THE PROFESSIONAL FUNCTIONS AND
COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE IN
ENGLISH FOR HEALTH OFFICIALS
A Thesis
Presented as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to obtain the Magister Humaniora (M. Hum) Degree in English Language Studies
By
Theresia Laksmi Widyarini
Student Number: 046332013
THE GRADUATE PROGRAM (S2) IN
ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
This is to certify that all ideas, phrases, and sentences, unless otherwise stated, are the ideas, phrases, sentences of the thesis writer. The writer understands the full consequences
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am taking a great pleasure of expressing my deepest gratitude by dedicating this page to those who have been giving me support of any kind.
First of all, I would like to thank Father Who Arts in Heaven, for being the Best Friend, ever; The gratitude also goes to,
1. Dr. FX. Mukarto, M.S., my supervisor, for having spared his unbelievably busy time for consultation and guidance;
2. dr. Bondan Agus S, SE, MA., the Chairman of Yogyakarta Provincial Health Office, and his distinguished staff: Dra Siti Munawaroh, Apt. M.Kes, Drg Yuli Kusumastuti, M.Kes, late dr Nanis Budiningsih, M.Kes, dr RA. Arida Utami, M.Kes, and Dra Dyah Ayu P, Apt, M.Kes, for being my research partners;
3. dr. Choirul Anwar, M.Kes., the Chairman of Yogyakarta Municipal Health Office, and his outstanding staff: Taslim Sudiyanto, SKM., Darra Irawati, SE., and Agung Setiawan, SIP, for having provided me with valuable inputs in preparing and finalizing this research;
4. Prof. dr. Laksono Trisnantoro, MSc., Ph.D., the Director of the Center for Health Service Management, Medical Faculty, UGM and the secretaries: Nenggih Wahyuni, SIP., and Sealvy Kristianingsih, A.Md, , for having facilitated me so far;
5. Drs. RY. Suharyo and S. Suratmi, A.Ma, my dearest parents, I can never thank you enough for the endless love, prayers and faith;
6. A. Edy Purnomo, SE., and Y. Alvendi Agung B, my dearest husband and my lovely son, thanks for always being there for me;
7. V. Woro Hapsari, SE, Akt., and B. Ida Tri Ambarwati, A.Md, my dearest sisters; Y.P. Marbun, A.P., and Ali Wasono, my dearest brothers-in-law; also Yonatan Marbun and Octavia Widya, my lovely nephew and niece, thanks for the love, care and prayers;
8. Pak Singgih, Bu Rin, Pak Setyo, Bu Siti, Ansel, mbak Rus, Dian, Linda, Listy, Shierly, Dini and Dona, my wonderful friends of Batch 2004; Guys, thanks for cheering me up.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to those who cannot be stated here by name. May God bless them all.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE ………..i
APPROVAL PAGE ………...………ii
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ………...………….. iv
LEMBAR PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ……… v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………...vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS………...vii
LISTS OF FIGURES & TABLES………... ix
ABSTRACT………... x
ABSTRAK ………. xi
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ……….. 1
A. Background ……… 1
B. Problem Identification ………4
C. Problem Limitation ……….5
D. Problem Formulation ………..6
E. Research Objectives ……….. 7
F. Research Benefits ……….. 7
G. Operational Definition ……….. .8
CHAPTER II. THEORETICAL REVIEW & FRAMEWORK ……….. 11
A. Theoretical Review ………...12
1. Professional Functions ……….12
2. Communicative Competences ………...14
a. Development of Communicative Competence...………..14
b. Elements of Communicative Competences ……….17
1) Discourse Competence ...………...18
2) Actional Competence ..………..18
3) Linguistic Competence ...………...19
4) Sociocultural/ Sociolinguistic Competence ……….. 20
5) Strategic Competence ……… 20
c. Communicative Competences in Adult Learning …………....22
1) Adult Learning Characteristics………...22
2) Adult Learning Style ………..23
3) Adult Learning Strategies ……….. 26
3. English for Specific Purposes (ESP) ……….. 28
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY ………..47
A. Methods ………47
B. Nature of Data ………... ………..48
C. Data Setting and Source…...……….………49
D. Data Gathering Instrument ……….. ………... 49
1. Interview……….. ….………...……… .50
2. Questionnaire... ………...…….………..51
E. Data Collection ………... 54
F. Data Analysis ………54
G. Data Triangulation………..54
CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULT …. …………... ………. 56
A. Result of Professional Function Identification ……… ………...57
B. Result of Communicative Competence Identification ……….….77
C. Result of Syllabus Development ………. 90
1. Assessing Learners’ Needs ………91
2. Developing Goals and Objectives ………..92
3. Deciding Syllabus Type ……….92
4. Specifying Contents ………...……93
5. Planning Syllabus ………..…………95
6. Selecting teaching Approaches and Materials ……….105
7. Assessment procedures and Criteria ………105
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION A. Conclusion ………..106
B. Implication ………..108
C. Recommendation ………109
BIBLIOGRAPHY ………..111
APPENDICES ………112
Appendix 1. Interview Sheet ……… 113
Appendix 2. Interview Result/Transcription ……… 114
Appendix 3. Questionnaire Sheet ………. 125
Appendix 4. Questionnaire Result ……… 133
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
FIGURES
Figure 2.1. Communicative Competence Model Figure 2.2. The Classification of ESP Categories
TABLES
Table 2.1. Learning Style Taxonomy for the L2 Classroom Table 2.2. Learning Strategies for L2 Learners
Table 2.3. Strengths and weaknesses of Different Interview Types Table 3.1. Interview Blueprint
Table 3.2. Topics and related Specific Information Table 3.3. List of Questionnaire Questions
Table 4.1. Guest Reception Function Table 4.2. International Negation Function Table 4.3. Program/ Activity Reporting Function Table 4.4. International Correspondence Function Table 4.5. Seminar Presentation Function
Table 4.6. Program Proposal Function Table 4.7. Fund Raising Function Table 4.8. Official Travel Function Table 4.9. Interpreting Function
Table 4.10.Fellowship/Short Course/Comparative Study/Benchmarking Function Table 4.11. Communicative Competence in Guest Reception
Table 4.12. Communicative Competence in International Negation Table 4.13. Communicative Competence in Program/ Activity Reporting Table 4.14. Communicative Competence in International Correspondence Table 4.15. Communicative Competence in Seminar Participation Table 4.16. Communicative Competence in Program Proposal Table 4.17. Communicative Competence in Fund Raising Table 4.18. Communicative Competence in Official Travel Table 4.19. Communicative Competence in Information Seeking Table 4.20. Communicative Competence in Interpreting
Table 4.21. Communicative Competence in Fellowship/Short Course/Comparative Study/Benchmarking Table 4.22. Communicative Competence in Translating Table 4.23. Specifying Contents
ABSTRACT
Theresia Laksmi Widyarini. (2008). Professional Functions and Communicative Competence in English for Health Officials. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
The competence-based approach has been the current approach of education in Indonesia since 2003. This approach has been referred to develop learners’ competences in performing the language successfully. Therefore, supplying the underlying competences helps learners in engaging successfully in a class and facilitates them in performing their international relation in their field of professions. Furthermore, the development of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is also contributed by the development in educational theories. The development emphasizes the central importance of learners and their attitudes to learning. Learners have been considered to have different needs and interest which would have an important influence on their motivation to learn and therefore on the effectiveness of their learning. This provides support to the development of courses which is relevant to learners’ needs and interest.
There were three problems formulated in the research. The first problem investigated the professional functions mostly performed in English by the health officials in terms of their international relation. The second problem concerned with the most required communicative competences in order to perform those professional functions successfully. And the third problem which would become the technological by-product of this research aimed at designing a syllabus by integrating the professional functions mostly performed in English and the most required communicative competences of the language.
The research investigated that the health officials performed a number of professional functions mostly performed in English and they required some communicative competences in order to perform the professional functions successfully. In investigating the professional functions mostly performed in English and the required communicative competence, the researcher conducted a need analysis. The professional functions the health officials performed in English mostly were guest reception, international negotiation, program/activity reporting, international correspondence, seminar participation, program proposal, fund raising, official travel, information seeking, interpreting, fellowship/ short course/ comparative study/ benchmarking and translating,
The communicative competence mostly required by the health officials to perform their professional functions successfully concerned with the proper use of the discourse, the functions of language, the grammar, the social and contextual factors, and the strategy. The result of the professional function identification and the required communicative competence to perform the functions successfully served as the bases of designing the syllabus. The type of syllabus chosen was competence-based which were equipped with competence standards and basic competence along with the indicators.
ABSTRAK
Theresia Laksmi Widyarini. (2008). Professional Functions and Communicative Competence in English for Health Officials. Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Pendekatan berbasis kompetensi merupakan pendekatan dalam pendidikan yang telah dilaksananakan di Indonesia sejak tahun 2003. Pendekatan ini ditujukan untuk meningkatkan kompetensi pembelajar dalam menggunakan bahasa dengan baik. Oleh karenanya, memberikan landasan kompetensi dapat membantu pembelajar dalam berinteraksi di kelas dan membantu mereka dalam melaksanakan hubungan internasional dalam bidang pekerjaan mereka. Disamping itu, perkembangan pembelajaran English for Specific Purposes (ESP) juga didukung oleh perkembangan teori-teori pendidikan. Perkembangan tersebut menekankan pada kepentingan pokok dari pembelajar dan perilaku mereka terhadap pembelajaran. Pembelajar dinilai memiliki kebutuhan dan ketertarikan yang akan mempengaruhi motivasi dalam pembelajaran dan pada keberhasilan pembelajaran mereka. Hal tersebut memberikan dukungan pada perkembangan pembelajaran yang sesuai dengan kebutuhan dan ketertarikan pembelajar.
Penelitian ini merumuskan tiga masalah penelitian. Masalah pertama mengenai fungsi-fungsi pekerjaan yang paling sering dilakukan oleh staf kesehatan dengan menggunakan B. Inggris dalam hubungan internasional mereka. Masalah kedua mengenai kompetensi berkomunikasi yang diperlukan untuk melaksanakan fungsi-fungsi pekerjaan tersebut. Masalah yang ketiga mengenai penyususunan rancangan silabus yang memadukan fungsi-fungsi pekerjaan dan kemampuan berkomunikasi tersebut dimana rancangan silabus ini merupakan technological by-product dari penelitian ini.
Penelitian ini menemukan bahwa staf kesehatan melaksanakan fungsi-fungsi pekerjaan yang paling sering dilakukan dalam B. Inggris dan mereka memerlukan kompetensi berkomunikasi agar dapat melaksanakan fungsi-fungsi pekerjaan tersebut dengan baik. Penelitian ini melaksanakan suatu analisa kebutuhan dengan menggunakan wawancara dan angket. Fungsi-fungsi pekerjaan yang paling sering dilaksanakan dalam B. Inggris adalah: menerima tamu, negosiasi dengan kolega internasional, pelaporan program/kegiatan, surat menyurat dengan kolega internasional, seminar, pengusulan program/kegiatan, penggalangan dana, perjalanan dinas, pencarian informasi, interpreting, fellowship/ short course/ studi banding/ benchmarking dan translating,
Kompetensi berkomunikasi yang diperlukan dalam melaksanakan fungsi-fungsi pekerjaan itu adalah kompetensi wacana, kompetensi tindak bahasa, kompetensi kebahasaan, kompetensi sosiokultural, dan kompetensi strategi
INTRODUCTION
This chapter is intended to introduce the research and justify the necessity to conduct it. A brief description of the occupational context where the research is
conducted is provided with an emphasis on the needs of learning English. Finally, the chapter is concluded with some definitions of terms
I. BACKGROUND
This research, aims at describing the professional functions performed by
the health officials in terms of their international relation as well as the required competences in order to perform those professional functions successfully. And the technological by-product of this research will be in a form of syllabus design
which integrates the professional functions and the required communicative competences of the language.
The competence-based approach has been the current approach of education in Indonesia since 2003 (Pelayanan Profesional Kurikulum 2004, 2003). Current curricula of formal schools in Indonesia have been referred to develop learners’ competences in performing the language successfully. Naturally, considering the health officials who are experts in their field of
profession, it is strongly argued that the role of an English instructor should not be to teach content but to provide necessary skills to be able to cope with content (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987). Therefore, supplying the underlying competences
Master, 1998).
The development of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is also
contributed by the development in education. The development emphasizes the central importance of learners and their attitudes to learning. Learners have been
considered to have different needs and interest which would have an important influence on their motivation to learn and therefore on the effectiveness of their learning. This provides support to the development of courses which is relevant to
learners’ needs and interest.
Master (1998) and Jordan (1997) have mentioned some courses intended
for English Medical Purposes. At least, they proposed English for Aphasics, English for Nursing Professionals, English for Pharmacy Students, English for Physiotherapy. Likewise, this research concerns with health professionals with
different medical expertise backgrounds. These health officials (the research participants) do not directly serve patients in hospitals or clinics, but they serve
the public in general and they represent government agents who deal with the management of public health. As far as the research concerns, this area has not gained sufficient attention in English for Specific Purposes.
The Indonesian government has undergone major changes since the reform movement in 1998, especially in authority division among government
agencies. The authority changes in the government agencies were initiated with the stipulation of decentralization (local autonomy) policy. Yogyakarta Provincial Health Office/ PHO (Dinas Kesehatan Provinsi D.I. Yogyakarta) is one of the
(Trisnantoro, 2005). It also represents the main issue to respond to the economic and political change pressures. The decentralization concept intends to improve
the public participation in the decision making, so that they can provide healthcare appropriate with the local needs and aspiration, accommodate social, economic,
environmental diversities, as well as improve the distribution of public resource. Besides the decision making, the concept provides more room for the local management and strengthens the government (health sector) accountability
towards the society
The international donor agencies take their parts in encouraging better
distribution of qualified and effective public healthcare. These agencies offer financial aids in a specific condition that the aids are utilized to improve the healthcare efficiency and quality (Trisnantoro, 2005). A way to improve the
healthcare efficiency and quality is through the development of health human resource.
Yogyakarta Provincial Health Office/ PHO is one of government’s agencies in public health services. PHO also has experienced some major organizational changes as well as authority changes and it has been playing
important role in the implementation of the decentralization/ autonomy policy in health sector. As a government agency in provincial level, PHO organizes and
coordinates most of the health programs, not to mention its official relation with the foreign donors in which PHO also serves as the foreign donor coordinator. Since PHO organizes and coordinates most of the health programs as well as its
functions especially those related with the international donors.
The May 27 earthquake that struck D.I. Yogyakarta Province and Klaten,
Central Java have made the two provinces points of attention. Quite a number of international NGOs have come to the two provinces, especially D.I. Yogyakarta
Province, to give aids during the emergency phase as well as the recovery and reconstruction phases. PHO as the government agency in provincial level has been coordinating all the aids and hosting regular coordination meetings. Most of the
NGOs members do not speak Indonesian. They are accompanied by their interpreters, but during the meetings at PHO, where they are hosted by PHO
staffs, it is PHO’s responsibility to make the meetings as well as communication run smoothly. One main constraint in dealing with those foreigners is then the language. It is quite unpractical both for the foreigners and PHO staffs when they
communicate via interpreters. This is not to mention some misunderstanding which often happens since the interpreters do not always know about specific
terminologies in health. It would have been a good and smooth communication if PHO staffs obtain good capability in the language. Therefore, a research which investigates the PHO staff’s need to improve their communicative competence in
English so that they are able to perform their professional functions with their international colleagues is quite urgent.
B. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
Yogyakarta Provincial Health Office consists of several divisions and
by the Ministry of Health, RI, but also those established by the province as well as the districts/ municipality. In the official relation with international agencies,
PHO also serves as the coordinator and facilitator. Since PHO organizes and coordinates most of the health programs as well as its international official
relation with the international agencies, the human resource of PHO is demanded to obtain adequate quality and capability in performing their official activities especially those related with the international agencies.
However, the most common constraint encountered by the health officials in maintaining their international relation is that of the language, especially
English. Some of the officials of the international agencies do speak Indonesian, but many others do not. This language constraint impedes the smooth running and well established communication because then many items being communicated
are not exchanged well and results in misunderstanding and miscommunication quite often. For that reason, the staffs need to improve their communication ability
in English so that they are able to perform their professional functions in their international relation and communication successfully. Furthermore, the language constraints occur due to lack of grammar knowledge, including when to use
certain structures, lack of competence in communication using the language and lack of essential vocabularies/ technical terms in English for each division.
C. PROBLEM LIMITATION
Yogyakarta Provincial Health Office/ PHO is one of government’s
the foreign agencies. The established organizational structure of PHO consists of the leader of the office, the leaders of divisions, the leaders of sub- divisions and staff. Among those organizational elements, the leader of the office and the leaders of divisions hold the major role in dealing with the international relation.
Therefore, the research will limit its discussion on the professional functions in international relation performed by the division leaders and their core staff as well as the competences which are required to perform the international relation
and communication successfully. In the following discussion the term “health officials” is employed to address the leaders of the divisions and their core staffs
who serve as the research participants.
D. PROBLEM FORMULATION
The research will deal with the professional functions in international relation and communication of the health officials. The research problems are formulated as follows:
1. What are the professional functions mostly performed in English by the health officials in their international relation and communication?
2. What are the most required communicative competences of the language?
The research is conducted to serve some objectives, namely:
1. To obtain qualitative description on the professional functions mostly
performed in English by these health officials in their international relation and communication
2. To obtain qualitative description on the most required communicative competences of the language to perform the professional functions successfully
3. To design a syllabus integrating the professional functions and the required communicative competences of the language as the technological
by-product of the research.
F. RESEARCH BENEFITS
It is hoped that by focusing on the health official’s current and future knowledge and skills of the language, the research helps them in developing their
ability in English and later in performing the professional functions successfully. It is also expected that the research assists the health officials in developing their communicative competence of the language and facilitates them to become more
autonomous and independent officials.
Finally, the results of the research are expected to bring worth contribution
1. Professional Functions
Yogyakarta Provincial Health Office is a government agent for serving public health. Such office deals mostly with public health management rather than
medical health. The office maintain different jobs and functions for different divisions and sub-divisions (Struktur Organisasi Dinas Kesehatan Prop. DIY, 2004). Professional functions themselves refer to all the work activities (or
functions) that are embraced within occupations (http://www. archaeologist.net). The research itself has set its limit of study on the professional functions the health officials perform in their international relation and communication.
2. Communicative Competences
Communicative competence refers to the ability to produce situationally acceptable, and more especially socially acceptable, utterances in a particular
language (Brown et al, 1996).
The most recent model of communicative competences in language education literatures is that proposed by Celce-Murcia, Dornyei and Thurrell
(1995) which is compatible with theoretical view stating that language is communication, not just a set of rules. The elements of communicative
English for Specific Purpose is a program which teaches typical English for a special purpose. The typical English is of a particular context of use and
which the learners are more likely to meet in the target situation. Such a course is based on a need analysis. The need analysis aims at specifying as closely as
possible what exactly the learners have to do through the medium of English. By conducting a need analysis, the learners’ needs to perform successfully in the target situation may be resolved. Concerning the learners, it is often assumed that
ESP learners will not be purely beginners but will have already studied General English for some years.
4. Syllabus Development
Syllabus is a statement of content which is used as the basis for planning courses of various kinds (Nunan, 2001). Therefore, the syllabus here does not
solely concern with the selection and grading of content but it also concerns with the attempts to specify and grade learning tasks and activities. Furthermore, a
syllabus provides practical basis for the division of assessment, textbooks and learning time. It also tells the teacher and the learner not only what is to be learnt, but implicitly, why it is to be learnt. Then, a syllabus also provides a set of criteria
for material selection and/or writing (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987). 5. Health Officials
The health officials are the staff of Yogyakarta Provincial Health Office and they hold degree in health. Since they serve in a provincial health office, they perform their jobs in public health management instead of medical/ clinical. They
institutions. Therefore, considering their post, they are also required to perform their jobs in dealing with international relation and communication professionally
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL REVIEW & FRAMEWORK
The chapter reviews some theories that become the bases for the discussion. The discussion will be divided into two main parts, namely,
theoretical review and theoretical framework.
The theoretical review discusses four major points. They are professional
functions, communicative competence, English for Specific Purpose (ESP) and syllabus design. The discussion starts with the professional functions and precedes to the communicative competences which will become the bases for
designing a syllabus. The discussion on communicative competences comprises their development and elements as well as their roles in adult learning.
The next discussion is on the program for learners having specific purpose in learning English. The program to be discussed in the English for Specific Purpose Program (ESP). ESP also serves as the background of this
research since the English for Health Officials is part of it. The discussion on ESP talks about the ESP development, categories and components.
The last part discusses syllabus design within which the competence-
based syllabus design, needs analysis and the steps in syllabus development are reviewed. Finally, all the discussion reviewed will be compiled within a
A. Theoretical Review
This sub- chapter elaborates theories of the professional functions, the
communicative competence, the English for Specific Purposes (ESP) and the syllabus design.
1. Professional Functions
Yogyakarta Provincial Health Office (PHO) as a public health office organization serves a number of functions on public health management. As a
provincial office, PHO coordinates and manages health programs and activities performed by PHO itself as well as by the districts. As the main functions of
PHO are coordinating and managing, PHO maintains health resource management. In line with the research’s objectives which involves health officials, the health resource management concerns with the human resource
management.
Syakdiah (2001) mentions that the important asset owned by an
organization and mostly concerned about by the management is that of the human resource of the organization. People (human) represent elements which always exist in every organization. These people formulate, innovate and attain
the objectives of the organization. She continues that viewed from the perspective of organization, these people are the resources. They are not the
inanimate resources as capital, land, or factories, but they are the human resources.
The health officials as the human resource of PHO mobilize other
human resource affects the efficiency and efficacy of the organization. The health officials in their organization design and produce health services, control
the quality, promote the health products and services, allocate the financial resource, and determine the overall objectives of the organization. Second,
human resource represents the main outcome of the organization.
In general, according to Syakdiah (2001) the human resource management includes:
Planning
Planning refers to determining programs which contribute to the objective
attainment as set up by the organization.
Organizing
After a series of actions set up by the organization, the organization needs to
organize the attainment process. The organization represents the tool to attain the objectives, organizing means designing the structure of various relation
among jobs, personnel and other physical factors.
Directing and motivating
This motivating function is important. This function attempts to mobilize
people to work together effectively.
Controlling
This managerial function is related with organizing the activities so the activities run as planned.
Procuring
Training and development
This function improves the capability of the human resource.
Compensating
This function is formulated as rewards for the human resource for their
contribution in the attainment of the organization’s objectives.
Integrating
Integrating concerns with the adjustment of individual’s interests with those of
the organization
Maintaining
This function maintains and improves the existing condition
Separating
This function is to terminate the occupational relation of a staff with the
organization.
As the research concerns, the health officials as the human resource of
PHO also perform the above functions in their general occupational activities. However, the research limits its study on the professional functions performed by the health officials in their international relation and communication.
2. Communicative Competences
The discussion on communicative competences comprises their
development and elements as well as their roles in adult learning. a. Development of Communicative Competences
When one uses language to communicate, he/ she use signs in the forms
signs are not uttered or written randomly; there are rules to govern so that the signs are understood by others. The rules are called grammar. Sounds and letters
which are used governed by rules are used by society in the same cultural context. Hence, language represents a system of social semiotic (Holliday, 2002).
Language is used by the society as an social interaction tool. The implication is that a person who lives alone will not be able to use language; being able to use language requires the presence of other persons.
Different view of language is as presented by Chomsky (1978) in which he views language as a set of rules. Linguistics developed by Chomsky and his
followers is the idealized linguistics; therefore, competence and performance are considered different. Competence, in its real meaning, refers to language which still exists in its ideal form in a person’s brain, and performance refers to a form
of language which is full of errors in the grammar, vocabularies, repetition, hesitation, etc. According to Chomsky (1965), competence consists of the mental
representation of linguistic rules which constitute the speaker-hearer’s internalized grammar. Performance consists of the comprehension and production of language. Because the rules the learner has internalized are not
open to direct inspection, it has been necessary to examine how the learner performs, mainly in production (Ellis, 1990).
The shift of interest away from linguistic competence and towards communicative competence occurred at a time when theoretical studies of semantics had not really been much applied to the teaching of languages. By
inherited from the 1930s (Brown et al. 1996) . The 1960s saw a shift away from vocabulary, and the adoption of a general assumption that most learners could
get by adequately with a very limited vocabulary (Brown et al., 1996).
Lyons in Brown et al (1996) offers a more or less uncontroversial,
non-technical definition of linguistic competence:
Linguistic competence is the knowledge of particular languages, by virtue of which knowledge those who have it are able to produce and understand utterance in those languages.
‘Competence’ definitely and unequivocally refers to something in an individual’s mind or brain. Where as ‘performance’, according to him refers to the production
and understanding of utterances (in particular languages). When ‘performance’ is defined by linguists in relation to competence, it is usually defined in its process
sense.
Dell Hymes in Brown et al. (1996) coins the term ‘communicative competence’ to label the ability to produce situationally acceptable, and more
especially socially acceptable, utterances. Hymes proposes to use “competence” as the most general term for the capabilities of a person. He adds that it is
dependent on ‘tacit knowledge’ and ‘ability for use’ and the inclusion of ability for use as part of competence allows in not only cognitive factors, but also noncognitive factors as motivation. By ‘performance’ is meant actual use and
actual events. So communicative competence is what enables a person to perform appropriately in speech events. It includes not only grammatical
Selinker points out that the performance of L2 speakers varies in complex ways, both between individuals and from the performance of L1 speakers. What
is less clear is how far, if at all, this variation in performance allows for any claims to be made about the nature of the grammars known by L2 speakers.
Interlanguage competence is said to be of three types: fossilized, functional and transitional competence (Brown et al., 1996)
b. Elements of Communicative Competences
The most recent model of communicative competences in language education literatures is that proposed by Celce-Murcia, Dornyei and Thurrell
(1995) which is compatible with theoretical view stating that language is communication, not just a set of rules. The implication is that the communicative competence formulated is to prepare learners to communicate using language in
order to participate in the language community. This model is formulated as Communicative Competence represented in Celce-Murcia et al. (1995) as
follows:
Socio- Cultural Competence
Strategic Competence Linguistic
Competence
Actional Competence Discourse
Competence
1) Discourse Competence
Learners must develop discourse competence which is concerned with
intersentential relationship (Shumin in Richards & Renandya, 2002). In discourse, whether formal or informal, the rules of cohesion and coherence
apply, which aid in holding the communication together in a meaningful way. In communication, both the production and comprehension of a language require one’s ability to perceive and process stretches of discourse, and to formulate
representation of meaning from referents in both previous sentences and following sentences. Therefore, effective speakers should acquire a large
repertoire of structures and discourse markers to express ideas, show relationships of time, and indicate cause, contrast, and emphasis.
Whereas according to Canale & Swain in Richards & Rodgers (2001) discourse
competence concerns with the interpretation of individual message elements in terms of their interconnectedness and of how meaning is represented in
relationship to the entire discourse or text. Moreover Savignon in Celce-Murcia (2001) refers the interconnectedness as to series of utterances, written words, and /or phrases to form a text, a meaningful whole, bottom – up processing and
top down processing, coherence and cohesion, global meaning and structural links.
2) Actional Competence
Yalden (1987) accentuates that learning a language should not be the end in itself, it should account how it is used in real communication. This is in line
Similarly, the competence is referred as to actional competence because when someone says something, he/ she actually do something. He/ she may ask
for services, give compliment, ask for information, etc (Landasan Filosofis Teoritis Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, 2004). In brief, when someone uses language, spoken or written, every utterance that he/ she make could be labeled as actional language.
3) Linguistic Competence
Linguistic competence includes tacit, subconscious knowledge of language structures, not normally available for spontaneous report, but implicitly
in what the ideal speaker can say. It is dependent on innate structure, and acquired independently of sociocultural feature except for the mere presence of speech in the environment. Linguistic performance refers to the actual use of
language in concrete situations, but under the idealization quoted by Lyons performance cannot directly reflect competence and nor can it have any major
effect on it (Brown et al.,1996).
Linguistic competence is an umbrella concept that includes increasing expertise in grammar (morphology, syntax), vocabulary, and mechanics.
Mechanics refer to basic sounds of letters and syllables, pronunciation of words, intonation and stress. Linguistic competence enables speakers to use and
understand English language structures accurately and unhesitatingly, which contributes to their fluency (Richards & Renandya, 2002).
Hymes proposes to use “competence” as “the most general term for the
cognitive factors, but also noncognitive factors such as motivation. By “performance” is meant actual use and actual events. So, communicative
competence is what enables a person to perform appropriately in speech events (Brown et al. 1996). It includes not only grammatical competence, which
allows a person to judge whether and to what degree something is formally possible, but also the competence to judge feasibility, appropriateness, and “whether (and to what degree) something is in fact done.
4) Sociocultural/ sociolinguistic Competence
Knowledge of language alone does not adequately prepare learners for
effective and appropriate use of the target language (Shumin in Richards & Renandya, 2002). Learners must have competence which involves knowing what is expected socially and culturally by users of the target language; that is,
learners must acquire the rules and norms governing the appropriate timing and realization of speech acts. Understanding the sociolinguistic side of language
helps learners know what comments are appropriate, how to ask questions during interaction, and how to respond nonverbally according to the purpose of the talk. Also, it helps learners know the social context in which communication takes
place, i.e. the roles relationships, the shared information of the participants and the communicative purpose for their interaction (Canale & Swain in Richards &
Rodgers, 2001).
5) Strategic Competence
Strategic competence is the way learners manipulate language in order to
discourse rules. With reference to speaking, strategic competence refers to the ability to know when and how to take the floor, how to keep a conversation
going, how to terminate the conversation, and how to clear up communication breakdown as well as comprehension problems.
Communication strategies occur when the speaker is not able to communicate his original communicative goal in the way he planned to, and so is forced to reduce the goal or to locate alternative means to express it.
Communication strategies, then, are the result of an initial failure to implement a production plan (Ellis, 1990). Where as Savignon (Celce-Murcia, 2001) adds that
strategic competence is the coping strategies that are used in unfamiliar contexts. The constraints that often impeded communication are due to imperfect knowledge of rules or limiting factors in their application such as fatigue or
distraction.
Canale and Swain identify ‘strategic competence’, defined as ‘how to
cope in an authentic communicative situation and how to keep the communicative channel open’, as an integral part of the language user’s overall communicative competence (Ellis, 1990).
Communication strategies can be defined as follows:
Communication strategies are psycholinguistic plans which exist as part of the language user’s communicative competence. They are potentially conscious and serve as substitutes for production plans which the learner is unable to implement (Ellis, 1990)
Further, the effects of different variables on the use of communication strategies are upon the proficiency level, the problem-source, the personality, and the
c. Communicative Competences in Adult Learning 1) Adult Learning Characteristics
Although many of the “rules” for teaching children can apply in some ways to teaching adults, the latter age group poses some different, special
considerations for the classroom teacher (Brown, 2001). Adults have superior cognitive abilities that can render them more successful in certain classroom endeavors. Their need for sensory input can rely a little more on their
imaginations. Their level of shyness can be equal to or greater than that of children, but adults usually have acquired a self- confidence not found in
children. And, because adults’ cognitive abilities, they can at least occasionally deal with language that isn’t embedded in a” here and now” context (Brown, 2001).
Adults differ from “typical” or “traditional” K-12 students in that they bring a great deal of life experience and cognitive maturity to the classroom
(Hilles and Sutton in Celce-Murcia, 2001). Adult students have a maturity and an understanding of priorities that many younger students do not. According to them, a prime characteristic of adultness is the need and capacity to be self
directing. In other words, adults will, to some extent, “direct” their own learning agendas. If the learning environment does not to some degree match cultural
expectations and perceived needs, the self- direction may take the form of challenging the teacher or syllabus in class, of filtering out what they perceive as nonessential, of simply leaving the class and seeking some other way of learning,
In addition to being mature and self- directed, adult learners are often, of necessity, more focused. McIntire (1988) points out that “because time is such
valuable commodity, participating in educational program is often personal sacrifice. Typically, adults can devote only limited time to their educational
endeavors, which often translates into their being dedicated students who take learning seriously”.
Another characteristic that seems to set apart adult learners, according to
Hilles and Sutton (in Celce-Murcia, 2001) is the enormous variability that they display in their goals and reasons for tackling a second language. Adults have
numerous reasons for studying a second or foreign language (L2), and this variety of reasons presents its own challenges to the teacher.
Adult learners are most often voluntary learners. Adult learners are in
school because they want to be, a desire which is almost inconvenient and often interrupted by family and job responsibilities and commitments (Hilles and
Sutton in Celce- Murcia, 2001). As a result, adult learners tend to have little patience with classes which they perceive are not furthering their own educational agendas.
2) Adult Learning Styles
Learning styles refer to an individual’s natural habitual, and preferred ways of absorbing, processing, and retaining new information and skills (Christison in Nunan, 2003).
, the analytic style could manifest itself by an ability to analyze the linguistic material one is exposed to, identify its components, and then, explore
relationships between these components. Separating the essential from the inessential could involve an ability to focus on that data which would be most
helpful at whatever level of interlanguage development one has reached, and to promote learning and development with maximum efficiency. According to Skehan (1998), it is also possible to relate the analytic style of learning to an
input- processing dimension. In the case of auditory material, the learner has to extract what is important from the stream of incoming sound. This sound will
contain a great deal of irrelevant information, and it will be advantageous to devote attention to features which help meaning to be recovered. In this respect, the analytic style would relate to the attentional capacities described earlier, with
analytic individuals having greater capacity to channel attention selectively and notice important aspects of language. They may then be more able to reflect
upon the ways in which they have exploited their attentional system.
The holistic people, in contrast, are likely to be less analytic, to perceive situation as wholes, rather than being analyzable into components, and more
likely to depend on external frames of reference for making judgment (rely on other people’s opinions) (Skehan, 1998). To the extent that language
development is aided by high- quality interaction, such people are more likely to be naturally drawn through their personal orientation and their comfort in interaction situations to maximize encounters in which they are likely to receive
demands to communicate. This raises the possibility that such greater exposure could overcome the problem of a lack of an analytic orientation (Skehan, 1998).
Learning styles in Jordan’s opinion (1997) concerns with the particular approach by which a student tries to learn. Major influences which condition or
shape the way learners think and study are: the educational system, the socio-cultural background and personality variables. Oxford (Richards & Renandya, 2002) has identified language learning style as another key determiner of second
language strategy choice. She considers that when the students are allowed to learn in their favorite way, unpressured by learning environment or other factors,
students often use strategies that directly reflect their preferred learning. According to her, students with an analytic learning style prefer strategies such as contrastive analysis, rule learning, and dissecting words and phrases, where as
students with a global style use strategies that help them find the big picture (i.e. guessing, scanning, predicting) and assist them in conversing without knowing
all the words (i.e. paraphrasing, gesturing). Visually oriented students use strategies such as listing, word grouping, and so on, whereas those with an auditory preference like work with tapes and practice aloud. Students whose
style includes tolerance for ambiguity use significantly different learning strategies in some instances from those used by students who are intolerant of
ambiguity.
Table 2.1 . Learning style taxonomy for the L2 classroom.
Learning Style Taxonomy for the Adult L2 Classroom
Type 1: Cognitive Styles Type 2: Sensory Styles Type 3: Personality Styles
Field Dependent – learns best when information is presented in context. They
Perceptual:
Visual – learns best when there is visual
are often more fluent language learners.
Field independent – learns most effectively step-by-step and with sequential instruction. They are often more accurate language learners.
reinforcement such as charts, pictures, graphs, etc.
Auditory – learns more effectively by listening to information
Tactile – learns more effectively when there is an opportunity to use manipulative resources.
Kinesthetic – learns more effectively when there is movement associated with learning
uncertainty; some learners do well in situations where there are several possible answers; others prefer one correct answer
Analytic – works more effectively alone and at his/her own pace.
Global – works more effectively in groups
Environmental:
Physical – sensitive to learning environment, such as light, temperature, furniture
Sociological – sensitive to relationships within the learning environment
Right and Left
Hemisphere Dominance Left-brain dominant learners tend to be more visual, analytical,
reflective, and self- reliant
Right-brain dominant learners tend to be more auditory, global,
impulsive, and interactive
Reflective – learns more effectively when they have time to consider new information before responding
Impulsive – learns more effectively when they can respond to new
information immediately; as language learners, they are risk takers.
The above table clarifies the learning styles of adults Christison (in Nunan, 2003) provides in learning style taxonomy for the second language classroom.
3) Adult Learning Strategies
Learning strategies refer to characteristics we want to stimulate in
Skehan mentions three useful types of strategies. Social- affective strategies concern how learners engage in social interactions more effectively,
use their fellow learners and interlocutors to help them solve problems, deal with affective problems; give themselves encouragement; and deal with anxiety.
Cognitive strategies are concerned with the direct activities that are engaged in to promote learning. They would include such things as memorization techniques, inferencing, and so on. They represent what learners actually do to process the
material that needs to be learned, and would correspond to direct learning strategies. Finally, Skehan elaborates the metacognitive learning strategies, such
as goal setting, planning, monitoring, evaluating, channeling attention, and so on. Metacognitive strategies are broader in application that the more direct repertoire of cognitive strategies, and may subsume them. Above all, they are concerned
with two things, reflection and flexibility. Reflection represents the learner developing some degree of self- awareness in learning, and shows how a given
learner may appreciate his or her strengths and weaknesses. Flexibility arising from effective metacognitive strategy use organizes and gives purpose to the way cognitive and social- affective strategies are used, and increases the likelihood of
appropriateness of strategy choice. Skehan continues that rather then engage in activity for its own sake, the good learner is more able, through metacognitive
awareness, to select strategies appropriate to a particular problem. Table 2.2. Learning strategies for Adult L2 Adult learners
Learning strategy Definition of strategy Metacognitive strategies
Planning Previewing main ideas
Monitoring Self-checking ones comprehension
Evaluating Developing the ability to determine how well one has accomplished the task
Cognitive strategies
Summarizing Saying or writing the main ideas Induction Figuring out the rules from samples of
language
Imagery Being able to visualize a picture and use it to learn new information
Auditory representation Mentally replaying a word, phrase, or piece of information
Making inferences Using information in the text to guess the meaning
Using resources Developing the ability to use reference materials
Grouping Classifying words, terminology, quantities, or concepts
Note-taking Writing down key words and concepts in verbal, graphic, or numerical form Elaboration of prior knowledge Relating new to known information and
making personal associations Social/Affective strategies
Cooperating Learning how to work with colleague – completing a task, pooling information, solving a problem, and obtaining feedback Clarifying Learning how to ask questions to get
additional explanation or verification from the teacher or someone else who might know the answer
Self-talk Reducing anxiety by talking positively to oneself
Christison as she adopts from Chamot and O’Melly (1994) provides
general learning strategies for second language learners as the table above shows. 3. English For Specific Purposes (ESP)
This section elaborates the development of ESP, ESP categories and English for Health Officials.
a. The Development of ESP
the developed and the developing countries of the world (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987).
The first focus of ESP was on the lexis. The idea was that normal ESL materials would be used but that subject-specific lexical items would be
substituted for more general terms . this was originally labeled “register” for want of a better term, and it led to a useful analysis of several sub-branches of science and technology. For science, the grammatical differences from “general
English” were fewer than imagined, but what was clear was that simple lexical substitution would be insufficient (Master, 1998).
With the shift away from linguistics at the sentence level and an increasing focus on discourse materials, ESP started to look at “doing science” rather that just describing it. In other words, the view of language as
communication opened the way for a more global approach to scientific language, including investigation of the reasoning and conceptual processes
scientists applied. The idea that the described rhetorical and discourse structures might be true across languages led to a new concept: that second language learners would learn English by practicing scientific tasks that were already
familiar to them in their native languages.
The focus on the needs of the learner as opposed to the inculcation of
linguistic facts led to a general shift away from teacher-centeredness to learner- centeredness. ESP practitioners were encouraged to find and use realistic materials (not invented ones) in trying to best meet the needs of their students
Johns & Machado (in Celce-Murcia, 2001) specify that ESP is a movement based on the proposition that all language teaching should be tailored
to the specific learning an language use needs of identified groups of students. And it is sensitive to the socio cultural context in which these students will be
using English b. ESP Categories
The main interests of the ESP movement can be categorized in a number
of ways (Johns & Machado in Celce-Murcia, 2001). Based on their current importance, some of these categories will be highlighted as follows: English for
Occupational Purposes and English for Academic Purposes. The classification of ESP categories is described in the next figure in the following page.
English for Specific Purposes
English for Academic Purposes English for Occupational Purposes
Considering the figure, English for Health Officials is categorized under English for Professional Purposes and it is equal with English for Medical
Purposes and English for Business Purposes. c. English for Health Officials
Peter Strevens as quoted by Johns & Machado in Celce-Murcia (2001) provides the following overview of ESP and its features. The claims for ESP are that it is focused on the learners needs and wastes no time; it is relevant to the
learner; it is successful in imparting learning; and it is more cost-effective than “General English.”.
English for Health Officials is an English program which is held for health officials. The main objective of the program is to improve the competence of the health officials in performing and maintaining their international
relationship.
The program deals with the use of English in public health management
area. The suggested material is focused on the needs area of the study. The activities in the program fit to the real action in the field. The learners are asked to practice their English in the situation which is designed as similar as the real
situation.
4. Syllabus Design
A syllabus is defined as a document which says what will be learned. The main function of syllabus is to break down the mass knowledge to be learnt into manageable units (Hutchinson & Waters, 1987; Richards, 2001; Feez, 2001).
Richards (2001) underlines that in choosing a particular syllabus framework of a course, planners are usually influenced by the factors of (1) knowledge and
belief about the subject area, (2) research and theory, (3) common practice, and (4) trends.
There are a number of syllabus designs, those are among others: grammatical syllabus, notional – functional syllabus, content – based syllabus, task- based syllabus and situational syllabus.
Grammatical syllabus
Nunan (2001) describes that the point of departure for designing a
grammatical syllabus is to select and sequence lists of grammatical items and then integrate these with lists of vocabulary items. Lists of phonological items have sometimes been thrown in for good measure. The assumption under lying
this syllabus is that language consists of a finite set of rules which can be combined in various ways to make meaning. The task for the language learner is
to master each rule in the order presented by the syllabus before moving on to the next.
Notional- functional syllabus
Nunan (2001) also concerns with notional- functional syllabus in which he considers notions as the general conceptual meanings such as time, cause and
duration, while functions are the communicative purposes that are achieved through language such as apologizing, advising, and expressing preferences.
Content- based syllabus
of doing other things. The approach draws strongly on the experiential view of learning. That is, that active engagement in communicating in the language is the
most effective means of acquiring it. Task- based syllabus
Instead of beginning the design process with lists of grammatical, functional-notional, and other time, the designer of this syllabus type conducts needs analysis which yields a list of the communicative tasks that the learners for
whom the syllabus is intended will need to carry out (Nunan, 2001). Situational syllabus
Situational syllabus is centered around context or situation in which the learner is likely to engage in. Such syllabus lists the situations or contexts in which the language will be used, and analyses the language needed for those
situations (Jordan, 1997).
a. Competence- based Syllabus Design
The features of Competence – based syllabus design according to Nunan (in Celce-Murcia 2001) are that it is:
focusing on what learners should be able to do at the end of course of
instruction
is concerned with the attainment of specified standards
criterion – rather than norm-referenced
Pelayanan Profesional Kurikulum, 2004, (Depdiknas, 2003) adds that the design consists of : (1) competency standards; (2) basic competency; (3)
2002) specifies that the design covers the content and the ordering of what to be taught .
Nunan (Celce-Murcia, 2001) completes the design with the selection, sequencing, and justification of the content of the curriculum. Content selection
refers to selecting linguistic features such items of grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary as well as experiential content such as topics and themes.
b. Needs Analysis
Needs analysis is the starting point for devising syllables, courses, materials and the kind of teaching and learning that takes place (Jordan, 1997).
Under the umbrella of needs analysis, other approaches have been incorporated. These include: target-situation analysis, present-situation analysis, deficiency analysis, strategy analysis, means analysis, and language audit.
Implicit in needs analysis is the requirement for fact-finding or the collection of data. The starting point is to pose some fundamental questions
which can help us to see the appropriate type of analysis and the data needed. The fundamental questions are as follows:
- Why is the analysis being taken? The question is to determine the type of
syllabus and content, materials, teaching/ learning; for placement on an appropriate course; etc)
- Whose needs are to analyzed? (the student’s; the sponsor’s – institution
or country; the specialist department, etc)
- Who performs the analysis? Who decides what the language needs are?
- What is to be analyzed? (target situation; present situation; deficiencies;
strategies; means; constraints; necessities; lacks; wants; etc)
- How is the analysis to be conducted? (tests; questionnaires; interviews;
documentation; ect)
- When is the analysis to be undertaken? (before the course/ tuition; at the
start of the course; during the course; at the end of the course; etc)
- Where is the course to be held? (in the target country, e.g. UK; in the
student’s own country; in a third country; etc) (Jordan 1997: 22- 23). 1) Approaches to Needs Analysis
a) Target- situation Analysis
The best known framework for target-situation analysis is the rigorous model devised by Munby (1978). Munby’s approach focuses on the students’ needs at
the end of a language course, and target-level performance. Munby is concerned with communicative syllabus design, and his procedures are very detailed. Target-situation analysis obtains some benefits as follows:
o It is seen as the logical starting point for the development of a language
program which is responsive to the learner and learning needs (Finney in
Richards & Renandya, 2002)
o It guides the selection process (Nunan in Celce-Murcia, 2001)
o It provides the syllabus designer with a basis both for content
specification and for the setting of goals and objectives (Nunan in
Celce-Murcia, 2001)
Questionnaires and surveys ; interviews of experts ,students, and stakeholders; observation; job-shadowing, and analysis; multiple intelligence and learning
style surveys of the learners; modes of working; spoken or written reflection by the learner-or their supervisors - before, during, or the instruction (Nunan in
Celce-Murcia 2001).
b) Present-situation analysis
Jordan (1997) proposes a present- situation analysis which ascertains the
learners’ state of language development at the beginning of the language course. The sources of information are: the learners themselves, the teaching
establishment, and the “user institution”, e.g. place of work, sponsoring body, etc. The methods of collection of data are surveys, questionnaires and interviews. Information is sought on levels of ability resources and views on language
teaching/ learning. Essentially, the learner is at the centre of the system, which includes the surrounding society and culture.
c) Deficiency analysis
Hutchinson and Waters (1987) sub- divide target needs into ‘necessities’, ‘lacks’ and ‘wants’. By ‘necessities’ they mean what the learner has to know in order to
function effectively in the target situation (this would involve obtaining information about the situations in which the language will be used, e.g. lectures,
seminars, etc., and the discourse components and linguistic features commonly used in them, e.g. functions, structures, vocabulary, etc). ‘Lacks’ represent the gap between the target proficiency and what the learner knows already. The
d) Strategy analysis
Jordan (1997) describes that in the 1980s the focus of needs analysis turned more
towards the methodology employed to implement language programs. According to him this involved not only methods of teaching, but also methods of learning.
In other words, observing the preferred learning styles and strategies of learners. Related areas in a strategy analysis are preferences in group size, correction procedures and methods of assessment.
e) Means analysis
An important strand in the development of needs analysis is the attempt to adapt
language courses to local situation (Jordan, 1997). In other words, ‘means analysis’ is to accommodate what are frequently seen to be ‘constraints’, e.g. cultural attitudes, resources, materials, equipment, methods; Also, it involves a
study of the local situation, i.e. the teachers, teaching methods, students, facilities, etc. to see how a language course may be implemented. ‘Means
analysis’ starts from a positive premise, i.e. what might be achieved with certain, given factors. It allows sensitivity to situations in any country and discourages the imposition of alien models ( of teaching, methodology, learning, etc.). The
purpose of the analysis is to prevent alienation caused by imported teaching methods that may be culturally inappropriate (Jordan, 1997).
f) Language Audit
Language audit are large scale exercises in defining language needs carried out for companies, regions or countries (Jordan, 1997). They provide data and may
2) Interview and Questionnaire a) Interview
Kvale (1996) regards an interview as an interchange of views between two or more people on a topic of mutual interest, sees the centrality of human
interaction for knowledge production, and emphasizes the social situatedness of research data. Knowledge itself should be as constructed between participants, therefore, the interview is not exclusively either subjective or objective, it is
intersubjective. Interviews enable participants to discuss their interpretations of the world in which they live, and to express how they regard situations from their
own point of view. Hence, the interview is not simply concerned with collecting data about life: it is part of life itself, its human embeddedness is inescapable.
Cohen et al. (2000) suggests the purposes of the interview as to evaluate
or assess a person in some respect, to select or promote an employee, to effect therapeutic change, as in the psychiatric interview, to test or develop hypotheses,
to gather data, as in surveys or experimental situations, to sample respondents’ opinions, as in doorstep interview.
Further, Cohen et al. (2000) lays out the strengths and weaknesses of
different types of interview.
Table. 2.3. Strengths and weaknesses of different interview types (Cohen et al., 2000).
Type of Interview Characteristics Strengths Weaknesses
1 Informal conversational interview
Questions emerge from the immediate context and are asked in the natural course of things; there is no
predetermination of question topics or wording.
Increases the salience and relevance of questions;
organization and analysis can be quite difficult. 2 Interview
guide approach
Topics and issues to be covered are specified in advance, in outline form; interviewer decides sequence and working of questions in the course of the
systematic for each respondent. Logical gaps in data can be salient topics may be inadvertently
The exact wording and sequence of questions are determined in advance. All interviews are asked the same basic questions in the same order.
Respondents answer the same questions, thus increasing comparability of responses; data are complete for each person on the topics addressed in the interview. see and review the instrumentation used in the evaluation. Facilitates organization and analysis of the data.
Little flexibility in relating the and relevance of questions and are determined in advance. Responses are fixed;
respondent chooses from among these fixed responses
Data analysis is simple; responses can be directly compared and easily aggregated; many short questions can be asked in a short time.
Respondents must fit their
experiences and feelings into the researcher’s categories; may be perceived as impersonal,
