An Investigation of the Effect of Online News Items and News Paper on the Students’ Writing Outcome of EFL Context

This paper aims to report the investigation of the effect of online news items on students' writing outcome of English as foreign language context. This research used quantitative methods with quasi-experimental research designs with non-equivalent groups' pretest-posttest design. Two groups which 46 students were the experimental and control groups and both groups were given with some different treatments. Those treatments were given in a balanced and intensive manner without intervention from factors beyond the researcher's control. The tests were then employed as the instrument to gain data with ANCOVA as design of analysis technique and SPSS as media to compute. The findings showed that online news items have strengthened students' writing abilities and motivated students to write related problems. The results obtained from this study proven that the P-value (0.016) <0.05 (alpha). A criterion is if the P-value <alpha (0.05) means that the hypothesis (H0) is rejected and (Ha) is accepted. There are significant differences in student grades. Therefore, it can be concluded that students taught using online news items media were better than students who only use textbook media.


INTRODUCTION
Writing skills is one of the academic activities that are very substantial for students to master. As Sedita (2013) mentions, students, require and apply writing for many purposes, such as communicating and sharing knowledge, supporting understanding and learning, and exploring students' feelings. Rosdiana (2014) describes writing as a communication medium for expressing ideas, thoughts and information poured on a piece of paper. She also stated that writing in a foreign language is somewhat complicated for some students. A teacher must have a method or media that can attract students' interest in writing to increase students' writing skills. The current students' interest in writing is minimal, whereas writing has become essential. As Supiani (2016, p. 37) explains, "75% of all international communications write, 80% of all international information is the world of computers, and 90% of internet content is in English". Therefore, teachers' creativity as a mentor is essential to developing students' writing. The teacher must be able to innovate in making attractive teaching methods. It aims to make students interested in learning to write, and one example is the use of internet-based online media news items as a medium of learning in writing classes.
The Internet can provide large amounts of information traditionally submitted by online or offline media. The Internet has become an essential part of many people's daily lives. Now, most of the students in Indonesia actively use the Internet. Many students are interested in the Internet-bound in various activities, whether in school or non-school activities (Kok Eng Tan, 2010). The use of the Internet in schools will help students access multiple matters relating to education. Of course, this will make it easier for students to discuss or exchange ideas even from a great distance. As Lekawael (2017) reveals, the Internet has an important influence on increasing students' writing skills. Using internet-based learning media, such as utilizing online news items found on websites, can help students express their ideas when writing. As Trang & Linh (2018), states online, news items will give more freedom to students to write. It means that students can freely express their ideas. Then students' writing skills will increase; on the other hand, using online news items media can train students to write about various important issues around them, and this exercise will provide opportunities for students to have the desire to become journalists. In this research, the researcher focuses on exposition.
Based on the background of the above research, researchers predict that students' answers taught through the online media news items have better writing skills than students taught using textbooks in class. Thus, this study wants to provide an overview of "The Effectiveness of Online News items on Students' Writing Skills." As for the state of the problem in this study, do the students taught using the online news items have better writing skills than those conducted by a textbook on the Hortatory exposition text? "

RESEARCH METHOD
The researcher used quantitative research as strategy or research method that encourages a positive philosophical worldview and also to examine specific populations or samples particular" (Creswell, 2014, p. 92). The researcher used Pretest-post-test non-equivalent group design as a part of Quasi-Experimental to determine whether there were significant differences in the writing ability of hortatory exposition text between students who were taught using online news items as a learning medium and those who were taught traditional literacy curriculum of writing outcome with no random to select the samples. According to Latief (2016), in quasi-experimental research, a researcher cannot randomly select samples from all existing populations and assign them to different classes. Furthermore, the researcher can only assign different treatments randomly to two other classes: the experimental and control groups. The pre-tests, in this case, were practically given before the treatment to know the initial conditions of the two groups. The treatment was given to the experimental group by using an online news item as a learning medium, while the control group received treatment based on the literacy curriculum in the school to train students' writing skills. After students' skills were taught, the two groups were given a post-test to ascertain the results. In this research, the independent variable was an online news item. Therefore, the dependent variable was the students' writing skills in the hortatory exposition text.
Fraenkel & Wallen (2009) defined a population as a group or a whole group of individuals to which people hope to apply the results. It means that population is the entire subject that the researcher wants to learn to generalize the research results. The population of this study used all of the students of class XI Science Class of Senior High School In Madura, East Java Province in the second semester of the XI Science consisting of 115 students observed in the academic year 2018/2019. On the other hand, he stated that a sample is in which information was obtained from a group. In other words, a sample is a small group chosen from many populations to be observed and researched to get information.
The researcher used a non-random sampling technique to determine which class would be the experimental and control groups. The researchers selected whole groups to be sampled using convenience sampling. Convenience sampling takes ready or available samples to be taught (Fraenkel, Wallen, & Hyun, 2012). The selection in this study was XI Science Class 4 and XI Science Class 5 with total 46 students. The researcher selected the sample by observing the average score of students in several courses. The samples were selected from two categories with almost the same quality to be divided into two groups. The first group was the experimental group and the second group was the control group. The experimental group was given media in the form of an online news item as a learning medium to write their exposition hortatory texts, while the control group was given the same material but used a textbook.
In this study, researchers used subjective tests as research instruments included in the pre-test and posttest. Subjective tests have many items, including short answer essays, essay writing, problem-solving, and performance test items (Rudasill, 2011). Subjective tests were given to students to develop students' mindsets and write essays using online news items as learning media in making hortatory exposition paragraph. Tests were given to students in the pre-test and post-test. The researcher gave pre-tests to both groups that were selected as samples before treatment and post-test after treatment.
The pre-test and post-test stages in control and experimental classes were the same. There was only one question that had to be done by the student, and it was a hortatory exposition essay about that under the theme of the discussion. Each class was given about 45 minutes to complete writing, and then the students submitted the examination paper to the researcher. Researchers gave pre-tests for both types in the morning. The researcher got a sample score on the pre-test and analyzed the data adopted by the scoring rubric of Oshima & Hogue (2016).
Validity is a characteristic of data and conclusions drawn from data. It means that validity is a measure used to determine the level of validity of an instrument or data. (Creswell, n.d.) explained that an instrument would be valid if it measures what is measured. It meant that a tool could be declared valid if there were matches between the data collected and the data. The content used in this study was validity content, with the scope of the assignment being evidence or sample. Latief (2016) stated that if the tasks requested by students cover all domain samples in the skills or knowledge to be assessed, the representation of samples is proof of the validity of supporting content. Validity is used to determine whether or not valid test questions are applied to the subjects in this study. Before the instrument is applied to students, researchers consult with experts; she is an English teacher in Senior High School In Madura, East Java Province, whether the instruments are appropriate.
Latief's (2014) reliability is the consistency of the final value of the assessment. Data was declared reliable if the test results remained consistent even if repeated on different occasions. The reliability of a test has several types, one of which is test-retest. Here researcher used this type to estimate the reliability of an examination. It refers to the measurement instrument that reliability must be tested by measuring instruments repeatedly on the same subject at different times. Reliability measurement was done by giving a test to the respondent when taken from one of the populations not included in the sample group. The instrument was tested in another class twice using the same material but at different times. The respondent in this study to measure the instrument's reliability is XI Senior high School in In Madura, East Java Province. To analyze the correlation coefficient between the first experiment and the second, researchers used SPSS Statistics with Pearson Product Moment correlation. The results of the Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient indicate 0.837. it meant that the evidence of instrument reliability results using the Test-Retest Reliability is quite reliable.
The pre-test was held before the researcher taught students through treatment, so the groups were given a pre-test to determine students' initial writing skills. The researcher conducted a pre-test. Each class was given about 45 minutes to complete the writing. After the time has expired, students collect test papers for the researcher.
After the pre-test, treatment using online news items as learning media was given to the experimental class, while textbook treatment was given to the control group. This study held treatments several days. The first treatment was conducted in the 90 minutes experimental class from 7:00 to 8:30 and next to the control class from 08: 30-10:00. The practical course consists of 23 students, whereas the control class consists of 23 students as a sample. The treatment given to each class is different, only in the use of the media. The experimental class used online news items media, while the control class used a media textbook.
Researchers gave students more understanding of the hortatory text exposition material, ranging from definitions, grammar, and generic structures such as theses, arguments, recommendations, writing format, and social functions. This discussion was given to the experimental group and the control group.
After that, the teacher discussed the generic structure of the text and provided a detailed explanation of the hortatory text so that students understood well about the material. The researcher asked students to give conclusions from the material that had been studied. Students concluded the definitions, generic structures, writing format, and social functions of exposition hortatory texts.
The second treatment was that the researcher invited students to review the material learned in the first treatment at this stage. After that, the researcher gave examples of hortatory texts and explained the parts of the hortatory texts; after the researcher had finished explaining, the researcher asked students to analyze the text, and each student was only given 30 minutes to study the hortatory text provided by the researcher. After completing the analysis, the remaining time was used to discuss the results of the student analysis, and at the end of the second treatment, students were asked to provide conclusions about the material discussed. The next step was researchers reviewed the discussion that had been done on previous therapies. Researchers also introduced online news items media to students at this stage; the researcher explained more about online news items and demonstrated how to use the media. The first step that students had to do was visit a website with Google chrome. After that, the researcher asked students to look for news items with the same theme, such as global warming, and then read the things carefully to find ideas in writing hortatory texts. The next step was the continuation stage from the third treatment, so the discussion was not much different from the location in the third treatment. Students had to look for news items other than the previous one but with the same theme in this teaching and learning process. At this stage, students should find some news items, at least there had to be three news items that they had to find, and students read the news items and write ideas that they got in their notebooks.
If the treatment were given to the control group, the discussion would not be much different from the treatment given to the experimental group, and only the difference was the media used. The control group would be assigned treatments according to the material studied in class without using online news items media. In the initial stages of treatment to the control group, the researcher explained hortatory expositions and started with definitions, grammar, and generic structures such as theses, arguments, and recommendations. Because the techniques used for this control group were conventional, the researcher only explained steps in writing exposition hortatory, so students in the control group could also write exposition hortatory in the form of essays. The students then understood the discussion and were asked to make an essay in the form of a hortatory exposition with a theme determined The last step was to give a post-test. The post-test was not much different from the pre-test; this aims to obtain treatment effects and value. This process was the same as the process in the pre-test, where each experimental group and control group was asked to write essays in the form of a hortatory exposition with different themes from the pre-test, and essay writing in the post-test had to follow the general structure and syntax exposition hortatory. Each group was given 45 minutes to complete their writing. If the time was sufficient, the students were asked to collect examination papers for researchers to be assessed

The Result of Pretest-Posttest
Based on table 1 above, the researcher got a score from all students of XI-Science Class 4 as an experimental class. It could be known that the sum of pre-test 1047, the mean score was 45.52, and the score of standard deviation was 6.775. Whereas, the sum of posttest 1591, the mean score was 69.17, and the standard deviation score was 5.158 for the total number of students where 23 . Based on table 2 above, the researcher got a score from all students of XI-Science Class 5 as a control class. It could be known that the sum of pre-test 1014, the mean the score was 44.09, and the standard deviation score was 6.735, Whereas the sum of post-test 1498, the mean score was 65.13, and the score of standard deviation was 6.483 for the total number students where 23.  .708 Tests the null hypothesis that the dependent variable's error variance is equal across groups. a. Design: Intercept + Pretest + Media

The Result of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA)
The table above showed that the significance of reading comprehension was higher than 0.05 (0.708 > 0.05). Therefore, the error variance of the dependent variable is equal across groups (Homogeneous).  15 6.143 46 The mean differences in writing skills for the two groups were: 1. The mean of writing skills using online news items media was 69.71 2. The mean of writing skills using a textbook was 65.13 Based on the table above shows the contrast results using a simple method. Students taught using textbooks versus students are prepared using online news items media with contrast estimation -3.187 and sig 0.016. Therefore, the difference between media results in learning English, especially in writing skills, is textbooks and online news items media. The contrast made in this method has been improved because a significant score in contrast errors in the univariate test table was lower than 0.05 (0.016 <0.05). The data above showed that the median score is lower than 0.05 (0.016<0.05). Pre-test scores were significantly lower than 0.05 (0.000<0.05). Therefore, in this ANCOVA model, the role of pre-test writing as a covariate is effective. The difference in average writing skills using media is significant. It means that online news items media as an important variable affects students' writing outcome.

Discussion
Based on the results of the data analysis shown above, it can be concluded that students who are taught using online news items as learning media in class have higher scores on hortatory exposition text writing skills than those taught by textbooks. Besides, the analysis results showed that online news items as a medium for learning English had a significant score on students' writing skills in class XI of Senior high school In Madura, East Java Province. Trang & Linh (2018) revealed that online news items are a good medium for stimulating students' creative ideas to write online news items that can provide more freedom for students to write. It means that online news items media can affect students' writing skills. Also, the analysis results showed that the use of online news items as a medium for learning English had a significant score on students' writing skills in class XI of Senior high school In Madura, East Java Province.
Students taught through online news items media in the class have better writing scores than students taught through textbook media. Hence, the results of this study, in line with Camassol & Notari (2017), reveal that online news items are effective learning media that can provide great potential in managing the main ideas of reading. By using online news items, students will find it easier to find ideas for writing. It can be seen when the researcher provides treatments to students in the class. Students are asked to read online news items to find information relating to the theme of the discussion in the hortatory text. At this stage, students seem to begin to compile these ideas for later to be developed into a paragraph. Also, the researchers found that students felt helped when writing hortatory texts through ideas obtained from reading the online news items. So, in this case, reading and writing are units that cannot be separated because writing skills are usually obtained after reading skills (Alfitia & Al-Hafizh 2013). Writing skills is a skill that is difficult to learn by students of Senior high school In Madura, East Java Province because several factors can affect it. Hasanah (2015) stated that several components must be considered in writing skills, such as grammar, vocabulary, and content continuity. The researchers found that the factors that caused a low pre-test score were largely due to students not having the courage to try to write something in English. Besides, they are always afraid of being wrong in grammar. The last reason is the lack of media used by teachers who can stimulate students' creative writing ideas. So, in this case, the online news items are a good medium to be used in the teaching and learning process

CONCLUSION
Based on data analysis and research conducted at Senior high school In Madura, East Java Province, researchers concluded that students taught using online news items media had higher writing skills scores than students taught by textbooks. It can be seen from the data acquisition of the average score of students in each class. It means that online news items can influence students' writing skills on the hortatory text. An online news item is a learning media that can broaden students' knowledge and make it easier for students to find ideas for writing. Researchers collected student score data in the pre-test and post-test using essay tests and analyzed student scores using ANCOVA statistical calculations to check the data provided by SPSS for windows 23.

AUTHORS' CONTRIBUTIONS
The title "Investigating the effect of online news items on the students writing outcome of EFL context" contributed to the different method with three criteria than 2 criteria previously.