Improving Students' Competence in the Thesis Defence Examination (TDE) in Two Universities in Aceh, Indonesia: Case study at Nanggroe University and Syiar University

Abstract

The Thesis Defence Examination (TDE) is a vital step for students in many countries to complete their degree. The TDE is defined as a class of communicative events; and it is assumed that, to succeed in performing a specific genre, students should understand the elements of the genre and perform appropriately. Although in some countries, such as Australia, the TDE is not commonly practised, in other countries such as the USA, the UK and Indonesia, the TDE is necessary before students can graduate. In Indonesia, the issue of the poor performance of undergraduate students in their TDEs has been raised by academic communities: many students appear to be competent in their general English, but most of them perform poorly in their TDEs. This thesis will discuss this discrepancy and propose a possible solution.