Govt moves to upgrade students' English skills<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government will be launching a program to
\nhelp vocational school students improve their communication
\nskills in English.<\/p>\n
Director for Vocational Training and Education Gatot Hari
\nPriowirjanto said the program will be offered to students in no
\nless than 4,700 public and private vocational schools across the
\ncountry, following a pilot project conducted in 16 state schools
\nsince 1999.<\/p>\n
\"Our aim is to help students obtain an adequate score in the
\nTest of English for International Communication (TOEIC) which is
\nan advantage when they seek jobs. Most companies in various
\nindustries such as hotel, tourism and aviation have set a minimum
\nTOEIC standard for job seekers.<\/p>\n
\"TOEIC standards have been used in Malaysia, Singapore and
\nThailand for sometime now as a prerequisite for job applicants
\nand if we want to compete with them, our students have to learn
\nto communicate in English,\" Gatot said recently.<\/p>\n
Hotels and the tourist industry have set a minimum TOEIC score
\nof 400 for their new recruits, while for the managerial level,
\nthe standard is higher.<\/p>\n
The program is badly needed as there are reports that most
\nvocational school graduates are unable to communicate well in
\nEnglish, according to Gatot.<\/p>\n
The approach used in the program, he said, would encourage
\nstudents to be more communicative and confident in using the
\nlanguage.<\/p>\n
Gatot said the 4,312 vocational school students participating
\nin the pilot project were in their final year and have been
\ndivided into three classes based on their placement test results.
\nAfter four terms, 317 of the students tested obtained TOEIC
\nscores of between 165 and 845.<\/p>\n
The students are from vocational schools in Jakarta,
\nTangerang, Bandarlampung, Bandung, Semarang, Yogyakarta,
\nSurabaya, Nganjuk, Bondowoso and Denpasar.<\/p>\n
TOEIC score ranges from 10 to 990.<\/p>\n
Grace Kusnadi Goh, program director of TOEIC Center Indonesia,
\nsaid the test was not to decide if a participant had passed or
\nfailed, but merely to judge his or her proficiency in the
\nlanguage.<\/p>\n
\"Unlike TOEFL, which is more complicated and used as an
\nacademic standard, TOEIC merely shows the ability of a person to
\nunderstand English. TOEIC focuses on reading and listening
\nskills,\" Grace said.<\/p>\n
Each TOEIC test result is valid for two years.<\/p>\n
The test fee is US$20, but under the government's program,
\neach student in his or her final year will only need to pay half
\nthe amount, Grace said.<\/p>\n
Anna Maria Issana, an instructor at the Vocational Education
\nDevelopment Center (PPG Kejuruan) said a total of 168 English
\nteachers had been trained to teach \"easy-English communication\"
\nover the past two years.<\/p>\n
\"In 2001, there will be 96 more teachers who will undergo the
\ntraining,\" she said. (edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/govt-moves-to-upgrade-students-english-skills-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}