ESAC

The Facilities for ESAC were developed through the scheme of SEMI-QUE grants which the Department won in 2003-2004 for the purpose of instilling reflective independent learning habits in students without being dependent on the presence of lecturers and classroom routine activities. ESAC is equipped with an audio-computer room, reading room, TV/Media room, Speaking Corner, Conference Room, and toilets. To maximize learning, ESAC is artistically designed. Providing comfort with a carpeted floor and air conditioned rooms.

ESAC provides learning resources and facilities, both electronic and non-electronic, such as textbooks, modules on language skills training, literary works of various genre, learning CDs/VCDs/DVDs, e-books, foreign movies of various players, and a photocopy machine. These resources and facilities are aimed at providing various, continuous, and appropriate learning exposure in accordance with the students’ unique learning paces and styles.

ESAC has also started to provide programs on increased quality services for the purposes of independent learning for UM students. Among the services are (1) the development of electronic and non-electronic learning materials for Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, tests, Grammar, Vocabulary, and EAP (English for Academic Purposes) for students of the English Department and other departments, and (2) competitions for English Department and other news reporting, speech, script writing, creative writing, and subtitling for students of UM.

The English Department (through the English Language Teaching Program) won a three year PHK-I grant for the years 2008 to 2010. One of the sub-activities upgrade of facilities in the form of building a gallery, conference room, and an independent learning system; and (3) the development of independent learning materials. The development of these units is aimed at increasing the quality and varieties of services that ESAC offers to the community, both internal and external to UM.

Conference Room

This Facility was developed with the support of the PHK-I grant (2009), and is aimed at improving the quality of teaching-learning processes, with a particular focus on speaking skills, especially those within the setting of formal/work situations. This room is equipped with a language laboratory and computer facilities to record/replay the teaching-learning situations as data for further analysis, and/or feedback for the improvement of the teaching-learning processes. This facility is accessable by ESAC users for independent learning.

Cultural Gallery

The gallery is a new facility developed by the Department with the PHK-I grant (2009). This facility was designed with multiple functions: as an exhibition room for English background products/cultural icons; as a discussion/independent learning room (for individual and group learning); as an ESAC competition venue; as an information source for academic/job vacancies; and as a reference expo conducted by ESAC and/or in conjunction with other parties (such as other institutions’ SACs, publishers, or bookstores).

Media Production Unit

The MPU is also an outcome of the PHK-I grant. It was completed in 2008 and since then has been used for the practice of producing various kinds of media: audio, visual, and audio visual. This facility was designed to fulfill two main functions: as a support facility of the Department for the production of ICT-based instructional media, and as a public service unit, especially for English teachers who aspire to improve their competence in producing various kinds of instructional media.

Studio

The recording and film studio is one of the facilities of the MPU supported by ICT such as an AppleMac computer, editing software, camera, lighting set, picture and sound mixer, and other software/hardware used for the production of audio-visual media encompassing role-play, (short) film/drama, news report, editing, subtitling, and/or distance learning. This unit can be utilized in conjunction with other units in the Department/Faculty such as the TDU, TRU, the micro-teaching laboratory, and the Drama Laboratory for different kinds of media production.

Teacher Resources Unit (TRU)

The TRU was built with the PHK-I grant for the second year (2009). This unit was designed as an independent learning venue (similar to SAC) for teachers, and is equipped with computers and reference works. Apart from being a support facility for the teaching-learning activities in the Department, this facility was also designed as a public service unit, with the primary function being to quench English teachers’ thirst for knowledge.

Teaching Development Unit (TDU)

The TDU facility was developed with the PHK-I grant of the year 2009. This unit is furnished with a micro-teaching observation room. Services in this unit are integrated with the TRU and MPU. Its main function is to develop research and educational networks through various activities such as workshops, training, facilitation and guidance (in the form of training packages developed by the Department), as well as non-formal discussions among teachers, between teachers and students, and between teachers and faculty members. The mutual networking atmosphere is aimed at exposing students to information, needs, and the firsthand experiences of employed teachers; improving the pedagogical competences of the teachers; and direct data/information from the agents/consumers to the Department as a source/basis for needs analysis for the purposes of curriculum review/revision, the development of programs, and the like.

Micro-teaching Laboratory

This unit is a complement to TDU, with the function of developing pedagogical competences, particularly, the teaching competence. Besides ICT and multimedia facilities such as computers, printers, TV monitors, and DVD players, this unit is also equipped with CCTV to record the classroom/teaching-learning activities so as to enable the users to access and re-access the data at any time as the need arises.

All of the educational facilities in the Department are centered around one point of development: building the synergy of all units as a holistic ICT-based service to improve the quality, competitiveness, and relevance of the Department at the national and international markets. The synergy is worked about through the integration of services into the curriculum and teaching-learning activities at the Department, as well as through added varieties and improved quality of public access, which is based on the development of income generating units to ascertain the sustainability of the Department as an excellent educational unit.