ENHANCING STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILLS THROUGH MOBILE-ASSISTED LANGUAGE LEARNING: THE USE OF CAKAP AND BUSUU APPLICATIONS
Abstract
This study investigated the effectiveness of Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) in enhancing students’ writing skills through the use of the CAKAP and Busuu applications. The objectives of the study were to examine the effect of the CAKAP application on students’ writing skills, to determine the effect of the Busuu application on students’ writing skills, and to identify which application provides a more significant improvement in students’ writing performance. The study employed a quantitative research design using a quasi-experimental method involving three classes: Experimental Class I (CAKAP), Experimental Class II (Busuu), and a control class receiving conventional instruction. Pre-tests and post-tests were administered to measure students’ writing ability before and after the treatment. The data were collected through writing tests and analyzed using a t-test. The findings revealed that students’ writing ability before the treatment was relatively low in both experimental groups. After the implementation of the applications, students in both experimental classes showed significant improvement in their writing performance. The t-test results indicated that the t-value for the CAKAP group (11.611) was higher than the t-table value (1.68657) at the significance level of 0.05 with a degree of freedom of 35. Similarly, the Busuu group showed a t-value of 11.501, which was also higher than the t-table value. These results indicate that both applications significantly improved students’ writing skills. However, the CAKAP application demonstrated a slightly higher effect compared to the Busuu application. Therefore, the alternative hypothesis was accepted, and the null hypothesis was rejected. The study suggests that mobile-assisted language learning applications such as CAKAP and Busuu can serve as effective tools for improving students’ writing skills in English language learning contexts.
References
Al-Izhar, F., & Rokhuma, C. M. (2023). Efl Students’ Experience of Picture Series Collaborative Narrative Writing: Highlighting Indonesian Vocational High School Students’ Voice. JETAL: Journal of English Teaching & Applied Linguistics, 4(2), 119–127. https://doi.org/10.36655/jetal.v4i2.1092
Barroga, E., & Matanguihan, G. J. (2022). A Practical Guide To Writing Quantitative And Qualitative Research Questions And Hypotheses In Scholarly Articles. Journal Of Korean Medical Science, 37(16), 1–18. Https://Doi.Org/10.3346/Jkms.2022.37.E121
Febriyantika, R., & Parmawati, A. (2025). Improving Students’ Writing Descriptive Text Through Think-Pair-Share Technique.
Flora, Cahyadi, D. S., & Sukirlan, M. (2020). A Modified Roundtable Technique Based On Process Approach To Promote The Students’ Writing Achievements In Foreign Language Setting. International Journal Of Education And Practice, 8(1), 149–157. Https://Doi.Org/10.18488/Journal.61.2020.81.149.157
Fajrin, F., & Leonardi, T. (2019). Hubungan Persepsi Iklim Sekolah Dengan Keterlibatan Orang Tua Dalam Pendidikan Anak Dengan Gangguan Spektrum Autisme (Gsa). Jurnal Psikologi Pendidikan Dan Perkembangan, 8(1), 69–79.
Gani. (2017). The Effectiveness Of Snowball Throwing Technique In Teaching Reading Comprehension. Proceedings Of The 1st National Conference On Teachers’ Professional Development, 61(2), 18–28.
Ginting, D. R. (2023). Busuu: A Mobile Applications. The Explora, 9(1), 43–48. Https://Doi.Org/10.51622/Explora.V9i1.1294
Jiang, D., & Kalyuga, S. (2022). Learning English As A Foreign Language Writing Skills In Collaborative Settings: A Cognitive Load Perspective. Frontiers In Psychology, 13(June), 1–11. Https://Doi.Org/10.3389/Fpsyg.2022.932291
Meniwati, M., & Mutiaraningrum, I. (2022). The Use Of Busuu For Learning Listening In English. Ethical Lingua, 9(2), 755–763. Https://Doi.Org/10.30605/25409190.403
Maming, K., Rahman, A. W., Patintingan, A., & Anggraini, D. (2023). Improving Students’ Skills In Writing Descriptive Texts By Using Digital Photographs (Vol. 6). Retrieved From Https://Ejurnal.Unsa.Ac.Id/
McGrail, K. M., Jones, K., Akbari, A., Bennett, T. D., Boyd, A., Carinci, F., … Kotelchuck, M. (2018). A Position Statement On Population Data Science: The Science Of Data About People. International Journal Of Population Data Science, 3(1), 1–11. Https://Doi.Org/10.23889/Ijpds.V3i1.415
Ray, P. P. (2023). Chatgpt: A Comprehensive Review On Background, Applications, Key Challenges, Bias, Ethics, Limitations And Future Scope. Internet Of Things And Cyber-Physical Systems, 3(March), 121–154. Https://Doi.Org/10.1016/J.Iotcps.2023.04.003
Simbolon, H. (2016). Bab I ْpengantar Statistika. ResearchGate, August, 1–25.
Sinambela, E., Gaol, D. L., Tampubolon, S., & Pasaribu, A. N. (2023). The Effect Of Using Controlled Writing Technique And Clustering Technique On Students’ Writing Skills At Junior High School. Ideas: Journal On English Language Teaching And Learning, Linguistics And Literature, 11(1), 26–35. Https://Doi.Org/10.24256/Ideas.V11i1.3056
Suharmawan, W. (2023). Pemanfaatan Chat Gpt Dalam Dunia Pendidikan. Education Journal : Journal Educational Research And Development, 7(2), 158–166. Https://Doi.Org/10.31537/Ej.V7i2.1248
Syafrizal, S., & Septiawati, T. (2022). Enhancing Listening Skills Of Efl Indonesian Learners Through Busuu Application. International Journal Of English Language And Literature Studies, 11(3), 147–154. Https://Doi.Org/10.55493/5019.V11i3.4615
Sugiyono. (2019). Implementasi Pragram Diklat Berjenjang Tingkat Dasar Dalam Jaringan Untuk Meningkatkan Kompetensi Pendidik Paud Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia. | Repository.Upi.Edu | Perpustakaan.Upi.Edu, 23.
Sihombing, S. U. M., Sitohang, T., & Panggabean, S. (2023). Pengaruh Model Pembelajaran Complete Sentence terhadap Kemampuan Menulis Teks Berita. Journal of Language Education (JoLE), 5(5), 62–69.
Takagi, S., Watari, T., Erabi, A., & Sakaguchi, K. (2023). Performance Of Gpt-3.5 And Gpt-4 On The Japanese Medical Licensing Examination: Comparison Study. Jmir Medical Education, 9, 1–6. Https://Doi.Org/10.2196/48002
Tampubolon, J. (2020). Error Analysis Of Subject-Verb Agreement On Students’ Essay Writing. The Seall Journal, 1(1), 49–59.
Tampubolon, S., & Pasaribu, Arsen Nahum;Lubis, P. S. (2022). The Effect Of Using Exit Ticket And Word Cloud Strategies On Students ’ Writing Skills at The Tenth Grade Of Sma Negeri 1 Lahewa. Budapest International Research And Critics Institute Journal (Birci Journal), 5(3), 26827–26838.
Wardani, D. K., & Hasanudin, C. (2022). Pemanfaatan Aplikasi Cakap Untuk Meningkatkan Public Speaking Siswa Sma. Senada Pbsi.
Zalukhu, A., Sihite, J. E., Hasanah, U., & Cahyani, A. N. (2025). Improving Students’ Business Letter Writing through a Genre-Based Approach. J-LELC: Journal of Language Education, Linguistics, and Culture, 5(3), 275–281. https://doi.org/10.25299/j-lelc.2025.25103
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
