Teaching English Speaking Skills and Environmental Awareness to Children of an Orphanage in Palangka Raya
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20961/dedikasi.v8i2.3867Keywords:
English-speaking skills, Waste management, 3R conceptsAbstract
This community service aimed to promote English-speaking skills and to instil the values of environmental awareness in the children of Al Mim orphanage in Palangka Raya, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. It was conducted for seven meetings by five students and one lecturer of the English Language Education Department of a Public University in Palangka Raya. Seven Elementary school students (young learners) and seven Junior High School students (teenagers) of the orphanage participated in this program. The team acknowledged that it is essential to teach about environmental awareness in formal and informal contexts, and the materials could be added to the speaking materials the participants were learning. The English of everyday topics was taught and practiced, and waste management and 3R concepts (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) were introduced after each English-speaking lesson. The children also had the opportunity to practice implementing the concepts. The participants’ progress in attitudes and speaking skills was found through the difference in the pre-test and post-test scores, and a questionnaire was also delivered at the end of the program. In the post-test, 42.8% of the children achieved better scores in their attitude towards speaking, and 50% of the children achieved better scores in speaking skills, which means that this program could facilitate the children's English speaking skills through communicative and interactive learning activities. The results of the questionnaire also reported that waste management and 3R concepts provided a new insight for the participants on dealing with waste, and they had the willingness to continue implementing what they had learned in their everyday lives.
References
Asratie, M. G., Wale, B. D., & Aylet, Y. T. (2023). Effects of using educational technology tools to enhance EFL students’ speaking performance. Education and Information Technologies, 28(8), 10031–10051. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11562-y
Burns, A., & Richards, J. C. (Eds.). (2021). The Cambridge Guide to Pedagogy and Practice in Second Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009024778
Dantas, T. E. T., de-Souza, E. D., Destro, I. R., Hammes, G., Rodriguez, C. M. T., & Soares, S. R. (2021). How the combination of Circular Economy and Industry 4.0 can contribute towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 26, 213–227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.10.005
Dewaele, J.-M., & Li, C. (2020). Emotions in second language acquisition: a critical review. Foreign Language World , 196(1), 34–49.
Earth How. (2026, August 4). The 3 R’s – Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. https://earthhow.com/reduce-reuse-recycle/
Education for Sustainable Development Goals: learning objectives. (2017). UNESCO. https://doi.org/10.54675/CGBA9153
Fajarina, M. (2017). Mastering teaching English for young learners. Wacana Didaktika, 5(01), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.31102/wacanadidaktika.5.01.1-11
Fauzi, I., & Asi, N. (2023). Examining Speaking Anxiety of Indonesian Learners of English: A Case of University Students. IJELTAL (Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics), 7(2), 263. https://doi.org/10.21093/ijeltal.v7i2.1338
Herlinawati, H., Marwa, M., & Zaputra, R. (2022). Sosialisasi penerapan prinsip 3R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) sebagai usaha peduli lingkungan. COMSEP: Jurnal Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat, 3(2), 209–215. https://doi.org/10.54951/comsep.v3i2.288
Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup / Badan Pengendalian Lingkungan Hidup. (2026a, August 2). Data Pengelolaan Sampah & RTH. Sumber Sampah. Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup / Badan Pengendalian Lingkungan Hidup. https://sampahnasional.kemenlh.go.id/portal-indikatif/data/sumber-sampah
Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup / Badan Pengendalian Lingkungan Hidup. (2026b, August 2). Data Pengelolaan Sampah & RTH. Timbulan Sampah. Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup / Badan Pengendalian Lingkungan Hidup. https://sampahnasional.kemenlh.go.id/portal-indikatif/data/timbulan-sampah
Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup / Badan Pengendalian Lingkungan Hidup. (2026c, August 2). Pertanyaan yang Sering Diajukan (FAQ). Kementerian Lingkungan Hidup / Badan Pengendalian Lingkungan Hidup. https://sampahnasional.kemenlh.go.id/portal-indikatif/faq
Lesiana, N., Mulyadi, Aswadi Jaya, & Pratiwi, E. (2023). Classroom interaction in Communicative Language Teaching of secondary school. Esteem Journal of English Education Study Programme, 7(1), 61–71. https://doi.org/10.31851/esteem.v7i1.12661
Liliany Margaretta, D., Tjandrawinata, R., Ratnasari, D., Gadih Pratomo, H., & Ariesanti, Y. (2023). Pendidikan dan Pelatihan Pemilahan Sampah Domestik untuk Meningkatkan Kesehatan Tubuh dan Rongga Mulut Warga RW 01 Kelurahan Grogol Petamburan. JURNAL ABDIMAS KESEHATAN TERPADU, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.25105/jakt.v2i1.16797
Masuram, J., & Sripada, P. N. (2020). Developing spoken fluency through Task-Based Teaching. Procedia Computer Science, 172, 623–630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2020.05.080
Mukminin, A., Masbirorotni, M., Noprival, N., Sutarno, S., Arif, N., & Maimunah, M. (2015). EFL Speaking Anxiety among Senior High School Students and Policy Recommendations. Journal of Education and Learning (EduLearn), 9(3), 217–225. https://doi.org/10.11591/edulearn.v9i3.1828
Mutiah, S. D., Nakhriyah, M., HR, N. H., Hidayat, D. N., & Hamid, F. (2020). The readiness of teaching English to young learners in Indonesia. Jurnal Basicedu, 4(4), 1370–1387. https://doi.org/10.31004/basicedu.v4i4.541
Nizaar, M., Sukirno, S., Djukri, D., Muhardini, S., & Mas’ad, M. (2020). Improving students’ environmental awareness using 3R principles. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(11B), 6146–6151. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2020.082251
Pinter, Annamaria. (2017). Teaching young language learners, second edition (Second Edition). Oxford University Press. https://books.google.co.id/books/about/Teaching_Young_Language_Learners_Second.html?id=0BvzDQAAQBAJ&redir_esc=y
Purwendah, E. K., Rusito, & Periani, A. (2022). Kewajiban masyarakat dalam pemeliharaan kelestarian lingkungan hidup melalui pengelolaan sampah berbasis masyarakat . Jurnal Locus Delicti, 3(2), 121–134. https://doi.org/10.23887/jld.v3i2.1609
Radosavlevikj, N. (2021). Teachers’ and students’ perceptions and challenges in communicative language teaching. Journal of Teaching English for Specific and Academic Purposes, 307. https://doi.org/10.22190/JTESAP2003307R
Richards, J. C. (2022). Key Issues in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009024600
Ristya, T. O. (2020). Penyuluhan pengelolaan sampah dengan konsep 3R dalam mengurangi limbah rumah tangga. Cakrawala: Jurnal Manajemen Pendidikan Islam Dan Studi Sosial, 4(2), 30–41. https://doi.org/10.33507/cakrawala.v4i2.250
Salmanova, S. (2025). Communicative approach in foreign language teaching: Advantages and limitations. EuroGlobal Journal of Linguistics and Language Education, 2(1), 79–88. https://doi.org/10.69760/egjlle.250009
UNESCO. (2017). Education for Sustainable Development Goals: learning objectives. UNESCO. https://doi.org/10.54675/CGBA9153
Wulandari, N. L. P. T., Ratminingsih, N. M., & Ramendra, D. P. (2020). Strategies implemented in teaching English for young learners in primary school. Journal of Education Research and Evaluation, 4(3), 227. https://doi.org/10.23887/jere.v4i3.26228
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Yulitriana Yulitriana, Agusli, Nabila Aulia Putri, Ratri Kirono Raja Bayu Sayidinata, Thiery Agnesia Josephine, Yandria
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© The Author(s). Dedikasi: Community Service Reports by UNS is licensed under CC BY 4.0
