Exploring Students' Perceptions of Using the Application Online Dictionary

Online applications are currently growing rapidly in the world of education, one of which is an online dictionary application. The online dictionary application allows students to learn English easily. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct research to determine students' perceptions of the use of online dictionary applications to improve students' vocabulary mastery. This study was formulated to find out students' perceptions of using online dictionaries to improve their vocabulary. The method used is a descriptive qualitative method. The subjects of this study were students of class XI TKJ which consisted of 22 students. The instrument of this research is a questionnaire. The results of this study found that 76% of students believe that learning vocabulary through an online dictionary application can help them improve their vocabulary mastery. The results of this study also found that (17) 77% of students most often use online dictionaries rather than printed dictionaries. This is because the online dictionary is an application that is flexible and easy to carry anywhere


INTRODUCTION
The use of technology in education has become a trend nowadays because it can offer wider learning opportunities. The use of devices such as smartphones is becoming more widespread among young people. Smartphones are very popular in 39 countries in the world and 13 of them are countries in Asia, including Indonesia (Nielsen, 2012). In our country, the use of smartphones is very popular and familiar. Students used smartphones for learning purposes (Farrah & Abu-Dawood, 2018). Research was conducted to gain an understanding of students' perceptions and attitudes toward learning using media to make decisions about the role played in institutional teaching and learning (Bahiyyah, 2019).
The students have positive attitudes and perceptions about using applications (Pramesti & Susanti, 2020). This allows us to learn about students' experiences, feelings, and behaviors when using applications such as online dictionary applications in the process of learning English. The online dictionary provides many features to help students learn English. Online dictionaries have the potential to provide quick access to specific vocabulary searches.
Students with limited vocabulary mastery will find it difficult to understand English texts. Vocabulary mastery determines the quality of communication.
Students face barriers to interacting if they do not master vocabulary. The quality 85 | Tanjung & Daulay, Exploring Students' Perceptions of … of vocabulary mastery affects communication skills. The more vocabulary students have, the better their vocabulary mastery will be. Increasing vocabulary is the only way to improve students' understanding of English texts. Students should be encouraged to learn more vocabulary by reading various texts, articles, books, and novels.
Vocabulary knowledge is very important for students learning a language. Vocabulary knowledge is something that grows continuously throughout one's life. This is a fundamental aspect of language proficiency that cannot be fully mastered. Vocabulary is the number of words needed to communicate and express ideas in speaking and writing, as well as understanding the meaning of words and finding the right definition in multiple-choice, assignments, or paraphrasing skills in reading and listening (Alqahtani, 2015). That is, knowledge of vocabulary requires the ability to react to words that students don't need to think about. Students respond to multiple-word definitions in a multiple-choice task so that the words immediately come to mind for students to use effectively and naturally, and they know exactly what the word to translate means. As can be seen, when students are knowledgeable about a word, they don't have to spend a lot of time thinking about it; they just need to use the word naturally and appropriately. Research was conducted on online dictionary use among Thai undergraduate students at the International College for Sustainability Studies at Srinakharinwirot University, and findings show that online dictionaries are very effective for students because students often use online dictionaries. for almost all language activities at the University (Asswachaipaisan, 2014).
The main requirement for constructing sentences in English is vocabulary. There are still many students who are constrained in mastering vocabulary. Vocabulary is something that is difficult for them to master because of the students' disinterest in learning English. One of the reasons is the lack of media in learning vocabulary.
Therefore researchers want to integrate online dictionary applications into learning vocabulary. And, the purpose of this study was to know students' perceptions of online dictionary applications in students' vocabulary mastery at SMK Satria Mandiri, located in the Simalungun district.

RESEARCH METHODS
This research is qualitative in nature, with a descriptive research method used. Descriptive method is used because it is used to describe subjective phenomena based on data (Arikunto, 1996). The instrument of this research is a questionnaire. The subjects of this research were 22 students of class XI TKJ. In the data collection technique, 22 students were asked to use the online dictionary application for 40 minutes to find the vocabulary they wanted to know. After that, the researcher gave a questionnaire sheet to find out the experience of students using online dictionary applications for learning vocabulary.
To analyze the results of the data, researchers use the theory of Miles, Huberman and Saldana (2014). The concept stages are data reduction, data presentation, and drawing conclusions.

RESEARCH RESULTS
The questionnaire in this study consisted of 17 statements divided into three categories to answer the research questions raised in the previous chapter about students' perceptions and attitudes toward using an online dictionary application to improve students' vocabulary mastery. As an example, consider the following.

Student Perceptions of the Using Online Dictionary Applications
In this section, data descriptions will be presented regarding: (1) student perceptions of using the online dictionary application, (2) students' attitudes toward the online dictionary application, (3) use of online dictionary application services by students. Here are the results of the analysis on students' perceptions of the use of online dictionary applications, presented in Table 1. 15% 75% 10% 0 c. The online dictionary application is extremely portable.
25% 75% 0% 0 d. My vocabulary mastery can be improved by using an online dictionary application.
14% 71% 15% 0 e. The online dictionary application is a flexible online dictionary application in comparison to paper/printed dictionaries.
20% 55% 25% 0 f. The online dictionary application includes many features that can aid in the student learning process.
20% 73% 7% 0 g. When I use an online dictionary application to improve my vocabulary mastery, I am able to overcome obstacles.
10% 76% 14% 0 Note: SA=Strongly Agree, A=Agree, DA=Disagree, SDA=Strongly Disagree. Table 1 shows whether students have positive or negative attitudes toward using the online dictionary application for vocabulary mastery. According to the findings of this study, 75% of students chose online dictionaries as flexible dictionaries, while the remaining 25% chose printed dictionaries as flexible dictionaries. This finding echoes a previous study stating that they have perceptions and attitudes toward using online dictionary applications for learning (Deris & Shukor, 2019). The findings show a significant correlation between student perceptions of the various benefits of using an online dictionary application, such as ease of use and access, and the available online dictionary application features. 76% of students clearly agree with the features of the online dictionary. According to the data presented above, 80% of students believe that learning vocabulary through an online dictionary application is simple. Furthermore, 75% of students agree that the online dictionary application is simple to use. That is, they perceive a positive impact from using online dictionary applications to learn vocabulary. Another advantage of using online dictionaries for students is that it is a simple and small-sized application that can improve students' abilities (Awaliyah, 2013).
Most students improve their vocabulary by using online dictionary apps, particularly those that include a voice icon. Half of the students in a study thought audio pronunciations were the most useful feature of online dictionaries (Pahmi, 2016).
Next is the summary of the analysis results regarding students' attitudes toward the online dictionary application, presented in Table 2. Below are some of the results of interviews from the use of online dictionary application services by students, presented in Table 3, which are very useful in expanding and increasing vocabulary understanding and improving their language skills.  Table 3 shows that students have a positive attitude toward using the online dictionary application for vocabulary learning. Furthermore, significant evidence was discovered among students' attitudes toward some of the benefits of using the online dictionary application and its features. According to the findings, 70% of students use online dictionaries for vocabulary mastery exercises. The data show that 50% of respondents are very satisfied with the online dictionary application and want to be able to use it for a long time. It demonstrates that students are enthusiastic about their learning experience. According to student attitude data, 65% of students imitated what the speaker said. This type of online dictionary app is intended for English learners who want to customize their learning experience. Meanwhile, students do not use all of its features to meet their needs during the learning process. This is demonstrated by the research data. Only a small number of students make use of the features of this online dictionary application.

The Most Dictionary Frequently Used by Students
The dictionary is a reference or information source that contains a list of words along with their definitions, pronunciations, example of use, synonyms, antonyms, and other information related to these words. The dictionary is used to assist users in understanding and using vocabulary in English. There are two types of dictionaries, namely online dictionaries and printed dictionaries. Below is Figure  1 showing the frequency of Class XI TKJ students using online dictionaries and printed dictionary.  Figure 1 shows that 5 (26%) students chose the printed dictionary as the dictionary they most often use when learning English. The rest, namely 17 (77%) students in class Xl TKJ more often use the online dictionary when learning English. This is supported by the opinion who argued that the high speed and easy access to electronic dictionaries encourage students who are learning English to frequently use electronic dictionaries in the process of learning vocabulary (Laufer & Hill, 2000).

DISCUSSION
According to the data presented above, 76% of students believe that learning vocabulary through an online dictionary application can help them improve their vocabulary mastery. Online dictionary applications can also help English learners improve their pronunciation and refine their concepts about the meaning of words by showing videos and pictures of words (Joseph & Uther, 2009). Based on the data presented above, it is possible to conclude that students in this study can use a variety of dictionary applications, both online and offline, that meet their needs and that respondents are comfortable using them. Furthermore, because respondents have different assumptions and perceptions, researchers do not force or ask them to use the same application. However, researchers only recommend good applications that have a lot of features that are simple to use and accessible. Students who learn English will continue to use online dictionaries because they realize that when using an electronic dictionary they can improve and learn vocabulary that they do not know and understand. Regarding the effectiveness of using online dictionaries in the learning process, the Ministry of Education and Culture confirms that the use of media in the learning process can arouse students' interest and motivation to learn. From the results of the data above, it can be concluded that students in class Xl TKJ SMK Satria Mandiri use online dictionary applications more often as applications for learning English, especially vocabulary.
So far, the frequency of using online dictionary applications on students' vocabulary mastery is quite good. According to the findings of this study, students frequently use online dictionary applications to improve their vocabulary mastery. As a result, it can be concluded that the majority of students are eager to use online dictionary applications to improve their vocabulary mastery.

CONCLUSION
According to the findings of this study, students have a favorable opinion of using online dictionary applications to improve their vocabulary mastery. The researcher concluded that, after analyzing students' perceptions and attitudes toward using online dictionary applications to improve their vocabulary mastery, students have both positive and negative perceptions of using online dictionary applications to support learning activities, particularly to improve their vocabulary mastery. According to the findings of the study, there are three major perceptions: online dictionary applications are very useful to support English learning activities, online dictionary applications make the learning process more interesting and flexible, and the use of online dictionary applications is dependent on how students use them.
There are several student attitudes toward the benefits of using an online dictionary application to support students' English learning, such as an online dictionary application that allows students to do a variety of things easily (flexible), and an online dictionary application that offers many features such as easy accessibility and portability. Furthermore, the features in the online dictionary application really help students improve their English language skills, particularly vocabulary mastery, and the use of services in the online dictionary application can help students in the learning process.
Students use online dictionary applications to supplement vocabulary learning activities. This is demonstrated by the fact that 17 (77%) of students prefer the online dictionary application to the printed dictionary. They also make use of a number of features and services in the online dictionary app. These features not only provide interesting and enjoyable learning, but they can also motivate students to learn more in the future through other applications.