Students` perception on the use of blog in basic writing class in English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University.

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ABSTRACT

Rapita, Dwi. (2012). Students’ Perception on the Use of Blog in Basic Writing Class in English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University.

Writing is one of the important skills learned in English language. In writing, people can express their ideas and opinions into written form. In this virtual era, the learning process of writing using internet is already prevalent enough among educators. One of the internet parts used in learning writing is a blog. The blog was a medium implemented in two Basic Writing classes in the English Education of Sanata Dharma University to enhance students’ writing skills. However, it was found that the students had various points of view related to the use of blogs. Therefore, the researcher conducted the research.

There are two research questions. (1) What is the students’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class in English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University? (2) What are the students’ suggestions to improve the use of blogs in Basic Writing class? The researcher used survey research as the method in this research. The research participants were the students of the first semester who had taken Basic Writing in the classes C and F that used blogs as learning media in the academic year 2011/2012.

In the survey research, the instruments used by the researcher were the questionnaire and interview. The questionnaire was distributed to 51 participants in Basic Writing classes C and F. Then, the researcher took eight participants to be interviewed based on the consideration of participants’ answers to the questionnaire given.

The results of this research showed that most of the respondents had positive responses towards the use of blogs in Basic Writing class. The blogs were used to submit their writing assignments. They could give comments on each other’s writing. They perceived that blogs could encourage them in learning writing and develop their writing skills. The students also felt comfortable, satisfied, motivated and happy to use blogs. However, there were still problems faced in using blogs such as the slow internet connection, the students’ technology illiterate, and the lack of feedback from the lecturer. Concerning the implementation of blogs in Basic Writing class, there were some suggestions recommended by the students. The suggestions are the speed of the internet connection in Basic Writing class should be increased, the feedback from the lecturer and other students should be given, the material should be explained in detail, the material should be posted in the blogs, the use of blogs should be easier to operate, the students should be proactive to ask the lecturer when needed and to learn more about blogs as well as the use of blogs should be applied as the alternative media.

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ABSTRAK

Rapita, Dwi. (2012). Students’ Perception on the Use of Blog in Basic Writing Class in English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Menulis merupakan salah satu ketrampilan penting yang dipelajari dalam bahasa Inggris. Di dalam menulis, orang dapat mengungkapkan ide-ide dan pendapatnya dalam bentuk tertulis. Di era virtual ini, proses pembelajaran menulis menggunakan internet sudah cukup lazim bagi para pendidik. Salah satu jenis media internet yang digunakan dalam belajar menulis adalah blog. Blog merupakan media yang diterapkan di dua kelas Basic Writing di Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma, dalam usaha meningkatkan ketrampilan menulis siswa. Kendati demikian, diketahui bahwa adanya beragam pandangan para siswa mengenai penggunaan blog tersebut. Berdasarkan latar belakang ini, peneliti pun melakukan penelitian.

Terdapat dua pertanyaan yang dirumuskan dalam penelitian ini. (1) bagaimana persepsi siswa terhadap penggunaan blog di kelas Basic Writing di Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma? (2) saran-saran apa saja yang dikemukakan para siswa dalam upaya peningkatan penggunaan blog di kelas Basic Writing? Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah penelitian survei. Partisipan penelitian ini adalah para siswa semester pertama yang telah mengambil kelas Basic Writing , yakni kelas C dan F yang menggunakan blog sebagai media pembelajaran, pada tahun akademik 2011/2012.

Dalam penelitian survei ini, instrumen yang digunakan peneliti adalah kuesioner dan wawancara. Kuesioner dibagikan kepada 51 partisipan di kelas Basic Writing C dan F. Kemudian, peneliti memilih delapan partisipan untuk diwawancarai berdasarkan pertimbangan jawaban para siswa pada kuesioner yang diberikan.

Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa sebagian besar partisipan memiliki respon yang positif terhadap penggunaan blog di kelas Basic Writing. Blog digunakan untuk mengumpulkan tugas menulis. Para siswa dapat memberikan komentar pada tugas menulis mereka satu sama lain. Mereka menyadari bahwa blog dapat memotivasi mereka dalam belajar menulis dan juga mengembangkan ketrampilan menulis. Mereka juga merasa nyaman, puas, termotivasi dan senang dalam menggunakan blog. Bagaimanapun, tetap ditemui adanya permasalahan dalam penggunaan blog seperti koneksi internet yang lambat, adanya keterbatasan pengetahuan teknologi para siswa dan kurangnya feedback dari dosen. Kemudian, terkait penggunaan blog di kelas Basic Writing ini, terdapat juga beberapa saran yang diberikan oleh para siswa. Saran-saran yang diberikan antara lain adalah perlunya peningkatan kecepatan koneksi internet di kelas Basic Writing, perlunya pemberian feedback oleh dosen maupun para siswa, perlunya penjelasan materi mengenai blog secara detail, materi seharusnya di post di blog, penggunaan blog seharusnya lebih mudah untuk di operasikan, para siswa seharusnya lebih proaktif baik dalam bertanya maupun dalam mempelajari penggunaan blog serta

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STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON THE USE OF BLOG IN BASIC WRITING CLASS

IN ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM OF SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

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

in English Language Education

By Dwi Rapita

Student Number: 081214149

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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STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON THE USE OF BLOG IN BASIC WRITING CLASS

IN ENGLISH EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM OF SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

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

in English Language Education

By Dwi Rapita

Student Number: 081214149

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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_{-Donny Dhir}

irgantoro-

I dedicate this thesis to my belove

my friends and also all people who

Nothing gonna change my love

ed family,

o love me.

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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 12, 2012 The writer

Dwi Rapita 081214149

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ABSTRACT

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ABSTRAK

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penggunaan blog sebaiknya di aplikasikan sebagai suatu media alternatif pembelajaran.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Jesus Christ, my savior and my guardian, for His amazing blessings, amazing grace, endless guidance and wonderful love. He always gives me strength and spirit in completing this thesis. Without Him, I am nothing. Also, I give my thanks to Virgin Mary, Holy Mother for sending my prayers to Jesus Christ.

I give my deepest gratitude to my major sponsor, Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. for her patience, her guidance and her precious time in reading my thesis and giving me feedback, advice, motivation and suggestions. My sincere thanks also go to all ELESP lecturers who have taught and give me precious learning during my study, secretary staff, librarians and deanery staff in Sanata Dharma University.

My sincere thanks also go to Basic Writing classes C and F lecturers,

Mega Wulandari, S.Pd. and Dr. Retno Muljani, M.Pd. who gave their precious time and opportunity for me to conduct my research in their classes. I would also like to give thanks to Drs. Y.B.Gunawan, M.A. for his posting of proverbs and advices in Facebook that give me spirit. I am also grateful for the help from the students of Basic Writing classes C and F 2011/2012 for answering my questionnaire and for giving me an opportunity to interview some of them.

I give my special and deepest gratitude to my wonderful Dad, Lensus Kandri, S.H., M.H. and my amazing Mom, Dra. Martha Sinyor for their care, prayers, support, advice, love and for everything that they have given to me. I also give my thanks to my older brother, Marlens Pratama, S.T. and my cute little

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brother Andreas Tri Putra for their prayers and supports. My family is my big motivation and inspiration in finishing my study.

Moreover, I would like to give my big hug and thanks to my best friends,

Desya, Fidelis, Bella and Clara for their laugh, supports, care, and attention to me. They also give me beautiful and precious memories of all my life in Sanata Dharma University. I also give thanks to my wonderful senior high school friends,

Desy, Agus, Ayuka and Mimi. I would like to thank to Miss Patrice, Pak Tangguh, Nora, Niken, Siwi, Rei, Okta, Topan, Marsel, Mbak Wichan,

Grace, Mila, Anggie, Irine, Rean and Monique for their support. Then, I give my big thanks to all PBI students of Sanata Dharma University especially PBI 2008 for their support and motivation.

Furthermore, I give my gratitude to all events and communities that I have joined such as EMC, Cantus Firmus, Gandroeng, TYG dance community, EAD, EWD, SEATTA and other events that I cannot mention one by one. These communities and events have given me many experiences and have taught me precious learning.

Finally I give applause to myself for finishing this thesis and also I give my appreciation and endless thanks to all people who helped me in writing.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE………... i APPROVAL PAGE ………... BOARD OF EXAMINERS ……….

ii iii

DEDICATION PAGE ………... iv

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY………...

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ………

v vi

ABSTRACT ………... vii

ABSTRAK………. viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………. TABLE OF CONTENTS………. LIST OF TABLES ………... LIST OF APPENDICES………..

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

A.Research Background ………..

B.Research Problems ………...

C.Problem Limitation ………..

D.Research Objectives ……….

E. Research Benefits ………

F. Definition of Terms ………

x xii xv xvi 1 1 4 4 5 5 7

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CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

A.Theoretical Description ………...

1. Perception ………

2. Blog ……….

a. Definition of Blogs ……….. b. Blogs in Language Learning and Teaching ………

3. Writing Proficiency ……….

B.Theoretical Framework ………

9 9 9 11 11 12 15 16

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 19

A.Research Method ……….

B.Research Setting ………... C.Research Participants ………... D.Instruments and Data Gathering Technique ………

1. Instruments ………...

2. Data Gathering Technique ……….. E. Data Analysis Technique ………... F. Research Procedure ………...

19 20 20 21 21 23 24 26

CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 29

A.Students’ Perception on the Use of Blogs in Basic Writing Class... 1. Students' Perception on the Implementation of Blogs in Basic

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Writing Class ……….. 2. Students’ Perception on the Impact of Blogs in Students’

Writing in Basic Writing Class ………... 3. Students’ Personal Evaluation of the Use of Blogs in Basic

Writing Class ………... 4. Students’ Perception on the Advantages of the Use of Blogs in

Basic Writing Class……….. 5. Students’ Perception on the Problems Faced in the Use of

Blogs in Basic Writing Class ……….. B.Students’ Suggestions in Solving the Problems Faced in the Use

of Blogs in Basic Writing Class ………... 29

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

A.Conclusions ………..

B.Recommendations ………

REFERENCES ……… APPENDICES ……….

56 56 58

60 64

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LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

4.1 Students’ Perception on the Implementation of Blogs ………. 30 4.2 Students’ Perception on the Impact of Blogs in Students’ Writing in Basic

Writing Class ……… 4.3 Students’ Personal Evaluation of the Use of Blogs in Basic Writing Class …. 4.4 The Advantages of the Use of Blogs in Basic Writing Class ………... 4.5 The Problems Faced in the Use of Blogs in Basic Writing Class ……… 4.6 The Students’ Suggestions in Solving the Problems Faced in the Use of

Blogs in Basic Writing Class ………... 36 41 48 49

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix A:

Letter of Permission ………... 65

Appendix B:

The Questionnaire Blueprint ………... 68

Appendix C:

Interview Protocol ………...

Appendix D:

Samples of Questionnaire of Basic Writing Class C………

Appendix E:

Samples of Questionnaire of Basic Writing Class F ………...

Appendix F:

Samples of the Interview Transcript ………... 71

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the researcher is going to discuss and provide background information related to the research topic. This chapter consists of six parts. They are research background, problem formulation, problem limitation, research objectives, research benefits and also the definition of terms.

A.Research Background

It has been a long time since the English language became an international language. Perceiving this issue, people are barely able to evade the effects which may come. Therefore, it becomes something essential for people to learn it. In English, there are four skills which are learned. One of them is the writing skill, which is important for people to express themselves in writing, to share their opinions and ideas and also to develop their writing skills. “Writing is a skill like driving, typing, or preparing good meal. Like any skill, it can be learned” (Longan, 1996: 12). The writing skills can train people to use their creativity, imagination and their thoughts into written works. Furthermore, writing also has an essential role for people to deliver the messages.

When looking at the historical development of writing, someone can also understand how the process of writing from the outset until this time. In the past, people wrote something on a leaf or on the ground. Then, the media for writing started to be developed from writing on a leaf to writing on a piece of paper. The

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development of writing did not stop with that kind of media. Due to the existence of new technology which started to be a dominant role in society, one can write now.

In this new modern era, learning English by using technology has become something which is familiar and common. One of the technologies used in learning English language is by using the Internet. Considering this case, the Internet becomes popular in the context of learning nowadays, especially in learning English. “You can also go one stage further and use the Internet as the basis for your course; or even as your course book” (Teeler & Gray, 2000: 81). In using the Internet, there are many elements which are also the parts of the Internet media such as emails, blogs, chat, YouTube and surely there are still many other parts of Internet media. However, in this case the researcher merely discusses one element of the Internet parts which is known as a blog. Since it is a medium to explore writing skills, people can publish their journal, thesis or ideas in the form of online writing for the world to read and respond to in a blog (Teeler & Gray, 2000: 17). The blog is an online diary or online writing used to provide opportunities for people to explore their eagerness to write by not using papers. The blog is designed interactively and it is updated routinely. The contents of a blog can be various. It can provide various topics and also can express various opinions (Prakoso, 2008: 4). In the teaching area, a blog can be a requisite medium for teachers or lecturers to teach writing in English.

In the English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta, there is also a course known as Basic Writing class. The class is

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aimed at the students of the first semester. Pertaining to this course, one of the lecturers in Basic Writing class who taught classes C and F used blogs as the media for him in teaching Basic Writing. The lecturer also asked the students to use blogs for submitting their writing assignments. The students were also able to check their friends’ writing through blogs. The class itself was in the language laboratory which contained a lot of computers. The Internet connection could be accessed in that area. Therefore, the students were able to utilize internet connection there to log in to web log (blogs). Nevertheless, the activities of writing using blogs in the class often could not be completed merely in one time in the class. Thus, the students had to submit their writing assignments in blogs outside the class. As known, not all of the students had Internet access at home. Moreover, the feedback of the writing result was also given by accessing the blogs site. It made the students need to check and update the news or assignments posted on their blogs.

Indeed, in the process, the use of blogs in writing fields nowadays is already prevalent enough to use especially in a college. It is also similar to the use of blogs in Basic Writing class in the English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. However, the things needed to be considered on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class are the points of view from the students. They may have various views on the use of blogs in their classes such as whether they are interested in blogs or not, they are motivated or not, they are encouraged to develop writing skills or not and even they are happy or not to use blogs. These all solely can be answered by finding their perception on the use of blogs.

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Considering these backgrounds, the researcher would like to discover the students’ perception towards the use of blogs in Basic Writing class.

B.Research Problem

The researcher is going to discuss two questions related to the study. The questions are as follows.

1. What is the students’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class in English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University?

2. What are the students’ suggestions to improve the use of blogs in Basic Writing class?

C.Problem Limitation

In conducting this research, the researcher focuses on students’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class in the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. This study also focuses on answering two main questions stated in the problem formulation. The researcher will conduct this study using survey research since this study is about the student’s perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class.

The subjects of this study are the students who have taken Basic Writing class in the academic year 2011/2012. There are two classes of Basic Writing class which use blogs as learning media in carrying out writing activity. The

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classes are class C and class F. The Basic Writing class is held in the multimedia laboratory of Sanata Dharma University.

D.Research Objectives

There are two objectives in conducting this research. They are:

1. This research aims to know the students’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class.

2. This research aims to identify the students’ suggestions to improve the use of blogs in Basic Writing class.

E.Research Benefits

There are some benefits that can be obtained from this research. Since this research is conducted in the educational area, the researcher expects that this research can give contribution to English language teaching, especially for:

1. Students of Basic Writing Class

This research will show the students’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class, so through this research the students will know further about the use of blogs as media for them indeveloping their writing skills. This research will also be able to help the students to know their problems related to the use of blogs and concurrently, they can also find the solutions and suggestions of what they should do in facing those problems. The use of blogs might also affect students’ learning and result in writing skills. Therefore, they need to know the students’ perception through this research. Moreover, by being introduced to the

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blogs, it will be a reference for other students outside Basic Writing class. They will attempt to use blogs if they find positive effects on the use of blogs.

2. Writing Lecturers

This research is the research about students’ perception on the use of blogs. The results of this research might be various. Students’ perception on the use of blogs could have positive or negative responses. When it comes to positive results, the Writing lecturers especially Basic Writing lecturers may consider this kind of media which will be useful for them to attract students’ attention in doing activities of writing skills. Otherwise, when it comes to the negative results, the writing lecturers also need to consider the use of blogs in teaching which may cause the disadvantageous learning for them and their students so that they may change their teaching media. Furthermore, the writing lecturers can also make a reflection or an evaluation towards the things needed to be improved in the use of blogs.

3. Future Researchers

Through this research, the researcher expects that this research can inspire other researchers. The next researchers will also be able to learn from this research on how to conduct their future research related to this topic. They may discuss further the discussion related to this topic in writing class. For instance, they may discuss the implementation on the use of blogs or the new material design on the use of blogs in writing class.

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F.Definition of Terms

In this section, the researcher would like to discuss the definition of terms of the keywords from the study related to the researcher’s topic. The keywords are Perception, Blog and Basic Writing class.

1. Perception

Based on Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (Hornby, 1995: 859), perception could be defined as the sense and the way of someone to hear, see, understand or interpret something. Another expert also states the definition of perception as “perception is a mental and cognitive process that enables us to interpret and understand our surroundings” (Kreitner and Kinicky, 1992: 26). There are also sensations which the subjects feel when they describe what happens in their environment that can create their perception (Ponty, 1962: 207). In this research, the perception itself could be defined as the way of students of Basic Writing class in seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding, or interpreting the use of blogs in Basic Writing class.

2. Blog

Based on Electronic Cambridge Advanced Learners’ Dictionary (3rd ed), “a blog is a diary which contains regular record of someone thoughts and experiences that someone put in the Internet for other people to read” (Walter, 2005). The blog is updated routinely. It is usually written by one person. Someone can express their mind and choose the particular topic for his or her writing in a blog. (Guttler, 2011: 60). In this research, the blog itself could be defined as an

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online diary which contains of students’ thoughts, opinions, reflections or views on supporting the students’ writing activities in Basic Writing class.

3. Basic Writing (KPE 154)

Basic Writing course is one of the compulsory courses in the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta. Based on Buku Panduan Akademik Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris 2011, Basic Writing is designed to introduce students to the requirements needed by the students in writing such as tenses, spelling and diction which will be able to facilitate students in composing good English sentences. Another expert says about writing as a skill which can be learned and it is a hard work for almost everyone (Longan, 1996: 12).Specifically, Basic Writing in this research is Basic Writing in the classes C and F in the English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University which use blogs as learning media in writing.

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In this chapter, the researcher will discuss the theories related to this study. This review of related literature consists of two parts. They are theoretical description and theoretical framework.

A.Theoretical Description

This theoretical description discusses and focuses on the theories related to the keywords in this research. They are the description of perception, definition of blogs, blogs in language teaching, and writing proficiency.

1. Perception

There are some definitions related to perception. The description and theories of perception are needed because they are related to the research purpose. They are also essential to know the students’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class.

People’s perception does not merely come from their own thoughts. It is also influenced by the information received from society, newspaper, magazines, radio, television, family, friends and environment. People even use the information that they obtain to interpret the phenomenon around them. (Kreitner and Kinicky, 2008, p. 182). Kreitner and Kinicky (2008) also say “Perception is a cognitive process that enables us to interpret and understand our surroundings” (p.

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183). Then, Lahey (2009) adds that people’s perception is formed due to the process of interpreting of information which creates an image of situation (p. 124).

According to Ponty (1962), there is also the sensation’s feeling which is felt by people when they describe something that happens in their environment which can lead them to make perception (p. 207). Then, Vernon (1971) also adds that there is a relation between people’s perception with people’s motivation and emotion. At first, people start to perceive about something because there is an interest in them that affects their perception. However, actually the perception itself is not merely influenced by interest but also by other motives and desires (p. 178). Weisman (1980) also states about the perception according to psychologists. It is said “Perception is a complex process involving the sensations specific to a sensory modality interacting with past experience and other ongoing sensations from other systems” (p. 6).

On the other hand, perception is defined as “a process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment” (Robbins, 2005, p. 134). He also states that there are some factors which can affect people’s perception. People’s perception comes from their interpretation of something that they see. The interpretation is mostly affected by their personal characteristics such as an attitude, motives, personality, interests, expectations and past experiences of them. Sweeney and McFarlin (2002) also add that “Attitudes may be formed by repeated perceptions of events or people, but then they acquire a ‘mind’ of their own” (p. 54).

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Perception is not solely a definition in this review of related literature. Perception is something essential because someone behaves based on her or his interpretation of situation, events and condition. Sometimes, people fail to behave or act also because of wrong perception that they have. Therefore, perception is really important to know what inside people’s mind. People may see different things when they are faced by the same things. “Perception-like beauty-is in the eye of the beholder” (Sweeney and McFarlin, 2002, p. 25).

2. Blog

In discussing the theories related to blogs, the researcher divides the theories into two parts. They are definition of blogs and blogs in language learning and teaching.

a. Definition of Blogs

There are also some theories related to the description of blogs. The term of blogs is already prevalent among people, especially in this globalization era. Hence, related to the use of blogs which has been already popular nowadays, there are also many definitions propounded by the experts.

Prakoso (2008) notes that the blog is designed interactively and it is updated routinely. The contents of a blog can be various. It can tell various topics and also can express various opinions (p. 4). Warschauer (2010) also agrees that a blog is updated frequently especially in giving comments and adding new content. He added that the blog is a particular medium for discussing and publishing students’ writing. (pp. 3-4). Then, Pinkman (2005) also has the same opinion that blogs can

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be updated all the time and he added that blogs also give an opportunity for people to create and design their own blogs (p. 14).

Lewis (2004) also states that in this new era many people have turned to blogs as alternative media for them to do discussion. He also defines the blog as a kind of web diary and a tool which allows the blogs users to publish the information on a web. It is the same thing as what the users do when they use a text program. Blogs can also contain pictures, videos, audios files and links in a blog postings or blog messages (pp. 19-20). Then, Godwin (2003) defines a blog as a tool which is available on the Internet for people to write, edit and publish their writing (as cited in Zhang, 2009, p. 64).

Other experts Dudeney and Hockly (2007) also add that “a blog is essentially a web page with regular diary or journal entries. The term is short for web log” (p. 86). The blog is an example of social software and also one of the computer tools which can make people connect, communicate and collaborate online activity to each other.

b. Blogs in Language Learning and Teaching

The blog is also implemented in language teaching. There are some theories related to this.Dudeney and Hockly (2007) state that most blogs allow the users and readers to comment on blog postings. They also add that this kind of social software such as blogs can motivate the learners and the teachers in studying and teaching (p. 87). Furthermore, using blogs in the classroom environment provides the opportunity for students to post comments and to obtain feedback from their

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classmates and also from anyone in the world because there is a comments feature in a blog. (Drexler, Dawson, and Ferdig, 2007, p. 140; Kirk, Manatee, and Johnson, 2009, p. 3). Drexler, Dawson and Ferdig also add that giving comments and obtaining feedback can build students’ ability in writing indirectly (p. 140). Besides, blogs are media which are easy to use, to create, and to maintain in the online communities (Pinkman, 2005, p. 14; Zhang, 2009, p. 67; Guttler, 2011, p. 156).

Then, blogs in a classroom can increase students’ motivation, students’ interest in learning technology and their critical thinking skills because in a blog they may share their writing, videos and pictures with their friends, family and even with other people that they did not know (Sawmiller, 2010, p. 44; Fageeh, 2011, p. 42 ). Sawmiller also adds that blogs in a classroom also provides the opportunities for the learners to develop their skills in writing and reading. Hence, it makes blogs interesting for the learners and also for the educators (p. 47). Ward (2004) also states the similar thing as Sawmiller that using blogs is one of the ways in increasing students’ interest in learning reading and writing (as cited in Pinkman, 2005, p. 14). In addition, a blog gives an opportunity for people to practice writing (Tseng, 2008, p. 179; Nepomuceno, 2011, p. 103). The students can also express their ideas and mind using blogs (Tseng, 2008, p. 179; Kim, 2008, p. 1346). Arena and Jefferson (2008) also add that “students have the choice to organize their ideas and content in their own ways, leading to divergent and creative thinking” (p. 3).

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students to analyze their content of writing. They will be aware of their writing mistakes such as grammar, mechanics, unity, and coherence. (p. 96). Moreover, he discovers that most of the students enjoy using blogs and the students think that a blog is challenging for them. Blogs also make them more confident in writing (p. 103). Walker (2005) also agrees and states that most of the students enjoy using blogs and they find the blog as something valuable (as cited in Kavaliauskienė_{, Anusien}ė_{and Mažeikien}ė_{, 2006, p. 135). Besides, Zhang (2009)} propounds that a blog gives opportunities for students to improve their writing skills and also to develop their ideas in writing by interact with other students (p. 68). Furthermore, there is also the expert who reveals the advantages of using blogs in language teaching. Wu (2004) describes the advantages of using blogs in an EFL class as follows:

(i) it is very easy to design and maintain; (ii) teachers can access and create, edit, assign homework, and review materials in a very organized way and in chronological order; (iii) blogs can promote exploration of websites in English, once the teacher can be able to place links to their source websites and students can have the chance to read articles; (iv) with the automatic date-stamping function, both teachers and students are able to know clearly when assignments are turned in; (v) most students will write more carefully if they know that they are going to publish their articles online for authentic readers who may comment on their postings (as cited in Guttler, 2011, pp. 62-63).

However, each medium certainly has disadvantages. Similarly, a blog also has its disadvantages. Tseng (2008) says some disadvantages of blogs such as disturbance from the outside, issues of privacy, plagiarism and difficulty in maintaining blogs everyday (pp. 170-171). Furthermore, students are usually distracted easily by browsing other websites when they write on their blogs. (Tseng, 2008, p. 177; Nepomuceno, 2011, p. 104).

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In addition, in learning language through blogs, the educators’ role is also important. The blog is one of the technologies used in learning and teaching. The technology should not be separated from learning itself. The teachers have roles in selecting the lesson objective, the method of learning, the evaluation, the feedback and also the follow-up activities for learning. The relationship between teachers and technology directly and indirectly has also important roles in determining the success of the implementation of technology used in learning (Venkatsatish, 2012, pp. 53-54). Arena and Jefferson (2008) also add that teacher as an educator should support the students by giving the questions and comments as well as by doing discussion together. The teachers also need to know further the use of features of blogs so that they can relate the use of blogs with students’ learning (p. 3).

3. Writing Proficiency

In this research, it is also important to discuss the theories related to writing. It is because the main point of this research is about students’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class. There are also some experts who discuss the theories related to the writing aspect.

Sampath and Zalipour (2010) say that writing is one of the parts in language learning and teaching. It is also an important part in the education field (p.1). According to Hyland (2003), writing is an activity which is learned, it is not taught. Therefore, its training is done personally. The activity of writing itself is a way for someone to share personal meanings. The writing also emphasizes individual’s skills and power in constructing his or her own opinions and views on

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the topic (p. 9). Another expert says that writing is a skill which can be learned and it is a hard work for almost everyone who learns it (Longan, 1996, p. 12). Zamel (1982) also adds that writing is a process which contains its technique in it. The technique of writing relates to the composition of writing such as creating, formulating and making perfect of one’s ideas. There is also revision in the writing process in which the students learn it from the perspective that someone else can read their writing (p. 195).

Grabowski (1996, p. 75) also states the definition of writing.

Writing, as compared to speaking can be seen as a more standardized system which must be acquired through special instruction. Mastery of this standard system is an important prerequisite of cultural and educational participation and the maintenance of one’s rights and duties…The fact that writing is more standardized than speaking allows for a higher degree of sanctions when people deviate from that standard (as cited in Weigle, 2002, p. 4)

B.Theoretical Framework

This research focuses on students’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class. In attempting to understand and discover the results of this study, the researcher also needs to find the theories related to this topic’s keywords. They are perception, blog and Basic Writing.

Based on the theories discussed in the theoretical description, the researcher can see obviously that perception relates to someone’s feeling after he or she experiences something (Weisman, 1980). The perception is also not merely affected by someone’s interest, but also by the motivation, desires, personal characteristics, and attitude that he or she has (Vernon 1972; Robbins, 2005). The environment which surrounds her or him can also take an essential role in

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affecting their perception (Kreitner and Kinicky, 2008). Moreover, people also have expectations in what they see and learn about the target of their interpretation. This kind of expectation can also affect them in deciding what they feel about something which can also affect their perception. Since this research discusses the students’ perception, it is also as the same as what the students in Basic Writing class feel. Their perception can be also affected by their own feeling of using blogs in that class or by the environment such as their friends, the condition of class, the activities in the class, and even the lecturer in that class. The students’ expectation also takes an important role in their perception. When they expect something high, but in fact what they imagine is different from what they obtain, it can automatically change their perception about the class itself.

Then, Basic Writing class is the course which focuses on the basic of writing for the first semester students. As stated in the theoretical description, writing is one of the important components in language learning (Sampath and Zalipour, 2010). It cannot be separated from the process of learning language especially in this case in learning English language. It is an activity which needs someone’s skill (Longan, 1996). It also helps the writer to share his or her opinions in the form of writing. Along with the era development, the people’s way in writing also changes. The way of the teachers in teaching the writing activity also changes. In this virtual era, technology clearly takes an essential role. It also affects the learning process in Basic Writing class.

Two Basic Writing classes, which were classes C and F, used the technology in delivering the material. The classes used blogs as media for them to

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assist the students to learn the writing. Based on the theories stated in the theoretical description, it can be known that a blog is an online diary that can contain even pictures, audios and videos in it (Lewis, 2004; Dudeney and Hockly, 2007). There are also some benefits in the use of blogs. In a blog, someone can post their writing and give comments on his or her friends’ writing (Drexler, Dawson, and Fredig, 2007; Kirk, Manatee, and Johson, 2009). Related to the use of blogs in language learning and teaching, blogs can also attract students’ attention and motivation in learning writing since the blogs provide many features for students’ learning such as pictures, videos, audio, and attractive backgrounds (Sawmiller, 2010, Fageeh, 2011). Moreover, blogs provide opportunities for students to practice writing, analyze their content of writing, express themselves in writing, and develop their critical thinking skills on writing (Tseng, 2008; Nepomuceno, 2011). Students can feel motivated and more cautious in writing when their writing is published in blogs. They can also enjoy using blogs and feel confident in writing (Nepomuceno, 2011; Walker, 2005). However, there are also some disadvantages in using blogs such as disturbance from the outside, issues of privacy, plagiarism and difficulty in maintaining blogs everyday (Tseng, 2008). Then, it is also stated in the theories that educators’ roles in the implementation of media are essential (Venkatsatish, 2012). Based on these theories, the researcher is going to construct the instruments which refer to the implementation, factors that affect students’ perception in learning and also students’ personal evaluation to inquire further into the students’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing classes C and F.

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CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the researcher discusses the methodology used in conducting the research. The research methodology consists of six parts. They are research method, research setting, research participants, instruments and data gathering technique, data analysis technique and research procedure.

A.Research Method

This research used survey research in obtaining the information needed to answer the research questions related to the students’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class. “Surveys are used to measure attitudes, opinions, or achievements – any number of variables in natural setting” (Wiersma, 1995: 169). Survey research is one of the types of quantitative research which is conducted by using numerical system in gathering the data. It means that the data collection obtained from the respondents should be gathered by using numbers. In gathering the information, the method used is also organized and systematic. The aim is to understand and predict someone’s behavior. Concisely, it could be said that survey research is conducted numerically and systematically (Tull and Albaum, 1973: 2-3).

Survey was also the appropriate and essential method used in conducting this research. It was because survey research helped the researcher to produce the data which answered the research questions related to the students’ perception on

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the use of blogs and the students’ suggestions of the implementation on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class. Moreover, to answer the research questions, the researcher needed the appropriate instruments. Since survey research focused on someone’s perception, the instruments which were appropriate was a questionnaire and an interview. The questionnaire and interview are common instruments used in gathering the data related to someone’s belief, opinions, behavior or interests (Gall & Borg, 2007: 228).

B.Research Setting

This research was conducted in the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. It was conducted in the end of May 2012 until the middle of June 2012. The participants were the students who had taken Basic Writing class whose lecturer used blogs in teaching Basic Writing class in the academic year 2011/2012.

C.Research Participants

The participants of this research were the students of English Language Education of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta. Since it would be difficult for the researcher to study a very large population, the researcher also limited the participants. The researcher used purposive sampling in selecting the participants. Purposive sampling was used because the researcher selected the certain participants who were typical. The researcher determined and considered the participants based on the research problem. “In purposive sampling-also referred

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to as judgment sampling- sample elements judged to be typical, or representative, are chosen from the population” (Ary, Jacobs and Sorensen, 2010: 156). The researcher selected the sample from the students who had taken Basic Writing class in the academic year 2011/2012 especially the students of classes C and F who used blogs as one of the media used in studying Basic Writing skill.

In this opportunity, the researcher distributed the questionnaire to the participants and also interviewed them. The researcher distributed the questionnaire to all participants in classes C and F, while the interview was conducted merely to four students in each class. These four students were selected after they answered the questionnaire distributed by the researcher. By selecting these four students, the researcher expected that they could express their opinions and perception in more detail about the use of blogs in Basic Writing class. Moreover, this interview could strengthen the data collection, thereby the researcher could answer the questions stated in the research problem.

D.Instrument and Data Gathering Technique

The instruments and data gathering techniques used in conducting this research were by distributing the questionnaire and conducting the interview.

1. Instruments

There were two instruments used in carrying out this research. They were the questionnaire and the interview protocol.

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a. Questionnaire

In answering the research questions, the researcher used a questionnaire. A questionnaire is an instrument in the form of questions or statements. It is distributed to the participants of a certain study in order to obtain the participants’ responses. It is usually in written responses (Ary, Jacobs and Sorensen, 2002: 566). The questionnaire distributed to the participants was in the form of the degree level of statements. The questionnaire made contained some features. They were the implementation of blogs, impact of blogs in students’ writing, students’ personal evaluation, the advantages of blogs and also students’ problems and suggestions in the use of blogs in Basic writing class.

The questionnaire used was designed in the type of closed-ended and open- ended forms. In a closed-ended form, the participants chose the options based on the statements given. The common format used in the closed-ended form of a questionnaire related to the attitude scale in survey method is the Likert Scale. There are number of points which provide ordinal scale measurement in this Likert Scale. In this research, the participants could select the options which represented points on the scale. The points are usually determined by using numerical values from one to four or zero to three. For instance, the points in this research were valued from strongly disagree, disagree, agree and strongly agree (Wiersma, 1995: 182). On the other hand, in the open-ended form, the questions given provided the opportunities for the participants to share and express their feelings and opinions freely without options provided towards the use of blogs in Basic Writing class. Hence, both of the closed-ended and open-ended forms of the

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questionnaire given aimed to discover participants’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class.

b. Interview Protocol

In conducting this research, the researcher also used interview as one of the instruments. The interview used was a semi structured interview. The researcher conducted a face-to-face interview with the chosen participants (Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen, 2010: 380). “The semi structured interview involves asking a series of structured questions and then probing more deeply with open-form questions to obtain additional information” (Gall & Borg, 2007: 46). The interview was conducted because it was the continuation of questionnaire distributed by the researcher. The purpose was to obtain additional information which would support the results of this study. In this interview session, the researcher merely chose four respondents in each class. The selection of participants was conducted based on the consideration that these participants in the process of answering the questionnaire gave the answers which caused the researcher need to investigate the information further related to this study.

2. Data Gathering Technique

In collecting the data, the researcher distributed a questionnaire and conducted an interview. In the questionnaire, the researcher distributed the questionnaire to the selected participants. The questionnaire was distributed to the students of classes C and F who had taken Basic Writing Class in the English

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Education of Sanata Dharma University. The questionnaire was in the form of closed-ended and open-ended questions. It was used to answer the research questions which were the students’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class, their problems in using blogs, and also their suggestions in the use of blogs. The data collection of the questionnaire was conducted in the end of May 2012. The researcher also gave the explanation first on how to fill the questionnaire given.

Meanwhile, the interview was conducted to find more detailed information especially about students’ suggestions to improve the use of blogs in Basic Writing class. The researcher conducted the interview by recording the data obtained from four students in each class who had been selected by the researcher as samples. The interview session was conducted in the middle of June 2012 after the researcher distributed the questionnaire. The researcher also gave the explanation and notified the participants about the purpose of this research. The researcher endeavored to make interview session as comfortable as possible for the participants.

E.Data Analysis Technique

Data analysis technique was divided into two data analyses. They were data from the questionnaire and data from the interview.

1. Data from the Questionnaire

In analyzing the data from the questionnaire, the researcher followed some steps. The questionnaire given was in the form of closed-ended form and

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open-ended form. In the closed-open-ended form, there were scores given in each statement stated in the questionnaire. The score was made based on the certain meaning. Based on the Likert Scale, it could be valued as follows: (4) strongly agree, (3) agree, (2) disagree, and (1) strongly disagree. Since there was a scale in the data, the data obtained should be calculated.

The researcher had to count the numbers of target population and the data obtained. In order to know the results in numbers, the researcher calculated the percentages. The percentages would indicate the meaning and the results of data collection gathered. The formula used in calculating the percentages was as follows.

∑χ

X 100%

∑n In which,

∑χ = The numbers of participants based on the degree of agreement ∑n = The numbers of participants

In the open-ended form, the data was analyzed by classifying the participants’ answers. The researcher also calculated the percentages from the data which were classified. Then, the researcher also explained the meaning of the results.

2. Data from the Interview

Interview was also one of the instruments used in conducting this survey research. Therefore, in conducting this research, the researcher also needed to

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analyze the data from the interview conducted. Firstly, the researcher transcribed the results of the interview’s recording. Then, the researcher made the summary based on the data collection. After that, the researcher analyzed the data and compared the answers with participants’ answers in the questionnaire. The purpose was to discover similarities and differences’ answers in both questionnaire and interview results so that the researcher was able to draw a conclusion of the students’ perception. Finally, the researcher wrote the explanation from the data obtained.

F.Research Procedure

There were eight steps in conducting this research. They were planning, defining the population, sampling, asking permission, constructing the instrument, conducting the survey, processing the data and reporting the data obtained.

1. Planning

For the first step, the researcher defined the problems. It was found that the researcher needed to know the students’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class in the English Education of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta. The researcher also searched the theories and sources related to the topic and the problem determined.

2. Defining the Population

In this step, the researcher found the target population of these problems. The target population was the students of English Education Study Program in Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta. The particular students were the students

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whose classes used the blogs in learning Basic Writing skill. Precisely, the participants were the students who had taken Basic Writing class in the academic year 2011/2012.

3. Sampling

The researcher used purposive sampling in conducting this research. The researcher could not select all students or participants in each class who had taken Basic Writing class because the specific participants needed by the researcher merely the participants who used blogs in their Basic Writing class. The classes were classes C and F in the academic year 2011/2012.

4. Constructing the Instruments

The researcher used the questionnaire and the interview in answering the research questions. The questionnaire was set in the form of open-ended and closed-ended forms. In the questionnaire form, the researcher used the Likert Scale which had numerical values with the certain meaning while the interview used by the researcher was in the form of semi structured interview. In conducting the interview, the researcher prepared the recording and asked the questions related to the research problem to the participants.

5. Asking Permission

Before conducting the survey by distributing the questionnaire and conducting the interview, the researcher asked the permission first to the chairperson of the English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta to conduct the research in that area. Asking permission was conducted

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by writing the letter and asking the chairperson’s signature. Those all were conducted in the middle of May 2012.

6. Conducting the Survey

In conducting the survey research, the researcher distributed a questionnaire and conducted an interview. The questionnaire was distributed in the end of May 2012. The researcher gave the explanation first about the procedure of how to fill the questionnaire form given. Meanwhile, the interview was conducted in the middle of June 2012.

7. Processing the Data

After gathering the data, the researcher found the results related to this study. Then, the researcher analyzed the data obtained from the questionnaire and the interview results.

8. Reporting the Data

The final step was reporting the data. The researcher wrote the report of the data from the results obtained and drew a conclusion of this research.

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CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In this chapter, the researcher presents, analyzes and discusses the data obtained from the results of the questionnaire and the interview. The questionnaire was distributed on May 24th and 30th, 2012. The interview was conducted on June 14th, 15th and 16th, 2012. This chapter answers two questions stated in the problem formulation. The researcher divides this chapter into two parts. The first part is the results and discussion about students’ perception on the use of blogs in Basic Writing class in the English Education of Sanata Dharma University. Meanwhile, the second part is the results and discussion about students’ suggestions to improve the use of blogs in Basic Writing class.

A.Students’ Perception on the Use of Blogs in Basic Writing Class

This part consists of students’ perception on the implementation of blogs, students’ perception on the impact of blogs in Writing, students’ personal evaluation of the use of blogs in Basic Writing class, students’ perception on the advantages of blogs in Basic Writing class and students’ perception on the problem faced in the use of blogs in Basic Writing class.

1. Students’ Perception on the Implementation of Blogs in Basic Writing

Class

The researcher discovered the students’ perception in this section through the questionnaire and also the interview. In the closed-ended statements of the

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questionnaire, the particular numbers related were statements number 1 to 7. The results can be seen in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1 Students’ Perception on the Implementation of Blogs

No. Statements

Frequencies of Responses

1 (SD) 2 (D) 3 (A) 4 (SA)

N % N % N % N %

1. I got a clear explanation about the use of blog in Basic Writing class from my lecturer

1 1.96 4 7.84 36 70.5 10 19.6

2. I used blog for submitting my writing assignment in Basic Writing class

0 0 3 5.88 21 41.17 27 52.84

3. I got the feedback about my

writing in my blog from my lecturer in Basic Writing class

7 13.72 14 27.45 18 35.29 12 23.52

4. I got the feedback about my writing in my blog from my friends in Basic Writing class

1 1.96 10 19.6 26 50.98 14 27.45

5. I could use features provided in a blog in Basic Writing class freely

0 0 4 7.84 33 64.7 14 27.45

6. I could give comments

(suggestions, opinions, explanations) on my friend’s writing using blog in Basic Writing class

0 0 2 3.92 26 50.98 23 45.09

7. I could ask the lecturer about my writing using blog in Basic Writing class

1 1.96 9 17.64 33 64.7 8 15.68

Based on Table 4.1 in the first statement, there were 70.5% of the respondents who agreed that they obtained a clear explanation about the use of blogs in Basic Writing class, 19.6% of the respondents who strongly agreed, 7.84% of the respondents who disagreed and merely 1.96% of the respondents who strongly disagreed with this statement. Reaching 90.1% of agreement level, it showed that most of the respondents had positive attitude.

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In the second statement, the students submitted their writing assignment using blogs in Basic Writing class. The researcher found that the total of agree and strongly agree percentages in this statement were relatively high reaching 94.01%. Meanwhile, merely 5.88% of the respondents disagreed and none of the respondent (0%) strongly disagreed. From these percentages, the researcher could conclude that most of the respondents had strong perception in using blogs for submitting their assignments.

Related to the feedback obtained from the lecturer stated in the third statement, it indicated that the total percentages of agreement level were 58.81%, whereas the total percentages of disagreement level were 41.17%. Then, related to the feedback from other students, the total percentages of agreement level were 78.43%, whereas the total percentages of disagreement level were 21.56%. The differences of percentages among those degrees in the statement about feedback from the lecturer were not too significant, but more than half of the respondents still had the positive tendency. Regarding the feedback from the students, most of the respondents also showed positive attitude. Based on the results, it could also be concluded that the respondents obtained more feedback on their writing from other friends in the class than from the lecturer in using blogs in Basic Writing class.

The difference of the percentages between two results of the fifth and the sixth statements was not too significant. The total percentages of agreement level of those statements reached 92.24% and 96.07% of the respondents. Meanwhile, the total percentages of disagreement level were solely 7.84% and 3.92% of the

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respondents. Both statements also showed that none of the respondents strongly disagreed. Based on this fact, the researcher drew a conclusion that most of the respondents had positive responses towards the statements. Most of them believed that they could use features in the blogs freely and could give comments on their friends’ writing using blogs in Basic Writing class.

The result of the last statement in the implementation of blogs related to this statement was positive. It was presented by the total of agree and strongly agree percentages reaching 80.38%. Then, 17.64% of the respondents disagreed and 1.96% of them strongly disagreed that they could ask the lecturer about their writing using blogs in Basic Writing class.

Related to the implementation of blogs, the researcher also conducted an interview to support the data of the questionnaire. There were eight respondents in the interview. Then, there were two questions related to this section. The questions given were about the students’ perception on how the blog was implemented in Basic Writing Class and students’ expectations of the implementation of blogs in Basic Writing class.

From the interview about the students’ perception on how a blog was implemented in Basic Writing class, Respondents 7, 34 and 50 revealed that the lecturer gave them some detailed explanations about the blog in Basic Writing Class. The explanations given were related to how the respondents could use and operate the blogs in Basic Writing class and also related to Basic Writing skill such as minimum requirements.

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Then, Respondents 7, 27, 41 and 50 said that blogs in Basic Writing class was used as media for them to publish their Basic Writing assignments. Respondent 27 revealed in detail that the writing assignments using blogs were published almost in every meeting of Basic Writing class. In producing their writing, Respondents 41 and 50 also added that they made the draft of their writing first. After that, they published their writing in their blogs when they felt it was already good.

“Cuma kita disuruh buat karangan, terus nanti karangan kita itu dikoreksi dulu sama teman, ditukar-tukarin , terus nantinya kalau udah benar baru di tulis ke blog. Terus, di situ nanti kalau teman-teman mau komen boleh. Setiap tugas pasti suruh ngepost di blog.” (R#41)

(We are only asked to make the drafts of our writing. Then, our friends give correction to our drafts. We also exchange our drafts of writing. After that, our drafts are posted in the blog. In the blog, the students are given the freedom to give comments. Certainly, each assignment is posted in the blog.)

Respondents 13, 41 and 50 said that they could give comments on their writing assignments each other. Then, the students could correct the mistakes found in their writing. They could also obtain the feedback from their friends. However, related to the feedback given from the lecturer, half of the interview respondents who were Respondents 6, 7, 13 and 30 revealed that the lecturers had never given them the feedback. It was not in accordance with the result of the statements in the closed-ended questionnaire related to the lecturer’s feedback. In that statement, 58.81% of the respondents agreed that the lecturer gave feedback to their writing in Basic Writing class.

Regarding the students’ expectations of the implementation of blogs in Basic Writing class, Respondents 13, 27 and 34 told the implementation of blogs

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was in accordance with their expectations. Respondent 27 expressed that she did not feel bored when she used blogs in Basic Writing class. It made her feel something new in learning writing skill using blogs. In addition, Respondent 13 revealed that the use of blogs made her more independent in learning. The use of blogs in Basic Writing class also provided the opportunity for her to give comments on others’ writing. Moreover, Respondent 34 added that she did not find any difficulties in learning Basic Writing skill using blogs. Therefore, it was suitable for her in learning.

“Sesuai sih sejauh ini, karena saya tidak menemui suatu kesulitan yang berarti. Berarti..kan sesuai toh apa yang dijelaskan.” (R#34)

(So far, it is suitable for me because I do not find any significant difficulties.)

On the contrary, Respondents 6, 7, 30, 41 and 50 revealed that they were not satisfied and they thought that the implementation of blogs in Basic Writing class was not in accordance with their expectations. All these respondents conveyed that they were not really satisfied with the implementation because the lecturer barely gave them feedback to their writing. Moreover, Respondents 30 and 50 added that not all of their friends gave feedback to their writing, so they did not know what mistakes they had made in writing.

“Nggak, karena nggak semua kasih feedback. Terus dosennya juga nggak kasih tahu yang mana yang salah jadi kita juga nggak tahu.” (R#30)

(No. It is because not all students give the feedback. The lecturer also does not give the feedback so we do not know the mistakes.)

From this report, the interview results were not in harmony with the results of the questionnaire. There were five of the respondents in the interview who did

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not agree that the use of blogs in Basic Writing class was in accordance with their expectations. Overall, from the results of the questionnaire and the interview about the students’ perception on the implementation of blogs in Basic Writing class, the researcher concluded that most of the respondents had the positive tendency to the implementation of blogs in Basic Writing class. It was proved by the positive percentages result of the questionnaire which dominated the results. However, it was apparent that the implementation of blogs in Basic Writing class should be balanced by the presence of the educator. From the results of the interview, most of the respondents claimed that they did not really agree that the implementation of blogs had been in accordance with their expectation because the lecturer did not give feedback to their writing.

2. Students’ Perception on the Impact of Blogs in Students’ Writing in Basic

Writing Class

This section aims to inquire further into the students’ perception related to the impact on writing that they obtained from using blogs in Basic Writing class. In this section, the researcher used the questionnaire and also the interview.In the questionnaire section, the particular numbers related were number 8 to 15. In addition, Table 4.2 is presented in this section.

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APPENDIX F

Samples of the Interview

Transcript

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Samples of the Interview Transcript

A.Implementation

1. How was blog implemented in Basic Writing class?

Students Answers

27 Hampir setiap hari sih digunakan itu blog, ya seminggu sekali pasti ada buat ngepost tugas dari dosennya gitu terus kita publish itu di blog kita.

34 Ya..kalau saya kemarin itu dijelaskan prosedurnya kayak apa pertama tapi bagusnya kan dibuat sekaligus langsung pada saat waktu itu juga kan di ruang lab komputer, jadi apa..sama-sama bersamaan. Jadi kalau ada yang salah atau yang nggak tahu bisa langsung ditangani sama dosennya, jadi langsung jadi tuh log blognya, jadi kan kapan siap dipakai terserah kita.

2. Was the implementation of blog in Basic Writing class in accordance with

your expectation? Why?

Students Answers

27 Kalau aku sih, menurutku juga itu suitable, soalnya kita kan kadang-kadang bosan juga dengan yang cuma nulis, ngumpulin gitu. Jadi, perlu something new aja kalau di writing. Kalau pakai blog kan kita nggak bosan dengan hanya nulis gitu, pegal, lebih enak kayak gitu kan, asyik, apalagi kita kan sekarang anak gaul, jadi sering online gitu kan , jadi itu lebih cocok buat kita.

34 Sesuai sish sejauh ini, karena saya tidak menemui suatu kesulitan yang berarti. Berarti..kan sesuai toh apa yang dijelaskan.

B.Impact

3. Did the use of blog in Basic Writing class encourage you to learn more

about writing skill?Why

Students Answers

27 Emang dari dasarnya itu nggak suka nulis, idenya itu nggak..apa ya..lebih susah untuk dituangkan kalau dalam hal menulis gitu, lebih enak ngomong langsung, tapi dengan adanya blog ya itu sih jadi buat kita itu apa ya…malu kalau sampai salah terus dilihat orang itu kan rasanya tuh “aduh nih malu nih malu” jadi pokoknya harus sebagus mungkin. Kalau soal encouragenya sih ya iya encourage buat nulis well, cuma masalahnya kalau buat menulisnya itu yang dari diri sendiri, tapi kalau yang write well iya itu encourage. 34 yah..encourage saya ya, karena tulisannya kita dipublish, semua bisa

baca, pastinya dengan hal itu saya lebih terdorong lagi untuk mengetahui bagaimana menulis yang baik dan benar itu.

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4. What were the effects of using blog in Basic Writing class on your writing skill?

Students Answers

27 Bisa jadi buat kita lebih berani dalam menuangkan ide-ide kita dan berbagi itu dengan semua orang. Dalam writingnya pengaruhnya itu minimum requirements, penggunaan bahasanya, pemilihan bahasa yang enak dibaca semua orang jadi lebih hati-hati dalam

pemilihan kalimatnya gitu supaya nggak..nggak apa ya..supaya itu nggak saru..atau wagu..haha.

34 Pengaruhnya kalau ke saya lebih untuk memacu saya menulis sesuatu yang pastinya yang lebih menarik yang mengundang orang untuk membaca tulisan saya karena itukan nanti dipublish ke suatu blog yang tidak hanya dibaca oleh lingkup kita, tapi juga oleh lingkup di luar kita bahkan di luar negeri pun orang bisa membaca itu. Dengan mau menulis sesuatu yang menarik, pastinya orang menilai, jadi kita terpacu untuk mencari informasi, “ini benar nggak, ini udah benar belum”. Jadi memacu kita untuk lebih menulis yang menarik tapi juga aman sesuai aturan tata bahasanya.

C.Personal Evaluation

5. Did you feel motivated when you used blog in Basic Writing class? Why?

Students Answers

27 I think yes, karena kayak yang I said before itu jadi apa ya..jadi sesuatu yang baru buat kita jadi kita nggak cuma nulis-nulis biasa terus dikumpulin terus cuma dapat feedback dari dosen, tapi teman-teman juga bisa kasih feedback ke kita, terus lebih asyik aja gitu kan online gitu ngepost-ngepost di blog, diliat orang, kalau orang senang dipuji kerjaannya kayak gitu kan jadi gimana gitu..jadi semangat. 34 Ya, karena itu tadi jadi termotivasi karena yang membacanya bukan

hanya kita sendiri dan dalam lingkup yang luas jadi termotivasi gitu.

6. Do you think blog is appropriate to be applied in Basic Writing class?

Why?

Students Answers

27 Appropriate..ya blog itu kan emang ajang untuk menulis, ajang untuk kita sharekan apa yang kita pikirkan gitu ya appropriatelah..sesuai dengan..lecturernya juga kan writing dan blog juga tempat kita untuk writing apalagi itu dipublish ke semua orang, jadi menurutku appropriate.

(5)

merasa itu seperti kebalik yah. Jadi, sepertinya tuh karena yang di paragraph writing kan kita belajar bagaimana menulis paragraph yang baik dan kita lebih banyak tahu tentang bagaimana menulis itu dari paragraph writing jadi akan lebih baik jika basic-basicnya itu kita dapat pengetahuan tentang bagaimana menulis yang baik dan aturan-aturannya seperti itu. Setelah itu, selanjutnya baru kita mulai menulis sesuatu untuk dibaca oleh orang lain.

7. How were your feelings towards the use of blog in Basic Writing class?

Students Answers

27 I feel excited, I like the use of blog in my writing class.

34 Senang aja tapi juga ada sedikit kehati-hatiannya, jadi pas mau sebelum dipublish , mau tekan tombol publish itu “aduh!” Mikir dulu, lihat dulu “masih ada yang salah nggak..”, apalagi itu bakalan dibaca semua orang kan jadi waktu mau dipublish itu “ ini udah siaap, udah yakin nggak nih tulisan saya, menarik nggak, benar nggak..”

D.Problems and Suggestions

8. Please mention the difficulties in the use of blog in Basic Writing class!

Students Answers

27 Ini sih mungkin karena belum biasa pakai blog kan jadi mungkin kalau nggak disuruh di writing juga nggak bakalan nge-blog. Jadi, kayak Dewi itu jadinya masih canggung gitu loh pakainya, “ini, ini apa sih, gimana sih” gitu, “Ini kalau mau nge-post dari mana” yah masih yang kayak gitu itu loh, masih belum biasa aja sama blognya 34 Kesulitannya..yaitu karena kurang pengetahuan mendasar tentang

menulis yang benar ya tentang itu seperti preposition itu meski followed by verb –ing, plus verb one, dulu kan kita nggak tahu yang kayak gitu jadi asal nulis aja dan nggak ada feedback dari dosennya itu. Terus, nggak bisa memberi komentar ke teman-teman juga karena kita sendiri nggak tahu yang benar dan yang salah yang mana.

9. Please mention the suggestions in solving your difficulties in the use of blog

in Basic Writing class!

Students Answers

27 Mungkin kita diajarin dulu gimana cara penggunaan blognya dari bapaknya, dari dosennya, diterangin dulu mungkin sedetail-detailnya gimana gitu.

34 Kalau saya kan kesulitannya di menulis itu, jadi banyak belajar tentang cara-cara menulis dan aturan-aturan menulis itu aja.

(6)

10. Please give the suggestions towards the implementation of blog in Basic Writing class!

Students Answers

27 Mungkin dosennya, kalau kita nggak puas dengan hanya yang feedback oral, bisa juga feedback dari langsung diblognya itu. Terus, mahasiswa-mahasiswanya mungkin apa diwajibkan atau gimana gitu buat kasih feedback ke temannya supaya nggak kayak Dewi tadi itu kan cuma dikit yang ngasi feedback jadi buat apa juga kita yang sedikit, iya kalau ngoreksi, kalau cuma bilang “Aku nggak suka nih, aku suka..atau gimana” nggak ada kasih saran itu kan percuma aja gitu, mungkin diharuskan kasih saran atau gimana gitu.

34 Sarannya kalau saya.penggunaan blog itu sendiri okelah ya..kalau memang dosennya mau menggunakan media itu dalam pembelajaran yang pertama di basic writing di PBI, tapi mesti diimbangi juga dengan pemberian pengetahuan yang cukup juga sih seperti di paragraph writing jadi mereka mau nulis apa tau juga aturan-aturannya seperti apa. Jadi ya..walaupun harus pakai metode blog-blog itu okelah, tapi itu bukan sebagai sesuatu yang utama dari semester itu. Jadi diberi dulu penjelasan yang cukup tentang bagaimana menulis, aturan-aturannya bla..bla..bla dan blognya bisa oke buat publish final project. Terus saya juga lebih senang kalau materinya di post di blog karena kan kita bisa buka kapan aja waktunya nggak hanya di kelas itu.

Students` perception on the use of blog in basic writing class in English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University.

I dedicate this thesis to my belove

my friends and also all people who

Nothing gonna change my love

ed family,

o love me.

APPENDIX F

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Links

Students` perception on the use of blog in basic writing class in English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University.

I dedicate this thesis to my belove

my friends and also all people who

Nothing gonna change my love

ed family,

o love me.

APPENDIX F

Samples of the Interview

Transcript

Samples of the Interview Transcript

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Students perception on the use of role play technique in speaking II class in English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University.

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

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Students` perception on play performance class in development soft skills of students of English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University.

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Students` perception on pre reading activities in basic reading II class of the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University

Students` perception of the use of internet in writing VI course in english language education study program of Sanata Dharma University - USD Repository

Students` perceptions on the use of role play technique in speaking class in the english education study program of Sanata Dharma university - USD Repository

Students` perception on the use of blog in basic writing class in English Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University - USD Repository

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