Secondary English Education in Indonesian Context

ByDidi Sukyadi

Indonesia University of Education

ASIA TEFL ConferenceSeoul, 27-29 July 2011

Purpose of The Talk

• Provide a short overview of what happens at Secondary English Education in Indonesia

• Focus of the talk: Indonesian secondary school system, position and role of English in Indonesian education system, curriculum changes, the adoption of Genre Based Approach, School-Based Curriculum Development, English as a medium of instruction, teacher’ quality improvement, and each related issues.

Indonesian Secondary Schools

1) Under MoNE Coordination• Junior Secondary Schools (3 Years)• Senior Secondary Schools (3 Years)• Vocational Secondary Schools (3Years)2) Under MoRA Coordination• MTs (Madrasah Tsanawiyah or Islamic Junior

Secondary Schools)-3 Years• MA (Madrasah Aliyah or Islamic Senior Secondary

Schools) – 3 Years

English Teaching Hours

• Junior Secondary: 4 x 40 minutes a week.• Vocational Secondary: 4 x 45 minutes • Year 1 and 2 Senior Secondary 4 x 45 minutes

a week• Year 3 Senior Secondary: science and social

science streams: 4 x 45 minutes a week. • Year 3 language stream: 5 x 45 minutes a

week.

Place of English in Indonesian Education System

• 1955: “the first foreign language” in Indonesia• 1989 National Education Law: first foreign language,

compulsory subjects to be taught at the secondary level, but can be taught from Primary Four.

• Can be be used as a medium of instruction in an institution where English is taught as a discipline.

• The purpose of teaching English is mainly to develop reading ability as a means of helping students to gain access to information, and to read references.

• The order of priority: reading, listening, speaking and writing

The Role of English in Indonesia• A main requirement for the success of individuals,

the society and the nation of Indonesia in answering the challenges of the time in the global level.

• A means to accelerate the developments of the Indonesian nation and country

• However, it is also seen as a threat to national identities and nationalism. Many criticisms on the road signs, advertsements, names of real estates in English.

• Lauder (2008) sees the case as language schizophrenia.

Curriculum Change

• 1954, Old Style Curriculum , 4 teaching hour a week.• 1962, A New Style Curriculum; the learning materials were

based on audiolingual approach.• 1968, Perfected New Style Curriculum, audio lingual method.• The 1975 curriculum, audio-lingual method with the teaching

materials similar to those in 1968 curriculum• The 1984 curriculum: students’ active learning and

meaningful communication, CLT• The 1994 Curriculum: CLT, organized thematically.• The 2004 Curriculum: Competence-Based Curriculum with

Genre-Based Approach. • Developed completely by central government

Curriculum Change

• 2004 Curriculum: basic competence, standard competence, indicators, learning materials, conversational gambits, vocabulary, etc.

• Causes pros and cons: too linguistics• In 2006, Board of National Education Standards (BSNP) cut down

most of the components of 2004 Curriculum.• Consisting of Basic competence and competence standard only.

Some call it as 2006 Curriculum.• Other components such as syllabus are developed by each school

(School Based Curriculum Development)• Adopting Genre-Based Approach• Using four cycles of teaching: Building knowledge of text, modeling

of text, join construction of text, independent construction of texts

Skills Developed in 2006 Curriculum(Senior Secondary)

• Reading: certain information, detail information, explicit and implicit information, reference, word meaning, purpose of communication, main idea, synonyms and antonyms

• Text type: announcement, advertisement/brochure, news item, recount, explanation, exposition, discussion and review

• Writing: Cloze test, arranging words into sentences, and sentences into paragraphs

Skills developed in 2006 Curriculum (Junior Secondary)

• Reading:• General information, Main idea, Explicit detail information,

Implied information, Reference, Meaning of words, phrase and sentences

- Text types: Short Functional Texts: Caution, Greeting card, Short message, Invitation, Announcement, Label, Advertisement, and Letter

- Writing:• appropriate words to complete short report texts.• appropriate word arrangement to to make sentences• appropriate sentence arrangement to make paragraphs

Issues of the Implementation of Genre Based Approach

• Difficulties in understanding the definition of monologue and essays.

• No distictive features distinguishing the coverage of the same genre in different semesters.

• Difficulties in comprehending standard competence and basic competence well.

• Difficulties in integrating four language skills so they still teach language skills in a discrete way.

• Difficulties in understanding terminologies in text types such as transactional, functional, ideational, interpersonal, descriptive, report, etc.

Issues in the Implementation of GBA

• knowing the students’ literacy level required by the curriculum.

• utilizing grammar to support the acquisition of communicative competence.

• controlling the amount of reading aloud during modeling of text

• understanding the importance of developing strategic competence to acquire natural communicative competence.

• understanding the principles of literacy (e.g. Scaffolding)• using grammar to teach other than linguistic competence • sequencing the four cycles (BKOF, MOT, JOCOT, ICOT

Issues in the Implementation of GBA

• Teachers tend to focus on the number texts to finish, not on how to guide the students to be able to construct texts. Some cover 7-9 texts in a semester.

• Most teachers base their text selection on text illustration, not on their relevance with the learning objectives.

• Teachers believe that the four learning stages are linier; one stage should be followed by another

• Most of the respondents use their time in the class to explore generic structure, vocabulary, and grammar of the texts, not to explore and construct the texts

School Based Curriculum Development (KTSP)

• Developed and implemented by each education unit including:

1) Objectives of each education unit, structure and content of the curriculum (subject matters, local content, learning load, mastery learning, movement to higher class and graduation, streaming, life skills, competitiveness-based education, academic calender and syllabus)

2) Syllabus: competence standard, basic competence (central government)

learning materials, learning activities, learning objectives, asssessment, time allotment and learning resources (by each school)

Inssues in the Implementation of SCBD

• School-based curriculum is considered to be developed by central goverment and local education authority not by each school.

• Teachers believe that they should develop competence standard and basic competence for their syllabus, while in fact the two have been developed by central government

• Teachers do not have sufficient skills in developing syllabus.

• Teachers have difficulty in is choosing methodology and teaching techniques

International Standard SchoolsSince 2006

a) Adopting curricula used in OECD countries.b) Using English as a medium of instruction for science subjectsc) Emphasizing the balance in the development of all learning domains

(cognitive, affective, and pychomotoric domains)d. Developing integrated curricula in terms of learning materials,

competencies, values, attitudes, and behaviors.e. Nurturing students to be able to think critically, creatively, and

analytically, and have the ability to make a decision in learning.f. Encouraging the schools to have apprenticeship programs in relevant

fieldsg. Emphasizing the ability to take advantage of information technology. h. The best school in the districth. Until 2009: We have 299 Junior Secondary, 321 Senior Secondary,

and 295 Vocational Schools with the international standards label.

Issues in Using English as of Medium of Instruction in International Standard Schools

• Causing pros and cons• Become a burden for all: English teachers, science teachers, and

parents• Lack of competent teachers: especially science teachers. • Demand teachers to work harder and spend more time for teaching

and for administrative works.• Decrease the teaching spirit of teachers, students’ learning

achievement, and students’ learning motivation,• Has made the teachers to get stressed and lazy to work, and consider

English as a frightening demon.• Has made the students difficult to understand the learning contents.• Finally in 2011, the government has stated that there was no policy

of obligating IS schools to use English.• The idea of IS Schools keeps going.

Teachers’ Quality Improvement

• Per 2009: 2.9 million teachers, in which 886.230 of them have academic qualification lower than BA certificates.

• We also face a problem of under supply and over supply among urban, rural and remote areas.

• High rate of absenteeism among teachers as they have to do other jobs to improve their income

• All situations above also apply to English teachers.

Teachers’ Quality Improvement• Management improvement program: 1) qualifications

upgrading, 2) professional certification, 3) quality assurance, 3) on-going professional development, 4) mapping deployment and recruitment requirements, and 5) improving the teachers’ welfare.

• Qualification upgrading requires all secondary teachers to have at least bachelor degree certificates through distance learning, dual modes, and regular classes in tertiary institutions.

• Professional certification is administered by obligating teachers teaching in all secondary schools to have professional educator certificates, which can be acquired whether through portfolio assessment or in-service Teacher Training.

Teachers’ Network (MGMP)• To improve teachers’ quality, the government endorse the

establishment of MGMP (Teacher Network)• This networks organize regular meetings to discuss and

share new skills, knowledge and information, either from master teachers, school supervisors, teachers, or from other resource persons.

• Carry out workshops, seminars, or focus group discussions• Become a focal point when other institutions like

universities or professional organizations want to communicate with secondary teachers.

• Participate in lesson study implementation sponsored by university and local government.

Thank You

Terima Kasih