Students’ Perspectives towards Innovation of Technology in Teaching and Learning of Language

Students’ Perspectives towards Innovation of Technology in Teaching and Learning of Language Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics Vol. 2 No. 2, 2017 eISSN: 2503-4197, pISSN: 2527-5070 www. indonesian-efl-journal.org Students’ Perspectives towards Innovation of Technology in Teaching and Learning of Language 1 Nor Shahila Mansor, Hazlina Abdul Halim, Normaliza Abd Rahim Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication Universiti Putra Malaysia (MALAYSIA) 1 Corresponding author: Abstract: This study provides a discussion of the innovations, in particular students’ perspectives towards the use of technology in teaching and learning. The study aimed to (1) identify methods of teaching and learning that can be applied in the classroom to engage students, (2) to determine factors in selecting the methods of teaching and learning by respondents. The data of this study were collected through questionnaire. The respondents of the study consisted of 150 undergraduate students from various programs aged between 19 and 23 at Universiti Putra Malaysia. The race or ethnicity of the respondents is disregarded as it is irrelevant to the objectives of the study. The results were presented in qualitative and quantitative. From 7 types or options of technological innovation listed, all of the respondents (100%) tend to prefer the use of various media as well as computer-assisted teaching as innovations in teaching and learning. Meanwhile, a total of 139 respondents (93%) prefer the use of overhead projector and the use of VCD in the classroom. 123 students (82%) choose the video teleconferencing approach, 113 students (75%) choose the use of interactive video and 90 of the respondents (60%) favour the use of printed media such as advertisements in newspapers, magazines and etc. In line with the development of technology, innovation in teaching and learning is viewed as a prerequisite in optimizing the output of education. This study also shows to the importance of the innovation to ensuring the continuity of education. Keyword: Innovation, technology, teaching and learning, continuity of education Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 2(2), 2017 121 Students’ Perspectives towards Innovation of Technology in Teaching and Learning of Language 1. INTRODUCTION In order to ensure continuity of education, innovation in teaching and learning is essential. Innovation in teaching and learning needs to be done at all stages from the management and administration up to the implementation stage. In response to the government's call to establish Malaysia as a hub for education, innovation in teaching and learning should not be taken lightly. Innovation enables educational institutions such as universities and schools to keep pace with the current world development. Innovation in education can be seen as an attempt to reform the teaching and learning process performed by a group of individuals. According to Carless (2013), an example of educational innovation that has been done in this decade is the new pedagogical approaches such as 'task-based' language teaching, exchange of teaching material, the use of technology such as computer-based teaching as well as alternative assessment methods. In addition, the expanded use of language options (English for example) as the medium of instruction in educational institutions, including the primary level is also an element of educational innovation. Innovation is an important step as it is fundamental to the development and advancement of education. Innovation viewed as a process of improvement, to the existing system or practice. In other words, the implementation of innovation will not change the primary principle of a system or practice, but it will improve it (Waters, 2009). Markee (1997) categorizes the innovation of education into two types: Primary innovation and secondary innovation. Primary innovation involves changes in teaching materials and pedagogy, whereas secondary innovation involves organizational changes that provide support for the primary innovation. As limitation of the study, this paper focuses only on the primary innovation. Usually, instructors either at school or university conduct the process of teaching and learning by using teaching aids deemed suitable for students. The educators would apply the approach and teaching techniques that they learned in teacher education institute or university (Yahya Buntat & Lailinanita Ahamad, 2012). However, the methods used by the educators in the classroom are not necessarily compatible with the student’s requirements, needs and aptitude. As a consequence, the student cannot comprehensively follow the process of teaching and learning because those methods do not appeal to their interests. Thus, this paper will discuss the methods that are more attractive to students among the list of methods of innovation, particularly technological innovation. In addition, this study also reviews the factors that cause the students more likely to opt a particular method, for example opting for A method compared to B method. 1.1 Innovation in Teaching and Learning The study of innovation in teaching and learning began around 1980 (Carless, 2013). Research on innovation in language education, particularly in English language is pioneered by scholars such as Kennedy (1988), which focuses on the perspective of Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 2(2), 2017 122 Students’ Perspectives towards Innovation of Technology in Teaching and Learning of Language teaching of English in the United Kingdom and Henrichsen (1989), which views the perspective of English language education in the United States. In implementing and ensuring the success of an innovation, a teacher or an educator should have a solid understanding of the methods that will be used. Lack of training and exposure to teachers is also one of the factors that led to the failure of the innovation process in an educational institution (Azizah Abdul Rahman, 1987). The shift of era also led to changes in the educational system, from the 'chalk and talk', to technology-assisted teaching, the use of overhead projectors, OHP, media and so forth. Therefore, teachers' understanding and openness to some extent would help in implementing the innovation process to perfection. In addition, their passion and trust are also important in determining the success of the implementation process of innovation in teaching and learning (Clark & Yinger, 1977). In this regard, the failure of teacher to interpret the purposes of innovation would also cause the changes in the process of teaching and learning less successful (Brown & McIntyre, 1933). According to Carless (2013), there are also challenges in ensuring the success of the educational innovation process, much the same as the process of reformation in other fields. These challenges are classified into 3 categories:  Teacher-related challenge: this challenge involves issues such as the negative a (...truncated)