What Drives Students' Engagement? Investigating Engagement Factors in Deep Learning-Based EFL Speaking Classrooms

Aqidatul Izzah Syafruddin, nurdevi bte Abdul, hasnawati Latif

Abstract


Student engagement plays a crucial role in promoting meaningful learning and improving speaking performance in EFL classrooms. Although previous studies have examined student engagement and deep learning separately, limited research has explored the factors influencing students’ engagement in deep learning-based EFL speaking activities, particularly at the junior high school level. This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing students’ engagement in deep learning-based EFL speaking activities. Employing a descriptive qualitative design, the study involved ten eighth-grade students of SMP Muhammadiyah Lajoa selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through classroom observations and semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña (2014). The findings revealed five factors influencing students’ engagement: individual motivation, teaching strategies, teacher support, classroom environment, and English proficiency. These findings suggest that both internal and external factors shape students’ engagement in deep learning-based EFL speaking classrooms.


Keywords


Students’ engagement; Deep learning; Speaking.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.31004/jele.v11i3.2813

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