Elesp students` perception on the use of blog in creative writing class

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ELESP STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON THE USE OF BLOG
IN CREATIVE WRITING CLASS
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education

By
Tri Siwi Mintarini
Student Number: 101214073

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2014

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ELESP STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON THE USE OF BLOG
IN CREATIVE WRITING CLASS
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education


By
Tri Siwi Mintarini
Student Number: 101214073

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2014
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STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work

or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the
references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, November 14, 2014
The Writer

Tri Siwi Mintarini
101214073

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertandatangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama

: Tri Siwi Mintarini

No. Mahasiswa

: 101214073

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
ELESP STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON THE USE OF BLOG
IN CREATIVE WRITING CLASS
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan
kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,
mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan
data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di internet atau
media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya
maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya
sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya,
Dibuat di Yogyakarta,
Pada tanggal: 24 Oktober2014
Yang menyatakan,

( Tri Siwi Mintarini)

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ABSTRACT
Mintarini, Tri Siwi. (2014).ELESP Students’ Perception on the Use of Blog in
Creative Writing Class.Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program,
Sanata Dharma University.

Nowadays the Internet has been used in many fields including in education
to help the learning process. Having seen this fact, many applications are provided
from the Internet for teachers to facilitate their teaching process. Blog is one of the
media which is mostly used. The use of blog is considered beneficial especially in
teaching writing. It also happened in Creative Writing class in ELESP of Sanata
Dharma University. This class used a blog to help the students develop creative
writing skill. However, the students had various points of view toward the use of
this medium. Thus, this research was conducted.
This study aimed to investigate the English Langugae Education Study
Program (ELESP) students’ perception on the use of blog in Creative Writing
class. The research problems were formulated as follows: (1) What is the students’
perception on the use of blog to develop creative writing skill in Creative Writing
class in ELESP? (2) What are the suggestions that the students offer to improve
the use of blog in Creative Writing class?
This research was quantitative research using the survey method. The
research participants were the students who took Creative Writing class in ELESP
of Sanata Dharma University in the even semester of the academic year of
2013/2014. The instruments used by the researcher were the questionnaire and
interview protocol. The questionnaire was distributed to twenty six students in
Creative Writing class. After having the questionnaire results, the researcher

conducted interview to gain deeper information. There were four students chosen
based on the consideration of the participants’ answers to the questionnaire given.
The results showed that majority of the students had a positive perception
on the use of blog in Creative Writing class. The use of blog gave positive impacts
to the students’ creative writing skill. It helped the students develop their
creativity including the creative writing technique and idea. Besides, using blog
could encourage the students to express their creative writing skill and learn more
about creative writing. The students also felt interested, motivated, satisfied, and
comfortable in using blog in Creative Writing class. Despite that, the students
faced some problems such as the poor internet connection, difficulty in using
blog, late posting, and students’ willingness to go online and open the blog. In
addition, the students also offered some suggestions to improve the use of blog in
Creative Writing class. The suggestions were the lecturer should explain the
function and the use of blog in more detail, revise the procedure of the use of
blog,develop the blog, and the students should more motivate themselves to
practise creative writings.
Keywords: perception, blog, Creative Writing
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ABSTRAK
Mintarini, Tri Siwi. (2014). ELESP Students’ Perception on the Use of Blog in
Creative Writing Class. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris,
Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Saat ini internet sudah digunakan di berbagai bidang termasuk bidang
pendidikan. Faktanya, ada banyak aplikasi dari internet yang bisa memfasilitasi
proses pengajaran guru. Blog adalah media yang paling banyak digunakan.
Penggunaan blog ini dianggap menguntungkan khususnya dalam mengajar
menulis. Hal ini juga terjadi di kelas Creative Writing di Pendidikan Bahasa
Inggris di Universitas Sanata Dharma. Kelas ini menggunakan blog untuk
membantu siswa mengembangkan kemampuan menulis kreatif. Namun demikian,
tidak semua siswa mau menggunakan blog ini. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini pun
dilakukan.
Penelitian ini bertujuan mengetahui persepsi siswa pada penggunaan blog

di kelas Creative Writing. Masalahnya dirumuskan sebagai berikut: (1) Apa
persepsi siswa pada penggunaan blog untuk mengembangkan kemampuan
menulis kreatif di kelas Creative Writing di Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris? (2) Apa
saja saran yang diberikan siswa untuk memperbaiki penggunaan blog di kelas
Creative Writing?
Penelitian kuantitatif inimenggunakan metode survei. Partisipannya
adalah siswa yang mengambil kelas Creative Writing di Pendidikan Bahasa
Inggris Universitas Sanata Dharma pada semester genap tahun ajaran
2013/2014. Instrumen yang digunakan adalah kuesioner dan wawancara.
Kuesioner dibagikan ke dua puluh enam siswa di kelas Creative Writing. Setelah
mendapatkan hasil kuesioner, peneliti melakukan wawancara untuk memperoleh
informasi yang lebih dalam. Ada empat mahasiswa yang dipilih berdasarkan
pertimbangan jawaban pastisipan di kuesioner yang diberikan.
Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa mayoritas siswa mempunyai
persepsi positif pada penggunaan blog di kelas Creative Writing. Penggunaan
blog ini memberikan dampak positif pada kemampuan menulis kreatif siswa.
Penggunaan blog membantu siswa mengembangkan kreativitasnya termasuk ide
dan teknik menulis kreatif. Selain itu, mereka juga terdorong untuk
mengekspresikan kemampuan menulis dan belajar tentang menulis kreatif. Siswa
merasa tertarik, termotivasi, puas dan nyaman dalam menggunakan blog.

Meskipun begitu, mahasiswa juga menghadapi beberapa masalah seperti koneksi
internet yang tidak bagus, kesulitan dalam menggunakan blog, keterlambatan
publikasi, dan kemauan siswa untuk menggunakan blog. Siswa juga
merekomendasikan beberapa saran untuk memperbaiki penggunaan blog di kelas
Creative Writing. Saran-sarannya adalah dosen harus menjelasakan tentang
fungsi dan penggunaan blog dengan rinci, prosedur penggunaan blog harus
diperbaiki, blog harus dikembangkan lagi, dan mahasiswa harus lebih
memotivasi diri mereka sendiri untuk berlatih menulis kreatif.
Kata kunci:perception, blog, Creative Writing
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I hope when people ask what you're going to do with
your English degree and/or creative writing degree you'll
s a y:
'Continue my bookish examination of the contradictions
and complexities of human motivation and desire;'
or maybe just:
'Carry it with me, as I do everything that matters.'
And then smile very serenely until they say, 'Oh.’
(Cheryl Strayed- Tiny Beautiful Things)

I dedicate this thesis to all people
who like creative writing, who like blogging,
and who like using blog as media in teaching.
I also dedicate it to all people who love me
and whom I love.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my Lord Jesus
Christ. Because of His will and blessings I am able to survive and be strong along
the journey of my thesis. Without his blessings I will not be able to have a strong
spirit and heart to finish this work. I thank Him so much for giving me the chance
to conduct this research and sending me many kind people who always support
me in completing this thesis.
Then, I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my bestsponsor,
Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. for herguidance and patience from the first time
I consulted my title until the completion of this thesis. Her comments, advice,
suggestions, and also corrections were so valuable and beneficial for me. This
thesis was nothing without her precious time spent to read my thesis and give
feedback.
I especially thank my academic advisor Drs. Barli Bram, M.Ed., Ph.D.
and the lecturer of Creative Writing class, Henny Herawati, S.Pd., M.Hum.,
who had permitted me to do research in her class. I also thank all of PBI lecturers
for their teaching and all of PBI staff for their best help during my study in
English Language Education Study Program. I am also grateful for the help from
students of Creative Writing class as the participants in my study, especially from
Ega, Vita, Albert, and Tiara.
My gratitude also goes to my parents for their caring, support, and also
understanding of what I have dealt during my study. I sincerely thank Bapak
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Heribertus Ngadimin and Ibu Agnes Sriyati for being my best parents. This
thesis could not be finished without their love and prayers. I also thank Mbak
Ning, Mbak Arum, Mas Adi, Mas Suryo, Radit, and Mario for the moments we
laughed so that I could lose my stress during finishing this thesis. I deeply thank
my boyfriend, Mas Sidech who always gave me spirit and reminded me not to be
busy with my activites but to finish my thesis quickly. They have given big
motivation for me to finish this thesis.
My gratitude also goes to some friends who kindly share their knowledge
and became my proofreaders, especially Paula,Sani, Galuh, Vindy, Marino, and
Nanda. My big thanks also goes to Besty, Arnis, Riska, Estu for their care,
understanding and support during finishing this thesis and the process of teaching
the SPD client. Then, I would like to thank Gaby, Tiwik, Duma, Nande, Bita,
Wara, Gevi, Brigit, Regita, Ardhi, Yuli, Vincent, Diana, Claudia, my friends
in “Delusion” Play Performance and other friends whose names cannot be
mentioned for the moments we laughed and cried during our study.
In addition, I would like to give my gratitude to all events and
communities that I have joined such as UKM TSD, KKN, PPL, INFISA, EWD,
EAD, CODE, EEPRO, and other events that I cannot mention one by one. They
have given a lot of experiences and precious life values to me.
Finally, I address my greatest gratitude to all people who love me and all
people I know whose names cannot be mentioned one by one. They are precious
in my life. May God always be with them all.
Tri Siwi Mintarini
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE ....................................................................................................... i
APPROVAL PAGES ........................................................................................... ii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY .................................................... iv
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ...................................................... v
ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................... vi
ABSTRAK .......................................................................................................... vii
DEDICATION PAGE ...................................................................................... viii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................ ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................... xi
LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................ xiv
LIST OF FIGURE ............................................................................................. xv
LIST OF APPENDICES ................................................................................... xvi
CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 1
A.

Research Background ........................................................ 1

B.

Research Problems ............................................................ 6

C.

Problem Limitation ........................................................... 6

D.

Research Objectives .......................................................... 7

E.

Research Benefits .............................................................. 7

F.

Definition of Terms ........................................................... 8

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ................................. 11
A.

Theoretical Description.................................................... 11
1. Perception ................................................................... 11
a. Definition of Perception.......................................... 11
b.

Perceptual Process ................................................ 12

c.

Factors Influencing Perception ............................. 14
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2. Blog ............................................................................ 17
a.Definition of Blog .................................................... 17
b.Implementation of Blog in Language Learning ......... 18
c.Types of Blog in Language Learning ........................ 19
d. Advantages of Blog in Language Learning .............. 21
3. Creative Writing.......................................................... 25
B.

Theoretical Framework .................................................... 27

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .............................................. 30
A.

Research Method ............................................................ 30

B.

Research Setting .............................................................. 32

C.

Research Participants ....................................................... 32

D.

Instruments and Data Gathering Technique ...................... 34
1. Instruments ................................................................. 34
a.

Questionnaire ....................................................... 34

b.

Interview .............................................................. 35

2. Data Gathering Technique ........................................... 36
E.

Data Analysis Technique ................................................. 37
1. Data from Questionnaire ............................................. 37
2. Data from Interview .................................................... 38

F.

Research Procedure ......................................................... 39

CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ........................... 42
A.

Students’ Perception on the Use of Blog in Creative Writing
Class ................................................................................ 42
1. Students’ Perception on the Implementation of Blog ... 43
2. Students’ Perception on the Impact of the Use of Blog 54
3. Students’ Personal Evaluation on the Use of Blog ....... 62
4. Students’ Perception on the Advantages of the Use of
Blog ............................................................................ 72

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5. Students’ Perception on the Problems Faced in the Use
of Blog ........................................................................ 75
B.

Students’ Suggestions to Improve the Use of Blog in
Creative Writing Class.................................................... 78

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..................... 83
A.

Conclusions ..................................................................... 83

B.

Recommendations ........................................................... 85

REFERENCES .................................................................................................. 88
APPENDICES ................................................................................................... 92

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LIST OF TABLES

Table

Page

4.1 The Students’ Perception on the Implementation of Blog ............................. 43
4.2 The Students’ Perception on the Impact of the Use of Blog .......................... 54
4.3 The Students’ Personal Evaluation on the Use of Blog ................................. 62
4.4 The Students’ Perception on the Advantages of the Use of Blog................... 72
4.5 The Students’ Perception on the Problems Faced in the Use of Blog ............ 75
4.6 The Students’ Suggestions to Improve the Use of Blog ................................ 79

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LIST OF FIGURE

Figure

Page

2.1 The Perceptual Process................................................................................. 13

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix A:Letter of Permisssion .................................................................... 92

Appendix B:
The Questionnaire Blueprint ............................................................................. 94

Appendix C:
The Interview Protocol .................................................................................................. 99

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the researcher provides the background information and the
rationale related to the research topic. This chapter consists of six parts. They are
research background, research problems, problem limitation, research objectives,
research benefits, and definition of terms. The research background provides the
background information related to the issue and concerns in this study. The
research problems formulate the questions to be investigated in this study. The
problem limitation limits the scope and focus of this study. Next, the research
objectives presents the expected outcomes of this research. The research benefits
identifies the contribution of the study to some parties. The last, the definition of
terms defines the key words or phrases specifically used in this study in order to
clarify concepts and avoid misinterpretation.

A.

Research Background
Recently since the use of information and communication technology

(ICT) has spread, the Internet was used increasingly in many fields including in
the teaching and learning process. “Given these possibilities, it is not surprising
that many language teachers have enthusiastically embraced networking
technology and have developed creative ways of using networked computers with
their students” (Warschaeur & Kern, 2000, p.2). Basically, the Internet is the
teaching and learning medium which is practical and easy to use, both for the
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teachers and students. It encourages teachers to use it as a chance to access wider
sources. It also gives a chance to students to develop themselves.Teeler and Gray
(2000) note that “according to teacher’s comments-at conferences, in papers and
on the internet mailing lists dedicated to ELT, they seem to use it for just about
everything: development, updating language skills, finding materials, learning
about computer applications, keeping in touch with friends and colleagues,
teaching, working on class projects and activities, and just having fun” (p.5). In
conclusion, the internet’s role for teacher is very significant since teachers use it
for their teaching development and also their personal businesses. Besides, it also
helps students to engage with the technology while they are studying in this
modern era.
The progress in the use of the technology as media in teaching and
learning process encourages teachers to be able to use the suitable application for
an effective teaching, since there are a lot of various applications provided in the
internet. According to Teeler and Gray (2000), “New demands are then being
made on teachers to use the technology creatively, leading to a steep rise in the
membership of relevant mailing lists and the number of available internet training
courses for teachers” (p. 6). In fact, there are many kinds of application which are
offered in the internet. There are many online media, applications, softwares in the
internet to support the teaching and learning activity. Nevertheless, recently
teachers tend to like using webs as the application in teaching English. “Teachers
are showing some clear preferences towards two applications: e-mail and the
Web” (Teeler & Gray, 2000, p.6).

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One of the popular applications from the web in the Internet which is
mostly used by teachers in teaching is a blog or weblog. It offers the users,
particularly the students, to publish their work by having real audiences.
Moreover, it also gives a chance to the students to express their opinions and ideas
in writing. Nepomuceno (2011) finds that “the birth of Blogs opened a lot of
opportunities for language learners to express and share their ideas with the
boundless internet community” (p.92). The use of blog also encourages the
students to engage with an online activity and have connection with their friends
and/or teachers. Blogs, which are interactive home pages that are easy to set up
and manage, enables students to engage in online exchanges thereby expanding
their language study and learning community beyond the physical classroom
(Blackstone, Spiri, and Naganuma, n.d.).
The use of blog as a medium in an English language teaching and learning
can be used in teaching writing. Writing is a skill in the language learning which
helps the students learn and think about the idea of what to write, the grammatical
structure, and also the target language that they learn. According to Raimes
(1983), “the close relationship between writing and thinking makes writing a
valuable part of any language course” (p.3). Therefore, a writing skill should be
trained to the students in many ways with various media.
Creative Writing class in the English Language Education Study Program
of Sanata Dharma University uses a blog as medium to publish the students’
work. The address of the blog is creativewritingpbi.weebly.com. The use of blog
in Creative Writing class is to post any works of the students so that their friends

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or audience can read the work. Moreover, it can encourage students to write
creatively and also inspire other students about a creative writing technique. In
Creative Writing the students are expected to write three most popular forms,
namely fiction writing, poetry writing, and life writing. According to Warschauer,
Shetzer and Meloni (2000), “students publishing project can still achieve the dual
purpose of helping students become active master of technology while sharing
authentic texts with real audiences. Then, by authoring and publishing multimedia
works on the Web, students can develop important new electronic literacy skills
while communicating with a global audience” (p.66). Creative writing skill can be
used to create projects then it can be published to the wider network, such as by
using the Internet. That is why using blog can be useful in Creative Writing class.
In fact, the use of blog in Creative Writing class has not been perfectly
implemented, since not all of the students want to share their work to be openly
read by their friends or other real audience. Unfortunately, there are just few
students who want to share their work such as a poem, a picture, or a short story
sincerely. The students are willing to publish their work on the blog if it is
managed as their assignment or project that needs to be evaluated by the lecturer.
Besides, this blog is designed by the lecturer so that not all of the students can
access the blog independently. There is only one blog site for the class.
Furthermore, there are two students who are trusted to be the administrators and
manage the works of the whole students in the class. In fact, the use of blog as a
medium in teaching writing has been common in a college level. However, there
are still many things to be considered. It still has some problems for the students

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of Creative Writing class. Therefore, it is important to know the students’ point of
view or perception toward the implementation of this medium.
There are several researchers who have conducted research on blog and
creative writing. Kastuhandani (2011) finds that the use of integrating information
technology, such as nicenet and blog, gives facilitation, communication,
interaction, satisfaction, motivation, and opportunity to students in the process of
learning paragraph writing (p. 118). He also highlights that it can improve the
students to perform better in their subject of study since recent students are digital
natives (p. 120). According to Rapita (2012) “the use of blogs in Basic Writing
class gives the positive impacts to the students’ writings” (p. 56). She also states
that the use of blogs can develop the students’ creativity and encourage students to
learn more about writing skill. Besides, it also increases the students’ confidence
in writing. Those research also inspire the researcher to conduct a research on the
similar topic.
In this study, the researcher discusses a different focus from the previous
research. There are differences on the types of blog used as a medium in teaching
writing, the layout of the blog and also the operation techniques. Specifically, this
research investigates the students’ perception in Creative Writing class in which
the students are trained to have a lot of practices in writing fiction, poetry, and life
(biography and autobiography). Moreover, it helps students be a good and creative
writer. In the process of using blog in class the students may have different
thoughts; whether it really helps them improve the creative writing skill, or they
think that blog is an appropriate medium. These different thoughts can cause

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different reponses toward how they use the blog in Creative Writing class. Thus,
knowing the students’ perception on the use of blog as a medium to develop the
creative writing skill is important.

B.

Research Problems
This research investigates the use of blog in Creative Writing class. There

are two research problems that the researcher wants to investigate. They are:
1.

What is the students’ perception on the use of blog as a medium to develop
creative writing skill in Creative Writing class in ELESP?

2.

What are the suggestions that the students offer to improve the use of blog as
a medium used in Creative Writing class in ELESP?

C.

Problem Limitation
In this research, the researcher focuses on the students’ perception on the

use of blog in Creative Writing class in theEnglish Language Education Study
Program of Sanata Dharma University. This study focuses especially on
answering two main research questions which have been formulated above. They
are about the students’ perception on the use of blog as a medium to develop the
creative writing skill in Creative Writing class and the students’ suggestions that
the students offer to improve the use of blog in Creative Writing class. Besides,
this research is conducted using survey study since it is about the students’
perception on the use of blog in Creative Writing class. The subjects of this

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research are students from Creative Writing class in the academic year of
2013/2014. There are 30 students in the class.

D.

Research Objectives
Related to the problems which have been formulated above, this research

has two main objectives that should be accomplished. They are:
1. To identify the students’ perception on the use of blog as a medium to develop
the creative writing skill in Creative Writing class in ELESP?
2. To identify the suggestions that the students offer to improve the use of blog as
a medium used in Creative Writing class in ELESP?

E.

Research Benefits
The findings of this research are expected to give positive contributions to

the English language teaching, especially to the students of Creative Writing class,
the lecturer of Creative Writing class, and the future researchers who concern
topics related to this study.
1.

Students of Creative Writing Class
This research will be useful for students of Creative Writing class, since

they will know about the use of blog as a medium in developing their creative
writing skill. The results of this research will be a consideration so that the
students are able to use the blog as a medium to post their creative writing work
effectively in the future. Besides, the results of this research can give information
to students to know the problems related to the use of blog and suggestions to

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solve the problems that they might face. The results of this study can affect the
students’ learning style. As a consequence, it can improve their writing skills.

2.

Lecturer of Creative Writing Class
By conducting this research the lecturer of Creative Writing class will

obtain benefits by knowing the students’ perception on the use of blog. Therefore,
the lecturer can consider again if it can be continued for the next class. Besides,
the lecturer can make a reflection or an evaluation so that they know what matters
to improve for the class benefits.

3.

Future Researchers
Through this research, the researcher expects that this research can inspire

future researchers who want to analyze things related to the topic discussed here.
For example, the future researchers can conduct research on the use of blog in
other writing fields. Then, the future researchers may also do research related to
another kind of media in Creative Writing class such as diary and journal.

F.

Definition of Terms
In this part, the researcher will explain briefly about the definition of terms

related to this study. It includes the definition of perception, blog, creative writing
class, and ELESP.

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Perception
According to Kreitner and Kinicky (2007), “perception is a cognitive

process that enables us to interpret and understand our surroundings” (p.183).
Then, Gibson (1985) says that “perception is the cognitive process by which an
individual gives meaning to the environment” (p.60). In this study, perception can
be defined as a cognitive process how the students of Creative Writing class give
an interpretation toward the use ofblog in Creative Writing class.

2.

Blog
Based on Farmer, Yue, and Brooks (2008), “blog is a web page which

contains updateable online journals about personal interest on which reader are
invited to give comment” (p.123).“It opens a lot of opportunities for students to
express and share their ideas in the wide internet community“ (Nepomuceno,
2011, p.92). According to Pinkman (2005), “there will be a communicative and
interactive relation between the writer who post and write any writing and the
reader who write any comment. They react about their criticism of their own
posts” (as cited in Blackstone, Spiri, Nagamuna, n.d., p.2). In this study, blog can
be defined as a web page which contains students’ online journal about their
creative writing works. Through this kind of blog, the students can share with
their friends to support their learning activity in Creative Writing class.

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Creative Writing
Creative Writing course is an elective course offered by the English

Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. This course
focuses on the process and technique of creative writing. Based on Buku Panduan
Akademik Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris 2011, the emphasis is highly
practical, with exercises and activities designed to ignite and sustain the writing
impulse. In this research, Creative Writing is a class in ELESP of Sanata Dharma
University which uses a blog as a medium to post the students’ creative writing
work for supporting the learning activity.

4.

ELESP
ELESP stands for the English Language Education Study Program. This

ELESP is the study program where this research takes place. Furthermore, the
Creative Writing course in ELESP of Sanata Dharma University uses a blog as a
medium to post the students’ creative writing work. The students who take the
Creative Writing class in the even semester of the academic year 2013/2014 are
chosen as the participants of this research. They consist of 30 studens.

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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Chapter two presents two main parts, namely theoretical description and
theoretical framework. The theoretical description discusses the theories
underlining the topic discussed in this research. Meanwhile, the theoretical
framework discusses the summary and the synthesis of all relevant theories.

A.

Theoretical Description
In this part,the researcher provides some theories underlining this research.

The researcher is going to discuss the theories of perception, blog, and creative
writing.
1.

Perception
The researcher is going to describe the definition of perception, perceptual

process, and factors which caninfluence perception.
a.

Definition of Perception
There are some definitions of perception which are stated by many experts.

They are explained as follows. According to Robbins (2005), “perception is a
process by which individuals organize, and interpret their sensory impressions in
order to give meaning to their environment” (p.134). This is also supported by
Kreitner and Kinicky (2008), as they note that “perception is a cognitive process
that enables us to interpret and understand our surroundings” (p. 183).

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Gibson, Ivancevich, and Donnely (2006) state that “perception is the
cognitive process that individuals use to interpret and understand the world
around them” (p.99). People have a different mental and cognitive process each
other.Each person gives his or her own meaning to the stimuli. As a consequence,
different individuals will see the same thing in different ways. Moreover,
perception refers to the acquisition of specific knowledge about objects or events
at any particular moment, it occurs whenever stimuli activate the senses (Gibson,
Ivancevich, & Donnely, 2006, p.99). They also add that perception includes the
interpretation of objects, symbols, and people in the light of pertinent experiences.
Thus, it involves receiving stimuli, organizing stimuli, and translating or
interpreting the organized stimuli so as to influence behavior from attitudes.
Altman (1985) adds that “perception is the way stimuli are selected and
grouped by a person so that they can be meaningfully interpreted” (p.85). The
process of perception enables us to understand and cope with the environment in
which we live. In other words, he concludes that perception is a person’s view of
reality. Based on Lahey (2009), perception is defined as “a process of organizing
ang interpreting neural message from sensory receptors which transmitted to the
brain so that it will have little meaning” (p. 152).

b.

Perceptual Process
According to Gibson, Ivancevich, and Donnely (2006), there is a

perceptual process about how the cognitive process works. The cognitive map of

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the individual is, rather, a partial, personal construction in which certain objects,
selected out by the individual for a major role, are perceived in an individual
manner. The process of creating perception can be seen in Figure 2.1.

Stimuli

Observation
of the
stimuli

Factors
influencing the
perceptions:
x Stereotyping
x Selectivity
x Self-concept
x Situation
x Needs
x Emotions

The
evaluation
and
interpretation
of reality

A
response
behavior
Attitudes
formed

Figure 2.1 The Perceptual Process
(Gibson, Ivancevich, & Donnely, 2006, p. 99)

As presented in Figure 2.1, according to Gibson, Ivancevich, and Donnely
(2006), the perceptual process is divided into four stages. First, when an
individual receives any stimuli their sense will observe it. By observing they will
see whether the stimuli that they perceive can fulfill their needs or not. In the next
process, the stimuli that they perceive will be influenced by some factors. It is
about how stereotype, selectivity, self-concept, situation, needs, and emotions
influence the individual’s perception. After that, there is a process on how the

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brain evaluates and interprets the reality which leads to create a response behavior
and attitude toward the stimuli.

c.

Factors Influencing Perception
Many factors can influence the people’s perception. It manages someone

to shape and distort perception. According to Kreitner and Kinicky (2008),
people’s perception can be influenced not only by their own thoughts but also
mainly by the information that they obtain which can be from newspapers,
magazines, televisions, the radio, family, and friends (p.182). Based on Robbins
(2005, p. 135), the factors that can influence perception can reside in the
perceiver, in the object or target being perceived, or in the context of the situation
in which the perception is made. When an individual looks at a target and attempts
to interpret what she or he sees, the interpretation is heavily influenced by the
personal characteristics of the individual perceiver. Personal characteristics
include the person’s attitudes, personality, motives, interests, past experiences,
and expectations. Then, the factors in the target contain novelty, motion, sounds,
size, background, proximity, and similarity. Specifically, the context in which we
see objects or events is also important. It involves the time, work setting, and also
social setting. Lahey (2009) adds that “our learning experiences, motives, and
emotions also can influence our perceptions” (p. 152).

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Gibson (2006) states that each person selects various cues, so there are six
factors that can influence people’s perception of people, objects, and symbols (p.
100). The factors are:
1) Stereotype
Stereotype is defined as a set of belief about the characteristics of people
in a particular group that are generalized to all members of the group. In other
words, it can be said as a judgement made about people on the basis of their ethnic
group membership. Most people engage in stereotyping, such as men stereotype
women and also women stereotype men. For example, when people first meet
others, they typically notice highly visible and distinct characteristics: sex, race,
physical appearance, and the like.
2) Selective Perception
In fact, people tend to ignore information or cues that might make them
feel uncomfortable, because people may tend to select information that support
their view points.
3) Self Characteristics
People usually make themselves as a measurement or benchmark in
perceiving others. They will perceive other’s behaviors and differences based on
the personal characteristcs. As supported by Omivake (1954) that knowing oneself
makes it easier to see others accurately, one’s own characteristics affect the
characteristics identified in others, and persons who accept themselves are more
likely to see favorable aspects of other people (as cited in Gibson, 2006, p.102).

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Thus, people perceive the behavior and individual differences are influenced by
their own traits.
4) Situational Factors
The situation which people face also influences their perceptual accuracy.
The situational context is such as the press of time, the attitudes of the people a
person is working with, and also other situational factors. As Gibson (2006)
highlights that the press of time will literally force people to overlook some
details, to rush certain activities, and to ignore certain stimuli such as requests
from other people.
5) Needs
Needs and desire also influences people in perceiving something. People
will see what they want to see, since the world can be distortion. Moreover, the
distortion itself is related to needs and desire.
6) Emotions
A person’s emotional state also deals with perception. As an instance, a
strong emotion can make a person perceive a negative characteristic in most place
policies and rules. As noted, that strong emotion often distorts perceptions, yet
people need to be concerned about what issues or practices trigger strong
emotions within subordinates.

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2.

Blog
In this section, the researcher is going to describe four main parts. They

are the definition of blog, the implementation of blog, the types of blog, and the
advantages of blog in the language learning.
a.

Definiton of Blog
Farmer, Yue, and Brook (2005) find “blogs-a constraction of ‘web based

logs’ or ‘weblogs’-are essentially online journals where an author (or authors)
publishes a series of chronological, updateable entries or posts on various topics,
typically of personal interest to the author(s) and often expressed in a strongly
subjective voice, on which readers are invited to comment” (p. 123). The similar
definition is stated by Stanley (2005). According to Stanley (2005), “a blog (short
for weblog) is frequently updated website that often resembles an online journal.
It requires only basic access to the Internet, and a minimum of technical knowhow “ (p. 1). In other words, blog is a weblog or an online journal which is
frequently updated by the author or authors.
Based on Armstrong and Retterer (2008), “blog is a blending of the words
web and log which contains commentary, multimedia, and hyperlinks” (as cited in
Nepomuceno, 2011, p.92). Blogs may consist of written text only, or they may
include pictures or photos-photoblogs-or even audio and video. Most of them will
allow readers to comment on blog entries, thereby creating an online community
around a common topic, interest or person (Dudeney & Hockly, 2007, p. 87 )

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b.

Implementation of Blog in Language Learning
The use of blog in the language teaching has been common to help

students find other media to practice the writing skill.However, it is not
intentionally created for use in the language education field. In a study, Wu (n.d.)
states that “blogs have formidable potentials as a useful tool for the teaching of
EFL writing class” (p. 426). In a blog, the students are able to write and share
their ideas. Nepomuceno (2011) notes that “blogging is also seen as a form of a
writing exercise that allows learners to increase the quality and quantity of their
written outputs through frequent posts and comments” (p. 97). Besides, it is not
just about the activity of writing, blogging also involves the sharing of experience
and information as well as responding to what others have written (Dudeney &
Hockly, 2007, p.87).
In addition, Dudeney and Hockly (2007) describe four steps for teachers to
use a blog with learners in theclass.
1.

Setting up a sample blog
Before the class the teachers have to set up their own blog including the

information about theirselves similar to what the teachers would like the learner to
produce. It shows to the learner what a blog is and provides a model in terms of:
content-what the learners can write about, language-the level of language
expected, and look-for example, the blog includes photos. Thus, the lecturer has a
significant role in introducing what kind of blog the students will use.

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2.

Setting up the blog
Once the teachers have shown the sample blog, the teachers have to help

learners set up the blogs. In a case that the class just need one blog, the teacher
can set up a single blog for the entire class, with multiple users accessing it
outside of class time. Helping learners to set up the blog can be quite labour
intensive.
3.

Posting on blogs and visiting blogs
When learners have set up the blog, they are ready to spend some time on

preparing and posting contents. The teachers have to encourage them to comment
on each other’s posts in the same blog. Besides, encouraging the students to visit
the blog regularly is also important.
4.

Follow up
Learners can be encouraged to post regularly over a certain period of time.

The blogs can be kept as an internal class project. Teachers can even join an
international network of teachers and get learners from other countries to visit and
to comment on the blog. Meanwhile, the teachers can provide ideas and
suggestions for the content while monitoring the students’ progress of writing.

c.

Types of Blog in Language Learning
Campbell states that there are three types of blog used in the language

learning (as cited in Stanley, 2005, p. 3). They are the class blog, tutor blog, and
learner blog.

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1.

Tutor blog
Tutor blog is run by the teacher of a class, who has the authority to choose

the topic to write. It can be about his or her life, sharing reflections about the local
culture, target culture and language to stimulate online and in-class discussion.
Moreover, the content of this blog can be limited to the syllabus, course
information, homework, and assignments. The students are normally restricted to
being able to write comments to the teacher’s posts. Meanwhile, Dudeney and
Hockly (2007) note that “a teacher who uses a tutor blog may decide to use a blog
to provide their learners with news and comments on issues, extra reading practice
or homework, online links, a summary of a class for learners who were unable to
attend study tips, and so on” (p. 87).
2.

Class blog
Class blog is a shared space, with teachers and students being able to write

to the main area. The students can be encouraged to reflect in more depth, in
writing, on themes touched upon in the class. Besides, the students are given
greater sense of freedom and involvement with the tutor blog. According to
Dudeney and Hockly (2007), a class blog is the only blog used by an entire class
which can be used to post comments on certain topics, or on class works or on any
other issue the teacher thinks interesting and relevant to learners. Thus, learners
all post to the same blog. The most common type is kept by one person as the
administrator. She/he will regularly post anything related to the need of the class.

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3.

Learner blog
Learner blog requires more time and effort from the teacher to bo