Strengthening Students’ Literacy Through Reflective Essay Writing: An Implementation of Writing to Read Program in Higher Education

Abstract

Abstract:Literacy is a condition where a person has capability to read for knowledge, write to share knowledge, and think critically. Students Literacy which is commonly defined the state of being able to read and write is a long lasting issue in the field of second language teaching. In a specific term, being literate means that someone is able to comprehend various texts of various purposes, to share knowledge in a written form, and to think critically. Fifty years ago, high school graduates could find good job easily. In such era, good jobs did not require high level of reading ability because most of them relied on the physical strength and fitness. However, with the development of information and digital technology, at present, many jobs require the ability to operate the products of technology like computer or internet. Hence, being literate or even multi literate is a must to make an individual able to keep in pace with global development (Mazzoni & Gambrell, 2003, p.17). To respond to such need, numerous literacy programs have been carried out and come up with various recommendations.The recommendation is, for instance, early literacy should be organized systematically and concentrate of some elements including phonemic awareness, phonics, comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency (NRP, 2000).In relation to adolescent literacy, Lewis and Fabos (2000) suggest that the teachers make use of multiple types of literacy, instant message services and internet uses, into classroom instruction because they are unavoidable realities in the modern era.Literacy does not only embrace the ability to comprehend texts. Being able to communicate in a written form, however, is another part of literacy. Literacy education is not only essential for children but also for adult.The Indonesian government, through the constitution, has guaranteed literacy education as human investment that will succeed in developing quality nation in the future. To realize it, despite the changes of curriculum, literacy has always been put as the priority. In the document of revised 2013 curriculum, the level of literacy is functional and informational for junior high school and senior high school, respectively. In addition, for students in university, they must show their being multi literate (The regulation the Ministry of Research and Higher Education No 44/2015). Numerous studies report the importance of prioritizing literacy in instruction. Literacy program ranges from out of school English literacy activities (Darmawati et al, 2016;Iftanti, 2009; Setiasih, 2014), the use of various teaching techniques (Giyoto, 2009;Ratih, 2014;Yulianto, 2016;) and technology utilization (Hanip & Saadah, 2014;Heriyawati et al., 2016;Rizkiyah, 2016;Suparmi, 2014). All the preceding studies point out the success in teaching literacy to the students of various levels of literacy. However, not many studies are conducted in relation strengthening students' literacy as well as fostering students' learning autonomy.In the context of higher education, improving st...