Validating EFL Students’ Evaluations of a Compulsory Matriculation Program: Links to Motivation in an Indonesian Context
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33394/jo-elt.v12i2.15722Keywords:
Student evaluation, Motivation, EFL context, Matriculation, ValidationAbstract
Effective management of language programs involves multifaceted components, particularly regarding quality assurance. However, evaluations by program management often overlook student perspectives due to biases, perceived insignificance, or a tendency to view such assessments as routine. This study aimed to investigate students’ quality assessments of a compulsory English matriculation program in an Indonesian private university. A questionnaire, adapted from Student Evaluation of Educational Quality (SEEQ), was distributed to 390 students across eight departments. Descriptive analysis revealed that while students provided predominantly favourable evaluations across all assessed aspects, dimensions of assessment clarity, task relevance, and classroom interactions received comparatively lower ratings. Confirmatory Factor Analysis demonstrated the instrument's validity and reliability, along with its overall good fit measures. Lastly, Pearson Correlation Analysis indicated positive and significant correlations between students' perceived quality of the program and their motivation, with the strongest one on their self-determination. By promoting an environment that prioritizes quality assurance through student evaluations and feedback, educational institutions can stimulate increased student motivation and improve overall outcomes in language acquisition.
References
Agawa, T., & Takeuchi, O. (2016). Validating Self-Determination Theory in the Japanese EFL context: Relationship between innate needs and motivation. Asian EFL Journal, 18(1), 7–33.
Arbuckle, J. L., & Wothke, W. (2005). Amos 4.0 user’s guide. SmallWaters Corp.
Bower, K. (2019). Explaining motivation in language learning: A framework for evaluation and research. The Language Learning Journal, 47(5), 558–574. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2017.1321035
Byrne, B. M. (2010). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Cheng, J. H. S., & Marsh, H. W. (2010). National Student Survey: Are differences between universities and courses reliable and meaningful? Oxford Review of Education, 36(6), 693–712. https://doi.org/10.1080/03054985.2010.491179
Coffey, M., & Gibbs, G. (2001). The evaluation of the Student Evaluation of Educational Quality Questionnaire (SEEQ) in UK higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 26(1), 89–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930020022318
Coffey, S. (2015). Reframing teachers’ language knowledge through metaphor analysis of language portraits. The Modern Language Journal, 99(3), 500–514. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12235
Collier, J. E. (2020). Applied structural equation modeling using AMOS: Basic to advanced techniques. Routledge.
Creswell, J. W. (2015). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (5th ed.). Pearson.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2271-7
Dincer, A., Yeşilyurt, S., Noels, K. A., & Vargas Lascano, D. I. (2019). Self-determination and classroom engagement of EFL learners: A mixed-methods study of the self-system model of motivational development. Sage Open, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019853913
Dörnyei, Z., with Ushioda, E. (2013). Teaching and researching motivation (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315833750
Eccles, J. S., & Wigfield, A. (2002). Motivational beliefs, values, and goals. Annual Review of Psychology, 53(1), 109–132. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135153
Galbraith, C. S., Merrill, G. B., & Kline, D. M. (2012). Are student evaluations of teaching effectiveness valid for measuring student learning outcomes in business related classes? Research in Higher Education, 53(3), 353–374. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-011-9229-0
Gardner, R. C., & Lambert, W. E. (1959). Motivational variables in second-language acquisition. Canadian Journal of Psychology, 13(4), 266–272. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0083787
Ginns, P., Prosser, M., & Barrie, S. (2007). Students’ perceptions of teaching quality in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 32(5), 603–615. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070701573773
Hair, J. F. (Ed.). (2014). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed., Pearson New International ed.). Pearson.
Hair, J. F., Risher, J. J., Sarstedt, M., & Ringle, C. M. (2019). When to use and how to report the results of PLS-SEM. European Business Review, 31(1), 2–24. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBR-11-2018-0203
Hamid, S. N., Hamid, O. Z., Che Senik, Z., & Faculty of Economics & Management, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. (2022). Students’ satisfaction and intention to continue online learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 18(3). https://doi.org/10.17576/geo-2022-1803-09
Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8
Hidayat, M. (2024). English language proficiency and career opportunities: Perceptions of Indonesian university graduates. Language Value, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.6035/languagev.7933
Jaliyya, F. G., & Idrus, F. (2017). EFL students’ attitudes and perception towards English language learning and their English language proficiency. Journal of Education and Learning, 11(3), 2019–2228.
Jiao, S., & Liang, F. (2022). Sustainable development of high school English learners in China. Sustainability, 14(19), 12619. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912619
Kumaravadivelu, B. (1994). The postmethod condition: (E)merging strategies for second/foreign language teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 28(1), 27. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587197
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2001). Toward a postmethod pedagogy. TESOL Quarterly, 35(4), 537. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588427
Mandouit, L. (2018). Using student feedback to improve teaching. Educational Action Research, 26(5), 755–769. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2018.1426470
Marsh, H. W. (1982a). SEEQ: A reliable, valid, and useful instrument for collecting students’ evaluations of university teaching. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 52(1), 77–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1982.tb02505.x
Marsh, H. W. (1982b). SEEQ: A reliable, valid, and useful instrument for collecting students’ evaluations of university teaching. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 52(1), 77–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1982.tb02505.x
Marsh, H. W. (1987). Students’ evaluations of university teaching: Research findings and directions. International Journal of Educational Research, 11(3), 253–388. https://doi.org/10.1016/0883-0355(87)90001-2
Marsh, H. W., Hau, K. T., Chung, C. M., & Siu, T. L. P. (1997). Students’ evaluations of university teaching: Chinese version of the SEEQ instrument.
Marsh, H. W., Hau, K. T., & Wen, Z. (2004). In search of golden rules. Structural Equation Modeling, 11(3), 320–341. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15328007sem1103_2
Marsh, H. W., Muthén, B., Asparouhov, T., Lüdtke, O., Robitzsch, A., Morin, A. J. S., & Trautwein, U. (2009). Exploratory structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling, 16(3), 439–476. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510903008220
Maruf, Z., Rahmawati, A. S., Siswantara, E., & Murwantono, D. (2020). Long walk to quality improvement. 9(03).
O’Reilly, E. N. (2014). Correlations among perceived autonomy support. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(7), 1313–1318. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.4.7.1313-1318
Ramsden, P. (1991). A performance indicator of teaching quality. Studies in Higher Education, 16(2), 129–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079112331382944
Renandya, W. R., & Jacobs, G. M. (2023). What makes a good language teacher? Journal of English Language and Linguistics, 2(2), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.62819/jel.2021.114
Richards, J. C. (2017). Teaching English through English. RELC Journal, 48(1), 7–30. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688217690059
Richardson, J. T. E. (2005). Instruments for obtaining student feedback. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 30(4), 387–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930500099193
Sarker, B. K., Sarker, D. K., Shaha, S. R., Saha, D., & Sarker, S. (2024). Why apply SPSS, SmartPLS and AMOS. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, VIII(IX), 2688–2699. https://doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2024.8090224
Schumacker, R. E., & Lomax, R. G. (2010). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling. http://www.123library.org/book_details/?id=75796
Shevlin, M., Banyard, P., Davies, M., & Griffiths, M. (2000). The validity of student evaluation of teaching. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 25(4), 397–405. https://doi.org/10.1080/713611436
Shulman, L. S. (1986). Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher, 15(2), 11. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X015002004
Silalahi, W. P., & Sitorus, F. R. (2021). An Indonesian EFL student’s perception and experiences. BIRCI Journal, 4(2), 1724–1729. https://doi.org/10.33258/birci.v4i2.1845
Spencer, K. J., & Schmelkin, L. P. (2002). Student perspectives on teaching and its evaluation. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 27(5), 397–409. https://doi.org/10.1080/0260293022000009285
Spooren, P., Mortelmans, D., & Denekens, J. (2007). Student evaluation of teaching quality. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 32(6), 667–679. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930601117191
Stankovska, G., Ziberi, F., & Dimitrovski, D. (2024). Service quality and student satisfaction in higher education. Different Worlds, 22.
Subekti, A. S. (2020). University English teachers’ challenges in handling unmotivated learners. Langkawi, 6(2), 100. https://doi.org/10.31332/lkw.v0i0.1926
Suryani, H., & Amalia, S. (2018). Students’ English proficiency. Ta’dib: Jurnal Pendidikan Islam, 23(2), 194–201. https://doi.org/10.19109/td.v23i2.2566
Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., & Koestner, R. (2008). Reflections on self-determination theory. Canadian Psychology, 49(3), 257–262. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012804
Wahyuningsih, S., Afandi, M., Kasriyati, D., & Khoeroni, F. (2023). Barriers to teaching English. European Journal of Educational Research, 12(4), 1617–1629. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.12.4.1617
Whittaker, T. A., & Schumacker, R. E. (2022). A beginner’s guide to structural equation modeling (5th ed.). Routledge.
Zein, S., Sukyadi, D., Hamied, F. A., & Lengkanawati, N. S. (2020). English language education in Indonesia. Language Teaching, 53(4), 491–523. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444820000208
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 paulus Widiatmoko
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
License and Publishing Agreement
In submitting the manuscript to the journal, the authors certify that:
- They are authorized by their co-authors to enter into these arrangements.
- The work described has not been formally published before, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, thesis, or overlay journal.
- That it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere,
- That its publication has been approved by all the author(s) and by the responsible authorities “tacitly or explicitly“ of the institutes where the work has been carried out.
- They secure the right to reproduce any material that has already been published or copyrighted elsewhere.
- They agree to the following license and publishing agreement.
Copyright
Authors who publish with Jo-ELT (Journal of English Language Teaching) Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris IKIP agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment 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 acknowledgment 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.
Licensing for Data Publication
Jo-ELT (Journal of English Language Teaching) Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris IKIP use a variety of waivers and licenses, that are specifically designed for and appropriate for the treatment of data:
- Open Data Commons Attribution License, http://www.opendatacommons.org/licenses/by/1.0/
Other data publishing licenses may be allowed as exceptions (subject to approval by the editor on a case-by-case basis) and should be justified with a written statement from the author, which will be published with the article.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
1.jpg)
