Improving college English to function to the full

Improving college English to function to the full

By A. Chaedar Alwasilah

BANDUNG (JP): Education is tailored to prepare students to
survive modernization, where the division of labor is more
specialized and the knowledge base is larger and more complex.

To be modern to a great extent is to specialize in a certain
field of expertise. It is in professional or occupational circles
that expertise and specialization develops. Thus, to compete
professionally one has to be proficient in the language of the
profession.

It is common to distinguish English for general purposes (EGP)
from English for specific purposes (ESP), which comprises English
for professional and occupational purposes. We recognize English
for science and technology, law, banking, mathematics, Islamic
studies and journalism, to mention just a few. The question is,
is there a difference between EGP and ESP in terms of teaching
and learning?

EGP, like math and Indonesian, is part of a general education,
i.e., an education to provide citizens with the basic skills to
survive and function in society.

English is included in the curriculum as a mandatory school
subject, for it is believed that without EGP skills, one would
not be able to function to the full. English in elementary and
secondary schools is designed to equip students with basic
English skills for surviving daily life. Theoretically, high
school graduates should have developed enough survival English
competence.

At the college level, students use the acquired EGP skills for
digesting textbooks and general references as an integral part of
developing professionalism and the specialization of their
choice. That is to say, English skills are part of academic or
study skills for college success. On entering college, students
begin their exposure to a professional or specialized discourse
of knowledge mediated by a special variety of English.

On completion of their college education, they are already
members of communities which demand professional engagement. By
this is meant not only keeping abreast of relevant information,
but also contributing to the profession. Both of these activities
are mediated by ESP. It is through this mechanism that ESP is
established and expands.

In Indonesia, college English is popularly called mata kuliah
dasar umum Bahasa Inggris (general English course) and is
commonly offered to freshmen in the first two semesters. The
course is designed to meet the following functions:

* The continuation of EGP acquired in the precollege years.
Any repetition squarely indicates a failure in teaching EGP. In
professional private courses, the distinction between EGP and ESP
is obvious in terms of syllabus, time allocation, teaching
materials and expected outcomes.

* Development of professionalism. College students are no
longer to learn English as a language per se. Rather, the
emphasis should be on the substance or field of study which is
mediated by ESP. Understandably, physics students would be
engrossed in texts about atomic energy as much as medical
students in those about heart attacks. Designed correctly, ESP
would be more attractive and challenging than EGP.

* Building academic or study skills. Different from high
school students, college students are supposed to be independent
learners. Study skills such as note taking, effective reading,
summarizing, research reporting, how to use a dictionary and
other reference tools, and how to take a test are to be developed
early in college life. It is reasonable then to incorporate these
skills in ESP in the first semester.

* Meeting adult learners' expectations. Adult learners develop
a greater awareness of self-esteem, profession and personal
expectations than younger learners. They are often characterized
as advanced in reasoning yet intermediate in English. This is a
paradox in ESP that should be coped with tactfully and
professionally. ESP instructors may use various teaching
techniques where overcorrection is avoided, accuracy is
emphasized over fluency and students' cognition is promoted
through debates, discussions and problem solving, among other
methods.

* Satisfying learners' needs. Needs analysis is the most
notable characteristic of ESP. It is career-oriented and often
scheduled for a relatively short period of time. Without needs
analysis, an ESP program will only offer general English with the
indeterminate flag of ESP.

Over 30 years, ESP has developed with the aforementioned
characteristics. According to my observations, the teaching of
college English is not promising. A survey involving 111 students
from major universities in Bandung revealed their perceptions
about ESP. The survey results are shown in the following table
(tabulated under "Expectations and perceived weaknesses
of college English" and "Percentage of respondents"):
It does not meet students' expectations 65.8%; Students do not
know the syllabus 56.8%; There is no consultation with
instructors 60.4%; No needs analysis is conducted 63.1%;
Students know how evaluations will be conducted 55.0%; Themes are
relevant to field of study 60.4%; Class should be four to six
credit hours 45.9%; It should be offered in first or second
semester 57.4%.

As the table shows, college English, which is often called an
ESP program, is still far from being professional. The only
criterion of ESP fulfilled by the system is the relevance of
themes of selected readings to the respondents' fields of study.
However, the readings alone do not qualify the program as an ESP
program. Unfortunately, many believe that ESP is simply a matter
of presenting, say, readings about banking to economics students.
This text-oriented interpretation of ESP has resulted in an
overemphasis of the linguistic analysis of texts to the neglect
of major principles of ESP.

From textual analysis, for example, we know that scientific
English tends to use the present tense, avoid personal pronouns
and use a passive voice instead of an active one. Such
superficial analysis does not contribute much to the attainment
of the goal of ESP, namely to provide students with a working
knowledge of English to enable them to function maximally in
their professions.

From the above elaboration, the following suggestions are
worthwhile for improving the teaching of college English:

* ESP is an approach to teaching where the expected outcome is
clearly identified well in advance. It is then absolutely
necessary to conduct a needs analysis at the beginning of an ESP
program. Surveys, interviews or observations could be used as
instruments of the analysis.

* To provide students with the ability to read in content
areas, college English instructors should be knowledgeable about
reading and how to teach it. Reading materials should be selected
in consultation with experts in the content areas, so that the
accuracy of information and soundness of argument is assured.

* Most of us are aware that our high school graduates mastery
of general English is not advanced enough to go ahead with
college English. As the respondents propose, the course should be
allocated more hours, probably up to four to six credit hours.

In the final analysis, the success of college English, like
other college courses, is not a one-man show on the part of the
English instructors. It requires the collective commitment of
non-English instructors, curriculum developers, textbook writers
and policy makers.

The writer is a senior lecturer at the graduate school of the
Bandung Teachers Training College (IKIP).