E-Structural (English Studies on Translation, Culture, Literature, and Linguistics)

Benefits and Challenges in Mastering Speaking Skills through Animated Movies: Students’ Perspective

Dimas Wijayanto — 2025-12-06

This research investigates the perspectives of eighth-grade students at SMPN 2 Semarang on the benefits and challenges of mastering English-speaking skills through animated movies. A mixed-method approach was employed in this study, integrating both qualitative and quantitative techniques. Data were collected through closed- and open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The questionnaire was distributed to 108 eighth-grade students, while nine students were selected for in-depth interviews. The quantitative data from the questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS to identify statistical trends. At the same time, the qualitative responses from interviews were examined using NVivo software to code and categorize students’ perspectives. This combination provided comprehensive insights into the benefits and challenges of using animated movies in mastering English-speaking skills. The findings revealed that animated movies provided substantial benefits, particularly in enhancing vocabulary acquisition, increasing motivation, improving pronunciation, and boosting students’ self-confidence. Most students expressed that the visual and auditory nature of animated movies made it easier for them to understand and remember new vocabulary, learn correct pronunciation, and practice speaking more enjoyably. Nevertheless, some challenges remained, particularly in mastering grammar and overcoming anxiety when speaking in front of others. Despite these challenges, the study concludes that animated movies are effective and engaging tools for developing speaking skills and recommends their use in the English language learning process. The study's results provide insights for teachers, learners, and educational institutions in selecting appropriate media to support English instruction.

Flouting of Conversational Maxims among Characters in Conclave (2024)

Tessa Sitorus — 2025-12-19

This study analyzes the character interactions in the 2024 film Conclave with an eye on the Grice (1975) conversational maxims. Subsequently, the study intends to highlight the different varieties, i.e., types of maxim, frequency of maxim flouting, and classify using Cutting (2005), and explain the reasons behind it using Leech's (1983) Politeness Theory. The research employed a qualitative descriptive approach, which focuses on providing detailed and accurate descriptions of the data. In this study, seventy utterances drawn from the movie and its script were analyzed in depth to determine how conversational maxims were flouted. This enabled the researcher to analyze each utterance in its context straightforwardly, without recourse to cumbersome theories, thereby keeping the analysis grounded in the film's actual words. The findings indicate that all four Gricean maxims, which are the quantity maxim, quality maxim, relation maxim, and manner maxim, are violated in the film. The most frequent maxim flouting observed was the quality maxim (44.29%), in which the dialogue was often embellished, ironically. Of all the possible techniques, the most frequent was irrelevance (25.71%), followed by irony (21.43%) and hyperbole (14.29%). This film relies heavily on indirect and subtle means of communication. The dominant motivation is conflictive (54.29%), characteristic of characters differing in moral perspective and vehemently defending their positions. This study also contributes to the analysis of film by taking a pragmatic approach and demonstrating the use of indirect discourse as a strategy of counterargumentation in institutional settings.

The Rules of Big Brother and Their Parallels with Stalin’s Soviet Union

Muh Firsa Wirawan — 2025-12-24

Literature is an artistic expression that often mirrors the social and political realities of its era. It does not exist in isolation but arises from the interaction between human consciousness and historical experience. The central problem of this research lies in the lack of comparative academic studies that examine how George Orwell’s portrayal of dictatorship in Nineteen Eighty-Four reflects and parallels the real-world totalitarian system of Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union. Both leaders—fictional and historical—constructed societies based on fear, surveillance, and ideological manipulation. This study therefore, aims to analyze the similarities and differences between Big Brother’s authoritarian control and Stalin’s political domination, revealing how literature can function as a mirror of power and oppression. This study employs a qualitative descriptive research design under the framework of Lucien Goldmann’s genetic structuralism. The primary data are drawn from Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, while the secondary data include scholarly articles, historical documents, and critical essays on Stalinism and totalitarian regimes. The method involves textual interpretation, comparative analysis, and sociological contextualization to uncover the ideological structure embedded in Orwell’s narrative. The findings reveal that both Big Brother and Stalin maintained absolute control through propaganda, censorship, historical revisionism, and psychological coercion. Big Brother’s Two Minutes Hate, Thought Police, and Room 101 reflect Stalin’s repressive tactics such as political purges, the NKVD’s surveillance, and forced confessions. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four serves not only as a dystopian fiction but also as a literary reflection of historical totalitarianism.