Teaching Theological English to Theology Students of IAKN Tarutung: What Students Need and How Lecturers Address the Needs

The goals of this article are to observe what the Theology students of Institut Agama Kristen Negeri (IAKN) Tarutung need to learn in their English class and to figure out what the English lecturer do to fulfill the need. The background of this article is based on the empirical study by the author who teaches Theological English for students in their first and second semesters at IAKN Tarutung. The author had noticed how General English (GE) was taught to Theology students, and it was revealed that learning GE did not make the students able to do what they were expected to, such as understanding English religious texts and Bible verses, delivering prayers in English, or even preaching in English. As Theology students who are required to do those things previously mentioned, they need to learn English for Specific Purpose, i.e. Theological English (TE) in this case. As it apparently was not easy to find materials that meet IAKN Tarutung’s Theology students’ need, the author, who is also the English lecturer, wrote her own materials in the form of a textbook (in collaboration with a professor of English studies) to be taught to IAKN Tarutung’s Theology students. Writing and using the textbook entitled “English for Students of Christian Institution” in English classes for Theology students at IAKN Tarutung was suggested as the solution to fulfill the students’ need of TE.