Understanding Students’ Perspective and Use of Technology for Language Learning at Islamic Boarding School

Abstract

Pesantren or Islamic Boarding school is one of the oldest Islamic Institutions in Indonesia, home to the the largest muslim population in the world. There are two types of pesantren, traditional (salafi) and modern (khalaf). In selected modern pesantren, students are obliged to communicate in Arabic and/ or English language as a part of their bilingual program. The implementation of English in daily conversation requires students to acquire high level of English proficiency. The purpose of this study is to provide insight of ESL acquisition and practice, technology use to enhance language learning, and future enhancement of language learning through students’ lenses. The writer distributed questionnaire and conducted focus group discussion to thirty Darul Ulum Islamic Boarding School students. The findings showed that while there are restrictions on the use of technology devices in pesantren, half of students feel that they have sufficient exposure to English through traditional teaching program. However, many students acknowledge that they have limited vocabulary that addresses to their daily lives, thus they would like to find more resources that accommodate this needs. Finally, based on the findings, this paper suggests that pesantren allows for more access to technology devices and diverse resources of ESL as well as availability of librarian or experts that can help students to use technology for learning efficiently.