The Contribution of Civil Engineering English Course Material

Toward Student Learning Outcomes at the University Level

Elda Martha Suri

, Jufrizal

and M. Zaim

Padang State University, Jl. Prof. Dr. Hamka, Air Tawar, Padang, Indonesia

Keywords: Contribution, Teaching Materials, Student Learning Outcomes.

Abstract: This study aims to update the teaching materials needed by the industrial world for civil engineering graduates

so that civil engineering graduates can succeed in entering the industrial world, such as well-known

companies. This research is a research contribution, and the sample is 25 people. The data collection technique

was taken in the form of student documentation. The data analysis technique is used by collecting primary

data from questionnaires and student interviews, and secondary data collection is taken from students' mid-

semester exams. The data collection results from questionnaires and interviews with these students show that

the lecturers of this course must update three teaching materials. Those three teaching materials are the terms

in the field of English, Occupational Health and Safety (K3).

1 INTRODUCTION

Teaching English in other departments within the

University is included in the curriculum. It is helpful

for alums who have graduated from this department

to be accepted in the industrial world. It is also

possible for civil engineering majors. It is hoped that

the lessons taught by the lecturers in charge of this

course must follow the demands of the industrial

world. One of the approaches taught in this course is

the English application approach which we know as

English Specific Purposes (ESP). We can see this

from the quote by Tom Hutchinson and Waters in my

dissertation excerpt (1987), namely that ESP

materials do not only emphasize vocabulary,

grammar, or certain forms of language teaching.

However, ESP materials also focus on what students

need in the world of work in the future. So that it

impacts the purpose of ESP itself is to equip students

or students with relevant English skills that can

support their professional careers.

Education, especially ESP, is crucial in specific

learning at the lecture level(Rofii & Franscy, 2018).

One of them is addressed to the Department of

Engineering. ESP has a kind of approach needed in

development to prepare students for abilities that

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3606-8088

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6513-3424

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6152-6650

will be needed in the world of work later. For

example, in the field of reading, where students

must understand English texts or readings that are

appropriate to their field, then in the field of

speaking and listening, where students must be able

to speak in public in English according to their field,

so, they understand what is being said. They are

instructed in an English procedural text.

From the explanation above, it can be concluded

that exceptional English learning (ESP) is essential to

be taught nowadays. It is reinforced by research that

has been conducted by Musikhin (2016), which states

that the importance of unique English learning or ESP

for scientists and engineers starts from an analysis of

their needs to carry out a specific search for suitable,

reliable learning materials, how to define appropriate

teaching methods, the software, and approaches used

in the educational process are developed to develop

the necessary language skills to contribute around the

world actively.

From the results of interviews with lecturers and

students and heads of departments within the

engineering faculty at several universities in the city

of Padang, West Sumatra, both private and state

universities. The reasons are, firstly, the lack of

reference materials for learning materials for both

students and lecturers. The books lecturers use for

Suri, E., Jufrizal, . and Zaim, M.

The Contribution of Civil Engineering English Course Material Toward Student Learning Outcomes at the University Level.

DOI: 10.5220/0012199100003738

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Innovation in Education (ICoIE 4 2022) - Digital Era Education After the Pandemic, pages 235-238

ISBN: 978-989-758-669-9; ISSN: 2975-9676

235

their students are not sold commercially in bookstores

in Padang. Second, lecturers have made teaching

materials, but the teaching materials they have made

are still in the form of hand-outs adapted from several

sources, which are then adapted to the existing

curriculum in the department. The material that the

lecturer has designed is included in E-learning.

In the explanation above, Kusumawati also

explained the same thing (2018). He explained that

the needs of non-English study program students for

ESP English courses were very diverse, so it could be

concluded that they needed English not only for their

current needs, such as reading English literature but

also for future work purposes.

The third problem encountered in ECE learning is

activities in the classroom that do not provide enough

opportunities for students or students to actively

participate in the learning process. It is because most

of the activities are designed for face-to-face

meetings only. Meanwhile, the effective allocation of

time in ECE learning is minimal. As a result, the

learning process cannot provide more opportunities

for all students or students who experience the skills

being taught and do not understand the material and

practice well. In addition, additional in-class

activities provided in the LMS where students can

access and learn privately or in groups outside the

classroom also do not fully accommodate student or

student activities.

Apart from the three problems above, there is one

more significant problem, namely learning English

specifically (ESP) in general has problems regarding

time allocation. Meanwhile, many learning materials

are placed in e-learning, so they do not get many

demands from the industrial world. Therefore, three

examples of material will be designed from the

interview results above English technical terms,

object descriptions, and occupational health and

safety (K3).

2 METHOD

Based on the previously described problems, the

research typeused is correlational research. This study

aims to find out how much the contribution of English

learning materials in civil engineering majors is to

student learning outcomes in the university

environment. This research was conducted in the civil

engineering department at several universities in

Padang. The sample in this study was 25 civil

students. The data collection technique that the

researcher used was documentation. Meanwhile, in

the data analysis technique, the researcher used two

ways: the first analysis using primary data with

analysis techniques in the form of interviews and

questionnaires.

3 DISCUSSIONS

Learning English in countries that use English as a

second language or as a foreign language, such as

Indonesia, categorizes teaching English for adult

levels into two different groups, namely English for

General Purposes (EGP) and English for Specific

Purposes (ESP), Liu et al. al (2011) provides the same

perception as what is explained by Hutchinson and

Waters (1987) that the most crucial goal of EGP

learning is to encourage students to feel interested and

accustomed to learning English in order to improve

general language competence and to improve

students' language skills. Accurately and correctly

related to daily communication activities. Whereas

Lee (2016) said that "ESP learning is not much

different from EGP learning except in terms of

learning content, ESP can also be used in learning all

types of English" (Lee, 2016, p.97). The most

fundamental difference is between the learner and the

learning itself (Rahman, 2015). Furthermore,

Rahman said ESP learners are generally adult learners

with experience learning English (EGP). However,

they want to go further to learn English to be able to

communicate their professional skills and also to be

able to carry out various activities. They are related to

their profession. In this regard, they need language

skills for more specific purposes, for example,

English for students, financial managers, nurses,

lawyers, hotel receptionists, doctors, engineers, etc.

The ESP learning approach can answer this need

because of one of the characteristics of ESP, as

described in detail by Dudley-Evan and Johns and

cited by Rahman (2015), that, firstly, ESP consists of

English language instruction designed to meet the

specific needs of learners. Both ESP uses

methodologies and learning activities that must

follow the learner's discipline/profession. Third, ESP

is centered on language (grammar, vocabulary, and

activities in the learning discipline or profession.

Robinson (1991) agreed from the start to include

criteria for the needs of learner participants in

defining ESP. He defines that the essence of teaching

ESP is based on analyzing the learner's needs, “which

aims to determine as clearly as possible what the

learner has to do through the medium of English”

(Robinson, 1991). Many ESP definitions have been

given, each dealing with many aspects of language

ICoIE 4 2022 - The Fourth International Conference on Innovation in Education

236

learning. However, most of the definitions are always

related to the needs of learners in learning a language.

Because according to Hutchinson et al., "ESP is a

language teaching approach in which all decisions

regarding content and methods are based on students'

reasons for learning" (Hutchinson and Waters 1987).

In line with that, ESP-based learning must be

developed based on an analysis of learner needs, such

as an example of learning English for civil

engineering, namely learning English aimed at civil

engineering students where the content and learning

methods are based on an analysis of the English

language needs of civil engineering students with the

aim that later be able to communicate using English

related to their field of study and work in the field of

civil engineering correctly and correctly.

The results of the identification obtained with a

survey conducted on graduates and users (users) of

The Civil Engineering major is material related to the

use of communication in the world of work, among

others that: Material, Safety rules, Safety equipment,

Identifying tools, and instruments, Identifying

materials and containers, Numbers and Math

symbols, Shapes and properties of materials,

Structure, and composition of objects, Functions, and

abilities, Actions in sequence, and job search skills.

From the material obtained from the results

survey and the highest requirement is job material

search skills, namely material that discuss the inner

stages of looking for work, including: Analyzing Job

Vacancies Advertisement (analyzing job

advertisements), Writing a letter of application

(writing a cover letter) and Job Interview Preparation

(preparation for a job interview) in language English.

The second level requirement is Function and

ability material. This material discusses how to

describe the functions of tools or instruments

commonly used in civil engineering, such as

Hammers, files, spades, hacksaws, and instruments

commonly used in laboratories or workshops, such as

CBR machines, cutting machines, and so on, by using

passive forms in sentences that are made.

The third level of language needs is Identifying

materials and containers and the Structure and

composition of objects. These two materials have the

same percentage of needs. The material discussed on

the topic of Identifying materials and containers is

how to describe materials and various forms of

containers that are commonly found in the field of

civil engineering. Meanwhile, the material on the

Structure and composition of objects discusses how

to describe the structure and composition of

buildings, usually using sentence forms with active

verbs.

The fourth rank of language needs is Safety rules,

Safety equipment, and Shapes and properties of

materials. On the topic of Safety rules and Safety

equipment, it is discussed how to get to know the

tools and rules used for safety in the field or at work.

On the topic of Shapes and properties of materials, it

is discussed how to describe the forms and properties

of building materials used in buildings, highways, and

bridges.

In this case, the language skills are English that

graduates from the highest Civil Engineering

department need to be mastered: skills in reading

work instructions and work drawings/schedules. The

second skill is Skills in understanding presentations

and Skills in oral communication. It is crucial. It is

needed because graduates who have held senior

supervisor or project manager positions/positions

must be able to make presentations in English due to

projects in their companies working with IDB or

project funders from foreign countries.

The following skills needed in the third rank are

reading cost estimates, reading the text of work

contracts, and understanding work instructions orally.

Furthermore, the skills required at rank 4 (four) are

Skills in making cost estimates in English. Skills in

making cost estimates in English so far have not been

given because this course has only been acquired by

the Department of Civil Engineering students, even

though English courses are in semesters two and

three.

As for the skills to write work instructions and the

skills to make drawings/work schedules are ranked

fifth. These skills are not drawing but making terms

used in working drawings in English while making

work instructions, in this case, instructions on

products made by the construction company. The

skill with the lowest demand is writing memos in

English. The following is a tabulation of skills

required by graduates.

From the ranking of the needs, the four language

skills that graduates prioritize are: speaking, listening,

reading, and the last is writing.

It follows the purpose of giving English courses at

the Semarang State Polytechnic Department of Civil

Engineering, namely so that students get the

provision of communication skills in English so they

can compete and compete with graduates from other

tertiary institutions or Polytechnics and are ready to

go to International Polytechnics.

4 CONCLUSIONS

From the results of the exposure previously

described, it can be concluded that, nowadays, ESP is

significant in the world of specific learning at the

lecture level. One of them is addressed to the

Department of Engineering. ESP has a kind of

The Contribution of Civil Engineering English Course Material Toward Student Learning Outcomes at the University Level

237

approach needed in development to prepare

studentsfor abilities that will be needed in the world

of work later. For example, in the field of reading,

where students must understand English texts or

readings that are appropriate to their field, then in the

field of speaking and listening, where students must

be able to speak in public in English according to their

field, so, they understand what is being said. They are

instructed in an English procedural text.

In addition, the material for learning English should

be adapted to the demands of the industrial world.

Examples of the material urgently needed by the

industrial world terms in engineering English

learning, Occupational Health and Safety (K3), and

object descriptions. These three materials are needed

by the industrial world today, which the authors will

develop from existing materials.

REFERENCES

Rofii, A., & Franscy. (2018). The Development of

Contextual-Based Textbook on Morphological Process

in Faculty of Teachers Training and Education

Batanghari University Jambi. The ASIAN ESP Journal,

14(2), 06–19.

Hutchinson, T., and Waters., A. (1987). English for Specific

Purposes. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.

Johnson,R.K., (1989).The Second Language

Curriculum.Cambridge University Press. Cambridge

Kranke, K.,(1990). Approach to Syllabus Design for

Foreign Language. Prentice Hall.

Kusumawati, E. (2017). Analisis Kesalahan Penerjemahan

Teks Bahasa Inggris-Bahasa Indonesia Pada

Mahasiswa Pendidikan Matematika Semester VI Tahun

2016/2017. EDU-MAT: Jurnal PendidikanMatematika,

5(1). https://doi.org/10.20527/edumat.v5i1.3826

Musikhin, I., (2016). English for Specific Purposes:

Teaching English for Science and Technology. ISPRS

Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and

Spatial Information Sciences. 3(6).

https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-III-6-29-2016

Nunan, D.,(1987). The Learner-Centred Curriculum

Cambridge University Press. Cambridge

Nunan, D. (1988). Syllabus Design.Oxford University

Press. New York

Richard, J.C., (2001). Curriculum Development in

Language Teaching.Cambridge University.

ICoIE 4 2022 - The Fourth International Conference on Innovation in Education

238