Students' Perceptions toward English Learning Activities in Elementary Schools in Baubau City

Abstract

This study examines elementary school students' perceptions of English learning activities in Baubau City using a quantitative descriptive survey design. A 4-point Likert questionnaire (18 items across five categories: interest and motivation, classroom learning activities, media and materials, teacher interaction, and confidence/engagement) plus two open-ended items was administered to 35 elementary school students. The overall mean perception score was 3.23 on a 1–4 scale, interpreted as “Positive.” Teacher interaction was the most positively perceived category (M = 3.50, “Very Positive”), driven particularly by students' response to teacher praise (M = 3.69). Media and materials was also rated Very Positive (M = 3.31). By contrast, classroom learning activities scored lowest among the five categories (M = 3.05), driven largely by one item — learning English through songs — which received the lowest mean (M = 2.43) and lowest agreement rate (42.9%) of all 18 items. Open-ended responses, condensed by the researcher into representative categories during data entry, indicated a preference for flashcards and role-play activities, and identified vocabulary retention, pronunciation, and fear of making mistakes as recurring difficulty categories