Intellectuals lack writing skills

Intellectuals lack writing skills

By A Chaedar Alwasilah

BANDUNG (JP): Indonesian intellectuals are frequently
criticized for their lack of ability to write. The Kompas daily
(Dec. 17, 1997) quoted Dr. Aryatmo Tjokronegoro, Coordinator of
the Jakarta Private Universities, as saying that in 1980-1985
around 50 percent of the faculty members never published
textbooks or articles in Indonesian, let alone in English.

Although the statistics are not current, the present situation
remains the same. It is probably even worse considering the
number of faculty members has increased considerably, while the
writing culture of most college faculties has not changed
significantly.

Research shows that most academics devote considerable periods
of time to routine work and tasks that do not lead to
intellectual creativity. Activities such as reading, teaching and
supervising students do not necessarily lead to intellectual
creativity and productivity. These activities certainly result in
the maintenance of their body, home, possessions, status, and
social life in general. But, again, sustainable academic
activities are not commensurate with intellectual creativity and
productivity.

Grab a master's thesis, or doctoral dissertation and take a
look at the bibliography. I bet most of the major references are
written by foreigners in English. You will certainly infer that
most lecturers even at prestigious universities in Indonesia do
not write.

At this juncture, we are reminded of the writing ethos in the
U.S. "All professors are the same until one of them writes a
textbook." As professors, they have to "publish or perish!"

Stop by your college professor's house or office and look
around. You may be impressed by his or her research collections.
But do you dare ask him or her to show you his own textbooks or
publications? Sadly, we have to admit that our intellectuals are
just consumers rather than producers of publications.

A number of factors may have resulted in the deplorable state
of affairs described above. In Indonesia, textbook writing is not
a lucrative endeavor. It is the publishers and the bookstores
rather than the writer that benefit financially. No wonder, many
potential writers are discouraged from writing and blame the
publisher for creaming off the majority of the money. The
publisher in turn often blames society for lacking a developed
reading habit that has adversely affected the marketing of
textbooks.

Many speculate that this unsatisfactory reading habit reflects
the failure of the present education system. The arguments run on
and on in a vicious circle. One theory says that intellectuals do
not know how to write because their school teachers and college
professors failed to provide them with writing skills. Such
arguments and counter arguments are just rhetoric to sidestep the
criticism leveled at Indonesian intellectuals in general and
university lecturers in particular.

Another theory holds that nonwriting intellectuals are simply
not competent. As native Indonesian speakers, they are able to
speak and read the language. Being intellectuals, they should
have the competence, knowledge, and skills to survive and
function socially. However, being native Indonesian speakers and
having a university degree do not necessarily qualify them to
have their writing published.

As far as linguistic competence is concerned, most Indonesian
intellectuals have acquired receptive skills (listening and
reading), but only a minority have developed both receptive and
productive skills (speaking and writing).

What does all this mean? For sure, the present education
system has failed to provide students with writing skills. The
university has done almost nothing in it. Most university
graduates are not equipped with writing skills. It is high time
then to reexamine the practice of writing instruction in schools
as well as colleges. Writing skills are not developed overnight.
It takes years of well-planned instruction with meticulous
preparation that involve professional instructors long before a
generation of writing intellectuals is born.

From research on writing in American colleges, Krashen (1984)
reports that skilled writers are those who (1) did more
expository writing in high school, (2) were required to do more
writing in high school, (3) did pleasure reading when younger,
(4) read the newspaper more, and (5) had more books and
newspapers in the home.

These findings imply that the teaching of writing skills at
college level presupposes the improvement of writing instruction
at high-school level, which by analogy, presupposes the
development of writing instruction at elementary school level.

The findings also suggest that availability of reading
materials such as newspapers, textbooks, magazines, and other
publications and frequency of reading are correlated
significantly with writing competence.

The big question however is: What should we do to transform
university graduates into writing intellectuals? First, we need
to underscore that as high schools build on the early years,
colleges must build on the later stages of education.

All college freshmen -- disregarding their majors -- should
begin their undergraduate experience with at least a year-long
course in Indonesian, with emphasis on writing.

College Indonesian courses that are part of the so-called
'required basic subjects' (Mata Kuliah Dasar Umum) with two
credit hours are perceived as a second class, boring, and
monotonous subject. Commonly taught by inexperienced and junior
instructors, the courses are a repetition of high school grammar.
Most students see them a waste of time and energy.

Secondly, we need to understand that clear writing leads to
critical thinking. Writing holds us responsible for our words and
ultimately makes us more thoughtful and responsible human beings.
It trains students to weigh evidence, generate ideas, integrate
knowledge, and express them with precision.

Academic culture in fact begins with writing instruction and
is cultivated through continuous academic and intellectual
writing. This being the case, a well-planned writing course
definitely helps students learn any college subject.

Therefore, good writing in Indonesian should be given priority
and reinforced by every professor in every class. Examinations
restricted to multiple choice answers and filling in blanks are,
by any standard, antithetical to writing skill development.

A collective commitment of the college faculty to writing
programs constitutes a so-called "writing across the curriculum"
-- a commendable program for improving writing instruction in
particular and college education in general.

Thirdly, intended to facilitate learning, college writing
should be taught in relation to the context of individual
experience, namely students subject area. Writing then provides a
particularly welcoming context for thinking deeply about their
field of study, which is instrumental to their future profession
and specialization.

As a consequence, nonlanguage majors perceive writing as a
tool for learning and not as a course for Indonesian or language
majors only. This unfortunately is a common belief among college
students as well as professors.

Fourthly, it is imperative that writing be taught by a writing
instructor. The fact shows that most writing courses in both
Indonesian and foreign language (education) departments are
taught by nonwriter instructors. No wonder, most college
graduates are intellectuals who are eloquent to discuss the
theory of writing but -- like their college instructors -- never
have anything to show for it. How can you let nonswimmers teach
your children swimming?

Fifthly, compared with secondary school students, college
students are adult learners who are more concerned with their
future profession. The teaching of writing should, to a great
extent, facilitate their learning and fulfill their professional
needs.

Profession-oriented writing programs should certainly be based
on a needs analysis. My ongoing research on teaching Indonesian
in colleges in the Bandung area has revealed students'
expectations from the course as depicted in the table below. As
indicated, acquiring skills to write papers is perceived
essential by 80 percent of the respondents.

I realize that some of the suggestions above sound radical and
risky, yet it is worth a try. The pioneer of innovation often
becomes a victim of public objection and resentment, and it takes
a long time before people are convinced about the benefit of an
idea. It is my conviction that creative and reflective writing
leads to critical and creative thinking, which is fundamental to
developing an academic culture.

The writer is a lecturer at the Institute of Teacher Training
(IKIP) in Bandung, West Java.

Table: Perceived importance of different genres of writing

Genres of writing to be taught Perceived essential by

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1. Paper 80 percent

2. Research proposal 74 percent

3. Academic writing 72 percent

4. Book report 64 percent

5. Book review 49 percent

6. Publication in the mass media 49 percent