Efficiency of ICT and Social Media in Online Learning of Free Basic Japanese Learning through Yasashii Nihongo

Abstract

The education world has changed drastically in the last 6 months, which previously was done offline switching to online. This transition has affected many aspects of learning system, the lesson planning, lesson materials, and even the method or media used so that the teaching and learning process can run according to predetermined targets . The usage of Zoom application as the facility for learning is very common nowadays. Zoom is an application used for communication with video and can be used through the computer, laptop, and mobile phones. However, by only using Zoom alone, teachers cannot see how students are doing after online learning is complete. Therefore, other technology is needed, namely WhatsApp. Just like the Zoom application, WhatsApp also can be accessed from all three devices mentioned above The existence of these two applications have been implemented in free Japanese language teaching for all levels of society. The society includes and not limited to age, education, sex, and occupation. Because this is a free lesson, the learning materials should be free and the choice fell on the new version of Yasashii Nihongo. This online-based teaching material is officially published by NHK with various materials such as one stop shopping because it includes Japanese characters, Can-do (bunkei), videos, cultural knowledge, and many more. The new version with more coverage in each chapter adds insight to students but it takes extra effort to understand the scope. From the results of the questionnaire, it is also seen that students really like Yasashii Nihongo and they want to continue to study Japanese language. Therefore, it can be concluded that this teaching material
is suitable for online learning.