Available Online: https://jurnal.ustjogja.ac.id/index.php/JELLT/index
10.36597/jellt.v7i1.14034 This is an open-access article under the CC–BY-SA license. 54
EFL TEACHERS’ PRACTICE IN TEACHING LEARNING PROCESS THROUGH E-LEARNING: A STUDY OF ENGLISH TEACHER IN
BORDER AREA SAMBAS
Meutia Eka Tirtasary*, Yohanes Gatot Sutapa Yuliana, Clarry Sada
*Tanjungpura University, Pontianak, Indonesia Tanjungpura University, Pontianak, Indonesia Tanjungpura University, Pontianak, Indonesia
[email protected] [email protected]
Abstract: This study was qualitative descriptive study. The participants of this study were three English teachers of Senior High School category in Sambas Border Area.
Observation, interview and document were the instrument of this study. As the result, the researcher found that the participants in Sambas Border Area used WhatsApp (WA) as the platform to teach the students in teaching learning process. Other applications were used but it was as addition materials. The participants got problems due to network problem and low of interactivity. In conclusion, it is recommended for the participants in this study to apply Online Quizzes, Interactive Demos, and E-learning games to be spirit and creative in teaching learning process through E-learning since it is found that the participants in this study manage the classroom by applying online discussion to teach.
Keywords: EFL, Teachers, Practice, Teaching Learning Process, E-Learning
How to Cite: Tirtasary, M. E., Gatot Sutapa Yuliana, Y., & Sada, C. (2023). EFL Teachers’ Practice in Teaching Learning Process through E-Learning: A Study of English Teacher in Border Area Sambas. JELLT (Journal of English Language and Language Teaching), 7(1), 54–62. https://doi.org/10.36597/jellt.v7i1.14034
INTRODUCTION
Sambas Regency and Malaysia share an international border in Borneo. Recently, they established 3 State Border Crossing Posts (PLBN), one of which lies in Aruk of Sambas and Lundu of Malaysia. Through this PLBN, the citizens of both countries can cross the border of both countries. The border area is an area that is generally far from the center of governance with aspects of life social, state, and a nation that has characteristics and its specifications. Higher-level vulnerability if compared to other regions, because it has a role and a value strategy to support upholding state sovereignty. Therefore, the governments need to pay attention to the border area since it concerns with some aspects, especially in the education aspect. Sambas Regency is one of the border areas adjacent to Malaysia and becomes one of 3T location areas. West Kalimantan has three State Border
Copyright © 2023, Journal of English Language and Language Teaching, ISSN 2579-6046 55 Crossing Posts (PLBN) located in Sambas Regency. It can be concluded that nowadays border area in Sambas district is developing. Considering the current situation, the utilization of technology in online learning becomes an important part for teachers to be able to teach their students in current situation. This may be a new challenge for teachers and students. It can be concluded that the role of internet technology is very important in supporting online learning in the current situation. The devices needed to access information are via mobile devices such as smartphones, laptops, tablets, iPhones, and so on. There are several techniques that teachers or educators can apply in teaching activities, especially online learning like today. These devices aim for testing and distance education, some of which can also be used in teaching and learning activities in English subjects both in competencies for speaking, listening, and critical thinking skills.
E-learning is still considered as new medium and paradigm in the process of teaching learning activities since teachers and students do not need to do face to face meeting in the classroom. The teachers and students just need to provide internet connection to join and attend the classroom virtually or online. E-learning also can be done practically since the teachers and students can access it wherever they are as long as the internet connection is good. E-learning can also be done effectively with technology support. It can be emphasized that new technology is developing and spreading rapidly so that teachers only need to adjust to apply it in learning, especially learning English.
Language teaching in general and English Language Teaching (ELT) in particular has tremendously changed over the centuries. When English entered in the curriculum of the students as a compulsory subject, it was a challenge for the English language teachers to teach to the foreign learners but they taught English as a knowledge subject not as a skill subject because their main aim was to teach them to pass the examinations only. ELT seems to be swinging like a pendulum between the extremes of method as language teachers have ever been in search of better and more effective method of teaching
There are about three schools in the Senior High School category since Sambas district is one of 3T area. According to WVI (Wahana Visi Indonesia), the government urges every student to learn from home, both online and offline. However, the implementation is not without obstacles. Especially for students in the 3T (Frontier, Outermost, and Isolated) area, access to online and offline learning might be limited such as textbooks, ownership of smartphones, internet quotas to the limitations of parents in guiding their children.
Sambas Regency is one of the outermost districts which are sharing bordering with Malaysia.
Based on the researcher’s pre observation by asking the teachers in general about teaching learning process through e-learning, the researcher got various perception and opinions from the teachers. One of them was found that the teachers in Temajuk uses Malaysian card named Celcom. It was also found that the distance of the teachers’ and the students’ house to the school was far enough and sometimes there was the hinder in network connection.
Copyright © 2023, Journal of English Language and Language Teaching, ISSN 2579-6046 56 In this section, the researcher attempts to find out the utilization of technology and its use through the efforts of teachers in carrying out E-learning. This factor might encourage the teacher to become more creative and effortful to teach their students. The students need an effective teaching-learning process even in a pandemic COVID 19 situation. Besides the situation of pandemic COVID 19, the teachers automatically learn about literary skills or technology more intensively. In learning the language, especially a foreign language, it is necessary to consider English skill mastery as the priority for the learner of the language.
The teachers need to prepare some method or strategies in the teaching-learning process especially utilizing literary skills or an online system so that the teacher will find an effective way to teach English to the students. The material, media, technique, activity should be appropriate to the students' level and syllabus. Hence, the situation encourages the researcher to find out the teachers' practice in the teaching-learning process in the border area Sambas District. Considering the problems, the researcher tries to observe and describe further about the research entitled "EFL Teachers' Practice in Teaching- Learning Process through E-learning". Considering the problems above, the researcher identifies some questions of the study as follows: a.What platform of E-learning is applied by EFL teachers in Sambas Border Area in teaching learning process? b. How do EFL teachers in Sambas Border Area conduct the practice of teaching learning process through E-learning? c.What problems are faced by EFL teachers in Sambas Border Area in teaching through E-learning?
LITERATURE REVIEW E-learning
In the current situation, the teachers have to give an effort to teach the students through the E-learning. This situation makes the teachers' creativity increasing since the teachers have the responsibility to teach the students and learn more about technology using E- learning so that the learning activities will be effective and flexible. Urdan and Weggen (2000) introduce that e-learning is part of learning which can be done and conduct in distance whereas online is also part of e-learning
Teaching-Learning Process
Teaching is an activity done by the instructor which is integrated and supporting the learning process. Brown (2007) defines that teaching is helping and guiding someone to learn certain knowledge, instructing to find out or understand about it. It means that teaching is an activity to help someone understanding certain knowledge.
Teacher’s Practice
Practice can be defined as the process or events that are done to do some particulars activities in a certain situation or field. Chaiklin and Lave (1996) define practice as the activities done based on its goals or historical tradition. Therefore, practice is considered
Copyright © 2023, Journal of English Language and Language Teaching, ISSN 2579-6046 57 to be important in the teaching-learning process. The student can understand and do the material or theory because of doing practice.
METHOD
This study employed descriptive qualitative research as the research design. Ary et al (2010) defined that qualitative study is used for research concerning the current circumstances of phenomena by focusing on the total description. It means that this study will be conducted based on all events that occurred in the study. Besides, Creswell (2009) mentioned that qualitative research is defined as research for exploring and understanding the meaning of an individual or groups to humans' cases or problems. . The researcher attempted to conduct the study in border Sambas consisting of Temajuk, Sajingan, and Subah. The place was the schools of Senior High School category. They were SMAN Temajuk, SMAN Sajingan and SMAN Subah. Those schools were located in border Sambas. The participant in this study were all the teachers in the High School Category in Border Sambas which consisted of Temajuk, Sajingan, Subah. There were about three high school categories in this area. The participants of this study were the teachers who teach English in the border area in Sambas district. All of them were three teachers from High School Category
The instrument of data collection was the important step in the study because it reached the main objective of the research questions. The data should be obtained with the necessary information and appropriate with the questions of the study arranged by the researcher. Cresswell (2009) claimed that an instrument was needed to measure, observe, or document the data qualitatively or quantitatively. In this study, the researcher would like to apply some techniques for collecting the data. In this research, the researcher applied observation, interview and documents to collect the data.
In this session, the researcher analyzed the data after collecting the data. Based on Dey (2003), data analysis is resolving the data processor based on the components collected to find out its characteristic elements and structure. The research analyzed the study based on Miles and Huberman's (1994) theory. This theory shows that there are about three steps in analyzing the data such as data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The Practice of Teaching Learning Process Conducted by EFL Teachers in Border Sambas
Based on the data collected, the researcher found that three teachers mostly used WA application, but sometimes the teachers also used other resources adapted from YouTube or Website. The first teacher from Temajuk said that he used only WA application since it is easier to use and access to teach his students online. The first teacher also states that he use worksheet/LKS to be his learning media and resources. The first teacher conducted the teaching learning process through WA application by sending the task in the group
Copyright © 2023, Journal of English Language and Language Teaching, ISSN 2579-6046 58 made with the students involved. There must be a possibility that the students cannot understand the material, so the first teacher give the students material from the worksheet/LKS given from school. For teaching speaking, the first teacher asks the students to make video based on the topic given. The second and the third teachers who become the participants of this study also teach the same way by giving the material mostly through WA application. It can be found that the third teacher teaches her students listening through website link.
There are also some videos sent by EFL teacher in Border Area Sambas via WA group to teach the students as learning material. The task given and the explanation from the teachers will be done in one day, but for submitting, the teachers spare about a week or some days to submit the task from the teachers. The students can do the task from the teacher manually through writing in the books then the students can take the photos of the tasks to send it via WA chat or group. There are some reasons why the teachers prefer to use WA application, one of them is because it is easier, more effective, and practical that does not need a lot of quotas in teaching learning process. In addition, WA can be also accessed by many people. The first teacher states that using WA to teach the students in current situation is effective enough since in his school, he has limited internet connection and must use Malaysian signal named Celcom. Therefore using WA is quite effective and efficient for him to use it. The schools also can use WA to have virtual meeting since it also has Video Call feature. The teachers as the participant states that the lesson plan cannot done maximally since the time of submitting the task and the process is different with face to face. But still, it is done well using WA group by sending the task adapted from students’
worksheet/LKS, Youtube link, and Website link.
Based on the data that has been collected and the analysis that has been carried out, the researcher concludes that: first, the teachers can teach the students in teaching learning process easily through WA since it can support the situation of the area. Second, the type of e-learning applied by three teachers as the participant in Border Area Sambas is internet-based e-learning since the teachers used learning media and online resources such as WA, YouTube and Website link. It is proved by the table below:
Table 1. Application Applied by English Teachers in Border Area Sambas No. Teacher Application
Applied
Function
1 Mr. GN 1)WA
2)YouTube link and Word file
1) It is found that WA is used by Mr. GN as Platform to engage teacher and students in virtual classroom and
Copyright © 2023, Journal of English Language and Language Teaching, ISSN 2579-6046 59
interact with each other.
2) Youtube link and Word file is used by Mr.
GN as Addition Material/Task.
2 Mrs. EM 1)WhatsApp
2) YouTube link, Word file and PPT file
1) It is found that WhatsApp is used by Mrs. EM as Platform to engage teacher and students in virtual classroom and interact with each other.
2) YouTube link, Word file and PPT file is used by Mrs. EM as Addition Material/Task.
3 Mrs. CY 1)WhatsApp
2)YouTube link, Word file and Website link
-1) It is found that WhatsApp is used by Mrs. CY as Platform to engage teacher and students in virtual classroom and interact with each other.
2) YouTube link, Word file and Website link is used by Mrs. CY as Addition Material/Task.
Copyright © 2023, Journal of English Language and Language Teaching, ISSN 2579-6046 60
(Sources: Observation and Interview)
The table above showed that Mr. GN, Mrs. EM, and Mrs. CY applied WA as the platform for conducting online classroom since it has found that the types implemented in this study is Virtual Education. It also explained that the teaching sources used by Mr. GN were from YouTube and Word. The Mrs. EM used Word, PPT, or YouTube as her teaching sources while Mrs. CY added the link adapted from Website in her teaching learning process.
Problems faced by EFL Teachers in Teaching Learning through Online Learning The problems faced by the teachers in Border Area Sambas are the network problem and low of interactivity. As the first teacher said, he must use Celcom which is Malaysian card to access internet. Meanwhile for the second and third teacher, they do not have any problems to access the internet, but others’ problem faced by the second and the third teacher was found that comes from the students who lived in outline of Border Area Sambas. In that situation, the school asks the teachers to not only send the material via online but also print it out and put it into the school’s wall magazine and submit it to school. It might be difficult for the students to do the task but they cannot find it in worksheet/LKS, therefore the teachers and school give the effort to make sure that the students can done the task by giving more duration to submit it.
DISCUSSION
In this part of the research, it discusses about EFL teachers’ practice in teaching learing process through E-learning. Theorically, the teachers’ practice in teaching learning process through E-learning is effect on E-learning applied by the teachers and the way to conduct it.
The result of this research shows that the practice conducted by EFL teachers in teaching learning process through E-learning in Sambas Border area is limited since those EFL teachers in Sambas Border Area who taught in Senior High School category only used WA group as the platform. There are also some applications used by those teachers but it is needed as addition teaching material not as the platform since those EFL teachers just take the link of each application or create the file and send it into WA group. It is shown that WA group is the only application that supports to engage the teacher and students to interact with each other. It is line with the previous study by Henny Mardiah (2020) that the result of the study suggested that e-learning is considered a relevant teaching- learning method so that the teacher and the students can access it easily. However, teachers must have commitment to enhance the practice in teaching learning process through E-learning since it is not easy matter to be dealt. From the result collected in this research, EFL teachers in Sambas Border Area have not properly conducted the practice in teaching learning process through E-learning.
Copyright © 2023, Journal of English Language and Language Teaching, ISSN 2579-6046 61 Of course there must be factors why it has not done properly in teaching learning process such as the technical issue problem, circumstance of the students’ residence, etc. Besides, in the result of this research, EFL teachers in this area just used WA application as the platform or online classroom which is not possible to have virtual classroom like Google Meet and Zoom since the participant needed to do video call in WA is not enough. They should have met face to face online to conduct teaching learning process since the practice consist of opening, content and closing activity. This matter is proven by the result of the table.
However, because of the factor in technical issues and low of interactivity, the teachers in this area depends on WA application instead of attempting other applications that can be used for face-to-face online classroom in the practice of teaching learning process. They believe WA as easier and familiar application for both students and teachers. This matter is seen from the observation result and the interview transcript given for those teachers.
In technical issues matter, network problem becomes the obstacle factor faced by those teachers in this area. Based on the theories, technical issue can be happened because some students are not provided with the high bandwidth or the strong internet connection that E-learning requires. It should be hard for teachers to do video call or virtual classroom like Google Meet and Zoom. This factor must be solved since it will affect the students’
learning process. From the result of this research, those teachers in this area choose to have WA application to solve it. It can be seen those teachers in this area also teach the students by giving the task, feedback and sending links from YouTube or Website through this application.
Besides that, those teachers in this area also have to fulfill the lesson plan based on Emergency Curriculum or Kurikulum Darurat which is stated in the regulation of the Minister of National Education of Republic of Indonesia No 179/P/2020 since it is prepared by the department of justice is the simplification of the national curriculum and there is a basic competence reduction for each subject so that teachers and students can focus on essential competence and prerequisite competence for further learning. This curriculum must be the obligation for the teachers in teaching learning process and schools are given the flexibility to choose a curriculum that fits the learning needs of students which means the teachers can create lesson plan based on Emergency Curriculum or based on students’ need in teaching learning process. In the result of this research, the lesson plan made by EFL teachers in this area is well-prepared. But sometimes, making the well-prepared lesson plan systematically does not mean and guarantee that the online classroom will conduct properly in this area because of technical issues and low of interactivity.
Nevertheless, those teachers in this area must face low of interactivity factor during teaching learning process even the teachers’ practice in this area actually has been conducted well using WA application. It can be seen in interview transcript that some students submit the task from the teachers late. The reason of this lateness is not only because they do not have any information about the task but also because they are too
Copyright © 2023, Journal of English Language and Language Teaching, ISSN 2579-6046 62 focus on playing the games that they forget to submit the task on time. This situation must be very crucial to be solved since the teachers must reach their goal in teaching learning process. Even it is not easy to solve it, to reach this goal and solve the problem, the teachers in this area attempt to contact the parents to prevent the lateness of task submitting.
CONCLUSION
Referring to the discussion, it can be concluded that EFL teachers in Border Sambas conduct their teaching learning well even the location of the students’ house is limited.
Based on finding and discussion, in Sambas Border Area, three EFL teachers who taught in senior high school only used WA application. The assessment sources used by EFL teachers in Border Sambas to teach the students is student’s worksheet/LKS, but sometimes the teachers used addition teaching material adapted from YouTube and Website to be sent into WA group. Overall, the teaching learning process through e- learning in Sambas Border Area still faces problem in network aspects, hence, it has run well since the teachers by going to school and cooperate with parents to prevent the lateness of students’ task
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