Deputy Minister of Basic and Secondary Education: English Dialogue Must Be Habitualised

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (Wamendikdasmen) Atip Latipulhayat advised over 5,000 teachers attending the Teacher Competency Development Programme for Primary Schools Teaching English (PKGSD-MBI) to habitualise English as a conversational language in the classroom. Reflecting on his own experience, he stated that English learning should not be limited to a mere subject but must be utilised in classroom conversations so that both teachers and students feel confident in speaking it. “Even until the end of time, it won’t make our students proficient in the language. Up to high school, I could only read; my listening was still poor, let alone speaking,” said Atip during the launch of the PKGSD programme, broadcast live on the Kemendikdasmen YouTube channel in Central Jakarta on Friday. According to him, teachers should engage in dialogues with students using English during teaching and learning activities in the classroom. “In short, teachers should dialogue in English during English lessons,” said Atip. This means, he added, that if students previously felt compelled, they would gradually become accustomed to hearing and speaking the language. “So, having a nine in English on the report card is useless if they can’t understand when asked to speak,” said Atip. Furthermore, he mentioned that the implementation of the PKGSD-MBI programme is an effort by his office to prepare for the implementation of English as a compulsory subject for third-grade primary school students starting from the 2027/2028 academic year. On the same occasion, Director General of Teachers and Education Personnel (Dirjen GTK) of Kemendikdasmen Nunuk Suryani stated that 5,777 teachers from 34 provinces and 177 regencies/cities are participating in the first phase of the training. For this year, the office targets 10,000 teachers to join the PKGSD-MBI programme.