FATIMAH & HARITS MASDUQI

Reading Across Cultures: Voices From Indonesian Universities

IJAS CONFERENCE 2017

Harvard University, Boston, MA

1) Indonesia at glance:

Population: 230 + million.

+17,500 islands (6,000 inhabited).

+ 500 vernacular languages &

Bahasa Indonesia.

↓

English as a foreign language (EFL)

(Dardjowidjojo, 2000; Mistar, 2004; Jazadi,

2008)

Background of the Study

• Lack of social & cultural uses of English outside the

class.

• Influenced by local cultural values (e.g. unconditional

obedience to the teacher).

• Low English competence of uni students:

- mastering only - 5000 vocab items.

- 15% considered ‘good English users’.

• Reading is the focus of ELT.

Sadtono, O’Reilly, & Handayani (1999); Nurweni & Read (1999);

Lamb (2002); Setiono (2004); Jazadi, (2008).

(2) ELT in Indonesia

Research Gap

There is a body of research into the development of English at tertiary level but little research into the development of reading in English.

The few studies that have been done focus primarily on investigating the application of approaches or models of EFL reading and learner’s psychological traits such as attitude, interest, and motivation in reading (Cahyono & Widiati, 2006; Firmanto, 2005; Hamra & Syatriana, 2010; Imran, 2005; Kweldju, 2000; Rukmini, 2004).

There is no study that addresses the ‘bigger picture’ of EFL reading in Indonesian universities taking into account lecturers’ and students’ perspectives on what actually constitutes an effective EFL reading program and contributing factors which potentially affect it.

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SO WHAT???

MY STUDY

The general question:

› To what extent do EFL reading programs in English

Departments of three Indonesian universities meet

the requirements and expectations of key

stakeholders?

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EFL Reading in Three Indonesian Universities:

Perspectives in Diverse Cultural Contexts

The contributing questions:

1. What are the goals, approaches and affordances

for developing reading in English as shown in

curriculum documents and teaching materials?

2. What levels of reading proficiency are the

university students achieving as measured by the

Reading Comprehension Section of TOEFL ITP

test?

3. What are students’ perceptions of the reading

programs and of expected program goals and

outcomes?

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The specific questions:

4. What are the lecturers’ perceptions of reading

programs and of government, university and

student expectations, experiences and outcomes

of the programs?

5. How do differences between universities and

students impact on reading programs, goals and

outcomes?

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DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS

› EFL stands for English as a Foreign Language. It basically refers to the idea that English language is not treated as an official language or medium of instruction in governmental and educational institutions within a certain nation.

› EFL reading refers to the study of reading in the contexts of English as a foreign language. It is usually a primary focus in English language teaching in all levels of education in EFL nations.

› Cross-cultural perspective refers a variety of research participants’ responses collected from three Indonesian universities with distinctive characteristics such as student population, cultural practices, and academic atmosphere.

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AND THEN WHAT?

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Research Method

Mixed Method (mainly a qualitative study + a quantitative

computation).

A multiple-case study design at 3 Indonesian universities:

- State University of Malang (secular background)

- Islamic University of Malang (Islamic background)

- Ma Chung University (secular with Confucianism

background)

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The Participants in 3 Universities:

120 students of English departments

(3rd year undergraduate students aged 20-25 yo).

6 reading lecturers of English departments

( 2 senior lecturers in each university)

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Data Collection

1. The students:

filled in a 50-item questionnaire indicating their perspectives on EFL reading program (30 mins).

did an ITP TOEFL Reading Test (60 mins).

joined a focus group interview (45 mins – 2 groups).

2. The lecturers:

joined an individual interview (45-60 mins).

3. Documentation: curriculum, syllabus, reading materials, course outline, etc.

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Data Analysis

1. Analysing syllabus, reading materials, course

outline, etc.

2. Calculating the average of survey data and

analysing the data based on topics of questions.

3. Marking and analysing the ITP TOEFL Test.

4. Transcribing and analysing patterns of the

interviews data (thematic analysis & NVivo).

5. Discussing all of the data with regard to the

participants’ different backgrounds

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DATA TRIANGULATION

INTERVIEWS

(NVivo 10):

- Use certain features in NVivoDocument Browser to code and analyse interview data comprehensively.

FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEWS WITH

STUDENTS:

- Transcribe the interviews in Microsoft Word file.

- Codify the interview data and do content analysis.

- Do thematic analysis with the help of NVivo 10.

INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS WITH LECTURERS:

- Transcribe the interviews in Microsoft Word file.

- Codify the interview data and do content analysis.

- Do thematic analysis with the help of NVivo 10.

QUESTIONNAIRE:

- Calculate the average of survey data.

- Analyse survey data descriptively, based on the topics categories of questions.

- Do framed and bivariate or multivariate analysis using Pearson chi square.

Curriculum Documents:

- examine curriculum documents to find out the goals, teaching approaches, and affordances.

- Analyse the data in accordance with current research on EFL reading and the national curriculum guidelines.

TOEFL TEST:

- mark the students’ TOEFL ITP reading test.

- calculate the average and standard deviation of the reading test result.

PRELIMINARY FINDINGS (1)

DOCUMENTATION:

- ‘Theoretically’, the curricula of the three English Departments

(competency-based curriculum) are in line with the national curriculum &

current research on EFL Reading (Nunan, 2007; Richards & Rodgers,

2001; National Curriculum of Higher Education, 2009).

- Reading subjects: Reading I, Reading II, Reading III, and Extensive

Reading (except Islamic University of Malang has no Extensive

Reading).

- All of the 6 reading lecturers made course outline and added some

supplementary reading materials when necessary.

- Some reading materials are adapted to suit students’ backgrounds.

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PRELIMINARY FINDINGS (2)

Results of calculating & analysing percentage, means, and

SDs of the questionnaire data:

- 5 (Strongly Agree) to 1 (Strongly Disagree).

↓

- Likert scale computation by SPSS

↓

SEE TABLES (Word File)

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PRELIMINARY FINDINGS (3)

AVERAGE CORRECT ANSWERS OF READING TOEFL TEST:

1. Universitas Ma Chung

- 70,2% correct answers (17 students)

2. Universitas Islam Malang

- 54% correct answers (44 students)

3. Universitas Negeri Malang

- 70,4% correct answers (51 students)

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PRELIMINARY FINDINGS (4)

Individual interview with lecturers:

- All of the lecturers made course outline, but decided to be ‘flexible’

depending on classroom situations/students’ competence.

- They were surprised with students’ results in TOEFL test (expected

higher scores)

- All of them agreed that they had problems with students’ low motivation

in reading (esp. reading in English).

- SAC, English labs, gadgets, and internet connection are important!

- They were aware of the existence of ‘local culture’ in their universities,

but not sure whether it influenced students’ reading competence.

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PRELIMINARY FINDINGS (5)

Focus group interview with students:

- Most of the 3rd year students had just read 2-3 novels in English (even

not finished yet).

- Lecturers’ teaching stages were often predictable (a bit boring

sometimes).

- All of them agreed that reading is important (yet, they also admitted

they had low motivation in reading texts in English).

- They read digital and printed texts (often in Indonesian & only

entertainment-related news).

- Few students thiought that ‘high level students’ influence their learning

motivation and achievements.

- They were aware of the existence of ‘local culture’ in their universities,

but not sure whether it influenced students’ reading competence.

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CONCLUSION

The results are not finalised yet

Further data collection is possible

The study is expected to:

- clarify factors which may impact the reading instruction.

- uncover potential resources and perspectives on how EFL

reading program could be appropriately implemented in

Indonesian universities.

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THANK YOU

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Feedback, please...

REFERENCES

› Dardjowidjojo, S. (1997 ). Cultural constraints in the teaching of English in Indonesia. Paper

presented at the The TEFLIN 45th National Conference, Maranatha Christian University,

Bandung.

› Jazadi, I. (2008). The politics of curriculum. Indonesia: Paracendekia NW Press.

› Mistar, J. (2005). Teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) in Indonesia. In G. Braine

(Ed.), Teaching English to the world: History, curriculum, and practice (pp. 71-80). Mahwah,

New Jersey: Lawrence Eribaum Associates.

› Nunan, D. (2003). The Impact of English as a global language on educational policies and

practices in the Asia-Pacific region*. TESOL Quarterly, 37(4), 589-613. doi: 10.2307/3588214

› Nunan, D. (2007). Research methods in language learning. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

› Richards, J. C. (2003). Curriculum development in language teaching. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

› Richards, J. C., & Rodgers, T. S. (2001). Communicative language teaching Approaches and

methods in language teaching (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.

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