It's time to standardize bilingual education

It's time to standardize bilingual education

Eric E. Hallett, Jakarta

There has been a recent push by schools across Southeast Asia
to extend their use of English in the classroom to include not
only language instruction, but also subjects traditionally taught
in their students' native or national languages. They are
shifting towards bilingual education.

This shift has been undertaken to meet the demands of ASEAN
governments which are placing more-and-more emphasis on the use
of English in science, education, and business as a means to
greater competitive advantage.

The following excerpt from a recent edition of Singapore's
daily newspaper, The Straits Times, provides a compelling example
of this in Malaysia.

School principals and administrators have been told they must
make every effort to ensure that pupils master English. "I don't
want to hear excuses," said Education Minister Hishamuddin
Hussein who launched a program...to improve the teaching of
English in the country. "As a trading nation, our children's
competence in English is a survival skill."

It is clear from examples like this that leaders in the region
consider the use of English in the classroom as critical to
future national success. This is also true for Indonesia even
though national leaders have not been as outspoken about the role
of English in the country's development as neighboring leaders
like Mr. Hussein.

Nevertheless, the need for effective communication in English
is just as paramount in Indonesia's classrooms as in other ASEAN
countries, if not more, given the country's current lack of
competitiveness and slow growth compared to other competitive
ASEAN economies.

It is vital, if Indonesia wishes to keep pace with its
neighbors, that Indonesia's schools be equipped to lead students
into meaningful communication in English, as well as Bahasa
Indonesia, in subjects that have global significance such as the
sciences and mathematics.

There are two approaches to accomplishing this. The first is
to simply allow market principles to function and let
administrators develop programs where demand is obvious. This is
already being done in many private schools where Bahasa Indonesia
is the primary language.

This method has its merits and is a commendable first step
toward providing bilingual education in Indonesia, but it also
has its drawbacks. If left to the dictates of the market,
bilingual education will become the domain of the economic elite
due to its inherent costs. In other words, those who can afford
it will have it, those who cannot afford it will not. In this
case bilingual education simply becomes another luxury for the
privileged and an impediment to future opportunity for the
economically disadvantaged.

In addition, teachers in the public domain do not have access
to the same level of training as their counterparts in more
expensive private schools. Generally speaking, they are
competent with English linguistics, but lack confidence in their
own communication skills. The resources for additional training
are difficult for them to obtain. They are often left behind in
professional development unless government funding is available.

Another pitfall of the market approach to bilingual education
is the inevitable scam by institutions which promise bilingual
instruction, but have neither the instructors nor the curriculum
to carry out their promises. In this case, bilingual instruction
simply becomes a marketing ploy at considerable expense to the
consumer with no return.

The second approach is to include bilingual education in the
government's portfolio of standardized curriculum. Government
guidelines would then be recommended for teacher qualification,
teacher evaluation, and material selection. Government
involvement would also help coordinate disbursement of funds for
teacher training.

Schools which are able to meet the minimum criteria for
competent bilingual instruction would receive government
accreditation and be able to offer approved instruction in both
Bahasa Indonesia and English.

Standardization and accreditation would help "level the
playing field" by providing all schools with access to basic
curriculum and fundamental training materials for teaching in
more than one language. This would allow students at all socio-
economic levels to benefit from bilingual instruction, even if
the benefits are limited to begin with. It would also help to
eliminate questionable bilingual course offerings from
unaccredited programs.

The shift in Southeast Asia towards bilingual education is
gaining momentum and cannot be overlooked as an educational
imperative for the future. Private schools have taken a bold
first step in the move toward bilingual education in Indonesia.
It is now time for the entire society to look at the benefits of
using more than one language in the classroom. Because bilingual
education is much more than a simple market luxury, the
government must become involved in its widespread implementation
if Indonesia wishes to retake its competitive position in the
region.

The writer is the former Head of the Business English Center
at Prasetiya Mulya Business School and currently serves as
Principal Consultant and Adviser to IPECS Consulting, a
communications consultancy specializing in bilingual education.
He can be reached at ipecs@cbn.net.id.