Using YouTube Media in Learning Listening Skills

The Indonesian language is inseparable from the world of education because Indonesian holds two positions: as the National Language and as the State Language. In line with its position as the State Language, Indonesian has these functions: first, as the official language of the state; second, as the language of instruction in education; third, as a means of communication at the national level for the purposes of planning and carrying out national development as well as government affairs; and fourth, as a means of developing culture, knowledge and technology (Mudliath, 2015: 1).

            To develop Indonesian, teaching needs to be provided from an early age, with mastery of competency standards covering four skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing. Listening is the first skill that humans must master because listening is the foundation of a language (Merdhana, 2014 & Tarigan, 2015). Mastery of language, oral communication and phonology can be achieved when listening skills are mastered.

            Listening is essentially hearing and understanding the content of the material listened to. Therefore, the main aim of listening is to grasp, understand or internalise the messages, ideas and thoughts implied in the material listened to. According to Setiawan (in Darmawan, 2001: 11), one of the benefits of listening is that it increases intellectuality and deepens our appreciation of knowledge and our treasury of learning.

            The important role of listening skills in mastering other language skills needs to be supported by good learning, namely learning that demands active participation from learners. Learners' active engagement is the most important element for the success of the learning process. By participating actively in listening lessons, learners' abilities will be trained so that they become more and more skilled at listening. This is in line with Tarigan (2008:2), who states that a skill can only be acquired and mastered through practice and plenty of training. However, in reality it is very rare to find learners who are active in listening lessons, which results in learners' low listening ability.

             This low level of listening skill is caused by both learner and educator factors. On the learner side, most of them lack motivation and attention in the listening process, while on the educator side, most educators rarely use interesting learning media and are less innovative in teaching listening. One technique educators can use is the use of YouTube media in listening lessons.

YouTube is a video-sharing website created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005. The site allows users to upload, watch and share videos. The company is headquartered in San Bruno, California, and uses Adobe Flash Video and HTML5 technology to display a wide variety of user-generated video content, including film clips, TV clips and music videos. There is also content such as video blogs, short original videos and educational videos. YouTube has become a social medium that is practical and easily accessible.

According to Green & Hope, 2010 in Suryaman (2015:1), social media has become an important teaching tool for disseminating information to students, patients and their families. Using interactive video, such as YouTube, in learning will improve learners' understanding and mastery of skills. YouTube can be an alternative for learning Indonesian language and literature skills, as a teaching tool to create an active learning experience among groups in order to increase their knowledge (Herman, 2006, Carpenter et al, 2008 in Suryaman, 2015).

YouTube is an effective alternative learning resource related to instructional videos for educators and learners. Integrating certain videos on YouTube can develop learners' appreciative ability and provide a learning experience that is not limited to the subject matter but also covers the technology used.

The strengths or advantages of using YouTube in learning are that learners do not get bored because the audio-visual media can be enjoyed during learning or can be used as a means of entertainment in learning, with the added benefit of the various knowledge gained. In addition, it accustoms learners to learning by streaming and downloading any video that can add to their knowledge, such as opening or watching and listening to educational news videos.

            The obstacles educators face when using educational news YouTube media in teaching listening skills include, first, inadequate facilities. Facilities greatly affect the smooth running of the learning process, especially learning that uses IT-based media. Second,  a classroom situation that is not conducive. Considering that most educational institutions do not provide adequate rooms, learning listening skills becomes less conducive. Third, learners' insufficient ability and skill in listening to educational news on YouTube. Some learners quickly grasp and understand the content of the news shown through YouTube, while others are slow to grasp it. Moreover, listening activities have never been practised in lessons.

            Several suggestions can be put forward: discussion of the use of educational news YouTube media should be carried out by educators at various levels of education so that learners master listening skills more deeply. In addition, other educators, especially Indonesian language educators, can apply or use other learning media to support language skills, namely listening skills.