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The Use of Instagram to Enhance Students’ Interest in Writing

INTRODUCTION

1. Writing

Since the beginning of the time where it all started, the target of teaching and learning English is to make students be able to communicate in English both through verbal and non-verbal way. To achieve this, there are four basic skills that students must learn and be able to master, that are speaking, listening, reading, and writing. According to (Sheth, 2015) (Harmer, 2004) states that listening and reading are receptive skill not passive, aimed at understanding received knowledge. While speaking and writing are active or productive skills whose function is to convey the knowledge learned to others. Every expert agrees, all of the skills are important for students to learn and acquire. However, there is one of the skills that encourage students more to be productive and creative that is writing skill.

To write is not merely about writing something on the blank paper. It is the fruit of struggle from the author to convey his thought or knowledge into words. Writing is a complex process. It is a combination of process and product. Before arriving to conclusion result,  there are many steps to be followed starting from planning, drafting, editing, and final drafting,  in order to produce a piece of writing  (Harmer, How to Teach Writing, 2004). Moreover, a writer will need to express his or her ideas, experiences, thoughts, and feelings through writing, thus he or she will need to be supported by adequate language components such as grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. (Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching, 2001)

However, it is unfortunate to see the majority of the students had less interest in writing. according to (Renaldi, 2020) states that based on his observation that he conduct in SMA Muhammmadiyah 1 Unismuh Makassar. He found most of students had less interest in writing due to their beliefs that writing is un-fun and difficult thing. He also found that students are oblivious to what and where to start writing. This was all in line with (Harmer, 2004) “Many pupils' first reaction when asked to write is that they have nothing to say. On the other side, there were students who had a million thoughts and feelings that they wanted to write but could not because they did not know where to begin.”

To solve this problem, the teacher should be more aware of students and should motivate them to achieve writing. Only by doing so, students would find writing interesting. Therefore, the author suggests the use of social media to enhance students writing interest.

2. Instagram

Nowadays, the internet has now become common thing in society. Many people spend their time just to exploring the internet every day. by having internet connection , people can access social media. Simeon (Edosomwan, 2011) state that “social media is a occurrence that has changed the interaction and communication of individuals throughout the world”. It has become a pervasive interacting mechanism and the most popular online activity in recent years (Lenhart, A. and Purcell, K. and Smith, A. and Zickuhr, Kathryn, 2010) It is proven to be true that social media itself has become the part of human’s life and cannot be separated. In fact, there is a social media that stands out more from the others namely Instagram. Founded in 2010, it is a mobile application for Smartphone that users can get for free in the ApplicationStore (AppStore) and Google Play (Bergstorm & Backman, 2013). As of now, Instagram has become the top one of free social app in Playstore mark its way as the most popular social application followed by Facebook as the second then followed by Tiktok as the third. Therefore, the author initiates to choose Instagram as media to enhance writing interest

A writing ability must be centered on the pupils' comprehension of how to write well. In this scenario, writing in social media should be focused on the proper words to use depending on the object or picture about it. This study looked at how social media improves students' writing skills in a writing course. Students' interest should be demonstrated here, whether social media increased their interest in learning writing subject in order to improve writing ability or was it simply a place for them to express their emotions. Therefore, in this article, the author will look on the use of Instagram on students writing interest in writing descriptive text.

BODY

1. Instagram use in improving students writing ability

In this 21st century, as the technology improved, methods of learning are also improved. Nowadays, there is no such thing as “the only way to learn something is by doing this” but rather now with the advanced technology, the way of learning has not clocked up to one way but rather multiple ways. In English Education, there are four main skills that every student that pursuing this major are bound to master. There are speaking, listening, reading, and writing.  According to (Heaton, 1975) states that writing is complex and sometimes difficult to master, requiring advanced knowledge in area like grammar and rhetorical devices but also the conceptual elements.  From Heaton’s statement, it can be concluded that. It is a challenge for teacher who wants to teach writing to students.

In the using of Instagram to improve students writing ability, it is proven to have a good impact. In fact, based on the findings from the research “Using Instagram to Improve students’ ability and interest in wring descriptive paragraph by Saipul Renaldi” the researcher found the good result score from the post test of students. there are indic (Sulistyorini & Rahmawati, 2019)ation of percentage in  the pre-test one (10%) student got good score, two (20%) students got fair score, three (30%) students got poor score  and four (40%) students got very poor score while the rate percentage of the post-test, five (50%) got very good score, two (20%) students got good score and three (30%) students got fair score. The percentage in post-test that students got very good score was higher than percentage in pre-test. It meant that, the treatment succeeded in improving students Writing Skills. Another research dealing with the same topic, from Sulistyorini, Dwi and Rahmawati, Yusi “The use of Instagram in Improving Students’ Skill of Writing Procedure Texts” using the same instrument pre-test and post-test successfully concluded the result that the implementation of Instagram improves students’ skill of writing procedure texts appropriately. It can be seen within the experimental result “mean” from post-test in control group 79.35, and for the experimental group is 82.45. The result showed a quite significant result to development of students writing skill.

The researcher also found using Instagram can increase students’ awareness of mistake, and helps prevent the mistakes. Having an audience, particularly vocal one, helps improve students ability. The feedback from teacher or students in the comment section helps students open their mind and be aware of mistakes found in the writing.

2. Instagram use in enhancing students’ interest in writing

Another function of Instagram is to enhance students’ interest in writing. Using tool like Instagram to boost writing provides students with context and meaning to complete their assignment. According to (Ainley, Hilman, & Hidi, 2002) states there are a number of things that influence pupils' interest. Its components include task value, goals, self-intention, and attention. For starters, task value indicates that students will be interested in subjects that are important to them. When students discover topics that are valuable to them, such as writing content, they become more interested in learning. Because what pupils learn is valuable and beneficial to them. Second, goals are frequently the driving force behind someone's desire to learn something new. In this scenario, students who want to be English teachers want to use English to help them realize their dreams. Students will learn everything that piques their interest in learning English further if they have a goal. Third, when pupils focus on things or activities while writing, they are said to be paying attention.. Furthermore, according to (Harackiewicz & Hulleman, 2010) Knowledge, good emotions, information seeking (cognition), and personal values are three variables he mentions that lead to the development of interest. When people are interested in learning more about a subject, they become more skillful and informed. Increased knowledge can be beneficial since it makes people feel more competent and talented as a result of work involvement. Furthermore, when people devote more time to the activity, they may discover significance and personal value in it. Students seek to strengthen their command of the English language. Students are extremely interested in all aspects of writing. This is due to pupils' enthusiasm in writing activities. Individual goals can also help to shape interests by directing individuals to get more involved in their study, acquire competences, and delve deeper into topics. No less according to Dewey (2010:1) states that there is a glimmer of hope. There are three of them: attention, feeling, and object. The first step is to pay attention. Attention is the result of interest, and it is a requirement of sufficient attention, and every interest is manifestation of attention. Interest is something that can be taken since it supports the always active interest and all of its activities. Furthermore, emotions such as happiness, depression, frivolity, and tenderness are usually referred to as feelings. Students who are interested in anything will feel joy, whereas students who are not interested would feel depression or sentimentality toward something or an activity. The third element is the object. Interest is a sensation that combines with the item that elicits it. The association between attention and pleasant feelings toward the thing is defined as interest.

Based on the fact above and also based on the research from Saipul Renaldi and Dwi Sulistyorini, Yusi Rahmawati also dealing with improving students writing using Instagram. The researcher found out that the students enjoyed the class and they felt at ease to write their experience because they have known their errors before anything else. The engaging and motivating writing assignment on Instagram engages and motivates pupils, hence enhancing their critical thinking skills. The teaching style used in the classroom had a significant impact on attracting students' interest in studying descriptive writing. The researcher piqued the pupils' interest by discussing the materials via Instagram. The students were shown photographs with captions on Instagram to increase the way they think in writing that writing is not as difficult as they think, but it can be something enjoyable for them to accomplish, and after three therapy meetings, they were interested in studying descriptive paragraph. This clearly showed that Instagram brought good impact for students writing skill and their interest.

CONCLUSION

This study is aimed to look at the effectiveness of using Instagram as a way to improve students’ interest in writing. The result showed students’ writing interest has been improved after the treatment. Based on the result of the questionnaire that had been answered by students, shows the effectiveness of using Instagram to improve writing interest has positively given a good and positive impact. Not only for writing interest, based on the result’ treatment, the mean score of students’ pre-test (47.3) is lower than post-test (78.6). The score positively indicates the usefulness of the treatment in improving students’ writing ability. Therefore, it is recommended for teachers who are trying to teach writing to use the same treatment in their class.

 References:

(n.d.).

Ainley, M., Hilman, K., & Hidi, S. (2002). Individual and Situational Interest: Gender and Interest in Prescribed English Texts. Learning and Instruction, 411-488.

Bergstorm, T., & Backman, L. (2013). Marketing and PR in Social Media: How the unitilization of Instagram Builds and Maintains Customer Relationship. 1-57.

Edosomwan, S. &. (2011). The History of Social Media and Its Impact on Business. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 79-91.

Harackiewicz, J. M., & Hulleman, C. S. (2010). The Importance of Interest: The Role of Achievement Goals and Task Values in Promoting the Development of Interest. Social andPersonality Psychology Compass, 42-52.

Harmer, J. (2001). The Practice of English Language Teaching. London: Longman.

Harmer, J. (2004). How to Teach Writing. Essex: Longman Pearson Education Limited.

Heaton, J. B. (1975). Writing English Language. London: Longman Group Ltd.

Lenhart, A. and Purcell, K. and Smith, A. and Zickuhr, Kathryn. (2010). Social Media and Mobile Internet Use Among Teens and Young Adults. Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Renaldi, S. (2020). Using Instagram to Improve Students' Ability and Interest in Writing Descriptive Paragraph. Journal La Edusci, 12-24.

Sheth, T. (2015). Receptive skills-Listening and Reading: A sin qua non for Engineers. nternational Journal of English Language, Literature & Humanities.

Sulistyorini, D., & Rahmawati, Y. (2019). The Use of Instagram in Improving Students' Skill of Writing Procedure Texts. English Language and Literature International Conference.

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The Two Advantages of Instagram

Nowadays, the internet has now become common thing in society. many people spend their time just to exploring the internet every day. by having internet connection , people can access social media. Simeon Edosomwan, Sitalaskshmi Kalangot Prakasan, Doriane kouame, Jonelle Watson, and Tom Seymour (2011:16) state that “social media is a phenomenon that has transformed the interaction and communication of individuals throughout the world”. It has become a pervasive interacting mechanism and the most popular online activity in recent years (Lenhart, 2009). It is proven to be true that social media itself has become the part of human’s life and can not be separated. In fact, there is a social media that stands out more from the others namely Instagram. Founded in 2010, it is a mobile application for Smartphone that users can get for free in the ApplicationStore (AppStore) and Google Play (Bergstrom & Beckman, 2013). Therefore, this essay defines the two advantages of using Instagram.

To begin with, Instagram can be used as a media for sharing pictures and videos with friends or family in original way. It means completely new and different from anyone has thought of before. On another note, By connecting physical and digital realms, Instagram enhances online presence and identity, and allows more effective interaction not only for personal reasons but also for business purposes (Abbott et al., 2013)

Next, Instagram has also been found useful in other fields, as well as academia (salomon, 2013), and medical industry (Chante et al., 2014). It is true that Instagram as a social media can be useful for learning. Social media help learners study easily and productively. Social media makes possible collaboration between learners and teachers on a given task or project or a joint objective, pooling resources and gathering the expertise of a group of people working towards a common objective (Bexheti:2014). Moreover, Social media platforms allow for faster feedback between students and faculty members in and outside of the classroom (Cheston et al., 2013; Hollinderbäumer et al., 2013). This increases the speed of access to information therefore enhancing learning efficiency. The speed and ease of communication was also associated with an increase in student satisfaction (Pander et al., 2014). This is not only an advantage at the place of study, as the use of social media allows students to transcend geographical barriers, with Cheston et al. (2013) finding that students were tweeting academics from other continents and getting replies almost instantaneously.

As a conclusion, Instagram can not only be used as social media for sharing photos and videos. It can also be used as academical tool for students to learn