FINAL TEST OF ICT IN LANGUAGE LEARNING
USING GOOGLE+ IN TEACHING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT FOR FIRST
YEAR STUDENTS OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
WIJI HASTUTI
1208066066
A PAPER
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirement
For The Final Exam on ICT in Language Learning
GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF MUHAMMADIYAH Prof, Dr. Hamka
JAKARTA 2013
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1. The Change of Curriculum
Strategic development for national education consists of the development and application of curriculum
which is based on skills. Learners are expected to have competency in the field of attitude, knowledge and
skills. Curriculum 2013 is basically the development of the previous curriculum which was issued in 2004.
For senior high school students especially for the first year students, the material is reduced to be
simpler than before. By making the material simpler, it means that the learners are expected to learn the
language profoundly. Learners are expected to use the language as international communication. Learners
are expected to be Indonesian citizens who can interact internationally by using English as international
language without losing their identity as Indonesian citizens.
2. Descriptive text in Language Learning
As mentioned in the Curriculum 2013, descriptive text is taught for the first year learners of Senior High
School.1 The goal of presenting descriptive text is to enable learners to use English to describe a particular,
thing, place or person. In presenting the materials teacher needs to use media so the learners will have
better understanding about the language used for describing thing, place or person. The grammar used in
this text is mostly simple present tense. So the learners will be exposed more with the sentences in the
form of simple present. Moreover, learners are also given many texts which describe thing, place or person.
If the teacher does not any media to support his/ her teaching, the lesson will be boring for the
students. The teacher needs to use media to avoid boredom among the students.
1
Ki Kd Bahasa Inggris Kurikulum 2013
Nowadays, many media can be used in language classroom. One of the media is using
technology, especially computer and internet. As mentioned earlier that in the new curriculum the use of
technology is integrated in every lesson, so it is important for teacher to use technology media to support
his/ her teaching.
3. The Use of Technology in The Classroom
One of the significant changes in the Curriculum 2013 is the use of technology in the classroom. In the
previous curriculum the use of computer and technology was only in a specific lesson but in the new
curriculum the technology is used integrated in all the lessons. It means that teachers must use technology
in presenting the materials for the students. Committee on Achieving Compatibility in IT-Based Educational
Materials states one of the most persistent themes in education today is a call for new practices and new
strategies to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning.2
In language learning, the use of technology is important as it helps the learners to explore the language
with or without the teacher. Hartoyo states that the use of ICT in education, including language teaching
and learning, is a positive response to the development of the information and communication technology
in the third millennium.3
It is clear that in this era the use of technology is a must. As by using technology the learners will be
motivated. In language classroom, technology plays important role as learners can be exposed to variety of
real language usage as a tool of communication. Moreover, by using technology, learners will have change
to interact with people around the world by using the target language they have already learnt. Another
advantages of using technology in language learning is that the learners can still learn the language
2
Committee on Achieving Compatibility in IT-Based Educational Materials. 2002. Information Technology (IT)Based Educational Materials. Washington DC. The National Academies Press. P. 1
3
Hartoyo. 2012. ICT Information and Technology in Language Learning. Semarang. Pelita Insani. P. 1
although the teacher is not in the classroom. Hartoyo explains the development of Information and
Communication technology that has followed the development of computer technology has stimulated
people especially those who work in the field of education to endeavor to carry out experiments and studies
on the possibilities of utilizing computers for educational purposes.4
Many forms of technology can be used in language learning, such as computer, television, radio,
theaters, internet, etc. As mentioned earlier that the significance changes of curriculum is the use of
technology which is integrated in every lesson. So teacher should use technology to support his/ her
teaching.
In the capital city, it is not difficult to use technology as computers and internet. Government already
provides most school with computers and internet. Moreover, learners themselves have their own laptop.
So, teacher just has to make use of them.
In this modern era, where the development of technology brings changes in the way of learning,
teacher should be aware enough to use many resources provided from the virtual world. Technology brings
to the development of social network media such as facebook, Twitter, skype, instagram, Path, etc.
Google as the biggest website in the offers many applications which can be used for education one of
the application is Google for education which again divided into several applications. Google+ is one of the
applications which can be used as a teaching media to improve students ability in understanding
descriptive text.
4
Ibid. P. 19
CHAPTER II
PROBLEM STATEMENT
1. Can Google+ use in the teaching of Descriptive Text for first year learners of Senior High School?
THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK
1. Internet in Language Learning
As discussed earlier that using internet and technology in the classroom offers some advantages, as
Hartoyo says in his book, the new media (Information and Communication Technology) offers teachers and
learners the better chance to plan and organize courses together (empowering learners to influence the
choice of teaching contents).5
From the statement above, it is clear that using technology will motivate the learners to learn more, to
explore the language by themselves and finally they will be able to use the language appropriately in
different kind of situations.
The learners can directly interact with people in the world using the target language so that they will
have more experience in using the language.
Learning English using internet has served the teachers and learners a new way to more profoundly in
contact with the language. Both the teacher and learners will be able to set their own material which fit
them better so that the learners will have better understanding in English.
IT has also dramatically influenced our capacity to educate. IT tools are increasingly being used to
automate administrative systems in secondary and higher education and to manage and assess courses.
5
Ibid. P. 137
IT has made distance learning and asynchronous education possible by eliminating co-location
requirements during the learning process.6
2. Google for Education
Google as the biggest domain the world provides the users with some applications. One of the
applications is Google apps for education. They consist of many applications which can be used in
language learning.
One of the applications is Google+. It is more like other social network but it has more advantages
compare with other social networks. Unlike other social networks which have only one purpose, Google+
has multifunctional purposes. It offers the user to post what he/ she intended to share whether they are in
the form of texts, songs or music, pictures or even videos. Moreover, the application is connected to a chat
messenger.
Many educational programs and institutions have been involved in projects to improve teaching and
learning through the application of IT. The resulting IT-based learning materials have proven to be
adaptable and dynamic, and in many cases they have enhanced the educational process.7
It is proven that using internet and technology in the classroom will give many benefits for both teacher
and the learners. Using Google+ in the classroom may offer the learners the exposure of the language in
the forms of reading and spoken materials.
6
Committee on Achieving Compatibility in IT-Based Educational Materials. 2002. Information Technology (IT)Based Educational Materials. Washington DC. The National Academies Press. P. 7
7
Ibid. P. 13
CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION
Based on what have been discussed in the previous chapter, it can be concluded that the usage of
Google+ in teaching descriptive text for first year learners of Senior High School is beneficial to both the
teacher and the learners as the application provide the learners with the exposure of English in real life.
Moreover, by using Google+ in teaching descriptive, the teacher and learners can set up their own material
which is interacting and interactive for them.
CHAPTER IV
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Committee on Achieving Compatibility in IT-Based Educational Materials. 2002. Information Technology
(IT)-Based Educational Materials. Washington DC. The National Academies Press.
Hartoyo. 2012. ICT Information and Technology in Language Learning. Semarang. Pelita Insani.
Ki and Kd of 2013 Curriculum