INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC & TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH VOLUME 9, ISSUE 03, MARCH 2020 ISSN 2277-8616 7260 IJSTR©2020 www.ijstr.org Long Walk to Quality Improvement: Investigating Factors Causing Low English Proficiency among Indonesian EFL Students Zidni Maruf, Alifa Sandra Rahmawati, Eka Siswantara, Didik Murwantono Abstract: Indonesian students have learned English for many years from elementary to university. However, English proficiency among most Indonesian students is not improved significantly. Therefore, this qualitative research with case study approach aims to find out factors causing low English proficiency among Indonesian university students. There were six heterogeneous participants coming from all over Indonesia in this research that the researchers got through purposive sampling. The data were collected mainly through individual interview. All interview data were recorded, transcribed, analyzed, and divided into themes. To develop the trustworthiness of the research, the researcher did member checking. The findings show that there were two major factors causing Indonesian university students have low English proficiency namely internal and external factors. Internal factors consist of low motivation and learning anxiety, and external factors consist of inappropriate teaching method, class size, and poor English environment. Further, suggestions and recommendations are offered to all related parties. Keywords: Internal, External, Factors, Low English Proficiency, Indonesia, EFL University Students. ——————————  —————————— 1 INTRODUCTION Language proficiency refers to knowing both grammatical systems of language and the ability to apply that knowledge in language interaction [1]. Further, Canale and Swain [2] developed a framework where language proficiency was based on three elements: grammatical or linguistic, sociocultural and strategic competencies. Therefore, it can be concluded that one parameter to measure whether students have already mastered English skill is through their proficiency. Thus, a specific test is needed to measure the English proficiency of the students. Nowadays, the most common ways of knowing students’ English proficiency is by taking TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) since the test consists three out of four major skills in English (listening, reading, and writing). The main purpose of TOEFL test is to measure English proficiency among non-native speakers of English [3]. Ironically, most Indonesian students are unsuccessful in developing English proficiency despite of learning English for many years since in elementary or even in kindergarten to university. In this regard, Diana [4] revealed that the average TOEFL score among Indonesian students is lower than 500. Within this issue, many researchers have given high attention to explore factors causing low English proficiency [5], [6], [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16], [17], [18], [19]. The previous studies revealed some significant factors causing low English proficiency for instance: negative attitude of classmates [6], [10], [8], teacher competence [6], [7], [8], [12], [13], [16], [17], [18], [19], inappropriate class material [8], [10], [12], [16], [17], low motivation [5], [12], [18], learning anxiety [14], [18], inappropriate teaching method [7], [8], [9], [15], [16], [18], [19], class environment [6], [10], [12]. These findings have given clear and much information toward the issue which causing low English proficiency. However, even though there were plenty of studies conducted in this issue, none of the studies conducted in university level, especially in Indonesian context. Exploring factors which causing low English proficiency (measured by low TOEFL score) among university students is very important, especially those who are majoring in English department. It is because these university students are still having low English proficiency despite of learning English for many years. In this regard, Indonesian university students have learnt English for at least 9 years. Therefore, the current research aims to explore factors causing low English proficiency among Indonesian EFL university students who majoring in English department to broader the knowledge toward the issue. 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Problems of Learning English There are many problems which causing low proficiency among English students. One of them is inadequate qualified English language teachers. Adedokun [20] identifies that English teachers which poorly trained were employed to teach significantly contributed to poor performance of English students. Further, negative attitude toward English is also an important factor which also contributed to poor performance of the students. Mohammad [21] stated that negative attitude toward English among the students make teachers more difficult in teaching the language. It is because mastering all ———————————————— 1. Zidni Ma’ruf is currently pursuing master degree program in English Education in Ahmad Dahlan University, Indonesia. E-mail: zidnimaruf@gmail.com 2. Alifa Sandra Rahmawati is currently pursuing master degree program in English Education in Ahmad Dahlan University, Indonesia. E-mail: alifasandrarahmawati@gmail.com 3. Eka Siswantara is currently pursuing master degree program in English Education in Ahmad Dahlan University, Indonesia. E-mail: ekasiswantara.id@gmail.com 4. Didik Murwantono is currently a lecturer of English Education in Ahmad Dahlan University, Indonesia.