Health Polytechnic Lecturers’ Common Errors in Structure and Written Expression Tests
Abstract
The opening of international classes in several Health Polytechnics of Ministry of Health brings about direct and indirect ramifications. One of them is the increasing demand for English competency among the lecturers, as shown by their TOEFL ITP scores. In this regard, Structure and Written Expression is deemed the most difficult section of the test, hindering the attainment of the required scores. Therefore, this study attempts to find out the difficulties faced by the lecturers of a Health Polytechnic of Ministry of Health in answering the Structure and Written Expression questions. This is a basic qualitative study, employing error analysis as the main approach to examine the questions and lecturers’ answers in TOEFL ITP preparation programs. The results show that there are still difficulties in sentences containing dependent clauses as well as noun and verb phrases. Also, Written Expression questions are deemed more difficult than those of Structure.
References
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Amiri, F., & Puteh, M. (2017). Error Analysis in Academic Writing: A Case of International Postgraduate Students in Malaysia. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 8(4), 141–145. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.8n.4p.141
Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Irvine, C. K. S., & Walker, D. (2013). Introduction to Research in Education. Cengage Learning. https://books.google.co.id/books?id=WSQLAAAAQBAJ
Asrida, R., & Fitrawati, F. (2019). The Difficulties of English Department Students at Universitas Negeri Padang in Answering Reading Section of TOEFL. Journal of English Language Teaching, 8(4), 496–503. http://ejournal.unp.ac.id/index.php/jelt
Baharuddin, K., Basri, M., & Rahmatia, R. (2021). Investigating the Problems Faced by Nursing Students in Second Language Communicative Skill for Indonesian Vocational Higher Education Mobile Learning. ELT Worldwide: Journal of English Language Teaching, 8(2), 392–402. https://ojs.unm.ac.id/ELT/article/view/24833%0Ahttps://ojs.unm.ac.id/ELT/article/download/24833/pdf
Bulan, A., Imansyah, M. N., Wahyuni, N., Suryaningsih, L., & Hasan, H. (2023). Exploring EFL Student’s Difficulties and Strategies in Learning TOEFL ITP of Structure and Written Expression. VOLES: Voices of English Language Education Society, 7(1), 66–74. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.29408/veles.v7i1.6881 Exploring
Cahyani, S., Wijaya, B., & Arifin, Z. (2015). An Analysis of Students’ Grammatical Errors in Indonesian-English Translation. Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Pembelajaran Khatulistiwa (JPPK), 4(3), 1–9. https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10.26418/jppk.v4i3.9280
Commodore-Mensah, Y., DePriest, K., Samuel, L. J., Hanson, G., D’Aoust, R., & Slade, E. P. (2021). Prevalence and Characteristics of Non-US-Born and US-Born Health Care Professionals, 2010-2018. JAMA Network Open, 4(4), e218396. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.8396
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Fajri, R., Kasim, U., & Fitriani, S. S. (2021). The Obstacles Faced by the Junior Lecturers of Syiah Kuala University in Achieving the Required TOEFL Scores. EEJ: English Education Journal, 12(2), 320–336.
Febriani, D., Elfrida, E., & Jayanti, F. G. (2019). Reading Comprehension Problems in Reading Section of TOEFL Test. JALL: Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy, 3(2), 86–95.
Fitariana, C., Almanar, A., & Rohim, A. (2021). Students’ Problems in Answering Listening Section of TOEFL at Non English Study Program of UPN Veteran Jakarta. Globish: An English-Indonesian Journal for English, Education, and Culture, 10(2), 19. https://doi.org/10.31000/globish.v10i2.4676
Golubovich, J., Tolentino, F., & Papageorgiou, S. (2018). Examining the Applications and Opinions of the TOEFL ITP® Assessment Series Test Scores in Three Countries. ETS Research Report Series, 2018(1), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1002/ets2.12231
Gustin, R. G. I. (2023). English Students’ Difficulties in Completing Reading Toefl Section At Eight Semester At Universitas Jambi. JELT (Jambi-English Language Teaching), 7(2), 87–100. https://doi.org/10.22437/jelt.v7i2.13541
Hampp, P. L., Kumayas, T. A., & Lengkoan, F. (2021). Synthesizing Grammar and Structure Problems Faced by Indonesian TOEFL Participants. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Undiksha, 9(1), 64. https://doi.org/10.23887/jpbi.v9i1.33811
Hardy, S., Hadi, N., & Tukayo, I. J. H. (2021). The demands on nursing curriculum flexibility towards the need of global workforce: A systematic review. Journal of Holistic Nursing Science, 8(2), 114–121. https://doi.org/10.31603/nursing.v8i2.4808
Hidayah, N. P., & Nazriani, N. (2021). Exploring Of Students’ Difficulties In Reading Section of TOEFL. Cybernetics: Journal Educational Research and Sosial Studies, 2(April), 1–10.
Hikmahyanti, C. (2017). Analysis of Students’ TOEFL Result and Difficulty. English Empower: Journal of Linguistics and Literature, 2(2), 57–63. https://www.ejournal.unitaspalembang.ac.id/index.php/eejll/article/view/27
Hussain, R. (2019). An Analysis of Undergraduate Saudi EFL Female Students’ Errors in Written English Essays. Arab World English Journal, Special Issue: The Dynamics of EFL in Saudi Arabia, 241–258. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/efl1.17
Ibrahim, M. M. M., & Ibrahim, A. I. (2020). An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Academic Writing of EFL Students. Asian Journal of Social Science and Management Technology, 2(6), 81–90.
Kampookaew, P. (2020). An Analysis of Grammatical Errors Made by Thai EFL University Students in an EAP writing Class: Issues and Recommendations. REFLections, 27(2), 246–273.
Liu, J. X., Goryakin, Y., Maeda, A., Bruckner, T., & Scheffler, R. (2017). Global Health Workforce Labor Market Projections for 2030. Human Resources for Health, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-017-0187-2
Meladina, M., & Dasril, D. (2021). The Problems Faced by Physiotherapy Students and Their Causes in Completing Reading Comprehension Section of ITP TOEFL. Elsya: Journal of English Language Studies, 3(3), 174–182. https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v3i3.6764
Misnawati, M., & As’ari, C. (2023). Error Analysis in Completing Structure and Written Expression of TOEFL Test. Exposure: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, 12(2), 366–381.
Pane, I. I. I., Putra, K. H., & Annisa, P. S. M. (2024). Mapping English language proficiency test scores of lecturers onto the common European framework level. Wacana: Jurnal Penelitian Bahasa, Sastra, Dan Pengajaran, 22(1), 27–47. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.33369/jwacana.v22i1.32764
Pasaribu, T. K., Sihite, J., Pasaribu, D. R., Pasaribu, D., & Siburian, S. A. (2023). Listening Difficulties of EFL Students on Short Talk of the ITP TOEFL. INNOVATIVE: Journal of Social Science Research, 3(3), 5063–5073.
Phillips, D. (2004). Longman Introductory Course for the TOEFL Test: The Paper Test. Pearson, Longman. https://books.google.com/books?id=B-zlXwAACAAJ
Purinanda, F. H., & Sutrisno, A. (2022a). Morphological and Syntactical Errors in Undergraduate Research Articles from English Education Department [Universitas Gadjah Mada]. https://etd.repository.ugm.ac.id/penelitian/detail/213430
Purinanda, F. H., & Sutrisno, A. (2022b). Morphosyntax Errors in Undergraduate Research Articles from English Education Department. English Education: Journal of English Teaching and Research, 7(1), 67–79. https://doi.org/10.29407/jetar.v7i1.17862
Putra, A., Lubis, R. F., & Siregar, S. R. (2020). An Analysis on English Students’ Difficulties in TOEFL Test of Structure and Written Expression Section at IAIN Padangsidimpuan. International Online Conference on English and Education, 1–19.
Rahman, I. F., Kamsinah, K., & Nur, N. A. (2021). The analysis of students’ difficulties in accmplishing TOEFL minimum score as the final requirement. ETERNAL (English, Teaching, Learning, and Research Journal), 7(2), 359–373.
Richards, J. C., & Schmidt, R. W. (2013). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. Taylor & Francis. https://books.google.co.id/books?id=ziSsAgAAQBAJ
Rifiyanti, H., & Dewi, D. U. (2022). Error Types in Subject-Verb Agreement. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Proficiency, 4(2), 57–66. https://doi.org/10.32503/proficiency.v4i2.2757
Rosanda, P., Zehner, E., & Pensuksan, W. (2018). Are Indonesian Nurses Ready for Medical Tourism with their English Competency?: Attitudes and Perspectives. Rangsit Journal of Educational Studies, 5(1), 37–49. https://doi.org/10.14456/rjes.2018.5
Sugeng, B. (2016). Common Grammatical Errors in the Use of English As a Foreign Language: a Case in Students’ Undergraduate Theses. Litera, 15(1), 111–119. https://doi.org/10.21831/ltr.v15i1.10415
Susyla, D., Angraini, R., & Ananda, R. P. (2021). The Lecturers’ English Ability Through the TOEFL Test. Linguistic, English Education, and Art (LEEA) Journal, 5(2019), 69–82. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.31539/leea.v5i1.2931
Taufiq, W., Santoso, D. R., & Fediyanto, N. (2018). Critical Analysis on TOEFL ITP as a Language Assessment. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 125, 226–229. https://doi.org/10.2991/icigr-17.2018.55
Ubaedillah, U. (2020). Structure and Written Expression Section on Paper-Based TOEFL: Perceived Difficulties by Management Students of Universitas Muhadi Setiabudi. Dialektika: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, 8(1), 1–18.
Ulminarika, U. (2023). Students’ Difficulties in Answering the TOEFL Listening Test. English Language Study and Teaching Journal (ELASTE), 4(1), 1–8.
Yuniarti, F., & Pratiwi, D. (2022). An Analysis of the Students’ Difficulties in Listening Section Using Genius TOEFL Application. Jurnal Smart, 8(2), 116–126. https://doi.org/10.52657/js.v8i2.1799
Almansour, H., Aldossary, A., Holmes, S., & Alderaan, T. (2023). Migration of nurses and doctors: pull factors to work in Saudi Arabia. Human Resources for Health, 21(1), 25. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-023-00809-5
Alzana, N. (2022). A Potrait of EFL Learners’ Difficulties and Strategies in Answering Listening Comprehension of TOEFL ITP Prediction Test at Online English Course. Jurnal Penelitian, Pendidikan, Dan Pembelajaran, 17(23).
Amiri, F., & Puteh, M. (2017). Error Analysis in Academic Writing: A Case of International Postgraduate Students in Malaysia. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 8(4), 141–145. https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.8n.4p.141
Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Irvine, C. K. S., & Walker, D. (2013). Introduction to Research in Education. Cengage Learning. https://books.google.co.id/books?id=WSQLAAAAQBAJ
Asrida, R., & Fitrawati, F. (2019). The Difficulties of English Department Students at Universitas Negeri Padang in Answering Reading Section of TOEFL. Journal of English Language Teaching, 8(4), 496–503. http://ejournal.unp.ac.id/index.php/jelt
Baharuddin, K., Basri, M., & Rahmatia, R. (2021). Investigating the Problems Faced by Nursing Students in Second Language Communicative Skill for Indonesian Vocational Higher Education Mobile Learning. ELT Worldwide: Journal of English Language Teaching, 8(2), 392–402. https://ojs.unm.ac.id/ELT/article/view/24833%0Ahttps://ojs.unm.ac.id/ELT/article/download/24833/pdf
Bulan, A., Imansyah, M. N., Wahyuni, N., Suryaningsih, L., & Hasan, H. (2023). Exploring EFL Student’s Difficulties and Strategies in Learning TOEFL ITP of Structure and Written Expression. VOLES: Voices of English Language Education Society, 7(1), 66–74. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.29408/veles.v7i1.6881 Exploring
Cahyani, S., Wijaya, B., & Arifin, Z. (2015). An Analysis of Students’ Grammatical Errors in Indonesian-English Translation. Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Pembelajaran Khatulistiwa (JPPK), 4(3), 1–9. https://doi.org/https://dx.doi.org/10.26418/jppk.v4i3.9280
Commodore-Mensah, Y., DePriest, K., Samuel, L. J., Hanson, G., D’Aoust, R., & Slade, E. P. (2021). Prevalence and Characteristics of Non-US-Born and US-Born Health Care Professionals, 2010-2018. JAMA Network Open, 4(4), e218396. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.8396
Eka, A. (2023, September 1). Kemenkes Ungkap Perawat Asal Indonesia Disegani oleh Negara Maju, tapi... DetikBali. https://www.detik.com/bali/berita/d-6908251/kemenkes-ungkap-perawat-asal-indonesia-disegani-oleh-negara-maju-tapi
Ellis, R., Lee, W. R., & Widdowson, H. G. (1997). Second Language Acquisition. OUP Oxford. https://books.google.co.id/books?id=Wwdb7P0CG5AC
Fajri, R., Kasim, U., & Fitriani, S. S. (2021). The Obstacles Faced by the Junior Lecturers of Syiah Kuala University in Achieving the Required TOEFL Scores. EEJ: English Education Journal, 12(2), 320–336.
Febriani, D., Elfrida, E., & Jayanti, F. G. (2019). Reading Comprehension Problems in Reading Section of TOEFL Test. JALL: Journal of Applied Linguistics and Literacy, 3(2), 86–95.
Fitariana, C., Almanar, A., & Rohim, A. (2021). Students’ Problems in Answering Listening Section of TOEFL at Non English Study Program of UPN Veteran Jakarta. Globish: An English-Indonesian Journal for English, Education, and Culture, 10(2), 19. https://doi.org/10.31000/globish.v10i2.4676
Golubovich, J., Tolentino, F., & Papageorgiou, S. (2018). Examining the Applications and Opinions of the TOEFL ITP® Assessment Series Test Scores in Three Countries. ETS Research Report Series, 2018(1), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1002/ets2.12231
Gustin, R. G. I. (2023). English Students’ Difficulties in Completing Reading Toefl Section At Eight Semester At Universitas Jambi. JELT (Jambi-English Language Teaching), 7(2), 87–100. https://doi.org/10.22437/jelt.v7i2.13541
Hampp, P. L., Kumayas, T. A., & Lengkoan, F. (2021). Synthesizing Grammar and Structure Problems Faced by Indonesian TOEFL Participants. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Undiksha, 9(1), 64. https://doi.org/10.23887/jpbi.v9i1.33811
Hardy, S., Hadi, N., & Tukayo, I. J. H. (2021). The demands on nursing curriculum flexibility towards the need of global workforce: A systematic review. Journal of Holistic Nursing Science, 8(2), 114–121. https://doi.org/10.31603/nursing.v8i2.4808
Hidayah, N. P., & Nazriani, N. (2021). Exploring Of Students’ Difficulties In Reading Section of TOEFL. Cybernetics: Journal Educational Research and Sosial Studies, 2(April), 1–10.
Hikmahyanti, C. (2017). Analysis of Students’ TOEFL Result and Difficulty. English Empower: Journal of Linguistics and Literature, 2(2), 57–63. https://www.ejournal.unitaspalembang.ac.id/index.php/eejll/article/view/27
Hussain, R. (2019). An Analysis of Undergraduate Saudi EFL Female Students’ Errors in Written English Essays. Arab World English Journal, Special Issue: The Dynamics of EFL in Saudi Arabia, 241–258. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/efl1.17
Ibrahim, M. M. M., & Ibrahim, A. I. (2020). An Analysis of Grammatical Errors in Academic Writing of EFL Students. Asian Journal of Social Science and Management Technology, 2(6), 81–90.
Kampookaew, P. (2020). An Analysis of Grammatical Errors Made by Thai EFL University Students in an EAP writing Class: Issues and Recommendations. REFLections, 27(2), 246–273.
Liu, J. X., Goryakin, Y., Maeda, A., Bruckner, T., & Scheffler, R. (2017). Global Health Workforce Labor Market Projections for 2030. Human Resources for Health, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-017-0187-2
Meladina, M., & Dasril, D. (2021). The Problems Faced by Physiotherapy Students and Their Causes in Completing Reading Comprehension Section of ITP TOEFL. Elsya: Journal of English Language Studies, 3(3), 174–182. https://doi.org/10.31849/elsya.v3i3.6764
Misnawati, M., & As’ari, C. (2023). Error Analysis in Completing Structure and Written Expression of TOEFL Test. Exposure: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, 12(2), 366–381.
Pane, I. I. I., Putra, K. H., & Annisa, P. S. M. (2024). Mapping English language proficiency test scores of lecturers onto the common European framework level. Wacana: Jurnal Penelitian Bahasa, Sastra, Dan Pengajaran, 22(1), 27–47. https://doi.org/doi.org/10.33369/jwacana.v22i1.32764
Pasaribu, T. K., Sihite, J., Pasaribu, D. R., Pasaribu, D., & Siburian, S. A. (2023). Listening Difficulties of EFL Students on Short Talk of the ITP TOEFL. INNOVATIVE: Journal of Social Science Research, 3(3), 5063–5073.
Phillips, D. (2004). Longman Introductory Course for the TOEFL Test: The Paper Test. Pearson, Longman. https://books.google.com/books?id=B-zlXwAACAAJ
Purinanda, F. H., & Sutrisno, A. (2022a). Morphological and Syntactical Errors in Undergraduate Research Articles from English Education Department [Universitas Gadjah Mada]. https://etd.repository.ugm.ac.id/penelitian/detail/213430
Purinanda, F. H., & Sutrisno, A. (2022b). Morphosyntax Errors in Undergraduate Research Articles from English Education Department. English Education: Journal of English Teaching and Research, 7(1), 67–79. https://doi.org/10.29407/jetar.v7i1.17862
Putra, A., Lubis, R. F., & Siregar, S. R. (2020). An Analysis on English Students’ Difficulties in TOEFL Test of Structure and Written Expression Section at IAIN Padangsidimpuan. International Online Conference on English and Education, 1–19.
Rahman, I. F., Kamsinah, K., & Nur, N. A. (2021). The analysis of students’ difficulties in accmplishing TOEFL minimum score as the final requirement. ETERNAL (English, Teaching, Learning, and Research Journal), 7(2), 359–373.
Richards, J. C., & Schmidt, R. W. (2013). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics. Taylor & Francis. https://books.google.co.id/books?id=ziSsAgAAQBAJ
Rifiyanti, H., & Dewi, D. U. (2022). Error Types in Subject-Verb Agreement. Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Proficiency, 4(2), 57–66. https://doi.org/10.32503/proficiency.v4i2.2757
Rosanda, P., Zehner, E., & Pensuksan, W. (2018). Are Indonesian Nurses Ready for Medical Tourism with their English Competency?: Attitudes and Perspectives. Rangsit Journal of Educational Studies, 5(1), 37–49. https://doi.org/10.14456/rjes.2018.5
Sugeng, B. (2016). Common Grammatical Errors in the Use of English As a Foreign Language: a Case in Students’ Undergraduate Theses. Litera, 15(1), 111–119. https://doi.org/10.21831/ltr.v15i1.10415
Susyla, D., Angraini, R., & Ananda, R. P. (2021). The Lecturers’ English Ability Through the TOEFL Test. Linguistic, English Education, and Art (LEEA) Journal, 5(2019), 69–82. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.31539/leea.v5i1.2931
Taufiq, W., Santoso, D. R., & Fediyanto, N. (2018). Critical Analysis on TOEFL ITP as a Language Assessment. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 125, 226–229. https://doi.org/10.2991/icigr-17.2018.55
Ubaedillah, U. (2020). Structure and Written Expression Section on Paper-Based TOEFL: Perceived Difficulties by Management Students of Universitas Muhadi Setiabudi. Dialektika: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, 8(1), 1–18.
Ulminarika, U. (2023). Students’ Difficulties in Answering the TOEFL Listening Test. English Language Study and Teaching Journal (ELASTE), 4(1), 1–8.
Yuniarti, F., & Pratiwi, D. (2022). An Analysis of the Students’ Difficulties in Listening Section Using Genius TOEFL Application. Jurnal Smart, 8(2), 116–126. https://doi.org/10.52657/js.v8i2.1799
Published
2026-07-01
How to Cite
PURINANDA, Faza Hannan; NURHADIANTI, Sefi; TRISURINI, Andika.
Health Polytechnic Lecturers’ Common Errors in Structure and Written Expression Tests.
Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Proficiency, [S.l.], v. 8, n. 2, p. 131-141, july 2026.
ISSN 2775-0450.
Available at: <https://ejournal.uniska-kediri.ac.id/index.php/PROFICIENCY/article/view/8680>. Date accessed: 01 july 2026.
doi: https://doi.org/10.32503/proficiency.v8i2.8680.
Section
Articles
