Developing Multimedia EFL Content-based Materials to Improve Learners’ English
Proficiency
Henny Putri Saking Wijaya
Petra Christian University, Surabaya
Ridwan Sanjaya
Soegijapranata Catholic University, Semarang
EFL learners have a tendency to study English only in the classroom. As a result, it is
quite difficult for them to improve their English proficiency. As young generations, they
have high interest in using computers. In order to challenge learners’ motivation in
learning English, English teachers try to integrate the use of multimedia as a part of the
subject. The use of technology in language classrooms is a supportive teaching tool
because the classroom activities are not sufficient to ensure mastery of learners’ English
proficiency. This presentation describes the design of a CALL program for self-access
study. It is created to help learners improve their English proficiency by doing
supplementary online materials which cover the topics of the learners’ major study.
Introduction
In the globalization era, technology plays an important role in the society. People
have to adjust themselves with the development of technology. Technology is used not
only for business but also for education. In the field of EFL education, the development
of technology for the learning process never stops. EFL teachers try to improve the
technology so that the weaknesses of the technology used can be limited.
Nowadays E-Learning or electronic-based learning through electronic media,
especially internet, is considered as the educational solution for students to get
knowledge or improve their language proficiency. The learners’ high interest in using
computers leads to the booming of learning through internet. Since they were in the
elementary school, they have learned how to operate a computer and used some programs
for playing games. They use most of their time playing computer games or working their
assignment. It means that learners cannot be separated from computer and Internet. Thus,
EFL teachers should consider this phenomenon as an opportunity to arouse learners’
motivation of learning English by integrating multimedia, in terms of computer and
Internet, as a part of English subject.
English in the classroom
According to Rost (2005), “in virtually every language learning setting, but
particularly in EFL settings, learners cannot make and sustain sufficient progress in the
L2 because they do not receive enough instruction, not nearly enough attention in class,
not nearly enough input or meaningful interaction or opportunities for serious output.”
This condition also happens in Indonesia.
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Tertiary educational institutions may not include English in their curricula if they
are aware that the education process in their institutions should have more focus on the
courses dealing with the students’ major background rather than English (refer to Act
No.2/1989 on National Educational System Chapter IV Article 22). English for nonEnglish departments is taught to develop students’ positive attitude towards foreign
language.
In most tertiary educational institutions, English is only a two-credit subject
which lasts for approximately 100 minutes every week. This condition makes EFL
teachers unable to teach all the knowledge effectively. They must select the language
focus and skills which are helpful for the learners’ academic needs. EFL teachers must
cover all the materials in a limited time. Meanwhile, EFL learners are unable to improve
their English because they learn it once a week. In addition, they hardly ever use English
outside the classroom and there are no activities outside the classroom which force them
to learn English.
“Some studies in language immersion have estimated that a typical learner needs
a minimum of 4 hours a week of quality contact with a language in order to make
progress. Even if this estimate is not true for all learners, it is clear to most EFL teachers
that learners need more language instruction than teachers can provide in the classroom”
(ibid.). This shows that EFL learners in Indonesia lack of English input since they only
get less than 2 hours a week of quality contact with English.
As a result, when learners graduate from their university, they cannot compete
with other graduates who are from international universities because their English
proficiency is low.
Computer and Internet as educational aids
The use of computers and Internet in education generally, and in the teaching and
learning of English in particular, continues to increase at an extraordinary speed.
According to Kenning and Kenning (1983: 2-3), there are several advantages of using
computers in the learning process:

Computer gives individual attention to the learner at the console and replies to him.

Computer acts as a tutor, assessing the learner’s reply, recording it, pointing out
mistakes, giving explanations.

Computer guides the learner towards the correct answer, and generally adapts the
material to his or her performance.

Computer offers privacy, which relieves learners from the fear of being ridiculed
for their mistakes by their classmates.

Computer allows learners to work on their own, in their own time, and most
importantly, at their own pace.

Computer is patient and will tirelessly go over the same points for as long as is
necessary.

Computer is consistent, unbiased, and has no “off days”.

Computer can record the test and track the progress of the learner.
These benefits distinguish computers from other pieces of equipment. Meanwhile,
the use of Internet also brings an advantage for language learning since there are various
kinds of Learning Management System (LMS) software such as ATutor, Moodle, Sakai
Project, and many others. LMS existing nowadays provides facilities such as forum, blog,
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chat, learning process, collections of questions, scoring, multimedia support, wiki, group
assignment, and language support.
Moreover, “students generally have a positive attitude toward technology in the
classroom. Studies have consistently shown that students have positive attitudes about
computer technology being used in the classroom and that such technology does have a
positive impact (Warden, 1995; Chen, 1988; Nash et al., 1989; Brady, 1990; Herrmann,
1987; Johnson, 1988; Phinney & Mathis, 1988 cited in Chen, 1996).
ATutor as learning software
ATutor (www.atutor.ca) as one kind of LMS software provides the facilities for
EFL teachers to integrate the materials in the classroom with the computer and Internet.
The following statements are some justifications of using ATutor as the learning
software:

It is user-friendly.

Its size is only 2,451 KB.

It has many features which can be used in the teaching and learning English.
One of the features is Test and Survey. This feature consists of Question Database
and Question Category. In these sub features, EFL teachers can write various types of
questions and put them in different categories. The categories can be Structure,
Vocabulary and Reading. The following picture shows the Question Database which
already put in different Question Category.
Picture 1. Question Database and Question Category
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In each category, the materials vary, depending on the non-English departments
available. The materials should fulfill the language needs for non-English department
learners. They should give a lot of language inputs for EFL learners. The samples of
reading, structure and vocabulary materials written for Informatics Engineering can be
seen in Picture 2, 3 and 4.
Picture 2. Reading material
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Picture 3. Structure material
Picture 4. Vocabulary material
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Besides the Question Database and Question Category features, ATutor also
offers a facility for EFL teachers to control Internet users who want to access the
program. The following picture provides information related to the accessibility of the
program.
Picture 5. Access
The accessibility is related not only to who can access the program but also how many
times a learner can access each material.
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Picture 6. Accessibility of material
The picture above illustrates that EFL teachers can control the learners’ frequency of
doing the same exercises.
Integrating multimedia and language classroom
The CALL program designed by using ATutor is a self-access study which should
be integrated in the basic course outline (BCO). When this program is a part of BCO,
EFL learners are forced to learn English outside the classroom. EFL teachers should set
the minimum frequency of accessing the program. EFL learners might have a tendency to
fulfill the minimum frequency in order to get a good grade. As a consequence, they will
have additional activities outside the classroom which can help them get more language
inputs.
Furthermore, EFL teachers can check the language difficulty used in the materials
from the records saved every time the learners do the exercises. In the accessibility of
material, EFL teachers can identify whether the exercises provided are too difficult or too
easy. In this program, learners can have more than one opportunity to do the exercises. If
most learners are able to do an exercise in one time, it means that the material can be too
easy. However, if most learners are not able to do an exercise until it is blocked, it means
that the exercise might be too difficult for them. When learners have more English
exposure, their English proficiency can be improved.
Besides checking the language difficulty, EFL teachers can check their learners’
language progress. The results recorded when learners do an exercise and the frequency
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of doing the same exercise will prove whether or not they show a significant progress in
their English. When the teachers find some learners who do not show a good progress,
they can create new kinds of question database which can help these learners improve
their English.
Conclusion
The role of computer and Internet in the EFL learning is significantly increasing
as technology develops each day. The existence of ATutor as one of LMS software can
be a supportive teaching tool. EFL teachers can design a CALL program as a self-access
study for non-English department learners who lack of language inputs if they only learn
English in the classroom. By integrating this program in the BCO, it is hoped that this
program can motivate EFL learners to learn English outside the classroom. Moreover, the
materials covering the learners’ major study can make the materials more interesting
since they can help learners understand the terms used in their major study.
References
Chen, J.F. 1996. CALL is not a Hammer and not Every Teaching Problem is a Nail!. The
Internet TESL Journal, Vol. II, No. 7. Retrieved November 10, 2007 from
http://iteslj.org/Articles/Chen-CALL.html.
Kenning, M.J., and M-M. Kenning. 1983. An Introduction to Computer Assisted
Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rost, M. 2005. Generating Student Motivation. Selected Presentation Summaries of the
25th Annual Thailand TESOL International Conference: Surfing the Waves of Change
in ELT. Bangkok.
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