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STUDENTS’ CHALLENGES IN LISTENING IN VIRTUAL CLASSROO; CASE STUDY IN ENGLISH EDUCATION
STUDY PROGRAM IN COVID-19
Mia Aldina
Islamic University Of Kalimantan [email protected]
Angga Taufan Dayu Islamic University Of Kalimantan
Raudatul Haura
Islamic University Of Kalimantan
ABSTRACT
Listening is one of the four skills in learning English. This study aims to determine the difficulties faced by students in learning listening in virtual learning. This research is a qualitative research. Participants in this study were the forth semester students who had studied listening in 2018/2019 majoring in English education at UNISKA Banjarmasin. In collecting data, researchers used interviews which were conducted virtually through the WhatsApp with the respondent. The results showed that there were 2 factors, namely Internal factors and External factors consisting of 6 difficulties faced by students in virtual learning. The difficulties faced by these students are; Lack of vocabulary, speed of speech, unclear pronunciation, lack of concentration and motivation, condition of studying at home, limitation of the Media.
Keyword: Listening, Listening difficulties, Virtual Learning
1. INTRODUCTION
In this pandemic of COVID-19, everyone applies social distancing including the learning process, many students of Indonesia learn from home using Zoom app.
The application of the concept of Virtual Learning in distance learning systems is becoming technological trend learning in this pandemic. Conceptually virtual learning has potential which is not simple in improving the quality of education including the potential in providing communication opportunities between learning participants and instructors as well communication between learning participants, learning materials that are not bound by time and space. Virtual learning can provide interesting learning material so that participants are motivated to learn. But on the other hand, there is Virtual Learning in the learning process some disadvantages include the high cost that must be issued. Therefore the application of Virtual Learning in distance learning needs to be completed with the ability of users of the distance learning program.
There are some problems using virtual learning, the problem faced by students from external or internal factors.
The examples of external factor are problem signal, problem audio, expensive internet data, and limited time.
The problem can also come from themselves (internal), such as difficulty listening when learning English directly, lack of vocabulary, less understanding and less
concentration in learning process. To face this problem, the lecturer must give the material slowly and clearly to make it easier for students to understand and students must focus during virtual learning process.
Learning is one of important skill that student should have learned in learning language such as learning English, but learning to be good in listening is not easy as it seems.
This cannot be separated from the influences of listening in constructing students’ vocabulary and enhancing language usage. Listening has the potential to develop students’
pronunciation, word stress, and syntax acquisitions. It also contributes for language expertise and proficiency.
Gilakjani (2016) found that the difficulties of listening comprehension were the length of listening and the quality of recorded materials. However, these earlier studies only focus on external factors that occur during listening. Other researchers also investigate about from internal factors of the listener. Renukadevi (2014) finds that listener’s concentration become the major problem in listening. The lack of concentration is considered as a major problem because the shortest break in attention can impair the comprehension seriously. In addition, Hamouda (2013) also finds that the listening comprehension problems are related to the students’ concentration, and motivation.
Those problem show that the students have certain difficulties in understanding when English speaker speaks.
This research try to investigate students’ challenges in listening in virtual classroom, this research is different from previous study 2016, 2014, 2013 because the previous researchers only investigate listening problem in the classroom. The researcher would like to do a research with an entitled Students’ Challenges in Listening in Virtual Classroom; Case Study in English Education Study Program in COVID-19
2.
METHOD
Research Design and Setting
The research of Students’ Challenges in Listening in Virtual Classroom; Case Study in English Education Study Program in COVID-19 used qualitative method.
Qualitative research is a research method that is descriptive in nature, uses analysis, refers to data, utilizes existing theories as supporting material, and produces a theory. According to Sugiyono (2013: 15), the definition of
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qualitative research is research based on the philosophy of post positivism, used to examine natural conditions of objects, (as opposed to experiments) where researchers are as key instruments, sampling the source data is done purposively, tri- angulation (combined) collection techniques, data analysis is inductive or qualitative, and qualitative research results emphasize meaning rather than generalization.
Based on the statement above, the research was describe with qualitative method which involve collecting data in order to answer the research questions formulated in problem statement.
Population and Sample
The population of this research was the Forth Semester Students of English Education Department of UNISKA Banjarmasin Year 2020. Subject of this research were selected by the purposive sampling technique. The researcher choose 4 students to find out about their problems and strategies to overcome the challenges in listening in virtual classroom. Qualitative research requires a particular social location as a natural setting for problems in order to provide a comprehensive understanding or depiction. Because of this pandemic of Covid-19, which requires researcher not to able to meet directly with sources so this research was conducted by interviewing with informants in the platform WhatsApp.
The study was conducted because the writer wanted to know the results of the answers about students’ challenges in listening in virtual classroom.
Instrument
This research conducted by using interview to collecting data.
Interview adapted from Hamouda (2013) as supporting of questions about students difficulties.
Interview chose to know deeply about students’ challenges in listening in virtual classroom. It was consists of 8 questions.
Analysis Data
Data analysis techniques are the most decisive step in a study, because data analysis serves to infer the results of research.
Data analysis can be done through the following stages:
a. Familiarizing and organizing, In this stage, the data obtained was collected together. The researcher started the process by reading, taking note, and reviewing the entire data. Then the researcher organized relevant data to focus on the problem of the study. The data were from interview.
b. Interpreting and representing, The researcher interpreted the findings, analyzed by using the expert theory and represented the data result.
3.
FINDINGS
AND DISCUSSION The result of interview are;(Student 1) says the difficulty is sometimes the signal is not working and makes the voice of the lecturer unclear so it makes it difficult for her to listen the
explanation from the lecturer. There is also the problem of the way the lecturer speaks, usually the lecturer is too quick to explain it so that she can’t catch what the lecturer saying.
Besides, because she studying at home, her motivation to take lecture is somewhat reduced so she does not focus on listening to what lecturer teaches. Unfamiliar words also make her does not understand with speaker, it caused by lack of vocabulary. But she has a way to overcome her lack of vocabulary, such as reading dictionary and memorizing vocabulary every day, listen the music while reading the lyrics, watch western movies. Because mastery of vocabulary has an effect on improving listening.
(Student 2) He personally feels fine when the virtual learning process takes place, it’s just that there are problems with internet data which cost his quite a lot of his money. Moreover, the way of learning is not effective and makes the material sometimes difficult to understand. And he had challenges in listening in virtual classroom when he is at home, the environment around his house which is sometimes noisy such as the sound of passing motorcycle, the unstable signal makes the voice of lecturer unclear. Lack of vocabulary, and speed of speech also makes him poor at learning listening in virtual classroom.
(Student 3) this pandemic makes us obliged to apply social distancing by the government, the campus was closed and only took online class. Because she used to learn face-to-face and now she learning in virtual classroom so there are some difficulties; the material presented is unclear caused by the unstable signal and less concentration because she join the virtual classroom while she is at work place that is because the online class schedule sometimes does not match the real schedule on campus, when studying online in the middle day he becomes sleepy especially when the lecturers deliver the material is not enthusiastic. Besides, pronunciation is one of the most common difficulties, when lecturer speaks there are often words that have the same word structure but are pronounced differently.
(Student 4) he feels not comfortable studying in virtual classroom cause he used to learning directly, so the problem when there is material that he doesn’t understand he can’t ask the question to lecturer. Sometimes the lecturer speaks to quick, which is affected him in listening caused by the lack of vocabulary. Besides, his laptop and earphone sometime does not work.
This concludes that there are two dominant factors in students' challenges in listening in virtual classroom;
internal and external factors by forth semester students of the English Education Study Program at the Islamic University of Kalimantan
Internal Factors.
Internal factors are problem that comes from the students themselves in listening in virtual classroom. Based on the results of the interview during this research in this pandemic, the internal problems in listening in virtual classroom are as follows;
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a. There is interference from the students’ hearing aid so that when listening to the material being discussed it becomes unclear and difficult to understand.
b. Low intelligence or learning disability, which is the limited memory or intelligence of students in understanding the material they are listening to.
c. Lacks of vocabulary, their difficulties were related to the limitation of voacabulary.
d. Low motivation, there is no motivation and spirit in learning listening in virtual classroom.
e. Not concentrating when listening to the speaker.
External Factors.
External factors are problem that come from outside of the students in listening in virtual classroom.
Based on the results of the interview during this research in this pandemic, the external problems in listening in virtual classroom are as follows;
a. The media or tools such as audio, laptop, earphone used when listening process sometimes broke.
b. Home study facilities do not support learning activities.
c. Condition of environmental that makes students distracted during learning in virtual classroom.
d. Speed of speech, most of the students claimed that the major factor of the listening problem was caused by the speaking speed of the speaker.
e. Lack of interaction between lecturers and students in listening process.
f. Problem of signal, when signal is not working, sometimes the lecturer’s voice becomes unclear, and the videos become blurry.
g. Expensive internet data, some students have limited costs for buying internet data, sometimes they sacrifice their money just to buy internet data so they can take online class.
Discussion
This research was aimed at knowing the students’
challenges in listening in virtual classroom;
1. Vocabulary
Lack vocabulary become a main source of the problem. All of the students said that their difficulties were related to the limitation of vocabulary. They stated that there was still unfamiliar word. They needed English dictionary to help them in knowing the meaning of the words. Hamouda (2013) said that limited English vocabulary hinder the listeners’ understanding because the unfamiliar and limited words.
2. Speed of Speech
The researcher found out the reason why the students felt difficult was caused by speed of speech. Lecturer who spoke quickly cause the students to be cannot understand the material. Brown and Yule (1983) also explain that the
listeners needed time to process the information they received.
3. Unclear Pronunciation
The students acknowledge that sometimes some words had similarities and also differences meaning. It was supported by Jiang (2009) that the unfamiliar pronunciation affected the students to have an inability of word recognition with similar sound. The students did not only understand the meaning of word by word, but were also required to understand the material.
4. Lack of Concentration and Motivation
Some of them felt difficult to concentrate when they were in certain circumstances. Hungry and less of energy made them lose their concentration while listening. Besides, lack of motivation came from the student self-caused by the way of thinking, and physical condition of student during listening. Some students stated that low motivation occurred when they were sleepy and bored.
5. Condition of Studying at Home
Students’ difficulties during listening could come from external factors. The researcher found that the condition of home environment disturb the students in concentrating during listening in virtual classroom. Some students said disturbed by the sound of passing motorcycle and noisy from their parents watching the TV during the students listening the material in virtual classroom. Unstable signal makes the voice of lecturer unclear, every region does not necessarily have a stable signal. Moreover, a learning system like this requires an extra quota. It could be seen that the causes of difficulty experienced by the students during listening were not only involved by the language elements, but came from the external factors. It was condition and situations in their home.
6. Limitation of The Media
Problems with laptops or devices when students in an exam in virtual classroom or server error. Limited time, there is no internet data and the limitations of the media used an everyone’s financial adjustments is different to face the situation of Covid-19.
CLOSING Conclusion
1.
The objectives of this study was to find out the students’ challenges in listening in virtual classroom, there are some problems in students’ listening that were found in analyzing students’ difficulties : lack of vocabulary, speed of speech, unclear pronunciation, lack of concentration and motivation, condition of studying at home, limitation of the media. The problems in listening in virtual classroom faced by students not only from the listener themselves but from content material and environment of listening in virtual classroom.PROCEEDING OF SHEPO 2020
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Suggestions
Considering the result of the research, the researcher would like to some suggestions as follows;
1. The students
The students need to train their listening intensively in order to help them overcome their problems in listening.
Listening to English song or watching movies with English subtitle and multiply read the English dictionary, it will help them to improve their vocabulary automatically. And stay enthusiastic to study wherever you are during this pandemic of Covid-19.
2. The lecturers
Being a lecturer who teaches virtually is not easy.
The lecturer should awarer of the problems faced by their students in learning listening in virtual classroom to find a good strategy to teach in order to make the students become a better listener.
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