1 REDESIGNING TEACHING READING IN ESP CONTEXTS TO IMPROVE ACADEMIC READING ABILITY AND TO PROMOTE “LEARNING-HOW-TO-LEARN” By: I Made Sujana English Education Department FKIP UNRAM dsujana@telkom.net Abstract . The ultimate goal of teaching “MKDK” English at non-English departments is to prepare students to be able to understand textbooks written in English on their own field. To be able to do this, students must have various reading skills such as note-taking, evaluating, memorizing (retaining) information, summarizing, and other reading skills needed in academic contexts. The teaching and leaning process should, therefore, be directed to the proficiency of such skills. Through English subject the students are expected to be able to improve “learning how-to-learn” skills. It is necessary, then, to review the current practices of teaching reading at non-English departments. Have the materials and classroom activities represented the expectation of reading in academic contexts? Have the materials and classroom activities managed to improve students’ language skills and impart learning how-to-learn skills? This paper provides suggestion to redesign/re-orientate the materials and class activities to achieve both improvement of language skills and skills in learning-how-to-learn. Key words : teaching reading, academic reading, learning how-to-learn A. INTRODUCTION The teaching English at non-English Department (henceforth TENED) in Indonesia higher education has long been criticized due to unsatisfying results. After passing English course (sometimes with excellent mark “A”), the students are still incapable of using English to facilitate their study (i.e. reading English textbooks, journal, etc.) although they have spent most of their time in one semester discussing reading materials. It is necessary then to review the course design and its implementation. With its status as “MKDK” (Mata Kuliah Dasar Keahlian/ subject basic to major field of study), the TENED should be designed using an ESP (English for Specific Purposes) approach – an approach of ELT based on designing courses to meet learners’ needs (Hutchinson & Waters, 1993; see also Dudley-Evans & St. Jones, 1998). In this approach, the learners’ reasons for leaning English (learners’ needs) become the central issue in designing an English course program. However, the meaning of needs can be interpreted in many ways. Hutchinson & Waters (1993) see needs as necessities, wants, and lacks. Dudley-Evans & St Jones (1998) elaborate in more complex ways. Of the multi-interpretations of needs, they all agree that the target needs (necessities) – what learners need to know in order to function effectively in target situations can e used as starting pointing syllabus design. In relation to the course design for TENED, the target need must be analyzed first. A course designer should understand “where t he