Factors Influencing Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency in Academic Speaking among EFL Pre-Service Teachers
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v14i1.10959Keywords:
Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency; Academic Speaking; EFL Pre-Service Teachers; Language Exposure; Linguistic KnowledgeAbstract
This study addresses the limited empirical attention to Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP)-oriented speaking in Indonesian EFL teacher education, where previous studies often examine speaking anxiety, teaching strategies, and oral communication separately. It explores the factors influencing students’ CALP in academic speaking at the English Language Education Study Program (ELESP), Universitas Negeri Gorontalo. A qualitative descriptive design was employed with twelve sixth-semester pre-service English teachers who had taken the Speaking for Academic Purposes course. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and documentation analysis, and were analyzed thematically. The findings reveal four interconnected factors: language exposure, teaching practices, affective factors, and linguistic knowledge. Limited exposure to academic English reduced students’ familiarity with formal vocabulary, academic expressions, and discourse organization. Teaching practices such as English-only activities, debates, presentations, lecturer modeling, correction, and feedback provided structured opportunities for academic speaking practice. Affective factors, particularly anxiety, fear of mistakes, and lack of confidence, reduced spontaneous participation. Linguistic knowledge emerged as the dominant constraint because limited academic vocabulary, grammar mastery, and discourse organization restricted students’ ability to formulate arguments and answer questions, while also intensifying anxiety. Pedagogically, the findings imply that academic speaking instruction should integrate explicit academic vocabulary, discourse organization, critical response strategies, constructive feedback, and emotionally supportive practice.
References
Abid. (2018). Indonesian pre-service English teachers’ perceived challenges in improving English oral communication skills. JEELS (Journal of English Education and Linguistics Studies), 5(2), 147–170. https://doi.org/10.30762/jeels.v5i2.716
Brown, H. D. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (4th ed.). Pearson Education.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Cummins, J. (1979). Cognitive/academic language proficiency, linguistic interdependence, the optimum age question and some other matters. Working Papers on Bilingualism, 19, 121–129.
Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Multilingual Matters.
Danial, H., Idul, R., & Usman, Z. R. (2021). English interaction in EFL context by using the virtual platform at the coastal area school. Ideas: Jurnal Pendidikan, Sosial, dan Budaya, 7(4), 197–204.
Duff, P. A. (2010). Language socialization into academic discourse communities. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 30, 169–192. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190510000048
Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtas.20160501.11
Fajarina, M., & Sumanto, O. B. T. (2025). Breaking the silence: Understanding the struggles of students in academic speaking courses. Teaching English as Foreign Language, Literature and Linguistics, 5(2), 140–147. https://doi.org/10.33752/teflics.v5i2.10715
Ferris, D., & Tagg, T. (1996). Academic oral communication needs of EAP learners: What subject-matter instructors actually require. TESOL Quarterly, 30(1), 31–58. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587606
Goh, C. C. M., & Burns, A. (2012). Teaching speaking: A holistic approach. Cambridge University Press.
Halliday, M. A. K., & Matthiessen, C. M. I. M. (2014). Halliday’s introduction to functional grammar (4th ed.). Routledge.
Herlina, E., Machmud, K., & Danial, H. (2025). Analyzing the factors influencing students’ willingness to communicate in speaking classes at Universitas Negeri Gorontalo. Socius: Jurnal Penelitian Ilmu-Ilmu Sosial, 3(1).
Hyland, K. (2009). Academic discourse: English in a global context. Continuum.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE Publications.
Masruddin, M., Amir, F., Langaji, A., & Rusdiansyah, R. (2023). Conceptualizing linguistic politeness in light of age. International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 11(3), 41-55.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldaña, J. (2014). Qualitative data analysis: A methods sourcebook (3rd ed.). SAGE Publications.
Morita, N. (2004). Negotiating participation and identity in second language academic communities. TESOL Quarterly, 38(4), 573–603. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588281
Nasriandi, N., & Masruddin, M. (2021). The Use of British Parliamentary Debate Style in Teaching Speaking Skill. IDEAS: Journal on English Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature, 9(1).
Nation, I. S. P. (2013). Learning vocabulary in another language (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Nation, I. S. P., & Newton, J. (2009). Teaching ESL/EFL listening and speaking. Routledge.
Richards, J. C. (2015). Key issues in language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Schleppegrell, M. J. (2004). The language of schooling: A functional linguistics perspective. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Shingenge, F. N. (2024). Academic language proficiency of student teachers in a Namibian University. South African Journal of Childhood Education, 14(1), a1411. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajce.v14i1.1411
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Citation Check
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Reynaldi Karim, Muziatun, Haris Danial
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See the Effect of Open Access)
