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.