607 Copyright © 2023 The Author IDEAS is licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0 License Issued by English study program of IAIN Palopo IDEAS Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, Linguistics and Literature ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) Volume 11, Number 1, June 2023 pp. 607 - 615 Audio-Visual as Media in Reading: Students’ Responses and Challenges Neng Eva Loviasyuni1, Gartika Pandu Bhuana2* gartika@ikipsiliwangi.ac.id 1IKIP Siliwangi, Cimahi 2 IKIP Siliwangi, Cimahi Received: 2022-12-03 Accepted: 2023-07-31 DOI: 10.24256/ideas.v11i1.4003 Abstract Some experts believe that audio-visual media is beneficial in learning a second language, including English. It can increase not only students’ motivation to learn, but also their focus on the learned material. In reading, audio-visual media is considered effective in enhancing students’ comprehension. Most of the studies focus on the positive impact of using audio- visual media, but they have not yet investigated the obstacle that might be experienced by the students on its usage. Therefore, this study intends to examine the students’ obstacles of using audio-visual media in reading as well as their response to its implementation. The qualitative method was applied. The data were gained through questionnaires and observation. The respondents were 37 ninth-grade students. The findings revealed that although the students responded positively to the use of audio-visual media in reading, they had issues with its implementation. The issues dealt with language and comprehension. In the term of language, the students found it hard to understand the meaning of some words. As a result, it impacted their comprehension. Thus, it is suggested for the teachers to first consider the students’ vocabulary mastery before using audio-visual media in teaching reading. If the students have a limited vocabulary, they can use a video that has familiar words known by the students. Keywords: audio-visual media, obstacles, reading Introduction Reading is a skill that should be learned by the students of junior high school in Indonesia. Reading itself refers to recognizing the written words or symbols, the ability to acquire a massage, understanding the meaning of a text, and obtaining textual information (Kozak in Febriyanto, 2018). Pang (in Sabiq, 2018) says that reading involves two processes: word recognition and comprehension. The first one involves the process of figuring out how the written symbol matches up to one’s spoken language, while comprehension involves the understanding the meaning of the word, sentences, and passage. In short, reading is not merely about looking at the text, but also comprehending the information in the text. The fact shows that most of the students were less interested in reading. They assumed reading as a difficult activity, particularly when they needed to comprehend the text. There are several factors affecting this difficulty. One of them is the text itself. Atmaja (2018) mentions that every text has a different level of difficulty and readability, structure, http://u.lipi.go.id/1457703302 mailto:gartika@ikipsiliwangi.ac.id Neng Eva Loviasyuni, Gartika Pandu Bhuana Audio-Visual as Media in Reading: Students’ Responses and Challenges 608 text content, and language use. For some students, reading an English text seems frustrating because they lack vocabulary. In this case, they are usually distracted by some words they have not known. Another factor is the media used by the teacher. Puspitarini & Hanif (2019) utter that the teachers dominantly used a book as a resource. In their study, they found that students would be more interested in reading if the teacher could use the other media other than books. The teachers basically have attempted to use various sources, techniques, and media in teaching reading. One of the media frequently used by the teacher is audio-visual. This media uses both picture and sound which is typically in the form of slides or video (Asrul et al., 2020). The media offer various advantages in learning English. Charanjit et al. (2021) assert that it creates an enjoyable learning experience as it produces movement, sound, and picture simultaneously. It also provides authentic language input for the students (Asrul et al., 2020). Audio-visual media provides the natural context of the language, including real- life conversation, interaction, and situation. In this case, students can observe how native speakers use language in various settings. This exposure helps the student to understand the language pronunciation, intonation, and cultural references well. In reading, the use of audio-visual will make the students engaged and help them to understand the text easily. This is because they can visualize and conceptualize what they read by using the media as guidance (Atmaja, 2018). In reading a longer passage, for example, audio-visual media provides the students with the context, so that they can get the idea of who the speaker is, what the topic is, what happens, etc. These visual clues help them to construct and generate the idea. Thus, it impacts their comprehension. The efficacy of using audio-visual media to teach reading had been examined in many research. The study conducted by Atmaja (2018), Asrul et al. (2020), Sabiq (2018), Lestari & Wibawa (2021), and Syahputra et al. (2017) found that audio-visual media could help students to become better readers. Additionally, it had a positive effect on the students’ enthusiasm and motivation for learning. Unfortunately, the studies have not yet addressed the challenges that students have when learning to read through audio-visual media. This study aims to look into the challenge that students have while using audio-visual media to learn reading. It also aims to find out how the students’ response to its usage. It is expected that the result of the study can be a reference for the teacher to consider the use of audio- visual in teaching reading. Method This research employed a descriptive qualitative method. Kim et al. (2017 in Bhuana, 2023) mention that qualitative descriptive produced the information that provides a subjective account of who and what. This is consistent with the aim of the study which examined the students’ response as well as their obstacles to the use of audio-visual media in learning reading. The participants were 37 ninth-grade students in a junior high schools in Padalarang. These students were chosen as they had learned reading by using audio-visual media, particularly video. They had been instructed by the teacher to watch the video with the text as the subtitle. After watching the video, they were asked several questions related to the content of the video as well as the meaning of some words. Questionnaire was used as instrument. It was divided into two types: a five-point Likert Scale and an open-ended questionnaire. The Likert one was used to find out students’ responses to the use of audio-visual in learning reading. It was adopted from Muhlisin (2018). The questions were developed from the indicator of response, such as attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction. Meanwhile, the open-ended questionnaire was IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 609 aimed to find out the students’ obstacles in learning reading by using audio-visual media. This questionnaire was adapted from Rosepetra et al. (2021). The observation was also applied to capture directly the students’ response and attitude to the implementation of audio-visual in learning reading. After all of the data were gained, it was then analysed. The data from the Likert scale questionnaire were categorized based on four indicators of response and calculated based on the Likert Scale formula proposed by Pranatawijaya et al. (2019). Meanwhile, the data from the open-ended questionnaire was categorized and analysed based on the obstacles faced by the students. Thus, the students’ responses and obstacles in learning reading using audio-visual media could be found out. Results A. The students’ response to the use of audio-visual media in reading. The students’ response to the use of audio-visual media in learning reading was gained from the Likert scale questionnaire. As previously mentioned, there are four indicators of response adapted from Muhlisin (2018).The result can be seen in the following chart: Figure 1. The Students’ Response to the Use of Audio-Visual Media The above table reveals that among four indicators of response, attention (38,36%) got the highest score compared to the other three indicators. It was then followed by confident (20,66%), satisfaction (20,58%), and relevance (20,39%). The attention indicator deals with the ability of the media in attracting students’ awareness to the learned material. In the study, most of the students agreed that the use of audio-visual could draw their attention to the learning process. It also increased their motivation in learning. This is supported by the data gained from observation. When the teacher played the video, almost all the students gave their attention. They seemed to be curious about the video that they were going to watch. Confident in this study is related to the students’ ability in understanding the learned material. At this point, some of the students believed that the use of audio- visual media could increase their motivation in learning, particularly learning reading. Then, some of them also agreed that using audio-visual could facilitate them in comprehending the material. Unfortunately, this result was a little bit different 38% 20% 21% 21% Attention Relevance Confident Satisfaction Neng Eva Loviasyuni, Gartika Pandu Bhuana Audio-Visual as Media in Reading: Students’ Responses and Challenges 610 from the observation data. During the observation, it was discovered that some of the students found the difficulty in learning reading, especially when it dealt with the vocabulary used in the text. They several times asked the teacher the meaning of the words. Satisfaction focuses on the fulfillment of the students’ expectations to the media used by the teacher in learning. At this point, the students felt quite satisfied with the use of audio-visual media in learning reading. Most of them thought that the media could avoid the boredom of learning. It was interesting. They also think that it was better than the book. However, they got the problem of catching what was explained in the video. In their opinion, this was caused by the speed of video that was too fast. The data is similar to the data gained from the observation. When the teacher played the video, the students asked the teacher to replay it several times. The last indicator was relevance. This is related to the appropriateness of the media for learning. In the students’ opinion, audio-visual could be used in learning reading. It was beneficial in giving the example of some texts. However, the teacher should consider the speed and duration of the video. After the data from the questionnaire was gained, it was then calculated by using the Likert Scale formula. The result showed that the cumulative score of the students’ response was 79.4%. This score was assigned to the category of agree. Thus, it can be concluded that the students responded positively to the use of audio- visual media in teaching reading. B. The students’ obstacles in learning reading by using audio-visual media. The students’ obstacles were investigated through an open-ended questionnaire. Four things became the focus: 1) material; 2) language; 3) time; and 4) comprehension. 20% 35%12% 33% Material Language Time Comprehension 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly Agree 79,4% IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 611 Figure 2. The Students’ Obstacle in Learning Reading through Audio-Visual Media The result of the questionnaire showed that most of the students got problems with language (35%) and comprehension (33%). It was then followed by the material (20%) and time (12%). Related to the language, most of the students said they had difficulty in understanding the language used in the video. This was because the video used English as the subtitle. This result was similar to the data gained from the observation. As priorly discussed, the students frequently asked the teacher about the meaning of some vocabulary. The second obstacle that the students experienced was comprehension. Comprehension in this case was related to the content of the material learned on the video. When it dealt with reading, it was related to the aspect of reading such as: identifying the main idea, finding specific information, determining pronoun referent, finding inference, and identifying the meaning of some words (vocabulary). The results revealed that some students found a problem identifying the meaning of some English words and determining inference. The third obstacle was related to the material. Regarding this, the students said that they did not have a problem with the material given. The material was quite good. It was appropriate with the aim of learning. However, they had just a problem in comprehending it because of the speed of the media itself. This finding was consistent with the observation data. In the observation data, it was shown that the students required low-speed video as it was really hard for them to catch the gist of the explanation displayed on the media. The next obstacles were time. Some of the students agreed that the use of audio- visual media took time, particularly if it has a long duration. The data is consistent with the observation data. In the observation, it was revealed that the duration to play the video was for about 10-15 minutes. If the students asked the teachers to replay it, it took about 30 minutes, even more. Thus, there was little time left for a discussion session. Discussion The results of the study found that the students had a positive response to the use of audio-visual media in learning reading. They thought that the use of media could attack their attention in the learning process. This corroborates the result of several studies. Limbong et al. (2021) found the effectiveness of audio-visual media in improving students’ attention. Winarto et al. (2020) also discovered that the use of audio-visual media could encourage students’ focus and enhance active learning. Thaseem & Kareema (2017) found that audio-visual media could be a good tool for the teacher to maintain the students’ focus on the subject matter. Meanwhile, Lin et al. (2018) revealed that audio-visual media made the students be more pay attention to the learning process. Audio-visual media has multisensory stimulation (Winarto et al., 2020). It stimulates various senses at the same time, including hearing and sight. This combination provides the students with a richer learning experience that could enrich and enhance their engagement in learning. In addition, the dynamic visualization offered by audio-visual media offered an interesting and enjoyable learning process for the students. As a result, they will maintain their focus and attention on the learned material. Attention and motivation, however, have a reciprocal relation. When the students Neng Eva Loviasyuni, Gartika Pandu Bhuana Audio-Visual as Media in Reading: Students’ Responses and Challenges 612 find the material given by the teachers is interesting dan meaningful, the students tend to be motivated to pay attention and put effort into learning. On the contrary, when the students assumed the material was boring, it will be hard for them to maintain their attention. This is in accordance with Chang & Burns (2005) who assert that attention deals with the cognitive, socio-emotional, and motivational systems. Meanwhile, Mendez et al. (2010) utter that attention is a prerequisite to achieve motivation in learning. Even though audio-visual media could attract the students’ attention, there were some obstacles faced by the students while learning using this media. The obstacles were mainly focused on language and comprehension. This result is dissimilar from the previous studies (e.g: Khalidiyah, 2015; Lestari & Wibawa, 2021; Pangestuti & Wati, 2022; Syahputra et al., 2017) which revealed that audiovisual improved students’ reading comprehension. Concerning the language, the students in this study seem to lack vocabulary mastery. This is proven by the fact that they frequently asked the teacher about the meaning of some English words in the media. Vocabulary, however, is inextricably linked to comprehension. When students find unfamiliar words while reading, they may struggle to find out the meaning. This hinders their ability to decode and comprehend the content of the text accurately. In other words, without a broad vocabulary, it will be difficult for them to recognize and understand the words, which could lead to gaps in comprehension. The results of some studies (Al-Khasawneh, 2019; Dong et al., 2020; Jamalipour & Farahani, 2015; Maarof & Yunus, 2016; Mohammed, 2019) support the idea that students with limited vocabulary were at risk of reading comprehension difficulties. To cope with the above challenge, it is important for teachers to priorly increase students’ vocabulary mastery. At this point, they can provide explicit vocabulary instruction by directly providing clear definitions of new words in English and their examples. The teachers also can use word-learning strategies by introducing the prefix, suffix, or root words to understand the meaning of unfamiliar words. In these strategies, they can instruct the students to use the dictionary, context clues, or word maps to deepen their understanding of the words and expand the vocabulary independently. Furthermore, the teacher can expose the students to a wide variety of texts, including fiction or nonfiction. During the reading activity, they can assist the students in using context clues to infer the meaning of unfamiliar words. They can also prompt the students to ask questions, make predictions, or discuss the meaning of unknown words in the text. Improving students’ vocabulary mastery, however, is an ongoing process. The key points are active engagement and providing a chance for the students to encounter and use the new words frequently. Another obstacle faced by the students was material and time. Related to the material, it was suggested for the teacher who wants to use audio-visual media to consider the duration and the language used in the media. If the students in the class are dominated by those who have limited English vocabulary, it will be better to use media that has simple and familiar English words. Hence, they will comprehend what is stated and written in the video easily. If their vocabulary mastery has already improved, the teacher can gradually enhance the difficulty level of the content in the video. Conclusion This study found that there is a positive response from the students to the implementation of audio-visual media in learning reading of report text. This media is not only able to draw their attention, but also to increase their motivation in learning reading. Even though some experts say that the use of audio-visual media provides many beneficial impacts on the students' learning process, this study revealed a different result. During the implementation of audio-visual media in reading, the students experienced some difficulties. They have a problem in finding out the meaning of the English words shown in the video. Consequently, IDEAS, Vol. 11, No. 1, June 2023 ISSN 2338-4778 (Print) ISSN 2548-4192 (Online) 613 it impacts to their understanding or comprehension. 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