Background of the Study

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the writer would like to discuss the background, problem formulation, problem limitation, objectives of the study, benefits of the study, and definition of terms which are employed in this study.

A. Background of the Study

The development of world has brought many effects in scientific, technical, and economic activities on international scale. As a result, trade and commerce dominate the world. This domination causes a demand on an international language that will enable people who speak different languages and who wish to carry out trade to communicate. English then obtains its role as an international language. The needs of English keep growing because many people use English to communicate and to carry out their business. People who share the same knowledge and skill also find that it is necessary for them to develop language in their own area so that they will be able to communicate effectively, precisely, and accurately. Hutchinson and Waters 1994: 6 stated: More people know why they have to learn the language such as, businessmen and women who wanted to sell their product; mechanics who had to read instructions manuals; doctors who needed to keep up with developments in their field and whole range of students whose course of study included textbooks and journals only available in English. Therefore, it is important for Indonesian people who wish to communicate with other people in English to master spoken and written English. Mechanical 1 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 2 Engineering students of Sanata Dharma University are one of the examples. They need to master spoken and written English in order to survive in the working world. Students of the Mechanical Engineering Study Program often need to read textbooks and journals which are available in English. When they graduate, they will need to cope with the working world in which interaction with foreigners is often required. They have to read instructions manuals and they also have to keep up with developments of their profession. For Mechanical Engineering students, English mastery is required in order to enable the graduates to communicate in English when they face the working world. Therefore, English proficiency especially English in Mechanical Engineering area is the key for the students of the Mechanical Engineering Study Program of Sanata Dharma University to survive in this developing working world. Better English ability is also their key to success. Machines mostly come from abroad; the manuals and textbooks are mostly written in English. Therefore, it is important for the Mechanical Engineering students of Sanata Dharma University to master English skill, especially reading skill, to enable them to read English textbooks and thus to support their study. To overcome the difficulties that will possibly be met during their study and of course in their future job, students obviously need English. Unfortunately, English subject is not included yet in the curriculum of Mechanical Engineering Study Program; instead, TOEFL was required to be taken as the requirement for the students to conduct Thesis defense Ujian Tugas Akhir. The requirement shows that there is a need of English to be mastered by the graduates of this study PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 3 program. However, mastery of English cannot be achieved only by conducting TOEFL test. Mastery of language, in this case English, can only be achieved by practicing it actively. Though the requirement gives a good indication that the study program expects the students to conduct their own independent English study as the preparation to conduct the TOEFL test, many students, unfortunately, are not willing to do so. It is common for the students to cheat in the TOEFL test. Somehow they can obtain the answer key to the test. They prefer relying on that answer key to conduct the TOEFL preparation course. The unsuccessful policy of requiring TOEFL test to measure the students’ English ability motivated the study program to establish an English subject that will accommodate the students’ needs in mastering their English in the area of Mechanics. The English subject is going to be a compulsory subject for the third semester students of the Mechanical Engineering Study Program. Unfortunately, the establishment of an English subject brings the study program to a new problem, inexistence of the English instructional materials. Therefore, the writer tries to design instructional materials for the students of the Mechanical Engineering Study Program of Sanata Dharma University so that it can be used in developing their English skill. Through the research, it is hoped that the English instructional materials would help the students in mastering English language and thus to achieve English proficiency especially in the area of Mechanics. As it has been stated above, Mechanical Engineering students need to be equipped with English proficiency. It will be difficult for the students to read English textbooks to support their study and to face the competitive working PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 4 world without having English proficiency. Thus, it is highly important for the students to be equipped with English proficiency that will be useful both during their study and in their future working world. The writer’s focus is on designing the English instructional materials for the third semester students of the Mechanical Engineering Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. Hopefully, the English instructional materials can give contribution to the study program in developing English course which can facilitate the students in developing their English. Therefore the Study Program will be able to measure the students’ English ability by observing the progress they made in the English course.

B. Problem Formulation