UNIT 3

Reading Passage:
CAN ASEAN Become World-Class Destination for Study?

A. Pre-Reading Exercise

account acknowledg competitive dominate excellence foreign

e
landscape option proficiency refer Poised regarded
particularl insisted determining ranked remained improved
y
Ability due to rangkings s consistentl agriculture
y
foreign factors Ratio can Followed

Direction: Use the word bank to identify the word that best completes
the sentence.

1. The actor ____regarded___ his parents when he accepted the award.

2. The company's ___ranked____ can be seen in their products and

the happiness of their workers.

3. There are 16 kids in the class and only two are boys so

the_______ratio________ of girls to boys is 14:2 (simplified to 7:1).

4. Vanilla is an ____option_______, or you can choose chocolate.

5. 8 and 3 are both ____factors___________ or 24 because 8 is multiplied

by 3 to get 24 and 3 is multiplied by 8 to get 24.

6. It takes a long time to gain _____proficiency___ in a foreign language.

7. He studied harder to _____improved_________ his grades.

8. His hair ____remained________ black until he was 60.

9. The game was stopped _____due to_______ rain.

10. All the company's ___accounts_______ were lost in the fire.

11. He has the ____ability_________ to be a great baseball player.

12. The top person in the army is ____particularly________ general.

 13. The dog was barking ______consistently________.

14. I _____can__________ read and write in English.

15. Her grace and ____excellence________ keep her ready for anything.

16. She spoke a _______foreign________ language I did not understand.

17. The farmer knew a lot about ____agriculture___________.

18. Americans ____acknowledge______ baseball as their national sport.

19. Her ____rankings___ is school is great! Only three students did better.

20. You must __followed_____ the traffic laws to drive safely.

21. He was _____insisted________ to become an actor.

22. She _____refer_______ he go to the doctor.

23. They are all nice but this one is ___determining_____ well made.

24. They looked out the window at the ____landscape____ and the sunset.

25. Baseball is a ______competitive____ sport.

B. Reading The Passage

Experts say Southeast Asia is poised to become the next center of
excellence and innovation.
However, for most universities in the region — particularly those
outside Singapore and Malaysia — many still have a hard time attracting
students, and a lack of English proficiency continues to be seen as one of
the main culprits.
According to global proficiency rankings for non-native English-
speaking countries, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia ranked best
in Southeast Asia.

Most ASEAN universities are rarely regarded as a study option for

new students due to an issue in “language compatibility”, said Denny Abdi,
the Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s director for Southeast Asian affairs.

According to global proficiency rankings for non-native English-

speaking countries, Singapore, the Philippines and Malaysia ranked best
in Southeast Asia.

Most ASEAN universities are rarely regarded as a study option for

new students due to an issue in “language compatibility”, said Denny Abdi,
the Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s director for Southeast Asian affairs.
 Singapore, which has consistently scored in the top 10 of the EPI,
has had a trade to gross domestic product ratio of over 300 percent since
1960, the latest report reads.

The English proficiency results more or less mirror the level of

competitiveness among universities in the region, although other factors
also play a part. Singaporean institutions dominate the education
landscape, followed by several Malaysian universities.

its report, the QS World University Rankings 2020, which saw three
ASEAN universities place in the top 100.

Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and National

University of Singapore tied for 11th place, while the University of Malaya
in Malaysia ranked 70th on the list overall.

The 2020 QS ranking also included in the top 1,000 eight Indonesian
state universities, including the University of Indonesia (UI) and Gadjah
Mada University (UGM).

The report takes into account a university’s ability to attract students

from across the world by measuring its international faculty ratio and
international student ratio in determining the rankings, although there are
other indicators playing a bigger role in the decisions.

Education officials and experts acknowledge that new students often

refer to the global rankings to help them decide on a destination of study.

However, Denny insisted that most universities in ASEAN remained

competitive considering that many of their graduates go on to make
achievements at the international level. He did not specify which
universities but said that many institutions in the region had also started
offering learning programs in English to attract international students.

The low scores among ASEAN’s lesser-known universities serve as

a backdrop for growing competition and floundering admission numbers.

“[English proficiency] has improved but it is still an obstacle —

especially for faculty and university employees,” said I Made Andi Arsana,
head of UGM’s office for international affairs.

As one of Indonesia’s representatives at the ASEAN University

Network (AUN) — a consortium of more than 30 universities in Southeast
Asia — Andi said ASEAN universities were on par with other institutions
on expertise areas such as agriculture and fisheries, due to the location’s
suitability for case or field studies.

“ASEAN universities can make it to the top study destination list as it

has the willingness and capability to unite,” he said. (tjs).
C. Direction: Read the list of statements and determine whether they are
true (T) or false (F)

______ 1. In almost every one of the countries and territories surveyed, a

rise in English proficiency was connected with a rise in per-
______ capita income.
2. For non-native English-speaking countries, Singapore, the
______ Philippines and Malaysia ranked worst in Southeast Asia
3. Singaporean institutions dominate the education in Asia,
______ followed by several Malaysian universities.
4. for most universities in the region — particularly those outside
Singapore and Malaysia — many still have a hard time attracting
______
students, and a lack of English proficiency.
5. Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and National
University of Singapore tied for 111 place according to
Quacquarelli Symonds (QS).

D. Use your critical thinking to see how’s Indonesian institutions play the
education to attract the students’ interest.