Pandemi COVID-19 memaksa siswa di semua tingkatan untuk belajar di rumah secara daring. Aplikasi WhatsApp merupakan salah satu aplikasi obrolan yang banyak digunakan untuk memfasilitasi proses pembelajaran daring. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui penggunaan WhatsApp dalam proses pembelajaran daring di tingkat Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini (PAUD), sekaligus menginvestigasi perspektif para guru PAUD terkait penggunaan WhatsApp dalam sistem pengajaran dan pembelajaran secara daring selama masa pandemi COVID-19. Desain penelitian yang digunakan adalah metode studi kasus dengan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif. Data dikumpulkan melalui kuesioner dan wawancara kepada delapan guru PAUD di Jakarta Utara. Setelah data terkumpul, para peneliti menganalisis data dengan menggunakan teknik analisis data kualitatif yang dikembangkan oleh Miles dan Huberman (1994). Dari hasil analisis data, peneliti dapat menyimpulkan bahwa guru PAUD merasa sangat terbantu dengan adanya WhatsApp, khususnya dalam menyampaikan materi pembelajaran dan tugas di masa pandemi COVID-19. WhatsApp sangat membantu sistem pembelajaran karena memiliki fitur – fitur yang sangat membantu dalam sistem pembelajaran yaitu pengiriman video, foto, perekam suara, pengiriman file, dan juga video call group. Ini sangat memudahkan pengguna dan juga pengajar dalam proses pembelajaran secara daring, karena tidak hanya mempunyai banyak fitur tetapi juga sangat mudah dalam penggunaannya karena memiliki tampilan yang sangat mudah di mengerti.

The spread of Covid-19 has led to a global problem in all aspects of life, including in the tourism sector that directly affects the hotel industry. Asia as a continent with many countries that rely most of their revenue on tourism suffers a severe blow. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of the novel Covid-19 on the hotel industry in Asian countries. Through a descriptive qualitative method, the researchers collected data from journals, research reports, books, government documents, articles, and websites. In analyzing the data, the researchers make a comparison between the Asian continent and other continents such as Europe, America, Africa, and Australia by focusing on the hotel occupancy in those continents. The result shows that the rate of hotel occupancy in Asia dropped by 57% and 63,4 million employees lose their jobs. This condition is mainly caused by the travel ban regulation that is followed by the temporary closure of tourist destinations. The hotel industry in Asia has lost up to US$ 1.041 million due to massive booking cancellations, and employees in this industry are even more severely affected as they have no income to support their life.

The main objective of this study was to identify the attitudes of Indonesian students towards studying English vis-a-vis their readiness to compete in the fifth industrial revolution era. The data obtained from a four-point scale questionnaire administered to 216 participants from 12 universities across Indonesia were analyzed through a descriptive case study procedure. The findings showed that even though most students had positive attitudes towards EFL learning ( = 3.29) as well as towards Industry 5.0 ( = 3), they did not have the confidence to affirm that they have the instrumental competencies required by the tight competition of Industry 5.0, especially English competencies ( = 2.37). These findings indicate that despite their positive attitudes towards EFL learning, Indonesian students would be possibly not yet ready for Industry 5.0 in terms of their English proficiency. Therefore, it is suggested that policymakers and all education stakeholders take the necessary measures to improve the students’ English skills to ensure that they will be graduates who match the demands of Industry 5.0.

While learner autonomy has proved to be one of the determinants of successful language learning, little has been scrutinized when implemented in EFL online learning settings.   This study aimed to investigate learner autonomy in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) online classes as viewed from the students’ standpoints. Through a mixed-method approach, the researchers collected data both quantitatively and qualitatively using questionnaires and interviews. As many as 513 students from 8 universities across Indonesia filled out the questionnaires, and 10 of them were interviewed to corroborate the findings. The quantitative data were converted into percentages, while the qualitative ones were analyzed using content analysis by categorizing them into themes, coding, and evaluating to find connections. The findings show that most students (80.5%) had positive attitudes towards their autonomy during English online learning, as indicated in their motivation to be self-reliant. Even so, this positive attitude did not imply satisfactory learning outcomes, for there were only 18.5% of the students who got an A in their English course. To make learner autonomy impact achievement, lecturers could take pedagogical measures, such as encouraging peer-tutoring, selecting interesting and easy-to-use online learning platforms, and implementing the Project-Based Learning model. These findings imply that teachers should be more thoughtful in selecting learning activities and settings that could stimulate the development of learner autonomy.

The purpose of this review is to shed light on how to build critical thinking skills as one of the necessary skills that all students in higher education level need to be able to compete in the Industry 4.0 era. To ensure success, the worldwide industries in the fourth industrial revolution require their workforce to have not only technical skills but also soft skills, particularly critical thinking skills. With this new trend, English Department students are challenged to develop their critical thinking skills to supplement their English competences to be able to meet the ever-growing needs of the industry. Through a study of literature, this paper proposes some instructional strategies that the English Department could implement to build the students critical thinking skills and ultimately create a workforce ready for the tough competition in the Industry 4.0 environment.