EXTENSIVE ASSESSED EOP SPECIFIC COURSE FOR ECONOMY MANAGEMENT STUDENTS

EXTENSIVE ASSESSED EOP SPECIFIC

COURSE FOR ECONOMY MANAGEMENT STUDENTS

A.    BACKGROUND

Designing a curriculum which will match the needs of the learners and help them meet the goals of a language course can best be achieved by starting with a comprehensive needs analysis. Needs analyses explore what will motivate learners to acquire language in the most efficient way. Needs analyses play a particularly crucial role in English for Specific Purposes curriculum development.

The purpose of this article is to identify and analyzing the specific academic English language needs of the students at Sekolah tinggi Ilmu Ekonomi (STIE) Sungai Penuh, which is a Economy Management. In order to design an appropriate EFL curriculum for these students, it is important to identify their needs by considering the points of view of the administrators, enrolled students, doctors, and content-area instructors.

The students’ needs that are not being met will be identified by making comparisons among the perceptions of all the parties. The results of this article can be crucial for designing the curriculum and developing materials not only for the economy management students and instructors at STIE but also for other ESP/EAP course learners and instructors in EFL Management contexts worldwide.

Language plays an important role in human life. One tries to acquire, learn and use language as a means of communication, and simultaneously as social symbol of humanity. By using language someone could make statements, convey facts and knowledge explain or report something, and keep social relations among the language users. These indicate that by means of language, people can express their ideas, feeling, and information through communication. As one of language in the world, English is considered and applied as international language. Since then, it is very popular and has been spoken and learnt by almost people in the world. There are some reasons why English is important and many people attempt to learn it. Some of them are: for finding job, traveling, interacting by each other, doing business, taking examination, doing research, writing in the foreign language. In such developing country like Indonesia, English has a vital role in all aspects of life, particularly in science and technology. Furthermore, it can be used for developing relationships in the international forum, for reading English book (especially for students from primary school up to colleges/university), to tighten the relationship among nations in the world. As students, we learn English are intended to obtain various knowledge, to comprehend and understand the textbooks learned in English to gain knowledge and skills. Looking at the above important roles of English, that is why English is very important to understand and to be mastered by every people throughout the world since before.

“English will make everybody survive and go anywhere”. This expression reminds us how importance of English for human life is. As global or universal language, English is not only enables us to communicate and interact with every people throughout the world, but also it could alter our life to be better. Furthermore, we also must be aware that the western countries play extra ordinary role in developing and keeping science and technology. Thus, if we want to be a skilful scientists, linguists, and be able to compete with the other countries in the world, we must understand, master and learn the language they use, namely English.

1. English is highly necessary to be learned and mastered by everyone, in order to be able to compete in the globalization era;

2. English is a key to open and master science and technology, because most of scientists write their experts and inventions in English.

3. As students, we have to prepare ourselves by learning hard, particularly English as well as the other subjects at university;

4. By mastering English enables us to become survive and go anywhere throughout the world;

Knowing is not enough, we must apply. Willing is not enough, we must do. Language indicates nation  as English is a bridge for the future.

1.2    Brief review of an ESP approach in syllabus design

It has long seem unjust that the growing number f young people learning English and also studying science and technology should be forced to learn their English largely through the study of literature, and literary criticism, simply because that has been, until recently, the only form of teaching offered to her. The intending student of science or technology usually faces there disadvantages in the nature of the English teaching available to him:

1.      Much time and effort is spent learning material that is not his primary concern (ie, the disadvantage of wasted time);

2.      The learner is not given material that is his primary concern (ie, the disadvantage of gaps in the leaner’s knowledge);

3.      In many cases the attitudes o the teacher of literature are antipathetic to science (ie,  the disadvantage of hostile attitudes).

The situation ought to be, in contrast, that the nature of a learner’s needs should  determine the teaching given to him such views form the basis for teaching English for specific purposes-ESP.

English for specific purposes is a particular case of the general category of specific purpose language teaching. The same principles apply no matter which language is being learned and taught. French for specific purposes, Russian for specific purposes, Chinese for specific  purposes – all of these exist and are constructed on the same basis as English of specific purposes. The vastly greater  demand for English makes ESP more common than FSP, RSP, or CSP, but the principles are the same.

B.     NEED ANALYSIS

No.	STEPS	DESCRIPTIONS	EXAMPLES
1	Identification of  target group	Who are the participants of the curse we design?	Economy management
2	Identification of Duties of Professional Workers	What are responsibilities of the professional workers in the target situation (in terms of the use of language)?	Responsibilities of Tour Guide: Welcoming Answering question Explaining safety Explaining rules Explaining etiquette Showing interest Offering something Giving direction Asking and giving information
3	Assessment of communicative needs	What kinds of communicative needs do professional workers need to be able to do the responsibilities?	In order to be able to do these responsibilities the tour guide must have language ability on: How to welcoming appropriately. How to answering question clearly. How to explain safety correctly. How to explain rules correctly. How to explain etiquette correctly. How to show interest clearly. How to offer something politely. How to giving direction well. How to ask and give information clearly.
4	Translation of  Communicative Needs into English Competencies	What English competencies do they need to have in order to be able to function effectively?	One communicative needs can be translated into several English competencies: How to welcome the tourist appropriately: Can use greeting                     How to answering question clearly: How to explain safety correctly: How to explain rules correctly: How to explain etiquette correctly: How to show place of interest clearly: How to offer something: How to giving direction: How to ask and give information:
5	Translation of English Competencies into Linguistics and other  Specification	What language input should be included in the syllabus in order to achieve the language needed in the target situation?	To find out the learning needs (language input for class activities), the competencies can further be translated into detail linguistic and other specification.

C.    MATERIALS

·      Greetings

·      Answering question

·      Explaining safety

·      Explaining rules

·      Explaining etiquette

·      Showing places of interest

·      Offering something

·      Giving direction

·      Telling the marketing

·      Asking and giving information

·      Cross Culture Understanding (CCU)

·      Expression/pronunciation

D.    COURSE DETAIL

Course Duration : 24 x 45 minutes/meeting

Course Length     : 16 meeting

Size of Group       : 30 learners

Resources             :

1.    Akamatsu, A. 1994. Give and Take. London. Longman Group Ltd.

2.    Ashley, A. 1984. A Handbook of Commercial Correspondence. Oxford. OUP

3.    Ellis, M. & Nina, O. 1987. Sosializing. UK. Longman Group Ltd

4.    Hollet, V.,1991. Business Objectives. Oxford. OUP

5.    Hornby, A.S. 1995. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Oxford. OUP

6.    Jordan, R.R. 1990. Academic Writing Course. London. Harper Collins Publisher

7.    Langan, J. 1992. College Writing Skills. New York. McGraw Hill, Inc.

8.    Locker, K. O. 2003. Business and Administrative Communication. New York.

9.    McGraw-Hill, Inc.

10.  Poe, R.W., 2006. The McGraw-Hill Handbook of Business Letters. New York.

11.  McGraw-Hill, Inc.

12.  Radice, F. 1992. English for Banking. London. MacMillan Publishers Ltd.

13.  Sekaran, U. 2000. Research Methods for Business. New York. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

14.  Soars, J & Liz. 1986. Headway Pre-Intermediate. Oxford. OUP

15.  Soars, J & Liz. 1986. Headway Intermediate. Oxford. OUP

16.  Tanka, J & Most, P. 1985. Interactions I. New York. Random House

17.  White, G & Drake, S. 1989. Business Initiative. London. Longman

18.  Yorkey, R., et.al. 1982. Study Skills for Students of English. New York. McGraw-Hill, Inc.

Participants  :       This course is designed for economy management students

Objectives    :       Generally, there are two major objectives in this course.

1.      To enable learner to do basic responsibilities as professional businessmen

2.      To enable learner to communicate using english for business.

Syllabus

Example of SAP

Satuan Acara Pengajaran (SAP)

Mata Kuliah                         : Bahasa Inggris untuk Tujuan Profesional

Kode Mata Kuliah                  : UM42-160

SKS                                : 3

Waktu Pertemuan                  : 3 x 50

Pertemuan ke                       : I (satu)

A.  Tujuan

1. Instruksional mum

a. Setelah menyelesaikan kuliah ini mahasiswa mampu memahami cara-cara memperkenalkan diri dan memperkenalkan orang asing dalam konteks bisnis dan kerja.

b.  Mahasiswa mampu memahami deskripsi tanggung jawab dan tugas seseorang sesuai dengan pekerjaannya.

2. Instruksional Khusus

a.  Mahasiswa  mampu  memperkenalkan  diri  dan memperkenalkan  orang  lain dalam situasi bisnis.

b.  Mahasiswa  mampu  menggambarkan  tugas  dan  tanggung  jawab  seseorang sesuai dengan pekerjaannya.

B.  Pokok Bahasan             : Learning Contract dan Introducing People

C.  Sub Pokok Bahasan       : Meeting People, Describing Responsibilities andTasks, Countries and Nationalities.

D.  Kegiatan Belajar Mengajar:

Tahap	Kegiatan Pengajar	Kegiatan Mahasiswa	Media dan Alat Pengajaran
Pendahuluan	·         Menjelaskan Kontrak Perkuliahan dan Tata Tertib Kuliah EPP ·         Menjelaskan ruang lingkup materi perkuliahan dan SAP EPP ·         Menjelaskan metode pembelajaran dan komposisi ·         penilaian MK EPP ·         Pembagian kelompok dan Dosen ·         Supervisor Tugas UTS dan UAS	Memperhatikan Membuat catatan Bertanya	Papan Tulis Spidol Laptop Layar LCD Modul EPP
Penyajian	A. Listening:  Meeting People 1.  Describing jobs 2.  Describing Responsibilities 3.  Describing tasks 4.  Personal Details 5.  Countries and Nationalities B. Writing: Write a profile about yourself	Memperhatikan Membuat catatan Bertanya	Lab. Bahasa Tape Recorder Kaset Papan Tulis Spidol Laptop Layar LCD Modul EPP
Penutup	·    Pembagian ringkasan SAP EPP ·    dan Prosedur EPP ·    Menugaskan mahasiswa untuk memperkenalkan diri atau orang lain	Memperhatikan Membuat catatan Bertanya	Papan Tulis Spidol Laptop

e.  Evaluasi

Penilaian dilakukan dengan menugaskan mahasiswa dengan cara mandiri maupun berkelompok (2-3 orang) untuk memperkenalkan diri dan memperkenalkan orang lain di depan kelas.

E. Discussion

1. Importance of English for the Students’ Academic Studies

The students regard both English for general and management purposes as quite important, giving English for management purposes somewhat more importance because of their academic studies. The content instructors and the Dean of the faculty also agree that English is very important for these students, indeed, the academicians feel even more strongly about this than the students. In addition, supporting the importance they give to management English, they agree that management English instruction should be given beginning from the preparatory class. The academicians are clearly asserting the necessity and importance of English, presumably reflecting the fact that they often have to use English for their own professional studies. As for the students, they may not be so conscious of the importance of English for their professional studies in the future but, in time it is likely they will realize the importance of English more consciously. As one academician, the Dean of the faculty, points out, English is very important to better make use of all the opportunities and facilities of modern medicine and to follow the literature of the new findings and treatments.

2. The Current Class Hours

Neither the students nor the instructors find the current amount of English instruction at STIE sufficient. The current expectation of the administration seems to be that the students should improve their English by studying outside the English classes, using library sources and the internet, and preparing for their content problem-based learning (PBL) classes. Clearly this expectation does not match that of the learners or their content teachers.

For the students to access this management knowledge from the many management sites and library sources which are mostly in English, their competency in English is very important. With the limited three hours of Management English instruction per week, they cannot easily gain the competence to be able to read publications in English efficiently. Very early on, Maher’s (1986a) analysis of MEDLINE (index medicus) revealed that a considerable number of articles were written in English, and English was having an increasing international importance in management communication. His assumption that this trend was likely to continue in the future has been enhanced by works such as Benfield and Howard (2001) and Gunnanson (1998, cited in Swales,2004). The informal interviews held with the content instructors and students also supported his assumption. They stated that they needed English to do research from publications written in English, so English is very important for them.

Fortunately, the Dean seemed to be open to the idea of change, saying that in the future some adjustments can be done in accordance with the studies of the Foreign Language Department or this needs analysis study. So, these findings of the needs analysis can be submitted to the administration and hopefully, it will be recognized that the students’ specific language needs can not be met in such a limited time.

3. Knowledge of the Instructors to Teach Management English

In terms of the English language instructors’ knowledge to teach management English, the students, particularly the higher level classes have negative feelings. They do not find the content knowledge of the English instructors adequate to teach English for management purposes courses and the Dean admitted that the management instructors in general are not much aware of the management terminology. He recommended that they should follow the management literature and expand their knowledge of management English, especially management terminology, to better transmit the management knowledge to the students. He also recommended particularly that the instructors teaching management English should work cooperatively with some content instructors and exchange their knowledge and experience. ESP teachers’ familiarity with the students’ discipline is regarded as important (Dudley-Evans & St. John, 1998; Hutchinson & Waters, 1987; Maher, 1986b). Johns and Price-Machado also state that ESP content and particular vocabulary, discourses and processes of the discipline may be challenging for the instructors and suggest that analyzing discourses of the students’ discipline, negotiating with faculty, and studying the strategies and language that students need is important. A sense of insecurity and uncertainty can sometimes be observed amongst EMP teachers because of their role as lay persons teaching management English among management professionals, so their selfconfidence can be restored through the guidance of management professionals (Maher, 1986b).

4. Materials and Instructional Methods

In terms of the materials, the academicians are indecisive about the adequate availability of technological equipment to teach English effectively, and the students do not appreciate their usage by the instructors.

The Dean disagrees with the assessment that there is inadequate technological equipment for language learning. In fact, there is some technological equipment in the preparatory class as the Dean said, but there is not any technological equipment particularly available for EMP teaching. As EMP courses are held in a different place, these materials cannot be used for the benefit of EMP. So, there seems to be a need for adjustment to improve the availability of the technological materials and training of the instructors to use them. Secondly, again, in relation to the technological equipment, all the parties, including the Dean, agree that the internet should be used to access management sites.

The internet is an invaluable source for the management students as it is updated very quickly. The Web is seen as a very useful tool for researching management topics, with a wealth of updated information (Belcher, 2004; Kimball 1998; Wood & Head, 2004;) Another reason noted for why the students need English is for reading library sources. Currently, the students have low proficiency to read the nearly 45% of the management resources in the library of the management faculty which is in English.

According to the respondents there simply are not enough management books translated into Indonesia. During the interviews they also pointed out the low quality of translations made and therefore, the respondents find it important that the students should be able to read the original English resources. Sezer (2000), who reviewed some articles in medline, found that there were often serious mistakes which caused distortions of meaning, again confirming the respondents’ arguments. Also, since the pace of translations cannot keep up with the pace of the publications in medicine, the management students need to read English resources to have access to the most updated information.

The other approach investigated was the participants’ overall attitudes towards the interactive ways of learning in groups. Both groups regarded this as very important. Although they reacted positively to general questions about group-based interactive learning, the lower level students particularly, did not react as positively to the idea of the PBL (Problem Based Learning) method being adapted to use in English language classes as did the academicians. Academicians welcomed the idea that problem-based learning can be adapted in the English classes for the benefit of the students. As the lower level students are new to practicing this way of instruction, they may not appreciate its benefits. For students who are used to teacher-centered models of learning in their previous formal education, they may find a PBL approach hard to adapt to. It is widely recognized in the literature that for PBL classes, management students need to do a lot of research as it is enquiry-based, deductive and a form of discovery learning which improves their knowledge, reasoning and self-learning skills (Connely & Senaque, 1999; Harland, 1998, 2003; Huey, 2001; Wood & Head, 2004). As our students are not used to thinking critically and doing much research to construct sound ideas, they may find this approach hard at first. However, the studies conducted to see the effectiveness of PBL revealed that the PBL students had more clinical reasoning and self learning skills and PBL is therefore very much worth the effort (Antephol & Herzig, 1999; Hmelo, 1997; Hmelo et. al 1997). In addition, in these studies the students themselves found PBL as an effective learning method in comparison with a lecture format. As for the management students at PU, as particularly the upper level students see the benefits of it, they can better understand how useful it is to adapt it to English classes. We can assume that their more positive attitudes come from greater experience using it, and therefore more understanding how it might be useful to adapt it to English classes.

                                                                                                               

Bibiliography

Benfield, J. R., & Howard, K. M. (2000). The language of science. European Journal of Cardio-throracic Surgery, 18, 642-648.

Dudley-Evans, T. and St. John, M. (1998). Developments in English for specific purposes: A multi-disciplinary approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hutchinson, T. and Waters, A. (1987). English for specific purposes. A learning centered approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hmelo, C.E. (1998). Cognitive consequences of problem-based learning for the early development of medical expertise. Teaching and Learning in Medicine,10(2), 92-100.

Huey, D. (2001). The potential utility of problem-based learning in the education of clinical psychologists and others. Education for Health, 14(1), 11-19.

Maher, J. (1986a). English for medical purposes. Language Teaching, 19, 112-145.

Maher, J. (1986b). The development of English as the international language of medicine. Applied Linguistics, 7, 206-218.

Swales, M. J., (2004). Research genres. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.