PEDAGOGICAL CHALLENGES IN TEACHING ENGLISH FOR YOUNG LEARNERS (TEYL) AT AL-ULUM ISLAMIC SCHOOL PEKANBARU
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31258/ijebp.v10.n1.p60-72Keywords:
Pedagogical Challenges, Teaching English for Young Learners (TEYL), Islamic School, Teaching PracticesAbstract
This research aimed to investigate the pedagogical challenges faced by English teachers in Teaching English for Young Learners (TEYL) in the context of an Islamic school. Qualitative research was employed with three English teachers from Grades 1, 3, and 6 at Al-Ulum Islamic School, Pekanbaru. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and classroom observations, and then analyzed thematically. The findings showed that they encountered various challenges, including differences in students’ abilities within a class, limited instructional time, heavy teaching workloads, lack of resources and professional training, difficulty in maintaining students’ motivation alongside participation, as well as curriculum-related obstacles. To address these issues, they adjusted their teaching by differentiating materials and activities, applying varied strategies and media, positioning stronger students as peer models, and modifying assessment practices to suit learners’ abilities. The implications that can be given from this research emphasize the importance of providing professional development opportunities in TEYL and also highlight the need for stronger institutional support for English teaching in Islamic school contexts.
References
Abdul Rahim, F., & Chun, L. S. (2017). Proposing an Affective Literacy Framework for Young Learners of English in Malaysian Rural Areas: Its Key Dimensions and Challenges. Malaysian Journal of Learning and Instruction, 14(2), 115–144. https://doi.org/10.32890/mjli2017.14.2.5
Akmal, S., Fitriah, F., & Fadhilah, I. (2022). The Challenges and Strategies of Islamic School Mentor Teachers in Implementing ELT Lesson Plans. Studies in English Language and Education, 9(3), 926–947. https://doi.org/10.24815/siele.v9i3.23063
Aly, A. H., Rafli, Z., & Murtadho, F. (2024). The Exploration of Artificial Intelligence and Creative Pedagogy in Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL). Journal of Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Education, 8(2), 244–256. http://dx.doi.org/10.32934/jmie.v8i2.665
Aprilia, P. K., Romadhon, M. G. E., Fikri, D., & Mustofa, M. (2023). Strategies and Challenges in Interdisciplinary English Language Teaching at the Preschool Level: A Qualitative Analysis. VELES (Voices of English Language Education Society), 7(3), 652–664. https://doi.org/10.29408/veles.v7i3.24566
Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory (illustrate). Prentice Hall.
Berger, R. (2015). Now I see it, now I don’t: Researcher’s position and reflexivity in qualitative research. Sage Journals, 15(2), 219–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794112468475.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Butler, Y. G. (2022). Cognition and Young Learners’ Language Development. In M. Schwartz (Ed.), Handbook of Early Language Education (pp. 29–56). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91662-6_2
Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching Languages to Young Learners. In Cambridge University Pres. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511733109
Cresswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Fitria, T. N. (2023). Integrating English Language Teaching (ELT) Into Islamic Boarding Schools: A Review of Strategy and Challenges. Journal of English Language and Pedagogy (JELPA), 1(2), 64–78. https://doi.org/10.51826/jelpa.v1i2.772
Garton, S., & Copland, F. (2018). The Routledge Handbook of Teaching English to Young Learners. In Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315623672
Lincoln, Yvonna S & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic Inquiry (Vol. 75). SAGE Publications.
Marzulina, L., Harto, K., Erlina, D., Holandyah, M., Desvitasari, D., Arnilawati, A., Fridiyanto, F., & Mukminin, A. (2021). Challenges in Teaching English for EFL Learners at Pesantren: Teachers’ Voices. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 11, 1581–1589. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1112.10
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2016). Handbook of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) for Educators (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Pinter, A. (2017). Teaching Young Language Learners, Second Edition (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Qodriyah, W. R. (2016). An Analysis of Teachers’ Pedagogical Competence in Teaching English for Young [IAIN Syekh Nurjati Cirebon]. http://repository.syekhnurjati.ac.id
Reynolds, B. L., Liu, S., Milosavljevic, M., Ding, C., & McDonald, J. (2021). Exploring Pre-service Pre-primary EFL Teacher Beliefs about Teaching English to Very Young Learners: A Macau Case Study. SAGE Open, 11(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211052932
Richard, J. S., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511667305
Shulman, L. S. (1987). Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform. Harvard Educational Review. meridian.allenpress.com
Stake, R. E. (2010). Qualitative Research: Studying How Things Work. In Guilford Press (illustrate, Vol. 11, Issue 1). Guilford Press.
Virgianti, N. M. S., Purnamika Utami, I. G. A. L., & Dewi, K. S. (2020). English Teachers’ Perceptions and Implementation of Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Teaching English To Young Learners. Prasi, 15(02), 84. https://doi.org/10.23887/prasi.v15i02.28161
Vygotskiĭ, L. S., & Cole, M. (1978). Mind in society : the development of higher psychological processes. In TA - TT -. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/LK - https://worldcat.org/title/3517053
Zein, S. (2017). The pedagogy of teaching English to young learners: Implications for teacher education. Indonesian JELT: Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching, 12(1), 61–77. https://doi.org/10.25170/ijelt.v12i1.1469
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Farikha Alifia Ruqoyah, Afrianto Daud, Hadriana (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
