What Will You Learn as a First Semester English Literature Student in BINUS?
Choosing a major for university has always been a challenge for those who had just finished their high school. For some people, the decision of what major they would take is considered to be really important in their life. This choice determines what they will pursue in the future years of their life.
Some people might already be familiar with their pick, but in some cases, people have no idea what they’re getting into (P.S. they might even scratch their head if a senior said any scientific names). This article particularly will talk about English literature major, what you will learn and why you should get interested.
What are the courses that you will learn in your first semester?
Disclaimer: The information here is taken from the experience of the authors’ first semester in Bina Nusantara University.
- Language in Use
As an English literature student, you are expected to be able to use the language not only correctly, but appropriate. This course will help you to sharpen your knowledge about the language, especially in grammatical terms, both written and spoken. Clauses, articles, connectors and many more, you will review all of them later!
- Sound of English
Have you ever wondered what those strange symbols you have seen in English dictionary mean? Those symbols are called Phonetic symbols and you’ll learn that in this course. You would also be taught to read English words with correct pronunciation and intonation, and get to know about vowels, consonants, and word stress.
- English Communication Skill
This course is where you develop your English-speaking skill. In English Communication Skill, you will learn how to speak clearly and gain confidence while presenting in front of people in many conditions.
- Essay Writing
Being an English literature student, you need to understand how to write properly. In Essay Writing, you will be introduced to the freshman types of essays. Everything about what made an essay as an essay is here, from the process of writing to many parts of it.
- Indonesian Culture and Society
To be a good citizen, we need to have a decent knowledge of our own culture and literature. We learnt about Indonesian society and culture. For our final project in this course, we wrote a research of Bumi Manusia by Pramoedya Ananta Toer.
- Literature and Event: The Nature of Fiction
This course is the place where you get introduced to the concept of literature. You’re going to learn about prose, poetry, drama, and detailed information about their elements.
An interview with English literature students from Bina Nusantara University
As part of this article, the authors had decided to do an interview with a first year student from the English department, Suryo Darundio.
The following are questions and answers from our interview.
Julius: Why did you choose English literature, compared to the other majors?
Suryo: I chose English Literature because I realized that I have an interest in language. Why English Literature? Because I think English is an international language. I have an interest in telling other people about the events in my life and some of the things that I like. So, by studying English in depth, I hope I will be able to express my stories to various kinds of people.
Julius: What are your expectations before entering college? And after you enter and live in it, is it still in line with your previous expectations? Please share it with us.
Suryo: Honestly, I don’t have high expectations when studying English literature. At first, I thought that in studying English Literature, you are forced to use English in all its activities, from studying in class to the group discussions. Besides that, my expectation or maybe one of my other concerns about studying English Literature is about the culture, why? because for me personally the culture is too liberal. But in fact, English Literature is not that extreme, because we can still communicate using Indonesian with friends and even with lecturers. And for the last, I also think that my friends have increased significantly in quantity since I became an English Literature student.
Julius: Are there any favorite courses or activities that you liked in the previous semester?
Suryo: My favorite course is the Indonesian Culture & Society. I like it because I feel like I can express my klenicism in this course.
Julius: Are there any tips or suggestions you would like to give to high school students, in the form of convincing their choices to join our major?
Suryo: First of all, if you really want to join the English Literature major, don’t worry about your English skills. Then, you guys also shouldn’t overthink about the minimum TOEFL or any kinds of English test that you must pass before you become an English Literature student. Because at the end of the day, in the first semester we will still be taught by lecturers about the basic things in English.
Those written above are the courses and experiences that you will learn and get as a first semester English literature student. We have also explained and provided an overview of what will be studied later of each course and with an interview that had been done with Suryo Darundio as one of our students. With this interview and article, we really hope that your knowledge and interest to join English literature increases. See you soon, new freshmen!
Editor: Handiko Wijaya & Nadia Salsabila
