EFL classrooms in the Indonesian context: How do eleventh-grade students perceive rewards in EFL instruction?

Abstract

Perception is a cognitive process when a person interacts with their surroundings while accepting information from the brain. Students perceive of rewards during English as a foreign language instruction is important because perception can affect their learning ability. However, the eleventh-grade students perceive of rewards in EFL instruction was still unclear, this research aimed to investigate the perception of rewards among eleventh-grade students in a vocational high school in EFL instruction. The approach of this research was quantitative. With the help of Microsoft excel, eighty-one students in the eleventh grade were chosen randomly to answer the questionnaire, and 10% of them were chosen to be interviewed. A questionnaire and interview were employed to get the data about the eleventh-grade student's perceptions of rewards in EFL instruction. Then, the interview data were analyzed using Miles and Huberman data analysis, which consists of data condensation, data display, conclusion, and verification. Meanwhile, the data collected through a questionnaire was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results showed that rewards in EFL instruction could increase students’ motivation in learning as well as make them happy and excited during the learning process. Besides that, students picked words of praise as the reward that could make them happy and followed by any tangible rewards the teachers gave. Several suggestions for future research follow the findings of this study.

Rewards and Learners’ Engagement in L2 Classes: A Case Study in an Indonesian High School Context

“…It is referred to observable behaviours that learners are willing to do as they are being engaged in the learning process. Several studies reported an increased willingness to learn lessons (Kasyulita & Armelida, 2019;Pangesti, 2022;Saraswati et al, 2020). In their study in Indonesia with elementary school learners, Cahya et al (2018) found that learners were more open in expressing their opinions and did not feel afraid of making mistakes after being given rewards.…”

“…The affective aspect of engagement, in this case, refers to the learners' emotional response to learning. Several qualitative studies conducted in Indonesia reported that learners felt happy when their teacher provided rewards to whoever was able to do the desired behaviour expected from teachers (Damayanti et al, 2021;Pangesti, 2022;Saraswati et al, 2020). Learners also reported an increased level of enthusiasm or interest in the learning process (Indrawati et al, 2021;Pangesti, 2022).…”

“…Several qualitative studies conducted in Indonesia reported that learners felt happy when their teacher provided rewards to whoever was able to do the desired behaviour expected from teachers (Damayanti et al, 2021;Pangesti, 2022;Saraswati et al, 2020). Learners also reported an increased level of enthusiasm or interest in the learning process (Indrawati et al, 2021;Pangesti, 2022). Furthermore, in an Algerian middle school context, a study also reported that learners felt an increased level of self-confidence whenever they were given rewards in classrooms (Bouchekara et al, 2018).…”