English in schools 'misses mark'

English in schools 'misses mark'

JAKARTA (JP): Nicky is now in her final year of senior high
school, which means she has been studying English for more than
five years.

But the 17-year-old giggled nervously when asked: "Do you
speak English?"

"Bahasa Indonesia saja (Let's just speak Indonesian)," she
told The Jakarta Post.

It is not that Nicky does not understand any English at all.
She is, after all, product of the national education system in
which English is taught beginning in the first year of junior
high school. Many private elementary schools even include English
in the curriculum, and young students supplement their learning
at one of the numerous English courses.

But it seems that most high school students, like Nicky, do
not have a comprehensive grasp of English, or at least how to
speak it. Their English is just enough to pass their school
exams.

Ari, 15, said she is not interested in studying English
because the lesson was boring.

"It's about grammar and grammar again. When the teacher is
explaining in front of the class, we are busy chatting among
ourselves," she said.

Ari, in her first year of senior high school, said students
were more interested in practicing conversation. "But the teacher
doesn't encourage us to speak in class."

"When he asks me a question in English, I understand, and I
know the answer, but I just can't say it," she added.

Two-hour English lessons are scheduled twice a week in the
high school curriculum. Ari said this was the same duration as
classes when she was in junior high.

Nisrina Nur Ubay, an English teacher at English Express
Language Institute, blames conventional teaching methods in state
schools as the main factor behind students' inability to speak
English.

This inflexible teaching method places too much emphasis on
rote learning of grammar, which is boring for students and
contributes to them losing interest in studying the language, she
said.

"English lessons would be more effective if the teacher
actively encouraged students to actually speak English," she
said.

She advised high school teachers to move away from the
traditional focus on grammar and shift instead to using
conversation.

The boring content of most school lesson plans and failure to
learn to speak proficiently are among the reasons many students
turn to private English courses.

"There is an increasing number of high school students who
take an English course," she said. "They are looking for one
which can provide a teaching method enabling them to speak
English better."

Purwanto, principal of Pangudi Luhur high school in South
Jakarta, dismissed the idea that students were not interested in
studying English in school.

"They have enough interest in studying English (at school),"
he said.

He conceded that the English lesson in schools concentrated on
grammar and was deficient in conversation. This is why students
dissatisfied with the lessons at school enroll in an English
course, he said.

"Some take a course because they want to study aboard, the
others to improve their school grade or to better their
conversation skill," he said.

H. Nu'man, principal of Al Azhar high school in Lippo
Cikarang, Bekasi, said students did not lack interest in studying
the language.

He said that as Al Azhar was a boarding school, few students
left the premises to take English courses.

"But we provide extra hours for students who want to improve
their English. We also try to improve the teaching method by
encouraging students to speak English."

He said these activities were designed to enrich the students'
vocabularies through practice.

Future plans include organization of an all-English day, when
both students and faculty members will be obliged to speak the
language in all their interactions. (09/sim)