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