Scholar laments poor English teaching methods in Indonesia
Scholar laments poor English teaching methods in Indonesia
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia needs to revamp the way it teaches the
English language because the present system produces a deplorable
quality of English teachers and university graduates, a scholar
says.
Director of Graduate Program at Atmajaya University Soenjono
Dardjowidjojo particularly attacked the teaching method at the
state teacher training institutes (IKIP) and pedagogic schools at
various universities, because it is in their hands that the
mastery of English lies.
The existing curriculum at these institutions emphasize
irrelevant studies, such as redundant linguistic theories, which
have no relevance to the language's application, Soenjono said at
a seminar on teaching English in the industrialization era.
The seminar was organized by Yayasan Lia, a foundation which
holds informal English courses. The foundation marks it 35th
anniversary on Sept.7.
The present curriculum produces only graduates with very
limited English skills, Soenjono said.
"Based on my experience, many graduates of English training
institutes and universities do not master the language, not even
at the elementary level," he said, "If they write a thesis, they
cannot express themselves in a mature and sophisticated way."
The same problem is found among students taking their masters
and doctoral degrees, he added.
Soenjono said the English teaching method at high schools
should also be reviewed in order to meet the demands and goals of
the teaching itself. "If we know the goals, we will be able to
choose the most appropriate materials and teaching methods and
also train teachers," he explained.
The current high school curriculum is now so overloaded that
teachers cannot teach all the subjects in detail because they
have to meet the fixed target, he said.
The size of language classes is also a factor in determining
successful teaching. "Ideally, we should limit classes to 15
students, not 40 or 50 as we see at state schools now," he said.
Soenjono also calls for improvements in the salaries and
incentives for English teachers to make them more dedicated in
their profession.
"The educational world is no different than the business world
now. You have to pay more to get qualified teachers," he said.
"We cannot ask for dedication, we have to develop it," he said
to the applause of the participants.
Other speakers at the seminar included Hasnan Habib,
ambassador at-large for Non-Aligned Movement country members, M.
Djamil Ibrahim, head of Development Center for Curriculum and
Education Materials of the Ministry of Education and Culture, and
Tim Kirk of the British Council.(als)