SDGs 4: Quality Education | SDGs 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities | SDGs 10: Reduced Inequalities

Community Service is an essential component of higher education in Indonesia, especially at Universitas Gadjah Mada. Khansa Avissa, an English Literature student at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences UGM, from mid-December to early February, conducted KKN-PPM in Malaringgi Village, Laonti District, South Konawe Regency, Southeast Sulawesi where she dedicated to serve the community through an English language teaching program. This initiative came from the realization of the lack of English language knowledge and understanding among the community, especially children, while the need for English proficiency is increasng in the realms of education and employment.

Avissa’s program focused on teaching English at local schools. She acknowledged that a strong understanding of the English language is one of the key factors in the success of children in this globalization era. Through small and interactive classes, she assisted the children in Malaringgi Village in learning the basics of the English language.

They welcomed the program with enthusiasm. Children who initially had limitations in English knowledge now show significant improvement. Avissa did not only act as a teacher but also as a motivator, shaping their confidence to communicate and express themselves with English vocabulary.

The importance of English proficiency extends beyond the realm of education; it is also a highly important skills in the workforce. Avissa hopes that with this program, the children will be prepared to face future challenges. This initiative served as a tool to improve their quality of life and open access to various opportunities.

What has been done by Avissa reflects the role of students in bringing positive change to various layers of society. With her passion and dedication, she proves that students from the Faculty of Cultural Sciences at UGM are not only committed to academic improvement but also play an active role in creating positive impacts in society. This program did not only provide English language knowledge but also brought a hope and inspiration to the children of Malaringgi Village as the future generation.

For many people, student exchange is one of the most coveted things. Just like Made Widiadnyani, a student of the English Department from the class of 2020, who had the valuable opportunity to participate in a student exchange program at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS) while also being an awardee of the JASSO (Japan Student Service Organization) scholarship for the fall semester. During her time at TUFS, she took various courses such as Management and Culture in Japan, Introduction to American Short Story, Intercultural Communication, Thai Society, Culture, and Literature in Film, and Social Interaction in Culturally Diversifying Japan.

Being part of this program has allowed her to have new experiences and knowledge in various aspects. For instance, she observed that “on time” has become a norm and habit in Japanese society. During lectures, Made noticed that the professors always started classes on time and completed the material or discussions as scheduled. It was common to see professors in the classroom 5 – 10 minutes before the class started, ensuring that the class always began right after the bell signaling the change of class periods. Additionally, every November, the campus hosts the Gaigosai Festival. For a week, there is no lectures as students actively participates in the festival such as organizing performances, selling food from various countries, and even serving as festival committees.

Made’s experience was not only filled with pleasant moments, especially since she lived in a country where English is not the primary language spoken daily, and very few people can communicate in English. Initially, this posed a challenge for Made, who lacked proficiency in Japanese and had to handle various documents in the language. However, this did not dampen her spirits as she began to learn some Japanese vocabulary commonly used in daily activities through Google Translate and her Japanese friends.

In addition to the mentioned experiences, Made also encountered several culture shocks. One notable observation was the passengers’ preference for maintaining silence when using public transportation. Most of them chose to read books or play with their phones until arriving in their destination. Moreover, supermarkets in Japan typically implemented self-service payment systems – from scanning products to packing them into shopping bags, everything was done independently by the customers.

Made Widiadnyani’s exchange experience was not just a physical journey abroad but also a meaningful inner journey. For Made, it was not only her first international adventure but also a significant achievement accomplished independently. The importance of this experience lies not only in the destination or activities involved but in the entire process that included struggle, perseverance, and determination to achieve goals. Despite facing several failures in previous attempts to secure an exchange program opportunity, Made never gave up.

The key message from Made’s story is that failure does not always mean the end of everything. On the contrary, failure can serve as a stepping stone to success. In essence, as long as we can view failure as a learning opportunity and remain resilient, we still have the chance to achieve our dreams.

Lexicon, a journal published by the English Studies Programme, Faculty of Cultural Sciences, UGM, with the English Studies Association in Indonesia (ESAI), achieved national accreditation by Kementrian Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi Republik Indonesia (Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology). Currently, Lexicon is accredited as a SINTA (Science and Technology Index) 3 journal.

Lexicon is a biannual journal that releases a new issue every April and October. Lexicon publishes articles in linguistics (focusing on pragmatics, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, and translation) and literature (focusing on interpreting short stories, novels, plays, and poems). Submission to the Lexicon journal is free and is always open throughout the year. The writers can be from any region of the globe, but submission is strictly restricted to articles written in English.

Link to Lexicon: http://jurnal.ugm.ac.id/lexicon 

This article is already published on https://english.fib.ugm.ac.id/2024/01/26/appreciation-post-lexicon-categorized-as-a-sinta-3-journal/