Utilizing Instructional Media in Teaching English at the Broadcasting Department of a Vocational High School
Abstract
Teaching English in vocational high school is part of ESP because it focuses more on students learning a specific skill in their academic program. Vocational high school English teachers must consider their students' individual needs as they teach and help them learn. One of the ways to obtain the learning goals is through the utilization of instructional media. This research aims to investigate the kinds and utilization as well as the benefits and challenges of instructional media that English teachers use in the Broadcasting Department of SMKN 2 Banjarmasin. A qualitative method was used to collect the data. The participants for this research are two female teachers, Ins and Rzk, who have been teaching English at SMKN 2 Banjarmasin for one year. Two kinds of research instruments were used: observation sheet and interview guidelines. The observations were conducted in the eleventh grade of the Broadcasting Department. The findings revealed that textbooks and videos are the most common media used in the teaching and learning process, and the tools used to access the learning videos are smartphones. Utilizing instructional media in teaching English at SMKN 2 Banjarmasin offers several benefits and poses some challenges. The benefits are that it can increase students' motivation to learn, prevent boredom, and facilitate comprehension of the learning materials. The challenges include distractions for students and limited media facilities such as LCD projectors. To solve this problem, the teachers monitored students' activities using smartphones and used a points system to attract students' attention and obtain more students' answers on quizzes. This method was effective in bringing back students' focus on learning material.