In Sentence Writing class, depending learning only on student-web interaction turned out to be not enough. Some students found that some materials in the web
were too difficult to learn by themselves. The face-to-face classroom meeting gave the students with the opportunity to interact with the teacher, providing more
clarifications and helps on difficult materials. In short, the interaction in Sentence Writing class took place mostly when
giving and receiving comments among the students and between the teacher and the students. The online activities and in-class meeting of the web-based Sentence
Writing class provided the students with more opportunities for student-web, student-student, and student-teacher interactions. The interactions in the web-
based writing class could be applied well because of the ease in doing both online and face-to-face interactions.
f. Atmosphere with ideal anxiety level
A learning atmosphere with an ideal stressanxiety level depends largely on how the teacher creates a desirable learning situation and a collaborative
situation in the class Johnston 1999. What is meant by “ideal” here is that the
appropriate stressanxiety level of the learning atmosphere in which the students feel comfortable to learn and are still willing to do the learning activities. In the
web-based Sentence Writing class, the intensity of the principle application is also high, seen from the total score of 3.75. It indicated how the students experienced
an ideal learning atmosphere in Sentence Writing class. The factors affecting the results are discussed below.
The questionnaire results revealed that the Sentence Writing class was set into a collaborative and cooperative community. In that, the students helped each
other to improve their writing. They could also always ask the teacher and their classmates for help with their writing problem. This situation is confirmed in the
interview:
Yes, it is easy to ask for help in the classroom. ... when I ask my friends for help ... MD13 and when I ask the teacher. MD14
In the sentence writing practice there is also peer correction, so we are
required to comment our friends’ sentences. So, like what I said,
we can correct each other. So, we help each other to gain scores
. M31 It is easy to have a discussion or ask questions with the classmates, they all
are willing to share
what they know. SV11
Learning in a situation involving advanced technology sometimes can be stressful for students. By involving the class and making it into a collaborative and
cooperative learning situation, the students‟ anxiety can be solved Johnston 1999. Such in the Sentence Writing class, the students felt secure to learn within
a web-based learning condition because they knew they could always get helped from the teacher and their classmates when having problems with the web or the
lessons. Once the students felt secure, they became confident in attending learning, which led to the effectiveness and success in learning.
Next, the learning atmosphere in Sentence Writing class was also ideal because the teacher was able to create a desirable learning situation. The
questionnaire results revealed the students felt comfortable with the online and in- class learning situation the teacher set for them. The interview results clarified
several factors on how such situation could be realized. The first is the teacher taught the class in a fun way.
It the in-class learning situation is so relaxing, but the materials are delivered well to the students LN6. ... The way the teacher teaches is not
tense . LN7
the learning situation in the classroom relaxing. So fun, in fact. Not tense. NP8 ... Yes, we can have discussions and ask questions or help freely,
especially with friends. NP9
The classroom situation is fun. The teacher assistant is so nice
, so I’m not
afraid to ask questions. SV10
The way the teacher and the teacher assistant taught the class turned out to be important to create an ideal atmosphere. As the teachers were nice, not strict, and
open to discussion and helpful, the students found the classroom situation relaxing for learning.
Second, the difficulty level of the tasks was appropriate for the students. The questionnaire statement related to this was responded positively, as seen from
the high scores of 3.77. It is also confirmed by the interview results as follows. The interview results show the students‟ opinions about the difficulty level of the
tasks in Sentence Writing class.
The topics for the passage writing are appropriate for the fresh students... the topics are common and not so complicated. MD26
The grammar practice some are hard, some are easy. Just average. NP27
Assigning students to do too difficult tasks can be discouraging while too easy tasks can make them lose their interest in the lesson. As shown in the interview
results, the topics selected for the passage writing, such as “my short biography”, “my unforgettable experience”, “college life”, “my idol”, and “my future job”,
were suitable for the new first year students. In addition, the grammar practices which consisted of 50 true-
false sentences also suited the students‟ level according to the interviewees. The appropriate difficulty level of tasks contributed
in making the students feel comfortable learning about sentence writing and grammar.
Third, the number of assignments and exercises was sufficient for the students. The interview results below are the students‟ statements regarding the
number of assignments and exercises in Sentence Writing class.
It the number of the assignments and exercises is enough. I think the deadlines are appropriate with the number of assignments given
. LN16
The number of the questions for the grammar practice 50 is enough. Because it is just true or false, right. SV39
Providing exercises for students in a lesson is advantageous to practice and check their performance and understanding. Giving too many exercises, however, can
burden and frustrate them. Based on the interview, the number of the assignments and exercises in the web-based Sentence Writing class was considered adequate
for the students. The student interviewees thought that the number of the assignments and exercises was enough as they related it with the deadlines of the
work submission and the type of exercise. Since the students also had assignments in the other courses, the number of Sentence Writing assignments, such as making
15 sentences per week, a set of true-false sentence-checking consisting of 50 sentences per week, and a 250-word passage per two weeks, were sufficient for
them. Fourth, the ease of the media to write turned out to be one of the reasons
why the students felt comfortable learning within the web-based class situation.
Yes, I just feel comfortable with the online learning situation. Because it is
simple. I don‟t have to write in a paper
, write papers, etc. MD15 Hmmmm.. the online learning situation is so comfortable and relaxing
because we can just type our work and then submit it. LN9
As suggested by Teichman and Porris 1989, as cited in Ferris and Hedgcock 2005, the ease of doing writing using computers can lead to students‟ greater
motivation and enjoyment in writing. As expressed in the interview responses above, the ease of doing writing using computers and submitting via online in the
Sentence Writing class made the students feel comfortable in learning writing in such web-based class.
Fifth, the flexibility of the place to work also became the factor supporting the students‟ comfort to learn.
We can be more flexible because we can have the access to learning as long as there is an Internet connection
. NP3
Since it needs inspirations to write, so online learning is more comfortable. SV13 ... because when writing in class only
, the result might not be the best. SV14
The situation and learning hour in a classroom can make in-class writing frustrating for the students. In fact, as expressed in the opinion above, the students
need time to generate and explore ideas when writing. Related to the online access, the web-based Sentence Writing class enabled the students to work outside
the classroom. They could write in their own preferred place. Besides, the students did not have to come to the class to submit their work. They could just
turn in their work from anywhere via online. With such flexibility of the place to work, the students felt relaxed to engage with learning in the web-based writing
class. From the explanations above, it can be concluded that the application of the ideal atmosphere principle in Sentence Writing class was realized through the
collaborative and relaxing class situation.
g. Enough time and feedback
