DINAMIKA ILMU - Vol. 19 No. 1 - Developing Joyful Story Sheets (JoSS): an Effort to Build Character for EYL Learners in Indonesia through Reading

Oct 15, 2026

Character education emphasized in Indonesia’s 2013 Curriculum requires meaningful moral development for early-age learners, yet students in suburban areas receive limited attention and appropriate resources. This study develops Joyful Story Sheets (JoSS) to make reading joyful and imagination-arousing for EYL learners. Using Research and Development methods (Borg and Gall), need analysis was conducted via questionnaires to suburban EYL students, and interviews with EYL teachers and parents. The resulting JoSS collection targets grades 3–6 with character themes including diligence, independence, discipline, honesty, and tolerance. Findings show enhanced moral values, stronger reading motivation, and improved English learning, with pedagogical use as supplementary reading materials.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages19

Reading Time48 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

A. Introduction

DINAMIKA ILMU Vol. 19 No. 1, 2019 P-ISSN: 1411-3031; E-ISSN: 2442-9651 doi: [http://doi.org/10.21093/di.v19i](http://doi.org/10.21093/di.v19i1.1543)[1.1543](http://doi.org/10.21093/di.v19i1.1543) Developing Joyful Story Sheets (JoSS): an Effort to Build Character for EYL Learners in Indonesia through Reading JoSS Erna Iftanti English Education Department, IAIN Tulungagung, Indonesia e-mail: [ernataufic72@gmail.com](ernataufic72@gmail.com) Nany Soengkono Madayani English Education Department, IAIN Tulungagung Indonesia e-mail: [nanysoengkono@gmail.com](nanysoengkono@gmail.com) Abstract In response to character education stated in Indonesian Curriculum 2013, to build characters for students of early ages is significant. This can be built through establishing reading habits and building character education to young learners living in urban and suburban areas simultaneously. However, there is lack attention paid to those living in suburban areas. Thus, this research is intended to provide them with some appropriate character-based reading materials. In order that they enjoy reading, the reading materials should be joyful and arouse imagining. This research employs Research and Development (Borg and Gall, 1983 & Ari, [et.al](et.al)., 1985) with the data were collected through doing need analysis by means of distributing questionnaire to EYL in suburban areas in East Java Indonesia, interviewing EYL teachers and parents having children at elementary schools. The results of the data collecetd in Need Analysis were used to develop the product. This R and D produced collection of Joyful Story Sheets (JoSS) for EYL of the 3rd, the 4th, the 5th, and the 6th graders with each grade consists of 40 joyful story sheets written based on some characters, i.e. hard working, independence, discipline, honesty, and tolerance. The research reveals that the product of this research-namely JoSS- is proved to inspire the students’ moral values, to build love of reading, and to encourage learning English. This research result is pedagogically implemented not only as a means of character education but as supplementary materials for reading class as well. To prove its effectiveness, it is suggested for further researchers to experimentally investigate. Keywords: character education, EYL, Joyful Story Sheets, suburban areas A. Introduction People agree that reading is a cornerstone of being literate. As in Islam,“Reading in the name of Allah“ is the very first verse delivered to the last Messenger, Muhammad SAW. Reading is fundamental for learning and the development of reading habits serves as the major fundamental academic performance (Owusu-Acheaw, 2014) . Moreover, studying less difficult texts contributes to learning performance (De Bruyne & Valcke, 2015) and the increasing access to independent reading materials equipped with effective teacher training brings about the significant improvements in academic performance ([Gao et.al](Gao et.al)., 2018). Because reading is the key to achieve the success of life, each individual in Indonesia is demanded to be able to read either in Indonesian language or in the global language, such as English. Moreover, in this digital era, all innovation and advancement is delivered in English. Therefore, Indonesian students should equip themselves with the ability to read and good habit of reading. However, research conducted by Iftanti (2012) indicates that they do not establish good habits of reading yet. This is affected by some factors, such as literacy environment such as the availability of reading materials (Iftanti, 2012); motivation (Iftanti, 2015), personal characteristics of the students (Adetunji, 2007); and the accessibility to electronic facilities such as internet (Akyay [et.al. 2009](et.al. 2009); Iftanti, 2015). In some media, it was also reported that the Indonesian students’ reading habits are considered low. In addition, at present, the facts indicate that stude

FAQs

Why does the study focus on suburban EYL learners in Indonesia?

The introduction highlights that suburban students receive less attention and have limited access to reading materials compared with urban learners, resulting in low reading practices in both Indonesian and English.

What is the main product developed in the research?

The research develops a collection of Joyful Story Sheets (JoSS) for EYL students in grades 3 to 6, with sheets written around key character values.

Which character values are targeted through the Joyful Story Sheets?

JoSS includes story sheets based on hard working, independence, discipline, honesty, and tolerance, aiming to inspire students’ moral values and support reading habits.

Oct 15, 2026

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