41 who were interviewed. It was very obvious that the respondents were encouraged
by the presence of blogs in Basic Writing class. It was also because most of them thought that they paid more attention to their grammar, diction and the use of
language in writing when they published their writing in blogs.
3. Students’ Personal Evaluation of the Use of Blogs in Basic Writing class
This section aims to discuss more fully the students’ personal thoughts as well as students’ perception on their attitudes and feelings related to the use of
blogs in Basic Writing class. The results found in this section were based on the closed-ended questionnaire and the interview. In the closed-ended questionnaire,
the answers to this section were found in numbers 16 to 23. The results of this section can be seen in Table 4.3.
Table 4.3 Students’ Personal Evaluation of the Use of Blogs in Basic Writing Class No.
Statements Frequencies of Responses
1 SD 2 D
3 A 4 SA
N N
N N
16. I felt satisfied using blog in
Basic Writing class 2
3.92 14
27.45 29
56.86 6
11.76 17.
I felt comfortable using blog in Basic Writing class
3 5.88
3 5.88
32 62.74
13 25.49
18. I could access blog in Basic
Writing class easily 8
15.68 30
58.82 13
25.49 19.
I was interested in using blog in Basic Writing class
3 5.88
6 11.76
27 52.94
15 29.41
20. I felt distraction such as I
opened other websites when using blog in Basic Writing
class 1
1.96 21
41.17 25
49.01 4
7.84
21. I was motivated when using
blog in Basic Writing class 2
3.92 5
9.8 37
72.54 7
13.72 22.
I liked using blog in Basic Writing class
3 5.88
4 7.84
29 50.98
15 29.41
23. I think blog is an appropriate
teaching learning medium for Basic Writing class
3 5.88
6 11.76
33 64.70
9 17.64
42 Based on Table 4.3 on students’ satisfaction of using blogs in Basic Writing
class, the percentage of total numbers between agree and strongly agree percentages reached 68.62 while the total percentages of disagreement level
reached 31.37 of the respondents. Then, related to the statement about comfortable feeling in using blogs in Basic Writing class, the total percentages of
agreement level were 88.23, while the total percentages of disagreement level were 11.76. It was apparent that most of the respondents had positive perception
that they felt satisfied and comfortable in using blogs in Basic Writing class. Furthermore, based on the differences of agreement percentages, the researcher
could conclude that the respondents felt more comfortable in using blogs than felt satisfied in using blogs in Basic Writing class.
Related to the eighteenth statement about accessing blogs in Basic Writing class easily, the researcher found that 58.82 of the respondents agreed, 25.49
of the respondents strongly agreed and 15.68 of the respondents disagreed. Then, none of the respondents 0 strongly disagreed. Based on this fact, it
indicated that most of the respondents agreed that they could access blogs in Basic Writing class easily.
In the nineteenth statement about the students’ interest in using blogs in Basic Writing class, it was found that 29.41 of the respondents strongly agreed
and 52.94 of them agreed. The total percentages of agreement level were 82.35. On the other hand, 11.76 of the respondents disagreed and 5.88 of
them strongly disagreed. The total percentages of disagreement level were
43 17.64. These percentages clearly showed that most of the respondents had
positive feeling that they felt interested in using blogs in Basic Writing class. The twentieth statement was a negative statement about using blogs in Basic
Writing class. Nonetheless, it showed that some respondents agreed with this statement that they felt distraction in using blogs. As seen in Table 4.3, there were
49.01 of the respondents who agreed, 41.17 of the respondents who disagreed, 7.84 of the respondents who strongly agreed, and solely 1.96 of the
respondents who strongly disagreed. The difference between positive tendency and negative tendency was not too significant. It indicated that the total numbers
of agree and strongly agree percentages were 56.85 while the total numbers of disagree and strongly disagree percentages were 43.13.
The differences of percentages of three last statements in Table 4.3 were not too significant. It could be seen that the total percentages of agreement level in
each statement were 86.26, 80.39 and 83.34, whereas the total percentages of disagreement level were 13.72, 13.72 and 17.64. It was really obvious
that most of the respondents showed the positive attitude towards those statements. Most of them were motivated when using blog, most of them liked
using blogs and most of them thought that blogs were appropriate learning media for Basic writing class.
Inquiring further into the students’ personal evaluation of the use of blogs in Basic Writing class, the researcher also conducted an interview to support the
questionnaire’s result. There were three questions related to this section. The first question was about students’ motivation in the use of blogs in Basic Writing class.
44 The second question was related to how appropriate the use of blogs as media in
Basic Writing class. Then, the third question was about students’ feelings towards the use of blogs in Basic Writing class.
In relation to the students’ motivation in the use of blogs in Basic Writing class based on the interview, the researcher discovered that almost all of the
respondents claimed that they were motivated. Those respondents were Respondents 7, 13, 27, 30, 34, 41 and 50. Respondent 27 revealed that she was
motivated because a blog was something new for her. Since the blog was published, she said that it made her proud. Respondents 30 and 34 also agreed
with this statement. They were also motivated because the blog was published, so they need to make good writing to post.
“Ya, karena itu tadi jadi termotivasi karena yang membacanya bukan hanya kita sendiri dan dalam lingkup yang luas jadi termotivasi gitu.” R34
I feel motivated because not only ourselves who can read the writing but also generally many people can read the writing. Therefore, I feel
motivated. Respondent 7 added that she was motivated because using blogs were
simple. She did not need to write her writing in a paper. In addition, Respondent 50 added that using blogs motivated her because she could learn more about
grammar, spelling and diction when writing using blogs. Respondent 41 notified that she could make an experiment in a blog. She could also increase her creativity
in writing. Therefore, indirectly her motivation was also increased. Then, there was merely one respondent who did not agree that the use of blogs could motivate
her in learning writing in Basic Writing class. She said that since she did not obtain any feedback from her friends, she felt less motivated.
45 “Kalau aku termotivasinya malah melihat hasil writingnya teman-teman
soalnya ceritanya lucu-lucu, tapi kalau dari writingku sendiri sih kalau dari pengalamanku cuma sedikit yang ngefeedback aku kan jadi aku kurang
termotivasi. Kalau banyak aku justru termotivasi. Jadi kurang termotivasi gitulah.” R6
I feel motivated merely because I see the results of my friends’ writing. Their stories are funny. However, actually I feel less motivated because
merely very few of my friends who give comments on my writing and give feedback to my writing. If there are many friends who give more comments
and feedback, I think I can be more motivated. In conclusion, I feel less motivated.
Regarding the students’ opinion on how appropriate the use of blogs as
media in Basic Writing class, Respondents 6, 7, 13, 27, 30 and 41 agreed that blogs were appropriate to be applied in Basic Writing class. Since the students’
writing was published in a blog, Respondents 27 and 41 conveyed that it was appropriate. Blogs could be media for students to share their writing with each
other. Respondents 6 and 13 added that the blog could be a variation for learning. Thus, the students would not be bored. They could also upload photos and create
an interesting background in a blog. Respondents 7 and 30 added that the lecturer also had an important role on how appropriate or not the use of blogs in Basic
Writing class. They meant that the lecturer had to give the feedback so that they could know their mistakes.
“I think it is suitable in Basic Writing class, but the lecturer must give us the feedback. So we can..kita bisa jadi ngoreksi kesalahan kita. R7
I think it is suitable in Basic Writing class. However, the lecturer must give us the feedback so that we can give correction to each other mistakes in
writing. Meanwhile, Respondents 34 and 50 did not agree that blogs were
appropriate to be applied in Basic Writing class. Both of them agreed that blogs
46 were better used in Paragraph Writing class than in Basic Writing class. They
explained that since Basic Writing class was the basic in learning writing, it could be better if they obtained the detailed explanation in advance as to the components
or parts of Basic Writing. Then, after they had enough knowledge of Basic Writing, they could publish their writing in a blog. Respondent 50 added that the
blog actually could be used in Basic Writing class, but it could not be the main medium. It should be an alternative medium.
“I think setelah belajar paragraph writing di semester dua saya jadi merasa itu seperti kebalik yah. Jadi, sepertinya tuh karena yang di paragraph
writing kan kita belajar bagaimana menulis paragraf yang baik dan kita lebih banyak tahu tentang bagaimana menulis itu dari paragraph writing
jadi akan lebih baik jika basic-basicnya itu kita dapat pengetahuan tentang bagaimana menulis yang baik dan aturan-aturannya seperti itu. Setelah itu,
selanjutnya baru kita mulai menulis sesuatu untuk dibaca oleh orang lain.” R34
I think after I learn Paragraph Writing in the second semester, it feels like it is the reverse for me. It is because in Paragraph Writing, we learn how to
write the paragraph well. We tend to know more on how to write well from Paragraph Writing. Therefore, I think it is better if we obtain the basic
knowledge for writing in Basic Writing class in advance. Then, after we have known the basic knowledge, we can post our writing to be read by
other people. In discussing the students’ feelings further towards the use of blogs in Basic
Writing class, the researcher discovered that all of the respondents had the positive feelings. All of them acknowledged that they felt happy to use blogs in
Basic Writing class and excited about blogs. Respondents 6 and 7 also felt comfortable in the use of blogs. It was also fun and attractive for them in learning
writing. Then, Respondent 34 notified that there was also the feeling of caution in writing because her writing would be published in a blog later. Respondents 30
47 and 41 also felt proud in using blogs since their writing was published and many
people could see their writing. “Senang, bangga. Karena nanti kan banyak yang baca tulisan kita, terus
banyak yang kasih komen jadi kan bisa improve kemampuan kita.” R41 I am happy and proud. It is because many people can read our writing.
Then, there are many people who give comments on our writing, so it can also improve our knowledge.
Based on the results of the questionnaire and the interview related to the
personal evaluation of the use of blogs in Basic Writing class, the researcher concluded that most of the respondents had the positive attitude. It could be seen
from the positive percentages in each statement in the questionnaire section and from the positive answers based on the interview section conducted by the
researcher. Most of the respondents acknowledged that they felt satisfied, comfortable, interested, motivated and happy to use blogs in Basic Writing class.
However, in the closed-ended questionnaire part of this section, the researcher exposed one negative statement about blogs. The statement was about
the feeling in which the students felt distraction in the use of blogs in Basic Writing class. They agreed that they felt distraction such as they opened other
websites when they used blogs. Nonetheless, this one negative statement did not give significant effect to the participants’ personal evaluation. Overall, they still
had positive feelings and attitudes towards the use of blogs in Basic Writing class.
48
4. Students’ Perception on the Advantages of the Use of Blogs in Basic
