Academic Journal of Educational Sciences

ON LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES: TO CONTROL OR TO BE CONTROLLED

2025-07-23T09:15:18+00:00

In this article, learning is viewed as an activity that has five major elements, namely, total-involvement, self-initiation, self-evaluation, being pervasive, and being meaningful (Rogers, 1983). In their learning activities, students use various learning technologies like books and such Internet applications as YouTube, Facebook, Google, WhatsApp, and TikTok to facilitate their learning so that they can significantly improve their cognitive, psychomotoric, and affective competences. Yet, it is observed that some students fail to use those learning technologies effectively. This is shown by the fact that they still find it quite difficult to master some basic skills needed to succeed in their lives after schooling. It is, therefore, crucial that the students have to be able to effectively use any learning technologies they have in order to improve their competences. In other words, the students need to be able to control their usages of their learning technologies in such a way that those learning technologies can help the students improve their competences and, therefore, they are not controlled by those learning technologies, that is, they use most of their time using those learning technologies for things which are not conducive for their better and brighter future. The author argues that to be able to control and not to be controlled by those learning technologies, students should have big dreams of their future, work harder and pray wholeheartedly, have steely determination, and have great discipline in doing whatever is necessary to succeed in their lives, in and beyond school.

Sara Douda's Essence of Symbols: Expressions of Art, Culture and Faith of the Loli Community West Sumba

2025-07-23T09:16:42+00:00

The Sara Douda dance is a form of oral tradition of cultural arts that combines movement elements from the original dance of the Loli community accompanied by energetic traditional music, namely gongs and drums, as a powerful medium for expressing the experience of faith, namely thanksgiving to the Almighty for giving His grace in the life of Loli society. Sara Douda is full of verbal and non-verbal symbols, rich in meaning, messages and cultural values for the Loli community, used for social interaction and is also an expression of faith to the Highest. To obtain the meaning of symbols in Sara Douda cultural poetry, the author used qualitative methods to search for information related to Sara Douda tradition by conducting interviews in the Tarung-Loli village of West Sumba. The aim of this research is to obtain an overview of the essence, form and meaning of the Sara Douda cultural symbol as a form of expression of art, culture and faith of the Loli people in the study of Contextual Theology with Paul Tillich's perspective which is packaged in the title "Sara Douda Symbol: Expression of Art, Culture and Faith of the Loli Community West Sumba”. Sara Douda is a cultural symbol of the Loli people and also a symbol of their faith. Religious symbols allow individuals to access Divine reality and express their experiences of faith within a cultural context. The verbal and nonverbal symbols in Sara Douda show the Loli Community's faith and belief in God, the Creator of heaven and earth as in the phrase of Ama wolo Ama rawi. Their offerings of praise and expressions of gratitude have been expressed through poetry in the form of couplets and lines as well as beautiful dances from time to time, from generation to generation until now. It can be said that the essence of Sara Douda culture is a means for Loli people to carry out theology contextually in social life.

AN ANALYSIS OF ENGLISH SPEAKING ANXIETY OF ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STUDENTS OF TRIBUANA KALABAHI UNIVERSITY

2025-07-23T09:17:54+00:00

This study aims to know the levels of students' speaking anxiety, identify the factors that cause students' speaking anxiety, and how they overcome their anxiety. The researcher used a descriptive qualitative method. The study subjects were the third-semester students of the English Department of Tribuana Kalabahi University consisting of 12 girls and 8 boys. The researcher used two technique to collect the data. The first technique was the FLCAS questionnaire developed by Horwitz (1986). The second techique was an interview. Based on the results of the questionnaire, there were five categories of students' anxiety levels in speaking English namely: High level of anxiety (50%), moderately high anxiety (15%), moderate anxiety (10%), moderately low levels of anxiety (5%), and very low levels of anxiety (20%). The researcher found seven factors that cause students' anxiety in speaking English, namely: Low self-confidence, fear of making mistakes, excessive worry during the exam, lack of preparation, and overthingking. The researcher also found three strategies by the students to overcome their anxiety in speaking English, namely: Change their mindset, improve speaking skills, and prepare before speaking.

Keywords: Students' Speaking Anxiety Levels, Factors of Students' Anxiety in Speaking English, Strategy to Deal With Students Speaking Anxiety.

THE EFFECT OF USING GAME BASED LEARNING METHOD IN IMPROVING YOUNG LEARNERS’ VOCABULARY SKILL

2025-07-23T09:18:38+00:00

This study investigates the effectiveness of the Game-Based Learning (GBL) approach in
improving young learners’ vocabulary skills. The research was conducted at Pondok Pesantren
Darul Amin Palangka Raya, involving 25 seventh-grade students selected through purposive
sampling. A quantitative research method with an experimental group design was employed.
The instrument used was a vocabulary test consisting of 15 questions covering five topics:
Greetings, Colours, Counting, Telling Time, and Simple Present Tense. Students’ performance
was measured through a pre-test and a post-test. The results showed a significant improvement
in students’ vocabulary achievement after the implementation of the Game-Based Learning
approach, with the average score increasing from 66.92 to 87.12. Statistical analysis, including
the t-test and Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test, confirmed the effectiveness of the
treatment. These findings suggest that Game-Based Learning is an effective and engaging
method for enhancing vocabulary acquisition among young learners. The study supports the
integration of game-based strategies as a meaningful and enjoyable alternative to traditional
vocabulary instruction in English language learning.

THE POLITICS OF LANGUAGE IN MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION: A Case Study from Timor-Leste

2025-07-23T08:47:31+00:00

ECOLINGUISTICS-BASED PEDAGOGY FOR YOUNG LEARNERS: Eco-Teaching Practices in Nunleu, Kupang City-Indonesia

2025-07-23T09:10:50+00:00

This study explores the implementation of the eco-teaching approach in English language education
within the Kali Sembunyi learning community, located in Nunleu subdistrict, Kota Raja, Kupang City.
The target group consists of children aged 6–10 years living near a local river basin. Eco-teaching
integrates ecolinguistic principles (Halliday & Mühlhäusler) and meaningful learning theory by utilizing
environmental objects as direct teaching media. The learning process emphasizes interactive and
joyful activities grounded in the children’s ecological context.
Using a descriptive qualitative method, data were collected through observation, interviews, and
documentation. The results indicate that children acquired English vocabulary more effectively when
learning was contextual and grounded in their surroundings, compared to traditional methods
involving translation and rote memorization. Engaging with real-world materials such as stones, leaves,
and water fostered deeper cognitive and emotional involvement, making language acquisition more
meaningful. These findings support the view that language should be taught in connection with
ecological contexts to cultivate both linguistic competence and environmental awareness.
This study recommends implementing eco-teaching across all age levels in foreign language education,
particularly in community-based learning settings. Integrating language instruction with local
ecosystems not only enhances retention and understanding but also nurtures ecological sensitivity
among learners.