Ounu Zakiy Sukaton’s research while affiliated with Universitas Ma Chung and other places

This study aims to evaluate the Indonesian, English, and Mandarin vowel production of Ma Chung University students, a prominent Indonesian institution with a strong emphasis on workforce readiness. Given the university's language offerings encompassing Indonesian, English, and Mandarin, we employed a descriptive qualitative approach in acoustic-phonetic theory. Our respondent pool comprised of 15 PPBM (Chinese language major) students selected based on intermediate proficiency levels in all three languages, as indicated by TOEIC and HSK scores. First and second formant data for monophthongs were recorded in PRAAT tools and the data is compiled on Microsoft Excel, forming the foundation for Vowel Space Area (VSA). The data reveals a notable phenomenon: students' native language (Indonesian) influences their pronunciation of both the second (English) and third (Mandarin) languages. Particularly, English displays a distinct pattern of compressed vowel spread compared to the standard VSA table due to the lingering impact of L1 VSA. This effect accounts for observed vowel anomalies in student pronunciation. Importantly, this L1 and L2 influence is evident in their attempts to articulate L3 (Mandarin) sounds, exemplified by the significant deviation of /ə/ from the VSA. Moreover, students navigate a linguistic shift by modifying phonemes to align with their L1, inadvertently resulting in substantial deviations during English and Mandarin speech production.

English language learning is an integral part of basic education in Indonesia today. However, not all students have equal opportunities to learn English. Elementary school children in Kucur village, in particular, are among those who lack sufficient access to learning English outside the classroom due to their family circumstances. Fortunately, there is a Learning Center called Cakrawangsa managed by the local youth organization (Karang Taruna) in Krajan hamlet, Kucur village. This center provides educational assistance to students. However, the center lacks permanent human resources to support students in learning English. In 2021, the community engagement team from Ma Chung University conducted once-a-week fun English learning sessions. Based on the evaluation results of the program, the participants greatly enjoyed the fun learning approach delivered by the Ma Chung University community engagement team. However, some students still struggled to memorize English vocabulary and pronounce it accurately. Therefore, the proposing team suggests a supplementary English learning program using an enjoyable method that has the potential to enhance vocabulary mastery. Based on conducted studies, the proposing team has developed a relevant board game tailored to the students' environment as an engaging and effective tool to support English language teaching.

This study aims to explore the humor and discourse in Papuan MOP, as depicted in the 2010 YouTube video series "Epen Kah Cupen Toh" (EKCT). Humor reflects different cultures and societal conditions, and MOP is a frequently used humor by Papuan people, making it a unique representation of their lives. The study utilizes qualitative analysis to identify patterns and themes in Papuan MOP humor and discourse. The primary data is collected from the transcription of EKCT video series. Discourse analysis was utilized to further analyze the transcription of videos as the primary data. The findings reveal that the primary type of humor in Papuan MOP is witticism, and the character "Dodi" represents the effects of a lack of education and underdeveloped society in certain areas of the Papuan region. Furthermore, the use of the Papuan Melayu dialect, which emphasizes monosyllabic sounds, adds to the uniqueness of the humor portrayed in the series. The cross-cultural representation in the series also highlights the diverse ethnicities in Indonesia. The study concludes that Papuan MOP humor is closely linked to the social conditions of Papuan people, making it a valuable aspect of their cultural heritage.

Kucur Village, located in Dau District, Malang Regency, is a village that has a lot of potential. However, the economic condition of most of its residents is still far from prosperous. Through this community service activity, the Ma Chung University community service team aims to develop the potential and empower the young generation in Kucur Village through practical English language basic education in collaboration with the Sanggar Belajar Cakrawasa as a partner. The three main problems faced by the partner are limited teaching staff, monotonous learning activities, and unavailability of English learning modules. The methods offered as solutions to the three problems are providing the Training of Trainers (ToT) program to Ma Chung University students to volunteer as additional teaching staff to the partner, according to the Teaching English for Young Learners (TEYL) theory, using fun learning techniques, develop learning modules. After 8 months of mentoring, the three main partners' problems were finally resolved.

Kabupaten Malang sedang berbenah diri untuk membangun image sebagai kabupaten yang memiliki destinasi wisata terbaik di Jawa Timur. Salah satu destinasi wisata baru yang sedang dibangaun adalah Bale Rakyat Pamotan di Desa Pamotan Kecamatan Dampit. Komunitas Bale Rakyat Pamotan lahir atas inisiatif warga masyarakat Desa Pamotan yang ingin mengeksplorasi desninasi wisata di Desa Pamotan yang jumlahnya sangat banyak. Seperti pemandangan terasering sawah yang menyerupai Ubud Bali, sungai yang begitu jernih dan alami, kelompok kesenian yang begitu banyak dan rumah warga yang unik cocok untuk homestay. Pada bulan Oktober tahun 2019 Komunitas Bale Rakyat Pamotan telah berhasil menyelenggarakan festival budaya yang dihadiri oleh wisatawan domestik dan mancanegara. Salah satu persoalan yang muncul saat wisatawan mancanegara berkunjung adalah kemampuan komunikasi warga Pamotan yang sangat rendah. Warga Pamotan tidak bisa melayani tamu asing dengan baik karena tidak mampu berbahasa Inggris. Untuk menjawab persoalan ini, Tim Abdimas Universitas Ma Chung membuat program pengabdian masyarakat melalui LPPM Universitas Ma Chung. Hasil dari pengabdian ini adalah: 1) Pelatihan bahasa Inggris bagi warga Pamotan dengan metode workshop, dan 2) Pembuatan modul Percakapan Bahasa Inggris sehari-hari untuk buku pegangan warga Pamotan. Kata-kata kunci: Bale Rakyat Pamotan, FGD, Modul Percakapan Bahasa Inggris, Workshop

The ongoing el-æl merger in Australian English has been informally recognized by Australians especially those who have experience of contact with Victorians. This study aims to investigate the correlation of speakers’ sex and origin with their /el/ production and how speech styles influence their production. Two male speakers of Australian English from Victoria and South Australia were recorded while reading texts, doing interviews, and having casual conversations. The recordings were then transcribed and analyzed by using various software to describe their /el/ productions. The result of this study was both male subjects are able to produce considerable variations in their /el/ productions. The production of the Victorian male speaker confirmed the findings of previous studies while the SA male speaker showed variations of /el/ similar to back vowels. Speech styles do not significantly affect the variations of /el/ production. The ongoing merger of el-æl in Australian English might be spreading from Victoria through diffusion to its neighboring states. However, more studies should be conducted in order to confirm this suspicion. Other suggestions include customized reading passages and better semi-structured interviews.

Cultural keywords are important information that we can use to understand how people who use those words see life from their perspective. The same can be said about the Javanese community. Some of their words and concepts are exclusive to their own and they can give hindsight to how the Javanese people perceive their life. In order to analyse the meaning behind cultural keywords, Natural Semantic Metalanguage (NSM) is used in this article. The data was taken from several social media posts to illustrate the core meaning of the word ‘eling’. An explication is proposed for the word ‘eling’ as well as a brief conclusion about the multiple meaning of ‘eling’ and its usage.

Semantics is one of the key elements in the study of language. This article’s main objective is to describe and evaluate how semantic theories are implemented in the field of Natural Language Processing as well as Language Teaching. There are two branches of semantic theories that this article focuses on: Formal Semantics and Natural Semantic Metalanguage. The strengths and weaknesses of the theories mentioned are discussed. The most versatile theory is suggested along with future improvements.