LINGUISTICS DEVELOPMENT IN ISLAMIC BOARDING SCHOOL: A

CASE STUDY FOR EFL TEACHERS

Silvi Darlely1, Sholihatul Hamidah Daulay2

State Islamic University of North Sumatera

ABSTRACT

This study aims to identify the challenges faced by EFL in-service teacher in a modern Islamic
boarding school. The research design of this study is a qualitative study. This study focused on the
challenges that faced by EFL teacher in a modern Islamic boarding school. The participant in this
study is in-service English teacher in a modern Islamic boarding school. The data was collected
by teacher interview and class observation and analyzed through thematic analysis. The finding
results showed that the student educational background, student and class condition, teaching
method, and students lack of motivation as challenges for EFL teacher in a modern Islamic
boarding school.

Keywords : Linguistic Development, EFL Teacher Challenges, Modern Islamic Boarding School,
Qualitative Study

INTRODUCTION

The primary language that non-native speakers of other countries use to communicate is
undoubtedly English, which plays a significant role as a global or international language. As a
result, everyone in the globe needs to study English, and many international students find it
difficult. Globalization and technology present numerous obstacles for educators, particularly
those teaching English in schools. Political instability is also a result of economic shifts (Michalak
& Bavli, 2018). Students may also be impacted at school, becoming lethargic and uninterested in
learning, particularly when it comes to learning English. Structural disruptions can affect students
as well as other things like jobs, finances, and social lives.
 In fact, the problems facing education today are quite unpredictable and constantly evolving.
Due to the rapidly changing social and economic landscape, employment opportunities,
technological advancements, and emerging societal issues, education must set up young people to
be ready for these and other rapidly changing factors (Darling-Hammond & Lieberman, 2012).
Because of this, educators must grow in their capacity to learn and in their mindset in order to meet
the obstacles they will confront in the classroom.

Islamic boarding schools, particularly contemporary Islamic boarding schools, are among
the educational establishments that offer language instruction. In the past, one of the mandatory
courses in the pesantren curriculum has been English as a foreign language (EFL) (Habibi, 2018).
Students at contemporary Islamic boarding schools are taught two foreign languages: Arabic and
English. When teaching English in a contemporary Islamic boarding school, it is not always
successful. In their classrooms, Indonesian English teachers regularly encounter difficulties.
Songbatumis (2017) found that a number of issues pertaining to the facilities in schools,
instructors, and students appeared in relation to difficulties in teaching English.

Many think that the demands of this globalization era can be better met by wealth through
contemporary education. Because of this case, Islamic boarding school education is being
eliminated from education more and more because it is seen as antiquated and out of touch with
modern society. According to Streenbring in Hidayati and Humam, many students quit boarding
school and formal institutions show little interest in adopting more traditional and modern systems
(Hidayati & Fuat,, 2021). There are institutions that continue to exist, despite the fact that many
people favor contemporary institutions because they have better and more secure systems.
According to Zuhriyyah, who was quoted in Hidayati and Humam, there are still many traditional
Islamic boarding schools that uphold their traditions without altering the educational system and
are still regarded by the community as reputable establishments that produce excellent graduates,
particularly in the religious field (Hidayati & Fuat, 2021). It was stated in that remark that there is
no questioning the caliber of human resources coming from Islamic boarding schools, especially
conventional Islamic boarding schools. They practice a general and far superior religion.

Islamic education is becoming increasingly important because people need morality to guide
their interactions with others and knowledge to help them through life. Numerous components of
Islamic education can aid in enhancing Indonesia's human resource base. As per Rivai in
Dariyanto, Islamic education forms the cornerstone and progress of Indonesia, greatly aiding the
country in fostering the spiritual fortitude of its pupils. Islamic primary schools in rural areas
provide their students with places of worship, including mosques, study spaces, and other religious
spaces. Predetermined restrictions kept an eye on them in order to instill a disciplined way of living
(Dariyanto et al., 2022). In Wijayanto, Al-Qaradawi further stated that Islamic education
encompasses all aspects of human education, including the mind, heart, body, and character as
well as talents. In this instance, Muslims view Islamic education as their first line of defense in
ensuring high-quality instruction in order to produce the greatest Islamic generation. By
transforming students into Muslim leaders who will support Islam, it is a basic strategy to turn
things around (Wijayanto, 2020). Drawing from the aforementioned assertion, it may be inferred
that Islamic education serves a dual purpose in Islamic boarding schools: it is not merely a general
education grounded in Islam, but also a well-prepared education aimed at improving the lot of
Muslims.

The process of acquiring a second language after one's mother tongue, or after one's first
language acquisition is established, is referred to as second language acquisition and learning. For
instance, when a youngster enters school, he begins learning English even though his native tongue
is Hindi. Learning a second language increases understanding of English. Young children pick up
second languages more quickly than adults do (Hoque, 2017).

Since Islamic boarding schools want students to live there for an extended amount of time
and plan their daily schedules from when they get up until when they go to bed, they are currently
good settings for implementing English language acquisition. According to Mukhlas and Fadhilah
in Taib, the Islamic boarding school has a twenty-four-hour instructional system, in contrast to
conventional educational institutions, especially in Indonesia (Taib, 2021). This assertion implies
that pupils will engage in constant English language learning because attending boarding school
necessitates that they communicate with one another in the language all day long.

Acquiring language skills in students can be done in a variety of methods, either actively or
passively. If students achieve language acquisition criteria like pronunciation or use foreign
languages regularly, they might be considered active learners. Conversely, if students fall short of
these requirements or use foreign languages seldom, they can be considered passive learners.
Students will, nevertheless, acquire English to its fullest extent when they actively apply or utter
it. Liu stated in Dariyanto that learning English actively or passively is necessary since it is a
universal capital of communication (Dariyanto et al., 2022). This remark implies that as English
is the main medium of communication for students at Islamic boarding schools, English language
acquisition is done aggressively. It is uncommon for English to be actively taught in public
schools; instead, pupils' speech is acquired passively while attending these institutions.

Since the goal of Islamic boarding schools is to prepare students for immediate entry into
society, it is impossible to isolate them from society at large. In Sabiq, Rofik stated that Islamic
boarding schools are a unit that is inextricably linked to the objective reality of society in order to
meet the demands of the modern world (Sabiq et al., 2019). Thus, it makes sense that education at
Islamic boarding schools contributes to the development of social qualities like generosity,
harmony and peace, responsibility, etc. As a result, it is impossible to divorce Islamic boarding
schools from the attitudes of its pupils, which is advantageous for the application of English
language learning in addition to giving students a basic understanding of appropriate behavior,
speech, and language use in social situations.

Regarding the learning of English at Islamic boarding schools, a number of research yield
varying conclusions. According to research done at an Islamic boarding school, Utami et al. (2020)
found that pupils' linguistic attitudes vary. They receive a low score for their positive language
attitude and a high score for their negative language attitude. Given that this research yields results
that are inversely proportional to students' views regarding student grades, we can conclude that
students' attitudes do not always impact their final grades (A. R. Utami & Malihah, 2018). Al-
Baekani and Pahlevi's (2018) additional research revealed that traditional Islamic boarding schools
welcomed the use of English as a supplement for both its professors and pupils. According to their
findings, Islamic boarding schools are well-liked because they believe that learning English is
necessary to help students and teachers acquire other higher-level knowledge, such international
science. Along with giving teachers the chance to be more creative and active in coming up with
English concepts, Islamic boarding schools also give pupils a variety of platforms to develop their
talents in the language. Examples of these platforms include language programs and language
methods offered by Islamic boarding schools. Mubarok, 2021; AlBarokah et al., 2018)

Since English is the primary language used in the majority of contemporary Islamic boarding
schools, the researcher is interested in learning about the difficulties faced by English teachers
when instructing pupils in these settings. As a result, this study will go into further detail on the
difficulties experienced by English teachers at contemporary Islamic boarding schools.

RESEARCH METHOD

The descriptive qualitative method was employed in this study. As a case study for EFL
teachers, the researcher in this study spoke with a teacher on language development in an Islamic
boarding school. Furthermore, the data type was descriptive, with the aim of highlighting the
difficulties encountered by the majority of teachers when instructing English in classrooms.

The outcomes of teacher interviews served as the research data in this study. Following a
natural interview, the researcher used theme analysis to examine the teacher's response. Ultimately,
the data This study was carried out in an Indonesian contemporary Islamic boarding school.

The participant is a 40-year-old English teacher with the initials MN-12 who works with
students in grades 10 through 12. The English teacher was selected by the researcher due to her 5
years of expertise teaching English at a contemporary Islamic boarding school. that was analyzed
revealed the study's conclusion.

FINDING & DISCUSSION

a. Students Educational Background

The teacher's first obstacle is the background of the students. at Indonesia, the practice of
teaching English at contemporary Islamic boarding schools dates back many years. Even though
it has been around for a while, English teachers still have a lot of obstacles to overcome when
working in contemporary Islamic boarding schools. A contributing cause to teachers feeling
stretched is the variety of educational backgrounds among their students. It is crucial to come up
with innovative strategies for handling a mixed-level class because of the wide range of students'
personalities, aspirations, ages, and learning styles, in addition to their educational backgrounds in
English (Aisyah, 2017). Additionally, Pande (2013) advises teachers to try to match students' skills
and to exercise patience when working with pupils of different skill levels. The results of this study
show that English teachers need to be able to modify their methods so that every student can pay
attention in class and integrate well with the subject matter.
b. Students and Class Condition
The physical state of the kids presents the teacher with a second obstacle. In a
contemporary Islamic boarding school, the English instructor typically needs to have a deeper
understanding of the conditions of the pupils in the classroom. The study's conclusions show that
English teachers frequently experience difficulties when their students' behavior interferes with
their ability to learn. The most frequent occurrence is for students to become tired and nod off in
class. The teacher at the time had to put up with the busy schedules that the kids at the
contemporary Islamic boarding school carried out. The teacher will allow kids to rest if they appear
weary and sleepy. A lot of students nodded off throughout class. Not one or two, but over half of
the kids slept off during class. Because of their busy schedules in a modern Islamic boarding
school, teachers will wake up students who fall asleep and accept them if they wake up again.
c. Students Lack of Motivation

The issue of pupils' lack of motivation presents another difficulty for the instructor. It
takes a lot of patience and self-control to teach English, especially to Islamic Modern Boarding
School kids. Teachers also need to be able to deal with the emotional needs of their students. In a
contemporary Islamic boarding school, using English should be commonplace and necessary for
daily living. The researcher collected the data from a modern Islamic boarding school, yet the
English language is still not used appropriately there. MN claims that this is a result of the kids'
lack of enthusiasm for learning English. It is nevertheless challenging to apply English itself since
students frequently feel insecure and unconfident about their ability to communicate in the
language.

Additionally, teachers find it more difficult to inspire pupils to be enthusiastic about using
English when they lack exposure (Khan, 2011). English language education and learning should
be examined in order to address the issues; one way to achieve this is through altering attitudes
(Fatiloro, 2015). Another tactic proposed by August and 28 Shanahan (2006) is that in order to
teach kids effectively, teachers should push them to understand their mother tongue and the
parallels between it and their native speech.
CONCLUSION

Teachers of English find it difficult to teach the language in a contemporary Islamic boarding
school. By identifying obstacles to English instruction in contemporary Islamic boarding schools,
the researcher is better able to comprehend the intricate roles that English teachers play in the
classroom. The study's findings revealed a number of difficulties experienced by English teachers
at contemporary Islamic boarding schools. The first issue is the variety in educational backgrounds
among the students. Due to their diverse histories and places of origin, teachers must devise
efficient strategies to engage all pupils and ensure that they fully understand the material. The state
of the students in the class presents the second difficulty. The results of this study show that English
teachers frequently experience difficulties when their students' circumstances make the classroom
unfavorable—for instance, when pupils frequently nod off during class. The next issue is the
teachers' inadequate use of media and instructional strategies. It is difficult to implement more
sophisticated and varied learning methods in a contemporary Islamic boarding school because of
these constraints. The final difficulty is the students' lack of enthusiasm in the classroom. Because
of the hectic pace of activities in a modern Islamic boarding school, many students undervalue
English studies and believe that learning the language is only necessary if they want to receive
good grades rather than using it in their daily lives. In order for instructional activities to be carried
out successfully in the future, English teachers who wish to teach in contemporary Islamic
boarding schools must take this research into consideration.

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