The Perception and Motivation of the Second Year Students of English Education Department of University of Islam Malang in Taking Online Learning Activities

Abstract

This research presents the perception and motivation of fourth semester students in taking online learning activities. In Indonesia, the online learning system before 2020 was still not as massive as it is today. The peak use of the online learning system began in 2020 when the Corona virus attacked the entire world and forced people to do activities in their respective homes, including teaching and learning activities. Therefore, the researcher conducted a study to investigate the perception and motivation of students in taking online learning activities. This research used a qualitative descriptive approach with a descriptive study as the research design. The subjects were 22 students of the fourth semester of English Education Department, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, University of Islam Malang. The participants were chosen randomly from class 4A-4D. To investigate students’ perception and motivation, the researcher used online questionnaire and interview as the methods of collecting data. The instruments used by the researcher were online questionnaire and interview. The findings showed that the perception and motivation of the students in taking online learning activities differed from each other. From the perceptions data, the perceptions of the students in taking online learning activities were positive in some aspects, for example, the role of the lecturers in explaining learning materials during online learning. Unfortunately, the perceptions of the students in taking online learning activities were negative related to the effectiveness of online learning and their English skill. They thought that the online learning system is not effective because of so many difficulties they found such as unstable network and less interaction. Then from the motivations data, the students were motivated; they always motivate their selves to study even though the situation was uncomfortable. However, the students were less motivated since this online learning system has never been felt before, and also this pandemic has been running for a long time; the students felt bored with this situation and even lost their motivations. The researcher suggested the lecturers to have to give and explain the materials to the students as good as possible, not only sharing materials without explanation and giving assignments, in order that the students can understand the materials well. The lecturers should also motivate and remind the students to study hard even though the situation was not comfortable because of Covid-19 pandemic. Then for the students, they have to always motivate their selves to study hard even though the situation was not comfortable for them. In the next research, for future researchers who take interest in the field of students’ perceptions and motivations experiencing online learning can use more instruments and participants in data collection to verify the results clearer and more detailed. Keywords: Students’ Perception, Students’ Motivation, Online Learning