Even though English is not a compulsory subject in kindergarten and elementary schools, most institutions are offering the subject to meet market demand.
Unfortunately, many teachers are not equipped with an effective model for teaching their students the difficult language.
Mumtaza, from SDN RSBI Menteng 02 elementary school in Central Jakarta, said a training seminar held by the British Council from Tuesday to Wednesday gave her the much-needed skills to help her students learn English correctly.
“Previously some teachers thought methods of teaching involving games, for example, would be nearly impossible to apply in our classes with dozens of children. But after we saw videos showing just that in other countries, using these methods with a number of children, we realized it could work,” she said.
Mumtaza and dozens of English teachers from six provinces and several education agency officials gathered for the program, jointly held by the Directorate of Kindergarten and Elementary School Development and the British Council in Jakarta
Rudy Trisno, the principal of SD Kebon Jeruk state elementary school in West Jakarta, said there was a lack of good English teachers in Indonesia.
He said those participating in the training were now ready to share their knowledge with other teachers in the regions.
“But they must be supported by the provincial governments,” he said.
During the program, teachers were equipped with a bevy of English-teaching skills. Instruction through games, communication skills and an understanding of elementary school students were some of the materials studied during training. Mudjito, the director of the kindergarten and elementary school development, said English had become a “basic need” in elementary schools, particularly in bilingual schools.
Last year the training was attended by teachers from 360 schools from the provinces of Aceh, Riau Islands, Yogyakarta, East Kalimantan, Bali and West Nusa Tenggara. The provinces were selected based on their efforts to pioneer schools meeting international standards.
The British Council has also held another program which intensively trained teachers from the six provinces of Jakarta, West Java, East Java, East Kalimantan, South Sulawesi and Yogyakarta.
Some teachers trained by the British Council have written a book titled Learning English with Tito.
Kartini, head of human resources development division at the South Sulawesi’s education agency, said the book was recommended as a teaching aid for those learning the skills.
Itje Chodijah, education advisor from the British Council, said teaching students from elementary, secondary and high schools required different skills. “English teachers in elementary schools need to be equipped with specific skills,” she said.
Christian Duncumb, director of English Education Reform from the British Council, said the training modules adopted in Indonesia were also being used in other regional countries such as Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines. (iwp)
The British Council has held another program which intensively trained teachers from the six provinces, including Jakarta, West Java and East Java.
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