EFL Pre- Service Teachers’ Reflection on the Use of English Conversation Practice Application for Learning Speaking

Abstract

Speaking skill is one of the important skills that students must master when learning English. This is due to the fact that the main objective of language to communicate in real-life situations effectively (Azizifar et al., 2014). However, students usually find hindrances while learning speaking. Thus, it is necessary to have an appropriate strategy for learning speaking. In the other hand In addition, technology has also been developed in various fields, one of which is education. Kacetl & Klímová (2019) state that education is one field that relies heavily on technology to support the teaching and learning activity, including learning English. The development of technology has resulted in the existence of mobile application. English Conversation practice application is the one of mobile application that can be used by students for learning speaking. This research was conducted to explore the EFL pre-service teachers' reflections on the use of the English Conversation Practice Application in learning speaking during their learning process at the University. This study used a descriptive qualitative study. It was conducted in one of the universities in Jember, East Java. The participants who were involved in this study were two undergraduate students majoring in English Education program in one of the universities in Jember, East Java. The participants used the English Conversation Practice application for learning speaking during the course. Furthermore, I collected the data through interviews. Semi-structured interview was use in this study. The data of the interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis by Braun and Clarke (2012) Through reflection from students while using the English conversation practice application to learn speaking, it shows that learn speaking using English Conversation Practice app was fun experience the and helps them to learn speaking, especially pronunciation and intonation from native speakers in the application. From exploration in learning, EFL pre-service teachers can also learn about the role of educators as a facilitator, guides, and feedback provider, how to make students engage and be motivated in speaking learning processes using the apps. However, they discovered weaknesses of the application such as internet problems and lack of direct feedback from the application. Despite all the weaknesses, they got lesson learned while using the application. They realized that continuous learning by using English Conversation practice app can optimize students' learning outcomes. Besides for self-improvement, learning speaking using English Conversation Practice app gave them awareness that implementation of mobile technology in learning is important to help the students achieve their learning goals. Reflection from their experience can also give them insight how to teach speaking using English Conversation Practice app by adapting the lecturer’s teaching method for the their future teaching process.