Abstract
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) taught at Higher Education Institution (HEI) is a kind of course for students majoring other than English. The descriptive research conducted in one of HEI in Pekanbaru, Riau, involved 65 students majoring in Computer Science of that institution. The data gathered by observation and interviews. This research aimed to find out what were the causes of students' weaknesses in English writing skills, for those were the primary problem that they have compared to other English skills. It was revealed those students had 1) low competence in General English (GE) based on CEFR, 2) had a problem with writing, even in their first language, 3) tendency in taking advantage of Google Translate without further checking, 4) lack of knowledge on lexical choice, sentence construction and the structure of writing, 5) limited practicing time and opportunity.
Highlights
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is learned by students of both English as Second Language (ESL) or English as Foreign Language (EFL) which is considered an important part of the English Language Teaching (ELT) field
The observation and interviews reveal five factors that hamper students in acquiring writing skills. They are (1) students low competency at General English (GE) based on CEFR, (2) students had problems with writing even in their first language, (3) students' tendency to use Google Translate without further checking, (4) Students' lack of knowledge on lexical choice, sentence construction and the structure of writing, (5) Limited practising time and opportunity
Having learned English for Computer Science challenging for these students for their knowledge in GE was limited and they had to acquire specific language used regarding Computer Science
Summary
English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is learned by students of both English as Second Language (ESL) or English as Foreign Language (EFL) which is considered an important part of the English Language Teaching (ELT) field. This ESP is intended to fulfill students' specific needs that make it different from General English (GE). The terms were designed for things related to computers and technology which involve skills; listening, speaking, reading, and writing. While the three other skills are important, the demands for written communication are escalated as students are expected to write their own abstract or even their whole thesis later on This skill is needed for their future career. Based on CEFR standardized GE given to these students, shows that was at the elementary level; 91% at A1 and 9% at A2
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