English language education study program students perceptions on the use of internet for academic purposes.

 

PERCEPTIONS ON THE USE OF INTERNET FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By Asuan

Student Number: 061214012

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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PERCEPTIONS ON THE USE OF INTERNET FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By Asuan

Student Number: 061214012

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

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Asuan. (2010). English Language Education Study Program Students’ Perceptions

on the Use of Internet for Academic Purposes. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma

University.

The Internet has become a good medium of English learning and teaching. This technology facilitates teachers and students to get many benefits e.g. obtaining up-to-date information in which recent information can be opened easily world-wide with little effort and at a very modest cost. The presence of Internet helps to improve the educational process and students’ academic achievements, students can access to learning materials or resources easily. However, some students face problems while using the Internet for academic purposes. Moreover, how do the students themselves perceive the use of Internet in improving their academic achievements?

These were the major reasons that encourage the writer to carry out this research. There were three research questions: 1) What are the students’ perceptions on the use of Internet in improving their academic achievements? 2) What are the major problems students faced in using Internet for academic purposes? 3) What are the students’ and lecturers’ recommendations in solving the major problems that students faced in using Internet for academic purposes?

To answer the research questions, the writer employed survey research. The respondents were 105 sixth semester ELESP students in the academic year of 2009/2010 of Sanata Dharma University and 3 lecturers of ELESP of Sanata Dharma University who teach courses using Internet. The data were obtained by using questionnaire and interview as the instruments.

Based on the result of the questionnaires, the majority of sixth semester ELESP students in the academic year of 2009/2010 of Sanata Dharma University perceived the use of Internet in improving academic achievements positively. They perceived that using Internet for academic purposes was comfortable, interested, motivated, easy, quick, and inexpensive. It was based on their experiences in using the Internet for academic purposes. The students also perceived that Internet gave contributions in improving their academic achievements such as in accomplishing college assignments, finding teaching and learning materials or sources, finding useful on-line articles, journals, papers, and improving English language skills.

The major problems in using the Internet for academic purposes were the slow Internet connection in the campus, difficulty in deciding the valid and reliable sources or materials, confused with too much information in the results of searching, and difficulty in searching or difficulty in using search engine effectively. Finally, some recommendations were provided by the students and lecturers to solve the major problems.

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Asuan. (2010). English Language Education Study Program Students’ Perceptions

on the Use of Internet for Academic Purposes. Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata

Dharma.

Internet telah menjadi sebuah medium yang baik dalam pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris. Teknologi ini membantu para guru dan siswa mendapatkan banyak keuntungan seperti mendapatkan informasi terkini dimana informasi baru dapat diakses secara luas dan mendunia dengan mudah dan dengan biaya yang sangat murah. Kehadiran Internet membantu meningkatkan perkembangan proses pendidikan and meningkatkan pencapaian akademis siswa, siswa dapat mengakses materi-materi dan sumber-sumber pembelajaran dengan mudah. Akan tetapi, ada beberapa siswa menghadapi beberapa masalah ketika menggunakan Internet untuk kepentingan akademis. Lagipula, bagaimana pandangan para siswa sendiri tentang penggunaan Internet dalam meningkatkan pencapaian akademis mereka?

Inilah yang menjadi alasan-alasan utama yang mendorong penulis untuk menjalankan penelitian ini. Ada tiga rumusan masalah: 1) Bagaimana persepsi para siswa terhadap penggunaan Internet dalam meningkatkan pencapain akademis siswa? 2) Masalah-masalah pokok apa saja yang dihadapi para siswa dalam menggunakan Internet untuk kepentingan akademis? 3) Saran-saran apa saja dari para siswa dan dosen dalam menyelesaikan masalah-masalah pokok yang dihadapi para siswa dalam menggunakan Internet untuk kepentingan akademis?

Untuk menjawab rumusan masalah tersebut, penulis menggunakan penelitian survei. Para responden adalah 105 mahasiswa semester 6 Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggis, Universitas Sanata Dharma pada tahun ajaran 2009/2010 dan 3 dosen Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggis, Universitas Sanata Dharma yang menggunakan Internet dalam pengajaran. Data-data diperoleh dengan menggunakan kuesioner dan wawancara sebagai instrumen penelitian.

Berdasarkan hasil kuesioner, terbukti bahwa sebagian besar mahasiswa semester 6 Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggis, Universitas Sanata Dharma pada tahun ajaran 2009/2010 mempunyai persepsi yang positif akan penggunaan Internet dalam meningkatkan pencapaian akademis mereka. Mereka merasa nyaman, tertarik, termotivasi, mudah, cepat, dan murah dalam menggunakan Internet untuk kepentingan akademis. Ini berdasarkan pengalaman-pengalaman mereka dalam menggunakan Internet untuk kepentingan akademis. Para siswa merasa Internet memberikan kontribusi dalam pencapaian akademis mereka seperti dalam menyelesaikan tugas-tugas kuliah, mencari materi ataupun sumber pembelajaran, mencari artikel-artikel, jurnal-jurnal, tulisan-tulisan on-line, dan juga meningkatkan kemampuan Bahasa Inggris.

Masalah-masalah pokok dalam menggunakan Internet untuk kepentingan akademis adalah koneksi Internet yang lambat di kampus, kesulitan menentukan

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kebanyakan informasi hasil penemuan, dan kesulitan dalam mencari ataupun kesulitan dalam menggunakan mesin pencari secara efektif. Terakhir, beberapa usulan penyelesaian masalah-masalah pokok disarankan oleh mahasiswa dan dosen.

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First of all, I would like to express my deepest and great gratitude to dear GOD for His boundless love and glorious blessings. I realize that I would not be able to complete this thesis without Him.

I am greatly indebted to my major sponsor, Ag. Hardi Prasetyo, S.Pd., M.A. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for all his guidance, patience, valuable feedbacks, and precious time in completing this thesis. My profound thanks go to all of my lecturers in ELESP who have taught and guided me during my study.

My sincere thanks go to the lecturers of Sociolinguistics class, Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd., Carla Sih Prabandari, S.Pd., M.Hum., and Nugraha Krisdiyanta, S.Pd. for giving me opportunity to distribute my questionnaires on their classes. Moreover, I would also like to thank to all of the students of Sociolinguistics classes in the academic year 2009/2010 for being my respondents and their willingness to complete the questionnaires.

My majestic gratitude goes to my beloved Parents,Barli and Maidiar, who always support me with their abundant love and care, to my elder sister, Susi, who always gives me advice, attention, and encouragement, to my younger brother, Johan, who always stays cool and admirable.

I sincerely express my thanks to Chrysogonus Siddha Malilang, S.Pd., Kanina Pramesi, S.Pd., Mega Wulandari, S.Pd., and Agustina Ari Wisudawati, S.Pd. for their startling inputs.

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given me the chance to continue my study, and also Pandita-pandita in Yogyakarta, drg. Henny, and all of my Vihara friends who have supported and helped me during my days in Yogyakarta.

Further, I would like to thank my best friends, Lingqing, Yuede, Desia, Huile; all my remarkable classmates; managers of FRONTS: Ria, Kristin, Ruth, Dewati, Manda, Wiwit, Dika; all of my friends in PKM 2009, PPL, KKN 39, FEMME (Play Performance); PAK Tutors, PGSD Tutors, my dear boarding house’s sisters, Kanti and Susan, my seniors, my juniors, my friends, my colleagues, and my students. I would also like to express my appreciation to Secretariat Staffs of English Language Education Study Program and Library Staffs of Sanata Dharma University as well as all students of English Language Education Study Program who know me.

Finally, for all whose names that I cannot mention one by one, thank for everything. Be Grateful, Be Happy, and Keep Dedicating… ^^

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Page

TITLE PAGE ... i

APPROVAL PAGES ... ii

DEDICATION PAGE ... iv

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY ... v

ABSTRACT ... vi

ABSTRAK ... vii

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS ... ix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... x

TABLE OF CONTENTS ... xii

LIST OF TABLES ... xvi

LIST OF FIGURES ... xvii

LIST OF APPENDICES ... xviii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research Background ... 1

1.2 Problem Formulation ... 5

1.3 Problem Limitation ... 5

1.4 Research Objectives ... 6

1.5 Research Benefits ... 6

1.6 Definition of Terms  ... ₈

CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 Theoretical Description ... 12

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2.1.2.1 Asynchronous Computer-mediated Communication ... 14

2.1.2.2 Synchronous Computer-mediated Communication ... 15

2.1.2.3 Hypertext or World Wide Web ... 16

2.1.3 Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 ... 16

2.1.4 Internet in Language Learning and Teaching ... 18

2.1.5 Internet for Academic Purposes ... 20

2.1.6 Difficulties of Using Internet for Academic Purposes ... 21

2.1.7 Perception ... 23

2.2 Theoretical Framework ... 25

CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Methods ... 27

3.2 Research Participants ... 28

3.3 Research Instruments ... 29

3.3.1 Questionnaire ... 29

3.3.2 Interview Checklist ... 30

3.4 Data Gathering Technique ... 31

3.5 Data Analysis Technique ... 32

3.6 Research Procedure ... 34

CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Research Findings ... 36

4.1.1 The Result of the Demographic Information of the Respondents ... 36

4.1.1.1 The Level of Students Internet Access ... 37

4.1.1.1.1 The Students who Own Personal Laptop ... 37

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4.1.1.1.4 The Spent Time of Internet Access for

Social Networking Web ... 40 4.1.1.1.5 The Spent Time of Internet Access for

Communication Purpose (E-mail) ... 41 4.1.1.1.6 The Spent Time of Internet Access for

Private Interests ... 42 4.1.1.1.7 The Spent Time of Internet Access for

Academic Purposes ... 43 4.1.1.1.8 The On-line Activities for Academic Purposes ... 44 4.1.2 The Questionnaire Results ... 45 4.1.2.1 The Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Internet

in Improving Students’ Academic Achievements ... 45 4.1.2.2 The Students’ Major Problems in Using Internet for

Academic Purposes ... 52 4.1.2.3 The Students’ Recommendations to Solve the Major

Problems in Using Internet for Academic Purposes ... 53 4.1.3 The Interview Results ... 55 4.2 Discussion ... 57 4.2.1 The Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Internet

in Improving Students’ Academic Achievements ... 57 4.2.2 The Students’ Major Problems in Using Internet for

Academic Purposes ... 58 4.2.3 The Students’ Recommendations to Solve the Major

Problems in Using Internet for Academic Purposes ... 58 4.2.4 The Lecturers’ Recommendations to Solve the Major

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5.1 Conclusions ... 62

5.2 Suggestions ... 64

5.2.1 English Teachers or Lecturers ... 64

5.2.2 English Learners ... 65

5.2.3 Other Researchers ... 65

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Page

Table 2.1 Main Internet Features ... 14

Table 3.1 Questionnaire Blueprint ... 30

Table 3.2 Interview Blueprint ... 31

Table 4.1 Questionnaire Distribution ... 36

Table 4.2 Students’ Experiences in Using Internet for Academic Purposes ... 46

Table 4.3 Students’ Perceptions of the Use of Internet for Academic Purposes ... 47

Table 4.4 Students’ Perceptions of the Internet Contributions in Improving the Students’ Academic Achievements ... 49

Table 4.5 Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Internet in Improving the Students’ Academic Achievements ... 51

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Page

Figure 4.1 The Students who Own Personal Laptop... 37

Figure 4.2 The Students’ Access Point ... 38

Figure 4.3 The Frequency of Students Internet Access ... 39

Figure 4.4 The Spent Time of Internet Access for Social Networking Web ... 40

Figure 4.5 The Spent Time of Internet Access for Communication Purpose (E-mail) ... 41

Figure 4.6 The Spent Time of Internet Access for Private Interests ... 42

Figure 4.7 The Spent Time of Internet Access for Academic Purposes ... 43

Figure 4.8 The On-line Activities for Academic Purposes ... 44

Figure 4.9 The Students’ Major Problems in Using Internet for Academic Purposes ... 52

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Page

Appendices ... 70

Appendix 1 Research Permission Letters from Sanata Dharma University ... 72

Appendix 2 The Questionnaire Sheet ... 76

Appendix 3 The Interview Guideline ... 83

Appendix 4 The Results of Students’ Responses to the Open-ended Questionnaire Questions ... 85

1

INTRODUCTION

This chapter discusses the general explanation of this study. It includes the discussion of six sections i.e. research background, problem formulation, problem limitation, research objectives, research benefits, and definition of terms.

1.1 Research Background

English as an International language is learned by many people around the world including Indonesia. English has become a required language because of globalization era in which it is used in global communication, interaction, and gaining information. Some learners who learn English as a foreign language or second language still face many difficulties. Hence, English teachers are continually searching for better ways of accessing authentic materials and providing experiences that will improve students' knowledge and skills. One of the language learning and teaching strategies nowadays is applying Internet in language classroom or using Internet as learning and teaching resources. The use of Internet in English learning and teaching has been discussed and researched for years (e.g., Warschauer, 1996; Pelletieri, 2000; Adogbeji and Akporhonor, 2005; Chen and Fu, 2009).

Healey (1998: 11) stated that “in such a society, it is safe to assume that the ability to read, write, and communicate effectively over computer networks will be essential for success in almost every sphere of life”. The Internet has transformed communication around the world; it is natural that it should play a major role in the foreign language classroom (LeLoup and Ponterio, 2000), especially in academic environment where research is carried out and also students and staffs (lecturers and non-teaching staffs) compile materials for studies. It becomes pertinent that there should be a quick access to information, for better decision-making opportunities. The Internet has nowadays become an important component in academic institutions as it plays a pivotal role in meeting information and communication needs of institutions (Luambano and Nawe, 2004). The Internet is so vital as information provider source that even recent information can be opened easily world-wide with little effort and at a very modest cost. It was also noted by Luambano and Nawe (2004) that the Internet provides up-to-date information. This is important for researchers, educators, and students in that every information seeker needs accurate but up-to-date information in order to create impact in the growth of knowledge.

Adogbeji and Akporhonor (2005: 1) examined the impact of Internet on research and studies among students in Delta University in Abraka, Nigeria. The result of the research was

among other things, they conclude that the Internet has affected research and studies positively in the institution: it has helped in obtaining information materials relevant to students' research work that guide them in their own

research, it has helped in having quick access to study materials in their field of studies without traveling, and it has helped in having access to all kinds of databases and other sources of information (Adogbeji and Akporhonor, 2005: 1).

Sanata Dharma University is an academic institution of higher education in Yogyakarta that has been aware of the benefits of the Internet and has provided the students free Internet access facility. The Internet access in Sanata Dharma University is provided at various points, such as through faculty and departmental computer laboratories, the main library, and hotspot areas around the campus. Private owned Internet cafes within and outside the university are also becoming popular access points.

College students are supposed to access Internet more for academic purposes. However, besides accessing the Internet for academic purposes, most of the college students also access the Internet for communication with their friends, such as Facebook, one of the most popular global social-networking websites nowadays. The students also access the Internet for downloading songs, videos, playing on-line games, emails, chattings, posting comments, and so on. Hence, in order to keep the main purpose of the campus in providing free Internet access which is for academic purposes, Sanata Dharma University sets restriction of the Internet access. From Monday to Friday, during the effective study hours which is from 7 am to 1 pm, all entertaining and social-networking websites such as Facebook, Friendster, Twitter, YouTube, Skype, ICQ, etc are blocked by the university’s ministry. This restriction

of course has made many pros and cons among the college students. However, this restriction is helping students to focus on their study or focus on the use of Internet for academic purposes.

As one of the college students in Sanata Dharma University, the writer considers the Internet is really helpful for study, it provides lots of information that students can access anywhere and anytime. There are many useful teaching and learning sources in the Internet that can be downloaded. Nevertheless, the writer has some problems in using Internet for academic purposes such as too much time spent in looking for or browsing materials or sources, difficulties in finding related and reliable materials, articles, journals, and so on. These problems which have been mentioned are not only experienced by the writer, but may also the other college students. Hence, those problems encourage the writer to find out whether other college students are facing the same problems. Moreover, does the presence of the Internet especially the free access of the Internet facility which is provided by the campus help the students? How do the students perceive the use of Internet in improving the students’ academic achievements? As we know that the Internet usage is increasing rapidly. Hence, this study aims to identify the students’ perceptions of the use of Internet for academic purposes. If the students perceive the use of Internet in improving academic achievements positively, they would have positive attitude in mind. The positive attitude leads to positive motivation which gives great energy for the students to organize their behaviors. When the students do the tasks in positive

behaviors, it can be said that they have responsibilities to do the tasks. In addition, while using the Internet, there will be many different problems faced by different students, thus this study will also expose the major problems in using Internet for academic purposes among the students, and the last is to find out the solutions toward those problems, or to provide recommendations to solve the problems.

1.2 Problem Formulation

As what had been explained in the research background, this research is aimed to know the use of Internet for academic purposes among the sixth semester ELESP students in the academic year of 2009/2010 with the following problem formulations: 1. What are the students’ perceptions on the use of Internet in improving their

academic achievements?

2. What are the major problems students faced in using Internet for academic purposes?

3. What are the students’ and lecturers’ recommendations in solving the major problems that students faced in using Internet for academic purposes?

1.3 Problem Limitation

In order to focus on answering the problems, the writer will limit the scope of this study. This study will focus on answering three main questions which are stated in the problem formulations and because of the limited time and financial support, the

study will only focus on the sixth semester students in the academic year of 2009/2010 of ELESP of Sanata Dharma University and the lecturers of ELESP of Sanata Dharma University who teach courses using Internet.

1.4 Research Objectives

The objectives of this study are to answer three main problems:

1. To identify the students’ perceptions on the use of Internet in improving their academic achievements.

2. To identify the major problems students faced in using Internet for academic purposes.

3. To identify the students’ and lecturers’ recommendations in solving the major problems that students faced in using Internet for academic purposes.

1.5 Research Benefits

The writer hopes this study will be useful for lecturers, teachers, students, English education field, and other researchers.

1. Lecturers and Teachers

Hopefully, the results of this study can give information and help lecturers and teachers, especially Sanata Dharma University lecturers, to organize the courses, to integrate the courses through making use of the Internet facilities, and to apply better methods and strategies in order to achieve better teaching.

2. Students

This study will help the sixth semester students in the academic year of 2009/2010 of ELESP of Sanata Dharma University in particular and also other students in general to find out their problems regarding the Internet use and to provide solutions and recommendations in using Internet for academic purposes. It will be a helpful reflection too for the students in using Internet.

3. English Education Field

This study explores the students’ perceptions on the use of Internet in improving their academic achievements. If the students perceive the use of Internet positively, Internet is recommended to be used to more subjects of study in ELESP of Sanata Dharma University in various and creative ways.

4. Other Researchers

For other researchers who are interested in finding out the use of Internet for education or academic purposes, hopefully the results of this study will be useful to lead to further research.

1.6 Definition of Terms 1.6.1 Perception

According to Robbins (2001), perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. Lahey (2009: 124) defines that “the process of receiving information from the outside world, translating it, and transmitting it to the brain is called sensation. The process of interpreting that information and forming images of the world is called perception”. People have different perceptions toward the world, things, problems and happenings around them. Different perceptions of reality are influenced by different individual expectations, cultural learning experiences, and needs. In this study, perception refers to how the students perceive, translate, and interpret the use of Internet in improving their academic achievements.

1.6.2 The Level of Internet Access

The level of Internet access of this study refers to the background information of the respondents on Internet access, its usage and frequency of use. Wasserman and Abbott (2005: 253) examined differences in the use of the Internet by gender, with a consideration of access to the web, use of communication facilities related to email and chat rooms, frequency of use, and types of websites used. They stated that “in considering the gender gap on the Internet, it is necessary to define three aspects of

this gap: (1) access to the Internet, (2) frequency of use of the Internet, and (3) scope of use of the Internet”.

Access refers to the opportunity for individuals to use the web because they can utilize a computer in a public or private setting and have connections to the Internet. The frequency of use refers to the amount of time that an individual devotes to the use of the Internet. The scope of use refers to the variety of websites (e.g., financial, health, hobby, commercial) used by an individual. With regard to scope of use, it is necessary to determine whether some sets of sites are more likely to be utilized by certain categories of Internet users (Wasserman and Abbott, 2005: 254).

Ajuwon and Rhine (2008) carried out a study that assessed Internet access level, use of electronic resources and ICT training among health information professionals in Sub-Saharan Africa which was published in Health Information and Libraries Journal. The results were:

a total of 121 respondents participated in the study and, of those, 68% lived in their countries’ capital. The majority (85.1%) had Internet access at work and 40.8% used cybercafés as alternative access points. Slightly less than two-thirds (61.2%) first learned to use ICT through self-teaching, whilst 70.2% had not received any formal training in the previous year. Eighty-eight per cent of respondents required further ICT training (Ajuwon and Rhine, 2008: 175).

Hence, in this study, the level of Internet access would identify the students’ access points or place of Internet use, frequency and time spent on using Internet, the use of Internet facilities or purpose of Internet use, such as using Internet for social-networking web (e.g. Facebook, Friendster, Twitter, etc), for communication purposes (e-mail), for private interests or entertainment, for academic purposes, and the on-line activities for academic purposes.

1.6.3 Academic Purposes

Academic means connected with education, especially studying in schools and universities, or involving a lot of reading and studying rather than practical or technical skills (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, 2000). According to Sullivan and Rosin (2008), the academy is disposed primarily toward bodies of knowledge. Sullivan and Rosin (2008: 94) stated that “the academy devotes most of its pedagogical effort to disseminating disciplinary frameworks for arguing and knowing”. In this study, the academic purposes refer to the purposes which are intended to be achieved by the college students in their academy. The academic purposes in ELESP are such as the purposes of searching and downloading useful teaching and learning resources or materials, materials for college assignments, news, up-to-date information especially in education, on-line educational articles, journals, papers, theses, and other information which are related to academy.

1.6.4 Academic Achievements

Academic achievements refer to the achievements that relate to academy, in which are expected to be achieved by students successfully. As quoted by Brockman and Russell (2009: 1), “successful students, they maintain, have learned to effectively balance the social and academic aspects of school, expect to succeed, and may be described as socially proficient, goal oriented, and intrinsically motivated”.

Moreover, according to New York State Education Department (2005), in sample individualized education program (IEP) and guidance document,

when we're talking about "academic achievement," we're talking about the academic subjects a child studies in school and the skills the student is expected to master in each: reading and language arts, writing, math and the various skills expected there, science, history, and so on (IEP, 2005: 1).

Hence, the academic achievements in this study refer to the aims that expected to be achieved by ELESP students which are stated in the academic guidance book of Sanata Dharma University (Prasetyo, Herawati, Prihatin, Budiraharjo, and Adjie, 2006). ELESP aims to present ELESP graduates who are:

a. professional i.e. having wide and deep mastery of English language study; b. having pedagogical competence i.e. capable to design, manage, and develop

English language teaching and learning study program as teacher in formal and non-formal education;

c. having whole personality i.e. dedicated, disciplined, honest, academically autonomous, and religious;

d. having social competence i.e. capable to communicate and interact pro-actively and positively with academic civilian and society.

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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In this chapter, the writer provides the theories related to this study. It includes two sections i.e. theoretical description and theoretical framework. The relevant theories and similar research will be reviewed in theoretical description and the theoretical framework will provide a summary of all reviewed theories and similar research related to this study.

2.1Theoretical Description

The theoretical description includes the description of Internet, features of the Internet, World Wide Web, Web 1.0, Web 2.0, the Internet in language learning and teaching, the Internet for academic purposes, difficulties of using Internet for academic purposes, and perception.

2.1.1Internet

The Internet is an association of computer networks which allows data or messages to be sent from any central computer or host on one network to any computer or host on other networks (Crystal, 2001). “Just as the development of the

individuals and society, the development of the Internet is doing so today” (Warschauer, Shetzer and Meloni, 2000: 1). Walker, Davies and Hewer (2010: 2) described that

the Internet dates back much further, its forerunner being ARPANET, a US military communications network which was set up in 1969. ARPANET was extended (i.e. as the Internet) in the 1970s to include libraries, educational institutions and businesses, and email began to become used as a means of communication (Walker, Davies and Hewer, 2010: 2).

The Internet has changed many aspects of life, such as the way of communication, interaction, social life, entertainment, education, etc whether in developed countries or developing countries. Indonesia, as a developing country, is aware of the great benefit of Internet and Internet is now widely known and used in the society, whether for getting information, entertainment, commerce, education, etc. Internet as the advance development of technology is one of successful education results. Reversely, the advance development of technology supports successful education. Internet has made easy and practical in doing many daily lives’ activities, especially in the globalization era, many things have been computerized and done on-line.

2.1.2 Features of the Internet

The main features of Internet can be categorized as asynchronous computer-mediated communication, synchronous computer-computer-mediated communication, and hypertext, in which the usage of each category was presented as follows:

Table 2.1 Main Internet Features

Features Examples What You Can Do Asynchronous

computer-mediated communication

E-mail

Web bulletin boards

Write a message for others to read later

Synchronous computer-mediated communication

Chat rooms Instant messaging Videoconferencing

Communicative in real time with others who are on-line at the same time

Hypertext World Wide Web Access and publish multimedia documents with clickable links to other documents

(Taken from Internet for English Teaching, Warschauer et al., 2000)

The features of the Internet provide a tool for information processing and communication whether for asynchronous communication (with a delayed message system), synchronous communication (with all users logged on and chatting at the same time), or hypertext information processing (with easy access to an unprecedented amount of authentic target-language information).

2.1.2.1 Asynchronous Computer-mediated Communication

Warschauer et al. (2000: 2) stated that “asynchronous computer-mediated communication refers to computer-mediated communication that takes place in a delayed fashion; in other words, the people communicating do not need to be sitting at the computer at the same time”. The examples of asynchronous computer-mediated

communication are e-mail and web bulletin boards. Many places, institutions, schools, universities, companies, organizations, etc have e-mail address nowadays. By providing e-mail address, they can have better communication with the others or worldwide. People can contact them through the e-mail, whether for seeking further information, complaining, sharing information, etc. We can communicate easily with our friends by sending e-mail to each other, no need to go to the post office anymore. E-mail is not only sending messages in text but also can be used to send pictures, sound files, videos, word-processed documents, and even computer software. Warschauer et al. (2000: 3) mentioned that “no matter what else you can do on the Internet, communicating with friends and colleagues remains the most popular Net-based activity, and nothing beats the convenience of doing so via e-mail”.

2.1.2.2 Synchronous Computer-mediated Communication

On contrary to asynchronous computer-mediated communication, synchronous computer-mediated communication refers to computer-mediated communication that takes place the people communicating need to be sitting at the computer at the same time. Warschauer et al. (2000: 3) stated that “messages are sent instantly, and communication takes place live, as on a telephone”. This real-time communication is not only with text but also with voice or video. It has provided alternative communication in a modest cost. This feature has also provided language

learners authentic communication and interaction, in which it helps language learners to improve language proficiency.

2.1.2.3 Hypertext or World Wide Web

Many people presume that Internet is identified with World Wide Web (WWW) or Web. Actually, Internet and Web are not synonymous terms. The Web is only part of the Internet (Walker et al., 2010). Davies (1999: 2) described the World Wide Web as “the most powerful and fastest growing Internet service, now known simply as the Web”. The World Wide Web includes not only textual information and links but also documents with pictures, graphics, animations, audio, and video. Warschauer et al. (2000) stated that the World Wide Web includes not only hypertext documents but also software for sending and receiving e-mail. Comparing with the other features of the Internet, the hypertext or the World Wide Web is more widely used for language learning and teaching. It is because of many sites on the Web include forums for both synchronous and asynchronous communication.

2.1.3 Web 1.0 and Web 2.0

Web 1.0 was the first stage of the web’s evolvement. It referred to the first version of the web, which was essentially a source of information authored by a small number of people for a very large number of users. It provided many web pages, but with little room for real interactivity. “When the World Wide Web debuted, it was

considered revolutionary. Compared to those first, stumbling steps, Web 2.0 is immeasurably faster, more functional and more interactive” (Roux, n.d: 44). Roux also mentioned that in a nutshell, Web 2.0 is the interactive, ‘Read Write Web’ where users participate and collaborate in the creation and organization of dynamic contents in various media.

According to Walker et al. (2010), Web 2.0 is widely used recently by many users because it provides many tools such as discussion lists, blogs, wikis and podcasts, as well as dedicated social networking websites and virtual worlds or MUVEs that promote sharing, collaboration, and interaction.

The term dates back to 1999 but only gained popularity following the first of a series of Web 2.0 Summit conferences initiated by Tim O'Reilly in 2004. Web 2.0 suggested a revival of the Web following the dot-com crash in the early 2000s, which had damaged people's confidence in the Web (Walker et al., 2010: 2).

The continuous revitalization of Web, whether Web 1.0 or Web 2.0 has drawn the attention and motivation of many users to access the Web, especially language teachers and learners. “It comes as no surprise that the gently persuasive force of social media also has great potential for education. In fact, it could be argued that the mutual roles of education and Web 2.0 are crucial to society in the long run” (Roux, n.d: 16). Moreover, the Web evolves continuously to the terms of Web 3.0, Web 4.0, and so forth. Thus, to keep updated development of technology as a means of communication nowadays is a need.

2.1.4 Internet in Language Learning and Teaching

Chen & Fu (2009: 1) stated that “as a new medium of learning in the twenty-first century, the Internet has brought unprecedented opportunities to students”. Many schools, universities, institutions, even families eagerly facilitate the Internet use, especially the practice of using technology to deliver coursework in higher education has seen an absolute explosion. In language learning, learners can also communicate inexpensively and quickly with other learners or speakers of the target language all over the world.

Warschauer, the author of many books and journals related to Internet and language teaching, invited Heidi Shetzer and Christine Meloni, two international leaders in the field of on-line language learning, to write the book titled ‘Internet for English Teaching’ which was published in 2000. The writer would like to quote from this book that there are five main reasons to use the Internet for English teaching. These reasons bring English teaching ALIVE (authenticity, literacy, interaction, vitality, and empowerment):

1. Authenticity

Language teaching should be in authentic and meaningful contexts. The Internet provides huge amounts of authentic materials, sources, and information. The language learners can access the Internet anytime they want to find any topic they are interested in. The Internet also allows opportunities for authentic communication and publishing.

2. Literacy

In 21st century, through combining English and technology, the Internet, in the classroom will help the students to master the skills for academy and for their future occupation needs such as the proficiency in reading, writing, communicating, publishing, and research as the new forms of literacy.

3. Interaction

The Internet provides the students the opportunities to interact with whether native or nonnative speakers around the world. As we know that interaction is important in acquiring a language and improving the students’ fluency. The success of the English learning requires the learners to have a real communication or interaction in using English.

4. Vitality

Learning a language requires the students to learn its grammar and memorize vocabulary; integrating the use of Internet can bring the vitality into teaching and learning process because the Internet is flexible, multimodal, up-to-date, and contextual.

5. Empowerment

The Internet allows the students and teachers to become more critical and become autonomous lifelong learners. It can foster someone to find what she or he needs and collaborates with others to construct new knowledge or create impact in the growth of knowledge.

2.1.5 Internet for Academic Purposes

In higher learning, the Internet is expected to help the students in their study. The use of Internet should direct to the academic purposes. The Internet can be used for completing course assignments, getting information, studying, and learning. Many researchers had tried to explore the use of Internet regarding to academic purposes, for example as cited by Vajdieh, Marxen, Baird and Zelin II (1999), Tillotson, Cherry, and Clinton (1995) conducted an on-line survey at the University of Toronto and reported that

The majority of the 505 student respondents reported using the Internet for personal use (46 percent), with only 14 percent using the WWW for research and eight percent using it to complete other course assignments. Graduate students reported a higher usage for research compared to undergraduates. Cannon (1996) surveyed several hundred undergraduate students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and found that 52 percent used the Internet. Of those using the Internet, 73 percent used e-mail, while only 31 percent used the Internet for research (Vajdieh, Marxen, Baird and Zelin II, 1999: 2).

Another interesting survey was carried out by Chen and Fu in 2009 regarding the Internet use and academic achievement among 8th grade students of middle-school students in northern Taiwan. This study examined how patterns of Internet use in the 8th grade affect students' performance on their high school entrance exam a year later.

The findings confirm that online searching for information helps boost exam scores, while using the Internet for socializing and gaming, as well as going to Internet Cafés, contribute to poorer exam performance. Male and female students differ not only in their patterns of Internet use, but in how these patterns affect their academic performance. While information searching helps

both boys and girls, online socializing makes girls particularly vulnerable, and online gaming and Internet Cafés hurt only boys' academic achievement (Chen and Fu, 2009: 1).

As Internet provides wide range of information and resources, the uses of Internet for academic purposes in English language education are for searching English materials, looking for English teaching and learning lessons/materials, downloading English teaching and learning tools/softwares, as medium of teaching and learning activities such as giving students’ web-projects or tasks to post writing assignments, giving feedbacks or comments, providing on-line English language courses, collaborative learning, and on-line language learning research.

2.1.6 Difficulties of Using Internet for Academic Purposes

In regard to students who use the Internet for academic purposes, there are several difficulties which might be faced by the students, such as lack of formal training on how to browse the Internet, lack of the knowledge of web sites/search engines to use in searching for information in the Internet, lack of the knowledge of how to use the computer effectively, lack of time in searching for information in the Internet, slow speed of the Internet access, and disinterestedness on the part of some of the students. Students also reported difficulty in finding what they needed when using the Internet to search for information and also determining the reliability of information. As cited by Vajdieh et al. (1999: 2), “Tillotson et al. (1995) found that students had limited success in finding the information they searched for on the

Internet, with 46 percent finding nothing they were looking for, and only 23 percent finding at least a satisfactory amount of needed information”. Vajdieh et al. (1999: 3) also mentioned that

the lack of success in Internet information retrieval and the predominance of e-mail usage could point to a need for Internet-related training on college campuses. Cannon (1996) found that only six percent of students surveyed reported having formal training in Internet use. Kaczor and Jacobson (1996) also found that the majority of users (54 percent) learned the Internet by themselves, while only 14 percent reported having formal instruction on Internet use. Similarly, Lubans (1998) found that 88 percent of student respondents learned to use the Internet mainly by "surfing" on their own (Vajdieh et al., 1999: 3).

In general, from the difficulties in Internet searching for academic purposes mentioned above, most of the students faced difficulties in efficiency and effectiveness of Internet searches. The majority of the students learned to use the Internet by themselves. The students were lack of the knowledge in browsing, using search engine for searching information, training in using Internet. There were too much or complicated information in Internet and students needed to spend a lot of time for searching information in the Internet. Those reasons caused unenthusiastic in using Internet for academic purposes. Salaam and Adegbore (n.d: 2) quoted that

Nwokedi (2007) posits that lack of searching skills is still hindering good use of Internet. He asserts that acquisition of Internet skills can lead to discovery of valuable research and teaching resources, which would in turn cause the users to use the Internet to enhance their research and learning capabilities. Internet access ability would be expected to stimulate regular use of the Internet and minimize the perceived barriers to its use (Salaam and Adegbore, n.d: 2).

2.1.7 Perception

Robbins (2001: 134) defines that “perception is a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment”. People have different perceptions toward the world, things, problems and happenings around them. Different perceptions of reality are influenced by different individual expectations, cultural learning experiences, and needs. “Humans are aware of the world because having a number of sense organs which enable humans to see, hear, taste, smell, touch, balance, and experience such feelings as body stiffness, soreness, fullness, warmth, pleasure, pain, and movement” (Lahey, 2009: 153). Lahey (2009: 124) defines that “the process of receiving information from the outside world, translating it, and transmitting it to the brain is called sensation. The process of interpreting that information and forming images of the world is called perception”. Thus, the perception is the interpretation of sensations.

Furthermore, Lahey (2009: 163) states that “other factors that enter into the process of perception are unique to the individual, such as emotional and motivational states and cultural learning experiences”. Proffitt (2006) as quoted by Lahey (2009: 162) mentions that “persons who are afraid of heights who are standing on a balcony estimate the distance to the ground to be greater than do people who are less afraid”, and “when people are wearing a heavy backpack they estimate the distance they would need to walk to a distant object to be farther”. The cultural

learning experiences are also the factors that influence perception. Palesh, Saltzman and Koopman (2004: 554) carried out a research and quoted:

in a study comparing Italian and American students, Sensales and Greenfield determined that cultural differences accounted for more variance in attitudes towards computers and computer technology than did gender or field of study. Brosnan and Lee reported more positive computer-related attitudes among students in Britain than in Hong Kong. Similarly, students in the United States have demonstrated more positive attitudes toward computers than have Kuwaiti students. Li et al. found significant cultural differences between female British and Chinese students in motivation for use. Chinese students used the Internet primarily for “personal interest,” while British students tended to use it for scholarly reasons. One apparent commonality between cultures is the tendency for a gender split with respect to usage and attitude patterns. Women have been reported to engage in “computer-related” behavior less frequently than do men (Palesh, Saltzman and Koopman, 2004: 554).

In addition, based on Lestari’s research result (2007), 65 respondents of sixth semester students of four writing classes in the academic year of 2006/2007 of ELESP of Sanata Dharma University had positive perception on the use of Internet and Internet’s contributions toward their writing proficiency. Internet was considered as a good supporting medium for English language learning, especially in writing proficiency.

According to Robbins (2001) in organizational behavior, it is the individuals’ perceptions of a situation that become the basis for their behaviors. “Whether or not a manager successfully plans and organizes the work of his or her employees and actually helps them to structure their work more efficiently and effectively is far less important than how employees perceive the manager’s efforts” (Robbins, 2001: 159).

Robbins also mentioned that to be able to influence productivity, it is necessary to assess how workers perceive their jobs. Hence, in this study, if the students have positive cultural learning experiences, feel enjoyable, comfortable, interested in using Internet, and perceive Internet is a useful, effective, and efficient medium in improving their academic achievements, they may have positive perception. Having positive perception is important because it will influence the students’ reaction to a condition and give good impacts on students’ behaviors.

In this study, the writer will conduct a survey of perception on the use of Internet for academic purposes among the sixth semester ELESP students in the academic year of 2009/2010 of Sanata Dharma University. The perception refers to how the students perceive the use of Internet and its contributions toward their academic achievements, in which the students’ perceptions on the use of Internet will influence the students’ behaviors and motivations on the use of Internet for academic purposes.

2.2Theoretical Framework

The Internet is so vast and complex. The use of Internet is increasing rapidly nowadays. The explanation of the Internet, features of the Internet, Web 1.0, and Web 2.0 serve as basic theories in this study. The Internet in language learning and teaching and the Internet for academic purposes theories as well as related research to the Internet have provided recent issues and the importance of the use of Internet in

language learning and teaching. The theory and related research of the difficulties in using Internet for academic purposes serve as the guidelines to identify the students’ difficulties regarding the use of Internet for academic purposes.

Furthermore, this study aims to know how students perceive the use of Internet in improving their academic achievements. Based on the theories of perception that have been discussed in the previous section, we know that there are factors affect perception such as individual expectations, cultural learning experiences, needs, and other factors that enter into the process of perception are unique to the individual, such as emotional and motivational states and cultural learning experiences. If the students perceive the use of Internet in improving academic achievements positively, they tend to see it is effective, important, beneficial, and contributory. Hence, the positive perceptions will influence the students’ reaction and give good impacts on students’ behaviors in reaching better academic achievements. In order to know the students’ perceptions, this study uses survey as the method to explore the students’ perceptions on the use of Internet for academic purposes in improving their academic achievements, as well as to identify the problems or difficulties of the use of Internet for academic purposes, and to provide some solutions which are suggested by the students and lecturers to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Internet use in order to increase the enthusiasm of using Internet for academic purposes. Furthermore, the research methodology will be discussed in Chapter III.

27

METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the research methodology which includes research methods, research participants, research instruments, data gathering technique, data analysis technique, and research procedure.

3.1 Research Methods

The methods in this study were both quantitative and qualitative methods. The data collection involved the numeric information (questionnaire) and textual information (questionnaire and interview), so that the data gathering or the results were presented both in quantitative and qualitative information. In order to collect the information for answering the research problems, a survey was used through distributing questionnaires and conducting interviews. According to Wiersma (1995: 169), “surveys are used to measure attitudes, opinions, or achievements – any number of variables in natural setting”. Furthermore, according to Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2000: 171), “the attractions of a survey lie in its appeal to generalizability or universality within given parameters, its ability to make statements which are supported by large data banks and its ability to establish the degree of confidence which can be placed in a set of findings”.

3.2 Research Participants

It is often difficult or even impossible for researchers to study very large populations in a survey. Hence, the researchers need to select a smaller portion, a sample, of the population for study (Ary, Jacobs and Razavieh, 2002: 375).

The participants of this research were 105 sixth semester ELESP students in the academic year of 2009/2010 of Sanata Dharma University and 3 lecturers of Sanata Dharma University who teach courses using Internet. In this case, the writer employed purposive sampling. Purposive sampling chooses the participants based on the information that is intended to be acquired. Ary et al. (2002: 169) stated that “in purposive sampling--also referred to as judgment sampling--sample elements judged to be typical, or representative, are chosen from the population”. Hence, a set of questionnaire was distributed to the sixth semester ELESP students in the academic year of 2009/2010 of Sanata Dharma University since using Internet for academic purposes would be important whether at present or for their coming semesters for accessing information, teaching and learning sources, educational articles, journals, etc. Furthermore, the writer arranged interviews with three lecturers of Sanata Dharma University who teach courses using Internet in order to ask their opinions, solutions, and recommendations regarding to the problems faced by the students in using Internet for academic purposes.

3.3 Research Instruments

The instruments used in this study were questionnaire and interview checklist:

3.3.1 Questionnaire

In order to answer the first and the second research problem, a set of questionnaire was constructed. The questionnaire was divided into 4 parts. The first part (Part A) consisted of 8 closed questions about the level of Internet access of the student, the second part (Part B) consisted of 1 closed question about the problems that the student faced in using Internet for academic purposes, the third part (Part C) consisted of 6 open-ended questions about the student’s recommendations to solve the problems that they faced in using Internet for academic purposes, the fourth part (Part D) consisted of 20 statements to get responses of Likert scale (totally disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, totally agree), in order to find out the student’s perceptions on the use of Internet in improving their academic achievements. The questionnaire blueprint can be seen as follows:

Table 3.1 Questionnaire Blueprint

Part Question Description

A 1 - 8 These 8 questions revealed the level of Internet access of the students (points or place of Internet use, frequency and spent time on using Internet, the use of Internet facilities or purpose of Internet use)

B 1 This question gathered information about the major problems that the students faced in using Internet for academic purposes C 1- 6 These 6 questions gathered information about the students’

recommendations to solve the problems that they faced in using Internet for academic purposes

D 1 – 6 These 6 questions gathered information about the students’ experiences in using Internet for academic purposes

D 7 – 11 These 5 questions gathered information about the students’ perceptions of the use of Internet for academic purposes

D 12 - 20 These 9 questions gathered information about the students’ perceptions of the Internet contributions in improving the students’ academic achievements

3.3.2 Interview Checklist

The use of interview in this study was to find out the opinions of three lecturers on the problems of the students in using Internet for academic purposes, and to ask them about possible solutions that they may offer. Each interview was recorded to prevent distraction of using taking notes only. The interview blueprint can be seen as follows:

Table 3.2 Interview Blueprint

Question Description

1 - 6 These 6 questions gathered information about the lecturers’ recommendations to solve the problems that the students faced in using Internet for academic purposes

3.4 Data Gathering Technique

The data of this study were gathered by distributing the questionnaires and conducting interviews. The questionnaires were used to know the students’ perceptions on the use of Internet in improving their academic achievements, to know the students’ problems in using Internet for academic purposes and to know the recommendations of the students to solve the problems. The interviews were used to know the recommendations and solutions of the lecturers to solve the problems which were faced by the students in using Internet for academic purposes.

The questionnaires were distributed in April 2010 to the sixth semester ELESP students in the academic year of 2009/2010 of Sanata Dharma University in four Sociolinguistics classes in different days after the writer had the permission from each lecturer of each Sociolinguistics class. Sociolinguistics classes were chosen because of most of the sixth semester students were taking these classes. Moreover, Sociolinguistics class is one of the compulsory classes in sixth semester of ELESP. The students were explained the purpose and significance of this survey and were given more or less 20 minutes to fill in the questionnaires. The writer also gave some

token of appreciations to the students. After the data from the questionnaires were acquired in two weeks, the interviews of three lecturers of Sanata Dharma University who teach courses using Internet were conducted in different days within a week.

3.5 Data Analysis Technique

According to Wiersma (1995: 176), “especially for surveys using questionnaires and interviews, background or demographic information about the respondent is important in that it identifies the individual in terms of classifying variables for the analysis”. The demographic information of the level of students Internet access was acquired in Part A of the questionnaire. The data were recorded, classified, and the percentage of each response was counted. Then, the average was counted to determine the major response for each question’s response. The data then were presented in the form of bar graphs and interpreted in words.

Furthermore, in answering the first problem formulation, the writer used five points of scale to gather the students’ perceptions on the use of Internet in improving their academic achievements in Part D of the questionnaires. The five points of scale were:

1 = Totally Disagree 2 = Disagree

3 = Neutral 4 = Agree

5 = Totally Agree

After collecting the Part D of the questionnaire, the writer analyzed them by recording and classifying the data in the form of table and discussed them based on the percentage. The percentage of the response of each statement was counted and followed by the calculation of the average. The average of the total of 20 statements’ responses of the questionnaire was depicted as the students’ perception.

The next step after processing the data of Part D of the questionnaire was analyzing the Part B of the questionnaire to answer the second problem formulation of this study which was the major problems that students faced in using Internet for academic purposes. The data were classified and counted. Then, the average was counted into percentage to determine the major response. The result was presented in the form of bar graph and interpreted in words.

Furthermore, the following step was analyzing the Part C of the questionnaire (students’ recommendations or solutions to solve the problems) and analyzing the result of interviewing the lecturers to answer the third problem formulation of this study. Qualitative description is used to synthesize the data of students’ responses to the open-ended questions and lecturers’ interviews. Next, the writer will present the gathered data and data analysis in Chapter IV.

3.6 Research Procedure

There were six basic steps involved in survey research based on Ary et al. (2002): (1) Planning; (2) Defining the population; (3) Sampling; (4) Constructing the instrument; (5) Conducting the survey; and (6) Processing the data. The detailed research procedures of this study were as follows:

1. Planning

The writer would like to find out the students’ perceptions, problems, and solutions in using Internet for academic purposes, so a survey was considered as the most appropriate. Before conducting the survey, the writer reviewed related literatures in library and browsed related journals, papers, and research to obtain related theories and studies.

2. Defining the population

The writer tried to focus on a certain group of population who were using the Internet for academic purposes, so the ELESP students were appropriate. The writer decided to choose ELESP students of Sanata Dharma University in the academic year of 2009/2010 and selected the sample.

3. Sampling

The sample was sixth semester ELESP students in the academic year of 2009/2010 of Sanata Dharma University. The students were representative because the writer would like to survey the use of Internet among the students for academic purposes; especially the students who have already in sixth semester of their study.

4. Constructing the instrument

The writer chose two basic types of data gathering instruments in survey research which were the questionnaire and interview checklist. The questionnaire was set in various structures: the open-ended questions were in completion or fill-in; the closed-ended questions were in checklists, and Likert-type items. The interview checklist consisted of semi-structured items which permitted the interviewer to change the order of the questions and left much more interpretation to the respondents.

5. Conducting the survey

The questionnaires were distributed on three different days: Wednesday (April 7, 2010), Wednesday (April 14, 2010), and Monday (April 19, 2010). The students were explained the purpose and significance of this survey and were given more or less 15-20 minutes to fill in the questionnaires. After the data from the questionnaires were acquired in two weeks, the interviews of three lecturers of Sanata Dharma University who teach courses using Internet were conducted in different days within a week.

6. Processing the data

This was the last step. It included coding the data, analyzing the data, interpreting the results, and reporting the findings in the following chapter.

36

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

In this chapter, the writer presents and analyzes the obtained data. This chapter is divided into two main parts i.e. Research Findings and Discussion. The Research Findings consist of the result of the demographic information of the respondents, the questionnaire results and the interview results. In the last part, the Discussion, the writer discusses the results of the Research Findings in order to answer the research problems.

4.1 Research Findings

4.1.1 The Result of the Demographic Information of the Respondents

The writer had distributed the questionnaires to 105 respondents of four classes: class A, B, C, and D in three days (as the four class schedules). The following table was the detailed information about the questionnaire distribution.

Table 4.1 Questionnaire Distribution

Date Time Class Total of Respondents

April 7, 2010 10.25 – 10.45 Class D 22 April 14, 2010 11.00 – 11.20 Class C 33 April 14, 2010 09.00 – 09.20 Class B 26 April 19, 2010 07.00 – 07.20 Class A 24

The results of the questionnaires consisted of four parts which were presented as follows:

4.1.1.1 The Level of Students Internet Access

The first part or part A of the questionnaire revealed the level of students Internet access. In this study, the level of students Internet access identified the students who own personal laptop, students’ access points or place of Internet use, frequency or time spent on using Internet, the use of Internet facilities or purposes of Internet use, such as using Internet for social networking web (e.g. Facebook, Friendster, Twitter, etc), for communication purposes (e-mail), for private interests or entertainment, for academic purposes, and the on-line activities for academic purposes..

4.1.1.1.1 The Students who Own Personal Laptop

Based on the questionnaires result, there were 68 students (65%) from 105 students who owned personal laptop and the rest of 37 students (35%) did not own personal laptop. In conclusion, most of the sixth semester ELESP students in the academic year of 2009/2010 of Sanata Dharma University owned personal laptop.

4.1.1.1.2 The Students Access Point

Figure 4.2 The Students Access Point

There were 58 students (55%) who always accessed the Internet in Internet café. The others were using their own laptop at students’ hall in the campus, at home

or boarding house, library, only a few of the students were accessing in Self Access Center of the campus. The other access point was using cell phone.

4.1.1.1.3 The Frequency of Students Internet Access

Figure 4.3 The Frequency of Students Internet Access

The students who accessed the Internet everyday and 3-5 times a week were equal (34%). The other 18% of the students accessed the Internet twice a week and 10% of the students only accessed once a week. There were 3% of the students who only accessed the Internet for some reasons such as when there were assignments that needed to use the Internet, when they were in good mood, and so on.

4.1.1.1.4 The Spent Time of Internet Access for Social Networking Web

Figure 4.4 The Spent Time of Internet Access for Social Networking Web

Most of the students (31%) spent more or less 2 hours in a day for accessing social networking web such as Facebook, Friendster, Twitter, etc. There were 8% of the students who spent more than 3 hours in a day. There were 24% of the students who mentioned that they only accessed 1 or 2 hours in once or twice a week. The other 15% of the students spent less than 1 hour and 15% of the students spent more or less 1 hour. Unexpectedly, there were 7 students (6%) who didn’t spend any time for social networking web.

4.1.1.1.5 The Spent Time of Internet Access for Communication Purpose (E-mail)

Figure 4.5 The Spent Time of Internet Access for Communication Purpose (E-mail)

Most of the students (40%) spent sometimes only (1 or 2 hours in once or twice a week) for e-mail. There were 36% of the students who spent less than 1 hour in a day for e-mail. Moreover, there were 8 students (7%) who didn’t spend any time for e-mail.

4.1.1.1.6 The Spent Time of Internet Access for Private Interests

Figure 4.6 The Spent Time of Internet Access for Private Interests

There were 32% of the students who spent sometimes only (1 or 2 hours in once or twice a week) for accessing private interests. The other 30% of the students spent more or less 2 hours in a day.

4.1.1.1.7 The Spent Time of Internet Access for Academic Purposes

Figure 4.7 The Spent Time of Internet Access for Academic Purposes

Most of the students (42%) spent more or less 2 hours in a day for accessing Internet related to academy. There were 12% of the students who even spent more than 3 hours in a day, 14% of the students spent more or less 1 hour in a day, and 27% of the students spent sometimes only (1 or 2 hours in once or twice a week) for academic purposes. In addition, none of the student who did not access Internet for academic purposes.

4.1.1.1.8 The On-line Activities for Academic Purposes

Figure 4.8 The On-line Activities for Academic Purposes

Most of the students usually accessed the Internet for teaching and learning materials (81%), on-line articles, journals, and papers (77%), and sources for college assignments (63%). Only a few of the students (13%) accessed on-line thesis which was provided by the Intranet of campus. Eventually, there was no student accessing on-line Proquest, EBSCO Host, and GALE. The on-line Proquest, EBSCO Host, and GALE are resource of electronic collections containing millions of documents

originally published in magazines, newspapers, and journals which are provided by campus.

4.1.2The Questionnaire Results

The results of the questionnaire showed the students’ perceptions on the use of Internet in improving academic achievements, the students’ major problems in using Internet for academic purposes, and the students’ recommendations to solve the major problems in using Internet for academic purposes.

4.1.2.1The Students’ Perceptions on the Use of Internet in Improving Academic

Achievements

The students’ perceptions on the use of Internet in improving academic achievements were divided into 3 subsections: students’ experiences in using Internet for academic purposes; students’ perception of the use of Internet for academic purposes; and students’ perception of the Internet contributions in improving the students’ academic achievements.

4.1.2.1.1The Students’ Experiences in Using Internet for Academic Purposes

This subsection shows the students’ experiences in using Internet for academic purposes. Table 4.2 summarizes the students’ experiences in using Internet for academic purposes.

Table 4.2 Students’ Experiences in Using Internet for Academic Purposes

No. Respondents’

Perceptions on

Frequency of Points of Agreement

1 2 3 4 5

1 I always use Internet for updating news 1 (0.9%) 18 (17.1%) 31 (29.5%) 40 (38.1%) 15 (14.3%) 2 I always use Internet for

searching and updating information related to academy 10 (9.5%) 21 (20.1%) 58 (55.2%) 16 (15.2%) 3 I always use Internet for

searching and downloading materials

for completing my college assignments 6 (5.7%) 9 (8.6%) 65 (61.9%) 25 (23.8%) 4 I always use Internet for

searching and downloading teaching materials 6 (5.7%) 14 (13.3%) 62 (59.1%) 23 (21.9%) 5 I always use Internet for

searching and downloading learning materials 1 (0.9%) 6 (5.7%) 16 (15.2%) 64 (60.9%) 18 (17.1%) 6 I always use Internet for

searching and downloading on-line articles/journals/papers/ theses 8 (7.6%) 16 (15.2%) 61 (58.1%) 20 (19.1%)

AVERAGE _{0.3% 8.5% 17% 55.5% 18.6%}

The results of Table 4.2 describe that most of the students always used Internet for updating news, searching and updating information related to academy, downloading materials for completing college assignments, downloading teaching and learning materials, downloading on-line articles, journals, papers, and theses. There were 55.5% of the students who chose agree and 18.6% of the students who

I : Thank you for giving me opportunity to have an interview with you, Sir. Uhm… here, according to my questionnaires’ results, the most problem that the students faced from 105 respondents is the slow Internet connection, especially the campus Internet facilities. Yeah, some of them mentioned that the campus should increase the speed and expand the bandwidth, so what’s your recommendation to solve this problem?

L3 : Yes, my recommendation is to increase the bandwidth because that made slow of the Internet connection. But if.. for example if they want to… the slow internet connection is because of there are so many people who access the websites in the campus. So if they can find some other hours where not many people can access.

I : Yeah, some of them suggested that just accessing the Internet not in the rush hours.

L3 : Yes, not in the rush hours. That’s good.

I : Ok, but as a lecturer, will you recommend or suggest to the management or foundation to increase the speed of the connection?

L3 : It has been suggested. I think we are the fastest and we have the biggest bandwidth among other private universities in Jogja, but still there are probably so many students who access, oya, they access in the hotspot area or lab?

I : Hotspot area because most of them have their own laptop.

L3 : Ok, maybe there are so many people who access the Internet, so yeah…Even though, for example the analogy that the street is very wide, but since there are so many cars, so it’s slow, even though the bandwidth is increased, but so many people access…

I : One of the respondents mentioned that as he know, our main control is in Paingan, he suggested that Mrican should have own tower…

L3 : Oh, server... I : Yes, server….

L3 : Well, that’s completely beyond the lecturer’s control, it’s the university. I : Ok, so as a lecturer you had already suggested to the management to

increase the speed.

L3 : It is planned and it is based on the grant, the grant program from the government.

I : Ok, and the second problem that the students faced is the difficulty in deciding the valid and reliable sources or materials.

L3 : That’s mean the google search skill should be taught in LTM then, I : Yeah, maybe…

L3 : How to find the reliable sources… I : Ok, so what’s your recommendation?

L3 : Yeah, that’s my recommendation, Google search skill should be taught, how to search websites should be taught earlier, not just in CBLL class or should be taught in Writing course or any other course, so any course which uses Internet as resources.

I : Uhm, actually I also ask some recommendations from the students, some of them mentioned that not the .com one, in your opinion all the .com are not valid or reliable?

L3 : Not necessary, not necessary, once again, we have to see who the authors are, the accuracy of the content, even though, it is .com, but the content is accurate and the author is reliable, respectable, I think it’s good. I subscribed to some of the .com and the information that I get is very reliable.

I : How about the pdf one? Many of the respondents mentioned pdf one is reliable…maybe the content of the pdf can’t be changed easily.

L3 : It could be, but not necessary, what pdf? If it’s 10 years old pdf and uploaded in the Internet, that’s not reliable. It depends on what type of information, not the files but the contents, the accuracy, the currency, things like that.

I : Ok, so they have some misconceptions about it. They also mentioned that just find the html one.

L3 : What do you mean?

I : Actually, I also don’t know what they mean…

L3 : Oh, I see… just the same with the file types. Pdf, .com, html… just the same…Well, pdf is much more comfortable and convenience because we can save, the outline couldn’t be changed, it’s respectable, well, it’s just a matter of…

I : How’s about blogspot? Is it not valid or reliable?

L3 : It depends, accuracy, currency, and then… yeah, the content is accurate or not, who is the author, when is the last time the page is updated? I subscribed to many blogs.

I : Sometimes students don’t have enough knowledge to know the author is famous or reliable…

L3 : That’s why.. I : Ask the lecturers?

L3 : Yeah, they can click the about Me, there is about Me page, about Me link, just click that and see…

I : The profile of the author?

L3 : Yeah, their profiles and their experiences.

I : One of the students mentioned that all sources are valid.. L3 : No, not all…

I : Ok, their next problem is confusing with too much information

L3 : Just the same problem, I think they need to learn how to search the sources skillfully.

I : Ok, I ever heard from my friend that just choose the first page which display, is it true?

L3 : The first page? The first result of Google? Yes, that’s usually, but that’s not guaranteed, but that’s how Google works. The higher position the more relevant.

I : Yups, the other problem is they do not know how to use search engine effectively.

L3 : Yeah, I suggest that the lecturer should teach them how to search skillfully using Google.

I : How about the problem of some students do not like to use Internet, they prefer to printing materials, I mean books in the library?

L3 : That’s good, that’s ok, fine. I : But only two of them.

L3 : Haha..it’s ok, Internet will not replace books, but there are so many resources, so many formats of information, but if they still prefer to books, that’s fine.

I : Another lecturer mentioned that book is good, but not up of date, we can’t find the latest books in the library…

L3 : Yeah, it needs several or more than a year for a book to be published, it’s fastest with seminars or journals. Journal is the fastest.

I : The other problem that the students faced is they have to pay for some articles.

L3 : Pay… uhm… find the journal which is free. I : Ok…

L3 : In the library, right? There are so many…

I : But, uhm.. yeah… it’s my problem too, I found the journal which is very related to my research, but I can’t access it…T.T…

L3 : Hahaha... or you may contact the author …

I : You mean that send an e-mail to the author and mention my purpose? L3 : Yes, you mention that you need his or her articles for research, I think

it’ll help.

I : Ok, I’ll try… Thank you for the time, Sir… L3 : Ok…

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ABSTRACT

Asuan. (2010). English Language Education Study Program Students’ Perceptions

on the Use of Internet for Academic Purposes. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma

University.

The Internet has become a good medium of English learning and teaching. This technology facilitates teachers and students to get many benefits e.g. obtaining up-to-date information in which recent information can be opened easily world-wide with little effort and at a very modest cost. The presence of Internet helps to improve the educational process and students’ academic achievements, students can access to learning materials or resources easily. However, some students face problems while using the Internet for academic purposes. Moreover, how do the students themselves perceive the use of Internet in improving their academic achievements?

These were the major reasons that encourage the writer to carry out this research. There were three research questions: 1) What are the students’ perceptions on the use of Internet in improving their academic achievements? 2) What are the major problems students faced in using Internet for academic purposes? 3) What are the students’ and lecturers’ recommendations in solving the major problems that students faced in using Internet for academic purposes?

To answer the research questions, the writer employed survey research. The respondents were 105 sixth semester ELESP students in the academic year of 2009/2010 of Sanata Dharma University and 3 lecturers of ELESP of Sanata Dharma University who teach courses using Internet. The data were obtained by using questionnaire and interview as the instruments.

Based on the result of the questionnaires, the majority of sixth semester ELESP students in the academic year of 2009/2010 of Sanata Dharma University perceived the use of Internet in improving academic achievements positively. They perceived that using Internet for academic purposes was comfortable, interested, motivated, easy, quick, and inexpensive. It was based on their experiences in using the Internet for academic purposes. The students also perceived that Internet gave contributions in improving their academic achievements such as in accomplishing college assignments, finding teaching and learning materials or sources, finding useful on-line articles, journals, papers, and improving English language skills.

The major problems in using the Internet for academic purposes were the slow Internet connection in the campus, difficulty in deciding the valid and reliable sources or materials, confused with too much information in the results of searching, and difficulty in searching or difficulty in using search engine effectively. Finally, some recommendations were provided by the students and lecturers to solve the major problems.

vii  

ABSTRAK

Asuan. (2010). English Language Education Study Program Students’ Perceptions

on the Use of Internet for Academic Purposes. Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata

Dharma.

Internet telah menjadi sebuah medium yang baik dalam pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris. Teknologi ini membantu para guru dan siswa mendapatkan banyak keuntungan seperti mendapatkan informasi terkini dimana informasi baru dapat diakses secara luas dan mendunia dengan mudah dan dengan biaya yang sangat murah. Kehadiran Internet membantu meningkatkan perkembangan proses pendidikan and meningkatkan pencapaian akademis siswa, siswa dapat mengakses materi-materi dan sumber-sumber pembelajaran dengan mudah. Akan tetapi, ada beberapa siswa menghadapi beberapa masalah ketika menggunakan Internet untuk kepentingan akademis. Lagipula, bagaimana pandangan para siswa sendiri tentang penggunaan Internet dalam meningkatkan pencapaian akademis mereka?

Inilah yang menjadi alasan-alasan utama yang mendorong penulis untuk menjalankan penelitian ini. Ada tiga rumusan masalah: 1) Bagaimana persepsi para siswa terhadap penggunaan Internet dalam meningkatkan pencapain akademis siswa? 2) Masalah-masalah pokok apa saja yang dihadapi para siswa dalam menggunakan Internet untuk kepentingan akademis? 3) Saran-saran apa saja dari para siswa dan dosen dalam menyelesaikan masalah-masalah pokok yang dihadapi para siswa dalam menggunakan Internet untuk kepentingan akademis?

Untuk menjawab rumusan masalah tersebut, penulis menggunakan penelitian survei. Para responden adalah 105 mahasiswa semester 6 Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggis, Universitas Sanata Dharma pada tahun ajaran 2009/2010 dan 3 dosen Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggis, Universitas Sanata Dharma yang menggunakan Internet dalam pengajaran. Data-data diperoleh dengan menggunakan kuesioner dan wawancara sebagai instrumen penelitian.

Berdasarkan hasil kuesioner, terbukti bahwa sebagian besar mahasiswa semester 6 Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggis, Universitas Sanata Dharma pada tahun ajaran 2009/2010 mempunyai persepsi yang positif akan penggunaan Internet dalam meningkatkan pencapaian akademis mereka. Mereka merasa nyaman, tertarik, termotivasi, mudah, cepat, dan murah dalam menggunakan Internet untuk kepentingan akademis. Ini berdasarkan pengalaman-pengalaman mereka dalam menggunakan Internet untuk kepentingan akademis. Para siswa merasa Internet memberikan kontribusi dalam pencapaian akademis mereka seperti dalam menyelesaikan tugas-tugas kuliah, mencari materi ataupun sumber pembelajaran, mencari artikel-artikel, jurnal-jurnal, tulisan-tulisan on-line, dan juga meningkatkan kemampuan Bahasa Inggris.

Masalah-masalah pokok dalam menggunakan Internet untuk kepentingan akademis adalah koneksi Internet yang lambat di kampus, kesulitan menentukan

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sumber-sumber dan materi-materi yang sah dan terpercaya, kebingungan akan kebanyakan informasi hasil penemuan, dan kesulitan dalam mencari ataupun kesulitan dalam menggunakan mesin pencari secara efektif. Terakhir, beberapa usulan penyelesaian masalah-masalah pokok disarankan oleh mahasiswa dan dosen.