Development of english as a foreign language in an Islamic boarding school in Indonesia: a dynamic system perspective

Abstract

Abstract. Underpinned by the Dynamic Systems Theory (DST), this proposed research is a quantitative study based on longitudinal observation of English language learners in an Islamic boarding school in West Java province, Indonesia. It is a multiple-case based investigation into the development and interactions of Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency (CAF) constructs in EFL writing that involves successive measurements within the period of one academic year in a naturalistic setting. The major reason behind choosing the Islamic boarding school context is, unlike most schools, some Islamic boarding schools in Indonesia oblige their students to use English besides Arabic in their daily conversation. Interestingly, Indonesian and local languages are not even permitted to be spoken on the premises of these boarding schools. While other English language learners in Indonesia have the problem of lacking the chance to practice, the students in these Islamic boarding schools have at least two weeks in a month to speak no language other than English. This creates a unique and naturalistic condition compared to other speech communities that commonly use their native language (NL) in their daily communication which is a novel condition for this type of research. Consequently, the proposed research could offer different perspectives on the dynamic development of English as a foreign language in Indonesian context which, eventually, will advance our understanding of the complex issues of foreign language development itself.