psz 19:16 (pind. 1/07) universiti teknologi malaysia · ii i declare that this thesis entitled...

PSZ 19:16 (Pind. 1/07)

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF THESIS / POSTGRADUATE PROJECT PAPER AND COPYRIGHT

Author’s full name : MAULINA DWI SARI Date of birth : 25 MARCH 1975

Title : ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS FOR SCHOOL LEAVER EMPLOYEES IN

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IN BATAM: A TARGET SITUATION ANALYSIS

Academic Session : 2010/2011 SEMESTER I I declare that this thesis is classified as :

CONFIDENTIAL (Contains confidential information under the Official Secret Act 1972)*

RESTRICTED (Contains restricted information as specified by the

organisation where research was done)*

OPEN ACCESS I agree that my thesis to be published as online open access (full text)

I acknowledged that Universiti Teknologi Malaysia reserves the right as follows :

1. The thesis is the property of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. 2. The Library of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia has the right to make copies for the purpose

of research only. 3. The Library has the right to make copies of the thesis for academic exchange.

Certified by :

SIGNATURE SIGNATURE OF SUPERVISOR S983866 ASSOC. PROF. DR. NOOR ABIDAH BTE MOHD OMAR (NEW IC NO. /PASSPORT NO.) NAME OF SUPERVISOR

Date : 13 DECEMBER 2010 Date : 13 DECEMBER 2010

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“I hereby declare that I have read this thesis and in my

opinion this thesis is sufficient in terms of scope and quality for the

award of the degree of Master of Education (Teaching English as Second Language)

Signature : ....................................................

Name of Supervisor : ASSOC. PROF. DR. NOOR ABIDAH BTE MOHD OMAR

Date : 13 DECEMBER 2010

ENGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS FOR SCHOOL LEAVER EMPLOYEES

IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IN BATAM:

A TARGET SITUATION ANALYSIS

MAULINA DWI SARI

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements

for the award of the degree of Master of Education

(Teaching English as Second Language)

Faculty of Education

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MALAYSIA

DECEMBER 2010

ii

I declare that this thesis entitled “English Language Skills for School Leaver

Employees in Manufacturing Industry in Batam: a Target Situation Analysis“ is the

result of my own research except as cited in the references. The thesis has not been

accepted for any degree and is not concurrently submitted in candidature of any other

degree.

Signature : ....................................................

Name : Maulina Dwi Sari

Date : 13 December 2010

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To my beloved husband, Akbar Haskim,

and our brave-hearth son, Arkan Abrar Patiganna

iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to my supervisor,

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Noor Abidah bte Mohd Omar, for her guidance and patience given

to me, through the completion of this thesis. Her criticism, suggestions, and

encouragement have enabled me to complete this research, and made me have a

better perspectives and understanding in conducting one. For this I am indebted to

her eternally.

My gratitude also goes to Mr. Ng Cheng Kung for permitting me to obtain

data from his company. I also wish to thank all of my friends during my study here in

UTM for their assistance and advice as well as words of comfort.

Most important of all, my deepest appreciation goes to my beloved husband

Akbar Haskim and our son Arkan Abrar Patiganna for their love and sacrifice

throughout the course of my study

v

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study aimed at finding out the English language skills

employed by the school leaver employees in operator level of employment. This

study was conducted in relation to the application of ESP as school local content

subject at a particular secondary school in Batam, Indonesia. As one of the industrial

cities in Indonesia, Batam has a very strong stand in demanding the work force to

have English language skills for communication at the work place. The study was

conducted within a limited period using four research instruments: questionnaire,

interview, observation, and document analysis in obtaining information related to the

subjects of this research. The study was expected to reveal information about

communicative events that involve the school leaver employees, of which the

communicative events involve English language, and how often the English

communicative events occur at the work place. The findings showed that the main

communicative events which involve school leaver employees were reading work

instruction and filling in work forms or checklist. Both communicative events were

delivered in English. These findings became valuable information for ESP

practitioner in designing ESP syllabus and conducting ESP class as local content

subject in secondary school in Batam.

vi

ABSTRAK

Penelitian kualitatif ini dilaksanakan untuk mengetahui kebolehan berbahasa

Inggeris yang digunakan oleh pekerja berlatar belakangkan sekolah menengah di

peringkat operator. Penyelidikan ini dilakukan sehubungan dengan penerapan ESP

sebagai subjek muatan tempatan di sekolah menengah di Batam, Indonesia. Sebagai

salah satu bandar industri di Indonesia, Batam mempunyai posisi yang sangat kuat

dalam menuntut tenaga kerja untuk memiliki kemampuan berbahasa Inggeris untuk

komunikasi di tempat kerja. Penyelidikan dilakukan dalam tempoh yang terhad

menggunakan empat instrument kajian: soal selidik, wawancara, pemerhatian, dan

analisis dokumen untuk mendapatkan maklumat yang berkaitan dengan dalam kajian

ini. Kajian ini diharapkan dapat mendedahkan maklumat tentang kejadian

komunikatif yang melibatkan pekerja berlatarbelakangkan pendidikan sekolah

menengah, peristiwa komunikatif yang melibatkan Bahasa Inggeris, dan kekerapan

berlakunya peristiwa komunikatif Bahasa Inggeris di tempat kerja. Penemuan

tersebut menunjukkan bahawa peristiwa komunikatif utama yang melibatkan pekerja

berkelulusan sekolah menengah adalah membaca arahan kerja, dan mengisi borang

kerja atau senarai semak. Kedua peristiwa ini disampaikan dalam Bahasa Inggeris.

Penemuan ini menjadi maklumat yang berharga bagi pengamal ESP dalam

merancang kelas ESP dan melaksanakan ESP sebagai subjek muatan tempatan di

sekolah menengah.

vii

TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER TITLE PAGE

DECLARATION ii

DEDICATION iii

AKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv

ABSTRACT v

ABSTRAK vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

LIST OF TABLES xi

LIST OF FIGURES xii

LIST OF APPENDICES xiii

1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Introduction 1

1.2 Background of the Problem 2

1.3 Statement of Problem 5

1.4 Purpose of the Study 6

1.5 Objective of the Study 7

1.6 Research Question 7

1.7 Scope of the Study 8

1.8 Limitation of Study 8

1.9 Significance of the Study 9

1.10 Definition of Key Concepts 10

1.11 Conclusion 11

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 12

2.1 Introduction 12

2.2 The Nature of ESP 13

2.2.1 ESP Characteristics 14

viii

2.2.2 Needs Analysis/Target Situation Analysis 15

2.3 Indonesian Secondary School Curriculum 17

2.3.1 Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan/KTSP

(School Based Curriculum) 17

2.3.2 School Local Content Subject 18

2.3.3 Area on Relevance on Local Content Subject 19

2.4 ESP in Secondary Education Level 20

2.4.1 ESP at Secondary School Level: a Contradictory

Situation 20

2.4.2 ESP for Secondary Students 21

2.4.3 ESP as School Local Content Subject in Batam 23

2.5 English and the Needs in Industry 23

2.5.1 English at Manufacturing Industry in Batam 24

2.5.2 Communication in Manufacturing Industry 24

2.6 TSA on ESP at Secondary Level of Education 26

2.7 Conclusion 28

3 METHODOLOGY 29

3.1 Introduction 29

3.2 Research Design 30

3.3 Population and Sampling 31

3.4 Research Instruments 32

3.4.1 Questionnaire 32

3.4.2 Interview 34

3.4.3 Observation 35

3.4.4 Document Analysis 37

3.5 Data Collection 37

3.5.1 Initial Phase 37

3.5.2 Phase 1 38

3.5.3 Phase 2 38

3.5.4 Phase 3 39

3.5.5 Phase 4 40

3.5.6 Phase 5 41

3.6 Data Analysis 43

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3.7 Pilot Questionnaire 44

3.8 Ethical Issues and Validation 45

3.9 Conclusion 46

4 FINDING AND DISCUSSION 47

4.1 Introduction 47

4.2 Nature of Man Power in Industry 48

4.2.1 Man Power Source in Industry 48

4.2.2 Expatriates Involvement in Production Department 49

4.3 An Overview of Production Department 50

4.4 Strict Time in the Production Floor 53

4.5 Research Finding and Discussion 54

4.5.1 English Score Vs English Performance 55

4.5.2 Research Question 1: Communicative Events

at the Production Floor 56

4.5.2.1 Result from Questionnaire 56

4.5.2.2 Result from Interview 58

4.5.3 Research Question 2 and 3: English

Communicative Events and How Frequent

They Occur 64



4.5.3.3 Observation Report 75

4.5.4 Respondents’ Attitude Towards English 76



4.5.5 Operators’ Previous Work Experience 79



4.5.6 Operators’ Suggestion for Future School Leaver 89

4.5.7 Work Documents at Production Floor 89

4.5.8 Communicative Events involving Production

Operators 91

4.6 Conclusion 93

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5 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 94

5.1 Introduction 94

5.2 Conclusion of the Study 94

5.3 Pedagogical Implication 96

5.4 Recommendation for Further Research 97

5.4.1 Culture of Work Place 97

5.4.2 TSA in Different Type of Industry 98

5.4.3 Nature of Selected Sample 98

5.4.4 Length of Research Period 99

5.5 Conclusion 99

REFERENCES 101

APPENDICES 104

xi

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE

3.1 Observation Protocol 36

4.1 English Score in National Examination 55

4.2 Communicative Event Involving Operator 57

4.3 Operator’s Interlocutor during Work 58

4.4 Operator’s Activity 59

4.5 Influence of Work Nature in Communication 61

4.6 English at Work Place 64

4.7 English Communicative Events 65

4.8 English Language Skills Employed by the Respondents 66

4.9 Interlocutor in English Communication 67

4.10 English Performance of Respondents 68

4.11 Problem Solving in Understanding English 69

4.12 Operator’s Responses on English Communication 71

4.13 Supervisor and Engineer’s Responses on English Communication 72

4.14 Ways of Improving English 76

4.15 Attitude Towards Learning English Continuously 77

4.16 Length of Previous Working Period 80

4.17 Operator’s Previous Work Experiences 81

4.18 Communication Between Operator and Engineer 83

4.19 Communication Between Operator and Manager 86

xii

LIST OF FIGURE

FIGURE NO. TITLE PAGE

3.1 Data Collection Procedure during Research Visits 42

4.1 Production Process Flow 52

xiii

LIST OF APPENDICES

APPENDIX TITLE PAGE

A Work Instruction 104

B SMT Machine Downtime Tracking 105

C SMT Line Setup Checklist 116

D Lot Traveler 107

E Questionnaire 108

F Sample of Interview Transcription 110

G Unstructured Interview Questions 113

H-J Research Recommendation Letters 114-116

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

When people who come from different places and speak different languages,

move and work across the world, the need to have a language shared by the entire

business participants rises. At this present time, language is not only considered in

terms of linguistics feature, but also an economic function instrument (Chitravelu,

1993). Growing world-wide business has made multinational companies everywhere

in the world require their employees to have a better command of international

language in order to perform their tasks effectively in all working sectors. Low

competency in the language will have an effect on the business.

English as international language becomes a very important aspect in

executing works. When people from different places with different mother tongues

collaborate and work in a certain working community, being able to speak in English

as the international language becomes very crucial. Thus, English skills become one

of the requirements in responding to the employment needs.

In relation to the employment needs, university graduates are not the only

main source of man power in working environments. School leavers also share

significant contribution towards the employment needs. Certain areas such as

manufacturing industries and tourism business employ school leavers at certain level

of employment. This condition happens in Batam, Indonesia, where manufacturing

companies recruit school leavers to be their manufacture operators.

As one of the industrial cities in Indonesia, Batam has a very strong stand in

demanding the work force to have English language skills for communication at the

work place. Most of the industrial companies in this city are owned by foreign

companies or are their subsidiaries where English speaking ability is one of the main

basic compulsory skills required. These manufacturing companies often employ

multinational staff for their operational sectors such as the engineers and supervisors.

Consequently, English language skill becomes one of the necessary requirements in

responding to the employment needs in operator level. It is important for the school

leavers to acquire a certain level of English skills in completing their tasks in

manufacturing workplace.

1.2 Background of Problem

English as the compulsory subject at secondary school in Indonesia is

generally perceived as English for General Purposes (EGP). The graduates of this

school level will learn the basic and general English skills following Indonesian

national curriculum and predetermined syllabus. As it is one of the six examined

subjects in Ujian Nasional (National Examination), being able to reach the passing

grade, determined by the central government to pass the subject, is very crucial for

the third grade students as it is the final grade in secondary school level in Indonesia.

However, although English subject at secondary school is the mainstream

subject, National Examination result as one of the basis in deciding whether the

students can graduate or not has made the classroom teaching process become exam-

oriented. Teachers have the tendency to teach the students how to pass the

examination rather than to improve their competency in the language skills

gradually. The ‘short term’ goal (passing the national examination) has made the

long term goal of education, ‘equipping’ students with the skills that they will need

later in participating in the real life, altered. Students are more exposed to the

strategy to pass the examination successfully.

However, as language now is perceived, not only as an instrument for

communication but also as social process and economic function, the ‘general

English’ is now no longer sufficient in responding to the demand of language skills

in working places. The workplace community often requires the new member to have

language competency set by the member of the work community. They need to learn

how mature members match their values to their linguistic selection (Roe, 1993).

And passing the test does not represent the competency that the students have. The

requirement for English language skills such as speaking or reading goes beyond the

result of the test. Employees, at any level, need to have English language skill that

enables them to communicate or exchange meanings in the working areas, even at

the modest level of proficiency. This includes school leavers in the certain

employment level.

While General English as one of the compulsory subjects in secondary school

curriculum and syllabus remains more on to pass the school and national

examination (exam oriented), English for specific purposes starts becoming an

alternative in responding to employment needs at workplace. There is now a need

for school exponent such as school’s principal, teachers, and supervisor to

understand and include the culture of workplace in manufacturing companies in

Batam (the motivation, expectancies, value system). In the working life experience,

the school leavers need to adapt to their English spoken community and embrace the

value system in that specific community. These aspects need to be addressed in

school, should the young school leavers enter work community right after graduating

from school.

Based on Indonesian Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan (Indonesian

School Based Curriculum), secondary schools have the authority in deciding one

subject as their local content subject. The local content subject chosen has to reflect

the characteristic of the local area where the schools are located. Because Batam is a

growing manufacturing industrial area in which English is involved as the

international language for communication among the multinational employees,

teaching English for specific purposes at secondary school level in responding to

employment needs for school leavers can be a reasonable option for school to adopt

as local content subject.

Since local content subject is a subject decided by the school, national

curriculum does not provide details in conducting it. There is no predetermined

syllabus or further guidelines for local content subject. Thus, the school, particularly

the teacher, has the autonomy to design the syllabus and conduct the activity in

secondary school. The syllabus being used at present time is designed by the school

teacher. However, many teachers who teach ESP have never been near the place

where the language is spoken. This would lead in designing the subject on the basis

of guess and assumption. As the teachers have limited knowledge on the potential

target community that the students may participate, designing the syllabus can be

harmful for the students (Roe, 1993).

Setting up English for specific purposes class requires more effort than the

English for general purposes-class. ESP class is where the content of syllabus is

determined by the purpose of learning the language itself, may it be academic

purposes or occupational ones. Related to the indicators in deciding what kind of

local content subject is suitable for the school, English for occupational purposes fits

the city’s situation as manufacturing area. Thus designing ESP syllabus requires

deeper understanding on the target community where the students will become

members of the community. ESP class can focus on some or one language skill only,

for example speaking or reading-writing, depending on the purpose set in its

curriculum. In speaking skills, ESP class can even zoom in into specific language

functions to be learnt such as explaining, presenting, or persuading. Similar situation

happens when the ESP class is oriented to improve reading skill on specific text

according to the subject matters that the students are involved.

This leads to one of the main characters considered in designing an ESP

syllabus for any type or group of learners, including for secondary school students.

An ESP syllabus for any purpose requires the ESP teacher to conduct a need

analysis, in order to get closer and better information on the target communication.

Teachers need to make observation and have the knowledge on the English language

involved in target community. They may not make, in Roe’s word (1993), a ‘guess’

in designing their syllabus or ESP classroom activities on what is the best to be

brought into the classroom for their students. Instead, the syllabus and lesson plan for

an ESP class have to be based on an analysis of what the students most probably

need for their future lives (needs analysis) or of what the potential future community

requires them to have (Target Situation Analysis).

1.3 Statement of Problem

Designing an ESP class for secondary school students can be very

challenging for English teachers. It takes a lot of effort and time since there is no

specific guidelines in how to design its syllabus. It also relates to the issue of content

expertise where teachers are not the expert of subject matter being taught. As the

content will be more determined by the community in the target workplace, and

possibly by the learners themselves, deciding on ESP materials for secondary school

students based on teachers’ preference and intuition will not be appropriate for the

learners.

An insight into the real working place environment is essentially needed

whenever designing an ESP course for students. The information will help the

teachers in deciding what skills to be emphasized or what materials to be chosen for

the lesson. To be able to have such information, an observation and analysis towards

the target community (target situation analysis) needs to be carried out.

1.4 Purpose of Study

This study aims to find out the English language skills or sub skills performed

by the school-leaver employees in manufacturing area in completing their tasks. The

findings are expected to give more information and deeper understanding for English

teachers on what English language skills are involved in the working field at certain

level of employment through a needs analysis in a particular manufacturing working

area.

This study also aims at getting insights into the future workplace, not only on

the English usage in workplace communication, but also the values held by the

particular workplace of the manufacturing company in doing the business. This

information will enrich teachers’ horizon in arranging their ESP syllabus for

secondary school students.

It is also expected that the findings can be an embarking point for the English

teachers in designing the syllabus for English for specific purposes. By considering

the needs analysis, local content subject at school will closely reach the students

needs for their future target community. Moreover, with a careful design of syllabus

and lesson plans for ESP class, aimless teaching learning process will likely be

avoided.

1.5 Objectives of Study

The objectives of the study are to find out:

a. the communicative events in which school-leaver employees are involved at

the working area.

b. which communicative events involve English when the school leaver

employees take part in the workplace.

c. which English communicative events occur most frequently at the workplace

1.6 Research Question

The research questions for this study are:

a. What are the communicative events in which school-leaver employees are

involved in at working area?

b. Which communicative events in which the school leaver-employees are

engaged involve English?

c. Which one/s of these communicative events most frequently occur in the

work place?