The second week of September marks the beginning of the academic year 2025/2026. Following the thrill of Pesmaba 2025, our first-year students are now prepared to embark on a new chapter of their lives at UMM. To kick off the new semester, the Language Center (LC) of the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) convened an academic meeting on September 12th, 2025, at Kontainer Cafe, UMM.
The board of leaders of LC UMM, all FLSP instructors, and representatives from the department lecturers attended this meeting. Each division of the Language Center gave program timelines for the current academic year. One of the most notable aspects of this semester’s academic meeting is the redesign of the FLSP course. Previously, the first semester of FLSP was a Productive Skills course that included Integrated Skills, Speaking 1, and Speaking 2. Except for International Relations, Management, and PSIK (Nursing Department) students, they had Integrated Skills, Speaking, and Mandarin/Japanese courses for their FLSP. The second semester focused on listening, reading, and grammar for the TAEP test preparation, while the departments above had Integrated, Listening, and Mandarin/Japanese. However, after some discussion with the Bureau of Education and Teaching (BPP) due to the demand from the University, we finally concluded that we need to make some course adjustments for FLSP.
Starting this semester, the first semester FLSP classes will be Integrated Skills, Speaking for Daily Activities, and Speaking for Formal Interactions. While departments with Japanese/Mandarin only have Speaking for Formal Interactions for their speaking course. During the second semester, we focus on another set of FLSP Productive Skills, which includes Integrated Skills, Public Speaking Practice, and Speaking for Academic Interactions. Departments with Japanese/Mandarin only have Speaking for Academic Interactions for their speaking class.
All of these changes are to help UMM achieve its long-term aim of becoming an international university, as well as to encourage students to improve their English abilities and excel in international mobilizations. Starting something new is challenging, but by collaborating and working together as a team, we can provide the best possible experience for our students. (an)