Patterns of Sac Utilization and the Sine Qua Non of the Self-Propelled Development of Students' English Proficiency

Abstract

This article reports on a study intended to find out the patterns of the Self Access Center (SAC) utilization by students of the English Departments, State University of Malang, and to explore the most effective pattern in developing students English proficiency as well as students' learning autonomy. The study involved 207 students of various years. Thedata were collected through questionnaires, observations, and interviews. Analyses of the students' responses to the questionnaires resulted in the findings that the more advanced the students were, the less frequently they utilized the SAC; that the students' proficiency was improving along with classes; and that the students were autonomous in their learning. In addition, the study also found out that the materials and activities need to be periodically updated in order for the SAC to better serve the learning needs of the more advanced students.

Students' Needs for Autonomous Learning through Self-Access Center Resources and Activities: A Survey on the Target and Learning Needs of SAC Users

“…Unfortunately, the program is limited to a small number of participants. Above and beyond, speaking as the most needed and interesting skill to learn autonomously in SAC was in accordance with Furaidah & Suharmanto (2015) and Sultana (2018) research results that more than half of students testified speaking skills to be the most hoped-for skill to learn English in SAC. In addition, the most interesting activities for the students to learn English listening in SAC were listening to English songs, videos, or movies alone or discussing the movies in a program like Movie Club Discussion and Movie Screening which confirmed what Furaidah & Suharmanto (2015) found that movies and videos viewing and listening were frequently hunted listening activity in SAC.…”

“…This finding is still related to the above-discussed finding that watching movies or films is the most interesting activity for listening skills for students. Likewise, both listening and speaking activities favored the most correspond to the two most needed activities satisfying students' learning style in SAC were listening individually to music or movies corroborated the finding of Furaidah & Suharmanto (2015) as well as speaking with native speakers verified by Sultana's (2018) believes on the notability of speaking skill in SAC, especially speaking to native speakers as what Gardner & Miller (1999) specified.…”

“…On the contrary, the finding that some students' reading activity was accomplished without finding new words meaning in the dictionary. This finding was rejected by Furaidah & Suharmanto (2015) who claim that most students like to learn English reading utilizing a dictionary recurrently. Moreover, writing as the least interesting skill to study in SAC was found only for pleasure like writing personal diaries, and new vocabulary on notes, social media statuses, or playing Scramble Words games.…”

“…It was not corresponding to Sultana's (2018) finding that students liked to learn English grammar more than vocabulary in SAC. On the other hand, pronunciation, the second most interesting language component to study in SAC which was done by connecting the pronunciation of a word with a picture reinforced Furaidah & Suharmanto (2015) result saying that pronunciation exercises are repeatedly done by students in SAC. On the contrary, the finding that some students' reading activity was accomplished without finding new words meaning in the dictionary.…”

“…According to Miller et al, (2007), who believe that SAC is an effective way to increase students' lifetime and independence in learning where they are given the freedom to do individual activities based on their time, levels, and needs, research on SAC in Indonesia has been dominated by studies on students' learning independence. An examination of the Indonesian setting done in 2015 about SAC patterns used by English major students found that only game and reading activities majored done by students in SAC (Furaidah & Suharmanto, 2015). Other prior related studies in the Indonesian context examined English department students' perception of SAC (Njoto, 2014), students' strategies for independent learning via SAC (Suriaman, 2015), and SAC to improve students' self-independence and adjustment to their language competence (Samsudin et al, 2020).…”