Empowering Teachers and Learners in English-Speaking Day Program to Foster Language Development at a Madrasah in Aceh Setting

Abstract

The enthusiasm toward English language teaching to young learners is considerably high. The need to adapt the advancement of information and technology in the modern era demands educational institutions to equip their learners with knowledge and skills, one of which is English. English is taught as local content subject at a madrasah in Aceh based on the school's needs and objectives. This community service program aims to facilitate a model for language development for the students and to empower the teachers through an English- speaking day program. It creates English environment at the madrasah to enhance students' motivation, interest, and ability to acquire the foreign language. This study applied Participatory Action Research (PAR). The madrasah principal, 5 teachers, 12 language volunteers from a higher institution, and 540 students were involved in the activity. The project was conducted for three months, from July to September 2022. The data were collected through observation and interviews. To analyse the data, they were grouped into segments; emic and etic, coded, summarized, and concluded. Results showed that the program arises students' enthusiasm for learning the foreign language, it traces students who have language potentials that they have never been exposed to, it provides continuous support for language coaching and training, it connects higher education, madrasah, and home, it develops continuous collaboration between higher education and madrasah for the institutional empowerment and development, and it also provides opportunities for students of higher education to serve and learn; to carry out research and community service.