Australian government helps to professionalize English teaching

The Welshs are part of the Islamic Schools English Language Project (ISELP), an Australian government program.

It is being managed by Australian Volunteers International and will run till 2007. The cost is AU$ 3.3 million (about Rp 25 billion).

Fifteen Australian English language teacher trainers have been placed in selected Islamic junior secondary schools. Most are in East Java, including Madura. One is in Palembang (South Sumatra) and one in Jakarta.

The program grew out of a visit some years ago by a group of Indonesian Islamic leaders to the United States where they realized the need for improved training of English language teachers in pesantren (Islamic boarding schools).

Australia offered to fund the project, which started in 2004. Education and training are the largest component of the Indonesia-Australia Development Cooperation Program.

ISELP manager Chloe Olliver said fewer than 10 percent of teachers in the Indonesian school system had tertiary training.

"Professional development opportunities in under-funded Islamic schools are scarce," she said.

"This project allows for on-the-job training and mentoring. ISELP trainers work with groups of teachers and conduct one-on- one team teaching.

"There's been a notable shift away from a traditional, passive and grammar-focused approach to teaching English toward more active and participative methods.

"Indonesian teachers have been hesitant to use such methods in the past as they may appear to be noisy and undisciplined in rustic classrooms with rattan walls separating one class from the next."

The Indonesian government's new English language curriculum focuses more on speaking and listening. The required pass grade has also been lifted.

All the Australian teachers working on the project have experience in competency-based curricula.

-- Duncan Graham