International Journal of Indonesian Studies Volume 1, Issue 3 | Page 123

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INDONESIAN STUDIES
SPRING 2016
students get the best education possible and make a smoother transition to the work force.
Technology can act as a bridge to help students move beyond theoretical understanding
(Cuban, 2001)
The primary motivation for integrating ICTs into teaching and learning is the belief
that it supports students in exploring and articulating thoughts, knowledge construction and
theory building (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1991), collaboration, negotiation of meanings,
reflection on meaningful learning through accessing authentic information and immersing
themselves in complex and contextualized learning situations (Jonassen et al. 1999). The
belief that technology can have a positive impact on student learning has spawned a
proliferation of studies in the past three decades, such as research studies on ICTs in
education, demonstrating that the use of technology can help improve students’ selfconcept and motivation and their performance in problem solving (Hew & Brush, 2007). A
study conducted by Jung (2006) investigated 591 Chinese students and found that the
economic and sociocultural context in which the students came from greatly influenced
their language learning experience through technology.
Despite the efforts that have been made, ICT uses in classrooms have been reported
repeatedly and relatively low (Ministry of Education & Culture, 2013; Machmud, 2012).
Literature reveals that it is important to examine teachers’ understanding what it means to
meaningfully integrate ICT into the classrooms. Some evidence from the previous studies on
technology integration in English as a Foreign language classrooms in Indonesia shows that
teachers are too much focused on what the technology can do, or the degree to which
technologies are used in the classroom as tools, and not at how these technologies can be
well-integrated into pedagogy. The fact shows that the way how ICTs are developed and
marketed to Indonesian schools in way that try to alter pedagogy rather than be an effective
teaching tool need to be evaluated. The ultimate goal of integrating ICT in Indonesian EFL
classrooms as well as in a broader context of Asian schools should address how teaching and
learning can be enhanced and how students’ learning outcome can be boosted. A study
conducted by Machmud (2012) on a group of EFL teachers’ technology integration in the
Indonesian province of Gorontalo, for example, revealed that teachers most frequently used
technologies for non-instructional purposes. These findings support meaningful ICT
integration as one of the main recommendations for teachers to improve their students’
academic performance in language learning.
The present study aimed at examining whether the use of technology in Indonesian
EFL classrooms in at the university context directly contribute to the academic performance
improvement by taking into account some key aspects of instructional design, technology
capabilities, supportive learning environment and the cultural aspect of learning as
suggested by the previous researchers.

123 | P a g e