USING FACEBOOK GROUP DISCUSSION TO IMPROVE THE WRITING
ABILITY OF THE FOURTH SEMESTER STUDENTS AT ENGLISH
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF
UIN ALAUDDIN MAKASSAR
Erwin Hafid
English Education Department of UIN Alauddin Makassar
erwinhaf@gmail.com
ABSTRACT: The objective of this study was to solve the students’ problems in
writing an essay by utilizing facebook group. This study was focused on improving the
students’ ability in writing an argumentative essay. Their writing was assessed based
on the content, organization, grammar, and mechanic. The research design applied in
this study was a collaborative classroom action research consisting of 2 cycles
covering 4 meetings for each cycle. The instruments used were writing test, and
observation checklist. Further, the data analysis techniques involved in this study were
comparative descriptive analysis and statistic analysis. The findings of this study
showed that facebook group improved the students writing ability in which the mean
score in the preliminary test was only 9 classified as unacceptable, 14 classified as
adequate to fair in the first cycle, and 18 classified as good to excellent in the second cycle.
This research was successful to solve the students’ writing problems by using
facebook group.
Keywords: facebook group discussion, writing ability, argumentative essay
INTRODUCTION
Teaching writing for university students is not an easy job. Most students assume
that writing is the most complex skills from the three other skills; listening, speaking, and
reading (Cahyono & Widiati, 2011: 69). It was supported by the evidence obtained from
the preliminary study at the fourth semester students offering 7 and 8 conducted
collaboratively by the researcher and lecturer on March 5th, 2014. It was found that most
of the students at the class found some difficulties in writing a paragraph. The writing
problems faced by the students at the class accounted for lack of vocabulary,
grammatical writing problems, stylistic writing problems, words-used writing problems,
and punctuation problems. In addition, the students also had some troubles how to
generate, elaborate, develop and organize their ideas because of lack of reading.
1
To solve the problems stated previously, the researcher utilized one of the
greatest media which could be utilized or implemented in teaching writing at the
university level; namely Facebook Group. Facebook is a social networking website founded
in 2004 which has quickly become one of the leading social networking websites in the
world (White, 2008: 28). Lim (2010) reports that Indonesia is the fourth highest number
of Facebook users in the world after US, UK, and Turkey, numbering 18.9 million. Most
of the users in Indonesia are Senior and Junior High School students. They are now
spending more and more time online, and on facebook. Yunus and Salehi (2012: 87)
have conducted a study in order to find out the effectiveness of Facebook group on
teaching and improving students’ writing. The findings show that facebook has positive
affective influences on the improvement of the students’ writing. Also, the spell-check
feature helps reduce their spelling errors. Then, the ideas or opinions by peers help them
on getting a better idea for writing and they also find it easier to complete their essays
after participating in the FB group discussion.
Furthermore, the research problem of this research was “how can Facebook be
implemented to improve the writing ability of the fourth semester students at English
Education Department of UIN Alauddin Makassar?”. Then, the research objective was
to solve the students’ problems in writing an essay by utilizing facebook group. In addition,
this research was beneficial practically in the context for the students (they can improve
their writing ability), the lecturers (they can implement facebook group to solve their
students’ writing problems), and the further researcher (they can use the finding of this
study as one of their references). Finally, this study was focused on improving the
students’ ability in writing an argumentative essay. Their writing was assessed based on
the content, organization, grammar, and mechanic. To ease the students write the essay,
the students were limited the number of words being involved in their writing at most
500 words.
2
LITERATURE REVIEW
A number of studies had been conducted in order to investigate the effectiveness
of facebook group as the media in teaching writing. First, Suthiwartnarueput and
Wasanasomsithi (2012: 194 – 2140) reported their research findings that facebook group
enhanced the students’ grammatical and writing competence. It was supported by the
evidence that the students gained higher scores in the post-test at a significant level (t =
6.65, p = 0.00). Additionally, they reported that the students had positive attitudes
toward Facebook. From their thoughts, Facebook not only gave them convenience to
study at their own pace but also enhanced their grammatical knowledge and
subsequently enhanced writing competence after they had discussions with the teacher
and Facebook friends.
Furthermore, Yunus and Salehi (2012: 87 – 96) report their research findings that
Facebook group does help in students’ writing, especially in the brainstorming process
before the actual writing. The students’ responses have also showed that most
respondents agree that they learn new vocabulary from reading the comments of others
in the group, and the spell-check feature helps reduce their spelling errors.
It can be concluded that facebook group is effective to improve the students’
writing ability. Therefore, the researcher chose it as the media to solve students’
problems in writing an argumentative essay occurring in the fourth semester students of
English Education Department of UIN Alauddin Makassar.
Facebook
This section presented the function of facebook as a social networking
community as well as the advantages of facebook in teaching.
a. Facebook as a social networking community
Facebook is a Web 2.0 application serving a large online community amongst college
students (Suthiwartnarueput and Wasanasomsithi, 2012: 194). Facebook originated
3
2004 by Mark Zuckerberg in Harvard University to facilitate social interaction
exclusively. Facebook is one of the most popular social networking sites which allow
users to post information, chat with others, and collaborate within the system
(Stelter, 2008). Then, FB clearly has the ability to connect learners with each other in
new networks of collaborative learning that are both social and academic in nature
(Selwyn, 2007).
b. Advantages of Facebook in Teaching
Facebook can also provide many pedagogical advantages to teachers. It helps the
teacher make a connection with students about assignments, upcoming event, useful
links, and samples of work originating from both inside and outside of classrooms.
Using Facebook as a medium for language learning not only effectively enhances
language
competence
but
also
builds
positive
attitudes
of
students
(Suthiwartnarueput and Wasanasomsithi, 2012: 195).
Writing
Hornby (1995: 996) states that “writing is in the sense of the verb ‘write’. Write is
to make letters or other symbols on a surface, especially with a pen or a pencil on a
paper”. Heaton (1988) claims that a good piece of writing should contain five main
components: language use, mechanical skills, treatment of content, stylistic skills and
judgment skills. Furthermore, Hughes (2003: 104) states in writing a composition the
writer should consider the content, organization, grammar, language used, and
mechanical convention used in a composition in order to make the composition become
a well-organized composition.
Moreover, there are some stages of writing that should be considered by writers
before they write a composition. The stages are; prewriting, drafting, revising, editing,
and publishing (Hyland, 2003: 11). In other version, Harmer (2004: 5) states writing
stages or writing process starting from planning, drafting, editing, and final draft.
4
Additionally, Fachrurracy (2011: 90) states that writing stages starting from finding a
topic, outlining, drafting, revising, and editing, and writing final product and publishing.
Argumentative Essay
An argumentative essay is an essay in which we agree or disagree with an issue,
using reasons to support our opinion (Oshima and Hogue, 2006: 142). The main goal of
an argumentative essay is to convince the reader that our opinion is right. Furthermore,
the organization of an argumentative essay accounts for introduction, body, conclusion
paragraph. First, introduction paragraph should clearly state our position for an issue
whether we agree or not. It is well-known as a thesis statement. Second, body paragraph
accounts for our reason for an issue and the opposing point of view. Finally, conclusion
paragraph deals with the statement of the main point of our writing.
RESEARCH METHOD
The researcher conducted a Collaborative Classroom Action Research which
involved a cycle of planning, implementation, observation, and reflection. The procedure
of the classroom action research used in this study was presented as the following
Preliminary
Study
Planning
Implementation
Concluding and
Reporting
Observation
Succeed
Reflection
Revising the Planning
for Next Cycle
Fail
Figure 1. CAR Procedure Developed Based on Kemmis & McTaggart (Burns, 2010)
5
This research was the fourth semester students offering 7 & 8 at English
Education Department of UIN Alauddin Makassar in academic year of 2014/2015 for
three months started from June to September. There were 31 students in the class
covering 9 boys and 22 girls. Then, the research participants of this study were the
lecturer as the actor and the researcher as the observer.
The criteria of success of this study were determined by two components,
namely the teaching process and the students’ score in which 70% of the students were
involved during the learning process, and 70% of the students responded positively to
the use of Facebook Group in improving their ability in writing an argumentative essay,
and then 70% out of 31 students’ scores achieved the Minimum Passing Grade which
had be determined. Next, the data gained in this study were both qualitative and
quantitative data. Furthermore, the research instruments used to obtain valid data were
writing test, and observation checklist. The data obtained was analyzed by using comparative
descriptive analysis; and statistical analysis
The research procedures involved in this study were plan, action, observation,
and reflection. The procedures as follows:
Plan
In this step, the researcher and lecturer arranged every single thing needed to be
done both students and lecturer in the action step. They designed a facebook group
being used as the teaching media. Furthermore, they prepared all instruments needed to
obtain valid data, such as preliminary test, achievement test, observation guidelines,
answer sheets, and topic being written by students.
Action
In this section, the lecturer taught writing an argumentative essay to students
based on the researcher’s instruction. The procedures were divided into three sections in
the terms of pre-writing, whilst-writing, and post-writing activities. The teaching procedures as
follows;
6
Pre-writing Activities
1. Greet students and check the presence list.
2. Explain to students the structure as well as the characteristics of argumentative
essay
3. Introduce to students the concept of the use of facebook group in teaching
argumentative essay.
4. Ask students to access their facebook account and to join with the facebook group
designed by teacher.
5. Explain to students how to utilize facebook group in writing argumentative
essay.
Whilst-writing Activities
1. Assign students to small and heterogeneous groups of four or five. In addition,
the students can also be assigned in pairs as well as in individual writing.
2. Distribute to the groups an example of argumentative essay.
3. Ask the groups to analyze or identify the structure and the characteristics of
argumentative essay that have been explained by the teacher in the pre-writing
activities.
4. Ask one of the representatives of each group to present the result of their
analysis of the structure and the characteristics of argumentative essay.
5. Ask the groups to decide on a topic posted by the teacher in facebook group before
coming to the classroom. Also, the teacher may allow the group to choose their
own topic.
6. Ask the group to write an outline, rough draft, and final writing of argumentative
essay.
7. Ask the group to rewrite it correctly in facebook group wall to make it sound as
professional as possible.
8. Move around among the groups to control and help them if they need any
assistance.
7
Post-writing Activities
1. Ask the students to comment or to provide feedback on their friends’ writing on
the comment feature in the facebook group by using a peer rubric
2. Provide reinforcements for students in order to remind them what they have
learned at the meeting.
3. Assess the students writing by utilizing a rubric.
Observation
In this step, the researcher as the observer observed every single thing happening
in the classroom such the students’ activities in the learning and teaching process. Then,
he also observed both weaknesses and strengths of the use of facebook group as the
media in teaching writing.
Reflection
In this step, the researcher and lecturer analyzed the weaknesses identified in the
teaching and learning process. After analyzing the weaknesses, they analyzed the factors
affecting the weaknesses. Also, in this step, they planned what do at the next step.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
The Findings of Preliminary Study
The preliminary study was conducted on March 5th, 2014 at the fourth semester
students offering 7 and 8 at English Language Teaching at Alauddin State Islamic
University of Makassar. From this preliminary study, it was found that most of the
students at the class viewed writing as the most difficult English skill comparing to the
three other skills. The writing problems faced by the students at the class accounted for
lack of vocabulary, grammatical writing problems, stylistic writing problems, words-used
writing problems, and punctuation problems. In addition, the students also had some
troubles how to generate, elaborate, develop and organize their ideas because of lack of
reading. Furthermore, the results of preliminary writing test as follows;
8
Table 2. The Result of Preliminary Writing Test
Component
Scores
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
6 – 11
1–5
Grade
A
B
C
D
E
Frequency
7
16
8
%
22.6 %
51.6 %
25.8 %
Criteria
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Organization
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
6 – 11
1–5
A
B
C
D
E
1
7
21
2
3.2 %
22.6 %
67.7 %
6.5 %
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Grammar
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
6 – 11
1–5
A
B
C
D
E
1
17
10
3
3.2 %
54.8 %
32.3 %
9.7 %
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Mechanic
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
6 – 11
1–5
A
B
C
D
E
3
26
2
9.7 %
83.9 %
6.5 %
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Total Score
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
6 – 11
1–5
A
B
C
D
E
3.2 %
25.8 %
61.3 %
9.7 %
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Content
1
8
19
3
Table 2 showed that after calculating all the components the mean score of the
students’ writing ability in the preliminary writing test was only 9 classified as unacceptable.
Therefore, it was concluded that the students’ writing ability should also be improved in
order to achieve the criteria of success of this study.
9
The Results of Achievement Writing Test in the First Cycle
The achievement test in the first cycle was conducted on April 2th, 2014 at the
fourth semester students at English Language Teaching of Tarbiyah and Teaching
Science Faculty at Alauddin State Islamic University of Makassar. The results as follows;
Table 3. The Result of Achievement Writing Test in the First Cycle
Component
Scores
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
11 – 6
5–1
Grade
A
B
C
D
E
Frequency
5
10
10
5
1
%
16.1 %
32.3 %
32.3 %
16.1 %
3.2 %
Criteria
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Organization
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
11 – 6
5–1
A
B
C
D
E
3
10
12
5
1
9.8 %
32.3 %
38.7 %
16.1 %
3.2 %
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Grammar
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
11 – 6
5–1
A
B
C
D
E
5
11
9
4
2
16.1 %
35.5 %
29 %
12.9 %
6.5 %
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Mechanic
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
11 – 6
5–1
A
B
C
D
E
4
9
12
5
1
12.9 %
29 %
38.7 %
16.1 %
3.2 %
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Total Score
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
11 – 6
5–1
A
B
C
D
E
4
11
9
6
1
12.9 %
35.5 %
29 %
19.4%
3.2 %
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Content
10
Table 3 showed after calculating all the components the mean score of the
students’ writing ability in the achievement writing test in the first cycle was only 14
classified as adequate to fair. Therefore, it was concluded that the students’ writing ability
should also be improved in order to achieve the criteria of success of this study.
The Results of Achievement Writing Test in the Second Cycle
The achievement writing test in the second cycle was conducted on April 30th,
2014 at the fourth semester students at English Language Teaching of Tarbiyah and
Teaching Science Faculty at Alauddin State Islamic University of Makassar. The results
as follows;
Table 4. The Result of Achievement Writing Test in the Second Cycle
Component
Scores
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
11 – 6
5–1
Grade
A
B
C
D
E
Frequency
13
18
-
%
41.9 %
58.1 %
-
Criteria
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Organization
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
11 – 6
5–1
A
B
C
D
E
25
6
-
80.7 %
19.3 %
-
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Grammar
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
11 – 6
5–1
A
B
C
D
E
23
8
-
74.2 %
25.8 %
-
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Mechanic
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
11 – 6
5–1
A
B
C
D
E
24
7
-
77.4 %
22.6 %
-
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Content
11
Total Score
18 – 20
15 – 17
12 – 14
11 – 6
5–1
A
B
C
D
E
23
8
-
74.2 %
25.8 %
-
Excellent to Good
Good to Adequate
Adequate to Fair
Unacceptable
Not College Level Work
Table 4 showed that after calculating all the components the mean score of the
students’ writing ability in the achievement writing test in the second cycle improved
significantly in which it was 18 classified as excellent to good. Therefore, it was concluded
that this research should be stopped because the students’ writing ability have improved
and achieved the criteria of success of this study.
The Results of Observation
The results of observation being discussed in this section were the observation
conducted both in the first cycle and in the second cycle. The results as follows:
Table 5. The Results of Observation
No
.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
Aspects
Feeling happy using facebook in their writing class
Learning new vocabulary from comments.
Commenting their friends comments actively
Asking questions in facebook group
Being easier to complete essays after participation.
Getting a better idea before writing.
Reducing spelling error through spell check feature.
Reading materials before sharing them
Distracted by other features of Facebook.
Feeling comfortable posting ideas or opinions.
Feeling encouraged when friends ‘like’ my comments.
Preferring discussing on FB group instead of classroom.
Chatting with their FB friends
Playing online games
Listening music
Doing other assignments from other lecturers
Taking pictures through laptop and/or handphone
12
Findings
Cycle 1 Cycle 2
100 %
100 %
100 %
100 %
90.3 %
100 %
80.7 % 90.3 %
38.7 % 90.3 %
100 %
100 %
80.7 %
100 %
100 %
100 %
90.3 % 16.1 %
25.8 %
100 %
100 %
100 %
100 %
100 %
90.3 %
9.8 %
12.9 %
0%
6.5 %
0%
0%
0%
12.9 %
0%
18.
19.
20.
Posting new status out of the FB group
Downloading movie, song, and/or film
Using Google translation
100 %
9.8 %
100 %
9.8 %
0%
100 %
Table 5 above showed the results of observation conducted by the researcher
during the teaching and learning process both in the first cycle and the second cycle. It
indicated that there were many advantages of facebook group in teaching writing
identified during the teaching and learning process. First, 100 % out of 31 students felt
happy using facebook in their writing class both in the first cycle and in the second cycle.
Second, 100 % out of 31 students learnt new vocabulary from comments both in the fist cycle
and in the second cycle. Third, 90.3 % out of 31 students commenting their friends comments
actively in the first cycle and being 100 % in the second cycle. Fourth, 80.7 % out of 31
students asked questions in facebook group in the first cycle and being 90.3 % in the second
cycle. Fifth, 38.7 % out of 31 students were easier to complete essays after participation in the
first cycle and being 90.3 % in the second cycle. Sixth, 100 % out of 31 got a better idea
before writing both in the first cycle and in the second cycle. Seventh, 80.7 % out of 31
reduced spelling error through spell check feature in the first cycle and being 100 % in the second
cycle. Eighth, 100 % out of 31 read materials before sharing them both in the first cycle and
in the second cycle. Ninth, 25.8 % out of 31 felt comfortable posting ideas or opinions in the
first cycle and being 100 % in the second cycle. Tenth, 100 % out of 31 students felt
encouraged when friends ‘like’ my comments, preferred discussing on FB group instead of classroom, and
used Google translation both in the first cycle and in the second cycle.
Furthermore, Table 5 above also indicated that there were many challenges faced
by students in the implementation of Facebook group in teaching writing. First, 90.3 %
out of 31 students chatted with their FB friends in the first cycle and being 9.8 % in the
second cycle. Second, 90.3 % out of 31 students were distracted by other features of Facebook
in the fist cycle and being 16.1 % in the second cycle. Third, 100 % out of 31 students
posted new status out of the FB group in the first cycle and being 9.8 % in the second cycle.
Forth, 12.9 % out of 31 students took pictures through laptop and/or handphone in the first
13
cycle and being 0 % in the second cycle. Fifth, 9.8 % out of 31 students downloaded movie,
song, and/or film in the first cycle and being 0 % in the second cycle.
The data found in this study showed that the successfulness of students in
improving their ability in writing an argumentative essay was affected by some factors.
They are; 1) facebook group promoted collaborative learning among the students
(Selwyn, 2007); 2) FB is an interesting social media; 3) FB groups’ provides ample
opportunities for students to practice and improve their writing skills (Kabilan et al.
2010); 4) FB group promotes self and peer editing; 5) FB promotes students’
responsibility; 6) FB group helped in the brainstorming process, in organizing their
thoughts before the actual writing, learning new vocabulary from reading comments of
others in the group, reducing spelling errors via the spell-check feature, helping to get a
better idea before writing from the ideas or opinions posted by friends, and students
finding it easier to complete their essays after participating in the FB group discussion;
anf 7) FB does not only give them convenience to study at their own pace but also
enhanced their grammatical knowledge and subsequently enhanced writing competence
after they had discussions with the teacher and Facebook friends (Suthiwartnarueput and
Wasanasomsithi (2012: 194 – 2140).
In contrary, this study was also found some weaknesses of the use of Facebook
in teaching writing. First, the students tended to chat with their other FB friends (not
the member of the class) with out of topics discussed in the FB group. Second, they
tend to be distracted by other features on FB while on the FB group such watching
movie in the You Tube, playing games, opening twitter, and so on. Third, they tended
to post new status out of the FB group which automatically disturbed their focus to
writing. Forth, they also tend to be selfie in which they took pictures through laptop
and/or handphone. Fifth, they tended downloaded movie, song, and/or film.
14
CONCLUSION
The results of this study showed that the use of facebook group could improve
the students’ writing ability. It could be seen from the improvements of students’ writing
scores and the students’ involvements in the teaching and learning process starting from
the fist cycle to the second cycle. Furthermore, it was found that the factors affecting the
successfulness of the use of facebook in teaching writing were; 1) Facebook group
promoted collaborative learning among the students; 2) Facebook gropu is an interesting
social media; 3) Facebook groups provides ample opportunities for students to practice
and improve their writing skills; 4) facebook group promotes self and peer editing; 5)
Facebook group promotes students’ responsibility; 6) facebook group helps in the
brainstorming process, in organizing their thoughts before the actual writing, learning
new vocabulary from reading comments of others in the group, reducing spelling errors
via the spell-check feature, helping to get a better idea before writing from the ideas or
opinions posted by friends, and students finding it easier to complete their essays after
participating in the FB group discussion; and 7) facebook group not only gives them
convenience to study at their own pace but also enhanced their grammatical knowledge
and subsequently enhanced writing competence after they had discussions with the
teacher and Facebook friends.
However, the use of Facebook in teaching writing also has some weaknesses.
The students; 1) tend to chat with their other FB friends with out of topics discussed in
the FB group; 2) tend to be distracted by other features on FB while on the FB group
such watching movie in the You Tube, playing games, opening twitter, and so on; 3)
tend to post new status out of the FB group which automatically disturbed their focus to
writing; 4) tend to be selfie in which they took pictures through laptop and/or
handphone; and 5) tend downloaded movie, song, and/or film.
15
Recommendation
Since this study has been successful to improve the students’ writing ability, it is
suggested that the English lecturers/teachers can apply or adapted the above procedures
based on the students’ situation and problem to improve the students’ writing ability.
The researcher also suggests that the lecturers/teachers have to explain the advantages
of the use facebook group in writing course to the students so that they can realize that
what they are doing is very useful. Then, the researcher also suggests that the teacher
should make those activities as attractive as possible because all of the good strategy
should be designed as good as possible to attract the students’ interest.
Finally, it is recommended that further researches could focus more on the
challenges of integrating FB groups for teaching and improving writing, and look into
the perception of teachers as well. Experimental studies regarding this research topic
could also be done to see how the affective influences of FB and FB groups help in
improving students’ writing skills.
16
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