NON ENGLISH STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARD THE USE OF TWITTER AS A MEDIA TO ENHANCE VOCABULARY : A STUDY AT FACULTY OF CULTURAL SCIENCES HASANUDDIN UNIVERSITY = NON ENGLISH STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARD THE USE OF TWITTER AS A MEDIA TO ENHANCE VOCABULARY : A STUDY AT FACULTY OF CULTURAL SCIENCES HASANUDDIN UNIVERSITY

The aims of this research are (1) to investigate the non English students’ perceptions toward the use of Twitter as a media for vocabulary enhancement. In this case, the perceptions include the role of Twitter, how it is used in leaning vocabulary, and the advantages and disadvantages of using it. (2) to identify the types of vocabulary encountered by non English students on Twitter.
In this research, the researcher applied descriptive qualitative method. The data on this research were collected through interview. The subjects of this research consisted of six non English students who are coming from different majors. The subjects were selected using a purposive sampling technique in which they were chosen purposively according to the criteria required by the researcher.
The findings of this research showed that students give positive perceptions toward the use of Twitter in improving their vocabulary. There are several ways that can be used by the students to enhance their vocabulary through Twitter, they are (1) students gain vocabulary through interaction with foreign people on Twitter, (2) students increase their vocabulary through reading information on Twitter, and (3) students following accounts that are purposively created to share the use of language. On Twitter, students can find various kinds of vocabulary, he type of vocabulary that is often encountered by students is productive vocabulary. Twitter is considered as an effective media to improve students’ vocabulary because it offers many advantages and really helpful. However, Twitter also give some disadvantages for the students.

Keywords : Twitter, Mahasiswa, Kosakata, Persepsi