Teachers lack English language skills

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 06/10/2009 1:01 PM  |  Headlines

Teachers in Jakarta may not be ready to take up the challenge of teaching subjects in English, as stipulated by a current government policy that requires every province to have at least one international-standard school.

"Some teachers still struggle to teach the English language in English, let alone teach other subjects using the language," Itje Chodidjah, the British Council's educational advisor said on the sidelines of a symposium on bilingual education, which was attended by representatives of 10 countries.

In 2006, the government introduced the English Bilingual Education (EBE) policy and designated 112 schools to start pilot programs in English.

"The need to master English is becoming more pressing," Suryanto, the director general of primary and secondary education said at the event, adding that fluency in English would open many doors.

However, the English language capability of teachers, even in the capital city, may not be strong enough to implement the policy.

"In Jakarta, some schools recruit teachers for the EBE program because they are good at teaching and speak decent English, but they have not necessarily mastered the language," Itje said, adding that in some schools the case was the opposite: Teachers were fluent in English, but lacked the required teaching skills.

It usually takes seven months of training to help teachers master their subjects in English, she said.

"It's a good thing that Jakarta has its own training center for English teachers," Itje said.

"Thus, its educational system is slightly better than those in other provinces."

These centers train about 100 teachers a year, she explained.

However, even at that rate, the centers would struggle to achieve the ambitious plans put forward by schools aspiring to achieve international standards.

Christian Duncumb, director of English and Education Reform at the British Council, said the council had worked together with the city administration and the National Education Ministry to produce a grading system framework for English teachers.

According to him, the system's comprehensive program would enable the government to set standards that would improve the quality of English teachers.

"It *the current system* lacks efficiency," he said, "progress will not develop as fast as it could if the region continues to use the current system."

In a workshop on English teaching organized by University of Indonesia's International Language Institute on Monday, many teachers acknowledged the challenge. (dis/nia)

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