Scripta : English Department Journal

Bridging Gaps in ESP: A Need Analysis for AI-Integrated Food and Beverage Service Module

I Wayan Sumerta Winaya Asnadi — 2026-05-30

This study investigates the needs underlying the development of an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) module for Food and Beverage Service (FBS) integrated with AI-generated listening audio in vocational education. Although ESP materials are expected to reflect workplace communication demands, preliminary observations reveal a mismatch between instructional content and industry-relevant language use, particularly in listening competence. This study employed a mixed-method approach, collecting data through document analysis of lesson plans and syllabi, questionnaires with closed and open-ended items completed by vocational students, and interviews with instructors and industry practitioners. The analysis focuses on learners’ necessities, lacks, and wants. The findings indicate that students require authentic, workplace-oriented materials, especially those supporting listening and speaking in real hospitality contexts. However, significant gaps persist, including limited exposure to authentic listening input, insufficient practice opportunities, and low confidence in interacting with international guests. Students also prefer structured, flexible, and context-specific materials incorporating dialogue-based audio and diverse accents. These findings highlight a mismatch between learners’ needs and existing instructional practices. The study concludes that AI-generated audio offers a promising solution by providing customizable and authentic listening input, although its effectiveness depends on alignment with pedagogical principles and learner needs.

Cultural Themes in “English For Nusantara” Series of Textbook for Junior High School

Firda Yuanita Kusuma Wardani — 2026-05-30

This study investigates the representation of cultural themes in the English for Nusantara textbook series for Indonesian junior high schools (Grades VII–IX). Using a qualitative descriptive design, the research applies content analysis based on Chen’s (2004) framework, which categorizes culture into big “C” (e.g., history, geography, politics, art, economy, traditions) and small “c” (e.g., daily routines, customs, food, values). The findings reveal a nearly balanced distribution between small “c” (51%) and big “C” (49%) cultural themes across the series. However, the emphasis varies by grade level. Grade VII predominantly features small “c” themes, especially food and daily routines, reflecting students’ everyday experiences. Grade VIII maintains a focus on small “c” culture while gradually introducing more big “C” elements such as literature and history. In contrast, Grade IX shows a clear shift toward big “C” themes, particularly geography and economy, indicating increased abstraction and global orientation. Overall, the series demonstrates a structured progression in cultural representation aligned with students’ cognitive and linguistic development.

Teaching English Vocabulary Through Picture Cards to Students with Intellectual Disabilities: A Qualitative Case Study

Tazkiya Aulia Ibriza — 2026-05-30

Teaching English vocabulary to students with intellectual disabilities remains challenging because they need concrete visual support, repeated exposure, and teacher guidance to understand and remember new words. Picture cards are often used as visual instructional media, but their pedagogical value depends on how teachers implement them in classroom practice. This study aims to explore how picture cards are implemented in teaching English vocabulary to students with intellectual disabilities in a special school context. This research used a qualitative case study design involving one English teacher and one eighth-grade classroom at a special junior high school in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Data were collected through non-participant observation, semi-structured interview, document analysis of two lesson plans, and were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. The findings reveal that picture cards supported meaning-making, attention building, guided practice, differentiated support, and repeated vocabulary use. The study concludes that picture cards functioned not merely as visual aids, but as flexible pedagogical tools for organizing meaningful, structured, and adaptive vocabulary instruction.

English Teachers’ Perceptions of Deep Learning Implementation in Project-Based Learning

Alya Agustin — 2026-05-30

This study aims to analyze English teachers’ perceptions of implementing deep learning within Project-Based Learning (PjBL) at Muhammadiyah educational institutions in Pagaralam. The rapid development of 21st-century education demands learning approaches that promote critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and meaningful understanding. Deep learning, combined with PjBL, is considered an effective strategy to achieve these goals. This research employed a qualitative descriptive design involving 17 English teachers from SMA and SMK Muhammadiyah Pagaralam as participants. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires and analyzed using data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing techniques. The findings reveal that most teachers have a basic understanding of deep learning, perceiving it as a learning approach that emphasizes conceptual understanding and critical thinking rather than memorization. Teachers also demonstrate positive perceptions of PjBL, recognizing its role in enhancing student engagement and real-life application of knowledge. However, the implementation of deep learning within PjBL is not yet optimal, as students often focus more on completing projects than achieving deep understanding. Supporting factors include school facilities, teacher collaboration, and institutional support, while inhibiting factors include limited instructional time, students’ readiness, and lack of training. This study concludes that although teachers show positive perceptions, effective implementation requires continuous professional development and stronger institutional support.

Students’ Perceptions of AI-Powered Writing Assistants for Enhancing Writing Skills

Syebila Zahara Sopa — 2026-05-30

This study aims to examine students’ perceptions of AI-Powered Writing Assistants, namely Grammarly, ChatGPT, and QuillBot, regarding their ability to enhance writing skills at STKIP Muhammadiyah Pagar Alam. The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence has significantly influenced educational practices, particularly in academic writing, by providing tools that support grammar correction, idea generation, and paraphrasing. This study employed a descriptive quantitative research design. The participants consisted of 112 students from the English Education Study program, selected using a total sampling. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire using a four-point Likert scale and analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings indicate that students generally have positive perceptions of AI-powered writing assistants. These tools are considered helpful in improving grammar accuracy, generating ideas, organizing writing, and enhancing overall writing quality. However, the results also reveal concerns regarding students’ dependence on AI tools, a potential reduction in critical thinking, and academic risk related to misuse. Despite these concerns, students demonstrate awareness of academic ethics and the importance of responsible use. In conclusion, an AI-Powered Writing Assistant plays a significant role in supporting students’ writing development when used appropriately. Therefore, balanced and ethical use of these tools is essential to maximize their benefits while minimizing potential risk in academic writing.

The Implementation of Wordwall Anagram Game to Improve Students Vocabulary Mastery

Dela Sagita — 2026-05-30

This study aimed to determine whether students' vocabulary mastery at SD Aisyiyah 1 Pagaralam's fourth grade was considerably enhanced by the use of the Wordwall Anagram Game. Because it helps students comprehend and utilize English successfully in communication, vocabulary mastery is regarded as a crucial part of language learning. Nonetheless, a lot of elementary school pupils still struggle with learning, pronouncing, and comprehending English terminology. Thus, to increase students' motivation and vocabulary achievement, interactive and game-based learning materials are required. This study used a quasi-experimental design with a quantitative approach. There were 78 fourth-graders in the population, and 53 kids in the sample were split into two groups: class class IV.B as the control group and class IV.A as the experimental group. The Wordwall Anagram Game was used to instruct the experimental group, while traditional teaching techniques were used to instruct the control group. A vocabulary test with thirty multiple-choice questions that was given as a pre-test and post-test served as the study's instrument. Using SPSS version 25, descriptive statistics, the paired sample t-test, and the independent sample t-test were used to eval_uate the data. The results demonstrated that the experimental group outperformed the control group in terms of improvement. Thus, it can be said that using the Wordwall Anagram Game helped pupils become more proficient in vocabulary.

Exploring Teacher’s Beliefs and Practices in Incorporating Literary Text at a Senior High School

Syamsuriyana Muchlas — 2026-05-30

The aims of this research are investigation of teachers’ beliefs, Classroom practices in using literary text, and the factors influenced teacher’s beliefs and practices. This research used descriptive qualitative design. The researcher also used semi-structured interview, Classroom observation, and document analysis as the instrument. The data of the research was the result of the instruments that used in this research. In the results of this research, the researcher found some beliefs based on those categories such as literary text as a valuable tool for language enrichment, selecting appropriate literary text and method based on students’ needs, interest and relevant, students as the actor in learning activity, students’ background knowledge is necessary, teacher must be creative in creating and conducting lesson plan. In incorporating literary text in the Classroom, teacher implemented her beliefs in teaching such as selective use of short story in literary genres, language focused pedagogical strategies, students actively engaged in Classroom activity. However, behind those beliefs and practices, there are some challenges that teacher faced that make it as the factors influenced teacher’s beliefs and practices in teaching. These findings emphasize teacher’s belief and practices and what influenced those beliefs and practices in teaching.

An Analysis of Thailand Students: Perception of Difficulties in English Vowel Production

Elsa Amelia — 2026-05-31

This study investigates the difficulties experienced by upper secondary students at Phanowittayakom School, Thailand, in producing English vowels. Employing a qualitative descriptive design, the research involved 29 students from Grade 5 and Grade 6 who participated in a reading aloud test based on a 158-word narrative text. The students’ oral performances were recorded and analyzed to identify patterns of vowel production errors. The findings reveal persistent difficulties in vowel quality, and vowel length distinction. Common error patterns include vowel substitution influenced by first language interference, simplification of diphthongs, and instability in maintaining long and short vowel contrasts. In addition, questionnaire data indicate that students perceive pronunciation as challenging due to prosodic complexity, cognitive demands, and affective factors such as low confidence. The study highlights that vowel production difficulties are multidimensional, involving linguistic and psychological aspects. These findings suggest the need for explicit phonological instruction, increased phonological awareness, and supportive speaking practice to improve vowel accuracy among EFL learners.

Picture-Based Vocabulary Cards for Enriching Students' Vocabulary with Mild Intellectual Disability

Lingga Sahara Ritonga — 2026-05-31

This study explores the use of picture-based vocabulary cards in teaching English vocabulary to students with mild intellectual disabilities in Sekolah Luar Biasa (SLB), a special education school in Indonesia that provides educational services for students with various disabilities. This study aims to investigate how teachers implement picture-based vocabulary cards and identify the challenges they face in the teaching process. A qualitative descriptive research design was employed, involving two teachers with different educational backgrounds. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations, then analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that picture-based vocabulary cards are used as one of the instructional media; however, their use is not dominant, as teachers tend to combine them with other media such as real objects and videos to support students’ understanding. Students showed varied responses depending on their individual abilities, with some actively engaging while others required more repetition and guidance. Several challenges were also identified, including differences in students’ abilities, limited attention span, and difficulties in vocabulary retention. Thus, while picture-based vocabulary cards are useful, their effectiveness depends on how they are integrated with other instructional strategies and adapted to students’ needs. This study contributes to English language teaching in special education by providing insights into teachers’ practices in SLB contexts.

Improving Critical Reading of English Exposition Texts through Problem-Based Learning and Picture Media

Rizki Kristanto — 2026-05-31

This study investigates the implementation of the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) model assisted by picture media to enhance students’ critical reading skills in English exposition texts. It addresses the decline in literacy observed during the COVID-19 pandemic and emphasizes the need for innovative teaching strategies to improve student engagement and outcomes. Conducted with class XI-D students at SMA Negeri 1 Purworejo, the research utilized a Classroom Action Research approach over two cycles. The findings revealed a significant improvement in students’ critical reading performance, demonstrating the effectiveness of integrating PBL with picture media. The findings highlight the potential of this method for fostering critical thinking and literacy, particularly in underperforming students. This study contributes to the development of innovative reading instruction strategies that integrate visual media and problem-based approaches to foster students’ critical literacy.

Unlocking Opportunities: Positive Impacts of English Language Imperialism in Indonesian Higher Education

Ayu Febiola — 2026-05-31

English, as a global lingua franca, plays a crucial role in intercultural communication and has significantly influenced educational systems. English-language imperialism often carries negative connotations; this research highlights its benefits in enhancing educational opportunities and international engagement. The study delves into linguistic imperialism, in which English usually dominates other languages, thereby conferring higher status and preference. It uses the SLR (Systematic Literature Review) method to collect data, concluding that while English-language imperialism presents particular challenges, it also unlocks significant opportunities for personal and national development in Indonesia's higher education landscape. This study identifies several key advantages: increased global competitiveness of Indonesian graduates, facilitated international academic collaborations, improved access to worldwide knowledge resources, and the cultivation of diverse perspectives in academic discourse. The research also addresses the delicate balance required between advancing English proficiency and preserving Indonesia's rich linguistic heritage.

Comparing Total Physical Response and Digital Storytelling in Teaching Vocabulary to Young Learners

Muchamad Arif — 2026-05-31

Vocabulary development is a fundamental component of English language learning in early childhood because it provides the basis for communication and comprehension. However, despite the importance of vocabulary, research in the Indonesian PAUD context still pays limited attention to how different instructional methods compare in effectiveness. This study seeks to fill this gap by investigating the use of Total Physical Response (TPR) and Digital Storytelling (DST) as strategies for teaching English vocabulary to young learners. Employing a quasi-experimental design, 40 children aged 5–6 from two PAUD institutions in Surabaya were purposively sampled and divided into two groups: one taught with TPR and the other with DST. Data were collected through pre-tests, post-tests, classroom observations, and teacher interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using paired t-tests and ANOVA, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed to capture engagement and learning experiences. The findings indicate that both TPR and DST significantly improved vocabulary mastery, but with distinct advantages: TPR enhanced immediate recall and kinesthetic engagement, whereas DST promoted contextual understanding and long-term retention. Teacher reflections further revealed that TPR stimulated motivation yet posed classroom management challenges, while DST enriched learning but required greater preparation and technological access. These results suggest that integrating TPR and DST offers a balanced and effective approach to vocabulary instruction in PAUD classrooms, providing valuable pedagogical implications for teachers and policymakers in early childhood English education.

Discourse Analysis on Semantic on Wake Me Up When September Ends Song Lyric by Green Day

Luki Afanti — 2026-05-31

Discourse analysis serves as a vital tool for examining how language constructs meaning within cultural and social contexts. Semantic is part of discourse analysis. In the realm of music, song lyrics are particularly rich in semantic content, allowing for deep exploration of themes, emotions, and societal issues. This article aims to conduct a discourse analysis of the song's lyrics, focusing on both lexical and contextual meanings. A descriptive qualitative m1ethod was employed, utilizing documentation techniques to collect data from the song's lyrics. The analysis of the lyrics from "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day has uncovered 15 contextual and lexical meanings that enhance the emotional resonance of the song. These meanings reflect both personal experiences and broader societal themes related to grief and loss. Ultimately, this analysis not only sheds light on artistic expression but also emphasizes the importance of delving beyond surface meanings in song lyrics to uncover richer emotional narratives. The implications of this study extend to broader applications in understanding and interpreting lyrical content across various musical genres.

The Integration of ChatGPT in English Language Learning: Students’ and Lecturers’ Perceptions

Menik Darmiati — 2026-06-01

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology has significantly transformed English language learning in higher education. In many English Foreign Language (EFL) learning contexts, students frequently experience difficulties related to grammar understanding, vocabulary mastery, writing development, speaking confidence, and independent English practice. The emergence of ChatGPT as an AI-assisted learning tool has provided new opportunities for students to access flexible, interactive, and personalized learning support anytime and anywhere. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate students’ and lecturers’ perceptions regarding the integration of ChatGPT in English language learning at STIE Rajawali Purworejo. This study employed a qualitative descriptive research design involving twenty students and one English lecturer. The research was conducted from November to December 2025. Data were collected through questionnaires and in-depth interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings revealed substantial differences in students’ learning experiences before and after the implementation of ChatGPT. Before using ChatGPT, students experienced difficulties in generating ideas, understanding grammar, developing vocabulary, and practicing English independently. However, after the integration of ChatGPT, students perceived English learning as more interactive, flexible, motivating, and accessible. The findings also indicated that ChatGPT positively influenced students’ motivation, engagement, confidence, writing development, and autonomous learning. Furthermore, the lecturer perceived ChatGPT as an effective educational tool that supports students’ participation, language development, and independent learning. Nevertheless, concerns regarding students’ overdependence on AI-generated responses, reduced critical thinking skills, and academic integrity were also identified. Therefore, the study concludes that ChatGPT has considerable potential to enhance English language learning when implemented responsibly through proper pedagogical supervision and ethical guidance.

Teachers' Perceptions on Word Matching Game-Based Learning to Enrich Hearing-Impaired Students' Vocabulary

Airen Widyana — 2026-06-01

This study aims to find out the teachers’ perceptions of word-matching game-based English vocabulary instruction for students with hearing impairments in a Special School (SLB) in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, field notes, and document analysis with one experienced English teacher using a qualitative case study design. The findings revealed four primary themes related to perceived effectiveness: visual alignment with students’ learning styles, increased motivation and enthusiasm, improved vocabulary retention, and fostering peer interaction and collaboration. The teacher also mentioned four problems of implementation: the difficulty of understanding the initial instruction, the management of students’ attention and focus, the difference in students’ capability, and the extensive preparation of materials and facility’s support.These findings provide evidence that the word matching game is an extremely effective, visually-based vocabulary strategy that meets the learning needs of students with hearing impairment, while also revealing the need for systemic institutional support for its sustainable implementation.

Correlation Between Students’ Perceptions of English Teachers’ Instructional Methods and Critical-Creative Thinking Skills

Muhammad Riko Yohansyah Zulfahmi — 2026-06-02

This study employed a quantitative correlational design to investigate the relationship between students’ perceptions of English teachers’ teaching methods and their critical and creative thinking skills at SMK Negeri 1 Guguk. The participants of this study were twelfth-grade students (Grade XII). Data were collected from 80 students through questionnaires and tests using a quantitative approach. Data analysis using the Pearson product-moment correlation test revealed a positive correlation between students' perceptions of teachers' teaching methods with students’ critical thinking skills, with a correlation value of 0.600 and significance of 0.007, a negative correlation between students' perceptions of teachers' teaching methods with students’ creative thinking skills, with a Pearson value of -0.170 and a significance level of 0.048 (<0.05), and a positive correlation between students' perceptions of teachers' teaching methods with students’ critical and creative thinking skills, with a Pearson value of 0.273 and a significance level of 0.014 (<0.05). These findings suggest that innovative and creative teaching methods play an important role in developing students’ critical and creative thinking skills. The results indicate that active, student-centered teaching approaches can help students improve their abilities in analysis, evaluation, and problem-solving. Therefore, the study highlights the importance of effective teaching methods in promoting higher-order thinking skills and improving students’ learning outcomes.

The Implementation of Picture Description to Encourage Writing Participation of Deaf Students in Special School

Herika Dalimunthe — 2026-06-02

This study aims to examine how picture description is implemented in writing instruction for deaf students and its impact on student participation during writing activities at a special education school. This study employs a qualitative descriptive approach, involving one English teacher and seven deaf 10th-grade students at a special education school in Medan. Research data were collected through classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, and documentation, and were then analysed using thematic analysis. The results indicate that picture description activities were implemented through the use of simple, easily understandable images, vocabulary introduction, the construction of simple sentences, and the provision of assistance and corrections by the teacher during the learning process. Furthermore, the findings indicate that the use of picture description enhances students’ engagement, motivation, self-confidence, and cognitive involvement in writing activities. This strategy also helps students produce writing at the sentence level and fosters a more active, engaging, and supportive learning environment for deaf students.