Edmodo-Aided Language Exposure to Boost False Beginners’
Language Performance
Suharno Suharno
Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Jl DR Setiabudi 229, Bandung, Indonesia
Keywords: Language exposure, language performance, quantitative data.
Abstract: Lack of exposure in language learning is commonly believed to result in low performance in real
communication encounters. It is publicly acknowledged that graduates of high schools and universities in
Indonesia are generally incompetent to handle even for survival communication purposes regardless years of
studying the language, commonly termed as false beginners (Beare, 2017). The popularizing use of social
edu-media has open up possibilities to provide engaging language exposure to boost the learners’ language
performance. Edmodo, as one of social learning platform is believed to be able to cater the needs of the
exposure. The research is aimed at investigating how much Edmodo-aided exposure can enhance students’
language performance at the end of the semester. Quantitative data were gathered from a sample of 74 students
who completed a pre-test at the beginning and a post-test at the end of the semester. The result of the analyses
showed that Edmodo-Aided Language exposure had significantly enhanced students’ language performance.
1 INTRODUCTION
It is a common knowledge that secondary school
graduates in Indonesia are usually unable to
communicate in English even for simple
communicative purposes despite the fact it is
compulsory subject at schools, and the graduates have
lengthily studied the language. Nukamto (2003),
Setiyadi and Sutarsyah (in Putra, 2015), assert that
one of the main causes is that students are taught
knowledge of the language, not skills. Teaching and
learning fall into discussing strategies to be able to
tackle test problems like UAN (National Final
Examination).
Methodologists suggest that exposure is
imperative to acquire the learned language. Krashen
(1981) distinguishes acquisition from learning. The
first happens to those who especially acquire L1
through a subconscious process during which they are
unaware of grammatical rules, while the latter refers
to conscious process, like those learning L2. Krashen
(1981) suggests that in order to acquire L2, the learner
needs a source of natural communication. The
emphasis is on the text of the communication, not the
form. In other words, in order acquisition to happen,
give students big loads of practices in a real-like
designed situations rather than learning forms of
language. Galliotapril (2007) stresses that language
acquisition is a matter of exposure. Hardwick (2015)
confirms that the more the students are exposed to L2,
the better. Immersing students in L2 helps them use it
more independently and this can lead to increased
confidence and better vocabulary. Therefore, it is
obvious that teaching knowledge of language (form),
not function in Indonesia, is not in accordance with
language acquisition.
The emergence of ICT followed by the invention
of social media has brought about substantial changes
in language learning. Teacher can facilitate his/her
students with ample exposure to the learned language
virtually outside the classroom. Students can share
and collaborate with classmates and get access to
boundless learning sources. Numerous research on
edu-media has been reported to enhance learning,
thus improving students’ language performance.
Teaching and learning process, however,
practically remains unchanged. Teachers are reluctant
to make use of ICT and social media; besides,
teaching language forms is dominant in the
classroom. As a result, students have missed language
exposure to widen the opportunities to acquire
language skills to eventually enhance their language
performance.
Suharno, S.
Edmodo-Aided Language Exposure to Boost False Beginners’ Language Performance.
DOI: 10.5220/0007167303590364
In Proceedings of the Tenth Conference on Applied Linguistics and the Second English Language Teaching and Technology Conference in collaboration with the First International Conference
on Language, Literature, Culture, and Education (CONAPLIN and ICOLLITE 2017) - Literacy, Culture, and Technology in Language Pedagogy and Use, pages 359-364
ISBN: 978-989-758-332-2
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved
359

1.1 Edmodo
Foreign language teaching and learning nowadays
has been revolutionized along with the emergence of
ICT and social media. Even though the roles of
teachers are irreplaceable, ICT and social media have
taken a big portion of the roles. Moreover, teaching
and learning can take place in no time and no place.
Learners can follow their teachers’ instruction and
submit assignments from distance. Learners can
interact with their teachers, classmates, parents
whenever they like. However, in case of foreign
language learning, the advancement in technology
has made exposure to the language massive that can
facilitate acceleration of acquisition that leads to
progressing language performance.
Edmodo, education social media founded in San
Mateo in 2008, is one of the most popular edu-media
with 76.9 million users in May 2017. It is currently
being adopted by teachers and students in every US
state and in over 210 countries. In addition, 85 of the
100 largest school districts in the US have officially
adopted Edmodo to support their objectives for
driving online learning and collaboration for their
students. It is used to share educational content,
manage projects and assignments, conduct quizzes
and facilitate highly engaging learning experiences
among students and teachers. The platform allows
teachers, students, parents, school and district
administrators, and content publishers to each play a
role in supporting student learning objectives.
Numerous studies have been conducted to find out
users’ perception, preferences, and effectiveness of
this platform to facilitate learning for university
students. Take, for example (Purnawarman at all,
2016), (Balasubramanian at all, 2014), Ali (2016),
(Charoenwet and Christensen, 2016), (Ekici, 2017),
etc., showing that this platform is proven to be
effective. In addition, users, especially students and
teachers, give positive perception on the application.
1.2 Language Exposure
Major dictionaries defines ‘exposure’ as the state of
being in contact with something. In relation to
language learning, however, exposure refers to the
learners’ contact or interaction with the language they
are learning. According to Dulay at all (1985)
language environment '...includes everything the
language learner hears and sees in L2. It may cover a
wide variety of situations - exchanges in restaurants
and stores, conversations with friends, watching
television, reading street signs and newspapers, as
well as classroom activities
Spitek (2002) emphasizes the importance of
exposure as the necessity to be proficient and
productive English language learners. He asserts that
English language learners (ELLs) should be given a
lot of opportunities to interact in academic and social
like circumstances in the classroom. As a matter of
fact, it is common knowledge that in Indonesia,
language exposure is often neglected by teachers.
Teachers are reluctant to use L2 during the class
session. Traditional way of teaching in which teacher
dominates is common sight in foreign language class.
Mukundan (2016) says that teachers are dull as they
lose their creativities, teaching with incompatible
methodologies and approaches. He urges that
teachers have to design their class so that the students
can use the language they are learning.
1.3 False Beginners
Major English dictionaries define a beginner as
someone who has just started to do or to learn
something. If transferred to an English for Another
Language (EAL) learner, the term refers to someone
who has just started English learning. Beare (2017)
divides beginners into absolute or true (also Monaco,
2017) and false. The first refers to those who have had
no or very little English instruction, while the latter
refers to the learners who have studied English at
length but never required any real grasp of the
language. Jone (2013) postulates that absolute
beginners are the students who have no or very little
knowledge of English and they have to be taught the
basic rules and vocabulary to be able to perform in
simple communicative situations However, Grundy
(2013) claims that, thanks to the status of English as
a world language, there is no real beginner of English.
Particularly nowadays, most students are exposed to
English through gadgets, social media, music, films,
online games, etc., traditional categorization may not
be taken into account.
The first year Indonesian Language and Literature
Education students learning English, in this respect,
fall into false beginners of learners as they have
studied the language at length but fail to acquire the
language even for survival communication. The
average TOEFL score is below 400, the score
categorized as low beginners by English Testing
Service (ETS). They have little English skills despite
the fact that they have experienced learning the
language and, they are not isolated from English as
they come in contact with the language quite often
especially through electronic and social media.
CONAPLIN and ICOLLITE 2017 - Tenth Conference on Applied Linguistics and the Second English Language Teaching and Technology
Conference in collaboration with the First International Conference on Language, Literature, Culture, and Education
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1.4 Competence and Performance
Chomsky defines language competence as what a
speaker intuitively knows about his language (Robin,
1980:p37); that is the system of rules and symbols
that provides a formal representation of underlying
syntactic, semantic, and phonological structure of
sentence (Crystal, 1987) while language performance
refers to the actual use of language in concrete
situations (Robin, 1980:p37); it is the actual
application of this competence in speaking and
listening (Chomsky, in Clark and Clark, 1977).
Competence, which is the knowledge of language is
distinguished with performance, ability to use the
knowledge in real communication. Performance is
frequently not an accurate reflection of competence.
Take for example, if a speaker of English makes
mistakes in daily conversation is not necessarily
resulted from lack of knowledge, but it is attributable
to variety of performance factors like tiredness,
boredom, drunkenness, or other distractions (Gleason
and Ratner, 1993).
Various studies in L2 acquisition (SLA) shows
that language performance can be enhanced through
exposures of L2. The study conducted by
Thordadottir (2011) confirms that there is close
relationship between exposure and performance. As
previously defined, exposure means the state of being
in contact with something, thus, being exposed to
language being learned (L2) means that the learner
see, hear, speak, read, and write in the language being
learned. In the era of internet and digital technology,
it is not hard to be in contact with L2 as leaners watch
TV, listen to songs, read internet content, etc., in L2.
Study by Kupphens (2010) shows that foreign
language exposure through television result in foreign
language acquisition. Larsson and MacLeod’s study
(2011) strongly indicates that music, electronic, and
social media are important sources of English
exposure that has significant influence on learners’
foreign language acquisition.
2 METHODS AND PROCEDURES
The participants of the study were 74 freshman
majoring in Indonesian language and literature
education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. They
learned English as a compulsory subject in one
semester.
Teaching and learning process was
conventionally took place in the classroom but
quizzes, mid-semester test and final examination
were managed online through Edmodo. For the
purpose of the research, which is to find out the effect
of Edmodo-aided exposure on the students’ language
performance, however, the students were initially
given a pre-test. Due to time constrain, the tests were
only productive test, speaking and writing. Then, the
students were given various engaging online
activities through Edmodo to expose them with target
language. To find out how much effect of exposure to
the participants, they were given post-test, in the form
of performance test using the test material and rubrics
which were similar to those used in pre-test. To find
out how they perceived their learning experience
aided with Edmodo, making use of its feature, Poll, a
small-scale survey, with only 4 questions, was
administered.
During the research, the students were assigned to
participate in a number of teacher-facilitated out-of-
class online activities through Edmodo. First, they
were assigned to be involved in discussion forums.
The teacher posted current issues on matters
attracting public attention as well as those close to
their world. They were to put forward opinions or
comments on the issues and their classmates’
opinions or/and comments. After a week, the issue
would be replaced with another one. Secondly, the
teacher posted links from which the students read,
listened, and watched videos, related to learned
lessons. Based on what they learned, the students
were also guided and instructed to do individual
or/and collaborative assignments, then submit them to
the teacher and share them with their friends online.
Take, for example, when they learned how to describe
one’s physical appearance, they would be exposed to
related texts, audios, and videos. When the
assignment was, for instance speaking, they had to
submit their own video showing off their skill in
describing one’s physical appearances in the form of
monolog or dialog (conversation). Their assignments
were commented by classmates and given feedback
by the teacher as well. When the feedback was
private, Edmodo feature ‘direct message’ was used.
At the final stage, the result of the test was
quantitatively analysed using t-test provided in Excel.
The analysis yielded some descriptive data such as
mean, standard deviation (SD), degree of freedom
(df), and t-value. This information was then
interpreted to discover if the hypothesis accepted or
rejected. If the t-value was greater than t-table, the
hypothesis was accepted.
Edmodo-Aided Language Exposure to Boost False Beginners’ Language Performance
361

3 RESULT, DISCUSSION, AND
RECOMMENDATION
3.1 Result
The result of pre-test and post-test were visualized in
figure 1 and 2, while the result of the poll was
depicted in figure 3.
Speaking:
Figure 1: Speaking pre-test and post-test score.
Data analysis using t-test reveals the following
information: Participant 74, df 73, S-dev 7.6, t-value
9.4, t-table at α.05 and df 73= 1.994.
Writing:
Figure 2: Writing pre-test and post-test score.
Data analysis using t-test reveals the following
information: Participant 74, df 73, S-dev 6.5, t-value
9, t-table at α.05 and df 73= 1.994.
The interpretation of the data showed that, in both
speaking and writing pre-test and post-test, t-value>t-
table. It means that, null hypothesis is rejected. This
finding from data analysis reveals that Edmodo-aided
exposure yielded significant effect on boosting
students’ language performance.
3.2 Discussion
The significant improvement in participants’
performance can be attributed to the lecturer-
participants, and participants-participants
engagement outside the classroom created by the
lecturer facilitated with Edmodo. The students were
exposed with numerous models whether they were
spoken and written English. They were, then,
practiced immensely to be able to perform well as in
the models.
The participants-participants engagement had
probably made effective exposure to the use of,
especially, interactive written English as they were
managed to involve themselves in virtual
conversation. The researcher observed that the use of
interactive written English was getting better from
time to time viewed from both quality and quantity of
written utterances produced. They wrote longer and
longer with more various diction and better grammar.
Incorporating Edmodo had probably encouraged both
participants’ engagement and responsible learning,
which was similar to the finding in
(Balasubramanian, 2014)
It was also revealed that the participants were
enthusiastic with the program from the very
beginning. This was probably as a result that this
program provided new experiences as they were
previously taught conventionally. Participants’
eagerness could be observed in their statements in
interactive conversation. Soon the researcher
provided an issue to which they had to put forward
their views and responded to each other in a virtual
discussion, most of them gave their views and
responded to their friends’ view immediately.
Figure 3: Participants’ perspective in using edmodo.
The 60 out of 74 participants (81%) were strongly
confident that Edmodo was helpful for their learning.
CONAPLIN and ICOLLITE 2017 - Tenth Conference on Applied Linguistics and the Second English Language Teaching and Technology
Conference in collaboration with the First International Conference on Language, Literature, Culture, and Education
362

None of the participants thought that the edu-media
was not helpful. The participants felt that numerous
models and chat (interactive conversation) with
classmates and lecturer had made them somewhat
accustomed to using English. Furthermore, most
participants felt that the learning platform could
enhance their English performance, as a result, they
felt more confident in using English for real
communication. Most participants believed that the
learning platform was useful not only for English but
also for other courses. 49 out of 74 participants or
66% wanted to use Edmodo in other courses, on the
other hand, only 5 out of 74 or 6.7% did not want to
use the platform in other courses.
Figure 4: Lecturer-participants, and participants-
participants engagement.
Figure 5: Participants eagerness in using Edmodo.
3.3 Recommendation
Albeit that English is viewed as a very important
subject, especially in tertiary level of education, it is
not handled professionally in Indonesian universities.
The subject is commonly given in one semester only
with the learning process that falls mostly into
translating technical texts. As a matter of fact,
students’ proficiency is regarded as ‘false beginner’
that needs exposure in the use of English for real
communication. Therefore, I recommend that
measures should be taken for students in universities
to grow their English proficiency.
First of all, the use of EMI (English as medium
instruction) in universities. EMI has been a trend in
universities outside Indonesia. Many countries have
already adopted EMI in their universities and make
measures to make effective implementation such as in
Japan (Rose and McKinley, 2018)), and China
(Ibrahim, 2004). Indonesia needs its application at
least partial immersion of the program due to
Indonesian-classroom nature (Ibrahim, 2004). EMI
can be better solution for learners’ language
problems, than learning the language as subject. It can
make room for more exposure to the language
(comprehensible input) and more opportunity to use
it (comprehensible output) (Ibrahim, 2004)
Secondly, Technology or social media should be
used to address the problems of limited exposure.
Frequent research has been conducted to see the
effectiveness and efficiency of English instructions
using technology or social media such as (Park et al.,
2012), (Gikas and Grant, 2013), (Kabilan et al.,
2010), and all suggest positive result. Given the fact
that almost all students in universities in Indonesia
nowadays can get access to internet facility, and
obviously positive result to improve student’s
proficiency, there is no reasons for not making use of
technology and social media.
And finally, the needs of guidance for lecturers
teaching General English. Teaching English in non-
English department are handled by the lecturers from
each respective department whose major are not
English. They do not have knowledge of English
teaching methodology and language acquisition, so
they do not know how to teach the language, except
what they experienced when they were students.
Therefore, it is hard to yield in good English
instruction. The lecturers need knowledge in
methodology and language acquisition, so they have
idea what to do in classroom practices. It is essential
that the university where they work provides
guidance for them.
Edmodo-Aided Language Exposure to Boost False Beginners’ Language Performance
363

4 CONCLUSIONS
The research ‘Edmodo-aided Exposure to Boost False
Beginners’ Language Performance’ confirms the
advantages of the learning platform to improve
language performance previously researched in
different ways. In addition, the learning platform is
well-liked by students. When the result is obviously
positive, the platform is also well accepted by the
students, and internet is well-accessed, the
application is on the hand of the lecturers, and support
from universities.
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Conference in collaboration with the First International Conference on Language, Literature, Culture, and Education
364