Volume 4 Issue 1 Year 2023 Pages 167-178 ISSN 2722-9688 | eAeISSN 2722-9696 http://jiecr.
org | DOI: 10.
46843/jiecr.
English for Religious Purposes: The Specific Purposes of Islamic University Students in Indonesia in Learning English Paidi Gusmuliana1*.
Safnil2.
Syafryadin2.
Kodarni3 Institut Agama Islam Negeri Curup.
Indonesia Universitas Bengkulu.
Indonesia Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau.
Indonesia *Correspondence to: paidigusmuliana@gmail.
Abstract: In the past.
English was considered the language of non-Islamic religions but now English is believed to be the language for international communication for academic and 'dakwah' purposes.
However, students of Islamic universities and institutes may have various purposes for learning English.
This is because young scholars may have not seen the real need to study English outside the campus and this is not introduced by their teachers when they study at high schools.
This study is aimed at describing the main purposes of learning English as a foreign language perceived by the students of Islamic Institutes and Universities in Indonesia.
Seven hundred and fourteen undergraduate students from three different Islamic institutes were involved in this study.
The finding shows that the primary objective of students learning English at these three institutions is to serve as a conduit for promoting the faith of Islam and to be able to convey Islamic teachings on a larger .
basis Furthermore, these students stated that their religious goal in learning English was to be able to improve their English language skills while also receiving a lot of Islamic knowledge, even in the form of English material delivered concretely.
Keywords: english for religious purposes, motivation, attitudes Recommended citation: Gusmuliana.
Safnil.
Syafryadin.
, & Kodarni.
English for Religious Purposes: The Specific Purposes of Islamic University Students in Indonesia in Learning English.
Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 4.
, 167-178.
INTRODUCTION
One of the most frequent uses of English in a non-academic environment is for religious preaching.
Nowadays, we can easily obtain from the internet texts and videos of religious teaching addressed in English by speakers from several different countries and addressed to international audiences.
However, in the past, according to Pennycook .
English was mostly employed in colonial missionary activities and this shows that language and religion are related.
Pennycook claims further that as the global language.
English continues to be a key communication means for the fast expansion of evangelical Christianity in the developing world, offering motivation for learners and missionaries to acquire it.
According to Oyg .
0 cited in Pennycook, 2.
Malay culture does not place much emphasis on English or a language of the West.
English is considered a 'kafir' language or non-Islamic language.
Farid and Lamb .
claim that this is possibly why many Muslims do not like English in the past because the language is closely related to Christianity.
It is believed that the willingness of Indonesian students studying at Islamic institutions or 'pesantren' to study a foreign language such as English is affected by the sentiments toward the language and culture, particularly in the context where strict Islamic principles are more strongly ingrained (Farid & Lamb, 2.
According to Farid and Lamb, in a Salafi pesantren school in Indonesia, for example, students are required to take English classes twice a week but it is also obvious that the students are resistant to learning English.
Farid and Lamb provide an example that some pupils arrived late for an English session without displaying any remorse, refused to respond to the teacher's welcome in English, or just left class whenever those students felt like it.
It is assumed that their devotion to their faith may be partially responsible for these attitudes.
However, the attitudes of Indonesian students studying at an Islamic university toward English at the present may have changed since English is more widely used on the internet including for Islamic teaching purposes.
For example, we can access a great number of texts and videos of Islamic teaching on the internet and these learning and teaching materials are very useful for the students to widen their horizons on Islam and Islamic teaching of many aspects.
Motivation and attitude toward a particular language are the driving force to the success of learning and acquiring the language.
According to Almegren .
, generally speaking, motivation may be described as an innate need that pushes people to fulfill their desire for knowledge.
Similarly.
Masgoret and Gardner .
state, ".
without sufficient motivation, even the brightest learners are unlikely to persist long enough to achieve any truly useful language proficiency, whereas most learners with strong motivation can achieve a working Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 2023, 4.
, 167-178 knowledge of the L2, regardless of their language aptitude or any undesirable learning conditions" .
a result.
Ahmad et al.
state that '.
the strong underlying idea and understanding regarding attitudes, motivation, beliefs, perceptions, and the teaching and learning of English lead to beneficial knowledge gains for the students.
' .
In other words, knowing and understanding studentsAo motivation and attitudes toward a language is important for teachers and lecturers to better organize and manage studentsAo learning activities to obtain maximum results.
Studies on the attitudes of Muslim students toward English have been conducted in several countries, such as by Farid and Lamb .
in Indonesia.
Moskovsky and Alrabai .
Aljuaid .
, and Almegren .
in Saudi Arabia.
Asmali .
and Demirbulak .
in Turkey to name a few.
These studies mainly found that the students have positive attitudes toward English and a strong motivation to learn English at secondary schools and universities.
Thus, although English was considered the language of 'kafir' or non-Islamic, today English has been accepted as a lingua franca or an international language by most Muslims which is needed as a means of communication with those who do not speak the language of the Muslim society in a particular country or area.
Moskovsky and Alrabai .
surveyed 55 Saudi EFL learners in public schools and colleges in Saudi Arabia to evaluate learners' intrinsic desire to study English as a foreign language.
Those students discovered that the learners had an overall good attitude about EFL studying and that those pupils had significantly preserved internal motivation.
When Asmali .
researched students' interest to learn English in Turkey, he discovered similar results.
Asmali discovered that, while Turkish students found English difficult to learn, they enjoyed studying English through singing English songs and playing games in English, and that these students had an inner incentive to learn English.
According to Asmali, learners' parents should assist them by expressing their delight that their children are learning a foreign language and by emphasizing the importance of studying a foreign language to their children.
This is since young learners' motivation to study a foreign language is influenced in part by parental influence (Ohlshtain et al.
, 1.
The survey also discovered that students studying at Islamic institutions mostly had an instrumental incentive to learn English.
Alresheedi .
investigated the EFL learning motives of 75 female Saudi students and discovered that the learners were most likely to rely on instrumental incentives, followed by intrinsic, integrative, and extrinsic motivations.
However.
Engin .
discovered that English learners in Turkey had integrative motivation, which is more important than instrumental drive while learning English as a foreign According to Eggin, the superiority of one motivating notion over another may alter depending on the situation.
Eggin says that further research in this area is needed to have a variety of views and reference points for developing an understanding of the effect of motivational variables on English learning.
Farid and Lamb performed a recent study in Indonesia on the motivation of students studying Islamic education institutions to acquire English as a foreign language .
Farid and Lamb surveyed 376 students at three different Islamic institutions or 'pesantren' in Indonesia and discovered that the student's motivation for learning English is linked to their spiritual vision, such as a means of da'wah or Islamic propagation and communication with other Muslims around the world.
According to Farid and Lamb, the pupils' motivation for learning English is to serve as a lingua franca for Muslims and a medium for da'wah.
In other words.
Indonesian students studying at Islamic institutions have positive attitudes and strong motivation in learning English.
similar conclusion was made by Romadlon and Annasih .
who found that Islamic school students in Indonesia have positive attitudes and high motivation in learning English.
In other words, the status of English as the language of Christianity does not affect Indonesian students studying at an Islamic education institution in learning English as it was predicted.
According to the studies presented above on Muslim students' attitudes and motivation in learning English, including in Indonesia, those students primarily have positive attitudes and high motivation in learning English for a variety of reasons, although English has traditionally been considered the language of non-Islamic believers (Pennycook, 2.
Also, the studies found that the majority of students have an instrumental motivation rather than an integrative motivation, such as to communicate with those who do not speak the same language or as a medium of religious teaching to those who do not speak their language.
However, as Farid and Lamb .
suggest that these studies did not look further into the specific purposes of mastering English for religious purposes, such as for communicating with other Muslims, learning more about Islamic teaching from literature published in English, and for Islamic propagation AodakwahAo.
This is important because information about specific instrumental motivation in learning English is necessary to develop suitable English teaching and learning materials for the students.
this is to match the teaching and learning materials and the studentsAo main instrumental motivation in learning English.
It is believed that 'there is a close relationship between teaching materials, students' motivation, and students' rate of participation.
This is the main rationale for this study and as a guideline, this research is aimed at answering the following questions: .
What are the specific religious purposes of Islamic institute students in learning English? .
What are the studentsAo suggestions on the skills and topics to include in English teaching and learning materials for religious purposes? Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 2023, 4.
, 167-178
METHODS
We employed a sequential explanatory design and a mixed methods approach in this investigation (Creswell & Clark, 2.
The first quantitative part of the study used a survey instrument to assess English learning motivation at Islamic institutions with varying levels of religious conservatism and to look for patterns of linkage between the variables.
The qualitative element of the study attempted to give at least partial reasons for these patterns of linkage through observation of students in class and follow-up interviews with them about their L2 motivation and religious beliefs.
Table 1.
Number of Respondents Islamic Institute and University Institut Agama Islam Negeri Curup Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Negeri (STAIN) Sultan Abdurrahman Kep.
Riau Universitas Islam Negeri Sultan Syarif Kasim Riau Total Number of Respondents As can be seen in Table 1, the total number of respondents is 714 consisting of 393 respondents from IAIN Curup, 102 respondents from STAIN Sultan Abdurrahman Kepulauan Riau, and 219 respondents from UIN Suska Riau.
However, the number of respondents from each institute or university is not equal.
this is because the number of students from each institute/university is not equal either.
Another reason is that not all students requested to fill in the questionnaire returned it in time.
A questionnaire in Indonesian was prepared to collect quantitative data .
ee Appendix A).
The questionnaire begins with an open-ended question, followed by 51 items asking respondents to score their agreement on a 4-point Likert scale of 1 .
trongly disagre.
, 2 .
, 3 .
, and 4 .
trongly Because of the lack of normal variances in the dependability of 4-, 5-, and 7-point scales, people with a midway prefer this even-numbered scale.
It also prevents neutral responses, which are difficult to grasp (Krosnick et al.
, 2.
The open-ended question "What is your main motivation for studying English?" was designed to elicit personal arguments from students for learning the language.
We incorporated measures to assess "attitudes to English" and "milieu" in addition to the self-related constructs (Ideal and Ought-to L2 selve.
and the L2 learning experience to determine if these changed among the three school groups.
The 51 questions represented nine constructs, six of which were derived from earlier research that used the L2MSS as the theoretical framework .
or example.
Dyrnyei & Nymeth, 2.
The final two religious conceptions were "English as a threat to Muslim Identity" and "English as a way of disseminating Islam," both from Al-Haq and Al-Masaeid .
, as well as a scale evaluating participants' levels of religious conservatism from Hernandez .
and Koenig & Byssing .
The survey findings were input into SPSS version 20 for Windows to analyze the internal consistency of all scales.
Cronbach Alpha tests found that all of the scales satisfied this condition, with the majority scoring much higher than 0.
70, as recommended by Larson-Hall .
, who said that the acceptable alpha value determined to examine internal consistency reliability was 0.
Given that the data are not excessively skewed and that Levene's tests for equality of variances revealed that the criteria of homogeneity of variance were met.
, .
, all ps > 0.
05, and ns, a parametric test may be used to compare averages (Larson-Hall.
As a result, a one-way MANOVA .
ultivariate analysis of varianc.
was performed to explain the students' motivation and to uncover how motivating variables varied among the three institutions.
MANOVA was also used to obtain a multivariate F value (Wilks' Lambd.
because there are numerous dependent variables.
After using the Bonferroni adjusted alpha to change the -level for multiple comparisons, the level of significance was set at Thematic analysis of interview data was performed.
To prevent any misunderstandings in the analysis, the recordings were listened to numerous times before being translated into the original language.
It was simple to transcribe the interviews because the initial author and the participants both speak the same language.
Following the transcription of the interview material, it was organized in Microsoft Word using columns and Participants' replies were methodically categorized and developing themes were discovered using text highlighting colors.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The first category of questions relates to the main reason students learn English.
From the questionnaire given, the data obtained are presented below.
Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 2023, 4.
, 167-178 Figure 1.
Reasons for Studying English Reasons for Studying English English is the international 3% 4% I want to study abroad I want to be able to speak English English is an important/interesting language English is an important subject English is necessary for daAowah Other responses Preliminary data analysis found that overall student enthusiasm to study English in the three institutions was relatively strong, as evaluated by reason for learning English.
The students' motivations for studying English varied throughout the seven statements presented.
The three largest motivations for studying English are English as an international language .
7%), and English as a global language that is presently the most frequently used in the world.
Its usage has an influence on almost every activity and even between continents, one of which is education.
With a burning urge to be able to speak English fluently .
%).
Students must be able to communicate their meaning orally and vocally such that the interlocutor comprehends it.
Furthermore, students with speaking abilities may retrain their tongue to pronounce language accurately and appropriately.
An impression of English as an important and appealing language .
9%) is because English is the official language of 53 nations throughout the world, it is extremely significant.
English is the native language of about 400 million people worldwide as well.
Other factors, such as an interest in studying abroad, the conviction that English is a vital topic, and the importance of English in the area of da'wah in general, receive a total percentage of less than 5%.
Thus, the survey findings in this portion reveal that the reasons offered by these students are typical of those expressed by English learners.
Table 2 lists the internal factors assumed to have a substantial impact on students' enthusiasm for learning English.
Internal factors in all three institutions include how frequently those students imagine themselves to be able to speak English, imagine being capable of studying abroad, the eagerness to be able to speak English in the modern workforce, future challenges that require English as something that needs to be managed to master, and a strong desire in students to be competent and proficient in English, obtaining a mean score of 92.
28% for "yes" answers compared to 7.
72% for "no" answers.
Looking at the overall findings of this survey on internal factors, it is clear that every student has a burning urge to be able to master English to deal with every part of future life.
Table 2.
Internal Factors in Learning English Response Percentage Items Yes I often imagine myself as someone who can speak English.
I can imagine myself studying English at a university abroad In my future career.
I will speak fluent English.
What I want to do in the future requires English.
I want to be proficient in English.
Mean The response "Yes" also predominates among the external causes underlying the students' strong motivation to study English.
Even though the percentage is not as significant as the internal component, the response "yes" still outnumbers the answer "no" with a percentage of the mean value ratio of 72.
32% to There are at least five external factors that are thought to have the greatest influence on the motivation Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 2023, 4.
, 167-178 of students from these three institutions to learn English, including the need to learn English to not be left behind in the world of work, the desire to be assessed as competent by lecturers, the desire to be regarded as educated by parents and families, and the conviction that English is something that must be learned.
Table 3.
External Factors in Learning English Items I have to learn English so I don't miss out on where I work later.
I need to learn English so that my lecturer can judge me as proficient My parents and family believe that I must learn English to become an educated person I feel obligated to learn English well I need to learn English to be judged proficiently by the people around me.
Mean Response Percentage Yes Learning English on campus is an intriguing experience for non-English students, as well as students at these three institutions.
The researchers attempt to investigate their experiences while learning English on The researcher assesses four factors to determine these students' experiences: their preference for the ambiance of their English learning on campus, their degree of boredom, their opinion about the lecturer's learning approach, and their fondness for English itself.
A mean value of 70.
36% of the responses in the "Yes" category and 29.
64% of the answers in the "No" category was achieved for the four items.
Even though those students are non-English students, the findings of this poll demonstrate that those students have a favorable time learning English on campus.
Figure 2.
Experience Learning English on Campus
YES
I like the atmosphere of learning English at my campus.
In college.
I feel bored studying English.
My lecturer makes I like English courses.
learning English very Students' attitudes are essential in determining their preferences for a subject in class.
When students have a positive attitude, they generally comprehend the information more readily and do better in class .
ncluding in Englis.
In this study, the researcher developed five statement items that were presented to the respondents to assess their attitudes toward English.
How much they love speaking English, whether they think English is fascinating or not, regardless of whether they think English is challenging, as to if they think English is an important language in their life, and if they are interested in the culture of where the English language came from.
When compared to the "No" response, which only receives a mean value of 25.
86%, 74.
14% in the "Yes" response is a very significant mean value in representing students' attitudes toward English.
Students' attitudes are seen as vital determinants of their performance in learning English.
Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 2023, 4.
, 167-178 Figure 3.
Attitude Towards English
YES
I enjoy speaking in English.
English is very English is very English is one of the I am interested in important things in learning about the my life.
culture of an English-speaking Aside from students' views about English, the opinions of others around them may also be a motivating element in students' enthusiasm to study English.
These perspectives can come from friends in college and peers at home, as well as policymakers on campus and lecturers.
This survey had a mean value of 74.
9% for "Yes" responses and 25.
1% for "No" responses.
Figure 4.
People's opinion of English
YES
Most of my friends think My friends at college My campus policy My lecturers on campus that learning English is consider English to be an supports learning English.
think it is important to just a waste of time important subject.
learn English The activities they engage in to increase their English proficiency could be stated to be particularly supportive of students' high or low motivation to learn English at these three institutions.
Much prior research has found a robust link between activities and student English proficiency development.
Six statements are used in this survey to see English-language activities that can be motivational support for students, including: are these students working incredibly hard to complete assignments, their interest in partaking in extra-curricular English on campus .
f an.
, their willingness to spend a lot of time learning English, the necessity to learn English, and the use of YouTube and Film platforms in learning English.
Overall, the mean score for these assertions was 79% for "Yes" responses and 21% for "No" responses.
Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 2023, 4.
, 167-178 Figure 5.
Activities Using English
yA A A eA
YES
Amid increased requests for the use of English by the younger generation in Muslim-majority nations, there is currently a belief that English might damage Islamic principles.
The researchers in this study are interested in negative remarks regarding English, such as how the use of English might endanger Muslim identity, the possibility for English to promote unIslamic culture and values, and the concern that English can impair faith.
These are the beliefs of students from these three colleges.
This is seen by the 89.
85% mean rating earned for the "Yes" response, which is just 10.
15% for the "No" option.
this demonstrates that negative sentiments about English, which is viewed as a threat to Islamic identity, remain quite prevalent, even among Figure 6.
English as a threat to Muslim identity YES The use of English Learning English can In my opinion.
English I think learning English threatens my identity expose Muslims to un- is a tool for spreading can jeopardize the as a Muslim.
Islamic cultural un-Islamic values faith of a Muslim.
Even though there are several unpleasant sentiments against English in terms of Muslim identity, there have recently been a lot of good thoughts and perspectives that English may be an efficient medium of da'wah in promoting Islam, especially in an era with such a rapid flow of information as we are now.
The researcher attempts to assess the strength of students' views and wants to use English for preaching and promoting Islam in three institutions.
The researchers discovered that students at three institutions expressed a desire to be able to utilize English as a medium of da'wah, despite previously believing that English had a detrimental impact on Islamic principles.
In this study, the mean value obtained was 67.
34% for the answer "Yes" and 32.
66% for the answer "No.
" Seems to be, despite the negative sentiment against English, which is thought to be capable of Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 2023, 4.
, 167-178 undermining Islamic principles, there is still a yearning and belief that English has an enormous capacity to assist in the propagation of Islam.
Figure 7.
English as a medium to spread Islam
YES
I study English because I Learning English is a must My understanding of Learning English is useful I learned English so that I want to spread Islam to to spread Islam to the Islam required me to learn for spreading Islamic could post the positive non-Muslims Western world English.
values AUthroughout the side of Islam on social In addition to the closed questionnaire, the researcher also sent an open questionnaire to the respondents on their motivation to learn English and religious identity.
The first question concerns students' perceptions of English on campus.
The vast majority of students believe that learning English on campus is both engaging and important.
Some students, however, confess that learning English in college is still unfamiliar, particularly for students who come from outside the English study program.
The second question focuses on students' pleasure in speaking English.
In this question, the majority of students admitted that those students enjoyed learning and practicing English, especially in the campus environment.
Generally, the reason that English is an important thing to learn nowadays.
English is an international language used by the world community for communication, and this is of course important for us to understand to be able to compete in the world of work in the future.
The third question relates to the progress experienced by students in learning English.
The majority of students admit that those students have experienced a significant increase in their mastery of English.
The students admitted that the improvement in their ability to speak English was greatly influenced by the interesting learning process on campus.
However, some students admit that there is no significant improvement in their English speaking skills.
Fourth, the open questionnaire questions posed by the researchers regarding the students' perceptions that English is the language of Westerners or the language of infidels.
Respondents perceive English as an international language more.
These students do not narrow the view that English is the language of the west or the language of infidels.
The majority of students argue that Kafir is a term for people who do not perform prayer services, while English is the language used by western society as a tool for communication, of course, this is very different because it is clear that English is the language of the West and not the language of infidels.
Next, at the fifth question point, the researcher asked about the culture of the Americans and the British.
Most students admit that those students do not know and understand American and British culture, those students only know that the lives of British and American people are much more modern and advanced compared to Indonesia, moreover, the language those students use (Englis.
is an international language used throughout the world.
Sixth, the students were asked questions regarding their opinion on whether English was important to them or not.
The respondents admitted that English was very important to them.
According to the respondents, in the digital world and this era of globalization, the younger generation needs to be able to master English.
Furthermore, some students state that English can be a bridge for us to connect us with westerners who use Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 2023, 4.
, 167-178 English as a communication tool, and this gives us opportunities whenever we encounter work, business, negotiations, and other matters.
which is what gives us more opportunities.
At the seventh point, respondents were asked questions related to their goals in learning English.
There are many variations on the answers to this question, ranging from reasons for work, career, realizing dreams for being able to study abroad, helping people who have difficulty learning English, being able to communicate and be able to connect with people outside, to the classic reason that English is an international language that will be needed in the future.
The next question asked by the researchers was regarding their expectations and expectations regarding the job those students want with English skills after graduating from campus.
There are so many very varied answers to this point in the question.
However, in general, researchers can summarize the jobs those students want, such as teachers, lecturers, translators, bank employees, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and flight attendants, to become spokespersons in government agencies and ministries.
The next point asked of the respondents was regarding the main reasons students at Islamic colleges and universities study English for religious purposes.
Respondents admitted that their religious goal in learning English was to be able to spread the teachings of Islam on a wider .
In addition, these students also stated that the religious goal in learning English was to be able to improve their English language skills and receive a lot of Islamic knowledge at the same time, even being able to receive it in the form of English material delivered concretely.
The last question that the researcher asked the respondents in this open questionnaire was about suggestions those students could give regarding topics and materials for learning English for religious purposes.
There are so many suggestions that are covered from the answers of the students.
The majority of them suggested that it was necessary to provide assignments from lecturers in the form of material related to religion, for example, the program for making magazines included a story about the prophet or the prophet's companions, lecture materials, hadiths, and Islamic laws using English.
In addition, students see the need for work program facilities on the campus or study programs for students that involve religion AodakwahAo and English.
The primary goal of this study is to examine the specific religious objectives of Islamic Religious Institute students in learning English and to acquire student suggestions for competencies and subjects to include in learning materials and teaching English for religious purposes as well as taking into consideration many contextspecific aspects and English viewpoints relating to students' identity and objective of propagating the Islamic Our findings indicate that conventional reasons for students studying English remain the most important The majority of EFL students believe that English is a fascinating topic that provides them with several benefits in their daily life.
English can aid students in their future employment because most sectors of study or the workforce demand a certain level of English proficiency (Zulfikar et al.
, 2.
Gardner writes in Long et al.
that there are four internal dimensions of motivation to acquire English, including one's learning objectives, learning effort, desire to attain goals, learning attitudes, and motivation.
Motivation, intellect, anxiety, risk-taking abilities, and other cognitive and emotional traits are examples of internal variables.
Due to space constraints, only a subset of these factors is discussed in detail here.
Many studies have found that motivation substantially corresponds with competency, implying that both effective learners are driven and that success promotes motivation.
For a long time, motivation has been regarded as a significant aspect affecting EFL performance and accomplishment.
Internal factors are thought to work as a catalyst for learning, moving students ahead and assisting them in overcoming the challenges of learning a foreign language (Cheng & Dyrnyei, 2.
According to Brown .
, internal factors such as motivation and desire is the emotional component that plays a critical role in learning a second or foreign language.
Motivation, according to Cohen .
, is a dynamic process that is not steady but is always changing.
In addition to internal factors, external factors influence impact and support non-English study program students' desire to learn English.
Social variables, input, and interaction are examples of external elements.
The social element comprises the learning environment of the learner.
It might be in the home .
, school, or community.
Input and interactions in the classroom involve interaction with the teacher and another student, as well as the environment of nonreciprocal speech.
The home .
element consists of parental support, which can impact students' English learning process both directly and indirectly.
Language acquisition is greatly aided by classroom Interactions in the classroom occur between the teacher and the students, as well as amongst the students themselves (Risfayanti, 2.
Attitude is seen to be important in language learning when learning English.
According to Inal, et al.
, attitude relates to one's sentiments and impacts one's conduct toward learning.
Attitude encompasses not just conduct but also feelings, beliefs, and behavioral inclinations.
Students that have positive learning attitudes like learning and will actively participate in it.
Those with negative learning attitudes may feel worried when learning.
they will become bored quickly and find it difficult to appreciate their learning.
This implies that a negative attitude contributes to a lack of learning success.
According to Zhafira .
, several students did not actively participate in class.
Students' performance might suffer when they do not participate in their These scenarios may be the result of a lack of motivation.
Many studies in EFL learning have focused on learners' attitudes toward language learning.
a vast number of research on attitudes influencing language Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 2023, 4.
, 167-178 learning A good attitude toward language acquisition will impact how these students acquire the language, resulting in a beneficial outcome.
Failure in language learning, on the other hand, is the outcome of a negative attitude toward learning (Zulfikar et al.
, 2.
The attitudes and perceptions that students at the three universities have toward English will undoubtedly influence their drive to improve their English abilities.
According to a poll done by academics, students on their campuses/institutions have a positive view of English.
The fact Because students in language classes typically have limited contact with their instructors .
specially non-English department student.
in terms of the total quantity of class hours per week and the total number of months that a course fits, students can make a significant effort for themselves to make real progress in learning a foreign language.
If teachers are aware of what their students do outside of language lessons, they can provide ideas on how to improve independent work with the target language.
At the same time, instructors can draw links between classroom work and after-school activities if they know what their kids are doing outside of school (Richards, 2.
During this study, all of the students acknowledged learning English in their logs.
As seen in Table 8, there are several activities for training this ability.
This study demonstrates a definite proclivity to seek out activities linked to popular culture, as well as to work hard on homework/assignments that need a register of language.
However, it should be emphasized that many of the other activities indicated for the various language skill categories were directly tied to homework assignment completion, as was the case with the students who mentioned that they had exercised productive skills.
Identity is becoming increasingly significant in the field of language learning nowadays.
Throughout the preceding decade, several professionals in the area recognized the need to explore the role of identity in language learning.
The way language shapes and is shaped by identity is a crucial topic in sociolinguistics.
People's identities are influenced by a wide range of factors and components, including social, geographical, linguistic, cultural, political, religious, and ethnic issues.
For the same reason, researchers and scholars in the fields of second and foreign language learning, language education, sociolinguistics, and applied linguistics have been intrigued by the relationship between identity and language learning, with a focus on the sociological and cultural dimensions of language learning (Behtash et al.
, 2.
Many studies believe that, like motivation, which is important in language acquisition, identity characteristics such as attitudes and sets of ideas about learning are among the decisive factors that may affect the efficiency of language learners in any situation.
Learning English and religious affiliation are inextricably linked.
According to the present study's findings, more faithful language learners are less likely to absorb characteristics of a foreign language culture that are opposed to those provided by Islam, such as friendship, marriage, dating, ideology, and so on.
In other words, because Islam is a faith that encompasses all aspects of social and individual life.
Muslim English learners have little, if any, proclivity to study aspects of English culture that are banned in their religion.
The study's findings demonstrated that the religious identity created in English learners is essential since the participants were at the highest levels of a foreign language learning course.
The survey was designed to be broad in scope so that the researcher could get a general idea of the student's perceptions of their Islamic self-identity during the English learning process.
The students were invited to provide their thoughts on how English impacts Islamic As represented in Table 1, the students feel that English is seen to have the potential to alter Islamic The majority of pupils stated that the language they acquired influenced their way of life and sense of self-identity.
They felt that when students studied a language, they should be aware of its roots, original users, and culture.
They argued, however, that to limit certain detrimental effects on Muslim identity, pupils must be discriminating and astute in sifting the positive and bad aspects of the culture of the language that they are studying (Hidayah et al.
, 2.
On the idea that learning English may imprison someone and negatively damage them due to the culture of native speakers.
Mastery of English is one of the fundamental capital required to succeed in the global era.
English is frequently used in several critical industries to conduct contacts and transactions.
The different strategic domains in concern include those of industry, business, politics, culture, and education, among others.
To tackle global difficulties, education must play a role in producing students who are interested in Science and Technology as well as Faith and Piety.
In the field of Islamic education.
English, being a worldwide language, serves as a means of communication for preaching around the world, particularly in the Western world, such as America and Europe.
We continue to learn Islam in its native language.
Arabic, and then we may transmit it to non-Muslims.
Aside from that, another reason why English is significant is that it may be used as a means to address As a result, the concept occurs that Islamic da'wah communication is required to ensure that human exploitation does not occur without constraints with globalization as the supplier.
A strategy is required in the delivery of da'wah communication so that the da'wah objectives are best realized as envisaged.
In the age of globalization, there are three types of da'wah: da'wah bi al-kitabah in the form of books, magazines, letters, newspapers, banners, pamphlets, artworks, and so on.
Da'wah bi al-lisan, which includes lectures, seminars, symposiums, discussions, sermons, workshops, brainstorming sessions, and chats, among other Da'wah bi al-hal is, essentially, courteous behavior per Islamic principles, environmental stewardship, and so forth (Umar, 2.
Although some people believe that "Muslims cannot study English since it is an Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 2023, 4.
, 167-178 infidel language," this is inversely proportionate to what the companions did in the past.
They require people who can translate books or merely phrases in foreign languages for Islam's development to progress further in the future.
At the same time, scientific progress has accelerated to an international level, which, of course, requires the use of English.
CONCLUSION
The following findings were collected from a poll of 714 students from three Islamic institutions/universities.
First, these students claimed to have special aims in studying English for da'wah these aspirations are evident in their responses, such as wanting to disseminate Islam to non-Muslims, extending Islam to the Western world, comprehending Islam needed to learn English, spreading Islamic ideals throughout the world, and posting good aspects of Islam on social media.
Second, the primary goal of English for religious purposes is to assist learners in becoming more proficient in English by providing instruction to bridge the gap between their current command of the English language and the very specific language demands placed on these learners as they seek to comprehend theological in English.
The emphasis is on assisting English skills that competent readers employ daily.
In terms of the information and activities that must be taught in studying English for religious purposes, students propose that lecturers give more assignments to build on Islamic beliefs using English.
They believe that lecturers would be able to give activities such as preaching/lecturing in English, creating innovative posts about Islam on social media, publishing scholarly Islamic papers in English, and assigning reading assignments on Islamic publications in English.
The respondents of this study came only from three Islamic institutes/universities.
there are many other Islamic institutes/universities where their students also study English.
Thus, the results of this study are still far from representative of all Islamic institutes/universities in Indonesia.
Therefore, future studies should include students from more Islamic institutes/universities in Indonesia to obtain more representative samples.
However, the results of this study have a pedagogical implication in which English lecturers at Islamic institutes/universities should consider the main motivation for their students to learn English is for their future careers and therefore, the English teaching and learning processes should help the students achieve their objective.
REFERENCES