IMPROVING EFL STUDENTS’ RECOUNT TEXT WRITING ACHIEVEMENT

THROUGH THE USE OF INSTAGRAM

Sinta Octaviana

06011181520087

1. Introduction

English is an international language used by many people around the world in

communicating with other people from different nations. As a foreign language,
learning English is absolutely important for non-English people because English is
necessary for them to master English in order to be able to compete in the working
environment. For its importance, English has become a required subject in the schools
over the world. In Indonesia, English becomes a compulsory subject to be learned by
students—starting from elementary to high school—as stated in 2004 Curriculum and
2013 Curriculum as it is expected that when graduating, they master English well to
be ready to compete globally.

There are four skills to be mastered in English language learning namely listening,
speaking, reading and writing. Writing is the last but the least skill to be learned
because human learn language by listening to sounds and trying to say it before
learning how to read and write (Kreidler, 2002). Hence, among those four skills, writing
is considered to be the most difficult skill among the language skills to be mastered by
English learners, especially EFL learners. It is because writing is the productive thing
which results from the thoughts of people. Murray and Moore (2006) claim that writing
has always been demanding and trouble aspect in academic life. Writing is not a
simple thing to be done by someone since it is more complex than just pouring
thoughts into words. Therefore, there is no wonder that students find it difficult to
master.

In addition to the students’ difficulties, teaching English writing can be a difficult thing
for EFL teachers since the teachers play important roles in developing the students
writing. The teachers need to make the students able to write words incorrect
spellings, to make sensible phrases and to produce correct sentences. Besides, the
teachers also need to teach them how to make good paragraphs, essays, and even
articles. In addition, they need to provide the students will all theories of writing.
Furthermore, they are also responsible for encouraging the students to grow their
writing habits in order to make them see writing as an ordinary lesson and become
interested and enjoy themselves when doing their writing assignments (Harmer,
2007). Teachers need to make the writing lesson becomes enjoyable and fun in order
to get the students attention which later will result in their interest in writing.

Referring to both sides of teachers and students, writing is a big trouble in English
learning. Students find themselves down when facing the situation where they are
required to write, while teachers find themselves in big responsibilities when giving the
students writing a lesson. The teachers focus on how to make the students understand
by giving mostly theories of writing which the students think as boring things.
Furthermore, the teachers are not able to impulse the students’ enjoyment of the
writing activities, while the students still argue that writing activities are always hard
and boring. In brief, the teacher needs to make the students master the writing skill in
anyways while the students need the teachers to build their interest before having
them master the skill. Finally, it is clear that there should be something to connect the
students and the teacher's thoughts about writing teaching and learning activities.

To support the needs, Instagram can be used as a medium for teaching English
writing. In addition to its popularity in the 21st century, Instagram is also easy to access
and operate. Instagram provides photo-sharing and comments which can be used to
help the writing learning activity. The photograph has ever been used as one of the
media that can be used in teaching writing. Indah (2010) conducted the research at
SMA N 1 Batangan Pati in the academic year 2009/2010 and she discovered that it is
effective to use photographs in the teaching recount text writing text to improve the
student's achievement. In addition to this, the 21st-century forces society to integrate
technology into daily needs including education needs. Therefore, Instagram which is
a photo-sharing platform with some helpful features will be used in teaching English
writing, in this case, the recount text English writing.

Instagram as a social medium for photo-sharing allows people to upload their photos
and giving a caption for the photos. These features can be helpful for both teachers
and students to ease the writing activity on recount text as by looking at the
photographs shared on the Instagram account, the students are able to recall their
memory and pour it into words. Therefore, this paper is aimed to discuss the use of
Instagram in writing activity to improve the students’ writing achievement on recount
text writing.

2. Social Media Use in English Language Learning

In the 21st century, technology has spread worldwide and been used by world society.
The use of technology is integrated into almost all aspects of human life, including
education. In the educational field, technology has been a new notion of teaching and
learning activity since it is the trend of the digital era of globalization. Therefore,
schools start to provide the technology-based learning in which teachers become the
leader of the class who leads the students in learning through technology. Technology-
based learning has become a new notion in the 21st-century learning since the
development of technology has eased people’s activities. Moreover, mastery of
technology is believed to be one of the requirement to keep up with changes in the
world in the 21st century (Pacific Policy Research Center, 2010). Therefore,
technology, in any various kinds, cannot be avoided by 21st-century society.

One of the technologies which are widely used by people is social media. Bright,
Margetts, Hale, & Yasseri (2014) define social media as sites on the web or other
services with internet-based in which users become the creators of the content.
Similarly, Dewing (2012) insists that social media refers to any internet-based and
mobile services allowing the users to contribute in exchanging something online,
donating contents, or involving in online communities. The users of social media are
not only adults but also children and adolescents. They use social media for any
needs, such as contacting friends and families, sharing stories, and many others.
There are many types of social media existing in the world, such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, etc. Those kinds of social media have different
features and functions which can be plus and minus points comparing to each other.
In addition to this, Dewing (2012) classifies social media into seven different types
namely Blog (abbreviation form of Web Log), Wikis, Social Bookmarking, Social
Network Sites, Status-update services, Virtual World Content, and Media-Sharing
Sites. Although different types of social media have different main features, the main
point of the purpose of social media is to connect people from different part of the
world. In short, the social media allow people to know new people, make friends and
keep in touch with their families and friends for any needs and businesses.

Social media is used in any needs in this globalization era. Some people use them for
selling and buying activities, or well-known as “online shop” where the sellers and
buyers meet via social media and do the transaction with them. Through the use of
social media for shopping, people find it easier to buy everything they need, starting
from the smallest to the largest ones. Besides selling and buying activities, social
media are also used in sharing activities, promotion, and publication. Some pages of
social media like Facebook provide sharing forum which allows the members to share
everything. These forums are made for various needs, for example, for religion
discussion, community, game player, and many others. In addition to those things,
social media are also used in teaching and learning activities inside and outside the
classroom. By using social media, teachers can control their students although they
are not in the same places at the same time.

In the field of education, according to report conducted by Pearson Solutions and

Babson Survey Research (2013) as cited in Bright et al., (2014), the growth of the
social media used in teaching from 2012-2013 in the United States is 21%. It means
that social media has been used quite widely in education as aids in teaching and
learning activities. There are some kinds of social media that have been used in
teaching and learning activities such as Email, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Some researchers have found that the use of social media in a classroom can bring
good images of learning to the students. One of the research is Inderawati (2011) who
conducted teaching and learning English academic writing activities through facebook
group who found that the use of Facebook with peer comment led to better
understanding of students in writing academically.

Having social media in teaching can bring positive responses from students toward
learning activities. In English language learning, social media is widely used and keep
developing from time to time. Some social media which have been used in English
language learning are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Among those
social media, Facebook becomes the most favorite one. It may be because Facebook
is the oldest among those social media. Facebook has been used by Inderawati (2007)
in teaching English academic writing to English Education students of Sriwijaya
University. She uses Facebook with peer-comment to improve the students’ English
academic writing achievement and discovered that the activity helps the students well.
A research on the use of Snapchat was conducted by Freyn & Ed (2017) who
discovered that Snapchat in EFL class could make the students engaged in the
learning activities and enjoyed. Then, research on social media used in English
language learning is also conducted by Listiani (2016) on Instagram and on Twitter.
Both found that the use of those social media worked well in engaging the students.
From the above explanation, it can be concluded that the uses of social media in
English language teaching bring a new perception and can help the students in English
language learning. Social media has become new aids for teaching and learning
activities in the 21st century. Therefore, the development of the social media use in
English language learning should be run well.

2. Social Media Use in English Language Learning

In the 21st century, technology has spread worldwide and been used by world society.
The use of technology is integrated into almost all aspects of human life, including
education. In the educational field, technology has been a new notion of teaching and
learning activity since it is the trend of the digital era of globalization. Therefore,
schools start to provide the technology-based learning in which teachers become the
leader of the class who leads the students in learning through technology. Technology-
based learning has become a new notion in the 21st-century learning since the
development of technology has eased people’s activities. Moreover, mastery of
technology is believed to be one of the requirement to keep up with changes in the
world in the 21st century (Pacific Policy Research Center, 2010). Therefore,
technology, in any various kinds, cannot be avoided by 21st-century society.

One of the technologies which are widely used by people is social media. Bright,
Margetts, Hale, & Yasseri (2014) define social media as sites on the web or other
services with internet-based in which users become the creators of the content.
Similarly, Dewing (2012) insists that social media refers to any internet-based and
mobile services allowing the users to contribute in exchanging something online,
donating contents, or involving in online communities. The users of social media are
not only adults but also children and adolescents. They use social media for any
needs, such as contacting friends and families, sharing stories, and many others.
There are many types of social media existing in the world, such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, etc. Those kinds of social media have different
features and functions which can be plus and minus points comparing to each other.
In addition to this, Dewing (2012) classifies social media into seven different types
namely Blog (abbreviation form of Web Log), Wikis, Social Bookmarking, Social
Network Sites, Status-update services, Virtual World Content, and Media-Sharing
Sites. Although different types of social media have different main features, the main
point of the purpose of social media is to connect people from different part of the
world. In short, the social media allow people to know new people, make friends and
keep in touch with their families and friends for any needs and businesses.

Social media is used in any needs in this globalization era. Some people use them for
selling and buying activities, or well-known as “online shop” where the sellers and
buyers meet via social media and do the transaction with them. Through the use of
social media for shopping, people find it easier to buy everything they need, starting
from the smallest to the largest ones. Besides selling and buying activities, social
media are also used in sharing activities, promotion, and publication. Some pages of
social media like Facebook provide sharing forum which allows the members to share
everything. These forums are made for various needs, for example, for religion
discussion, community, game player, and many others. In addition to those things,
social media are also used in teaching and learning activities inside and outside the
classroom. By using social media, teachers can control their students although they
are not in the same places at the same time.

In the field of education, according to report conducted by Pearson Solutions and

Babson Survey Research (2013) as cited in Bright et al., (2014), the growth of the
social media used in teaching from 2012-2013 in the United States is 21%. It means
that social media has been used quite widely in education as aids in teaching and
learning activities. There are some kinds of social media that have been used in
teaching and learning activities such as Email, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Some researchers have found that the use of social media in a classroom can bring
good images of learning to the students. One of the research is Inderawati (2011) who
conducted teaching and learning English academic writing activities through facebook
group who found that the use of Facebook with peer comment led to better
understanding of students in writing academically.

Having social media in teaching can bring positive responses from students toward
learning activities. In English language learning, social media is widely used and keep
developing from time to time. Some social media which have been used in English
language learning are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. Among those
social media, Facebook becomes the most favorite one. It may be because Facebook
is the oldest among those social media. Facebook has been used by Inderawati (2007)
in teaching English academic writing to English Education students of Sriwijaya
University. She uses Facebook with peer-comment to improve the students’ English
academic writing achievement and discovered that the activity helps the students well.
A research on the use of Snapchat was conducted by Freyn & Ed (2017) who
discovered that Snapchat in EFL class could make the students engaged in the
learning activities and enjoyed. Then, research on social media used in English
language learning is also conducted by Listiani (2016) on Instagram and on Twitter.
Both found that the use of those social media worked well in engaging the students.

From the above explanation, it can be concluded that the uses of social media in
English language teaching bring a new perception and can help the students in English
language learning. Social media has become new aids for teaching and learning
activities in the 21st century. Therefore, the development of the social media use in
English language learning should be run well.

3. Instagram Use in Teaching English Recount Text Writing

Having a role as one of the famous social media around the world, Instagram takes
part in human life in the 21st century. Instagram is one of the social media for sharing
pictures and moments. Frommer (2010) says Instagram is an easy photo-posting
social network where users can give their like or comment on the photos and discover
new things. Its ease and least effort to use becomes one of the reasons for its quick
popularity. As stated on the Instagram website (www.instagram.com), 2018,
Instagram is one of the most well-known Social Network Services having 800 million
active users around the world. This social media is used by millions of people around
the world. A survey of Statista in 2017 has proven that there are approximately 700
million users around the world by April 2017. Moreover, the number has been
increasing significantly since January 2013, with the number of 90 million. By
considering the number of users which increases month by month, it is no wonder that
Instagram becomes one of the popular social media around the world. The popularity
is influenced by the merits of Instagram itself since it has some admirable facilities
addicted by the users.

Instagram is used by some people for sharing information, knowledge, and others.
Instagram nowadays is used in education either formally or informally. In informal daily
life, some people use Instagram for learning languages such as English, Korean,
Japanese, etc. through the Instagram account. Some accounts in Instagram provides
language lesson, for example as written in Loop Website, @pintarkorea,
@englishtips4u, @bahasajepangseharihari @quola.id, @belajar_jerman (Admin,
2017). Those Instagram accounts allow the users to access containing information
about the languages in forms of pictures with captions, and they also help the users
to learn some languages that they cannot have in formal classrooms. Otherwise, some
teachers also start using Instagram as a medium in their teaching-learning activities
in formal classrooms. In language teaching, for example, some researchers use
Instagram in teaching language skills as an intervention to improve the students’
language skills.

Otherwise, some teachers also start using Instagram as a medium in their teaching-
learning activities in formal classrooms. In language teaching, for example, some
researchers use Instagram in teaching language skills as an intervention to improve
the students’ language skills. Perisco (2015) mentions the way to teach students using
Instagram in seven steps as follows:

1) Being a transparent teacher and getting approval.

2) Signing up a special account for the class.

3) Following no users.

4) Making simple posts and captions.

5) Creating the #SpecialHastags for the posts.

6) Taking a role as a moderator.

7) Making students learn digital citizenship.

Instagram has been used by some researchers to teaching English in the classrooms.
Some researchers use Instagram to teach English writing, such as descriptive text.
The first one was by Mubarokah (2017) who used Instagram in teaching descriptive
text to motivate the students of SMAN 1 Gresik in the academic year of 2016-2017.
Her study found out that students are motivated to write when being taught using
Instagram. The recent similar study was conducted by Sari (2017) at SMAN 4
Palembang by using Instagram with peer-feedback strategy and she discovered that
there was an improvement of the student's achievement in descriptive writing when
being taught using Instagram with peer-feedback strategy. Those previous
researchers found that the use of Instagram in teaching writing was effective in
improving the students’ proficiency in writing.

Recount text as one of the genre text in English is the closest one to the human’s life
because the purpose of the text is to tell the past experience. Anderson (1998) as cited
in Indah (2010) defines recount text as a unit of the text retelling events in the past
which is usually arranged in order. Recount text includes the sequences or the
chronological orders of the events. Teaching recount text writing has been proven to
be useful to improve the students’ writing proficiency in a research conducted by
Saragih, Silalahi, & Pardede (2014) in Pematangsiantar to Grade III Students of Kalam
Kudus Elementary School 2 Pematangsiantar who discovered that the use of recount
text can effectively improve the students’ writing skill since recount genre allows the
students easily their ideas and the next become more communicative than when using
other genres, such as report and narrative.

As has been proven to be useful, both Instagram and recount text are effective to
improve the students’ writing skill. The combination of the two variables can probably
improve the students writing much better. Therefore, the integration of Instagram in
teaching recount text can be a good idea for teaching English writing to EFL students,
especially high school students. A research involving the two variables has been
conducted in Semarang by Listiani (2016) to eighth-grade students in SMP Kesatrian
1 in 2015/2016 academic year. In the study, she compared two methods of teaching
which are teacher-centered and the use of Instagram in teaching recount text and
found out that the use of Instagram can improve the students writing skill in recount
text. It shows that use of Instagram in teaching recount text writing is effective to
improve the writing skill of the students.An article is mostly a written work published in
paper or digitally, which focuses on providing information, news, research outlines and
results, and also academic debated or analyses. Based on the purpose and method
of writing, articles are generally classified into Research articles and Non-research
articles.

A research article, as the name suggests, might be a written work highlighting the
results of a research study that was done with a specific goal in mind. When a scholar
makes an academic research on a particular subject, he writes an article on the same
to be published in a journal. The main features of these research articles are that they
are mostly written after the completion of a research project and include the details
like the subject of research, purpose, methods that were used, the conclusion derived
from the study and so on. This article systematically includes the above-given details
under specific headings with necessary references and citations. These are
predominantly peer-reviewed articles.

A non-research article is not essentially peer-reviewed. These articles focus on

providing information based on experiences or learning, but do not necessarily need
research. These are mostly good quality resources that provide essential information
like guidelines for doing something, or a position paper and the like. The main
difference here when compared with research articles is that the non-research articles
do not essentially follow a particular pattern of writing and may not touch all the
subheadings mentioned. They also do not cite sources or references as they are not
actually based on research or similar studies.