Japanese language experts help high school teachers

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A young Japanese woman, Morimoto Yukako, checked the pile of papers she was carrying in her right hand to make sure she had her notes before entering a language program classroom at Madrasah Aliyah Negeri (MAN) 4 Islamic state high school in South Jakarta.

Morimoto, who has been teaching Japanese at the school since July last year, believes teachers who prepare well for class will be able to hold students' attention.

"Some Indonesian teachers don't prepare anything before they teach. That's one of their weaknesses. And that's why I'm here, to give suggestions to the school's Japanese language teachers on how to improve their teaching methods," she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Morimoto is one of six native speakers employed by the Japan Foundation, under the program called Junior Japanese Language Experts, to improve the quality of Indonesian Japanese language teachers in high schools across the country for one academic year.

She also helps other Japanese language teachers across Greater Jakarta by attending study groups that meet once a month at the foundation's office.

"I like helping the teachers here because they're eager to learn new things from me. The problem is, their Japanese language skills vary in that some are good and some are not that good."

The Japan Foundation devised the program 10 years ago in response to the high interest around the globe in learning Japanese.

According to a 2003 Japan Foundation survey on Japanese language education institutions outside Japan, Indonesia ranked sixth among countries around the world whose citizens have a high interest in learning the language.

"Indonesia is number one in Southeast Asia. Based on the results of our survey, 85,221 Indonesians were studying Japanese," said Osaka Koji, the deputy director of the foundation.

Osaka said that 61,723 of those studying were primary and secondary school students.

"That's why every year we employ six Japanese language experts to help teachers here. Demand from Indonesian schools is actually higher, but due to budget constraints we can't employ more," he said.

The chief program officer for the Japanese language section at the foundation, Apin Supinah, said the program was meant to develop mentor teachers who could help other teachers in the country improve their teaching methods after the native-speaker teachers leave.

"We aim to implement a kind of multilevel guidance system, in which a teacher, helped by one of our experts, one day can help fellow teachers," Apin said.

Morimoto's presence at MAN 4 has been praised by the school's teachers for not only showing them new methods, but also in giving an example in discipline.

"Besides holding students' attention, she also influences the teachers here to come to class on time, like she always does," an Indonesian Japanese language teacher, Nia, said. (006)