




































Anita Anngraeni & Cynantia Rachmijati   34                                                                                                            
Available online at  http://journal.iaingorontalo.ac.id/index.php/al 
 

 © 2020 Al-Lisan: Jurnal Bahasa (e-Journal)  

 

 

        

   Volume 5, Nomor 1, Februari  2020 
          ISSN 2442-8965 (P) ISSN 2442-8973 (E) 

 

 

Investigating The Approaches of English Teachers in Fostering EFL 

Students’ Language Proficiency 
 

Anita Anggraeni
 1
 & Cynantia Rachmijati

2
 

          anitaenglish26@gmail.com, cynantiarachmijati@ikipsiliwangi.ac.id 

Institut Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan Siliwangi, Indonesia 

 

 

ABSTRACT 

 

This research is qualitatively descriptive, intending to define the efforts of English teachers at 

Boarding school and hereinafter referred to as Pesantren (al-Fatah) to develop students’ English 

language proficiency. Subjects of this study are two English teachers and Students at Pesantren 

al-Falah. This study also investigates the way of English teaching methods or strategies in the 

classroom. There are two main instruments to collect data, those are Observation and interview 

guidelines. The result of the study indicates that the most teaching methods used are still a 

teacher-centered, direct method and habituation. This is due to the influence of the traditional 

Arabic learning model which is still largely focused on what is conveyed by the teacher in the 

classroom. But this Pesantren also implemented a communicative approach to develop the 

speaking skill of the students. One of the challenges faced is students' negative perceptions of 

English which assume that English is a western culture that is synonymous with negative things. 

Therefore, to further strengthen the development of English language skills, English teachers 

need to be more exposed to English by offering their students even more usual practice and the 

right media and literature to minimize negative perceptions of Western culture. 

 

Keywords: Pesantren; Teaching Methods; English Language Proficiency. 

 

 

A. INTRODUCTION 

Pesantren is an Islamic educational institution that has a long history and still 

survives in Indonesia (Mubarock, 2015). Pesantren are also part of a unique education 

system. Persevere in the traditional form, thick with the nuances of religion and 

participate actively in the spread of Islam and are led by Kiai or Ustad and produce 

graduates of the students or then referred to as Santri. Based on the data collection of 

Pesantren in 2019 from the Ministry of Religion (taken from 

https://ditpdpontren.kemenag.go.id/web/), there are 28194 Pesantren scattered 

http://u.lipi.go.id/1421293761
mailto:anitaenglish26@gmail.com


Anita Anngraeni & Cynantia Rachmijati   35                                                                                                            
Available online at  http://journal.iaingorontalo.ac.id/index.php/al 
 

 © 2020 Al-Lisan: Jurnal Bahasa (e-Journal)  

throughout Indonesia. The total number of Santri even reaches more than 3 million 

people. 

In the beginning, Pesantren was managed simply and traditionally. There are no 

class classification, no curriculum, nor are there any fixed rules in it. As a medium of 

religious learning, there has never been a contract or request from Santri to the Ustad  

or teacher to provide a book or learning module,  the teachers let alone regulate in detail 

the materials to be taught. Everything depends on the teachers as the axis of the 

Pesantren learning system. Starting from the schedule, methods, even what to be taught, 

all are the authority of a Ustad in full (Haedani, 2004). Two well-known learning 

models at the beginning of the Pesantren were the non-classical Wetonan learning 

system and the Sorogan system.  

The Wetonan/Bandongan system is a study conducted by a Kiai or Ustad, followed 

by Santri with no age limit or a measure of intelligence. This model of learning system, 

reportedly is a method taken from the learning patterns of Arabic scholars. In this 

system, Kiai or Ustad reads the book, while the Santri each hold their own book by 

listening to the Kiai or Ustad statement to condemn or interpret the bare book. Another 

with the recitation of wetonan, sorogan recitation is done one by one, where a Santri 

read the book one by one in front of Kiai or Ustad then they correct students’ mistakes. 

In this Sorogan learning, a Santri makes it possible to have a dialogue with the Kiai or 

Ustad regarding the problems being taught. Unfortunately, a lot of time consuming and 

inefficient to taught to senior students only. Basically, in traditional Pesantren, the level 

of knowledge taught depends more on the scholarship, the acceptance of students and 

the type of book used. The weakness of this system is that there are no clear gaps and 

stages that must be followed by students. There is also no separation between beginner, 

intermediate and advance level. Even Kiai or Ustad only repeats one book to be taught 

to his students. (Haedani, 2004). 

According to Amien Rais (1987), there are some weaknesses of Pesantren that 

need to be addressed immediately, including: the alumni who generally have a narrow 

mind and are not confident when in contact with real life society that develops in line 

with the progress of science and technology. Another weakness is that Pesantren in 

general do not equip their students with the various skills needed to face the challenges 

of life in modern times. And another weakness is that Pesantren are generally closed to 



Anita Anngraeni & Cynantia Rachmijati   36                                                                                                            
Available online at  http://journal.iaingorontalo.ac.id/index.php/al 
 

 © 2020 Al-Lisan: Jurnal Bahasa (e-Journal)  

accept changes therefore it is difficult to keep up with the times. 

Pesantren are considered as the roots of Islamic education in Indonesia, also 

considered as one of the original education systems in Indonesia that is still developing 

today. During this time, in the community there is an ambiguous view of the Pesantren. 

On one side of Pesantren is identical with "traditionalism" in a negative sense (left and 

old-fashioned), but some other circles view Pesantren as a separate entity with 

characteristics that are not owned by other institutions, including the education system 

that is currently running. Learning methods that are rooted in based of Islamic learning 

are also considered unique, one of which is the Bandongan method, the lecture method. 

In this method the students will take part in learning where they will sit around Kiai or 

Ustad and explain the material presented. (Afriza, 2013). 

With the various demands and changes of the times, of course one way is to renew 

or modernize Islamic education. Finally, many Pesantren have improved, added a lot of 

expertise and taught foreign languages, including English in order to follow the 

development of globalization and the development of education (Andika, 2017).  

Some are still trying to follow the traditional roots, but there are also those who 

have tried to develop, for example, to provide learning in a foreign language, namely 

English.  A number of Pesantren also began to incorporate skills lessons as one of the 

materials taught. There are skills in farming, farming, sewing, trading and so on 

(Haedani, 2004) 

Even though almost everyone knows the importance of mastering a foreign 

language, the awareness to learn it does not always run linearly, especially those 

identified as traditional Pesantren. There are several reasons why foreign languages 

other than Arabic have received less attention among the Pesantren community. First, 

there is a psychological obstacle in the form of fear to learn it. During this time when 

people talk about English for example, what appears in the assumption later is that 

English is very difficult to learn. Second, there are cultural constraints in the sense that 

learning English in a Pesantren is considered not a norm. Third, lack of access. Fourth, 

lack of adequate human resources to develop English. Fourth, a very basic factor is 

ideological biases where language is understood as part of a particular religion. For 

example, Arabic is considered as the language of Islam, English as the language of 

Christians, Chinese as a representation of the language of Confucianism and so on. 



Anita Anngraeni & Cynantia Rachmijati   37                                                                                                            
Available online at  http://journal.iaingorontalo.ac.id/index.php/al 
 

 © 2020 Al-Lisan: Jurnal Bahasa (e-Journal)  

Therefore, it can be seen that Pesantren which trying to be more modern and 

develop their English language skills are sometimes hit by perceptions, opinions and 

fears in using the language. As stated by Baekani et al (2017) that most pesantren 

residents feel they don't need to use English and don't even know English at all. Ihsan 

on his finding (2011) also stated that in the use of everyday language, students are 

generally faced with various patterns of choice in language activities namely 

Indonesian, Arabic,  and regional languages. But generally the students or santri are 

more inclined in using local languages. 

Initially, Pesantren Al-Fatah which is located in Gunung Halu, West Bandung, only 

taught Islamic religious sciences and studying specifically the bare book that became a 

reference for Islamic scientific traditions in the Pesantren. But along with the 

development era and there are also demands from the community to hold formal 

education whose alumni are recognized by the government with the same diploma as 

the general diploma, Pesantren Al-Fatah finally organizes more formal educational 

institutions as a Madrasah while still maintaining the characteristics of traditional 

Pesantren but also balanced with the introduction and development of science and 

technology, and one of the efforts to develop them is by fostering English language 

prificiency. 

Anto. et al (2018) in their research stated that in a Pesantren environment, 

especially the modern ones , students are required to be accustomed to using several 

languages that have become standard in using language as a means of communication. 

The obligation to use multi-language is intended to improve the competence and 

language skills of students. With adequate foreign language skills, students are expected 

to be able to compete in competitions when they have graduated and are ready to enter 

the community.  

Therefore, it is important to address on how the Pesantren Al Fatah would do to 

fostering their students’ English Skill. Departing from the problem, therefore the 

problems that can be formulated in this study are: How is the learning model and 

strategies to fostering English skill in Pesantren Al Fatah Bandung? What are the 

driving forces and obstacles in the process of fostering English in Pesantren Al Fatah 

Bandung?. 

 



Anita Anngraeni & Cynantia Rachmijati   38                                                                                                            
Available online at  http://journal.iaingorontalo.ac.id/index.php/al 
 

 © 2020 Al-Lisan: Jurnal Bahasa (e-Journal)  

B. RESEARCH METHOD 

This research approach is a qualitative descriptive, because the data will be 

presented in descriptive analysis. Whereas qualitative research itself according to 

Bogdan and Taylor as cited by Lexy.J. Moleong (2006), is a research procedure that 

produces descriptive data in the form of written or oral words from the people and 

actors observed. The research location is in Gununghalu Village, Gununghalu District, 

West Bandung Regency, West Java Province, Indonesia.  Primary data sources are data 

that is directly accessed by researchers (Sugiyono, 2006). In this study the data taken 

data from observations to English classes and the observational data are the teacher and 

students.  Secondary data sources in this study were drawn from literature studies and 

related books.  

The tools to collect data in this study are interviews, observation and documents. 

Data obtained from interviews will be combined with data from observation data and 

documents. Those intruments are used to invetigate in detail how the learning process 

conducted in the classroom.  

Data analysis methods use inductive methods, namely data reduction, data 

presentation and data verification. In analyzing the data will be used with a literature 

review on English language learning. The interpretation of the findings will be 

interpreted based on the literature review and conclusions based on the results of the 

interpretation that has been prepared. 

 

D. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 

 In Pesantren Al Fatah, there are two English teachers. Based on observations in 

class, there are a number of English learning strategies, those were giving and 

introducing vocabulary. The teacher reads the vocabulary then followed by the student 

in a loud voice. The next activity is making conversation activity where students are 

asked to talk with the other person. The third activity is reading and writing activities 

and usually the teacher gives worksheets. The students in the class around 40 to 42 

students. The teacher focused on the vocabulary lists and then discussing the meaning 

and the synonym of the vocabulary. After explaining material, English teachers then 

proceed gave the students the worksheet which is usually a text to be read and 

translated.  After the students finished discussing and translating the text and then the 



Anita Anngraeni & Cynantia Rachmijati   39                                                                                                            
Available online at  http://journal.iaingorontalo.ac.id/index.php/al 
 

 © 2020 Al-Lisan: Jurnal Bahasa (e-Journal)  

students presented in the class of their finished work. Here on this part the student was 

practicing speaking also listening skill where their peers were presenting their work. 

The lesson end with teacher summarized the lesson and revising the grammar and 

vocabulary that were given that day.  The teaching method and strategies were similar 

to the wetonan/bandongan system where Kiai or Ustad reads the book while the 

students each hold their own book by listening to the teacher's statement to condemn or 

interpret the bare book.  

Based on interviews with English teachers, they stated that the lack of students 

in English was, among others: students still have a low vocabulary, lack of speaking 

skills due to low self-confidence and lack of mastering grammar. The teachers try to 

improve coaching by providing remedial and additional training and even direct 

communication with students so that students' English skills become better. 

Learning strategy according to Kemp (Kemp, 1977) is a learning activity that 

must be carried out by teachers and students in order that learning objectives can be 

achieved effectively and efficiently. The efforts to implement lesson plans that have 

been prepared in real activities therefore the objectives that have been prepared can be 

achieved optimally, need a method to realize the strategies.  

Strategies used can vary, for example through question and answer or lectures. 

The approach can be interpreted as a starting point or point of view of a learning 

process. Roy Killen (Killen, 1998) notes that there are two approaches to learning, 

namely teacher centered approaches and students centered approaches. For teacher 

centered approaches teachers usually reduce direct learning while student centered is 

called discovery learning. 

Based on the above explanation, it can be concluded that the learning model and 

strategies to fostering English skill in Pesantren Al Fatah Bandung are: 

1. Communicative method 

Learning English using a communicative approach can motivate learners, 

if the steps taken can be used as a forum for learners to practice the language 

learned for example, dialogue / interact in small groups by utilizing the material 

available in textbooks and from sources. other. To achieve the goal of 

communicative English learning there needs to be a methodical didactic change 

that leads to social interaction and invites learners to get involved in the teaching 



Anita Anngraeni & Cynantia Rachmijati   40                                                                                                            
Available online at  http://journal.iaingorontalo.ac.id/index.php/al 
 

 © 2020 Al-Lisan: Jurnal Bahasa (e-Journal)  

and learning process. Teaching and learning process as above is more directed to 

CBSA (Active Student Learning Methods). On this method usually teachers let 

the students to discuss after giving an issue and then they will be having 

conversation and discussion among their peers where they reached a conclusion 

and agreement after the students practice their speaking skills. On this 

communicative method were used in the way of the teacher given the materials 

and reading aloud the vocabularies then the students were instructed to discussed 

and translated an English text in a group or working their worksheets.  

2. Direct method 

Direct method is a method of teaching foreign languages by directly 

using the foreign language as the language of instruction, and without using the 

first language of students in teaching. If there are words that are difficult for 

them to understand, then the teacher can interpret using props, demonstrating, 

describing and others.  

Using this method, the teacher used English directly to the students on 

each lesson and therefore make students get used to the English exposure. This 

is the most method that the teacher used since most of the lesson used are 

teacher centered. This is also where the teacher emphasized on the vocabularies, 

the definition and the synonym of the word. 

For example, where the teacher explained the word “complicated”, the 

teacher urged the students to found out the meaning of the word and then the 

synonym of the word. Therefore, the students used “difficult”, “hard to digest” 

and other synonyms to describe the words.  

3. Habituation Technique 

Another thing that is done in the English learning method at Pesantren 

Al Fatah is through training and habituation activities. The teacher provides 

training activities especially speaking at the time before class starts or there are 

certain days where English Day is held so that students are accustomed to using 

English. It can be concluded that the English learning model and strategies 

which are used in Pesantren Al Fatah Bandung to fostering their students’ 

English skill are teacher centered, communicative method,direct method and 



Anita Anngraeni & Cynantia Rachmijati   41                                                                                                            
Available online at  http://journal.iaingorontalo.ac.id/index.php/al 
 

 © 2020 Al-Lisan: Jurnal Bahasa (e-Journal)  

also habituation where the teacher is given the materials and students followed 

along. Maghfiroh's (2016) research results stated that the language discipline in 

the Pesantren slowly but surely can shape the character of the Santri language, 

namely by accustoming the use of language in their daily life eventually the 

Santri will get used to the target language. It is similar result with this study 

which stated that practice and habituation can be one of the fostering of 

language skills method that are applied in the Pesantren environment. The 

observation and interview results revealed some driving forces and obstacles in 

the process of fostering students’ English proficiency in Pesantren Al Fatah.  

The obstacles were quite clear, most of the students and teachers put Arabic 

language as the most special therefore they do not think that English was special or tend 

to think as “second class language”. Other obstacles were the perceptions of the students 

towards English.  The students believed that Arabic language was enough and therefore 

studying English language is seen as something strange. And most students also 

identified English with Westerners and therefore have negative assumptions about it. 

The strong ideology of Islam and the suspicion of the West and the negative effects on 

English also influence the development and teaching of English. The last perception 

especially from the students that believed English is difficult and the students weren’t as 

excited in studying English compared to Arabic.  

Based on the results of interviews with English teachers and observations, the 

driving force is the existence of adequate facilities and infrastructure to advance the 

students to improve their English language skills, especially in speaking skills. This can 

be seen by the implementation of English Day on certain days where students are 

required to speak in English. 

Therefore, it can be concluded that the driving force is the adequate facilities and 

qualified infrastructure, and the obstacles is students’ negative perceptions on English 

language who they believed were Westernized and difficult to learn.  

The results of this study are in line with what was stated by Solichin (Solichin, 

2013) that pesantren should integrate English with Islamic studies to follow the 

development of civilization and culture thus grow into modern people. 

 

 



Anita Anngraeni & Cynantia Rachmijati   42                                                                                                            
Available online at  http://journal.iaingorontalo.ac.id/index.php/al 
 

 © 2020 Al-Lisan: Jurnal Bahasa (e-Journal)  

D. CONCLUSION 

Pesantren at first who was focus on only religion now has transformed into a better 

educational institute that also follow the development of globalization. Pesantren Al 

Fatah is one of those who keeps trying to improve their educational system especially 

in English. In fostering English skill, it can be concluded that the English learning 

model and strategies which are used in class are teacher centered, communicative 

method, direct method and practice of habitual in applying English Day. The driving 

forces in the fostering English skill is the adequate facilities and qualified infrastructure  

The obstacles in fostering English skill is the student’s negative perception on English 

language. Therefore, in order to further improve fostering students’ English language 

skills, a higher exposure is needed related to English. In addition to habituation, 

introducing appropriate media and literature and other activities such as speeches and 

debates to reduce negative perceptions related to English. In the end, the success of 

teaching and developing foreign languages, especially English in Pesantren, is 

determined by many factors, ranging from changing perceptions, methods, availability 

of facilities and infrastructure. But the most decisive factor is actually the willingness of 

the Pesantren themselves to be open to accept and realize the importance of English for 

development. 

 

REFERENCES 

 

Afriza, H. (2013, October 17). Pesantren sistem pendidikan asli di Indonesia. Retrieved 

from Khazanah Republika: https://www.republika.co.id/berita/dunia-

islam/khazanah/13/10/17/mut6fy-pesantren-sistem-pendidikan-asli-indonesia 

Andika, M. A. (2017). Pembelajaran bahasa Arab-Inggris di Lembaga Kursus Bahasa 

Asing (LKBA) pondok pesantren Miftahul Huda. Prosiding Konferensi 

Nasional Bahasa Arab III (pp. 189-196). Malang: Universitas Negeri Malang. 

Anto, P., & Rahma, F. (2018). Jasus Bahasa : suatu metode pembelajaran bahasa asing 

di pesantren modern (representasi dalam novel berlatar pondok modern 

Gontor). Prosiding Pekan Seminar Nasional (Pesona) (pp. 21-33). Jakarta: 

UHAMKA. 

Baekani, A. K., Srisudarso, M., & Pahlevi, M. R. (Vol 5 No 2 November 2017). 

Pandangan para ustad dan santri terhadap pelajaran bahasa Inggris di pondok 

pesantren Salafiyah Darul Ulum Karawang. JUDIKA : Jurnal Pendidikan 

Unsika , 117-123. 



Anita Anngraeni & Cynantia Rachmijati   43                                                                                                            
Available online at  http://journal.iaingorontalo.ac.id/index.php/al 
 

 © 2020 Al-Lisan: Jurnal Bahasa (e-Journal)  

 

Chaplin, J. (1958). Dictionary of psychology. New York: Dell Publishing. 

Dhofier, Z. (1983). Tradisi pesantren : Studi tentang padangan hidup kyai. Jakarta: 

LP3ES. 

Haedani, H. (2004). Panorama pesantren dalam cakrawala modern. Jakarta: Diva 

Pustaka. 

Ihsan, M. (Vol 2 No 1 Tahun 2011). Perilaku berbahasa di pondok pesantren Adlaniyah 

kabupaten Pasaman Barat. Jurnal Wacana Etnik , 25-38. 

Joni, R. (1984). Pokok pokok pikiran mengenai pendidikan guru. Jakarta: Ditjen Dikti. 

Kemp, J. E. (1977). Instructional Design : Plan for unit and course development. New 

York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston. 

Killen, R. (1998). Effcetive teaching strategies. New Castle: Social science press. 

Lexy.J.Moleong. (2006). Metode penelitian kualitatif. Bandung: Remaja Rosdakarya. 

Maghfiroh, A. (Vol 3 No 2 Tahun 2016). From daily to fluency : melejitkan 

kemampuan bahasa asing dengan aktivitas bahasa harian. Jurnal Dimensi 

pendidikan dan pembelajaran , 49-56. 

Mubarock, N. (2015, Juni 17). Peran keberadaan pondok pesantren dalam sistem 

pendidikan di Indonesia. Retrieved from Kompasiana: 

https://www.kompasiana.com/nafiseka/555c91d3739773871a308730/peran-

keberadaan-pondok-pesantren-dalam-sistem-pendidikan-di-indonesia 

Rais, A. (1987). Cakrawala Islam antara cita dan fakta. Bandung: Mizan. 

Solichin, M. M. (Vol 10 No 1 tahun 2013). Inovasi pembelajaran di pesantren : 

pengembangan pembelajaran bahasa Inggris. Jurnal Nuansa , 223-226. 

Sugiyono. (2006). Teknik Penelitian. Yogyakarta: Pines. 

Zuhairini. (1992). Sejarah pendidikan Islam. Jakarta: Bumi aksara. 

 


