Analysis of an English Literature Curriculum in a University in Indonesia

Asep Suparman, 1201147 UPI School of Postgraduate Bandung, 2013

Introduction
At university level, there should be principles set in such a way that the teaching and learning activities could be well administered. In this respect, every university has developed curriculum to serve as educational guidelines for its stakeholders. Curriculum development at university level should build on a systematic and comprehensive approach. This requires the vision and mission of the institution to be wellaligned with the goals and objectives of the courses developed based on a consideration of needs of today and futures society. Essentially, curriculum development includes principles and procedures relating to the planning, delivery, management, and evaluation of all teaching and learning processes (Nunan, 1988; Richards, 2001). Generally it is an overall plan for a course that usually states: (a) the educational purpose of the programme, in terms of aims or goals, (b) the content of the programme and the sequence in which it will be taught (also known as the syllabus), (c) the teaching procedures and learning activities that will be employed (i.e., methodology), (d) the means used to assess student learning (i.e., assessment and testing), (e) the means used to assess whether the programme has achieved its goals (i.e., evaluation) (Richards & Schmidt, 1985/1992/2002/2010). In Indonesian context, curriculum development should refer to the Decree of Minister of National Education No. 232/U/2000 about the guidelines for all educational institutions in administering education. This decree states the goals and objectives of higher education that manifest in the classification of subject matters in accordance with five pillars of education: (1) Personality Development Subjects (Mata Kuliah Pengembangan Kepribadian/MPK), (2) Knowledge and Special Skills Subjects (Mata Kuliah Keilmuan dan Ketrampilan/MKK), (3) Creative Expertise Competency Subjects (Mata Kuliah Keahlian Berkarya/MKB), (4) Creative Attitude Subjects (Mata Kuliah Perilaku Berkarya/MPB), and (5) Social Context Subjects (Mata Kuliah Berkehidupan Bermasyarakat/MBB). Along the

same line, the Decree of Minister of National Education No. 045/U/2002 about Core Curriculum also states that these five pillars the elements of competencies to be developed in the curriculum design of a study program. Thus, all curricula should develop the aformentioned competencies.

Methodology
Analyzing curriculum is an attempt to breakdown curriculum into its components. The analysis is intended to see how they fit together a whole; to identify the underlying belief and ideas and to examine the implication of the belief for the quality of educational experience and how it implies the educational process (Posner, 1992). The process of analyzing curriculum can be considered as the reverse process of planning curriculum. To this end, descriptive analysis on the document of the curriculum was employed. The focuses were the spread of subject matters and their classification in accordance with the five pillars set by the Decree of Minister of National Education No. 232/U/2000 about the guidelines for all educational institutions in administering education

Finding and Discussion

1. Educational System
The university in question adopts the credit-hour system; this is based on the Decree of Rector No. 22/SK/1976. The guidlines for administering this credit-hour system refers to the Government Regulation No. 60 of 1999 concerning higher education, the Decree of Minister of National Education No. 232/U/2000 about the guidelines for all educational institutions in administering education, and the Law No. 20 of 2013 on national education system. Based on these guidelines, the university should always consider the following factors: a. The different nature of students b. The increasing demands for professionals in the society c. The prolific development of science and technology d. The feasibility condition of learning infrastructure e. The role of educational administrative personnel f. The expertise of faculty members The description of credit-hour system may be outlined as follows:

a. Every subject is assigned a value, namely credit b. The number of credits assigned to each subject may be different and is not necessarily the same c. A credit a unit that gives weighting to the value, level or time requirements of an academic course taken d. Credit-hour system reflects the workload of students and faculty members e. This credit system will influence the great point average of each students

2. Curriculum
Table 1 First Semester

No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Code SBF 4002 SBI 4101 SBI 4102 SBI 4105 SBI 4109 SBI 4112 UNG 4001

Subject Society and Culture of Indonesia Ear and Speech Training Structure I Listening Comprehension I Reading Comprehension I Speaking I Religion Education Total CHs
Table 2 Second Semester

CHs 2 2 4 2 2 2 3 17

Note

No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Code SBF 4101 SBI 4203 SBI 4206 SBI 4210 SBI 4213 SBI 4216 SBI 4220 SBI 4221 SBI 4223 SBI 4224

Subject The Indonesian Language Structure II Listening Comprehension II Reading Comprehension II Speaking II Writing I The Philosophy of Science Cultural History of Indonesia History of England History of English Language & Literature Total CHs
Table 3 Third Semester

CHs 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 19

Note

No 1 2 3 4 5

Code SBI 4104 SBI 4107 SBI 4111 SBI 4114 SBI 4117

Subject Structure III Listening Comprehension III Reading Comprehension III Speaking III Writing II

CHs 2 2 2 2 2

Note

Table 4 Third Semester (Contd)

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

SBI 4125 SBI 4126 SBI 4222 SBI 4127 SBI 4131 SBI 4135 SBI 4139

Introduction to Linguistics Introduction to Literature Art Society of Indonesia The Japanese Language I The Mandarin Language I The German Language I The French Language I Total CHs
Table 5 Fourth Semesmter

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 18

*Optional *Optional *Optional *Optional

No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Code SBI 4208 SBI 4215 SBI 4218 SBI 4243 SBI 4244 SBI 4248 SBF 4205 SBI 4228 SBI 4232 SBI 4236 SBI 4240

Subject Listening Comprehension IV Speaking IV Writing III Phonology Prose I Research Methodology History of Modern Thought The Japanese Language II The Mandarin Language II The German Language II The French Language II Total CHs
Table 6 Fifth Semester

CHs 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 18

Note

*Optional *Optional *Optional *Optional

No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Code SBI 4119 SBI 4145 SBI 4146 SBI 4149 SBI 4150 SBI 4151 SBI 4153 SBI 4154 SBI 4155 SBI 4129 SBI 4133 SBI 4137 SBI 4141

Subject Writing IV Prose II Poetry I Introduction to Linguistic Research Introduction to Literary Research Syntax I Morphology Theory of Translation British Studies The Japanese Language III The Mandarin Language III The German Language III The French Language III Total CHs

CHs 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 21

Note

*Optional *Optional *Optional *Optional

Table 7 Sixth Semester (Concentration: Literature)

No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Code SBI 4258 SBI 4259 SBI 4256 SBI 4261 SBI 4262 SBI 4264 SBI 4265 SBI 4247 SBI 4266 SBI 4230 SBI 4234 SBI 4238 SBI 4242

Subject Semantics Translation I American Studies Business English Drama I Comparative Literature Theory of Literature Poetry II Literature and Oral Tradition The Japanese Language IV The Mandarin Language IV The German Language IV The French Language IV Total CHs

CHs 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 21

Note

*Optional *Optional *Optional *Optional

Table 8 Sixth Semester (Concentration: Linguistics)

No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Code SBI 4230 SBI 4234 SBI 4238 SBI 4242 SBI 4252 SBI 4256 SBI 4258 SBI 4259 SBI 4261 SBI 4262 SBI 4267 SBI 4238 SBI 4269

Subject The Japanese Language IV The Mandarin Language IV The German Language IV The French Language IV Syntax II American Studies Semantics Translation I Business English Drama I Psycholinguistics Sociolinguistics Discourse Analysis Total CHs

CHs 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 21

Note *Optional *Optional *Optional *Optional

Table 9 Seventh Semester (Concentration: Literature)

No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Code SBI 4170 SBI 4160 SBI 4157 UNG 4007 SBF 4008 SBI 4163 SBI 4171 SBI 4172 SBI 4173

Subject Applied Linguistics Translation II Australian Studies Citizenship Education Community Service Drama II Seminar on Literature Aesthetics Literary Criticism Total CHs

CHs 2 2 3 3 3 2 3 2 2 22

Note

Table 10 Seventh Semester (Concentration: Linguistics)

No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Code SBI 4170 SBI 4160 SBI 4157 UNG 4007 SBF 4008 SBI 4174 SBI 4175 SBI 4176 SBI 4177

Subject Applied Linguistics Translation II Australian Studies Citizenship Education Community Service Second Language Acquisition Semiotics Pragmatics Seminar on Linguistics Total CHs
Table 11 Eighth Semester

CHs 2 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 3 22

Note

No 1 2 3 4 5

Code SBI 4009 UNG SBF 4010 SBI 4278 SBI 4279

Subject Undergraduate Thesis Entrepreneurship Journalistic Teaching English as a Foreign Language Creative Writing Total CHs

CHs 6 3 2 2 2 11

Note

Note: Overall total of CHs: 147 CHs *) Students take two CHs of optional subjects

Referring to table 1-10, it can be concluded that the curriculum employed by the programme in question is consistent with the Decree of Minister of National Education No. 232/U/2000 about the guidelines for all educational institutions in administering education and the Decree of Minister of National Education No. 045/U/2002 about Core Curriculum for it covers the five categories of subjects including (1) Personality Development Subjects (Mata Kuliah Pengembangan Kepribadian/MPK), (2) Knowledge and Special Skills Subjects (Mata Kuliah Keilmuan dan Ketrampilan/MKK), (3) Creative Expertise Competency Subjects (Mata Kuliah Keahlian Berkarya/MKB), (4) Creative Attitude Subjects (Mata

Kuliah Perilaku Berkarya/MPB), and (5) Social Context Subjects (Mata Kuliah Berkehidupan Bermasyarakat/MBB). From the MKK and MBB, it is expected that the graduate will be proficient in English as a Foreign Language (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), have linguistic proficiency (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, and discourse analysis), and have teaching knowledge (TEFL). In addition,

there are as well literary and cultural subjects such as literature, British Studies, American Studies, and Australian Studies. The standard of competence and basic competence of this curriculum is in the coverage of MKK and MKB as follows: 1. Language Proficiency Subjects 2. Linguistic Studies Subjects 3. Literary Studies Subjects 4. Language-Related Subjects Overall, this programme consists of eight semesters and two concentrations: literature and linguistics with the spread as follows:
Table 12 Core and Institutional Curriculum

Component Language Proficiency Linguistic Studies Literary Studies Language-Related

Core/Institutional Core Institutional Core Institutional Core Institutional Core Institutional

Table 13 Core and Institutional Subjects

CHs 36 10 12 17 18 15 9 6

Component

Core Subjects Listening - 8 CHs Speaking - 6 CHs Reading - 8 CHs Writing - 6 CHs Structure - 8 CHs Introduction to Linguistics 2 CHs Phonology - 2 CHs Morphology - 2 CHs Syntax - 4 CHs Semantics - 2 CHs

Language Proficiency

Institutional Subjects Translation - 4 CHs Business English - 2 CHs Ear and Speech Training - 2 CHs Theory of Translation - 2 CHs Psycholinguistics - 2 CHs Sociolinguistics - 2 CHs History of England - 2 CHs Pragmatics - 2 CHs Semiotics 2 CHs Applied Linguistics - 2 CHs Introduction to Linguistics Research - 2 SKS Seminar on Linguistics - 3 CHs Creative Writing - 2 CHs

Linguistic Studies

Literary Studies

Introduction to Literature - 2 CHs

Table 14 Core and Institutional Subjects (Contd)

Component

Core Subjects Prose - 4 CHs Drama - 4 CHs Poetry - 4 CHs Literary Criticism - 2 CHs Theory of Literature - 2 CHs

Literary Studies

Language Related

British Studies - 3 CHs American Studies - 3 CHs Australian Studies - 3 CHs

Institutional Subjects History of English Language & Literature - 2 CHs Comparative Literature - 2 CHs Theory of Literature - 2 CHs Literature and Oral Tradition 2 CHs Introduction to Literary Research 2 CHs Seminar on Literature 3 CHs Discourse Analysis - 2 CHs Second Language Acquisition 2 CHs Teaching English as Foreign Language 2 CHs

Core subjects reflect what graduate is like expected from the course programme, and institutional subjects manifest the vision and mission of the university in question.

Conclusion
This paper has analyzed the English literature curriculum used in a university in Indonesia. Descriptive analysis on the document of the curriculum was employed. The focuses were the spread of subject matters and their classification in accordance with the five pillars set by the Decree of Minister of National Education No. 232/U/2000 about the guidelines for all educational institutions in administering education. It is found that the curriculum covers the five categories of subjects including (1) Personality Development Subjects (Mata Kuliah Pengembangan Kepribadian/MPK), (2) Knowledge and Special Skills Subjects (Mata Kuliah Keilmuan dan Ketrampilan/MKK), (3) Creative Expertise Competency Subjects (Mata Kuliah Keahlian Berkarya/MKB), (4) Creative Attitude Subjects (Mata Kuliah Perilaku Berkarya/MPB), and (5) Social Context Subjects (Mata Kuliah Berkehidupan Bermasyarakat/MBB).

References
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