Journal of English and Education (JEE)

Students’ perceptions of English teachers’ emotional intelligence in shaping their speaking skills: A qualitative study

Refina Dilasani — 2025-11-30

Teachers’ emotional intelligence has become an important part in students’ learning outcomes and experiences especially in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. This study focuses on high school students’ perceptions of their teachers’ emotional intelligence and its impact on their speaking skills and classroom engagement. This is a case study. Eight third-grade students in different senior high schools who have known of their teachers’ personalities during the educational process were interviewed. The findings showed that teachers’ positive emotions can increase students’ self-confidence and motivate them to improve their English speaking skills. Conversely, when teachers expressed impatience or anger in front of the classroom, it could decrease students' learning engagement, as they experienced stress and fear about making sounds in the classroom. This study revealed that emotional intelligence is very important in creating a positive learning environment, making English classes much more effective, and helping students improve their speaking skills.

Cross-curricular perspectives on English language education: A Qualitative comparative study between Indonesia and Australia

Muhammad Ari Saputra — 2025-11-30

This study compares English language education in Indonesia and Australia, focusing on cross-curricular integration, teacher autonomy, technology use, and the influence of sociopolitical contexts on curriculum design. While both countries aim to enhance English language proficiency, their approaches differ significantly due to contextual factors. In Australia, the decentralized education system promotes teacher autonomy, allowing for innovative, student-centered teaching practices, cross-curricular integration, and frequent use of technology to enhance language learning. In contrast, Indonesia’s centralized education system, heavily influenced by national exam structures, limits the flexibility of teachers and the integration of English across subjects. Despite recent reforms, teachers in Indonesia face challenges in adopting modern pedagogies due to resource constraints and the continued focus on standardized testing. Through a qualitative comparative analysis of policy documents, curriculum standards, and teacher perspectives, this study highlights the importance of localized educational reforms. The findings suggest that fostering teacher autonomy, improving technology access, and reducing exam-driven practices could lead to more effective, cross-curricular English language education in Indonesia. The study also emphasizes the role of sociopolitical factors in shaping curriculum design and calls for greater international collaboration in sharing best practices to enhance English education in both countries.

Reframing English teacher identity through pedagogy of disjuncture and critical incidents in global Englishes

Ista Maharsi — 2025-11-30

Global Englishes (GE) has challenged long-standing native-speaker norms by affirming the legitimacy of diverse English varieties, yet its classroom implementation remains limited. This article introduces the pedagogy of disjuncture as a conceptual response to this gap. Building on transformative learning theory, it redefines disjuncture as a deliberate pedagogical resource rather than as an obstacle. The core idea of this approach is designed for disjuncture. Unlike traditional uses of Critical Incidents, which often depend on retrospective accounts of classroom experiences, designed disjuncture is intentionally created encounters that expose teachers to linguistic diversity, communicative breakdowns, or intercultural tensions. By structuring these incidents as planned interventions, teacher education can guide participants through cycles of exposure, reflection, and dialogue that lead to the reshaping of professional identity. The contribution of this article is twofold. Conceptually, it combines GE, teacher identity research, and transformative learning into a cohesive framework that broadens the scope of Critical Incident pedagogy. Practically, it outlines how designed disjuncture can be integrated into teacher education curricula worldwide, helping teachers move beyond rhetorical acceptance of GE toward resilient, critically aware professional identities suited for multilingual classrooms.

Learner-generated contexts in the elementary EFL classroom: A GenAI-assisted framework

Tun-Ju Tsai — 2025-11-30

Focus on the development of autonomous learning capacities among elementary English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners highlights the need for systematic inquiry into effective pedagogical approaches. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to integrate Learner-Generated Contexts (LGC) and generative AI (GenAI) to bridge this gap by promoting self-directed learning within collaborative environments through structured scaffolding. Grounded in heutagogy and obuchenie models, the framework emphasizes student agency and socially constructed knowledge. Students, within the framework, co-create learning contexts, while GenAI provides adaptive scaffolding and content generation that align with digital literacy standards. The framework comprises four components: (1) Learner autonomy and agency, (2) Teacher-guided scaffolded learning, (3) Cultivation of a collaborative learning environment, and (4) Assessment and evaluation. The proposed framework could empower elementary EFL learners to navigate digital and collaborative contexts confidently; it may also serve as a guideline for elementary school instructors to promote student collaboration and learning autonomy through LGC-based approaches.

Integrating AI in academic writing: Lecturers and students' experiences related to benefits and challenges

Erna Andriyanti — 2025-11-30

The rapid development of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) has influenced how English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners and educators engage in academic writing. This study aims to explore how lecturers and students in Indonesian higher education integrate AI tools into their academic writing practices, perceive benefits and challenges of using AI, and concern with ethical considerations. Using a qualitative approach combining interviews and photovoice, the study involved thirteen participants from western, central, and eastern Indonesia. The findings show that AI tools are used not only for linguistic assistance but also for idea generation, prompt refinement, and collaborative meaning-making, reflecting an interactive relationship between users and technology. Participants reported that AI improves efficiency, creativity, and clarity in writing, while concerns were raised regarding hallucinated references, inconsistency, and overreliance that may reduce critical thinking and authenticity. The study also finds that AI should be used ethically as a complementary partner that supports, rather than replaces, human intellect in academic writing. The main ethical considerations include maintaining authorship, content verification, and proper referencing. The findings imply the need for pedagogical frameworks and institutional policies that promote ethical, reflective, and responsible AI use in higher education.