The Effectiveness of Quizlet.com in Arabic Vocabulary Learning; Students’ Perception and Acceptance of Technology

ENGLISH ABSTRACT The increasingly massive development of technology makes language learning no longer limited to only being in the classroom, but can be done anywhere using digital devices. Vocabulary is one of the important parts of language acquisition because vocabulary is the initial stage of mastering the four language skills. This study aims to determine the influence of the use of Quizlet in mastering the Arabic vocabulary of Arabic Language and Literature students, student perceptions of the use of the application in learning Arabic vocabulary, and acceptance of the technology used in quizlet.com. This study used an experimental design and was conducted on 25 Arabic Language and Literature students. This study used several data collection techniques, including pretest-posttest, perception questionnaires, and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) questionnaires. The results of this study explained that the value of the posttest was greater than the pretests and the results of the T-Test showed a significant difference. These results are supported by a perception questionnaire that shows that students consider the use of the quizlet.com application to be effectively used in learning Arabic vocabulary. As well as the results of the TAM questionnaire showed that students were satisfied with the use of quizlet.com in learning Arabic vocabulary. The results of this study can be a recommendation for Arabic teachers, that quizlet.com can be used as a medium for learning Arabic vocabulary both in the classroom and outside the classroom.


Introduction
Vocabulary is an important element in language acquisition. Vocabulary becomes the basis of all language competencies in addition to grammatical rules. Words are language units that have meaning and are the forming elements of a sentence or expression that are the basis for communication between people, both oral and written.
A person who wants to communicate or wants to simply understand a conversation or wants to understand a certain text needs vocabulary as the initial basis. Although the meaning of the sentence is inseparable from the morphological context or syntactic context, at least they are able to know the meaning of the word in the early stages.
Researchers have discovered that mastery of vocabulary affects the language competence of language learners. A study in 1985 found that the weakness of reading competence is caused by the lack of vocabulary mastered by students (Subiyati, 1985). Leong and Ahmadi also mentioned that one of the factors that influence the mastery of the ability to speak is the knowledge of vocabulary (Leong & Ahmadi, 2017). Ni'mah (2017) found that there was a positive correlation between vocabulary mastery and students' speaking ability. Baharun and friends also reinforced that vocabulary affects all mastery of language competencies such as the ability to hear, speak, read and write (Samsun Baharun et al., 2021). Some studies above have explained the importance of vocabulary knowledge to support the mastery of language skills. However, in reality, there are foreign language students, especially Arabic language and literature students, who still lack mastery of Arabic vocabulary. This has caused the lack understanding on the scientific core of the study program. Because In order to read Arabic theory books, students must first master language skills, especially reading skill. And the mastery of language skills must be supported by mastery of vocabulary.
Efforts to improve vocabulary mastery have carried out by many previous researchers. Some studies explain that improving vocabulary mastery can be done using strategies such as role-playing strategies (Alabsi, 2016), anagrams (Kumara, 2016), concept maps (Khoshsima, 2016) and cards (Chan Díaz, 2016) (Fazriani et al., 2020). As a result, these strategies are able to improve students' mastery of vocabulary. Not only that, but many researchers also conduct research around improving vocabulary mastery by using learning methods such as direct methods (Sinaga et al., 2018), jigsaw methods (Neno & Erfiani, 2018), flipped classroom methods (Alnuhayt, 2018) and silent methods (Annisah, 2019). These methods are proven to be able to improve student's vocabulary mastery. The media is also of concern to researchers to improve the mastery of vocabulary such as the use of cards (Purba et al., 2018) (Fazriani et al., 2020), songs (Muflihah, 2017) and videos (Wisdom, 2021). The findings also showed the students' improvement in mastering the vocabulary.
Efforts to improve vocabulary mastery are not only carried out with strategies, methods, and media that are directly related to language learning, but researchers have also conducted experiment on social media in vocabulary learning such as Facebook (Rahimi et al., 2015), Instagram (Agustin & Ayu, 2021), Twitter (Hamad, 2017), Whatsapp (Hamad, 2017) and Telegram (Hamad, 2017) and obtained positive results.
Furthermore, in efforts to improve the mastery of vocabulary many have begun to switch to using digital devices such as Android phones. Even lately, special applications of language learning began to be developed and used for vocabulary learning such as duo lingo (Ajisoko, 2020).
Digital-based vocabulary learning is also experiencing rapid development. Many parties are competing to develop learning applications to improve language mastery, especially vocabulary. Not only that, but developers began to include the gaming system in learning applications or what is commonly known as gamification. The game system adopted in such vocabulary learning applications provides many benefits. The vocabulary learning that is considered before as boring, now it becomes more interesting and challenging. As well as increasing motivation and enthusiasm for learning languages. Some examples of vocabulary learning application that adopts a game system such as kahoot! (Mansur & Fadhilawati, 2019), quizziz (Komalasari & Zuhriyah, 2021), wordwall (Arafah & Ahmad, 2020) and quizlet.com. In some studies, the four applications were able to improve student's vocabulary mastery.
It can be concluded that the use of strategies, methods, and media contributes positively to the learning and mastery of language vocabulary. This is proven by the students' achievement of vocabulary knowledge. In addition, recent studies have shown that the use of digital technology is an effective choice to improve vocabulary such as the use of android applications, kahoot!, quizziz, and wordwall. However, not many researchers have emphasized on the use of technology in learning Arabic vocabulary.
Therefore, the purpose of the study is summarized in the following questions: 1) Can quizlet.com improve the mastery of Arabic vocabulary of Students of Arabic language and literature?, 2) What is the perception of students of Arabic language and literature towards the use of quizlet.com in learning Arabic vocabulary?, 3) Do students of Arabic language and literature accept the technology used in quizlet.com in the learning of Arabic vocabulary?.

Methods
This research was conducted on 25 students of the Arabic language and literature study program at UIN Raden Mas Said with details of 11 male students and 14 female students. The selected samples are all unfamiliar with Arabic language learning websites or applications. The goal is to assess whether the technology used in the application quizlet.com, has an impact on the ability and perception and acceptance of students.
In accordance with the research questions, there are 3 instruments used to collect data, namely; 1. Vocabulary test, 2. Perception questionnaire, 3. questionnaire of Technological Acceptance Model (TAM). The vocabulary test instrument consists of pretests and posttests which will be used to measure the development of student Arabic vocabulary mastery before and after learning using quizlet.com. the Arabic vocabulary Effectiveness of Quizlet.com in Arabic Vocabulary Learning; Students' Perception and Acceptance of Technology selected in this experiment amounted to 120 words about technology. Arabic vocabulary is taken from http://arabic.desert-sky.net/ which is a standard Arabic teaching material source website. Out of the 120 Arabic vocabulary words, 25 words are compiled for pretest questions and 25 words are compiled for posttest questions. The development of the test was guided by indicators of Arabic vocabulary mastery of meaning and use (Maskor et al., 2016).
The perception questionnaire is used to find out how students view the use of quizlet.com in learning and improving mastery of Arabic vocabulary. The intended respondent's view was about the level of satisfaction and effectiveness of quizlet.com in Arabic vocabulary learning. The questionnaires were previously used by Novo-corti and their peers on perceived satisfaction and effectiveness (Novo-Corti et al., 2013).
The TAM questionnaire is used to assess a digital-based system from the point of view of the user of the system. In this study, researchers adapted a questionnaire from the research of Andujar et al (2020) which was then adjusted to the application of quizlet.com. Each question item on this questionnaire was measured using a Likert scale of 1-5 with answers strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree.
The data collection procedure in this study was carried out systematically and in sequence. First, the determination of the sample using a questionnaire containing the habit of using applications in Arabic language learning. Thus, 25 respondents were selected as an experimental group quizlet.com who were not yet familiar with the use of an application in Arabic vocabulary learning. Second, the group was then asked to answer the pretest. Third, the group was given an action, namely learning Arabic vocabulary using quizlet.com for a week, and then the students were asked to do a posttest. Fourth, the group was asked to fill out a perception and technology acceptance model (TAM) questionnaire. The following is a picture of the data collection procedure carried out by the researcher: Pretest and posttest Arabic vocabulary data will be analyzed using SPSS. To see if quizlet.com can significantly improve students' ability to master Arabic vocabulary, a paired-sample t-test analysis using the SPSS application was then carried out. If the significance value between the average pre-test and post-test values is below 0.05 (<0.05) then it is declared significant which can be interpreted as quizlet.com proven to be able to improve students' Arabic vocabulary skills. Then the data obtained from the perception questionnaire were analyzed using statistic descriptive in the form of the mean and Standard Deviation (SD) through two indicators, namely satisfaction and effectiveness. In addition, to support the results of the study, data from the TAM questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive statistics on each indicator, namely SC, MC, PEU, PU, AU, and BI.

Language and Literature?
To answer the first question begins with a descriptive statistical analysis of the results of pretests and posttests. Each test consists of 25 questions with the score of each question being 4 so the maximum score of the test is 100. Table 1   To determine the significance of the difference between the pretest and posttest values in class quizlet.com, a paired sample t-test analysis was carried out (table 2). And the results were obtained that there was a significant difference between the average value of pretests and posttests (p<0.05). And then the value of the posttest is significantly higher compared to the value of the pretests. This result can be interpreted to mean that the use of the quizlet.com application can effectively improve the mastery of Arabic vocabulary. From the results of the study, it can be seen that the Quizlet application can improve the mastery of Arabic vocabulary of Arabic language and literature students. Sanosi (2018) explains that Quizlet provides an ideal environment for active learning in and out of the classroom. In addition, its wide variety of features makes learning vocabulary fun and beneficial for the development of vocabulary mastery (Anjaniputra & Salsabila, 2018). The features of the Quizlet application are divided into two, namely and the writing mode (which teaches students how to write vocabulary properly and correctly) (Barr, 2016). In addition, a test mode is also provided so that the students can practice doing the tests.
The activity mode in the Quizlet application complements the learning mode, because in this section there are features that can be used as reinforcement in the process of mastering language vocabulary. Such as the matching feature where the learner is asked to match the word with its meaning in a game environment. In addition, there are gravity games and classic Quizlet that enrich the activities in the Quizlet application. Not only that, there is also an evaluation feature where students can evaluate their learning outcomes. The game features contained in the Quizlet can be one of the success factors for students in mastering language vocabulary. In addition, these features also become one of the reinforcers of external factors such as motivation (Rizky Setiawan & Wiedarti, 2020). Therefore, it can be said that Quizlet is an effective application used to improve the mastery of Arabic vocabulary.

Use of Quizlet.com in Learning Arabic vocabulary?
The perception in this questionnaire focuses on two indicators, namely perceived satisfaction and effectiveness. In general, the results of a descriptive analysis of students' perceptions of the use of quizlet.com applications in learning Arabic vocabulary explain a positive impression (table 3). This is evidenced by the results of the mean of Perceived  images, and sounds. According to him, this combination is one of the factors that can increase student learning motivation (Chaikovska & Zbaravska, 2020). reinforces that Quizlet is an effective medium and can increase student motivation because it can combine language skills and cognitive visualization. So, with complete features and accompanied by a variety of existing game models, the students are satisfied with using Quizlet as a language learning medium (Pham, 2022).

Quizlet.com in the Learning of Arabic vocabulary?
The   usefulness in the process of improving mastery of Arabic vocabulary and are able to encourage students to use them in the context of Arabic language skills. In addition, they also think that the characteristics of the system (SC) in quizlet.com provide facilities and an environment that encourages students to continue learning Arabic, especially Arabic vocabulary. With a mean score of 4.18 in SC, it indicates a good system push in the process of learning Arabic vocabulary in quizlet.com.
Students' attitude towards the use of quizlet.com to learn Arabic vocabulary was also found to be positive (M = 4.16) and quizlet.com was also considered an appropriate application to develop and add insight into their Arabic vocabulary. Finally, although the average score is slightly lower (M = 4.03), the same result will be obtained, namely the intention of the student to continue using quizlet.com in improving the mastery of Arabic vocabulary. The lowest result although the mean score is considered to be still high in the aspect of "perceived ease of use" is 4.03. Students consider the application quizlet.com easy to understand and use in learning Arabic vocabulary. This means that recommended that quizlet can be used as one of the media that facilitates students to learn Arabic vocabulary both in the classroom and outside the classroom.

Conclusion
The results of this study show that Quizlet applications can be used to effectively improve the mastery of Arabic vocabulary. These results are also supported by positive student perceptions of the use of Quizlet applications in learning Arabic vocabulary both in terms of satisfaction and effectiveness. To strengthen, the results of the TAM questionnaire also support that students' acceptance of Quizlet application technology is quite high. So, it can be concluded that the Quizlet application can continue to be used in learning Arabic vocabulary in the classroom and outside the classroom by teachers, tutors, and Lecturers of Arabic. This application can also be included in the curriculum as a supplement and core media used in the process of learning Arabic.