LLT Journal: A Journal on Language and Language Teaching

PRE-SERVICE LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ READINESS FOR DEEP LEARNING APPROACHES: INSIGHTS FROM A CROSS-REGIONAL STUDY IN ASIA

Muhammad Aridan — 2025-09-17

This study examines the readiness of pre-service language teachers from five Asian countries (China, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, and India) to implement deep learning strategies. A total of 6,113 participants completed a Likert-scale readiness questionnaire administered via Google Forms, and their responses were analyzed using the Rasch model, focusing on their preparedness in pedagogical, technological, and affective dimensions. The results revealed significant regional differences, with teachers from China demonstrating the highest levels of readiness, particularly in pedagogical and technological aspects, due to stronger institutional support. In contrast, teachers from India and Indonesia showed lower readiness, particularly in technological integration and institutional support. Gender differences were also observed, with female teachers showing higher readiness in pedagogical and affective areas. Age played a role, with teachers aged 26–35 years showing higher levels of readiness compared to younger participants. The findings highlight the need for teacher education programs to tailor their approaches to address regional, gender, and age-related differences, ensuring that all pre-service teachers are prepared to implement deep learning strategies effectively in diverse contexts.

UNDERSTANDING JAVANESE HARSH EXPRESSIONS AS REFLECTIONS OF CULTURAL NORMS, EMOTIONS, AND SOCIAL RELATIONS

Hendrokumoro Hendrokumoro — 2025-09-17

Although extensive research on Javanese has focused on politeness, speech levels, and also the preservation of social harmony, studies addressing its harsh words and expressions remain limited. This gap fails to address how Javanese accommodate the expression of conflict, frustration, mockery, as well as other forms of emotional intensity that challenge the idealized image of politeness. The main objective of this study was to investigate the lexicons that constitute harsh words or expressions in Javanese, with particular attention to their sources and the cultural analogies that shape their harsh meanings. Data were generated through the introspective method and literature review and analyzed using Conceptual Metaphor and Dysphemism Theory. The analysis revealed that Javanese harsh words or expressions are grouped into three categories: physical activities, physical states, and body parts or organs, with their usage reflecting two opposite poles: negative, when employed to express conflict, frustration, criticism, or mockery; and neutral, when used playfully among close friends. The findings indicate that the harshness of Javanese expressions is not embedded in the lexical items themselves, but instead arises from the situational and socio-cultural contexts, along with the meanings they convey.

EFL UNIVERSITY STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION, COGNITIVE LOAD, AND SATISFACTION WITH USING GENAI FOR ENGLISH LEARNING

Yong Jik Lee — 2025-09-17

This study examined how the integration of GenAI affects students’ writing learning experiences, examining factors related to motivation, cognitive load, and satisfaction. Data collection involved an end-of-semester survey assessing these three dimensions in the context of AI-integrated writing pedagogy. The results indicate that EFL students generally hold positive perceptions of GenAI’s value and utility for writing development, expressing interest in learning more about AI-assisted writing tools and recognizing their practical importance for academic writing tasks. Students’ motivation was high regarding the relevance and engaging nature of GenAI in writing contexts. The analysis of cognitive load showed moderate levels of mental effort when integrating GenAI into writing processes. The satisfaction data underscore the writing course’s success in fostering enthusiasm, engagement, and practical application of AI writing knowledge, with participants rating the AI-integrated writing course favorably. However, areas such as knowledge retention of AI writing strategies and clarity of understanding AI’s role in writing suggest opportunities for improvement. These findings highlight the potential of GenAI integration in EFL writing instruction, while also identifying specific areas for enhancing writing-focused learner outcomes.

CORPUS-INFORMED AND CRITICAL APPROACHES TO ADDRESSING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS)

Joseph Ernest Mambu — 2025-09-17

This paper showcases how a do-it-yourself (DIY) corpus on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can be used to increase corpus users’ language awareness (at word, phrase, sentence, and discourse levels) and criticality. To this end, the author justifies the close link between corpus linguistics, various critical approaches, and SDGs in the applied linguistics/ELT literature. Subsequently, the author provides an overview of principles for creating a specialized DIY corpus containing around 700,000 words/tokens based on 882 articles of The Jakarta Post from 2012 to mid-2024. In view of critical discourse analysis in corpus linguistics, SDG-related key word(s) in context (KWIC) were analyzed in four stages to examine their (1) frequencies and collocates, (2) concordance lines, (3) larger contexts within or across texts in the corpus (or beyond), and (4) potential to stimulate questions aiming at social transformation. In the findings, the four-stage analyses explore two of the most frequent SDGs in the corpus – “gender” (SDG 5) and “clean water and sanitation” (SDG 6) – to illustrate poststructuralist and Marxist criticality, respectively. The decolonial criticality is demonstrated through a corpus analysis of the word “indigenous” and its collocates. Possible pedagogical applications of the corpus-informed approach are also discussed.

RESONATING ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP THROUGH INTERPLAY OF LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS AND RHETORICAL DEVICES IN A PROTEST SONG

Richard Mendoza Bañez — 2025-09-17

This case study, framed within a qualitative design, captured the interplay of language functions and rhetorical devices of a climate protest song in fostering sustainability through ecological conservation. This textual interplay identified through conducting a stylistic analysis of the lyrics of Ryan Cayabyab’s Paraiso, an Original Pilipino Music (OPM) climate protest song, illustrated the strategic use of language in making the students conscious of the prevailing environmental issues that drive them to engage in stewardship actions. This important role of language in music was affirmed by the thematic analysis of the responses of an incidental sample of 25 English as a Second Language (ESL) Filipino pre-service teachers on the ecocriticism-centred literary analysis guide questions after listening to the song. This finding encourages educators to view climate protest songs as a tool for promoting environmental literacy. This study calls for the integration of such songs in the ESL curricula to proactively engage students in the preservation of the environment while exploring the features of the English language.

SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE STRUCTURES: PROBLEMATISING AI-POWERED TRANSLATION TOOLS IN EFL ACADEMIC WRITING

Uswatun Qoyyimah — 2025-09-17

Artificial intelligence (AI), particularly machine translation (MT), is transforming English language education, especially for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. While research has explored this shift, uncertainties remain about MT’s impact on language development in academic writing. This paper examines pedagogical practices in a teacher education program in Indonesia through the lens of Bernstein’s theory of knowledge structures. It draws on reflective research conducted by Author 1, using data generated from fieldnotes of EFL academic writing sessions in which nine pre-service teachers actively participated as learners. The analysis reveals that while MT supports various language tasks, its unregulated use may hinder students’ development of foundational skills such as sentence construction and paragraph organisation. Teacher intervention proved crucial in mitigating these challenges and fostering more effective academic writing. The findings emphasize the dual role of MT as both a support tool and a potential barrier, and offer empirical insights into how educators can balance AI use with essential language instruction. This study highlights practical implications for curriculum design and policy, reinforcing the indispensable role of teachers in integrating AI tools without compromising core language competencies.

USING THE PEARL AND THE SEA WOLF IN EFL CLASS: ENHANCING LANGUAGE, CULTURE, AND ENVIRONMENTAL LITERACY FOR BLUE ECONOMY

Novita Dewi — 2025-09-17

This research explores the use of American classic novels in EFL teaching to promote sustainable practices in Indonesia’s blue economy, which refers to the utilization of oceanic resources for economic growth while protecting the ocean ecosystem. It proposes The Pearl written in 1947 by John Steinbeck and The Sea Wolf in 1904 by Jack London to enhance communication skills, cultural understanding, and ecological literacy among EFL learners. The study applies a close reading of the literary texts to compare with the context of Indonesia’s marine economy. Class exercises and activities are constructed based on the two novels to boost EFL learners’ language ability while preparing them to become a generation committed to marine sustainability. While The Pearl is a metaphor of human greed, The Sea Wolf symbolizes the danger of exploitation. The aesthetic value of both novels can enhance EFL learners’ critical thinking and ecological awareness. Incorporating ecological perspectives into EFL instruction via maritime literature helps students build the skills and mindset needed to support long-term development in Indonesia’s blue economy. The article suggests that using more maritime narratives into EFL teaching can help improve linguistic proficiency, cultural sensitivity, and environmental consciousness, preparing students for sustainable development.

BRIDGING KNOWLEDGE AND ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: AI INTEGRATION FOR TPACK DEVELOPMENT IN EFL TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM

I Putu Indra Kusuma — 2025-09-17

Recent research indicates that generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) such as ChatGPT has great potentials to support English as a foreign language (EFL) preservice teachers (PSTs) to develop their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) during their studies in teacher education programs (TEPs). How these PSTs view academic integrity while using GenAI and apply it for TPACK development are still unknown. Looking at the above gaps, this study aimed at exploring how EFL PSTs use GenAI to develop their TPACK and perceived academic integrity. This study recruited eight EFL PSTs in an Indonesian public education university using a basic qualitative methodology. This study employed semi-structured interviews and researchers’ notes to collect the data. The data in this work was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The results revealed that participants used AI for language skill development and for content creation as well as task assistance. The results also showed that they knew the potential risks of GenAI on academic integrity, had their own strategies for maintaining academic integrity when using GenAI, and had good impressions of academic integrity in AI-assisted learning. This study drew several theoretical and practical implications to support the application of GenAI in TEPs.

EFL TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF CHALLENGES AND PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

Eleftheria Beazidou — 2025-09-17

This study systematically reviews EFL teachers’ attitudes toward integrating intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in English language teaching, focusing on the gap between their positive perceptions and actual classroom practices. Thirty studies published between 2014 and 2024, representing diverse educational contexts, were analyzed in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. The findings show that although EFL teachers globally acknowledge the importance of ICC, its practical implementation varies significantly. Influencing factors include limited understanding of ICC, deeply rooted linguistic priorities, inadequate professional development, rigid curricula, lack of authentic teaching materials, and time constraints. Despite these challenges, several studies report that teachers who actively integrate ICC employ practices such as the use of authentic cultural materials, critical discussions on cultural stereotypes, project-based intercultural activities, and comparisons between students’ own cultures and those of English-speaking contexts. However, these practices remain sporadic and largely depend on individual initiative rather than systemic support. The review highlights the need for targeted teacher professional development, flexible curricula, the development of intercultural teaching resources, and opportunities to enhance learners’ active participation. These measures are essential for bridging the gap between beliefs and practice, fostering learners’ ICC, and promoting a more inclusive and globally responsive approach to English language education.

VOICE IN ACADEMIC WRITING: THE TRANSPOSITIONING OF AUTHOR IDENTITY IN RESPONDING TO MANUSCRIPT BLIND REVIEWERS

Setiono Sugiharto — 2025-09-17

Voice as one of vital elements in academic writing can impinge upon the quality of one’s writing. Despite robust controversies over the usefulness of this metaphorical notion, a plethora of studies on voice has contributed to our understanding of its role in determining writing quality. The foci of these studies, however, are constricted on either voice as individual or voice as social, ignoring the perspective of voice as dialogic. This case study investigates the written reviews of a manuscript author by four blind reviewers in different international Scopus-indexed journals. Drawing on the ideas of “voice as dialogic” and of “transpositioning” of identity, this study seeks to identify and to examine the authorial strategies of an author in constructing his own voice in textual realizations as responses to the manuscript blind reviewers. In doing so, it attempts to finds out the author’s writing identity as manifested in the texts constructed. Relativism’s methodology was employed in order to provide the construction of certain phenomena (i.e. dialogical voice) as accurately as possible. Results revealed that the manuscript author employed two key authorial strategies: averring established authority and foregrounding the ecologies of knowledges.

TRANSLATING ENGLISH -ED REDUCED RELATIVE CLAUSES INTO INDONESIAN: CORPUS EVIDENCE AND PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

Adi Sutrisno — 2025-09-17

The translation of reduced relative clauses from English to Indonesian is problematic because this construction exists in English but lacks a direct equivalent in Indonesian. This study investigates how -ed reduced relative clauses (RRCs) are realised in English and rendered into Indonesian by Google Translate, focusing on structural change, syntactic function, and modifier type. Using CQPWeb with the query “_NN +ed_VVN,” we extracted 285 sentences containing -ed RRCs from the Present-day English corpus. Results show that Indonesian translations consistently re-expand English RRCs into full clauses introduced by the obligatory relativiser yang, regardless of syntactic position (SS, OS, iOS, OPS, CS). This re-expansion preserves the syntactic role of the head noun but sometimes shifts modifier type due to lexical or predicate differences. These findings extend prior descriptions of Indonesian relativisation with corpus-based evidence from MT output and highlight typological constraints influencing how neural MT systems handle clause reduction. From the pedagogical perspective, the results highlight the need for explicit instruction on structural differences between English and Indonesian relative clauses, particularly the non-optional use of yang, in EFL learning. Integrating corpus-based MT examples into teaching could help learners process texts and improve translation accuracy.

RE-UNDERSTANDING INDONESIAN STUDENT MOBILITY: INTRICATE ENTANGLEMENTS OF IDENTITY FORMATION AND LANGUAGE LEARNING

Muhammmad Edy Thoyib — 2025-09-18

The impact of globalization on higher education, understood as the increasing interconnectedness of academic systems, student mobility, and the circulation of knowledge across borders, has shaped students’ experiences of Studying Abroad (henceforth SA) and influenced their identity formation. This study explores the aspirations and challenges of the alumni of the student mobility program held by the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA) called MORA Overseas Student Mobility Awards (MOSMA), focusing on how they navigate identity in diverse cultural and linguistic settings throughout their SA journeys. Utilizing a narrative inquiry approach with a qualitative orientation, the research draws on Darvin and Norton’s model of language, identity, and investment. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with four Indonesian SA students from three Islamic universities in East Java, ensuring representation of diverse perspectives. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify their aspirations, struggles, and identity negotiations. Results indicate that SA supports the acquisition of cultural, social, and linguistic capital but requires negotiation of identities when facing insecurities related to language use and integration into foreign cultures. The interplay between language learning and identity formation is complex, often shaped by unequal power relations in these contexts. Upon return, the students also participated in additional identity negotiations as they reconciled the SA-transformed self with pre-SA roles, synthesizing global experiences not consistently valued in home settings.

INTERACTIVE THEMATIC MAPPING FOR EFL EDUCATION: EXPLORING SDG 16 WITH JAPANESE AND COLOMBIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

John Guy Perrem — 2025-09-18

English language education has increasingly incorporated global issues to provide a link between classroom learning and real-world problems. The intent is that by examining such issues, students will engage with challenges while developing language skills in more purposeful ways. Acknowledging this, this study foregrounds the use of interactive online thematic maps for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16 as the central pedagogical tool. SDG 16 focuses on peace, justice, and strong institutions. Responses from 35 Japanese and Colombian university students regarding their use of interactive online thematic maps were analyzed. Across five university EFL lessons, this cross-cultural study used a Likert-scale survey to evaluate how interactive online thematic maps supported vocabulary, reading, analytical thinking, and motivation. Lessons integrated interactive online SDG 16 maps with discussion-based classroom activities that encouraged exploration of indicators such as homicide, corruption, press freedom, and access to justice. Results indicate that interactive online maps enhanced language skills, critical thinking, and understanding of SDG 16. Findings suggest that interactive online maps provide a visually engaging way to link language learning with global citizenship education. This study demonstrates the potential of interactive online thematic maps to integrate sustainability topics into EFL and promote deeper cross-cultural and socio-political awareness.

STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE ACQUISITION THROUGH THE INTEGRATION OF EXTENSIVE READING INTO SPEAKING TASKS IN EFL CLASSROOMS

Sumardi Sumardi — 2025-09-25

This study explores how pedagogical strategies for integrating extensive reading into speaking tasks should be designed for EFL students and whether such integration had the potential to enhance students’ language acquisition. A qualitative case study was employed, and twenty undergraduate students participated in the study. Interviews and observation were used as the data collection methods. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis. The findings revealed that students who had previously struggled to read longer texts became well-motivated to engage with a wide range of reading materials across various genres. They also believed that the tasks encouraged them to read a variety of texts, gain more knowledge about ‘the new worlds’ and could eventually speak confidently. The integration of extensive reading and speaking tasks created a natural atmosphere for students’ language acquisition by enhancing their mastery of contextual vocabulary and other language elements. Therefore, EFL teachers are encouraged to integrate this approach into their courses as findings indicated that extensive reading integrated into speaking tasks provided rich language input, allowed for better cognitive processing, and cultivated students’ motivation, confidence, and communicative competence through active exposure to various genres.

“AM I READY TO TEACH?”: EFL PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ MENTAL READINESS TO TEACH AND IMPLICATION FOR TEACHER EDUCATION

Christina Lhaksmita Anandari — 2025-09-25

Third-year pre-service teachers in the English language education department in Indonesia may feel uncertain about their mental readiness to become English teachers. Although they have a high-intermediate level of English proficiency, they often fear facing the challenges of managing the class and showcasing mental readiness to become teachers. Therefore, this study explores the third-year Indonesian EFL pre-service teachers’ mental readiness to become teachers, and the need to emphasize mental readiness and grit to successful teaching practice. Twenty-three EFL pre-service teachers enrolled a microteaching course, as one of the teaching practice components in the English language education curriculum, participated in this study. They were asked to write structured reflections on their mental readiness, and their reflections were thoroughly examined using a narrative analysis. The results showed that the pre-service teachers expressed concern about their ability to manage the class and their students, which reflects their mental unreadiness to be the person in charge in the classroom. Moreover, the pre-service teachers highlighted the need to be more mentally aware of their attitude and grit in shaping their mental readiness to teach. This study contributes to a larger context-specific understanding of the roles of the English teacher education programs at the university level in assisting pre-service English teachers to achieve mental readiness and grit that can help them address the challenges.

BALANCING WRITTEN AND AUDIO PEER FEEDBACK IN ACADEMIC WRITING: STUDENT EXPERIENCES WITH PADLET

Natasha Stojanovska-Ilievska — 2025-09-25

This article explores Macedonian university students’ reflections and preferences regarding online peer feedback in academic writing, with a focus on three key factors: the feedback mode (written vs. audio), the students’ role in the process (giver vs. recipient), and the writing task type (essay outline vs. fully developed draft). The study was conducted among second-year undergraduates enrolled in an academic writing course that integrated Padlet as a peer review platform. The data were collected through an online questionnaire that examined how students experienced giving and receiving feedback in both written and audio formats across different stages of writing. The study revealed that most students valued participating in feedback sessions across different modalities, although some of them reported feeling less confident when recording and posting their audio comments. Written feedback was preferred for the full drafts, while audio feedback was preferred for the essay outlines. The thematic analysis highlighted that written feedback was associated with comfort, easier navigation, and clarity, while audio feedback was valued for its spontaneity and the non-verbal communicative cues conveyed through the human voice. These findings underscore the importance of offering students diverse peer-review formats so as to encourage more effective peer feedback practices in academic writing instruction.

THE POWER OF STORY-BASED LEARNING IN ENGLISH LITERACY DEVELOPMENT: THE INTERPLAY OF TEACHER-STUDENT READINESS AND PARENT INVOLVEMENT

Ni Made Ratminingsih — 2025-09-25

While literacy serves as the foundation of language proficiency and a key predictor of academic success, its development depends on teacher and student readiness, parent involvement, and effective use of media such as stories. Previous studies show that story-based learning enhances comprehension and supports early reading, especially when sustained collaboration between teachers and parents is present. Due to the growing emphasis on early literacy and the integration of stories in language education, this study investigates the underexplored factors of teacher readiness, student readiness, and parent involvement in ensuring effective literacy development for young learners. The researchers employed a descriptive-quantitative research design using a survey. This study involved seven teachers, 202 students, and 124 parents as participants. Three questionnaires were used as the primary instruments to collect data. The data were analyzed descriptively using statistical descriptive analysis. The findings revealed that teacher readiness was very high, whereas students’ readiness and parents’ involvement were high for enhancing learner’s literacy development through story-based learning. Thus, it is concluded that the teachers have satisfying readiness, while the learners and parents hold high readiness and involvement that support literacy success. These results imply that all parties should work collaboratively to build young learners’ literacy skills, which are vital for academic accomplishment.

A TRANSITIVITY ANALYSIS OF TERTIARY INDONESIAN EFL STUDENTS’ ANALYTICAL EXPOSITIONS: A CASE STUDY

Wafa Amalia — 2025-10-03

This paper presents the results of a study aiming to analyze analytical expositions written by tertiary Indonesian EFL students using transitivity system of systemic functional linguistics (SFL). The texts were created by nine students of English Language Education Study Program cohort 2024 at a state university in West Java, Indonesia, for the course of Reading and Writing for Academic Purposes. This study employed a qualitative case study with data obtained from the text analysis and a questionnaire distributed at the end of the course. The results of the analysis demonstrate that the students employed all six processes throughout the texts, namely material, relational, verbal, and mental processes, which were relevant to the linguistic features of an analytical exposition. Noteworthy cases in this study are students’ choices of process type for thesis statement and its placement, manners of utilizing verbal process as arguments, and alignments of process types between thesis and its restatement. The data from the questionnaire also supported the text analysis. In light to the findings, a recommendation is proposed for more exploration involving more participants, longer time, academic text types, and all systems of grammar in SFL.

EFFECTS OF IDIOMS ON TEACHER RATINGS OF L2 WRITING QUALITY AND LEXICAL DIVERSITY, AND ASSESSMENT CHALLENGES

Eihab Abu-Rabiah — 2025-10-07

Idioms are often seen as signs of advanced language proficiency, yet their role in writing assessment is given little consideration. Most research has focused on how idioms are processed cognitively, leaving open questions about how they affect teacher judgments, particularly in second language writing. This study explores how idioms affect teacher ratings of lexical diversity and writing quality, while also highlighting the challenges teachers face in evaluating them. Using a mixed-methods design, twenty Hebrew teachers assessed fifteen essays written by native Arabic speakers, along with revised versions of each essay that included a frequent idiom (30 essays total). The essays spanned CEFR levels A2 to B2 and were randomly ordered. Teachers, whether native speakers of Arabic or Hebrew, rated both lexical diversity and writing quality of each essay on a 10-point scale. Six teachers also participated in semi-structured interviews, which were subjected to thematic analysis. The findings indicate that essays with idioms were rated significantly higher in both writing quality and lexical diversity, regardless of the rater’s first language. The interviews highlighted several recurring challenges in assessing idioms, including contextual appropriateness, idiom transparency, frequency of use, grammatical accuracy, and variation between standard and colloquial forms.

STRATEGIES AND CHALLENGES IN EMPOWERING A PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHER WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHY

Jepri Ali Saiful — 2025-10-07

Promoting inclusivity in language teacher education is essential for advancing pedagogical justice and fostering a socially equitable education system. However, research and practice in this area, particularly on mentoring teachers with disabilities, remain scarce. Most existing scholarship has focused on students with disabilities rather than pre-service teachers with disabilities. Addressing this gap, this autoethnographic study examines the researcher’s experiences mentoring a pre-service English teacher with limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, who relied on a wheelchair, was unable to walk or write, yet aspired to pursue a career as an English teacher. Over one and a half years of mentorship, the researcher documented strategies and challenges through personal reflections and analysis of journals and interviews with stakeholders. Three strategies proved essential: adopting an inclusive mindset through differentiated instruction, actively listening to the student and his family, particularly in online learning and thesis supervision, and selecting a special school as the site for his teaching practicum. Three major challenges also emerged: addressing epistemic injustices and professional acceptance, coping with the absence of shadow lecturers and accessible infrastructure such as libraries and digital smartboards, and navigating restricted employment opportunities. These findings underscore the urgency of equitable accommodations for aspiring English teachers with physical disabilities.

ASSESSING LEARNER AUTONOMY IN EFL LEARNING: INSIGHTS FROM THAI SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Nida Boonma — 2025-10-08

Raising learners’ awareness of the need to develop their capacity to learn autonomously has been one of the primary educational goals worldwide. Autonomy development is thus crucial for preparing high school students for higher education. However, only limited studies are available on assessing learner autonomy within English learning education for Thai senior high school students. Therefore, this study aimed to assess learner autonomy in English learning as perceived by Thai senior high school students in public schools in Thailand. Based on a sequential explanatory mixed-methods research design, a convenience sampling technique was employed to select 187 participants, from three large schools in Bangkok and three schools outside Bangkok, who completed the Likert scale questionnaire. The semi-structured interview was conducted face-to-face at the second stage with six students from two schools. The quantitative findings revealed that their perceived learner autonomy was, on average, at a high level. The thematic content analysis of the interview data generated four themes to verify the quantitative results and to determine the factors for such high autonomy, i.e. the importance of English for future career goals, self-study of English beyond the classroom, preference for communicative learning, and the impacts of teachers and peers on autonomy development. Theoretical and pedagogical implications were discussed, and further research was recommended.

EXPLORING CHINESE EFL TEACHERS’ KNOWLEDGE IN CONTENT, PEDAGOGY, AND TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION (TPACK)

Leimin Shi — 2025-10-09

This study investigates the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers from both student and teacher perspectives. As technology increasingly permeates education, understanding teachers’ TPACK factors, encompassing the interplay of the primary knowledge of content (CK), pedagogy (PK), and technology (TK), is crucial. Teachers’ perceptions of TPACK factors significantly impact the success of technology-integrated teaching. Equally important are students’ beliefs, which directly influence motivation and satisfaction. Aligning both perspectives helps educators better address students’ needs and expectations. A survey involving 694 university EFL students was compared with survey responses from 64 teachers, supplemented by interviews with nine teachers. Both cohorts acknowledged the importance of technology in facilitating CK delivery. PK and CK were deemed the most important, while TK was ranked lowest among the seven TPACK factors. However, teachers prioritised pedagogical content knowledge, whereas students emphasised technology integration. Moreover, teachers showed greater variability in their perceptions across most knowledge factors. These perceptions reflected the influence of demographic backgrounds and contextual factors. These findings underscore the significance of enhancing teachers’ technology-integrated knowledge and implementation strategies to meet student expectations. The implications are significant for educators and professional development providers in designing training programs and support systems.

IRANIAN EFL STUDENTS’ ENGAGEMENT, MOTIVATION, AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS TEACHERS’ USE OF HUMOR

Zahra Hamze Reese — 2025-10-23

Although humor in language teaching has received limited scholarly attention, research has consistently highlighted its considerable benefits. It is widely believed that incorporating humor can foster positive attitudes toward learning English. This study aimed to explore the relationship between EFL students’ engagement and motivation, and their perceptions of teachers’ use of humor in language teaching. It also sought to examine the relationship between students’ engagement in the classroom and their motivation to learn. The participants comprised 120 Iranian EFL students from various high schools in Kerman Province. To collect the required data, three questionnaires of course engagement, learning motivation, and students’ attitudes toward teachers’ use of humor were administered. Results of the Pearson product-moment correlation analyses revealed a significant association between course engagement and attitudes toward teachers’ use of humor in the classroom. Moreover, a statistically significant correlation was observed between EFL students’ motivation and attitudes toward teacher humor. Finally, a significant relationship was found between students’ course engagement and their learning motivation. These findings suggest that humor can enhance EFL students’ engagement and motivation, although its impact may vary depending on contextual and individual factors.

RECONCEPTUALIZING ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING IN THE PHILIPPINES: INTERPLAY OF JOURNALING AND EMOTIONS

Joseph A. Villarama — 2025-10-23

While language teaching focuses on structural aspects, intricacies of any language come along with schema and emotion. Journaling, recognized as reflective-effective language teaching strategy, augmenting lifelong skills, remains underexplored in its interplay with language and emotions in second language teaching and learning. This phenomenological qualitative research determined the impact of journaling on ESL learners’ writing and emotional aspects. Responses of 61 Grade 8 ESL learners from provincial laboratory Science high school in Central Luzon, Philippines, during the Academic Year 2023-2024, were chosen through non-probability sampling method. After a series of in-depth face-to-face interviews guided by a set of 10 validated self-developed guide questions, responses were systematically arranged, coded, analyzed, characterized, and thematically interpreted. Findings reveal that through journaling, ESL learners showed engaging and positive language learning experience. While approaching journal writing tasks, the ESL learners involved a piece of themselves, transcending writing at a personal-academic level rather than structural-technical alone. As ESL learners improved language and emotional skills through journaling, they were still cognizant of being judged by peers and teachers. This research contributes to comprehensive understanding of reflective writing practices in language education, providing evidence-based insights for educators and policymakers to enhance both academic and emotional aspects of ESL learners’ experiences.

DEVELOPING A GENRE-BASED ACADEMIC WRITING MODULE FOR ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STUDENTS

Siti Kholija Sitompul — 2025-10-25

English department students studying English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Indonesia often struggle to build some core academic writing skills, notably their ability to generate ideas and to think critically. Motivated by this, the study attempted to develop an academic writing module for English department students based on the Genre-Based Approach (GBA) that can assist them in focusing on the process of developing ideas for academic writing as well as applying critical thinking when writing academic essays. Borg and Gall’s (1983) six-stage Research and Development (R&D) model was employed. The developed module, which adhered to the GBA framework, includes four learning stages, i.e., (1) Building Knowledge of the Field, (2) Modelling of the Text, (3) Joint Construction of the Text, and (4) Independent Construction of the Text, as well as various tasks that allow language learners to generate ideas and construct sentences appropriate for academic writing. In addition, the module contains writing theories, tasks, and strategies for building some core academic writing skills. During its development, the module was refined based on recommendations from academic writing and Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) experts. Following that, a small-scale try-out was conducted with eleven English department students. The trial revealed that the target users perceived the module as beneficial for developing basic academic writing skills, as it systematically guided them through the writing process with the support of tasks, lecturers, and peers.

TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY IN RURAL THAILAND: INSIGHTS FROM PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS’ PRACTICUM EXPERIENCES

Sumit Choephatruedi — 2025-10-29

This qualitative case study investigates how pre-service English teachers (PSETs) develop teacher self-efficacy (TSE) during teaching practicums in Thai rural schools. Grounded in Bandura’s social cognitive theory, the study examines the role of mastery experiences, vicarious learning, social and verbal persuasion, and emotional states in shaping TSE. Six final-year PSETs from a northern Thai university were purposefully selected to represent diverse perceptions of efficacy. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and self-reflections, and analyzed inductively using a multi-phase coding process. The results reveal that PSETs’ self-efficacy developed through a dynamic and non-linear process. At the beginning, participants experienced mixed emotions and “reality shock,” including resource shortages, multigrade classes, and limited mentorship. Over time, their TSE was strengthened through instructional successes, modeling from experienced teachers and peers, constructive feedback, and emotional resilience. These findings contribute to teacher education research by deepening understanding of TSE development in under-resourced contexts and offering practical implications for designing practicum programs that build professional competence and identity. It also highlights the need for teacher education to prepare PSETs for rural placements, equip mentors to provide targeted support, and promote reflective practices for emotional resilience.

BOOK REVIEW: AI IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING: THEORY AND PRACTICE BY MARCEL DANESI

Ahmad Fadhel Syakir Hidayat — 2025-10-30

In AI in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching: Theory and Practice, Marcel Danesi underscores the ramifications of Artificial Intelligence (AI), including the use of tools like ChatGPT, on Foreign Language Teaching (FLT) and its critical components: language acquisition and teaching. Danesi covers several aspects of FLT to speak, write and assess, voicing their greatest concerns on the impact of AI. Danesi provides a balanced view, considering both the advantages and challenges of dependence on AI in language education. He articulates important ethical arguments on the impact of AI in education, particularly its failure to address students’ emotional and contextual concerns, while highlighting the gap human instructors fill. In addition, the book provides synthesis of the frameworks on the use AI technologies and pedagogical tools to improve FLT while maintaining the human dimension of teaching.

BOOK REVIEW: THE CAMBRIDGE HANDBOOK OF BIOLINGUISTICS

Riswanda Himawan — 2025-10-31

This review discusses the implementation of biolinguistics in children’s language acquisition. The focus lies on the importance of biolinguistics in studying children’s language acquisition. Children’s language is considered important because, within the scientific concept of biolinguistics, will have an influence on the development of children’s language until the child is an adult. This review is based on The Cambridge Handbook of Biolinguistics, which consists of three parts. The first section discusses the history of biolinguistics; the second chapter discusses the mind, brain and behavior in relation to language; and the third section discusses the evolution of language. This book aims to open our horizons about biolinguistics as a science that harmonizes language and knowledge, language development in children and the evolution of language in various species. In addition, the most profound meaning of this book lies in its emphasis on the function the human brain, where each part has its own specific role. Through this book we are asked to be grateful for God's gift to humans for giving the brain with a very extraordinary function. In line with its purpose, this book not only examines the integration between language and the human brain, but also inspires readers to appreciate the complexity of human cognition.