English Education Students’ Perception on the Use of Elena in the Post-Pandemic Era

___


INTRODUCTION
For the last three years.the world has faced an unexpected outbreak which attacked the human respiratory system.This case was firstly identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 as a cluster of unknown pneumonia with symptoms including shortness of breath and fever (Wuhan City Health Committee, 2019).Chinese authorities then released the sequencing of a new coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, discovered from a few clustered cases, on January 12, 2020 (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, 2020).Since then, the cases of a pneumonia of unknown etiology (cause) had spread to other Asian countries such as Thailand, Japan, and Korea, as well as to some US and Europe countries.By February 2020, the worldwide deaths from the 2019 Novel Coronavirus had reached 1,013 and has been referred to as COVID-19.
In Indonesia, the first COVID-19 case was confirmed to have spread on March 2, 2020 (Tosepu et al., 2020) with suspects of two women living in Depok, West Java.Since then, the daily cases of COVID-19 cases in Indonesia have increased.Currently, Indonesia has become the nation with the most COVID-19 cases in Southeast Asia (Nurbaiti, 2020).As of July 24, 2020, this pandemic reached its peak with 574,135 confirmed active cases in Indonesia with almost 2,000 daily death cases (Worldometers, 2020).These cases kept fluctuating and forced the government of every country to enforce lockdown to prevent the spread of this pandemic.As a widespread global pandemic which caused lockdown, this disease has affected many aspects of human life such as social, economic, food system, health, etc.However, one aspect of life that was most severely affected from the lockdown done by the government is education.The shutdown of educational institutions as a measure to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 is said to have affected 90% of all students and pupils worldwide (about 1.5 billion people) (UNESCO, 2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a severe impact on children's education in Indonesia at all levels.Schools in several parts of Indonesia have remained closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, even though the school year began in July 2020 with students enrolling in early childhood, primary, lower secondary, upper secondary, as well as non-formal education levels.Distance learning has taken the place of traditional classroom instruction.This includes online courses, television and radio broadcasts, and offline learning materials.However, due to the inability of schools and teachers to provide effective distance learning as well as a lack of resources and facilities, including internet access, many children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families, particularly in rural areas, have faced significant challenges in continuing their education.Furthermore, many families have experienced job and income loss, reducing their capacity to give financial assistance for their children's education.
Children's and/or parents' interest in and motivation for continuing their children's education has been discouraged and reduced because of this situation.As a result, many kids and teenagers have completely dropped out, while others may be in risk of doing so.64% of children and teenagers who are enrolled in school were learning from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.14 % of those enrolled claimed that neither the local authority nor the school provided them with enough monitoring or support.Almost 84% of households with kids and teenagers in school use mobile phones as a tool for distance learning.Only 61% of those households, however, have enough mobile phones for their kids to participate in online learning.This shows that a lot of kids and teenagers still don't have the resources they need to participate in distant learning effectively (UNICEF, 2021).Additionally, 15% of families with children and adolescents enrolled in school use modules or printed materials as learning resources, while 38% of them also use TV as a learning resource.The danger of dropping out of school may grow due to insufficient facilities for children, adolescents, and their families to participate in online learning (UNICEF, 2021).
As the COVID-19 cases had grown rapidly, some cities had announced to have a total lockdown and large-scale social restrictions.President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo also declared the cancellation of National Examination for all educational level, except for vocational high schools, in March 2020 as the effect of growing pandemic.Schools were closed since then due to the growing number of Indonesian residents impacted by the COVID-19.Most education institutions switched from traditional face-to-face sessions to distance learning and all the teaching and learning process were conducted online by using internet (Foo et al., 2021;Adedoyin & Soykan, 2023;Rahayu et al., 2022).Face-to-face instruction was not feasible during the COVID-19 pandemic; elearning was the sole option.Nonetheless, the nature of online education varies from nation to nation.Online learning is very simple to adopt in certain nations but can be difficult in others with middle-and low-income populations due to a lack of adequate resources.The implementation of online learning during the COVID-19 era would be different between each university.UNNES, or Universitas Negeri Semarang, is also an educational institution which conduct online and hybrid learning as a response to the COVID-19 outbreak.The teaching and learning process was conducted by using 4K autofocus + auto tracking cameras, 65" LED TVs connected to zoom, and ELENA (e-learning aid) based on MOODLE version 2.0 developed by Universitas Negeri Semarang.Other tools such as Quizziz, Kahoot, and Mentimeter are also used to support the teaching and learning process.In relation to this, the attitude of students toward this new educational system is significant, especially for all teachers and lecturers who are still developing new strategic programs on how to address their needs and deliver quality education in the online learning setting despite the pandemic.The implementation of online and hybrid learning in English language classes, especially those learning English as a foreign language (EFL) can also benefit the students (Wang et al., 2021;Adedoyin & Soykan, 2023;Huang, 2019).The usage of various social media platforms, including those accessible on contemporary mobile phones like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, and any other apps can be utilized to improve language learning experiences in addition to being able to provide students a greater variety of learning activities (Aloraini & Cardoso, 2022;Barrot, 2022;Rautela et al., 2022).The four language skills, as well as the viewing and presenting skills can be practiced online using today's smartphones, which feature voices, Figures, and messages, by language learners (Kukulska-Hulme et al., 2015).
There have been a lot of previously conducted research related to students' perception of distance and online learning has been conducted during this COVID-19 era.Many researchers were curious about how the forced switch to distant education and learning affected teachers, lecturers, and students after the worldwide closure of educational institutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.In fact, a great deal of research on the adoption and implementation of distance learning and education was done in 2020 -2021.Research about university students' perception and evaluation of distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has been conducted in Innsbruck, Austria (Bork-Huuffer et al., 2021).The study shows a substantial improvement since spring 2020 as lecturers and students become accustomed to distant learning formats and the use of digital resources, but students nevertheless expressed a strong desire for a return to face-to-face teaching and learning process and university life, notably for its social benefits.Unexpectedly, more over half of the participants wished to keep the option of general distance education available after the pandemic.
Another study conducted in China by Huang (2016) shows that in southern China's higher education, more than half of non-English language students preferred blended learning to online or offline instruction.His study also examined how students saw the functions of both online and offline learning environments, finding that they interdependently supported learning in both cases (Huang, 2016).Wright (2017) examined university students' preferences for each learning style at a Malaysian university to further explore these concerns.Less than 5% of the 112 students chose a combination of learning methods, 50% preferred face-to-face classroom interactions, and 37.5 percent preferred online sessions, according to the data.Students claimed that the reason they opted for face-to-face instruction was that it allowed them to interact directly with teachers, which helped them understand the concepts better (Wright, 2017).
Online learning is not the only way to carry out the teaching and learning process.As the COVID-19 cases decreased slowly, blended learning is carried out as an adjustment to online learning.The positive attitudes of Indonesian students toward blended learning were partially disclosed by studies from Rerung (2018) and Rianto (2020).In order to get feedback from the students regarding the use of a university elearning system in their course, Rianto (2020) used a questionnaire.Although there were some technical problems and a poor internet connection, the students claimed that the elearning was helpful for their academic progress.Rerung (2018) examined into how 30 students perceived blended learning for their speaking and listening abilities in English.In her survey, the majority of students favored blended learning.The students said that they learned more in the online learning environment than they would have in a traditional classroom setting.Although her research instrument did not ask why she preferred blended learning specifically, it was assumed that students still place a lot of trust in their teachers.This presumption was based on the level of difficulty that the technical issues statement in the online learning mode had been given (Rerung, 2018).One of the main topics investigated in the study that was reported was this particular concern with regard to technological issues.
According to the foregoing statements and explanations, the researchers were motivated to carry out more research on how EFL students perceive the teaching and learning process in the post-pandemic era.It is anticipated that the innovation in language instruction would result from these perceptions.This study's secondary goal is to investigate how EFL students perceive the teaching and learning process in an English language classroom.How are EFL learners' perceptions of the teaching and learning process in English Language Teaching major? is the research question formulated for this study.The findings and conclusion of this study make the answer to this issue quite apparent.

METHOD
This study was conducted in a descriptive study, as the main goal is to gain more understanding and explanation about the students' perception toward teaching and learning in post-pandemic era.From 567 students enrolled as the students in English Language Teaching major Universitas Negeri Semarang, 100 students were selected randomly as the participants of this study.In the process of collecting the data, survey method by giving the questionnaire to the students is the method used by the researcher in this study.The data was collected by using an online survey via Google Form.The questionnaire was adapted from Harjanto (2019) and modified by adjusting the conditions that want to be explored through this research.The items developed were related to variables of student perceptions, student motivation, student behaviors in post-pandemic, and suggestions for the improvement of teaching and learning process.The survey questionnaire was in the form of statements in Likert scale format with 5 response options; from strongly disagree to strongly agree.In total, there are 23 questions; 20 questions use Likert scale, and 3 questions are long-answer questions which need more elaboration from the students to explain their answer.The collected data then analyzed to fully understand the students' perception toward teaching and learning in post-pandemic era using Miles and Huberman's (1984) model of qualitative data analysis.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
The findings of the study were gathered from questionnaire and discussed as follow.The participants are first classified into their gender to see which gender has the bigger percentage.The percentage of first-, second-, and thirdyear students are almost similar, as we can see, from 100 participants, 34 students come from the first-year or cohort 2022, 33 students from the second year or cohort 2021, and 33 students come from the third year or cohort 2020.
The results of the disseminated questionnaire can be used to present the study's conclusions.The findings of the questionnaire revealed a diversity of responses from the students.According to the questionnaire statements, some students chose one of the following responses: "strongly agree (sangat setuju), agree (setuju), neutral (netral), disagree (tidak setuju), and strongly disagree (sangat tidak setuju)."The responses received from the students were in relation to how they felt about the blended learning approach to language acquisition.The questionnaire result was then analyzed per statement as below.
The first statement in the questionnaire is "Elena and video conference are easy to use".Based on the diagram above, there are 100 students' responses to the statement.As the results, 36 students (36%) strongly agree that Elena and video conference are easy to use, 50 students (50%) said that Elena and video conference are easy to use, 11 students (11%) said neutral, and 3 students (3%) disagree that Elena and video conference are easy to use.
The second questionnaire item talks about the use of Elena in teaching and learning process.Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that the use of Elena saves effort, time, and money.As the results, 55 students (55%) strongly agree the use Elena saves effort, time, and money, 33 students (33%) said that the use of Elena saves effort, time, and money, 4 students (4%) said neutral, and 8 students (8%) disagree that the use of Elena saves effort, time, and money.
The third statement is "I can learn through Elena anytime and anywhere".Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that they can learn through Elena anytime and anywhere.As the results 58 students (58%) strongly agree that they can learn through Elena anytime and anywhere, 30 students (30%) said that they can learn through Elena anytime and anywhere, 10 students (10%) said neutral, and 2 students (2%) disagree that they can learn through Elena anytime and anywhere.
The fourth statement in the questionnaire is "I can manage my study time effectively during e-learning".Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that they can manage my study time effectively during elearning.As the results 32 students (32%) strongly agree that they can manage their study time effectively during e-learning, 37 students (37%)

Students' Cohort
First year Second year Third year agreed that they can manage their study time effectively during e-learning, 22 students (22%) said neutral, 6 students (6%) disagree that they can manage their study time effectively during elearning, and 3 are strongly disagree that they can manage their study time effectively during elearning.
The fifth questionnaire item talks about the use of Elena in collecting assignment more quickly and easily.Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that Elena helps them to collect assignments more quickly and easily.As the results, 55 students (55%) strongly agree that Elena helps them to collect assignments more quickly and easily, 36 students (36%) said that Elena helps students to collect assignments more quickly and easily, 6 students (6%) said neutral, and 3 students (3%) disagree that Elena helps them to collect assignments more quickly and easily.
The sixth statement is "The material such as video, PPT, and e-book posted by the lecturer in Elena helps them to understand the topic of the lesson".From 100 students who responded to the statement that the material such as video, PPT, and e-book posted by the lecturer in Elena helps them to understand the topic of the lesson, 44 students (44%) strongly agree the material such as video, PPT, and e-book posted by the lecturer in Elena helps them to understand the topic of the lesson, 45 students (45%) agreed that the material such as video, PPT, and e-book posted by the lecturer in Elena helps students to understand the topic of the lesson, 8 students (8%) said neutral, and 3 students (3%) disagree that the material such as video, PPT, and e-book posted by the lecturer in Elena helps students to understand the topic of the lesson.
The seventh statement in the questionnaire is "My reading skills have improved because I can access lots of materials online".Based on the diagram above, 41 students (41%) strongly agree that their reading skills have improved because they can access lots of materials online, 37 students (37%) said that their reading skills have improved because they can access lots of materials online, 17 students (17%) said neutral, and 5 students (5%) disagree that their reading skills have improved because they can access lots of materials online.
The eighth questionnaire item talks about their writing skills which have improved because they are free to look for references and inspiration through online learning.Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that their writing skills have improved because they are free to look for references and inspiration through online learning.As the results, 35 students (35%) strongly agree that their writing skills have improved because they are free to look for references and inspiration through online learning, 36 students (36%) said that their writing skills have improved because they are free to look for references and inspiration through online learning, 21 students (21%) said neutral, and 7 students (7%) disagree that their writing skills have improved because they are free to look for references and inspiration through online learning.
The ninth statement is "The apps I use support the improvement of my language skills".Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that the apps they use during the teaching and learning process support the improvement of their language skills.As the results 33 students (33%) strongly agree that the apps they use during the teaching and learning process support the improvement of their language skills, 35 students (35%) said that they agree that the apps they use during the teaching and learning process support the improvement of their language skills, 21 students (21%) said neutral, 4 students (4%) disagree that the apps they use during the teaching and learning process support the improvement of their language skills, and 2 (2%) students strongly disagree that the apps they use during the teaching and learning process support the improvement of their language skills.
The tenth statement in the questionnaire is "I prefer studying through Elena than studying in classroom".Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that they prefer studying through Elena than studying in classroom.As the results 10 students (10%) strongly agree that they prefer studying through Elena than studying in classroom, 13 students (13%) agreed that they prefer studying through Elena than studying in classroom, 41 students (41%) said neutral, 21 students (21%) disagree that they prefer studying through Elena than studying in classroom, and 10 (10%) are strongly disagree that they prefer studying through Elena than studying in classroom.
The eleventh statement in the questionnaire is "Elena and video conference are hard to use".Based on the diagram above, it can be seen that there are 100 students' responses to the statement.As the results, 2 students (2%) strongly agree that Elena and video conference are hard to use, 5 students (5%) agreed that Elena and video conference are hard to use, 15 students (15%) said neutral, 46 students (46%) disagree that Elena and video conference are hard to use, and 30 students (30%) strongly disagree that Elena and video conference are hard to use.
The twelfth questionnaire item talks about the use of Elena in teaching and learning process.Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that the use of Elena takes a lot of effort, time, and money.As the results, 1 students (1%) strongly agree that the use Elena takes a lot of effort, time, and money, 2 students (2%) agreed that the use Elena takes a lot of effort, time, and money, 8 students (8%) said neutral, 46 students (46%) disagree that the use Elena takes a lot of effort, time, and money, and 43 students (43%) strongly disagree that the use Elena takes a lot of effort, time, and money.
The thirteenth statement is "I cannot do learning through Elena anytime and anywhere".Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that they cannot do learning through Elena anytime and anywhere.As the results no students strongly agree that they cannot do learning through Elena anytime and anywhere, 1 student (1%) agreed that they cannot do learning through Elena anytime and anywhere, 16 students (16%) said neutral, 35 students (35%) disagree they cannot do learning through Elena anytime and anywhere, and 48 students strongly disagree that they cannot do learning through Elena anytime and anywhere.
The fourteenth statement in the questionnaire is "I cannot manage my study time effectively during e-learning".Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that they cannot manage my study time effectively during e-learning.As the results 1 students (1%) strongly agree that they cannot manage their study time effectively during elearning, 12 students (12%) agreed that they cannot manage their study time effectively during e-learning, 12 students (12%) said neutral, 39 students (39%) disagree that they cannot manage their study time effectively during e-learning, and 36 students (36%) are strongly disagree that they cannot manage their study time effectively during e-learning.
The fifteenth questionnaire item talks about Elena which makes me slower and harder to submit assignments.Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that Elena makes them slower and harder to submit assignments.As the results, 1 students (1%) strongly agree that Elena makes them slower and harder to submit assignments, 4 students (4%) said that Elena makes them slower and harder to submit assignments, 13 students (13%) said neutral, and 38 students (38%) disagree that Elena makes them slower and harder to submit assignments, and 44 students (44%) strongly disagree that Elena makes them slower and harder to submit assignments.
The sixteenth statement is "The learning material such as video, PPT, and e-book shared by the lecturer via Elena did not help me in understanding the topic discussed".From 100 students who responded to the statement that the material such as video, PPT, and e-book posted by the lecturer in Elena does not help them to understand the topic of the lesson, no students strongly agree that the material such as video, PPT, and e-book posted by the lecturer in Elena does not help them to understand the topic of the lesson, 1 students (1%) agreed that the material such as video, PPT, and e-book posted by the lecturer in Elena does not help them to understand the topic of the lesson, 19 students (19%) said neutral, 45 students (45%) disagree that the material such as video, PPT, and e-book posted by the lecturer in Elena does not help them to understand the topic of the lesson, and 35 students (35%) strongly disagree that the material such as video, PPT, and e-book posted by the lecturer in Elena does not help them to understand the topic of the lesson.
The seventeenth statement in the questionnaire is "My reading skills are not improving because I have less access to online materials".Based on the diagram above, no students strongly agree that their reading skills are not improving because they have less access to online materials, 4 students (4%) agreed that their reading skills are not improving because they have less access to online materials, 18 students (18%) said neutral, 42 students (42%) disagree that their reading skills are not improving because they have less access to online materials, and 36 students (36%) strongly disagree that their reading skills are not improving because they have less access to online materials.
The eighteenth questionnaire item talks about their writing skills which does not improve because they are lack in finding references and inspiration through online learning.Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that their writing skills does not improve because they are lack in finding references and inspiration through online learning.As the results, 2 students (2%) strongly agree that their writing skills does not improve because they are lack in finding references and inspiration through online learning, 5 students (5%) agreed that their writing skills does not improve because they are lack in finding references and inspiration through online learning, 9 students (9%) said neutral, 52 students (52%) disagree that their writing skills does not improve because they are lack in finding references and inspiration through online learning, and 32 students (32%) strongly disagree that their writing skills which does not improve because they are lack in finding references and inspiration through online learning.
The nineteenth statement is "The apps that I use does not improve my English skills".Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that the apps they use during the teaching and learning process do not support the improvement of their language skills.As the results no students strongly agree that the apps they use during the teaching and learning process do not support the improvement of their language skills, 3 students (3%) agreed that the apps they use during the teaching and learning process do not support the improvement of their language skills, 16 students (16%) said neutral, 51 students (51%) disagree that the apps they use during the teaching and learning process do not support the improvement of their language skills, and 30 (30%) students strongly disagree that the apps they use during the teaching and learning process do not support the improvement of their language skills.The twentieth statement in the questionnaire is "I prefer studying in classroom than learning through Elena".Based on the diagram above, 100 students' responses to the statement that they prefer studying in classroom than learning through Elena.As the results 23 students (23%) strongly agree that they prefer studying in classroom than learning through Elena, 21 students (21%) agreed that they prefer studying in classroom than learning through Elena, 42 students (42%) said neutral, 9 students (9%) disagree that they prefer studying in classroom than learning through Elena, and 5 (5%) are strongly disagree that they prefer studying in classroom than learning through Elena.
In-depth interviews were conducted afterwards to find out the students' reasons for answering the questionnaire.The researcher asked the students about the problems they experienced when learning through Elena.49 students said that the internet connection at their place is not stable, 8 students said that the device that they used such as smartphones and laptops in their place do not support accessing Elena and video conference, 45 students said that the group assignments are difficult to work on together online, 15 students said that the environment they are living in is not comfortable for online learning, 37 students said that the level of concentration and seriousness of their learning decreased during online learning, 44 students said that there is no one they can ask for help when they face difficulties while doing online learning at home, 10 students said that the difficulty in doing the assignments given by the lecturers in Elena, 23 students said that the students are easily experience stress during online learning, 48 students said that they encounter error while using Elena for online learning, and 43 students said that the learning process in Elena feel less interactive.Beside the mentioned problems, some students also encounter other problem such as they cannot open other tabs while doing quiz in Elena.The system will automatically kick the students out from the Elena when they open other tabs so the students need to log in again and redo their quiz.However, after the discussion with the web developer, this is used to prevent students from cheating while doing their quiz.Other problem is the software itself did not have good user interface because it is boring and sometimes it cannot be accessed (error server during the exam).The students also worried they might miss the assignment, quiz, or exam because there is no live notification when the lecturers post something on Elena.
Researcher also asked the students about what should be improved from Elena as an online learning tool in order to help the teaching and learning process run effectively.Students said that it would be better to make Elena as an application which can be accessed through smartphone rather than web-based application.Some students also suggest improving the user interface, since the Elena looks boring for them.They hope that in the future, they can choose their own theme when they access Elena.Students also suggest having a live notification when the lecturers post something such as materials, assignments, quiz, or exams on Elena.Since UNNES already has their own apps (MyUNNES) and Telegram bot, it is doable for the web developer to synchronize the Elena with MyUNNES apps or Telegram bot.

CONCLUSION
Based on the findings and discussions of this study, it can be concluded that English Education students have positive perception towards the use of Elena in post-pandemic era to support the teaching and learning process, especially in learning language.This is proven by the result of questionnaire and in-depth interview given to the students.Furthermore, the use of technology such as Elena and other website or application can help students to boost their language skills.However, students have high expectation for the improvement of Elena as the learning aid and give suggestion as a room for improvement.
The suggestion given by the students is to improve the user interface of Elena.It is said that the interface is boring and monotoneous.However, it can be understood that the reason of simple website layout aims to make it accessible by any device the users have.Second suggestion from the students is to make Elena into application which can be downloaded from Google Play or App Store rather than make Elena as a web-based learning aid.The last suggestion is to add live notification synchronized into MyUNNES apps or Telegram bot, so the students might get a notification text whenever the lecturers posted materials, quiz, assignments, or exams in Elena.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.Gender of the Participants

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Students' Cohort of the Participants