 Abstract | Abstract
This policy-oriented research investigation is of national significance to Indonesia where the nation's wealth depends for its success on the production of a well-educated workforce who can engage with proficiency in a global dialogue that is conducted largely in English. The ability to communicate in English, as well as Bahasa Indonesia, is becoming increasingly significant in Indonesia in an ever expanding technological age. This study addresses four major issues associated with the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language in a technological university, (a) factors that influence English language proficiency within the university setting; (b) analysing the component skills required for successful language learning; (c) examining the relationships involved between successful language teaching and the kinds of courses offered; and (d) the shaping of policy for the learning and teaching of English, not merely as a foreign language, but also as a global language.
The theoretical foundations for this study include Carroll's model of the learning of a foreign language, from which his better known models of school learning and general learning were derived. The data for the quantitative aspects of this study are obtained from the university records and database for a sample of approximately 1000 students, where performance is measured on three occasions and who are drawn from a target population of about 4000. Information on the teaching and learning of these students is obtained on the qualitative aspects of teaching and learning from six teachers of these students, and from 30 students in the sample. The ten research questions for which answers are sought and that are directed towards the four specified issues provide evidence for the making of recommendations and for the development of policy by the university staff and other Indonesian policy makers.
It is also expected that the findings of this investigation are highly relevant for the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language in schools and universities across Asia at a time when English is emerging as the global language in the Asian Region for tourism, industry, commerce and technological development.
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