Schools ineffective in English lessons

JAKARTA (JP): Most English classes at formal schools have been ineffective in encouraging pupils to speak the language, an expert in language teaching says.

The schools' teaching puts too much emphasis on accuracy, particularly in grammar, so that pupils loose confidence to speak for fear of making mistakes, E.V. Surardjo, President of the Intensive English Course, said on Monday.

Also hampering the English language learning process is overcrowded classes at the formal schools, Surardjo said as reported by Antara.

"It is difficult for a teacher to attend to individual needs of students in a big class," he said.

Ideally, for an effective English lesson, a class should not have more than 20 pupils. Many schools in Indonesia still cram more than 40 pupils into each class, he noted.

Education experts agreed that the level of English of Indonesian high school graduates is still appalling.

English is now taught from the third grade of primary school up to the completion of high school -- a total to 10 years of English studies.

Surardjo said the weaknesses of the English language learning process at schools have given rise to the mushrooming of private English courses in Indonesia's major cities.

"These courses do not put as much emphasis on accuracy as they do on the students' ability to communicate," he said. "Accuracy comes second. The main thing is to get the students to speak."

Surardjo noted that if formal schools were to change their method of teaching and, at the same time, reduce the size of their classes to no more than 20 students, then they should be able to produce graduates who can speak the language well. (emb)