Blogs as Powerful Learning Tools: The Perception from EFL Students in Indonesia

Abstract

This post print paper presented in ICHaS 2017. Promoting the potential value of blogs in English Language Teaching (ELT) for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Students is the focus of this present study. It's aimed to explain in a quantitative way the perceptions from English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students in using blogs. The students from PBIG FKIP Universitas Lancang Kuning in the province of Riau, Indonesia was selected based on the increasing trends of the blog used as alternative media to learn English during these two years. The analysis of this present study based its data from online questionnaire as the main instrument to collect the data. The online questionnaire was open from August 2016-February 2017 (6 months) and filled up by 161 students from English Department of FKIP Unilak who enroll in 6 different blog-based classes at PBIG FKIP Unilak. The analysis showing that the majority of the students had a positive perception that blog can be used as powerful tools to promote English language skills especially reading and writing. The data also reveals that using the blog as a learning journal can raise students’ motivation in learning English and publishing article. These positive results somehow showing that blog can be promoted as an alternative media of learning English for English as Foreign Language Students at PBIG FKIP Unilak or in other institutions around the globe that teach English as a Foreign language

Effects of New Media on English Language Learning Motivation at Tertiary Level

“…This is possible through the use of new media tools like blogs and wiki in the absence of their teacher. Besides, the result of Hamuddin and Muzdalifah (2018) summed up that learners will be free from many other barriers when they are engaged in the blog writing task in learning English. Performance on blogs may be used to complement the jigsaw task classroom learning to gear up learner's confidence, creativity and participation, maximize progress, and create a platform where learners can learn collaboratively (de Andrés Martínez, 2012).…”