Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions on Online English Proficiency Test

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INTRODUCTION
English as a foreign language is essential in higher education for understanding foreign textbooks, using the internet, communicating with foreigners, writing academic research, getting a scholarship or job, and increasing self-value. In addition, universities in Indonesia have begun to incorporate English language learning into their curricula as a preparation for students to complete in the global world of work, where they are not only experts in their fields but also fluent in communicating in English (Andayani, 2022;Martirosyan et al., 2015). English proficiency test is a test assigned to non-native speakers who want to measure their level of English skills. The English proficiency test has some specifications that the undergraduate students need to perform as "proficient" or considered sufficient English skills (Alek et al., 2019;Suyansah & Gabda, 2020). Furthermore, Indonesian educational institutions have been implementing the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as a standardized test of English proficiency for entry to university requirements, graduation requirements, government agencies, business, and scholarships (Yoestara & Putri, 2020;Yuyun et al., 2018). It determines their future and career (Mahmud, 2014;Manan et al., 2020). As a result, the English proficiency test might be a critical factor in undergraduate students' academic success (Daller & Phelan, 2013;Putri & Syarif, 2021).
Along with the development of educational technology, e-learning is utilized for the English proficiency test. Educational technology effectively uses technologies as tools and media to transfer the learning material, improving performances and learning experiences (Ghavifekr & Rosdy, 2015;Stošić, 2015). In addition, Association for Educational Communication and Technology (AECT) pointed out that educational technology is the theory and practice of design, development, management utilization, and process of learning activities (Machmud et al., 2021;Reiser & Ely as cited in Lakhana, 2014). Recently, the application of technology has been comprehensive in the educational environment, which aims to help improve the quality of virtual learning that users can access through an internet connection (Simatupang et al., 2021;Syakur et al., 2019). The application of internet-based e-learning technology is one of the innovations in using learning media and resources. Elearning infrastructure is the equipment used in the form of a Personal Computer (PC) connected by specific communication media. E-learning and applications are software systems that virtualize several teaching and learning processes, one of which is taking an online test (Hartanto, 2016;Mulyani et al., 2021). Furthermore, the implementation of elearning during the covid-19 pandemic showed that the majority of students were interested in e-learning since it had some positive features such as a new learning experience, engagement and enthusiasm, flexibility of time and place, and the advance of digital technology usage and adoption.
Researchers did some research on the utilization of e-learning applications in taking the online English proficiency test or TOEFL-like test. Online TOEFL preparation courses will benefit students with a low level of proficiency who want to take a TOEFL test since it can assist them in acquiring the targeted score. In line with another study online-based TOEFL preparation course in Indonesia, SEKOLAH TOEFL, is a helpful answer to TOEFL issues faced by Indonesian students and employees who deal with their TOEFL problems (Sudrajat & Astuti, 2018;Suryani, 2021). It has given a practical and effective approach to those who make efforts to achieve expected TOEFL scores. Students also showed positive responses and belief in implementing online TOEFL learning during the pandemic of COVID-19 (Nimasari, EP.;Mufanti, R;Gestanti, 2020;Octaberlina & Muslimin, 2021). In addition, students felt enthusiastic about taking online TOEFL preparation assisted by Google Classroom and Google Meet during the pandemic investigated the application of e-learning as a method in an educational model to increase the TOEFL score in higher education (Safriyanti, 2021;Syakur et al., 2019). The results showed that using e-learning technology in learning TOEFL has proven effective as a learning method for improving TOEFL scores. It was similar to the research conducted by other study proved that using the Google Classroom application to enhance TOEFL score during the covid-19 pandemic was effective (Simatupang et al., 2021). Furthermore, multiple e-learning technologies effectively improved students' scores in practising TOEFL Structure and Written Expression.
Referring to the previous research, Language Development Institution at Universitas Indraprasta PGRI started to employ e-ujian.com as an online English Proficiency Test (EPT) application (Pratiwi et al., 2021). It means Cloud will access this application directly. Then the provider will be fast to give a reply if there is trouble or a complaint. This application is also reliable, for many institutions have utilized it for years. Fourthly, the cost depends on the needs; therefore, this application is affordable for the users. Last but not least, this application has a web camera monitoring so that the supervisor can monitor all test takers through a web camera, which will automatically take snapshots of their faces if it is indicated that they are not focused. The online EPT is mainly for undergraduate students who finished taking an English proficiency course. It was based on several issues. Firstly, there was no standardized English proficiency test. The following case was that undergraduate students expected to know their score prediction and get a certificate at the end of taking this course. Finally, educational institutions implemented online applications due to technological devices in education and emergency remote teaching during the covid-19 pandemic.
Depending on the circumstances, the aim of this research is that undergraduate students certainly have either positive or negative perceptions of the implementation of eujian.com as an online EPT. However, the researchers have not found previous research in nationally accredited journals or reputable international journals related to the student's perceptions of the implementation of e-ujian.com on the English proficiency or TOEFL test. The published study was about online thesis and community service journals. Research to date provides insufficient references. It focuses on six topics: perspectives on online English Proficiency Test (EPT) implementation, online EPT preparation, attitude during the online EPT, point of view on e-application, the expectation of test results, and difficulty level of online EPT. The sections of EPT are Listening Comprehension, Structure and Written Expression, and Reading Comprehension. Therefore, this research aims to analyze undergraduate students' perceptions on online EPT.

METHODS
The research employed a qualitative descriptive approach by focusing on a survey to provide a practical empirical investigation of some respondents about a topic or particular issue. In addition, this research focused on students' perceptions of online EPT, in which the data came from questionnaires (Pathoni et al., 2017;Darmaji, Kurniawan, et al., 2019). The data collection instrument was a questionnaire. A questionnaire is an evaluation tool that contains several questions or statements that the respondents must fill out to obtain information (Irwansyah, Lubab, Farida & Ramdhani, 2017). This questionnaire employed the Likert scale. The Likert scale is a rating scale developed by Likert to measure something systematically and consists of four or more answer choices (Joshi, Kale, Chandel & Pal, 2015). Likert scale (1-4) is designed to measure the perception of a person or group of people where a score of 1 to 4 is divided into 1 (not very good), 2 (not good), 3 (good), and 4 (very good) (Darmaji, Kurniawan et al., 2019;Pranatawijaya & Priscilla, 2019). Table 1 shows the research instrument of students' perceptions of online EPT consisting of six indicators and some sub-indicators. Not Very Good Table 2 shows the range of students' perceptions questionnaire scores consisting of four ranges and four criteria. Before administering the research instrument to the respondents by Google form application, researchers tried out the validity and reliability. First, the validity test used Pearson Product Moment (≥ 3.0); then, 16 out of 17 items were valid. Next, the reliability test used Cronbach's Alpha formula (≥ 0.70); then, the result was reliable (0.79) (Etikan et al., 2016).
The target of this research was undergraduate students from English Education Program taking an English Proficiency course; therefore, the researchers utilized purposive sampling. Purposive sampling deals with identifying and selecting proficient and wellinformed individuals with a phenomenon of interest (Etikan et al., 2016) . As a result, the samples were 68 undergraduate students from semester six, the academic year 2021-2022, at Universitas Indraprasta PGRI, Jakarta. The data collection technique was a questionnaire consisting of sixteen valid and reliable closed-ended questions. In addition, two open-ended questions involved opinions about the easiest and the most challenging sections of EPT. The research procedure was that the online questionnaire was delivered to the 68 participants using the Google form application. Then the data collection took about six days. Finally, for the data analysis, the researchers used percentages to obtain answers to the questions.

Result
In this section, six indicators are results. The category is divided into four: not very good (strongly negative or strongly disagree), not good (negative or disagree), good (positive or agree), and very good (strongly positive or strongly agree).

Perspectives on Online English Proficiency Test (EPT) Implementation
The results of undergraduate students' perspectives on online EPT implementation are depicted in Table 3. The questionnaires employ 4 points (1=Strongly Disagree/SD, 2=Disagree/D, 3=Agree/A, and 4=Strongly Agree/SA).  Table 3, most undergraduate students (95.66%) showed very positive responses, where 49.28% strongly agreed, and 46.38% chose to settle. EPT should be a mandatory test after they finish taking an English Proficiency course. Furthermore, 82.61% of undergraduate students positively responded that EPT should be compulsory as one of the academic purposes or graduation requirements. Dealing with the test fee, 97.10% of undergraduate students agreed that it was affordable. Therefore, the response of undergraduate students' perspectives on online EPT implementation was very positive. Figure 1 and Figure 2 describe two aspects: time and media for online EPT preparation.

Figure 1. Online EPT Preparation
Base on Figure 1, the least to the longest time of test preparation, it revealed that 12% of undergraduate students almost had no preparation at all for the test preparation. Moreover, 41% of undergraduate students only took less than one week, and 37% took one week to three weeks. In addition, 10% of undergraduate students took more than one month. The conclusion was that some undergraduate students were procrastinators, while others were well-prepared to take the test. Base on Figure 2 apart from the compulsory module (TOEFL Preparation Test), undergraduate students used some media to prepare online EPT. From the chart, 45% of undergraduate students preferred using YouTube to TOEFL books. In addition, 17% of undergraduate students chose Google, and 10% were interested in using the Android application. In short, the most and least frequently preferred media were YouTube and the Android application.

Attitude during Online EPT
The online EPT implementation had impacts on undergraduate students' attitude. These figures show undergraduate students positive and negative attitude during online EPT. Figure 3 represented the positive feelings of undergraduate students when they took the online EPT. It can be seen from Figure 3 that the majority of undergraduate students (41%) felt challenged while taking online EPT. Furthermore, 31% of undergraduate students also felt focused since they had to finish the test on time. However, 19% of undergraduate students seemed casual, and even 9% felt relaxed. Then Figure 4 represented the negative feelings of undergraduate students when they took the online EPT. Despite the positive feelings, undergraduate students also had a negative attitude when taking online EPT. From Figure 4, most of the students (38%) were unfocused. 28% were also identified as having anxiety because of time limitations and networking problems. The diagram also showed that 27% of undergraduate students felt bored. Only 7% felt tense while taking online EPT since they were too serious about answering many questions in a limited time.

Point of View on E-Application
Language Development Institution at Universitas Indraprasta PGRI employs eujian.com as an online EPT application for the first time. Therefore, the quality of this application is an essential factor. The result of the undergraduate students' point of view on e-application is depicted in Table 4.  Table 4 shows that the average score of each aspect indicates a 'positive' on eujian.com for the EPT application. Regarding comfort, time constraints, the absence of networking issues, sound quality, and a typo, 14,28% of average undergraduate students answered strongly agree, and 54, 86% of intermediate undergraduate students agreed. While only 31,47% of middle undergraduate students answered disagree and strongly disagree.

The Expectation of Test Results
To achieve targeted language proficiency and skills, undergraduate students must take a test and get a specifically targeted score. Regarding EPT scores, the lowest score was 243, whereas the highest was 567, with the average score being 454. As a result, the undergraduate students' expectation of the test results is depicted in Table 5.  Table 5, a trend of undergraduate students' responses indicated that the test result was in line with undergraduate students' expectations. Certificates from EPT could be used as one of the requirements for job recruitment. On average, only 1.45% of undergraduate students answered 'strongly disagree,' and another small portion, 23.19%, replied 'disagree.' While most undergraduate students (57.25%) answered 'agree,' and 16.67% of them answered 'strongly agree.' Based on the Mean score, it indicated that the majority of undergraduate students had a 'positive' perception of online EPT results' expectations. In addition, the average EPT score was satisfying.

The Difficulty Level of Online EPT
The data obtained is aimed at investigating the difficulty level of sections examined in EPT. The result is show in Figure 5.  Figure 5 shows that almost half of the total undergraduate students (49%) who took online EPT faced difficulties in Section 2: Structure and Written Expression. The second challenging section was Reading Comprehension (24%) then the minor hard part was Listening Comprehension (27%). The conclusion was that the most difficult part of online EPT was Structure and Written Expression, while the most accessible section was Listening Comprehension.

Discussions
The results of this study unmistakably demonstrate that undergraduate students' impressions of the online EPT are generally favourable concerning its implementation, use, and expectations for test results. The undergraduate students believe that the online EPT should be required testing for all, particularly those who have taken an English Proficiency course. In addition, most undergraduate students responded positively that the test would be used for academic objectives or graduation requirements. It is related to previous research that some higher education institutions in Indonesia have been implementing the policy of TOEFL as an English proficiency test as one of the graduation requirements (Alek et al., 2019;Rahayu, 2019). This result demonstrated that most undergraduate students were already aware of the value of using the EPT to gauge their proficiency in learning English (Aziz, 2016;Yuyun et al., 2018). This policy would encourage undergraduate students to study English to pass the exam and receive high marks. It is thought to improve undergraduate students' English competence and inspire them to continue learning English. Dealing with the registration fee, the majority of undergraduate students believed that the cost of taking the EPT was reasonable. To enable students from various socioeconomic backgrounds and those who face financial difficulties to participate in the test, undergraduate students had to pay 50,000 IDR (fifty thousand rupiahs) to register. It is similar to the previous research by previous study that the test cost is not reasonable, it might become an issue and make them find it challenging and unconfident to take the test (Azhari et al., 2022).
Regarding test preparation, the average undergraduate students took less than a week to prepare for a test, and other undergraduate students did not even do any preparations at all. Those students believed they could train more adequately because it was not vital for passing the course. This lack of preparation may affect how well they perform on the test (Azhari et al., 2022;Rohman, 2019). Some undergraduate students responded that they had studied diligently and in advance for the test. Besides, they believed that high EPT scores would increase one's chances of obtaining the desired position. Therefore, they used other resources such as TOEFL books, YouTube, Google, and Android applications to prepare for online EPT. The finding showed that most undergraduate students preferred using YouTube to other media. It retains material better when given it visually. Numerous studies have also revealed that there are more visual learners than auditory and kinaesthetic learners (Jamulia, 2018;Tuan, 2011;Wahab & Nuraeni, 2020). Furthermore, YouTube is one of the most favourable online learning applications that make undergraduate students feel positive and enjoy taking online learning during the pandemic (Hendrawaty et al., 2021;Naimie et al., 2010). Most students were inattentive during the online EPT in terms of attitude. The technical issues during the test deployment included time constraints, network issues, and unclear audio. These issues influenced the undergraduate students' attitude toward the test, leaving them feeling unfocused, anxious, bored, and tense. Exam distractions and difficulties studying are common among students who struggle with test anxiety (Karimullah & Mukminatien, 2022;Yusefzadeh et al., 2019). In this case, undergraduate students taking the EPT for the first time need help to predict how the test will go and how score they will get or whether they will be able to pass the minimum score. According to previous study uncertainty about the future and uneasy attitudes toward oneself may generate anxiety (Gu et al., 2020). It may be difficult for them to think logically during the test because of this situation's potential for irrational thinking and self-doubt. Research conducted revealed a correlation between anxiety and total score of TOEFL (Sunarti et al., 2019). Some students also complained about being bored. They had to maintain their concentration for a considerable time due to the test's length, and they had to read the passage several times for the reading comprehension component to acquire the correct answer. The discourse was to draw out or too slow, similar to the listening comprehension phase, making them feel sleepy. Surprisingly, nearly half of the undergraduate students also reported having positive feelings. They felt challenged and focused, and a few looked casual and relaxed on taking EPT. The assumption was that they realized the importance of the test and used strategies. It is in line with study that found students' engagement and persistence in test preparation require using self-regulated strategies to negate distraction and facilitate good preparation (Kurniasari, 2018).
Most undergraduate students have favourable opinions of e-ujian.com as the online EPT application. The results showed that they felt at ease taking an online EPT because they could do it whenever and on whatever device they desired without any limitations. It is in line with study that students enjoyed e-learning implementation, which had succeeded in increasing their learning motivation, increasing their confidence, and expanding their knowledge (Zain & Sailin, 2023). They also agreed that the time provided matched the number of questions and that the technical issue could have been more vital. In light of this, (Tella & Bashorun, 2012) reaffirmed that when computers are used for testing, some aspects, including the design, development, administration, and user characteristics, must be taken into account. In other words, since test performance is influenced by preparation, it is essential to create more practical computer-based examinations.
Most undergraduate students positively responded that the online EPT result met their expectations since the average score was 454, in which from 417 to 450 was the minimal score chosen based on the general acceptance of job applications in the market. In addition, this number has been commonly applied by many other universities in Indonesia (Azhari et al., 2022;Mustafa & Anwar, 2018) Undergraduate students can use an EPT certificate as one of the prerequisites for job recruiting regarding the test's outcome. The requirement for using the EPT and the rising concern for national educational attainment standards in a globalized, competitive economy must be distinct. It is time for educational institutions to consider this test's results to ensure that their requirements for students' English competence align with those of the market (Abboud & Hussein, 2011;Yuyun et al., 2018). Along with the development of education quality and market competition, the range score of English proficiency tests as required at most educational institutions in Indonesia is 450 for non-English department students and 500 for English department students (Manan et al., 2020). Therefore, English Language Development at Universitas Indraprasta PGRI should evaluate and improve the materials and e-application. As a result, undergraduate students can achieve a standard score not only when taking online EPT, which is like a TOEFL prediction, but also in a standardized English proficiency test such as TOEFL ITP. Dealing with the difficulty level of online EPT, the result showed that the Structure and Written Expression section was the most challenging of the three sections examined on the EPT. It is consistent with previous research that suggested most undergraduate students still face significant challenges when answering this part (Ananda, 2016;Hambali, 2008).
Even though most of the undergraduate students had previously completed an English Proficiency course, it was clear from the open-ended questionnaire that they still struggled to understand English grammar. It is similar to the research by studies that test-takers faced structure and grammar difficulties in solving TOEFL problems (Agustina Sari et al., 2021;Akmal et al., 2020;Hampp et al., 2021). On the other hand, the Listening Comprehension component on online EPT is the easiest. It is consistent with early research which discovered that students have no trouble solving the TOEFL listening comprehension test (Rina & Tiarina, 2021;Yuyun et al., 2018). In conclusion, the current study provides an overview of undergraduate students' perceptions of online EPT. Most undergraduate students positively responded to the implementation, point of view, and expectation of test results. The perceptions are crucial because they affect the continuity of online EPT. In addition, the outcome demonstrates how necessary test preparation is in determining undergraduate students' performance. Therefore, the quality of e-ujian.com is essential to prevent technical issues that can impact undergraduate students' scores. This research implies that institutions should consider these issues to enhance the quality of e-ujian.com as an online EPT.

CONCLUSION
Based on results and discussion, most undergraduate students had positive perceptions of the online English Proficiency test. They agreed that the test should be mandatory after taking an English Proficiency course and became one of the academic purposes or graduation requirements. Regarding the test preparation, some students needed to practice. During the online test, some undergraduate students had positive feelings and kept focused, while several were inattentive due to technical issues such as time constraints, network issues, and unclear audio. Dealing with difficulty levels, most undergraduate students needed help with Structure and Written Expression. The suggestion is that lecturers lecturing an English Proficiency course should give more exercises and strategies in the most challenging part even though average scores met the expectations. The conclusion is that apart from the technical issues, e-ujian.com is a recommended online English Proficiency test application.