REVISITING THE ENGLISH CURRICULUM IN A POLYTECHNIC CONTEXT: EVALUATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31851/xd6nqv06Keywords:
Curriculum evaluation; English for Specific Purposes (ESP); perception; polytechnic; recommendationAbstract
This study aimed to evaluate the English curriculum in four study programs in the college. The research was a qualitative-quantitative descriptive study with the elements of data and method triangulation, and it employed two questionnaires for lecturers and students. The findings revealed that all programs provided English with ESP and TOEFL preparation materials. English was given 3 up to 4 credits in each study program and taught for 2 semesters only mostly in the first and fifth semesters. Even though the current English curriculum applied already met the needs of learners, it still needed further enrichment to keep learners updated with the knowledge in their field. Both learners and lecturers also expected to have English subject portion more than what they had. This study offers a novel contribution by evaluating an ESP- based English curriculum in a polytechnic context through the combined perspectives of students, lecturers, and academic program heads. The findings provide practical implications for curriculum improvement, particularly the need to extend English instruction, enrich field-specific materials, and involve English lecturers in curriculum planning to enhance students’ academic preparation and future professional readiness
References
Alhomidan, A. M. A. (2025). Integrating English for specific purposes in technical and vocational education: A sustainable model for industry–education alignment. International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research, 13(2), 201–218. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15341890
Al-Jardani, K. S. S. (2012). English language curriculum evaluation in Oman. International Journal of English Linguistics, 2(5), 40–44. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v2n5p40Anthony, L. (2018). Introducing English for specific purposes (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351031189
Arkoudis, S., Hawthorne, L., Baik, C., Hawthorne, G., O’Loughlin, K., Leach, D., & Bexley, E. (2009). The impact of English language proficiency and workplace readiness on the employment outcomes of tertiary international students. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. https://internationaleducation.gov.au/research/Publications/Documents/ELP_Full_Report.pdf
Basturkmen, H. (2025). Learning a specialized register: An English for specific purposes research agenda. Language Teaching, 58(1), 57–68. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444823000472
Benigno, V., de Jong, J., & van Moere, A. (2017). How long does it take to learn a language? Insights from research on language learning (Global Scale of English Research Series). Pearson. http://www.english.com/t4qgNJUYH866vT43/GSE-learning-hours.pdf
Coxhead, A., Parkinson, J., Mackay, J., & McLaughlin, E. (2019). English for vocational purposes: Language use in trades education. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429449932
Dursun, F., & Aykan, A. (2025). Exploring teachers’ narratives: Challenges and strategies for enhancing the teaching process. SAGE Open, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440251332557
Education First. (2020). EF English proficiency index: A ranking of 100 countries and regions by English skills. https://www.ef.com/epi
Erling, E. J. (2015). The relationship between English and employability in the Middle East and North Africa. British Council. https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/pub_en-the_relationship_between_english_employability_in_mena_research.pdf
Fei, A., Chen, J., Lee, W., Xin, K., Behnke, C., & Gordon, S. (2025). Designing hospitality curriculum for the future: A comprehensive assessment of an undergraduate program in the United States. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 37(2), 138–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2025.2453736
Flowerdew, L. (2013). Needs analysis and curriculum development in ESP. In B. Paltridge & S. Starfield (Eds.), The handbook of English for specific purposes (pp. xx–xx). Wiley-Blackwell.
Getie, A. S. (2020). Factors affecting the attitudes of students towards learning English as a foreign language. Cogent Education, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2020.1738184
Jaekel, N., Schurig, M., van Ackern, I., & Ritter, M. (2022). The impact of early foreign language learning on language proficiency development from middle to high school. System, 106, Article 102763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102763
Mappiase, S. S., & Johari, A. (2014). Evaluation of English as a foreign language and its curriculum in Indonesia: A review. English Language Teaching, 7(10), 113–122. https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v7n10p113
Marra, M. (2013). English in the workplace. In B. Paltridge & S. Starfield (Eds.), The handbook of English for specific purposes (pp. xx–xx). Wiley-Blackwell.
Nguyen, P. T., & Ho, H. V. (2024). Needs analysis for university EFL learners majoring in Business English: A scoping review of research and practice. World Journal of English Language, 14(6), 207–216. https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v14n6p207
Ormeci, D. N. (2009). An evaluation of English language curricula implemented at the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades in respect of teachers’ opinions (Master’s thesis, Trakya University). https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/50609774.pdf
Paltridge, B., & Starfield, S. (Eds.). (2013). The handbook of English for specific purposes. Wiley-Blackwell.
Qassrawi, R., Abuhussein, H. F., Rafidi, T. J., & Yousef, R. (2023). Language intensive exposure in EFL curriculum: Attitudes towards the Unlock textbook series at Birzeit University as a case study. Cogent Education, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2166626
Qodir, A., Baehaqi, L., & Miftah, M. Z. (2016). Developing materials of listening comprehension for the English department students. Journal on English as a Foreign Language, 6(1), 1–20.
Sakkir, G., Abduh, A., Andrew, M., Muslim, A. B., & Yasdin, Y. (2021). The challenges faced by teachers in teaching English in the current curriculum change. Proceedings of the National Seminar, Research and Community Service Institute of Universitas Negeri Makassar, 513–523.
Santika, S., Wirza, Y., & Emilia, E. (2022). A needs analysis for ESP in a multimedia study programme of a vocational high school. Indonesian Journal of Education, 15(1), 61–68. https://doi.org/10.17509/ije.v15i1.46156
Skarpaas, K. G., & Hellekjær, G. O. (2021). Vocational orientation: A supportive approach to teaching L2 English in upper secondary school vocational programmes. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 2, Article 100064. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2021.100064
Suer, S. (2022). A systematic review of English curriculum evaluation studies in Turkey (2005–2021). E-Kafkas Journal of Educational Research, 9, 528–544. https://doi.org/10.30900/kafkasegt.963984
Supriani, N., Dardjito, H., & Istiqomah, E. K. (2019). Evaluating 2013 curriculum implementation on English subject of junior high school in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Tamansiswa International Journal in Education and Science, 1(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.30738/tijes.v1i1.5445
Tran, L., & Miralpeix, I. (2024). Out-of-school exposure to English in EFL teenage learners: Is it related to academic performance? Education Sciences, 14(4), 393. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14040393
van Dulmen, T. H. H., Visser, T. C., Pepin, B., & McKenney, S. (2022). Teacher and student engagement when using learning materials based on the context of cutting-edge chemistry research. Research in Science & Technological Education, 41(4), 1617–1638. https://doi.org/10.1080/02635143.2022.2070147
Vreuls, J., van der Klink, M., Koeslag-Kreunen, M., Stoyanov, S., Boshuizen, H., & Nieuwenhuis, L. (2023). Responsive curriculum development: Which factors support breaking through institutional barriers? Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 77(3), 582–610. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2023.2270470
Xiong, X. (2025). Influence of teaching styles of higher education teachers on students’ engagement in learning: The mediating role of learning motivation. Education for Chemical Engineers, 51, 87–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ece.2025.02.005
Zuo, H., Zhang, M., & Huang, W. (2025). Lifelong learning in vocational education: A game-theoretical exploration of innovation, entrepreneurial spirit, and strategic challenges. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 10, Article 100694. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jik.2025.100694
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Maria Puspa Sari
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright Notice
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
In order to assure the highest standards for published articles, a peer review policy is applied. In pursue of the compliance with academic standards, all parties involved in the publishing process (the authors, the editors and the editorial board and the reviewers) agree to meet the responsibilities stated below in accordance to the Journal publication ethics and malpractice statement.
Duties of Authors:
- The author(s) warrant that the submitted article is an original work, which has not been previously published, and that they have obtained an agreement from any co-author(s) prior to the manuscript’s submission;
- The author(s) should not submit articles describing essentially the same research to more than one journal;
- The authors(s) make certain that the manuscript meets the terms of the Manuscript Submission Guideline regarding appropriate academic citation and that no copyright infringement occurs;
- The authors(s) should inform the editors about any conflict of interests and report any errors they subsequently, discover in their manuscript.
Duties of Editors and the Editorial Board:
- The editors, together with the editorial board, are responsible for deciding upon the publication or rejection of the submitted manuscripts based only on their originality, significance, and relevance to the domains of the journal;
- The editors evaluate the manuscripts compliance with academic criteria, the domains of the journal and the guidelines;
- The editors must at all times respect the confidentiality of any information pertaining to the submitted manuscripts;
- The editors assign the review of each manuscript to two reviewers chosen according to their domains of expertise. The editors must take into account any conflict of interest reported by the authors and the reviewers.
- The editors must ensure that the comments and recommendations of the reviewers are sent to the author(s) in due time and that the manuscripts are returned to the editors, who take the final decision to publish them or not.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post online a pre-publication manuscript (but not the Publisher final formatted PDF version of the Work) in institutional repositories or on their Websites prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access). Any such posting made before acceptance and publication of the Work shall be updated upon publication to include a reference to the Publisher-assigned DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and a link to the online abstract for the final published Work in the Journal.
