English Language Education Program (ELEP) Students’ Perspectives on Online Poster Presentation in Academic Speaking Course

Abstract

Speaking in English might be one of the most difficult skills to master, especially for non-native English students. Academic Speaking is one of speaking courses in a private university in Central Java, Indonesia. At the university, the Academic Speaking course was conducted online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of the students faced problems and difficulties in online Academic Speaking course, especially when doing online poster presentation. The purpose of this study was to analyze ELEP students’ perspectives on doing online poster presentation in Academic Speaking course during this online learning. This study used a qualitative method. The instruments used were open-ended and closed-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. In this study, the researcher coded and classified all the participants’ answers in the questionnaires and interviews descriptively. The participants were 35 students who were taking Academic Speaking course online in March to July 2021, in an English Language Education Program, in a private university in Central Java, Indonesia. Based on the findings, the researcher found out that students experienced positive and negative feelings in doing the online poster presentation. Besides, they had different opinions on the benefits, disadvantages, effectiveness, atmosphere, and preference of poster presentation. In doing the poster presentation, students faced some difficulties. However, they found ways to solve the problems. Hopefully, this research will be useful for Academic Speaking teachers to create an effective and intensive poster presentation. Besides, the findings will also be helpful for students in gaining a better understanding of the other students’ perspectives on doing poster presentation in the Academic Speaking course.