Toward better English skills

Toward better English skills

By Besral

BANDUNG (JP): In justifying educational programs, teachers
around the globe are always the victims of a struggle between
experts, parents and bureaucrats. Although some crucial factors
evolved on the parts of supporting materials, students'
motivation, bureaucrats' attitude and government policy, teachers
usually bear the brunt of the criticism. They are blamed and
pushed into a corner, when success is likely too far away.

English teachers, especially in Indonesia, have been treated
like dolls and have been manipulated. They are ultimately
regarded as the most responsible for the failure of teaching
English in the country.

Such pressure on teachers is reflected in Alwasilah's article:
Ways to better RI English skills, published in The Jakarta Post
on Jan. 18, 1999. The paradigm shift, in regard to the
improvement of TOEFL in Indonesia, should replace the whole
mechanism in the context of systematic and well-planned language
planning. Alwasilah's analysis and comments not only rise to the
arguments of the linguists, but also encourage English teachers
in Indonesia to introspect and challenge themselves toward highly
qualified professionalism.

Alwasilah convincingly put a single aspect to fix the dilemma
of some sources of failure in English teaching. TOEFL test scores
and research findings, as Alwasilah put forward, show that
Indonesian English students are weak at vocabulary. He further
asserted that the majority of English teachers in the country
lack understanding of the communicative approach.

In reaction to Setiono's argument (the Post, Dec. 28, 1998),
which called for a certain set of criteria of success in the
implementing the communicative approach, Alwasilah came up with
the idea of critical pedagogy -- an attempt to explain the social
and political aspects of English education. In other words, the
analysis moved beyond classroom structures and processes.

To achieve language competence which stems from communicative
language teaching, Alwasilah also reminded us of the theory of
"interlanguage". He stated that communicative competence does not
require native-like proficiency at all. Learners with fossilized
interlanguage can develop communicative competence. However, as
he experienced himself, many English teachers as well as
practitioners conclude that communicative competence will never
be successfully developed in Indonesian settings.

Putting down a single aspect to a certain circle, as Alwasilah
ascertained the lack of vocabulary to primary source of failure,
does not necessarily touch the root of the problem. The absence
of integrative orientation on the part of students is more
thoroughly emerged in our settings. This factor, which is more
strongly linked to success in learning a second or foreign
language, stems from a positive affect toward a community of its
speakers (Gardner, 1985). It is a common view that learners from
an early beginning up to university level learn English just to
fulfill the tasks required by their respective institutions. In
other words, to them, studying English means to get good grades.

Such a misconception toward learning a foreign language leads
to the preparation of credible instructors who posses knowledge
of the world -- circumstances under which Indonesian students
should compete and exist in the global era -- instead of grading
and blaming teachers, as asserted by Alwasilah. Understanding of
the communicative approach on the part of teachers is only a part
of what is required from them.

The critical pedagogy concept as proposed by Alwasilah in
relation to an implementation of communicative language teaching
in Indonesia, seems to deviate from the emerging situation.
Critical pedagogy which tends to connect pedagogical theory and
practice to wider social issues is obviously an immature concept,
since teachers have no political power in Indonesia. Therefore,
this kind of analysis is not representative to dealing with
learners' problems.

Instead of arguing the belief of successful development of
communicative competence in Indonesian settings, more attention
should be given to upgrading thousands of English teachers who
lack principled teaching and facilitating them with CLT
simulations. Very often we hear "the talking is easy ...",
therefore, creating such simulations on videocassette or other
instruments is likely to empower the cornered teachers.

It can be inferred that Alwasilah's assertions on finding the
source of failure and the way to improve the emergence situation,
seem to give little contribution to the teachers' personal
professions. On the other hand, teachers' positions as holders of
professional jobs supported by the expertise of experienced
linguists will surely improve learners if better English skills
are to be realized.

I share Alwasilah's position on the following issues. First,
to improve TOEFL in Indonesia it is imperative that a paradigm
shift is exercised, that is, a systematic and massive change. We
are aware of that, in Brown's (1994) words of changing winds and
shifting sands, "as disciplinary of schools of thought --
psychology, linguistics, education, for example -- have come and
gone, so have language-teaching methods waxed and waned in
popularity"."

The communicative approach in foreign-language teaching has
been appraised, though the teachers are forced to internalize
several terms captured in it, such as cooperative learning,
interactive teaching, learner-centered classes, content-centered
education, whole language, and so on.

Second, learners with fossilized interlanguage can develop
communicative competence. The interlanguage principle tells us
that: second-language learners tend to go through a systematic or
quasi systematic-developmental process as they progress to full
competence in the target language. Successful interlanguage
language development is partially a factor of utilizing feedback
from others. In the minds of learners, a good deal of what they
say or comprehend may be logically "correct" even though, from
the standpoint of a native speaker's competence, such forms are
incorrect. "Do they may receive our message?"

The clearly drawn determinant factors of creating better
Indonesian English-learners are grounded in intrinsic motivation
(integrative orientation), credible linguists, government policy
and teachers' perspective of a future professional career.
Expecting competent learners to exist, while leaving teachers in
the blue sky will not accomplish the ideal. Times have changed
and students' motivation may have been moving to wider
perspectives. All these issues should be encountered thoroughly
by responsible efforts.

Turning back to the Netherlands language-teaching system in
achieving our destiny of competent learners is worthwhile. As one
of the most successful schools at teaching math and foreign
languages, Echnaton School Almere reportedly strongly motivates
Dutch students to study language because as adults, they will be
expected to use other languages regularly. (Newsweek, Dec. 2,
1991).

As Dutch officials make the ability to communicate the first
priority, students engage in daily debates in English. They write
letters in real situations, they report a stolen bike or they pay
rent on their house. After all, in Holland, foreign languages are
not reserved for an academic elite.