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students, which is core of this study, should adopt an ESP approach called learning-centered approach. On the basis of this approach, the needs of students, especially their learning needs
and the situations around the English course will be analyzed, and the former syllabus will be adapted. This thesis, therefore, presents how a new syllabus of conversation class is designed
by adapting the former syllabus using learning- centered approach which focuses on students‟
learning needs for the purpose of giving more opportunities to students to practice all they have learnt. This purpose, moreover, based on what Harmer 2007:123 previously stated that
the more opportunities the students have to practice speaking one language, the more fluent they are in that language.
B. Scope of the Study
This study focuses on designing the new syllabus of 1
st
level conversation class for higher education students in an English course by adapting the syllabus from the available
textbook. The name of the English course is „Albibek Smart in English‟ located at
Tembalang, Semarang. The students of conversation class in which the new syllabus is applied are higher education students college students studying near this English course.
The approach used for adapting the previous syllabus is one of the ESP approaches called learning centered-approach which focuses o
n students‟ learning needs. Furthermore, this study, based on Harmer‟s statement 2007:123, seeks to find the form of syllabus that can
provide more chances time for students to practice in order to improve their fluency in English conversation. Therefore, there are three parameters used in this study in order to
measure whether the new adapted syllabus has provided more chances for students to practice what they have learnt. These parameters are the amount of Student Talking Time STT in
comparison with Teacher Talking Time TTT, the equality of talking time outside the class namely „of class-talking time‟ between students and teacher, and the satisfaction, written on
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questionnaire, from the students joining conversation class in which the new syllabus is applied.
C. Statements of the Problems .
The scope of the study above also leads us to more specific problems statements of this study. There are four problems statements of the study that have been formulated.
1. What are the needs, particularly learning needs, of the higher education students studying near „Albibek Smart in English‟ Tembalang?
2. How are situations related to „Albibek Smart in English‟ Tembalang,
Semarang described? 3. How is a syllabus of 1
st
conversation class of higher education students in „Albibek Smart in English‟ Tembalang designed by adapting the former
syllabus based on the students‟ needs and the situations previously mentioned
using the learning-centered approach? 4. What are the implications for applying this new adapted syllabus to the
students particularly seen from the amount of STT and TTT?
D. Objectives of the Study
