Langua: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Language Education

Gender Representation in English Textbooks for Nusantara Kids: A Critical Discourse Analysis Study

2026-07-06T20:39:28+07:00

This study investigates gender representation in the English textbook "Nusantara Kids for Grade 5 SD/MI," officially published by Indonesia's Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology under the Merdeka Curriculum. Employing Fairclough’s (1995) Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework, this qualitative research examines character frequency, assigned roles, specific character traits, and embedded ideological messages in the textbook's texts, dialogues, and illustrations. The findings reveal a consistent male-centered pattern. Male characters appear more frequently (58%) than female characters (37%). Furthermore, male characters are predominantly assigned professional and public roles, such as doctors or community leaders, while female characters are overwhelmingly confined to domestic tasks like cooking and childcare. Regarding character traits, males are depicted with competence, agency, and leadership, whereas females are attributed nurturing qualities like patience and kindness. Consequently, the textbook's ideological messages normalize male centrality and authority, positioning women in supportive or peripheral roles. Although minor attempts at gender balance exist, they fail to overcome the prevailing male dominance. These subtle representational patterns reinforce patriarchal norms, critically impacting young learners during their formative gender identity development. Finally, this study explicitly recommends that textbook developers, policymakers, and educators adopt more inclusive practices to foster gender-equitable English language education in Indonesia

A Corpus-Based Critical Discourse Analysis of Gender Representation in ELT Textbooks

2026-07-08T13:17:41+07:00

This study examines the representation of gender in My Next Words Grade 4, a government-mandated compulsory English textbook for elementary students in Indonesia. While prior research has explored gender bias in EFL materials, quantitative critical discourse studies on textbooks introduced under the new Kurikulum Merdeka at the primary level remain scarce. This research employs corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis (CDA) to identify and quantify gender-related references, including pronouns, character names, and visual cues denoting social and domestic roles. Data were processed using AntConc software to examine the frequency of male and female references and their collocational patterns. The findings reveal unequal visibility and role distribution between genders among the textbook's characters, with stereotypical representations persisting despite government efforts to promote gender parity in educational media. Female characters are predominantly associated with domestic activities, while male characters are more frequently depicted in active, public-sphere roles. These results highlight the ideology embedded in official learning materials and underscore the need for curriculum developers to design more balanced, nondiscriminatory gender representations, essential for fostering equitable gender perceptions among young learners. This study contributes empirical insight into ongoing efforts to align Indonesia's educational materials with national gender equality policies.

Dubbing Method and Learning Videos for Improving Students' English Speaking Skills

2026-07-09T15:20:15+07:00

This study investigates the effectiveness of the dubbing method combined with learning videos in improving students' English speaking skills, with particular attention to vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. The research employed a descriptive, pre-experimental design involving a single group assessed before and after the intervention. Participants were 44 second-semester students majoring in English Language and Literature at Bung Hatta University. Data were collected through observation, interviews, and recordings, and were categorized into five proficiency levels: unsatisfactory, fair, good, very good, and excellent. The pre-test results showed that most students fell into the fair and good categories, with seven students classified as unsatisfactory and none reaching the excellent level. After the dubbing technique was implemented using short instructional videos, the post-test results indicated significant improvement: no students remained in the unsatisfactory category, the number of students in the very good category rose from three to seventeen, and one student achieved the excellent category for the first time. These findings demonstrate that the dubbing method, supported by educational videos, effectively enhances students' speaking accuracy, fluency, vocabulary mastery, and pronunciation. Further research involving a larger and more diverse sample, along with a control group, is recommended to strengthen and generalize these findings.

Using Quizlet to Enhance Technical English Vocabulary among Undergraduate Physics Students

2026-07-12T21:59:26+07:00

Mastery of technical English vocabulary is essential for undergraduate physics students because it enables them to comprehend scientific literature, laboratory manuals, and other academic resources written in English. However, many students experience difficulties in learning and retaining technical vocabulary through conventional teaching methods. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of Quizlet in enhancing undergraduate physics students' mastery of technical English vocabulary. A quantitative pre-experimental design employing a one-group pre-test–post-test approach was used. The participants were 15 undergraduate students from the Physics Study Program at Institut Sains dan Kependidikan (ISDIK) Kie Raha, selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected using a 30-item multiple-choice technical vocabulary test administered before and after the implementation of Quizlet. The treatment was conducted over three meetings consisting of a pre-test, Quizlet-assisted vocabulary instruction, and a post-test. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the Shapiro–Wilk normality test, and a paired-samples t-test. The mean score increased from 62.45 in the pre-test to 75.29 in the post-test. This indicated a statistically significant improvement in students' technical English vocabulary mastery. These findings suggest that Quizlet is an effective digital learning platform for supporting technical vocabulary acquisition in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) courses, particularly for undergraduate physics students.

The Effects of Foreign Language Anxiety and Speech Disfluencies on EFL Speaking Performance among Indonesian Junior High School Students

2026-07-20T18:23:42+07:00

Although previous studies have separately investigated speaking anxiety and speech disfluencies, little is known about their combined quantitative contribution to speaking performance among junior high school EFL learners. This study aimed to examine the effect of anxiety, speech disfluencies, and their simultaneous effect on the English-speaking skills of eighth-grade learners. A quantitative correlational design was used with 54 students selected via cluster sampling. Anxiety was measured using FLCAS, disfluency was classified into five types, and speaking skills were assessed using an adapted rubric. All students experienced anxiety, mostly at a moderate level, while repetition and silent pauses were the most frequent disfluencies. Anxiety had a significant negative partial effect on speaking skill, while disfluency showed a more dominant effect. Both variables jointly accounted for 87.1% of the variance in speaking skill, indicating a strong combined effect. These findings highlight the importance of addressing both anxiety and disfluency in speaking instruction. The findings provide practical implications for English teachers in designing anxiety-reducing and fluency-oriented speaking instruction.

The Role of Memory in Helping Children Learn Grammar Independently: A Library Research

2026-07-21T14:00:08+07:00

Grammar acquisition is a crucial component of children's language development that involves complex cognitive processes. This library research investigates the contribution of memory systems, particularly working memory and long-term memory, to children's independent grammar learning. Employing a qualitative descriptive approach, the study synthesizes findings from books, scholarly journal articles, and previous research to examine how working memory facilitates the processing of complex grammatical structures, how declarative and procedural long-term memory support the storage and automatization of grammatical knowledge, and how memory-based learning strategies encourage autonomous learning. The findings reveal that working memory capacity plays an essential role in enabling children to process complex grammatical patterns, whereas long-term memory, especially procedural memory, contributes to the automatic use of grammar through repeated exposure and active encoding. Strategies such as repetition, categorization, visual imagery, and retrieval practice are identified as valuable approaches for strengthening children's independent grammar learning, although their effectiveness is influenced by the quality of the encoding process. Overall, this study contributes to psycholinguistic research while providing practical insights for developing independent learning materials that accommodate children's cognitive and memory capacities.

Lilo's Psychosocial Development in Disney's Lilo & Stitch (2025): An Eriksonian Perspective

2026-07-22T08:55:37+07:00

This study aims to analyze Lilo's psychosocial development in the movie Lilo & Stitch (2025) based on Erik Erikson's psychosocial development theory. Despite numerous studies applying Erikson's theory, little attention has been paid to how family attachment and cultural values interact to facilitate children's psychological recovery in contemporary live-action movies. This study employed a descriptive qualitative approach using content analysis. Data were collected through repeated observation of the movie, identification and coding of relevant scenes and dialogues, and classification based on Erikson's psychosocial development stages. The findings reveal that Lilo represents six of Erikson's eight psychosocial stages, with Identity versus Role Confusion emerging as the most dominant stage, followed by Trust versus Mistrust and Industry versus Inferiority. The analysis further demonstrates that parental loss, social rejection, and emotional relationships with Nani and Stitch significantly influence Lilo's psychosocial development. At the same time, the Hawaiian cultural philosophy of ohana serves as a protective framework that supports emotional recovery and identity formation. This study contributes to literary psychology by demonstrating that integrating family attachment and the cultural value of ohana enriches Erikson's psychosocial framework for interpreting children's psychological development in contemporary live-action movies.