Competency-based Speaking Class: A Convergent-Typed Syllabus Design

 

 

B. Cornelius Sembiring

 

 

A lot of English language learners in Indonesia leave school perceiving that they “know” English, yet even some university graduates, categorised as ‘good’ speakers of English, often fail to comply with the sociopragmatic rules when they use the language in the target situations. Upon completing their studies, and acquiring new roles in particular lines of business, some of the students report to have communicative problems in using their English.  One can question the syllabus and the performance assessment tools. The main focus of this paper is the syllabus design: the organising principle and the content.

When one takes a closer look at the teaching of English in the speaking class as a separate subject in an English Department in Indonesian tertiary education, hereafter referred to as Speaking for General Purposes (SGP), one will find among other things that  the objectives are not always well defined. They are stated in sweeping terms such as ’to enable the students to talk about selected topics in certain fields’. Too often the description of language in speaking syllabi is derived from prescribed or assumed needs of the students rather than observation of language in use. The one at the English Department at the Faculty of Humanities (FIB) UI is not at all exceptional. Therefore, I will argue that the objectives should be reformulated, and the competencies expected of the students to have upon the completion of their studies need redefining.

In redefining the objectives and reformulating the elements of the syllabus, therefore, the following questions are worth considering: What organizing principles do we apply to design the speaking skills sillabi? What aspects of communication do the students need to master and to use? What are the components underlying overall oral communication competency in the target use of the language?  The argument is that if there have been massive changes in the national curriculum, the demand of English is growing, and the expected standard of English speaking proficiency in business and technology is getting higher, then the syllabus should also be reviewed. The syllabus needs to respond to the ongoing changes on the national educational policy in Indonesia, especially in the curriculum paradigm.

 

 

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Sembiring, B. C. (2003, October). Competency-based speaking class: A convergent-typed syllabus design. Paper presented at the 51^st TEFLIN International Conference, Bandung, Indonesia.

 

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