Let's Increase Our English via Facebook

LET’S INCREASE OUR ENGLISH VIA FACEBOOK

Jalaluddin

8th Semester Student, STKIP Hamzanwadi Selong

   

 

FACEBOOK... What comes directly into your mind after hearing that word? Probably you will think directly about on-line chatting, social network, e-mail, friendship, etc. So, what is facebook? Facebook is an on-line social network which enables its members to connect to the other people throughout the world. Via facebook, we can have hundreds, thousands, or even millions of friends that come from different regions and nations. At present, this social network is very popular and almost all students from elementary school, junior and senior high schools and at university level have access to it.  Large numbers of adolescences and adults have also joined as members. In other words, the use of facebook has mushroomed everywhere and attracted almost all levels of people including those in our beloved country, Indonesia.

    A lot of people grant that facebook is one of very enjoyable ways to make connection to others. Even for some people, facebook is not only used to make friends but also to study any subject by running discussion. As a real example, English department students both at the fourth and sixth semesters of STKIP Hamzanwadi Selong especially those from Sumbawa have benefitted this social network to increase their proficiency in English. Via facebook, they have made a special English forum for discussing everything about English. The members are limited for only English department students and of course they are obliged to use English for all their posts and comments on the forum. The topics of discussion vary. The topics generally change each week, including such topics as English structure, writing skills, strategies of learning, debate, speech, and poetry. The members acknowledge that they really enjoy having discussion via facebook and find that their English proficiency is getting better and better.

This facebook discussion forum was initially piloted by Dr. Iwan Jazadi, an English lecturer at STKIP Hamzanwadi Selong, as one way to introduce the students to the use of on-line chatting in learning English. The project has been proved successful. Most students acknowledge that learning English via facebook is not boring and different from that when they learn by themselves. They feel so free to express whatever is in their mind. When the learners do not feel under pressure in studying anything, they can conveniently catch the materials. As Yakub Purnama, one of the members, propounded, “I really enjoy and feel free to discuss English with my friends via facebook. The condition is very different from that when I study in the classroom. I feel my ideas flow themselves because I don’t feel pressed like what I sometimes feel in the classroom activity.”

From the example above, we can deduce that facebook can be very helpful in terms of its use in learning English. Generally, there are some advantages of using facebook as a tool to increase our English proficiency. First, facebook is very popular nowadays and can grab young generations’ attention. Second, because the number of people who join this social network is very large, it can enable a lot of people to get involved in the discussion. The more people involved in the discussion, the more cheerful and fruitful the discussion will be. That is, many sources of ideas can contribute to better quality of the discussion content. Third, as the topic discussed generally relates to day-to-day life, its results can easily stay in the learners’ mind. Next, facebook is a very good tool to understand diverse people’s cultures. An easy way to comprehend other people’s cultures is through their thoughts communicated informally via social networks such as facebook. Moreover, knowing people’s characteristics and thoughts, though they are distant physically, extends our networks and opportunities for future success in career or study.

Now we have examined the use of facebook as an effective discussion forum to increase the learners’ proficiency in English. So, invite your friends who have joined the facebook as many as possible to be members in an English discussion forum. I believe that you will prove by yourself how beneficial and enjoyable your learning process will be. Good luck.