Drilling or Diagnosing? Reimagining Syntactic Error Analysis as Metacognitive Scaffolding in EFL Test Preparation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63822/zy5w6722Keywords:
diagnostic-driven instruction; syntactic error analysis; metacognitive scaffoldingAbstract
This study investigates whether diagnostic-driven syntactic training, as opposed to conventional drilling, functions as a metacognitive scaffolding mechanism for 20 EFL learners preparing for the TOEFL ITP Structure and Written Expression subtest. Situated within a multilingual higher education context where English certification serves as a critical gateway for academic mobility, the program adopted a mixed-methods design across four sequential phases: diagnostic baseline testing, instructional strategy workshop, syntactic error analysis and remedial drilling, and post-test evaluation. Data were collected from pre- and post-tests, error mapping sheets, observation logs, and feedback surveys, and analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, paired-sample t-test, N-gain, Dulay et al.'s (1982) Surface Strategy Taxonomy, and Braun and Clarke's (2006) thematic analysis. Findings indicate that diagnostic-driven training significantly improved participants' scores (t(19) = 8.42, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 1.89), with a mean gain of 15.8 points and a medium N-gain of 0.62. The most dominant error category was omission (38%), which decreased by 20 percentage points after the intervention, while misordering, misformation, and addition also declined significantly. Qualitative findings identified three interrelated themes: enhanced metacognitive syntactic awareness, enhanced test-taking self-efficacy, and academic communicative motivation. Notably, participants viewed diagnostic training as most effective when paired with structured drilling rather than as a standalone approach, favouring explicit error mapping over passive formula memorization in high-stakes test preparation. The study argues that diagnostic-driven syntactic training in EFL test preparation is best understood as a metacognitive scaffolding mechanism, whose effectiveness shifts according to the epistemic and performance demands of different test-taking activities.
Downloads
References
Agusdiana, A. A. P., Yulika, A. S., & Kadiatmaja, A. P. (2026). ERROR ANALYSIS OF ISIM ISYARAH IN MAHARAH KITABAH: INVESTIGATING CAUSAL FACTORS AND GRAMMATICAL PATTERNS. 19(2).
Ayyubi, M. A. A., Dzakir, M. D., & Kadiatmaja, P. (2026). KESALAHAN AFIKSASI DALAM PERCAKAPAN SEHARI-HARI MAHASISWA STAI ALI BIN ABI THALIB: ANALISIS MORFOLOGIS. 6(1), 1–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.37905/rjppbi.v6i1.3222
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage Publications.
Dulay, H., Burt, M., & Krashen, S. (1982). Language two. Oxford University Press.
Farada’biya, F., Hunaidah, H., & Kadiatmaja, A. P. (2026). Semantic Roles of Iḍāfah in Surah Az-Zumar 1-20 and Their Interpretive Implications. 4(2), 1–13.
Guba, E., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1989). Fourth Generation Evaluation. Sage.
Ibrohim, I., & Kadiatmaja, A. P. (2026). Analisis Kesalahan Penggunaan Tanda Baca dalam Penulisan Akademik Mahasiswa. 2(1), 434–439. https://doi.org/10.63822/8c49kp96
Kadiatmaja, A. P. (2018). PRACTICAL ENGLISH: An Integrated Reference Guide (1st edn). The Mushlih Insitute Press.
Kadiatmaja, A. P. (2021). An Analysis Of Students’ Sentences With Inverted Subjects And Verbs Error Found In Tmi’s Toefl Preparation Class. Jurnal Al-Fawa’id : Jurnal Agama Dan Bahasa, 11(2), 67–78. https://doi.org/10.54214/alfawaid.Vol11.Iss2.166
Kadiatmaja, A. P. (2022). TEACHING THE PAST PARTICIPLE THROUGH DRILLING TECHNIQUE. Jurnal Al-Fawa’id : Jurnal Agama Dan Bahasa, 12(1), 38–50. https://doi.org/10.54214/alfawaid.Vol12.Iss1.195
Kadiatmaja, A. P. (2024). An Analysis of Arabic Esl Students’ Past Participle Error Found in STAI Ali Bin Abi Thalib Surabaya. Jurnal Al-Fawa’id : Jurnal Agama Dan Bahasa, 14(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.54214/alfawaid.Vol14.Iss1.529
Kadiatmaja, A. P. (2025). Teaching Idioms through Drilling Technique in IELTS Academic Speaking Preparation Class. Jurnal Al-Fawa’id : Jurnal Agama Dan Bahasa, 15(2), 470–485. https://doi.org/10.54214/alfawaid.Vol15.Iss2.748
Kadiatmaja, A. P. (2026). Phonetics-Based Training in the Pronunciation of the Inflectional -ed Ending: A Pedagogical Intervention Study with EFL Learners. (04).
Muhammad Nafis, Muhammad Azriel Dzikra Mirzady, & Agung Pranoto Kadiatmaja. (2025). A LINGUISTIC–SEMANTIC ANALYSIS OF THE PHRASE LAA ILAHA ILLALLAH IN KITAB AT-TAWHID AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR ARABIC LANGUAGE EDUCATION. Al Ibrah: Journal of Arabic Language Education, 8(2), 101–1013. https://doi.org/10.24256/jale.v8i2.8309
Pertiwi, D. A. P., Ghanim, S. B. S., & Kadiatmaja, A. P. (2026). Decoding Pragmatic Force: A Cross-Linguistic Analysis of. Journal of Education.
Phillips, D. (2004). Longman preparation course for the TOEFL test: iBT. Pearson Longman.
Pujiati, T., Amir, F., Dzikrulloh, D., Gazani, H., Maghfiroh, L., Wahdati, A., & Putra, T. R. (2026). Pelatihan TOEFL Structure and Written Expression sebagai Upaya Peningkatan Kompetensi Bahasa Inggris Mahasiswa. Jurnal Pemberdayaan Masyarakat dan Komunitas, 3(1), 78–88. https://doi.org/10.52620/jpmk.v3i1.362
Qurbani, M. A., Avandi, K., & Kadiatmaja, A. P. (2026). Analisis Kesalahan Ragam Bahasa Baku dalam Karya Ilmiah Mahasiswa. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia, 2(2), 55–63. https://doi.org/10.47134/jpbsi.v2i2.2568
Rogers, B. (2011). The complete guide to the TOEFL test (PBT edition, updated print. of the 2. ed). Heinle Cengage Learning.
Spada, N., & Lightbown, P. (2008). Form-focused instruction: Isolated or integrated? 42(2), 181–207.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Agung Pranoto Kadiatmaja (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
