snacks that were foreign to them. They included reto,
ulibegino, miluk, and bagiak. These snacks have Balinese names, so non-
Balinese will not have any idea of them, just by hearing the names. In their
vlogs, the scavengers showed the snacks, described the ingredients, the
texture, the shape, and the taste. They appreciated these foreign snacks. They
said ‘yummy’ all the time.
Toys
Children's toys are also rich in culture. The scavengers captured western toys
such as Avenger's toys, Barbie, and superman dolls. They also demonstrated
how to play some traditional musical instruments such as icik-icik by shaking
it, or ketipung by hitting it, and kalimba by picking the strings. Other toys
include ketapel (slingshot), and a toy frog, which produces sounds of a frog.
Toys reflect the culture of the producers and users (Gorman, 2019) and can
become good sources for further cultural learning.
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Cultural places
During the scavenger hunt exercise, students visited some cultural places and
managed to learn about the aesthetic values behind them. One of the cultural
icons was Garuda Wisnu Kencana, which is a gigantic statue of a Hindu god
(Wisnu) riding a mythical Garuda bird. They described the statue, the
meaning, and how to get there. The students who traveled to Bali by the land
transportation and ferry to cross the Bali strait from Java, used the opportunity
to visit Rama Shinta Park on the way from Gilimanuk port (in Bali) to the
nearest city in Bali (Denpasar). This group captured and described Rama
Shinta statue, another famous statue about King Rama and his wife, Shinta.
Similarities and differences
During the activities, students found that the convenience store in Bali and the
one in their hometown was similar in the lightning, displaying method, and
the interior. But they were different in the sale products which mostly were
local Balinese products such as Kopi Bali (Balinese coffee), Pia Bali (a kind
of Danish pie from Bali), and Brem rasa anggur (fermented glutenous rice
cake with grape flavor). They also found differences in ritual stuff, such as
incents and offerings that were available almost everywhere in public areas in
Bali.
Different expressions of greetings
As students interact with people/s from different nationalities in English,

students were exposed to a variety of English, for example, an Australian
greeted: 'How ya' or ' How are ya' mate' or 'Good day, mate.' Students
specifically also asked the foreigners how to say 'how are you' in their
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language. They learned from the Japanese 'konichiwa', 'o-genki desu ka,' and
were informed that there‘s no expression such as ‘I’m fine’ in Japanese.
The less visible culture
Interactions with foreigners and other ethnic groups in Indonesia
On the category of the less visible culture, although still at the beginning
level, the students survived in adjusting themselves in the new environments.
They managed to approach foreigners and start a conversation well, by
greeting them, saying a few opening words and could stay relaxed during the
social interaction. They found that the foreigners’ reasons for coming to Bali
were mostly for entertainment, holiday, or shopping. The foreigners they
spoke to were those coming from Russia (3 people), Australia (1 person), New
Zealand (1 person), the Philippines (1 person), Japan (1 person), the U.S (1
person), France (1 person), and India (1 person). This fact shows that from ten
foreigners they spoke to, only three people come from the inner-circle
countries ( the U.S, Australia, and New Zealand), two from the outer or
extended circle countries (The Philippines and India), and the other five are
from the expanding circle countries (Russia – three people, Japan and France
- one person each). In other words, the countries the students are interested
in consist of 50% countries that use English as the first and second language,
and the other 50% are countries that use English as a foreign language.
Besides interviewing the Balinese, which was required for all groups,
they interviewed people from Ambon, Makassar, Jakarta, and Medan –
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several big cities in Indonesia. From the interviews, students found out their
reasons for coming to Bali. Their intentions were ranging from having a job
with better pay, marrying a Balinese, or just for avoiding the rainy season in
their region.
Intercultural encounters and adaptation
The students practice their conversation prompts, responded to

questions, and maintained a good dialog. They asked questions to the
foreigners, such as reasons for coming to Bali, length of stay in Bali,
differences between Bali and their home country, and other issues. During the
interviews, students encountered several intercultural differences and learned
how to adapt to them. For example, a Russian that they met in the lodge told
them that she was surprised and a bit scared to be greeted 'good morning' by
a policeman in the street in Bali. She thought she had done some offense. She
was at last relieved only after knowing that the policeman was just friendly to
her. The students laughed, listening to this story. They were amused as the
foreigner’s reaction to a simple greeting by the policeman was beyond their
anticipation.
Another intercultural adaptation happened when a Japanese man they

would interview refused to have his video taken. Not to miss the opportunity,
students managed to make some adaptation. They understood the Japanese’
objection and offered an audio recording instead of a video recording. The
Japanese then agreed.
On another interview with a Filipino, the students were asked by the

Filipino: ‘how old are you?’ - a taboo topic asked to a foreigner. But in
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response to this question, the students smiled widely, instead of being

offended, and answered the question happily. The students responded
appropriately. They seemed to understand that a taboo topic was relative and
affected by socio-cultural factors such as who said that, to whom, and in what
circumstances. The question was said by a middle-aged Filipino lady, to
students who were all girls in their late teens or early twenties, in a relaxed
and friendly conversation engagement in a resort place.
Other learning
Apart from their culture learning and intercultural communication

practice, students developed their Information Technological skills for
making the vlogs with various techniques. Sometimes they gave a prolog, and
at other times they used a question and answer technique in presenting their
findings. During their vlog making, they alternately used a monopod and
tripod depending on the situation, inserted texts, and completed the vlog with
appropriate background music, and creative animation. Students also
developed their soft skills, which include cooperation, leadership,
participation, confidence, and navigating skills. And as students of EFL who
scarcely can practice speaking English outside English classrooms, the
scavenger hunt exercise in Bali has conditioned the students to make
meaningful communication in English in real-life situations.
CONCLUSION
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The three-day scavenger hunt exercise has resulted in the students'

learning on both the big “C” culture or the visible ones and the small “c”
culture or the less visible ones. The visible include the learning of Balinese
food and food from countries outside Indonesia, toys, and artifacts from
different parts of the world, English variety, and understanding of some
cultural places. While the less visible culture includes the learning of
communicating with the residents in Bali and local Indonesian people asking
about their views on some topics and also interacting with people from ten
nationalities by using English, learning to start a talk appropriately, and
maintain the conversation in a relaxed way. During the interactions, students
also encountered cultural differences or people's reactions that were different
from their basic assumptions of responses. Besides obtaining cultural
knowledge and intercultural communication experience, students developed
their IT skills in particular for making their reflection in vlogs, soft skills for
working in a team, navigating abilities, confidence. Also, they had a lot of
opportunities to practice English in a meaningful way.
The strength of this scavenger hunt exercise was that students enjoyed
learning. Starting from the day when this project was announced, the students
were excited already. The students' positive responses were similar to those
of other scavenger hunt researchers (Butler et al.,2012; Doyle et al., 2016;
Kaplan, 1997; Krakowka, 2012; Renner et al., 2016; Wesp & Baumann,
2012).
The researcher realized that this scavenger hunt exercise could have
resulted better if the time hadn't been only three days. The three day trip to
Bali was indeed too short, as the first and last day were mostly spent for the
traveling time, effectively resting only the second day for doing the scavenger
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hunt exercise. My recommendation is a week or ten days for doing this kind
of task with reflection and evaluation on every other day. In this way, changes
after learning may be more evident, and students may have an opportunity to
have recycling of learning by retrying after reflection and do the practice
repeatedly. A more complete result could be obtained if reactions from the
faculty were also studied. Investigation on the faculty's views could become
a topic for further research. Further study can also be conducted by collecting
longitudinal student data to see their affective and behavior changes as a result
of learning and see their success in intercultural communication and
ultimately in their career life.
REFERENCES
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Investigating Cultural Dimensions in

EFL Textbook by Using Byram Checklist
*Soni Ariawan1
Universitas Islam Negeri Mataram1,
English Language Education Study Program, Faculty of Education and

Teacher Training
E-mail : soniariawan@uinmataram.ac.id
Submission Track:
ABSTRACT
The present study is a content analysis that aims to investigate cultural

dimension in an English textbook prescribed for senior high school in
Indonesia which is officially published by the Ministry of Education and
Culture in 2017. The data include 11 conversations, 17 reading texts, and 83
visual elements that are analysed qualitatively by employing Byram’s
checklist. The findings show that stereotypes and national identity dominate
the cultural dimensions with 28.05% and followed by social interaction and
socialisation and life cycle with 15.9%. The occurrence of national geography
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is significant with 12.2%. However, social identity and social group, belief and
behaviour, national history and social and political institutions are prescribed
with less than 10%. The inclusion of various cultural dimensions has certain
purposes. The inclusion of national identity, for instance, is pivotal for learners
since the textbook is prescribed for senior high school students who are
tremendously curious to determine their characters. This idea is aligned with
the aim of the curriculum to facilitate the development of students with good
character, good behaviour and strong nationality. It is concluded that the
English textbook in Indonesia is on the way to its perfection in terms of
proportionally represented cultural dimensions. However, the presence of
various cultural aspects of the target culture and international target culture
is also important to help students develop cultural competence and a certain
level of respect as well as tolerance for others.
Keywords: Textbook, cultural dimensions, cultural competence, national
identity
INTRODUCTION
Cultural content is pivotal in the selection of an appropriate EFL
textbook and the nurturing of cultural awareness in the minds of EFL learners
(Bahrami, 2015). English as an international language (EIL) implies that
learning English does not only involve considering the common ground that
enables speakers to communicate like native speakers, but it must also consider
the use of varieties of English that represent uniqueness and support language
rights in the context of international communication (Jenkins, 2006). Native
and non-native discourse and non-native and non-native discourse have to be
culturally considered since they have particular intercultural insights and
knowledge that are relevant to achieving pedagogical goals successfully
(Alptekin, 2002).
In the context of Indonesia, the central government produces textbooks

and distributes them to schools. The newest curriculum, the 2013 curriculum,
was launched with a package of textbooks for junior and senior high school in
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the middle of 2013. The Ministry of Education and Culture (MoEC) aims to
achieve the national goal of character-based education through the textbooks.
Consequently, they should be designed with the text and the context of learning
in mind. The first edition of the textbook for the 2013 curriculum is crucial for
encouraging English teachers to prepare relevant activities to support a
successful teaching and learning process. The textbook also accommodates the
diversity of Indonesian culture and contextualises it in an English language
learning environment.
Many studies have been undertaken to analyse authentic content and

cultural content in the Indonesian textbook. They have focused on
investigating students’ and teachers’ experiences dealing with the EFL
textbook. However, there are only a few local studies relating to the EFL
textbook that the Ministry of National Education and Culture publishes. The
textbook for the 2013 curriculum has been revised three times since 2014, and
the previous study only explored cultural content in the 2014 version of the
EFL textbook, but no local study has been undertaken regarding the 2017
version of the EFL textbook for the 2013 curriculum. This study aims to
analyse cultural content in the 2017 EFL textbook for grade 10 in Indonesia
using Byram’s (1989) checklist to investigate how the culture is represented in
the textbook.
The textbook is seen as a cultural artefact (Gray, 2000) that plays

pivotal functions. It can be considered to be an ambassador for language
practice, grammar, vocabulary, activities, and culture. In other words,
textbooks are the entry point through which a certain group in the community
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reveals its cultural content. It can transmit social ideologies and practices
(Apple & Beyer, 1983). The real issue has to do with global course books that
the British promoted in which the content incorporated government-backed
enterprises in an economic and ideological agenda (Phillipson, 1992). The
hidden agenda incorporated in the textbooks drew the attention of Moroccan
English teachers because they assumed that native cultural content would lead
to the erosion of belief (Hyde, 1994). It was also an issue in Saudi Arabia and
China, where EFL textbooks have no references to English-speaking cultures
(Gray, 2000).
Crawford (1990) argues that dealing with the negative effects of

textbooks may distort the content because they often present an idealised,
white, and middle-class view of the world and avoid controversial issues
instead of addressing the specific needs of learners. Another point is that
textbooks are produced for the global market and individuals’ financial benefit.
As a result, students may not be interested in learning, and they may find it
difficult to process the language and content introduced since they are
unfamiliar with the context (Alptekin, 1993). Hutchinson and Torres (1994)
note that not only students but also teachers who do not follow textbook content
in its entirety. They mostly adapt, change, add and delete some points. These
problems are claimed to be the consequence of textbooks that focus solely on
systematic knowledge (properties of language) rather than also focusing on
schematic knowledge (which refers to socially-acquired knowledge) (Alptekin,
1993).
Cortazzi and Jin (1999) propose different ways of incorporating

appropriate cultural content in language textbooks: They involve the source
culture, target culture, and international target culture. “Source culture” is
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related the learners’ culture, with which they are familiar, and “target culture”
refers to English-speaking countries’ cultures or inner-circle countries’
cultures (for instance, the cultures of the United States, Canada, Australia, the
United Kingdom, and New Zealand). International target cultures concern a
variety of cultures from around the world. The focus of cultural representation
in EFL textbooks should accommodate proportional amounts of the source
culture, target culture, and international target culture. It depends to a large
extent on the learning objectives. Target cultures should not dominate the
cultural content in EFL textbooks; local cultural representations are crucial as
well (Hermawan & Noerkhasanah, 2012). Learners can gain cognitive power
and positive contributions to their zones of proximal development (ZDP) as
they learn familiar content (Cummins, 1994), and strong personal attachment
among teachers and learners is beneficial to the learning process (Isik, 2008).
Furthermore, the process of learning local culture through EFL in the

classroom makes students interact and negotiate and define their own
identities. Learning the target language ensures that students not only acquire
sufficient basic EFL skills, verbalize their local cultural knowledge, and
receive information about a foreign culture (Prastiwi, 2013). It is suggested
that local educators or teachers determine the linguistic information, cultural
content, and teaching methodology and pedagogy that are appropriate for the
local context (McKay, 2003) so that learners can use English to tell others
about their own culture.
Researchers have conducted extensive local and international studies of

cultural content in English textbooks. They employ various theoretical
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frameworks as analytical frameworks to generate data and use quantitative and

qualitative methods to analyse and present the data.
To begin with, Candrawati, Nitiasih, and Seken's (2014) study deals with
sociocultural representation in an EFL textbook. They investigate age, gender,
social distance and status, politeness strategies, genres, registers, major
dialects, and background knowledge of the target language group in an EFL e-
textbook entitled Developing English Competencies in Indonesia. Qualitative
discourse content analysis is the research method and a coding process is
developed to collect the data. To analyse the data, qualitative and quantitative
approaches are employed: The frequency of occurrences of sociocultural
elements is observed and the description of elements in their entirety is
presented. The findings show that the textbook is male-oriented and pre-
dominantly involves 12-to-18-year-olds. The study also concludes that the
authors seem aware of the sociocultural aspects of the EFL textbook but are
not aware of how to present them proportionally. However, the cultural aspects
that this study highlights tend to highlight gender and sociolinguistic studies
rather than comprehensive aspects of culture within an EFL textbook.
Another study, by Faris (2014), examines the EFL textbook, Look ahead,
which was designed for senior high school in Indonesia. The study aims to
determine the types of cultures presented and how they are presented. The data
is selected from the reading passages, while the illustrations are only analysed
if necessary. The study employs Cortazzi and Jin's (1999) approach regarding
the type of culture (source culture, target culture, and international target
culture) and Adaskou, Britten, and Fahsi's (1990) discussion of four senses of
culture (the aesthetic sense, sociological sense, semantic sense, and pragmatic
sense). Qualitative content analysis is used to analyse the data by selecting the
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unit of analysis, selecting content categories, and analysing the data. The
research findings reveal that the target culture is predominant at 77.05% and is
mostly represented in the form of aesthetic sense.
Rashidi and Meihami (2016) also employ Cortazzi and Jin's (1999) and
Adaskou et al.'s (1990) theoretical frameworks to examine three different
secondary school ELT textbooks selected from the inner (the United
Kingdom), outer (India) and expanding (Iran) circle countries. The purpose of
the study is to explore the cultural content and to identify the cultural elements
disseminated in the textbooks. The dialogue and reading sections are analysed
using the two frameworks and quantitatively assessed (counted). The findings
show that ELT textbooks of the inner, outer, and expanding circle countries
represent L2 and international cultural content differently. Furthermore,
different countries try to present their L1 cultural content more than cultural
content from other countries. The inner circle countries tend to present L1 and
L2 cultures when they design ELT textbooks, while the outer and expanding
circle countries tend to insert more international culture for intercultural
content and understanding. However, the three types of countries highlight
aesthetic cultural elements most dominantly in the ELT textbooks.
Another theoretical approach is employed in the study by Chao (2011)

in Taiwan. It adopts the five dimensions of culture including product, practice,
perspective, community, and person (Moran, 2001). The data is collected from
20 units of the student book entitled New American inside out. The focus of
the analysis includes the main reading texts and listening scripts (receptive
skills), the main speaking and writing practices (productive skills), and the
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main pictures (visual texts), and it employs a coding process and adopted
theoretical frameworks to generate the data. The study finds that perspective
is the main cultural dimension described in the textbook followed by product,
person, and practice, while community is the lowest. A similar theoretical
framework is evident in Fitriyah's study (2015) on cultural content in a junior
high school textbook in Indonesia entitled When English rings a bell, published
by the Ministry of National Education and Culture. She uses Patrick Moran’s
(2001) categories of culture so-called knowing about, knowing how, knowing
why, and knowing oneself to analyse the selected reading passages. The
findings of this study confirm that the textbook includes the local perspective
and exhibits features related to the local culture or source culture. This is why
the government approves the textbook (Fitriyah, 2015). The study is not an in-
depth analysis and does not further address the language used in the textbook
to indicate a certain dimension of culture.
Other theoretical approaches that examine cultural content in EFL

textbook are present in (Piaget, 1928) and (Lee, 2007). Rodriguez and Espinar
(2015) investigate three EFL textbooks for adults in Spain, employing these
conceptual models of cultural learning that encompass knowledge, behaviour,
and attitudes. They also use Lee’s idea about specific culture: big C culture
and small c culture explore the more specific aspects of culture revealed in the
textbooks. Big C culture encompasses ethnic groups,
geography/history/politics/regional variations, arts/crafts, and other visible
elements of culture, while small c culture includes individualism/collectivism,
equality, fairness, competition, materialism, confrontation, level of formality,
and other invisible elements of culture. The study reveals that big C cultures
tend to be the most dominant in the three textbooks. Interestingly, the small c
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cultural aspects occur more frequently in B1-level textbooks. However, the

discussion does not explain the reason for this finding. The study only focuses
on investigating aspects of culture without further exploring the types of
culture, that is, source culture, target culture, international target culture, or
neutral culture.
Dweik and Al-Sayyed (2015) use another approach to examine an EFL

textbook in Saudi Arabia. They employ a 12-item cultural checklist
comprising history and politics, ecology, leisure time, music and the arts,
names, literature and science, family and male-female relationships, education,
food and drinks, religion and religious rituals, economy, dress, and social
behaviour. It examines the conversation, reading passages, and pictures in a
students’ textbook and workbook. The findings of this study indicate that
Arabic culture is more dominant, followed by international culture and British
culture. History and politics are the cultural elements most often represented
in the textbook. The researchers suggest to include more religious aspects in
the EFL textbook because, in the context of Saudi Arabia, religion brings
tolerance and teaches an understanding of different cultural backgrounds,
which facilitates intercultural understanding.
Arsland (2016) develops a question checklist and item frequency

analysis to investigate cultural content in EFL textbooks used for third and
fourth grade students in a state school in Turkey. He specifies that the study
solely explores the elements of native culture, target culture, and international
culture revealed in the listening scripts and does not explore images and
reading passages. The question checklist and item frequency analysis focus on
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finding general information and detailed information to facilitate data

acquisition. The study finds that cultural items are represented more often in
the textbook for the third grade than in that for the fourth grade, and the
international cultural elements have the highest frequency in the textbooks.
The researchers recommend that the textbook developer insert native culture
as well as source culture in the content of EFL textbooks since they are fruitful
for students’ reflection about the values, beliefs, and traditions of other cultures
and their own culture.
Cho and Park (2016) introduce another approach to analyse multicultural

content in EFL textbooks in Korea. They investigate 52 textbooks for
elementary and secondary students from the third to the ninth grade. A
multicultural content analysis frame (MCAF) that includes identity, diversity
and pluralism, and social justice and a multicultural description analysis frame
(MDAF) that encompasses the balance of material distribution, accuracy and
scope of information, distortion and stereotypes, a balance in perspectives, and
Korean ethnic-centeredness. The study finds that minority groups are less
represented in the textbooks, and this impacts the tension between ethnic
nationalism and the multicultural perspective in Korean textbooks. A future
study is suggested to find out what the accommodation strategies are for a
multicultural country like Korea, whether they entail moving forward from
nationalism to multiculturalism or maintaining nationalism and excluding
multiculturalism even further to create a new model of multiculturalism within
nationalism.
Aliakbari and Jamalvandi (2012) conduct an analysis of five high school

textbooks in China that employs Ramirez and Hall's (1990) insights about
cultural dimensions (social, personal, religion, arts, and the humanities). They
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also highlight cultural categories that include Chinese, English-speaking

countries’, non-English-speaking Western countries’, Eastern countries’, and
cross-national culture. The data is derived from the analysis of written and
visual texts quantitatively by counting the frequency of occurrences through a
coding process. The findings reveal that the most often represented cultural
elements are religion, arts, and the humanities, while personal themes are the
least described in the textbook. Furthermore, in terms of culture categories,
the most frequently occurring cultural materials in both the written and visual
modes are attributed to English-speaking countries (40%), while the cultural
materials associated with China constitute only 35%, and those related to
Eastern countries are the least highlighted. It is recommended that ELT
textbooks in China be revised, and it is pivotal for material developers to
present equal numbers of cultural dimensions as well as cultural categories.
The same theoretical approach is used to investigate instructional

materials of the Iran Language Institute at the advanced level. Rashidi (2010)
examines the vocabulary and reading section to gain the data and analyses them
using Ramirez and Hall’s (1990) categorizations. The findings reveal that more
than 90% of cultural representation comprises aspects of culture from English
speaking countries with only 5 out of 8 of cultural elements described.
Syahri and Susanti's (2016) study focuses on local and target culture
percentages in English textbooks for senior high school in Indonesia. They
analyse nine textbooks in which paragraphs and pictures are used as data units.
Byram’s (1989) checklist is used as the theoretical approach to quantitatively
and qualitatively to analyse the data, followed by the categorisation of the
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cultural aspects under Cortazzi and Jin’s (1999) types of culture: source
culture, target culture, and international target culture. The findings show that
only half of the selected-analysed textbooks present local cultures as opposed
to target and international target culture. The study discusses types of culture
but does not elaborate on how and which cultural aspects are represented in the
textbooks. Further research dealing with more specific cultural aspects of
culture and their representation is necessary.
The present study employs Byram’s (1989) checklist, which provides

eight cultural dimensions. Michael Byram is considered to be one of the most
prominent researchers on intercultural learning and cultural content in the
context of foreign language textbooks. He has proposed these criteria to
comprehensively and critically investigate textbooks that encompass not only
sociological factors but also social, historical, and geographical factors
(Sorongan, Susanti, & Syahri, 2014). There are eight cultural-dimension
checklist items proposed by Byram's (1989). First dimensions are social
identity and social group which include social class, ethnic minority and
majority, regional identity, professional identity, and an individual’s social
identities. Second dimension is social interaction that encompasses a situation
or manner used in a certain group of society; it includes verbal and non-verbal
behaviour in social interaction, differing levels of formality, and characters
(feelings, attitudes, values, and perceived problems). Third dimensions are
belief and behaviour which concern about daily activities in society that
involve religious and moral values. Fourth dimensions are social and political
institution that deal with institutions in the country, for instance, a specific
department for certain business affairs, and seeks to look at the meaning and
values of the institution. Fifth dimension are socialisation and the life cycle
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that include a smaller level of institutions, for instance, family, school, and the
office, as well as ceremonies that mark passage through stages of social life.
Sixth dimension is national history which encompasses historical and
contemporary moments, which are pivotal for supporting teaching and learning
in the classroom. Seventh dimension is national geography that refers to
geographical features associated with a certain group of people and their
environment. The last dimensions are stereotypes and national identity which
reveals the landmarks of nations, including artefacts, popular places, or people.
RESEARCH METHOD
The present study focuses on the analysis of cultural dimension in the

2017 grade 10 English textbook in Indonesia. It is a qualitative study that
investigates Buku Siswa Bahasa Inggris SMA Kelas 10, which was revised in
2017 in accordance with the 2013 curriculum. It consists of 15 chapters that
present 17 reading passages, 11 dialogues, and 83 images. The analysis
employs Byram’s (1989) checklist which provides eight cultural dimensions.
The study is categorised as a content analysis in which the researcher

establishes a set of categories and counts the data that belongs to the categories.
Content analysis aims to identify meaning from a certain document or archive
(Miles, Huberman, & Saldana, 2013). A broad-based definition dealing with
content analysis is present in Krippendorf's (2004) text: It defines content
analysis as a technique that aims for replicable and valid inferences from texts
as to the contexts of their use. In addition to giving this definition, he explains
that content analysis is an analytical technique for measuring the frequency,
order or intensity of occurrences of words, phrases, or sentences. The analysed
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text can take the written, spoken, or visual form, for instance books, pictures,
films, and documents, in the context of communication, and the content can
vary, including words, pictures, themes, ideas and any messages (Cohen,
Manion, & Morrison, 2000; Neuman, 1997)
A content analysis study involves three general steps for analysing data:
data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion and verification (Miles and
Huberman, 2013). This study employs a priori coding (Stemler, 2001) by
establishing a coding checklist prior to the analysis based upon the theoretical
frameworks applied and revising the categories accordingly. The step after
coding is data display in the form of graphs, tables, or charts. It seeks to
support the explanations of the findings quantitatively and is followed by
communicative elaboration. The last step is a conclusion based on the findings.
The main purpose of content analysis is transferability instead of
generalizability: the findings may not be the same as those of other studies, but
they are relevant in certain contexts (White & Marsh, 2006). However, Weber
(1990) notes that there is no single exact method of conducting content
analysis. Hence, the researcher has constructed the guides to consistently select
and analyse the data.
There are five guides in selecting and analysing the conversation. First,
every conversation is explored in this study despite its length and section in
which it occurs. Second, a conversation in the speaking or exercise section is
still investigated if it presents a character or context that enables the researcher
to interpret it accurately. Third, conversations revealed in the images or tied to
illustrations are not analysed because they are investigated as part of the visual
analysis. Fourth, the analysis of cultural dimension in conversations focuses on
finding the contexts of conversation and arranging them into lists of cultural
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dimensions and categories. Finally, it should be considered that one

conversation may represent more than one cultural dimension or category.
In addition, the researcher also developed a guide used to select and

analyse the reading texts. First, every reading text is analysed in this study
despite its length. Second, one reading text may reveal more than one cultural
dimension and category. The last one is about the method used for investigating
where researcher generates a main idea or context for the text and labelling it
with cultural dimensions and categories.
Illustration in the textbook is also part of unit analysis. Illustrations can

take the form of photographs, drawings, and cartoons. The focus of
investigation is the character portrayed in the illustration. “Character” means
that the illustration which reveals a context that researchers can interpret. The
researcher applies several guides to consistently select the unit of analysis and
investigate the cultural dimensions. First, every illustration in the textbook is
investigated. The illustration can be defined as a picture, a photograph, a
drawing, or a cartoon that reveals a certain character or context. Second, if one
chapter, even one page, reveals more than one illustration that presents the
same or a different character or context, those illustrations are counted and
investigated to determine the frequency of the illustration. Third, repeated
illustrations are also counted because they show the frequency of cultural
representation in the textbook. Fourth, one illustration may represent more than
one character, and it is labelled according to those relevant cultural dimensions
or categories. Fifth, a caption, instruction, or written text dealing with the
illustration will be considered if necessary to accurately interpret the data. The
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last one is an illustration without a certain character, context, or scene will be

labelled as an uncategorised cultural dimension. It may indicate an unnecessary
illustration incorporated in the textbook or inconsistency between the
illustration and caption.
This part encompasses three main parts: the analysis of conversations,

reading texts and visual elements. Byram’s (1989) checklist is used to analyse
the cultural dimensions incorporated in the textbook. The theoretical
frameworks are applied to three units of analysis (conversations, reading texts,
and visual elements) to gain a comprehensive overview dealing with cultural
dimension in the textbook. The findings are presented through the discussion
of the analysis to answer the research questions constructed at the beginning of
the study. What are the cultural dimensions revealed in the grade 10 English
textbook for senior high school in Indonesia? The analysis is presented
according to the dimensions disseminated in each unit.
Table 1: Frequency and percentage of cultural dimensions

Dimensions Frequency Percentage
1. A. Social identity and social group 15 9.1%
2. B. Social interaction 26 15.9%
3. C. Belief and behaviour 13 7.9%
D. Social and political institutions 3 1.8%
E. Socialisation and the life cycle 26 15.9%
4. F. National history 10 6.1%
5. G. National geography 20 12.2%
6. H. Stereotype and national identity 46 28.05%
7. I. Uncategorised 5 3.05%
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Total 164 100%
Stereotype and national identity

The most prominent cultural dimensions in the English textbook
have to do with stereotype and national identity (28.05% of the total
dimensions portrayed in conversations, reading texts, and visual
illustrations). Stereotypes and national identity are disseminated in
various forms, including artefact, popular places, and popular people.
The inclusion of national identity is pivotal for learners because the
textbook is prescribed for senior high school, during which learners have
high curiosity and are on a quest to determine their own characters.
Hence, presenting popular people who have many achievements or have
made many contributions, for example, may give senior high school
learners good role models. This idea is aligned with the main aim of the
2013 curriculum: developing students with good character and
behaviour. Presenting popular places such as tourist area is important as
it grants learners sufficient information dealing with their environment.
In relation to English language learning, students find it easier to learn a
language through content which they are familiar with and interested in.
Social Interaction
Social interaction refers to the situation and manner used in a certain
group of society. This encompasses verbal and non-verbal communication,
characters such as feelings, attitudes, values, and perceived problems. For
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example, in conversation analysis, the researcher found that Alif’s friends

congratulate him and he thanks them. This indicates a friendly situation and
common communication manners in Indonesia: saying, “Thank you,” to those
who congratulate us. Verbal communication can also be identified in the
congratulatory content. Rudi comments on Ben’s jacket, Ben comments on
Rudi’s outfit, and Andi is congratulated. The conversation seems proportional
once every person gets his/her turn to speak; this is how people respect each
other in social contexts.
Another form of social interaction dimension revealed in the
conversation is that non-verbal communication like a handshake. It is very
common in Indonesia to shake hand with each other to congratulate even in the
time when we meet each other. Handshaking can be identified as a friendly
warm greeting and it belongs to attitude.
The inclusion of social interaction in the textbook may aim to

provide a clear picture of how people conduct verbal and non-verbal
communication daily. As a result, learners may understand a language
as a communication tool that should be understood linguistically and
used in the proper context.
Socialisation and the Life Cycle

Socialisation and life cycle have the same occurrences with social
interaction, 26%. Byram (1989) defines socialisation and life cycle as a
lower level of institutions that more specifically concerns schools, families,
and officers as socialisation institutions. Three themes represent this
dimension: “Congratulating other,” “Long weekend activities,” and “Biology
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project.” The representations involve two forms of socialisation institutions:

school and family.
School is described through several sub-dimensions, including teaching
and learning activities and a formal school uniform. Teaching and learning
activities are identified through an illustration of a teacher and student teaching
and learning in the class. The setting of several conversations takes place at
schools. It is also evident in the caption of every illustration. School uniforms
in Indonesia comprise white shirts and grey pants/skirts. Most illustrations
dealing with school that include students wearing school uniforms. Other
forms of this dimension feature a graduation ceremony, student competition,
extracurricular activities, the classroom setting, and a school announcement.
The inclusion of school and family in the socialisation and life cycle
dimension is considered as a means of building learners’ awareness of school
activities and family orientation. The two lower levels of institutions, that is,
the school and the family, are fundamental socialisation institutions for the
introduction of culture or values because learners are familiar with the
activities within those environments. In other words, it is easier for learners to
learn a language through a culture in which they are familiar with.
National Geography
Another dimension that has high representation is national
geography (11.8%). It takes the form of the geographical features of
certain places (a mountain, forest, waterfall, etc.). The presentation of
the geographical dimension is crucial for providing learners with
sufficient information. It can be used as a material for teaching
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descriptive or narrative text in the English-teaching and English-learning

context. In addition, the representation of national geography in the textbook
can be interpreted as the introduction of nature and the promotion of tourism
sites. Hence, learners may be aware of the geographical features in their
environments. Moreover, in the language-teaching and language-learning
context, presenting geographical features could be included in the text
recounting lesson: This involves describing a place or narrative text, which is
easy for the learners to do because it is about their own environment. However,
the representation of Niagara Falls may promote the United States’ and
Canada’s cultural aspects. Therefore, learners become aware of cultural
aspects of other countries.
Social Identity and Social Group

The social identity and social group dimension achieve a
frequency of 8.9%, and it is disseminated in the form of social status,
social class, and professional identity. Social identity and social group refer
to the identification of certain groups within the nation and include social
status, social class, majority and minority ethnic groups, and professional
identity (Byram, 2004). In the English textbook, social status describes
the nobility and the ordinary class in Indonesia, while social class entails
different situations among the rich and disadvantaged class and people
living in the city and village. Social status differences exist in “Meeting
idols,” showing how celebrities and fans have different social statuses.
Celebrities are assumed to be high-class people since their fans worship them,
and their fans are assumed to have a lower-class status. The fans are very
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excited about meeting their idols and describe it as an unforgettable experience.

This shows celebrities’ and fans’ class differences in Indonesian society. This
phenomenon is also evident in the text about Issumboshi, which draws a
contrast between village and city conditions. People living in the village tend
to be associated as poor and disadvantaged, while those who live in the city
tend to be viewed as rich, educated, and have many advantages.
Different social statuses are also evident reading texts such as Habibie’s
story: His father is an agriculturalist, but his mother is a noble woman from
Java. The same thing is also associated with Cut Nyak Dhien that is portrayed
in the textbook, who is from an aristocratic family and marries a man from an
aristocratic family as well. These descriptions reveal the differences in social
class between aristocrats and ordinary people. The conditions are replicated in
several places in Indonesia, where people are categorised under several social
statuses.
The representation of professional identity, social class, and social

status aims to provide learners with a comprehensive understanding regarding
differences in social class and social status that exist in society. In language
learning, this is important because different social classes or statuses might
communicate in culturally different ways. In addition to this dimension,
professional identity is described to inspire learners to be professionals and to
offer them role models.
Belief and Behaviour

The belief and behaviour dimension constitutes 7.7% of all dimensions
represented in all the units. It is presented in the form of religious identity,
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which includes religious behaviour, religious character, good behaviour, and

holy places. Religious value is evident in several themes, for instance, “A letter
from Saidah”: The greetings are written in an Islamic way, “Assalamu
alaikum,” which means, “Peace be upon you.” It is very common for Muslims
to state that sentence when they meet, communicate, or interact. Another
religious value is evident in the text about Cut Nyak Dhien: She is described
as a female Muslim hero from Aceh.
Religious activity is only evident in the text about Issumboshi. It

indicates that the queen is praying in the temple before doing other activities.
The temple is the holy prayer building for Buddhists. Furthermore, moral
values are disseminated through three themes: “Habibie” (though his father is
an agriculturalist, he successfully pursues his degree in Germany and returns
to Indonesia to contribute to its national development), “Malin Kundang” (a
child should respect his/her mother, otherwise he/she will be unfortunate in
life) and “Strong wind” (those who are patient and honest when confronting
problems will achieve the best results).
Determining which religious values to present is a sensitive

matter. The representation of belief and behaviour is fundamental since
it serves to give students the perspective that different religions may be
associated with different values or behaviours and that does not matter.
Presenting various forms of belief and behaviour may give students
wider perspectives of tolerance. However, it is still less represented in
the textbook.
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National History
Another dimension in the textbook is that of national history. It
represents only 5.9% in the form of stores about heroes and innovation.
The textbook includes historical figures such as Bung Tomo and Cut Nyak
Dhien as the symbol of struggle for Indonesians in Surabaya and Aceh
respectively. Bung Tomo is the leader of Surabaya’s people, who led the battle
against the Dutch, while Cut Nyak Dhien is a female Indonesian hero who led
the battle in Aceh. Another indicator of national history is the illustration of
B. J. Habibie, a well-known, influential public figure in Indonesia. Another
form of national history is the representation of the Taj Mahal, a famous
monument and historical building in Indian national history.
Incorporating national history in an English textbook may enable

learners to familiarise themselves with their own culture and other cultures,
especially in the national history context. In the Indonesian context, one of the
learning objectives for every subject as stated in the curriculum is to build
learners’ character. Presenting national heroes and the national history of
Indonesia and its achievement of independence is considered to be government
efforts to build learners’ national character. In the English-learning context,
national history can be presented to learners through the process of teaching
students to recount the text. Students are bound to find it interesting because
they are familiar with the figures in the stories. The inclusion of national
heroes and innovation may build learners’ awareness of the importance
of taking lessons from them. The lessons deal with their motivation to
make good contributions to their countries. Students are expected to take
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these lessons and hold onto them as basic principles in their lives, thus
contributing positively to their countries.
Social and Political Institution

The dimension that considered least represented is that of social
and political institutions: only 4.7%. It is represented through
government institutions that focus on technology affairs in reading texts.
There is government institution representation in, which addresses a
cancellation announcement. The text describes how government authorities
engaged in a security ban of a concert in Singapore. Another representation of
this dimension is about the Battle of Surabaya: The governor of Surabaya made
an agreement with the Dutch at the time. These are described as a political
institution.
One more representation of social and political institution occurs in the

textbook is about B.J.Habibie. He is described as an influential figure in the
technology department of the Ministry of Science and Technology in the
Republic of Indonesia. This clearly shows how the social and political
dimensions are incorporated in the textbook.
Learners are expected to know that the information deals with

social and political institutions. However, the representations are
considerably fewer. Apart from the eight cultural dimensions above,
uncategorised dimensions also occur among the visual elements. They
relate to unclear illustrations that do not present characters related to the
described dimensions.
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CONCLUSION
Since 2013 curriculum was officially implemented, the English
textbook has been revised for four times, and the present study investigates the
newest version of the textbook. The focus of the study is the exploration of
cultural aspects represented in the textbook. Data for analysis is selected from
the textbook; it includes conversations, reading texts, and visual elements.
Stereotype and national identity dominate the cultural dimensions in the
English textbook. Indications of stereotypes and national identity are
disseminated in various form, including artefacts, popular places, and popular
people. Artefacts encompass popular buildings and historical buildings, while
popular people take the form of national heroes, football players, and artists.
The inclusion of national identity is pivotal for learners because the textbook
is prescribed for senior high school learners, who are tremendously curious to
determine their characters. Hence, presenting representations of popular
people who have many achievements or have made many contributions, for
example, may be useful for senior high school learners and may give them
good role models. This idea is aligned with the main aim of the 2013
curriculum, which is to facilitate the development of students with good
character, good behaviour, and strong nationality.
On the other hand, Byram (2004) promotes intercultural citizenship that

includes linguistic competence and cultural competence to indicate that
learners should learn not only the language but also the culture of the language.
In addition, Hymes (1972) further explains that communicative competence
can be understood as the ability to use language not only grammatically but
also appropriately. Intercultural competence will help students develop
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multicultural awareness and a certain level of respect and tolerance for others
(Cortazzi & Jin, 1999; McKay, 2003). The researcher concludes that the
present English textbook is on the way to perfection in terms of proportionally
represented cultural dimensions. The textbook has widely incorporated local
culture in form of the eight dimensions, however, presenting other cultures,
target language culture and international culture, toward intercultural
communicative competence.
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Diachronic Corpora as a Tool for Tracing

Etymological Information of Indonesian-
Malay Lexicon
*Kamal Yusuf1, Dewi Puspita2
UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya, Indonesia1; Universitas Indonesia,

Indonesia 2
E-mail: kamalinev@gmail.com1, dewi_puspita18@yahoo.com2
Submission Track:
ABSTRACT
Indonesian lexicon comprises numerous loanwords which some of them
already exist since the 7th century. The large number of loanwords is the
reason why many dictionaries of Indonesian etymology available today
contain merely the origin of the words. Meanwhile, there are several
aspects in a word etymology that can be studied and presented in a
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Kamal Yusuf, Dewi Puspita
dictionary, such as the change in a word form and in its meaning. This
article seeks to demonstrate the use of corpora in identifying the
etymological information of Malay words from diachronic corpora and
to figure out the semantic change of the Malay words undergo from time
to time until they turn out to be Indonesian lexicon. More specifically,
two selected Malay words were examined: bersiram and peraduan. By
exploring data resources from the corpus of Malay Concordance Project
and Leipzig Corpora, this study attempts to collect etymological
information of Indonesian lexicon originated from Malay by employing
a corpus based research. The findings show that the examined words
have changed in meaning through generalization and metaphor.
However, unlike the word bersiram, the change that the word peraduan
happened only occurs in semantic level. This information, ultimately,
can be used as informative data for a more comprehensive Indonesian
etymology dictionary. Drawing on corpus analysis, this paper addresses
the importance use of diachronic corpora in tracing words origin.
Keywords: diachronic corpora, etymology, corpus analysis, semantic

change, Malay-Indonesian
INTRODUCTION
For most language users, etymological information is perceived
just evidence of which a word originated from, especially when a
language absorbs many loanwords; Indonesian take as an example
(Russel et al., 2007; Tadmor, 2009). Kridalaksana (2001) pointed out that
the content of Indonesian etymology dictionaries which have been
compiled and available today is merely an inventory of words origin
which needs to be continued with research and interpretation from
various aspects. This is in line with the opinion of Durkin (2009) and
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Liberman (2009) who stated that the study of etymology is related to the
history of a word, the history of meaning, formal history, or the history
of its spread from one language to another, or from one group to another.
In accordance with that, it is important to point out that at least there are
six etymological information that can be applied to trace a word: (1) the
year of usage, (2) the initial form (morphology) and the initial sound
(phonology), (3) the language of the donor (for loan word), (4) the person
who coined the word for the first time, (5) the initial meaning, and (6)
the change of meaning. Therefore, an etymological dictionary should not
only contain information of the word's origin but also be given more
clear-cut description of a word.
Other things from Indonesian etymology dictionaries that are
available until today is the scarcity of etymology information of words
originated from Malay. Malay is the root of Indonesian (Teeuw, 1967;
Andaya, 2001; Hoogervorst, 2015). In the early centuries, the language
spoken in some part of the Indonesian archipelago and the Malay
Peninsula might be the same. Over time, there are many things and
events, socially and politically that affects the regions and causes the
language to change and to be different. Information of changes that occur
in Malay words--that now become the vocabulary of Indonesia,
phonologically, morphologically, semantically, or syntactically-- are
parts of the etymology information (Mohamed & Yusoff, 2014).
A number of studies have previously been done concerning the
etymology and semantic change of words in various languages, to
mention some are Wijaya & Yeniterzi, 2011; Yurrivna, 2014; Jatowt &
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Duh, 2014; Hasan, 2015; and Altakhaineh, 2018. However, to date, there
is not ample works that pay their attention to scrutinize how the
etymological information can be approached using corpora, especially in
the relation of Malay and Indonesian language.
Wijaya & Yeniterzi (2011) identified semantic change of words
over centuries using computational linguistics method. They used
Topics-Over-Time (TOT) and k-means clustering on Google Books N-
gram dataset. Through their methods, they show how clustering words
that co-occur with an entity of interest in 5-grams can shed some lights
to the nature of change that occurs to the entity and identify the period
for which the change occurs. Yurrivna (2014) only classified changes in
meaning that occur in English medical terms. Classification of changes
in meaning in question is specialization, generalization, pejoration or
amelioration, also metaphor and metonymy.
Jatowt & Duh (2014) explored digitized historical texts, which
were also carried out in our study. The difference is, Jatowt & Duh uses
the NLP (Natural Language Processing) method while we used the
corpus-based method. Another study was conducted by Hasan (2015)
which dealt with semantic change of borrowing words, especially Arabic
words in Bengali. This kind of research in Indonesian is plenty. In fact,
most of etymological research in Indonesian is about borrowing words.
Altakhaineh (2018) examined the semantic change of positive vs.
negative adjectives in Modern English. He compared the meaning of
those adjectives in dictionary than look up their frequency of use in the
corpus. He wanted to see wether the adjective had been negative or
156
positive from the beginning or whether the adjective turns negative or

positive because there are things that cause it. The research object of the
those researchs are English vocabulary.
Until now there has been no theory that specifically addresses the
search for etymological information through diachronic corpora.
Existing theories still separate theory of etymology and theories about
corpus linguistics. Of the two theories, the theory referred to in this study
is the theory of Collins (2003) and the theory of collocation via
concordance from McEnery & Hardie (2012). The search for
etymological information through diachronic corpus is nothing new for
Indo-European languages, especially English. However, for the
Indonesian language, especially those from Malay, no one has ever
discussed this matter. Our current research deals with original words, i.e.
the Indonesian words that are rooted from Malay, not from any foreign
loan words. Most importantly, none of the previous studies used a
corpus-based method, in particular comparing data through diachronic
corpora.
This paper offers a tool that can be used to trace etymological
information, especially to trace changes in their meaning. The tool that
can provide a large collection of text from past centuries to be examined
is diachronic corpora (de Melo, 2014). According to Allan & Robinson
(2012), the use of corpus is the state of the art in the study of historical
semantics, which is part of etymology study. Malay is fortunate to have
Malay Concordance Project (MCP) developed by Australian National
University (Proudfoot, 1991; Gallop, 2013). It consists of old classical
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Malay manuscripts from 14th to 20th centuries that can be used to

examine the usage of a Malay word during that time (Johary & Rahim,
2014). This present study, therefore, seeks to explore any etymological
information of Malay words that become part of Indonesian lexicon
which are still used until today by employing the MCP compared with a
more recent potential corpus from the 21st century.
There are thousands of Malay-Indonesian original vocabularies.
It would take a very long time to be able to analyze the entire original
vocabulary. For this reason, as a preliminary study, the current research
was conducted using data samples. Two samples were chosen to be
presented in this paper; they are bersiram and peraduan. The sample
selection process is explained in the research method section.
Thus, the aims of the current study have three folds: (1) to identify
the etymological information of Malay words bersiram and peraduan
from diachronic corpora, (2) to investigate what kind of changes those
Malay words undergo from time to time until they turn out to be
Indonesian lexicon, and at the end (3) to demonstrate the use of
diachronic corpora as a tool in examining etymological Malay-Indonesia
lexicon.
RESEARCH METHOD
This research is a corpus-based research. To prove that
etymological information can be collected from diachronic corpora, this
study employed two corpora that were set in chronological order. We
started with the methodological issue by selecting the proper corpora
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collection available online. We found two major salient collections

regarding Malay and Indonesian corpus. The first corpus is MCP, which
comprises 5.8 million words (including 140,000 verses) from more than
165 sources of pre-modern Malay written text. The oldest script is from
the year 1302 and the most up-to-date is from 1950 (Gallop, 2013; Bakar,
2020). However, the dates of some old scripts are somewhat
hypothetical. The second corpus as a source for identifying the
etymological information of this study is taken from the Indonesian
corpus from Leipzig Corpora. This corpus is based on online material
from 2012 to 2014 that consists of 74,329,815 sentences, 7,964,109
types, and 1,206,281,985 tokens (Richter et al., 2006; Biemann et al.,
2007). The two corpora are available online and they demonstrate the
context uses of Malay lexicon from the 14th to 21st century.
The search results of the words investigated from the two corpora
then were analyzed qualitatively. The changes that each word undergoes
were examined from the concordance lines and the word’s collocations.
Collocation analysis usually involved statistical measurement. Yet,
McEnery & Hardie (2012) proposed a non-statistical method called
collocation-via-concordance technique. In this technique, researchers
must use their intuitive to check the concordance lines that yield up
notable examples and patterns, and then examine each line individually.
Therefore, with certain considerations, we undertook this technique for
the recent study.
Regarding the data, we selected two samples from a number of
Malay-Indonesian words to be further investigated as a model study in
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this paper, i.e. bersiram and peraduan. Those words are taken from the
list of honored words in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia (KBBI).
Honored words mean words that are used in formal situation and only
for selected and respected people. There are 26 words in that list (Table
1). However, not all of them are originated from the Malay. Some of the
words listed are originated from Sanskrit and Old Javanese. Most
importantly, not all of them experience changes in their meaning. From
that not so many Malay words that undergo changes in meaning, we
found the word bersiram and peraduan.
Table 1. List of words labeled hor in KBBI
Nr. Word Nr. Word

1 abangda 14 bersiram
2 adimas 15 dalem
3 adinda 16 eyang
4 ananda 17 jenazah
5 apa 18 mangkat
6 asma 19 meninggal
7 ayahanda 20 nenenda
8 ayunda 21 pakanira
9 baginda 22 pamanda
10 beliau 23 peraduan
11 beradu 24 pesiraman
12 bersantap 25 suaminda
13 bersemayam 26 surai

Given the above description, we primarily present an analysis
model of utilizing diachronic corpora to discover the etymological
160
information of Malay-Indonesia lexicon. We selected bersiram and

peraduan and traced their use in the sentences deposited from the two
corpora as presented below.
Diachronic Use of ‘’bersiram‘’

The word bersiram is a high classical Malay word. The word has
been recorded in the dictionaries of Malay (Kamus Dewan, 2015; Pusat
Rujukan Persuratan Melayu, 2020) and Indonesian (Kamus Besar
Bahasa Indonesia, 2020) with the meaning of ‘to take a bath’. The word
can only be used for the royal family. In MCP, this word appeared 157
times in 24 old manuscripts dated from the year 1370s to 1930s (as can
be seen in Table 1 and 2). Bersiram occurred 32 times in Salasilah
Melayu dan Bugis (1865) and only one time in the manuscripts Syair Ken
Tambuhan (~1750), Hikayat Raja Bikrama Sakti (1800), Syair Nyamuk
dan Lalat (<1873), Hikayat Purasara (>1890), Syair almarhum Sultan
Abubakar (1896), Syair Raja Johor (1899), and Cerita Jenaka (<1908).
Table 2. Distribution of results of bersiram in MCP

~bersiram~ (1300-2000)
1370s 4 Bayan 4
1700s 2 Tuah 2
1750s 1 KT 1
1770s 5 ARM 5
1780s 5 Misa 5
1800s 1 Bik 1
1810s 17 PNB 17
1820s 8 Zub 8
161
1870s 5 Nymk 1, NAsik 2, KS

2
1880s 28 1880s 28 Pah 2, Mpt
26
1890s 5 SSiti 2, Puras 1, SAB
1, RJoh 1
1900s 1 CJen 1
1910s 6 J&P 6
1930s 13 TZA 13
157
All those 157 tokens of bersiram demonstrate the same meaning

in the contexts with those recorded in dictionaries. Below are some
examples of bersiram in some contexts:
1370s
(1) sudah Élah kembali itu, maka bagindapun pergilah bersiram ke
kolam itu. Setelah sudah baginda bersiram itu,
‘Elah came back, so the king takes a bath in the pool. After taking
a bath,’
1770s
(2) Setelah selesailah daripada bercukur dan bersiram putera Baginda
itu, maka datanglah bidan menjunjung duli …
‘After the prince has shaved and took a bath, the midwife took a
bow’
162
1810s
(3) …anéka jenis daripada bungaan. Setelah sudah mandi bersiram
maka naiklah segala puteri-puteri itu mengentas bunga2an ada
yang …
‘various of flowers. After taking a bath then the girls get up to
remove all those flowers...’
1890s
(4) … sama elok parasnya. | Setelah genap tujuh hari, Bersiramlah
baginda laki isteri, Dikerjakan oleh perdana menteri,
‘Look as pretty. After seven days, the king and his queen took a bath,
Done by the prime minister’
1910s
(5) Pada suatu hari Sultan Mahmud hendak berangkat bersiram, duduk
di atas julangan, ditikam oleh Megat Sri Rama dengan …
‘Once upon a time Sultan Mahmud is going to take a bath, while
sitting, stabbed by Megat Sri Rama using...’
1930s
(6) ... bestari, manakala siang keluar matahari, selesai bersiram
mahkota negeri. | Berangkat keluar ia bertakhta, tersenyum …
‘...smart, when the sun rises in the afternoon, the crowned head took
a bath. He comes out to enthrone, smiles...’
The above concordance lines show that the word bersiram

collocated with the word baginda (king), puteri-puteri (princesses),
perdana menteri (prime minister), Sultan Mahmud (King Mahmud), and
163
mahkota negeri (crowned head). The other concordance lines which are
not presented here also show the same collocates. Those collocates
indicate that the word bersiram is only used for the royal family. The
line from the 1890s (as in the sentence 4) even shows that the bath was
not just a usual bath, it was a kind of ceremony.
(4) ... Setelah genap tujuh hari, Bersiramlah baginda laki istri,
Dikerjakan oleh perdana menteri, ...
‘... After seven days, The king and his queen took a bath, Done by the
prime minister, ...’
Table 3. Frequency of occurrences bersiram in the MCP manuscripts

M&B Salasilah Melayu dan Bugis 1865 32
Mpt Hikayat Merpati Mas dan >1883 (MS 1887 26
Merpati Perak
PNB Hikayat Perintah Negeri 1811 (MS 1811) 17
Dmsy.S Syair Raja Damsyik 1864 16
TZA Syair Tawarikh Zainal Abidin 1936 13
yang Ketiga
Zub Syair Siti Zubaidah Perang ~1800 (MS 1840) 8
Cina?
TN Tuhfat alNafis 1866 (MS 1890) 6
J&P Hikayat Johor serta Pahang 1917 6
ARM Adat Raja Melayu 1779, ~1850 (MSS 5
1817, 1873)
Misa Misa Melayu ~1780 (MS 1836) 5
Bayan Hikayat Bayan Budiman 1371 (MS 1852) 4
Tuah Hikayat Hang Tuah ~1700 (MS 1849) 2
NurP Syair Sultan Nur Peri < ~1865 2
NAsik Hikayat Nakhoda Asik ~1870 (MS 1890) 2
KS Kitab Suci PL 1879, PB: 1935 2
Pah Hikayat Pahang 1883 (MS 1883, 1932) 2
SSiti Syair Seratus Siti? ~1890 2
164
KT Syair Ken Tambuhan ~1750 (MS 1791-1872) 1

Bik Hikayat Raja Bikrama Sakti ~1800 (MS 1830) 1
Nymk Syair Nyamuk dan Lalat <1873 1
Puras Hikayat Purasara >1890 1
SAB Syair almarhum Sultan 1896 1
Abubakar
RJoh Syair Raja Johor 1899 1
CJen Cerita Jenaka <1908 1
The Semantic Change of ‘’bersiram‘’

After its independence in 1945, Indonesia has become a republic.
The royal system is no longer used. For that reason, the frequency of use
of the word bersiram might also be decreased. However, in a more recent
corpus like Indonesian corpus in Leipzig Corpora, we can still find the
use of the word bersiram in many different contexts (see graphic in
Figure 1). The figure is an automatic generated collocation graphic from
Leipzig Corpora. As can be seen, the graphic contains words related to
the word bersiram found in the corpus. The graphic depicts that in their
corpus, the word bersiram collocates or related to all those words. The
collocates found in the graphic are different with those found in MCP
corpus. In corpus linguistics, collocation means words which occur
within the neighbourhood of another word. Those words don't have to be
located right next to the main word (Baker et al, 2006: 36-37). The search
of the word bersiram in Leipzig Corpora are turned in 55 lines. There are
some interesting findings from the lines, such as:
165
a. From 55 occurrences, only 15 of them have the literal meaning of ‘to

take a bath’ or ‘to shower’. Ten lines, which come from Malaysian
website, use the word bersiram as the equivalent of to take a bath or
shower in the daily activity of common people, while the other five
lines, which come from Indonesian website, still use the word only
for a respected person.
b. Six lines contain the word bersiram in a figurative meaning. In those
lines, the word bersiram is used in the form of a metaphor. Bersiram
is juxtaposed with darah (blood) and cahaya (light) as in the sentence
(7):
(7) Di kejauhan tampak gedung-gedung jangkung
yang bersiram cahaya lampu.(www.mayasanti.blogspot.
com, crawled on 08/05/2012)
‘In the distance, tall buildings are seen bathed in light.’
c. The most interesting finding is, 34 lines of them appeared in the
contexts of food and carry a figurative meaning. In those lines,
bersiram mostly collocates with saus (sauce), jamur (mushroom),
keju (cheese), cokelat (chocolate). One example of the word usage in
the context of food is as in the sentence (8):
(8) Dari deretan menu terbaru, ada BBQ Beef Ribs & Alice Springs
Chicken bersiram saus keju Monterey Jack-Cheddar.
(www.femina.co.id, crawled on 06/02/2014)
‘From the latest menu, there are a BBQ Beef Ribs & Alice Springs
Chicken covered with Monterey Jack-Cheddar cheese sauce.‘
166
We can see from the two diachronic corpora that there are changes
in the meaning of the word bersiram. The word that originally had only
one meaning and used only for certain circle, after the twentieth century
its meaning has widened to a figurative meaning, and move from specific
to a more general meaning.
Figure 1. Collocations of bersiram as shown in Corpora Collection Leipzig University
As can be seen from Figure 1, the graph is an auto-generated graph

based on the frequency of co-occurences. The words darah and cahaya
do not appear on the graph because the frequency of their appearance is
not as high as other words.
Furthermore, it is not only the semantic aspect of the word
bersiram that change over time. Another linguistic aspect that also
changes is the syntactic aspect, especially at class of word. Bersiram is
an intransitive verb by nature. In Indonesian grammar, prefix ber- forms
intransitive verb. As can be seen in the sentence (9):
(9) ... maka bagindapun pergilah bersiram ke kolam itu.
167
‘… then the King went to the pool to take a bath.’

The phrase ke kolam itu in above sentence (1) is not an object, but it is
an adverb of place. An object is not needed after the word bersiram in
that sentence.
However, in its figurative meaning, the verb bersiram has become
transitive. Below is a concordance line of the verb bersiram in figurative
meaning followed by its objects (in upright letters).
(10) Tempat orang berniaga dikepalai seorang batin bijaksana yang
mengharamkan negeri bersiram darah.
‘A place for trading is lead by a wise man who forbid the land
from bloodshed.‘
(11) Di kejauhan tampak gedung-gedung jangkung
yang bersiram cahaya lampu.
‘In the distance, tall buildings are seen bathed in light.’
(12) Sejumput mi bersiram saus dengan potongan udang gemuk di
atasnya.
‘a pinch of noodles doused in sauce with a oiece of fat shrimp on
its top.‘
(13) Versi Michel’s disebut Marble Mud Cake, bersiram ganache
cokelat putih dan cokelat pekat.
‘Michel’s version is called Marble Mud Cake, covered by ganache
chocalate‘
(14) Dan, sebagai penutup pesanlah Roti Cane Gula atau Roti Cane
Susu, bersiram susu kental manis.
168
‘And, as a desserts please order Roti Cane Gula or Roti Cane Susu,
watered with condensed milk’
Objects in the above sentences are mandatory because without objects
the sentences would be incomplete and meaningless.
Diachronic Use of ‘’peraduan‘’

Another example that we would like to present for tracing the
semantic change and the etymological information utilizing MCP is the
word peraduan. This word is a classical-high Malay as well, that is used
strictly for the royal family. It has the meaning of ‘bed’ or ‘bedroom’.
Compared to bersiram, the frequency of peradaun’s appearance in MCP
was found higher. It appeared 357 times in 31 old manuscripts dated
from the 1370s to 1950s. The word can be found in the manuscript Syair
Siti Zubaidah Perang Cina (32 times) and mostly occurred one time in
sixteen manuscripts (see Table 3). The sentences below are some
examples from the concordance lines from the manuscripts showing the
uses of peraduan in the contexts whereby all with the meaning of ‘bed’
and ‘bedroom’.
(15) .. ketiganya itu pun masing-masing mendapatkan biliknya
peraduan, lalu beradulah sekaliannya itu.
‘...all of three get their bedrooms, then they sleep.‘
(16) ... beri rawan, sendu rupa kelakuan, buka ranjang
peraduan. | Lalu makai Sinyor Gilang, baju lakan hitam gilang
‘...be vulnerable, sentiment behavior, go to the bed. Then Sinyor
Gilang wearing, a black trouser‘
169
(17) Maka Kuda Nestapa pun masuk ke dalam peraduan lalu

menyingkap tirai kelambu itu. Maka dilihatnya Raden…
‘...Then the Sorrow Horse gets into the bedroom, opens the curtain.
So, he looks at Raden...‘
(18) Sambil memakai bau-bauan. Adinda disambut masuk
peraduan. | Lalulah duduk menanggalkan jubah,
‘...wearing parfumes. Adinda welcomed into his bedroom. Then he
took off his robe,‘
(19) ... biliknya dan pada tiap-tiap bilik itu ditaruhnya geta
peraduan lengkap dengan kasur, tilam dan tirai ...
‘...his room and in every bedroom equipped with mattress and
curtain‘
(20) ... bilik yang indah. | Istana besar apa gunanya,
Peraduan lengkap dengan perhiasannya, Asingnya tidak ...
‘beautiful bedroom, what a point of a big palace, a full furnished
bedroom with decorations, ...‘
Table 4. Frequency of occurrences peraduan in the MCP manuscripts

Zub Syair Siti Zubaidah Perang Cina ? ~1800 (MS 1840) 32
Panji Hikayat Panji Kuda Semirang ? ~1750 (MS 1832) 28
Mar Hikayat Maharaja Marakarma 1844 or 1848 27
SSiti Syair Seratus Siti ? ~1890 22
PandL Hikayat Pandawa Lima ? 15
~1525
Bayan Hikayat Bayan Budiman 1371 (MS 1852) 14
Boma Hikayat Sang Boma ~1600 (MS 1850) 12
Ind Hikayat Inderaputera <1600 (MS 1700) 10
Bid Syair Bidasari ~1750 (MS 1825) 10
170
AHmz Hikayat Amir Hamzah <1380 9

JPati Hikayat Putera Jaya Pati ? 17.. (MS 1819) 9
KT Syair Ken Tambuhan ~1750 (MS 1791- 9
1872)
Dmsy.H Hikayat Raja Damsyik 1863 9
Kosta Syair Sinyor Kosta <1821 (MS 1862) 8
Dmsy.S Syair Raja Damsyik 1864 8
S Saudara 19301935 8
Anb Surat alAnbiya' ~1750 (MS 1877) 7
Sikka Hikayat Kerajaan Sikka 19251953 (MS 7
1979)
Aceh Hikayat Aceh ~1625 (MS ~1675) 6
Tuah Hikayat Hang Tuah ~1700 (MS 1849) 6
PiagM Piagam Muara Mendras ~16601880 6
SMrdn Hikayat Syah Mardan ~1720 (MS <1871) 5
ARM Adat Raja Melayu 1779, ~1850 (MSS 5
1817, 1873)
ABS Hikayat Ali Bad Syah ? 1800 (MS 1826) 5
Bik Hikayat Raja Bikrama Sakti ~1800 (MS 1830) 5
Nuri Syair Nuri dengan Simbangan ~1860 5
Nymk Syair Nyamuk dan Lalat <1873 5
Kumb Syair Kumbang Mengindera <1859 4
NurP Syair Sultan Nur Peri < ~1865 4
Puras Hikayat Purasara 1625 (MS 1849) 4
Kutai Cerita Kutai 1625 (MS 1849) 3
SM Sejarah Melayu ~1612 (MS 1808) 3
Hemop Syair Hemop 1750s (MS 1817) 3
MW Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa ~1821 (edition 3
1898)
Mpt Hikayat Merpati Mas dan Merpati >1883 (MS 1887) 3
Perak
Pasai Hikayat Raja Pasai ~1390 (MS 1815) 2
Rama Hikayat Seri Rama 15.. (MS <1633) 2
Bkht Hikayat Bakhtiar ~1650 (text 1881) 2
IbrA Hikayat Ibrahim ibn Adham (long ~1650 (MS 1775) 2
version)
KBima Syair Kerajaan Bima ~1830 (MS 1857) 2
171
Awai Syair Awai 1868 2

INata Hikayat Indera Nata ~1870 (MS <1874) 2
SAB Syair almarhum Sultan Abubakar 1896 2
CJen Cerita Jenaka <1908 2
TZA Syair Tawarikh Zainal Abidin 1936 2
yang Ketiga
PK PuisiPuisi Kebangsaan 19131942 2
BS Bustan alSalatin ~1640 1
ABJD Asal Bangsa Jin & DewaDewa ~1700 (MS <1851) 1
Pat Hikayat Patani 1730 (MS 1839) 1
Misa Misa Melayu ~1780 (MS 1836) 1
Perb Syair Tengku Perbu 1835 1
Siak Hikayat Siak 1855 (MS 1893) 1
M&B Salasilah Melayu dan Bugis 1865 1
TN Tuhfat alNafis 1866 (MS 1890) 1
PPRiau Peringatan Pelayaran ke Riau 1868 (MS ? 1917) 1
NAsik Hikayat Nakhoda Asik ~1870 (MS 1890) 1
KS Kitab Suci PL: 1879, PB: 1935 1
Pah Hikayat Pahang 1883 (MS 1883, 1
1932)
Guna Perhimpunan Gunawan bagi 1911 1
Laki2 dan Perempuan
SKel Hikayat Seri Kelantan 1783-1914 (MS 1
1914)
M Majlis 1932-1935 1
VN Vernacular Newspapers Editorials 1887-1940 1
357
In a more recent corpus such as Leipzig Corpora, the frequency of

occurrence of the word peraduan is also high. There are 650 occurrences
from websites dated from 2012 to 2014. However, the meaning that the
word carries in this corpus is rather different from those in MCP. From
about 100 lines examined from the concordance lines, there are three
types of usage of the word peraduan.
172
The Semantic Change of ‘’peraduan‘’

The first type has the same meaning and usage as those in previous
corpus, which is bed or bedroom of the royal family. The word peraduan
in the first type, as shown in sentences number (21), (22), and (23), are
collocated with raja (king) and kerajaan (royal).
(21) Sementara itu, sang raja telah tidur di peraduan kerajaan.
‘Meanwhile, the King had slept in the royal bed.’
(22) Jika nanti sudah berada dalam peraduan raja, cincin itu harus
dilepas, dan ditaruh didekat Pusaka Keraton karena dirinya sudah
berada di dalam cincin itu.
‘When already in the king's bedroom, the ring must be taken off
and placed near the heritage of the palace because he is already in
the ring.’
(23) Sebelum mencabut tombak, ia kembali keluar dari peraduan raja
yang kesakitan itu.
‘Before pulling the spear, he came back out of the afflicted king's
bedroom.’
In the second type of usage, the word peraduan, as found in the Leipzig
Corpora, carries the same meaning but it is then used by common people.
(24) Membaca buku, majalah, atau sekadar mendengarkan musik,
sebelum Anda beranjak ke peraduan untuk tidur.
‘Read book, magazine, or simply listen to the music before you go
to bed.’
173
(25) Pagi itu hujan deras menguyur kota Surabaya dan sekitarnya,
membuat badan malas untuk bangkit dari peraduan.
‘That morning, heavy rain was pouring in Surabaya and its
surrounding area, made me lazy to get out of bed.‘
(26) Orang-orang yang dekat di hati saya, satu persatu mulai beranjak
ke peraduan.
‘The people I love, one by one began to move to go to bed.’
The common word for ‘bed’ in Indonesian is tempat tidur or ranjang.

However, in sentence (24), (25) and (26) which contexts are not related
to the royal family, the word peraduan is used instead of tempat tidur or
ranjang. This usage shows that the meaning of peraduan has been
generalized. Since there is no longer king or royal family in Indonesia,
the word has become functional for everyone.
Figure 2. Collocates of peraduan in Corpora Collection Leipzig University

The third type is the occurrence of the word in figurative
meaning. In this type of usage, the word peraduan mainly collocates with
174
matahari (as shown in Figure 2), such as in the sentence (27), (28) and
(29); and sang surya which also means ‘sun’ in (30). In those sentences,
the sun is depicted as if it goes to bed to rest so the day turns into night,
or gets out of the bed and starts to shine.
(27) Matahari beranjak ke peraduan dan malam mulai menggeliat ke
atas bumi.
‘The sun goes down to its resting place and the night begins to
climb the earth.’
(28) Ketika matahari telah kembali ke peraduan, malam pun tiba.
‘When the sun has gone to bed, the night has come.’
(29) Matahari sudah beranjak ke peraduan, tetapi langit biru masih
tersisa.
‘The sun has gone to bed, but there is still some blue sky.’
(30) Salah satunya adalah untuk melihat secara langsung, Sang Surya
keluar dari peraduan di ufuk timur.
‘One of the reasons is to see directly the sun out of its bed in the
eastern horizon.’
In Indonesian, there is a metaphor that equates the sun as the king of the
day and the moon as the night goddess (_matahari=raja siang;
bulan=dewi malam_). Without the sun there will be no daylight. In some
cultures, there are also tribes who regard the sun as a god or as the giver
of life just like a king. Because of this metaphor and belief, some of the
vocabulary reserved only for kings is also applied to the sun.
Finally, those different types of usage of peraduan found in
Leipzig Corpora show that the word has changed in meaning through
175
generalization and metaphor. However, unlike the word bersiram, the

change that the word peraduan experienced only occurs in semantic
level. The other linguistic aspects of the word are not affected.
CONCLUSION
Using corpora, this paper identified the etymological information
particularly of the exemplary words bersiram and peraduan to determine
to what extent these words diachronically changed through time.
Drawing on data obtained from the analysis, the findings showed
information as follows.
Entry : bersiram
Initial meaning : ‘to take a bath (intransitive), used for the royal
family’
Additional 1. To bathe (transitive, figurative meaning),
meaning 2. To cover (transitive, figurative meaning).
(in 21th century)
Entry : peraduan
Initial meaning : ‘bed or bedroom, used for the royal family’
Additional 1. Bed or bedroom (general),
meaning 2. Resting place (figurative meaning).
(in 21th century)
The presentation of the etymological information in the dictionary can

also be made in the narrative form, so the reader could get a clearer
picture of the semantic change (Bochkarev et al., 2020).
This paper has demonstrated that diachronic corpora can be a
useful tool in the investigation of etymological information, especially
176
to find changes in meaning. The corpora that are set chronologically can
also tell us the approximate time of change. Although the precise year of
change remains unknown, it is able to at least reveal in which era the
change happen. The activity of collecting etymological information from
diachronic corpora, however, can only be done to the lexicon in written
texts. Furthermore, information about the usage of the words in spoken
forms, whether or not they are used in the same register with the same
meaning, is undisclosed. We found that, it does not lessen the
effectiveness of diachronic corpora as a tool in collecting etymological
information. Finally, this paper could strategically contribute to the
model of development for a more comprehensive Indonesian etymology
dictionary.
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Examining Gender Representation in an

Indonesian EFL Textbook
*Zango Anisa Agni1, Endang Setyaningsih2, Teguh Sarosa3
Sebelas Maret University1,2,3
Address: Jl. Ir. Sutami No.36, Kentingan, Jebres, Surakarta, Jawa

Tengah, Indonesia1,2,3
E-mail: zangooagni@gmail.com1, endangsetyaningsih@staff.uns.ac.id

2, teguhsrs@staff.uns.ac.id3
Submission Track:
ABSTRACT
Considering its influential role in students’ behavior and attitudes, a
textbook has to reflect balanced images, and information about males and
females. It also has to support broad choices and many roles for both sexes
to avoid unjust or bias gender issues. This study aimed at examining whether
an EFL textbook published by the Indonesian government promotes gender
equity by (1) mapping the proportion of textual and visual representation of
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Zango Anisa Agni, Endang Setyaningsih, Teguh Sarosa
males and females in the textbook; (2) describing how males and females are
treated in the textbook. Through content analysis, the study revealed that the
book is gender-biased as indicated from unbalanced (1) textual and visual
representation (2) variety of activity, role, and occupation, (3) order of
mention, and (4) adjectival portrayal. In all indicators, the female is
underrepresented, hidden, and framed within traditional gender stereotyping.
Reflecting on these findings, revision by the government and/ or careful
treatment by teachers when using the book are ushered.
Keywords: bias, content analysis, gender representation, gender stereotype,

textbook.
INTRODUCTION
Dakar convention which was held by the United Nations of Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Senegal 2000 and its
follow up event in 2015, recommended that awareness of political correctness
of gender issues need to be forced in teaching and learning tools and materials.
The initial evaluation of gender representation is the study by Lakoff in 1973.
Lakoff’s study revealed that women tend to be in a lower status position more
than men. This finding has attracted scholars around the world to conduct
studies about gender including its representation in textbooks. Textbook serves
as one of the sources of language input for students and as a basis for language
learning in class (Tomlison, 1998). Along these lines, it is significant that
textbook needs to reflect balanced pictures, data concerning males and females
and support wide choices and numerous roles for both genders for avoiding
unjust or bias gender issue. However, Lee (2014) noted that gender bias is still
founded in textbooks. This can influence students’ thinking about men and
women. Lee (2014) also said that material found in textbooks invites.learners
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to relate to character conduct in the textbooks, which makes students imitate

practices that are regular of their genders. Thus, gender has to be presented
equally in textbook because textbook has an important role that influences
students’ behavior and attitudes towards gender. This present study focuses on
senior high school ELT textbook, it highlights a single book published by the
Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, “Bahasa Inggris”. The study
expands the scope of investigation by counting the appearance of male and
female both in textual and visual, and examining how male and female are
treated in the textbook. This examination is carried out by looking at the order
of gender appearance and the gender’s domain activity, role, and occupation,
and adjective used by male and female.
Gender Representation and Gender Stereotype in ELT Textbook
Gender is the role of female and male that has been constructed up by
social and cultural (Holmes, 2007). It is a contextual dependent term that
applies to males and females with specific linguistic strategies (Bell, McCarthy
& McNamara, 2006). Meanwhile, the word ‘representation’ is the production
of meaning through language (Hall, 1997). In addition, Shorter Oxford
Dictionary in Hall (1997) stated that ‘to represent’ means to describe or depict
it, to call it up in the mind by portrayal or description or imagination. Thus,
gender representation means how the role of males and females which build
socially is described.
Movements to gender equity has been running for decades and today
more and more individuals as well as organization voice their thoughts on the
issue. The UNESCO, for example, have sounded for males and females to have
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equal access in education and learning opportunities. Likewise, LeMoyne

(2011) noted that gender equity implies that males and females have the same
rights, resources, possibilities, and protections. In a broader sense, EDC (2007)
stated that gender equity deals with the ability of female and male to have same
opportunities, rights, and responsibilities in aspects of life.
Regardless of growing the gender sensitive movement, traditional gender
stereotyping persists today. According to Matsumoto and Juang (2008) gender
stereotypes are behavioral or psychological characteristics of males or females.
In Indonesia, gender stereotype is still an issue. There is gender stereotype that
is reflected in gender roles. Some people still have a traditional perspective of
three ur; sumur, dapur, and kasur (wash up, work in the kitchen, and bed) as
the duty of females. Whereas now, females do not only relate to those
activities, but they also work outside as male commonly do (Damayanti, 2014).
Sunderland, 1994a in Mustapha (2012) also mentioned some dimensions of
gender stereotype/sexism, those are; invisibility, occupational stereotype, and
relationship stereotype, namely: (1) Invisibility: The visibilities of females are
less than males or vice versa, (2) Occupational stereotypes: females or males
are represented fewer in occupational roles, (3) Relationship stereotypes: while
females mostly are represented as individual being more in relation with males,
rather than males more relation with females, (4) Personal characteristic
stereotyping: while females represented as emotional and timid, (5)
Disempowering discourse roles: when more males talking first rather than
females, (6) Degradation: blatant sexism to the point of misogamy.
Ignoring its sensitivity, gender is one of the elements that is often taken
for granted in ELT textbooks. It is common to find ELT textbooks which are
biased in representing males and females; while, ideally, the textbooks should
depict a balance of active roles between males and females.
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In Indonesia, the study of gender representtaion had been conducted by

Yonata and Mujiyanto (2017) and Fahriany (2019). In Asia, the study of gender
representation also had been conducted by some researchers, i. e. Nofal And
Qawar (2015), Salami and Ghajarieh (2016), Dahmardeh and Kim (2019), etc.
In addition, Lee had been conducted some studies of gender representation in
different years.Lee had conducted several researches about gender
representation in 1999, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016. In the latest
research, Lee (2016) investigated gender representation in four contemporary
Japanese EFL textbooks for High School in Japan which titled “Gender
representation in Japanese EFL textbooks – a corpus study”. The result of this
study reveals that female is underrepresented in some aspects, such as female
under-representation in the appearances, the adjective used, and the order of
mention. While in the gender-neutral and gender marked vocabulary, the four
EFL textbooks use gender-neutral vocabulary. Besides, Dahmardeh and Kim
in 2019 investigated gender representation in five ELT textbook for secondary
school in Iran titled “Gender Representation in Iranian English Language
Coursebook”. The result of this study is there is gender imbalance in these five
ELT textbooks. Male is more presented than female in names and photo. Also,
the role of males is more wide and varied. Moreover, Qatawneh and
Rawashdeh (2019) examined a study entitled “Gender representation in the
Arabic language textbook for the ninth grade approved by the Ministry of
Education for use in schools in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)”. The study
reveals a significant difference between the total number of aspects presented
for females compared to males, which means that there are imbalances and
clear differences in the representation of gender aspects in this textbook. Also,
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when female and male appears in a single phrase, males are mentioned before
females. Moreover, the study also reveals that the language used in the
textbook was mostly in favor of males.
RESEARCH METHOD
The object of this study is an English language textbook for tenth-grade
Senior High School student titled "Bahasa Inggris" published by the Indonesia
Ministry of Education and Culture. This book is used by almost all of senior
high schools in Indonesia. In this study, we employed a content analysis as the
research design. Referring to Krippendorff (2004), content analysis is a
research technique for making valid and replicable inferences from texts (or
other meaningful matter) to the contents of their uses. In conducting the
content analysis, categories for analysis were pre-developed from Porreca
(1984), Lee (2014), and Qatawneh and Rawashdeh (2019), and it covered 11
aspects.
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Table 1. Research Instrument
R.Q. Categories Criteria Codes

1. How are male and Female and 1. Frequency of selected gendered GWm
Male words (e.g. wife, husband, girl, (male),
female represented appearance boy, man, woman, etc.) GWf
(female)
in the textbook?
PFm, PFf,
2. Frequency of occurrence of
feminine and masculine proper NPFm,
noun NPFf
3. Frequency of occurrence of Pm
feminine pronouns and masculine
Pf
pronouns
4. Frequency of occurrence of female ATm

and male address titles ATf
5. Frequency of occurrence of female Vgm, Vgf,

and male character in Vim, Vif,
illustration/images Vn
2. How are
Female and Frequency of female and male activity, role
Male activity, and occupation according to the aspects:
male and Ea/r m
1. Educational aspect: Everything
role and Ea/r f
related to education and its
female occupation multiple activities.
treated in the
2. Professional aspects: Everything Pfa/r m
related to the professions, business, Pfa/r f
textbook?
industry, science, engineering such
as medicine nursing, employment,
maintenance, and others.
3. Social and family aspects: All

aspects related to family, social
cooperation, and deepening the Sfa/r m
spirit of national belonging. Sfa/r f
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4. Leisure aspects : All aspects

related to an activity in a leisure La/r m
time, such as listening to music, La/r f
game, and others
Order of Order of mention of male and female in a

phrase coordinated by and/or Om
Mention Of
Ap m
Adjectives collocating with selected Ap f
Adjective used gendered nouns or their plural forms
An m
(woman, man, boy and girl), and the
pronouns he and she An f
Adapted from Porreca (1984), Lee (2014), and Qatawneh and Rawashdeh
(2019).
The technique of data collection which the researcher employ was

document analysis. Then, data obtained were analyzed following the seven
steps of analytic procedure listed in Marshall and Rossman (2006, p. 156-157).
1. Organizing the data

All the data were examined through open coding to make it more
organized. Open coding done by reading through data several times and
then starting to create tentative labels for chunks of data. The data were
analyzed every sentence, and even word by word. This process aimed
to build concepts and categories.
2. Immersion in the data (by reading and re-reading)

The data were read and re-read to find the structure for further
categories generation.
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3. Generating categories
Based on the immersion, there were other two emerging categories.

There were nine pre-developed aspect; (1) frequency of selected
gendered words, (2) frequency of occurrence of female and pronouns,
(3) frequency of occurrence of female and male address titles, (4)
frequency of occurrence of female and male character in
illustration/images, (5) kinds of female and male activity, role and
occupation according to some aspects such as (a)educational, (b)
professional, (c) social and family, (6) the order of mention of male and
female in a phrase coordinated by and/or, (7) and adjectives collocating
with selected gendered nouns and their plural form. Then, the two
emerging categories are frequency of occurrence of female and male
proper nouns and kinds of female and male activity, role, and
occupation in leisure aspect.
4. Coding the data
The data were coded based on the 11 aspects. Tables were made for
each aspect. Then, the frequency of each aspect were counted using
tally. Then, tally is given in each category (male/female) in the table of
each aspect. Besides, kinds of adjectives used were listed and the
number of each adjective used were counted, and also kinds of activity,
role, and occupation in educational, professional, social & family, and
leisure aspect were also listed then put in the table. Besides, to make it
easier, sign in every taken data were given in the textbook.
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5. Interpreting the data
After the data were coded, the data were interpreted. The coded data
were summarized, then reviewed for patterns and relationships, and
related the results to data obtained from the inter-rater reliability.
6. Searching for alternative understanding
Alternative explanations as well as alternative point of view for

particular data were looked for. Basic theory, data’s inter-rater, and
previous study were read and learned.
7. Writing the report
After the sufficient understanding was gained, the report was written.
To check the reliability, an experienced English teacher who has been

using the textbook served as an inter-rater. To ensure the inter-rater reliability,
Kappa coefficient calculation was carried out using SPSS 17. The result is
0.798. Based on Landis and Koch (1977), Kappa value of more than 0.75 is
indicated as excellent reliability. Thus, it can be interpreted that the inter-rater
realibility of this study is excellent.
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How male and female are represented in the textbook
Textual Representation
In terms of textual representation, there are four aspects that are

analyzed, namely frequency of selected gendered word, frequency of proper
noun, frequency of pronoun, and frequency of address titles.
Table 2. Frequency of male and female in textual representation
Male Female
Aspect Frequency Aspect Frequency

Gendered 132 Gendered 160
words words
Proper noun 448 Proper noun 299
- Public figure 165 - Public figure 52
- Non Public 283 - Non Public 247
Figure Figure
Pronoun 379 Pronoun 327
Address titles 5 Address titles 1
Total: 964 (55%) Total: 787 (45%)
Table 2 shows the frequency of male and female’s freuencies in textual

representation.
1) Frequency of selected gendered words
As shown in table 2, the frequency of females in the form of gendered
words outnumbers the males. However, the variety of female words is less
than male words. In addition, in some of narrative texts, the animal
characters such as “kanchil” and “crocodile” are indicated as male, as shown
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in the use of masculine pronouns (he, his, and him). Thus, it can be
concluded that males hold more varied roles and status than females in the
textbook examined.
2) Frequency of male and female proper noun

In the textbook examined, there are six texts related to male-oriented
issues. In addition, in some chapters of the textbook examined, there are
quotations from some public figures at the end of most chapters. Based on
table 1, the frequency of males in terms of proper nouns is higher than
females. The proper noun is categorized into two categories, such as public
figures and non-public figures. In both categories, the proportion of males
is higher than females. There are 11 quotations in the textbook examined;
10 out of 11 are from male figures. Thus, it could be a reflection of male
dominance in power. In addition, it can be inferred that male is more
influential than female.
3) Frequency of male and female pronoun
As shown in table 2, the representation of male pronouns in all types of
pronouns is higher than female pronouns
4) Frequency of male and female address titles
Table 2 shows that the frequency of female address titles is less than
male address titles. In the textbook examined, the use of male title occurred
frequently, while female title occurred much less in frequency. It is
surprising to note here that only one female called by the title, i.e., ‘Mrs.
Sabariah. Other than ‘Mrs.’ no female title was used in the textbook.
In.comparison, male title was repeatedly used in the textbook as ‘Mr.
Sultoni’, ‘Mr. Surya’, and Mr. Muslih’. This also shows biased and unequal
representations of female and male genders.
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From the the presentation of data, it can be concluded that male is more
presented textually in the textbook. This phenomenon is known as
invisibility. Invisibility occurs when the visibilities of females are less than
males or vice versa (Sunderland in Mustapha (2012)). Sadker et al (1991)
stated that invisibility is the most dangerous bias. When the visibility of male
and female are not represented equally in textbook, it could lead the students
to have a wrong perception about gender. The female’s invisibility in the
textbook could mean that female is not considered as significant and worthy.
Lee (2006) stresses that under-representing females indirectly convey that
females and their achievements are not worthy. Like other studied textbooks
around the world, females tend to be treated unfairly in such a way in this
case. Moreover, Tarrayo (2014) stated that if females are not cited as oft as
males in textbooks, the implicit signals are that females are not significant
enough to be included in those textbooks.
Visual Representation
In terms of visual representation, images or pictures in the textbook examined
are analyzed. In determining whether the picture is female or male,
we see the context.
Table 3. Frequency of male and female in visual representation
Neutral (male &

Male Female female)
Individu 16 Individu 6 Group 12
Group 12 Group 5
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28 11 12
Total (55%) (22%) (23%)
Table 3 shows the frequency of male and female in visual

representation. Table 3 reveals that males representation in both individual and
group images is higher than females images. In addition, the neutral images
that consist of males and females in 1 frame were also under the representation
of male images. In a nutshell, the achieved findings stressed on the inequality
between females and males. The female’s portion to males is about 1 to 3. In
another word, males are represented exceed twofold comparing females. A
study by Ahmad and Shah (2019) also revealed that in their textbook examined
male dominance is quite visible in the pictorial representation.
How male and female are treated

Kinds of activity, roles, and occupation of male and female in the textbook
In this section, kinds of activity, roles, and occupation of males and females
are analyzed based on four aspects, namely educational aspect, professional
aspect, social & family aspect, and leisure aspect.
1) Educational aspect
In educational aspect, the activities of males was more varied than
females. It was related to the level of education and field of study. Males
were represented having activity on some level of education such as
elementary school, vocational school, high school, and higher level of
education while female was only represented on higher level of education.
In addition, males were represented studying in some field of studies such
as language and engineering, while female was represented studying in
culinary. The activities of females were also related to teaching. However,
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both males and females were represented having the same activity in
competitions, i.e won speech contest and math olympiad for female, and
won speech contest for male.
2) Professional aspect
Male’s activity, role, and occupation is more various than female in
professional aspect. It shows that male has more chance to work in various
field than female. Males are represented working and doing activity related
to engineering, business, and industry. While female is not represented having
role or activity related to engineering, business, and industry. While female is
not represented having role or activity related to engineering, business, and
industry. Other than that, female’s roles and occupations tend to relate with
culinary and health like baker, medical doctor, and the activity is make and
sell a snack in the canteen. However, in this textbook, both males and females
are represented equally with the role of both genders as a teacher, leader and
flight attendant. It indicates both males and females could have the same role.
3) Social and family aspect
In the textbook examined, female’s activity in social & family aspects
is more varied than males. From these lists of activities in social & family
aspect, female is suggested to do domestic activities such as dealing with
home-related activities. This result is also supported by Wu and Liu (2015)
who argue that women are depicted more in the category of domestic
activities in which they undertake all the housework and perpetuate nursing
and caring family. However, males and females are represented equally in
family roles. However, both males and females are represented by having the
same family roles. It is in line with the previous studies of Lee and Collins’s
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(2008) and Yang’s (2011) who find the fairly equal representation of both
genders in familial settings: both male and female are represented as father
and mother, husband and wife, and son and daughter.
4) Leisure aspect
Male’s activity in leisure aspect is more varied than females, but
the activities and role of female are also various. Female is represented in
the textbook by doing some activities, such as play basketball and go to
gym and having role as football supporter which are commonly known as
male activities and role. In addition, male and female activities mostly
were included as outdoor activity, except one of activities of female i.e
practice baking cookies.
From the findings, it can be concluded that male’s activity, role,
and occupation are more varied than females. It is also known as
occupational stereotyping. It occurs when females or males are
represented fewer in occupational roles (Sunderland in Mustapha (2012)).
Huang in Wu and Liu (2015) stated that the occupational role represented
by females and males in textbooks had a role as models for students and
can influence the life aspiration of students. Thus, it is problematic because
in the textbook female is represented having limited occupational roles
than male. Limiting female to do some kinds of activity and role also
shows that females are less competent than males.
Order of Mention
Table 4. Order of mention
Male Female
56 (84%) 11 (16%)
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Table 4 shows the order of mention of male and female in the textbook.
In this textbook, male dominance and superiority are shown by mentioning
males before females in one single phrase. As in previous study (e.g. Lee
(2014), (2016); Lee and Collins (2008), (2009); Porreca (1984); Qatawneh and
Rawshdeh (2019)), the present study reveals the textbook contains male
firstness over than female firstness. As shown in table 4.11, there is a clear
tendency for assigning firstness to males. There are 56 male firstnesses in the
textbook, however there are only 54 male firstnesses that indicate as stereotype.
It is because the male firstness “Habibie and his wife” does
not show any stereotype as the phrases included in the authentic text entitled
“B.J. Habibie” in the textbook. Thus, the author tend to mention Habibie first,
then continued by “his wife”, rather than “His wife and Habibie” because the
text is about “B.J. Habibie” not “Habibie’s wife”. Lee (2014) stated that the
way of putting female names after male names in coordinated expressions also
conveys an implication of female inferiority. Besides, Ahmad and Shah (2019)
said that the one who is mentioned first before another one is given more worth.
Thus, it indicates that in this textbook male is worthier than female.
Adjective used by males and females
The kind and frequency of adjectives used by males in the textbook

examined were also higher than females. In addition, there is a gender
stereotype related to the adjective used. In this textbook, the author tended to
represent female by using adjectives related to their emotions, age, and
appearance. At the same time, male is represented by using adjectives related
to physical and mental strength and also wealth. United Nations of Human
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Rights (2014) stated that gender stereotypes can be both positive and negative.
In this textbook, females are represented using negative adjectives higher than
males. It indicates that females having negative attitudes higher than males.
While males were represented using positive adjectives higher than females. It
indicates that males having positive attitudes higher than females.
All in all, it clearly shows that there is still gender bias in the textbook.
Biased representation of both genders could negatively affect learners.
Foroutan (2012) stated that if there are gender inequalities in textbooks that are
authored and simulated by students, they will likely be socialized into various
gender roles, resulting in the perpetuation of inequalities and bias against
women. This may result in them failing to realize their potential (Amerian &
Esmaili, 2015). Because of the negative effects of gender bias in the textbook,
efforts should be made to represent both genders in equal proportion. For
example, textbook adoption committees should be formed to assess the factual
coverage of race, class, and gender in the textbooks. In addition, wherever
textbooks fail to ensure equal representation of the gender, the teachers should
supplement the material to balance the coverage of both genders by themselves
(Chick, 2006).
CONCLUSION
The study confirms that EFL textbook which tends to represent male
and female unequally is biased, particularly the EFL textbook titled “Bahasa
Inggris” for tenth-grade Senior High School students published by Indonesian
Ministry of Education in 2018, therefore it needs to be treated with caution.
There are unequal representations of both genders. In the textbook, the
appearance of females both in textual and visual are less represented than male.
In textual representation, male outnumbers female in terms of the frequency of
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gendered word, proper noun, pronoun, and address titles, and also male plays
dominance in the quality as shown in the number of quotation from male
figures. It indicates that male is having more status/roles and also male is
considered more influential as indicated by the number of quotation in the
textbook. In addition, male also outnumbers females in visual representation
by 33 %. Lee (2006) stresses that under-representing females indirectly convey
that females and their achievements are not worthy.
Besides, kinds of activities, roles, and occupations of female are also
limited, while male is represented as having more various activities and roles
than female in all gender aspects, i.e educational, professional, and leisure.
Whereas female’s activity in social & family aspects is more various than male,
it indicates that female is mostly presented to do domestic roles. A clear bias
can be seen in the educational and professional aspects. In educational aspects,
male is represented having various activities in some level of education and
field of study while female is only represented having activity in one level of
education and culinary. In professional aspects, male is represented having
various activities and roles. Moreover, in this textbook, male’s activity, role,
and occupation are related to science, engineering, business, and industry,
while female’s activities and roles are related to culinary and health.
In addition, pattern of mentioning both genders in one phrase is also
showing bias when males were mentioned before females. Moreover, the use
of positive adjectives by male is higher than females, while the use of negative
adjectives by female is higher than males. It indicates that female in the
textbook is represented having more bad attitudes than male. Moreover, there
is a tendency to represent females in terms of their age, appearance and
201
emotions. On the other hand, the textbook’s authors tended to represent males
with physical, mental strength and wealth.
There are some suggestions from the researcher, namely (1) textbook
authors need to avoid gender stereotyping and inequality in providing adequate
and proper textbooks as main source material for English teaching and learning
process. It could be done by asking some reviewers to check, review, and make
sure that the textbook contains gender equality, (2) teachers as the main actor
in the classroom can manage to equalize gender stereotype through selecting
appropriate materials. Besides, the textbook used is contained gender
stereotypes, it is better for the teacher to clarify the students’ perception toward
gender, the teacher needs to explain the concept of gender equality. It could be
done by adding visual representation of both genders that shows equality in
both genders. Another suggestion for teachers is that teachers can modify the
learning material from other sources to avoid gender stereotype or bias, (3) the
other researchers are expected to study gender representation in ELT textbooks
with different aspects analyzed or other gender issues that may exist in ELT
textbooks. Besides, further researchers can take different aspect i.e political
representation, ethnicity, or culture.
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Persuasive Power Concerning COVID-19

Employed by Premier Imran Khan: A Socio-
Political Discourse Analysis
Zafar Iqbal1, *Muhammad Zammad Aslam2, Talha Aslam3,

Rehana Ashraf4, Muhammad Kashif5, Hafiz Nasir6
Department of English, Minhaj University, Lahore, Pakistan1, Universiti

Utara Malaysia2, Bahria Business School, Bahria University,
Islamabad, Pakistan3, M.Phil Scholar, NCBA&E, Multan, Pakistan456
E-mail: zafar.iqbal.publishing@gmail.com1, zammad.aslam@gmail.com2,

talha.aslam387@gmail.com3
Submission Track:
ABSTRACT
The researchers investigate Pakistani Premier Imran Khan’s (IK) addresses to

the nation concerning awareness about the causes, effects, precautions, and
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Zafar Iqbal, Muhammad Zammad Aslam, Talha Aslam,
Rehana Ashraf, Muhammad Kashif, Hafiz Nasir
solutions of the Novel Corona Virus (COVID-19). Till the date, experts are not
sure whether the vaccine will get developed or would we have to live with this
as we did with HIV or Dengue. Consequently, leaders would need to address
their nations, focusing specifically on precautions. The present research
employs Aristotle’s persuasive and rhetorical devices, integrating them with
Socio-Political Discourse Analysis (SPDA), to understand the social and
political convincing style employed by the premiere. The researchers analyzed
the data employing a qualitative approach. There are reliable findings to
suggest that IK has used stable linguistic features to persuade the minds of the
people, convincing them to follow the precautionary measures as ‘the only
cure.’ The defending arguments about semi-lockdown or smart-lockdown were
well-defined persuading the individuals; for instance, he suggested the smart-
lockdown during his first address and faced criticism from the opposition.
Later, the opposition and the world appreciated the policy of IK, the Premier
of Pakistan, even being a developing country in the sight of the world. After
one month of the first patient of the corona case reported in China, the policy
of smart-lockdown was followed by most of the states fighting against COVID-
19. Moreover, The Premier successfully persuaded the international financial
organizations – IMF, World Bank, Development Banks, convincing them to
waive off the pending payments of developing countries for the upcoming year.
Keywords: COVID19, Persuasion, Socio-Political Discourse Analysis,

Speeches, Linguistic Features
INTRODUCTION
The research depicts the socio-political discourse analysis of the
speeches of Premier Imran Khan (IK) with the perspective that he uses
persuasive strategies (Ethos, Logos, Pathos, and some other strategies of
persuasion; see Sibtain et al., 2020 for details) to create the awareness related
to the consequences and precautions of Novel COVID-19. Political speech is
a persuasive longstanding political genre (Latif, 2016). Speech discourse is the
most known type of composed talk, which is broadly practiced by individuals,
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which can also be referred to as the most precise type of written content. SPDA
is a tool that helps the researchers and audience to understand the implicit
meanings in the composed text or speech in the context of social and political
scenarios.
The COVID-19 retains various signs like fever, pneumonia, lung

infection, cough, flu, and respiratory issues (Hani et al., 2020; WMHC, 2020).
Even though coronavirus was commonly found in animals around the world
but rare cases in humans until December of 2019. WHO (World Health
Organization) named this term COVID-19, which is an abbreviation of Co
‘Corona’, Vi ‘virus,’ D, ‘December,’ and 19 ‘2019’. In December 2019, it
affected the lower breathing tract of the patients by pneumonia in the city of
Wuhan, China (Li et al., 2020; WHO, 2020). After the reporting of a few cases,
this virus spread immediately and quickly, within one month (January 31, 2020
– February 29, 2020), the cases were reported in thousands; more than three
thousand died in China alone (WHO, 2020a).
Most of the medical experts claim COVID-19 as a type of flu, but it is

more harmful than the conventional flu and spreads from one person to another
through physical contact, nasal exhales (cough & sneeze) and point of contacts
like, handshakes, mutual contact of surfaces, and hugs (WHO, 2020b). WHO
(2020b) recommended some precautions to avoid it because the vaccination is
always the last resort in viral diseases since they take months and years to get
developed and tested, meanwhile, only the safety precautions can keep us safe
from the disease. We can avoid it by using an effective face mask, wearing
gloves, washing hands as per the expert guidelines (before and after performing
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any human social activity), using hand sanitizer, self-isolation, and avoiding
crowds.
The researchers reviewed the topic related literature with extensive

reading of the published articles. They observed that political leaders
consciously/intentionally utilize various language skills to persuade masses
and stakeholders to impose ideologies locally and internationally (Norali &
Rezaei, 2016). Therefore, the researchers analyze the speeches of IK that are
concerned with the novel COVID-19. Imran Khan, Premier of Pakistan, has
profound language and persuasive skills that affect the mind of the listeners,
and listeners happily accept his ideology (Sibtain et al., 2020).
Coronavirus was firstly found in December 2019 in Wuhan, China.

Therefore, the scientists and researchers instantly started to find the sources
and symptoms of the novel COVID 19, and Prof. Yong-Zhen Zhang and his
team published his first article on COVID-19 in January 2020 (WHO, 2020).
Moreover, they claimed that the virus spread very quickly in China within one
month, primarily due to New Year because it is the period when a high level
of human mobility can be found among the people of China (Wu et al., 2020).
Nevertheless, it is too early to expect susceptible populations because now, it
has spread at a large scale throughout the world. China, even being the origin,
has controlled it at the maximum capacity, but still, it could return at any point
in time as it is still out there in the world. Within four months, it has reached
more than 216 countries, territories, or areas (WHO, 2020).
The vaccine for the cure of the virus is under development stages, and,
till the date, it does come out in the final shape, the earth is endangered. The
fundamental source of the spread of COVID-19 is gathering and traveling of
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individuals, as an affected person can affect many others whom he or she meets
or fulfills any of the conditions mentioned earlier of physical contact. However,
many countries, including China and Pakistan, locked-down the whole
countries, some did it at very early stages, and some took their fair amount of
time for the decision. Till the date, more than 5.2 million people have been
affected, and more than 337736 people have died (WHO, 2020, May 25).
However, the number of increasing cases of confirmed corona affected patients
has not stopped yet.
Henceforth, the researchers aim to highlight and discuss the role played
by Pakistani Premier Imran Khan through his speeches, creating awareness
about the precautions as well as taking the people in confidence by explaining
his Cabinet’s steps and role to keep the people of the nation safe.
Theoretical contribution
Sibtain et al. (2020) employed Aristotle’s Rhetorical Devices on the

speeches of IK; and concluded that the leaders consciously employ them
applicably to persuade the minds of the people through media (print, social and
electronic media). The researchers of the present study also extracted the
speeches/addresses of IK for analysis collecting the data from electronic media,
which availed in video form from YouTube. The researchers also engaged
rhetorical devices employed in speeches to impose ideology(ies) on the minds
of the people locally and internationally. For instance, there is no protest raised
against the steps taken by the Pakistani government concerning COVID-19.
Additionally, international leaders and organizations (precisely WHO) also
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appreciated and granted aid to the developing countries that IK requested from
international organizations (WHO, IMF, World Bank).
The study participates in the field of linguistic persuasion employing

rhetorical devices – Ethos; through this device, the speakers use the ethical
language based on morality to attract the attention of individuals
(audience/spectators). Secondly, they use the rhetorical device ‘Logos’ to
prove the ideology correct and authentic through logic. Lastly, they use the
device ’Pathos’ to evoke the emotions of spectators through the speeches, and
the individuals agree to the voice of orator (Higgin & Walker, 2012; Ting,
2018; Sibtain et al., 2020).
Socio-Political Discourse Analysis
Political Discourse is an essential perspective that helps to build

implicit and explicit meanings in the targeted text, specifically in a social and
political context (van Dijk, 2018; 2006; 2005; 1997b; 1998). Although it
narrates social practices, power relations, and abstract considerations,
additionally, it is an approach to communicate, through words, in speech
(discourse) or composed structure (written form). A Language that is utilized
with the end goal of correspondence with other people by writing a text or
using speech sounds to communicate is called discourse (Sharififar & Rahimi,
2015). Discourse can be investigated in various ways with various goals by
setting, translation, and depiction yet additionally clarification of how and why
it functions (Rogers & Schaenen, 2014). Discourse is a part of the language
with a practical approach and deals with every kind of person’s intellect. In
contrast, discourse analysis is an objective type of technique structure that
considers the content of discourse or any kind of framework which deals with
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any method of communication to study text in context (Sibtain et al., 2020;

Sharififar & Rahimi, 2015).
Kirvalidze & Samnidze (2016) argue that political discourse could be

divided into; the political context, social ideology, psychological effects, and
the individual’s perception that can be exposed through political discourse
analysis. The text can be broken down into three indivisible parts, i.e.,
language, interaction, and communication (van Dijk, 1997b). Further, in the
contemporary era, political discourse analysis is an interdisciplinary
methodology functioning at macro and micro-scale levels – incorporated at the
linguistic and social levels. Political Discourse Analysis is based on occasions
at an educational level, which comprehends specific convictions, personalities,
legislative (political) issues, philosophies, and some other things identified
with it (Wodak, 2011; Dunmire, 2012; Kervalidze & Samnidize, 2016)
Moreover, according to Kirvalidze & Samnidze (2016), Political

Discourse Analysis can be combined with various type of analyses like
psychological sciences that appraises philosophy. That is the reason it turned
into the most generally utilized technique in the field of present-day linguistics.
It additionally uncovers the belief systems and power relations mostly in
political discourse. Moreover, PDA is a blend of speculations identified with
smaller-scale human science, society, and power (van Dijk, 2001; Kirvalidze
& Samnidze, 2016; Sibtain et al., 2020). It is a comprehensive method and
technique for clarifying while investigating the discourse. A few critics state
that there is not a specific method existing for PDA or gathering information
through PDA. Instead, it is a crude material for dissecting and analyzing
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content inside a unique setting. The essential job of PDA is to uncover the
connection of language, philosophical values, power, society, and other
perspectives. Xie (2018) suggests that PDA is a tool to conduct speech
discourse that turned out to be progressively well known and get more
thoughtfulness regarding the individuals. In the contemporary era, conducting
discourse study in English speeches is exceptionally become mainstream since
the English language has a significant effect at the universal level. Hence,
political individuals, through speeches or debates, influence and persuade
others, keeping compelling arguments to get the emotional and political
support (Fischer & Gottweis, 2012).
Sarfo & Krampa (2013) argue that we could interpret the implicit
meanings using persuasive and linguistic devices, especially in a social
context. Speeches have also received considerable attention from scholars,
researchers, and linguists. These studies mostly highlighted issues of racism,
identity, cultural transmission, and other prominent political issues. Apart from
that, while some of the studies were conducted at pragmatic, semantic, stylistic,
and lexicon-grammatical levels.
However, the researchers of the present study analyze the spoken text
employing SPDA accompanied by persuasive and linguistic strategies
employed by IK in his addresses to nation from March 17- March 30, 2020,
examining the text according to its quality and social acceptance. For instance,
Hassan (2018) claims that qualitative investigation, employing the conceptual
frameworks of CDA, enables the researchers and spectators to know the hidden
meaning of the text primarily through its relationship with social and political
context.
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Research gap and novelty
The significance of the present examination lies in its noteworthy

investigation and analysis of spoken discourse that plays a significant role in
the field of applied linguistics, especially in Discourse Analysis. The study
additionally adds various aspects to the field of Political Discourse Analysis
by uncovering the job of political instruments in the development of spoken
discourse inside specific settings/contexts that also help the reader to
understand the socio-political ideology that lies in the speeches delivered by
the politicians. Besides, the examination endeavor will likewise help normal
pursuers in scrutinizing the discourse of media that are emotionally controlled
by various on-screen characters to propel their political advantages. So, it
additionally makes the explorers ready for additional exploration to be led on
media discourse by utilizing distinctive theoretical frameworks. Right now, the
flow of inquiry is exceptionally critical in its point and examination as it
uncovered the concealed motivation of spoken media discourse.
The researchers aim to find persuasive strategies in IK speeches related

to coronavirus. Moreover, the researchers analyze the data with the perspective
of political discourse analysis by employing van Dijk’s Political Discourse
model (1997b). However, there has been little work done on IK speeches
related to COVID-19, especially with the perspective of SPDA. Moreover, the
researchers find the Aristotelian persuasive strategies in the Premier’s speeches
that make the speeches more effective. Hence, the problem, as mentioned
earlier, has not been discussed by researchers, and yet it needs to be solved. So,
the following points are going to be discussed objectively:
216
- The research would bring out the persuasive strategies employed

by IK in his speeches to impose his ideology on the mind of the
people.
- The researchers explore that Political Discourse helps the
researchers to find out the hidden agenda through social and
political context.
RESEARCH METHOD
The researchers have analyzed the text with a qualitative method and
an analytical approach. In this study, the researchers collected the data through
random but purposive sampling technique from the speeches of Imran Khan
related to the novel coronavirus. Moreover, the data is collected from the video
speeches available on YouTube. The researchers have used the tools to
interpret the targeted text: Rhetorical and persuasive devices have been
employed by the researchers as the tools and model to interpret the data adapted
and followed the models of Higgin & Walker, 2012; Ting, 2018; and Sibtain
et al., 2020. All the prior mentioned researchers analyzed the data employing
these devices and sub-devices.
A conceptual framework of the research
The researchers adapted and modified the term Socio-Political

Discourse Analysis specifically from Sibtain et al. (2020), which they utilized
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for investigation of mesmerizing features and rhetorical devices. Moreover,

through which, they analyzed the political speeches of IK (PM of Pakistan) in
the socio-political scenario. So, the researchers merged the PDA model of van
Djik (1997b) with general Political Discourses analyzed by (Sibtain et al.,
2020; Sharif, 2015; Renkema, as cited in Nordquist, 2017).
van Dijk (1997b) argues that “without collapsing political discourse

analysis into critical discourse analysis, we would like to retain both aspects of
the ambiguous designation: PDA is, both, about political discourse, and it is
also a critical enterprise. In the spirit of contemporary approaches in CDA, this
would mean that critical-political discourse analysis deals especially with the
reproduction of political power, power abuse, or domination through political
discourse, including the various forms of resistance or counter-power against
such forms of discursive dominance” (p. 11). Fairclough & Fairclough (2012)
& van Dijk (1993b) have stated that political discourse analysis deals with the
consequences of political & social inequality and discursive conditions that
result from such domination (van Dijk, 1997b, p. 11). Furthermore, the
language used in political speeches cannot be understood only by its literal
meanings because mostly the politicians use the rhetorical and figurative
language that could be understood only through social and political discourse.

According to Wang (2010), CDA is mostly applied to socio-political
discourse, including visual, written, and spoken texts that consider language as
a cultural and social practice. However, the purpose of the present research is
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to describe the discourse of IK’s addresses related to the creation of awareness

about the pandemic of coronavirus. Moreover, IK possesses strong language
skills that can impose his viewpoint on the minds of viewers and listeners (Shah
& Noreen, 2018).
In this section, the researchers analyze Premier Imran Khan’s

addresses/speeches with the theme that IK persuades the minds of people with
his persuasive language and practical spoken skills. He imprints his socio-
political ideology and impacts opinion formation. This article is related to Mr.
Khan’s ideological strategy to win the confidence of people relevant to the
consequences of the Novel COVID-19.
Persuasive strategies
According to Sibtain et al. (2020), there are following Aristotelian

persuasive Strategies that can be found in Imran Khan’s speeches:
a) Ethos
The meaning of Ethos is to persuade people with ethics by using the

language based on religion or mortality. Such as most of the people, and the
politicians in Pakistan, belong to Islam religion, and before starting their
activities, they mostly offer some holy words from the Holy Quran like the
verse ‫الرحِ يم‬
َّ ‫الرحمٰ ِن‬
َّ ِ‫سم ہللا‬
ِ ِ‫ب‬, (In the name of Allah Almighty, who is the most
beneficent, the most merciful). The researchers’ term this as the ‘Holy
Commencement Spell’ for any ordinary or specific good deed. In addition to
this, Imran Khan also adds a few religious words from the Holy Quran
following the Commencement Spell; ‫( إِيَّاكَ نَ ْعبُدُ وإِيَّاكَ نَ ْستَعِي ُن‬Verse 05, Surah
Fatihah, AlQuran) (Trans. Thee (alone) we worship; Thee (alone) we ask for
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help) in the starting of every speech/address. According to Asgha (2017), IK

always starts his speech according to the religious and societal norms and
cultural relevance and ethics that people like and pay attention to.
In his first address to the nation on March 17, 2020, IK being the
Premier of Pakistan, has addressed the nation about the effects of the novel
COVID-19 on the world with the perspective of the awareness about the
symptoms, causes, effects, safety precautions and steps that the government
has taken to keep the nation safe from this disease (Khan, 2020, March 17). IK
has strong language skills and can quickly get the confidence of the people,
such as persuasive strategies are familiar in all speeches that persuade the mind
of the people towards specific purposes. The people mostly accept his ideology
(Sibtain, 2020), such as, in his 22nd March’s address, he starts his speech with
the possessive pronoun “My Pakistanis” that affects the mind of the people
because this pronoun shows his love with the nation, as he would consider the
whole nation his family. Moreover, he makes the nation realize that he has no
discrimination against anyone on the social and political level and being the
Premier of Pakistan; he considers the whole nation equal in his eyes. For
instance, Vulchanova et al. (2019) argue that language power can change the
perception of the people, and IK has that power, and due to his persuasive skills
of language, he attracts the attention of the people and imposes his ideology on
their mind. Importantly, he starts the speech with the words that the people of
his country want to listen to; then he comes to the point in his speech where
the people feel fascinated and captivated. For instance, Mere Pakistanio… aaik
220
bari behas chali hoi hy… puray lockdown ka matlab mulk main curfew… logon
ko ghron main band kr diya jaye… (Khan, 2020, March 22).
In the text, as mentioned earlier, Khan gives the reason why he comes
here to bring his nation in confidence and why he is not in favor of lockdown
in the country. So, Khan uses all the words within the social context to make
the people understand why he has come on TV to address; then, he elaborates
on the problems in detail. Such as, according to Martin & Nakayama (2010),
“discourse is the language in use, and it means that all the discourse is social.
Besides, the language used, the words and meanings that are communicated –
it all depends not only on the context but also on the social relations that are
part of that interaction (p. 233).
Further, Khan describes the social and ethical barriers that do not allow
the government to lockdown the country. For example, Khan says that twenty-
five percent (25%) people of Pakistan living below the line of poverty, and the
government cannot provide them food at home (Khan, 2020, March 22). In the
above-discussed statement, Khan has given the reason why the government is
not in favor of locking down the country entirely. So, we could support the
comments with the words of van Dijk (1997b) that if we want to make
translucent to the ideological opposition in political discourse, then it becomes
necessary to explain the discourse by examining the context of the discourse
as political & social background of the conflict, historical and its main
participants (van Dijk, 1998b, p. 61-63).
Moreover, Premier Imran Khan treats the nation as if the nation

deserves the right to know all these details. He is making sure to make the
people realize their right to information by continually referring to the
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prosperous countries of the world and their implied strategies. It is yet another
persuasive technique where he directly compares his plans and strategies with
the best of the world and proves his points through international validation in
the best manner possible.
b) Logos
Logos is the second persuasive strategy that emphasizes logical appeal. The
logical explanations in the addresses of the Premier are very well formulated
and backed with reason. He logically compares his strategies with the best from
across the world and provides a distinctive explanation to whatever he has
implemented. He has a specific style of stressing on numbers, measurable facts,
reliable information, and points of relevance.
As in his March 22, 2020, address, he also gives some logic to prove his
ideology, as well as Sibtain et al. (2020), claims that we could find
Aristotelian’s second persuasive strategy (Logos) in IK speeches. So, the
researchers argue that IK, throughout his speeches, gives reasons why he calls
the nation for an address. For instance, in his second address, he says that “he
‘comes’ to address the nation to clarify that he has not proclaimed the full
lockdown in the country, because the government could not afford to feed the
nation and needy people at their homes” (Khan, 2020, March 22). Then, he
gives the reasons for how the people could detain themselves in self-quarantine
and why. Through these reasons, he emphasis self-quarantine and define why
people have to go for self-quarantine because the virus is being spread due to
the social gathering, and we can save the country with the dangerous COVID
222
19 if the people isolate themselves and avoid to attend the public gathering. All
the comments as mentioned earlier clear that Khan uses persuasive strategies
in a political context that persuades and helps in opinion formation, such as
(Higgin & Walker, 2012; Ting, 2018; Sibtain et al., 2020) argue that persuasive
language is often helpful to get the attention of the people and impose their
ideology on the mind of the people. Moreover, van Dijk (1997b) comments
that the purpose of Discourse Analysis is to explore the relationships of
determination and causality that function between discursive events, texts, and
practices, as well as the relationships of determination and causality functions
between broader cultural, political and social structures, processes and
relations.
c) Pathos
Moreover, the third persuasive and rhetorical device that IK uses in his
speeches is Pathos (Sibtain et al., 2020). According to Ting (2018), Higgin &
Walker (2012), and Sibtain et al. (2020), Pathos is a persuasive strategy used
by Aristotle in his work to create the feeling of catharsis for the spectators.
However, the study aims to point out the elements of Pathos in Khan’s
speeches, such as, in his speech on March 23, 2020, he uses this rhetorical
device to persuade the minds of people through emotional words and these
emotional words could also be found in other speeches of Premier of Pakistan
Imran Khan. For example, he uses the emotional words like my Pakistanis,
25% poor people, I am thinking for the poor and needy people, be in self-
quarantine, that is a trial from Allah, and I want to bring you in confidence,
(Khan, 2020, March 22) there are stress and high tone to convince the people
that they should accept and follow his ideology and agenda related to
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coronavirus. The hidden agenda in his speech could be understood only

through social and political contexts. For instance, van Dijk (1997b) explains
that “at the most general and abstract level, shared cultural values may be
declared typical for political systems” (p. 16). He is also firm in sandwiching
the emotions, as he starts with the words of appreciation and often ends with
words of appreciation.
Furthermore, after this speech, IK proclaimed to lockdown the country

and go-ahead to his next agenda of relaxation in debt and being granted aid by
the IMF and World Bank through UNO. For instance, his live television
address, he has appealed to the different financial and political world
organizations and leaders for help for the poor people in developing countries.
Such as, a news report on April 12, 2020, depicted that Imran Khan appealed
to the world’s heads of financial institutions, United Nations, and World
leaders to “launch an initiative that will give debt relief to the developing
countries to combat coronavirus (Gul, 2020).” During his address, Khan
said that his appeal would be supportive for the solution of problems being
faced by the developing countries, i.e., like the high debt-to-GDP ratio,
which Pakistan is also facing nowadays. Moreover, Khan argues that his
primary concern was that the poor people should not die of hunger due to
the lockdown while containing the COVID-19 pandemic. Through his
persuasive and strong language skills, he made UNO convince for debt
relaxation and financial aid for his country, so he fulfills the food needs for
his poor people. Therefore, PDA enables the researchers to point out the
224
hidden agenda in political speeches through social and political context van
Dijk (1997b).
CONCLUSION
A few outlined key points from the results of the analysis are that Premier
Imran Khan has a firm grasp on stressing on the essential factors of
communication. The ethical appeal is very well generated as we observe the
intactness of all the cultural and societal ethics as well as religious ethics. The
Pathos is very well connected as he understands the pain points and does
enough to stress upon them. He is Logical about facts, numbers, certainty, and
the precise nature of things. He portrays every event through the showcase of
a timeline.
The data analysis, the researchers find that Imran Khan the leader of
Pakistan has strong language skills that he uses to persuade the people, for
instance, he, in his speeches related to COVID 19, creates the awareness for
his nation about the causes, effects, symptoms, solutions, and the steps that
have been taken by his Cabinet. He uses the language that the nation likes and
feels that he is speaking their words for them. Moreover, he highlights the
problems related to financial matters and suggests that people must follow
precautions like hand-washing and self-isolation in order to keep themselves
away from this virus because the state would not be able to bear the
responsibility of food and other necessities due to the lack of funds. Then he
urges the UNO for debt relaxation and funds for the help of their poor masses.
Moreover, through PDA, we can understand the hidden agenda in Khan’s
speeches, especially by employing the model of PDA by van Dijk (1997b).
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Persuasive power concerning COVID-19 employed by Premier Imran Khan:

Journal Writing and Diary Journal Writing: Effects

*Aynur Yürekli1, Anita Afacan2

School of Foreign Languages1,2

E-mail: aynur.yurekli@ieu.edu.tr1, anita.afacan@ieu.edu.tr2

In today’s world, writing is no longer a natural activity, especially for the

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As one EFL teacher expresses it, getting students to write is a challenge

study is to offer writing instructors an insight on how to help students practice

Challenges of writing in EFL

To understand specifically what is required from students, we need to

The components in the scoring rubrics are also an indication of what is

setting are generally required to be fluent and accurate writers, capable of

When considering typical writing practice and instruction, it is not

Moreover, writing in a foreign language has a complicated and

As opposed to product-oriented approaches to writing, process writing

An additional hindrance at this stage is the anxiety and apprehension

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When considered from a theoretical perspective, especially dialogue

affective factors involved, such as anxiety, lack of self-confidence and

Mukti (2016) studied the effectiveness of dialogue journal writing on

The benefits of journal writing are numerous, yet in an EFL setting,

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An experimental design was followed to shed light on the answers of

intervention technique (Hyland, 2016). Here, the effectiveness of journal

The study was conducted at an English-medium foundation university

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Control Group: The control group consisted of 26 students ranging in

Experimental group A (DJW): The second group consisted of 24

Experimental group B (JW): The last group consisted of 26 students

Table 1 Participant demographics

Control Group Exp. Group-A Exp. Group-B

EAP context of the study

The ENG 101 course, Academic Skills in English I, is a 14-week

Data collection instruments

Pre-tests and post-tests

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The second writing task necessitated students to:

Table 2 Institutional grading rubric

Organization Content Fluency Accuracy Total

8 points 10 points 8 points 4 points 30 points

26.7 % 33.3 % 26.7 % 13.3 % 100 %

Organization refers mainly to the academic conventions that need to be

Focus group meetings

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whether it affected her teaching, or approach to students. The interview lasted

Twenty-six students enrolled in this group followed the 14-week

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