TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Students new to int'l schools face initial adaptation hurdles
Changing schools can be tough for children, but for many national to international school transferees it poses additional challenges since they have to adapt to a whole new environment where most studies are conducted in English rather than Indonesian
Change Size
C
hanging schools can be tough for children, but for many national to international school transferees it poses additional challenges since they have to adapt to a whole new environment where most studies are conducted in English rather than Indonesian.
Grade 11 student Peter Gunardi, 17, dreamed of studying medicine in Australia, so he moved to Bina Bangsa School (BBS) in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, to improve his English.
"The English we learned at my old school was simple, and mostly basic conversation.
"The English here is much tougher, especially the terminology in biology and chemistry," he said.
In 2003, based on the national education system law (Sisdiknas), the government introduced a school classification for international standard schools (SBI), which allowed operators to adopt international curriculums, learning processes, human resources, management, fees and grading, as well as applying both Indonesian and English in class.
Under this system, curriculums have generally been adopted from OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries - such as the UK's Cambridge International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE), or the US-based International Baccalaureate (IB).
Many children also move to international schools to improve their future life skills.
"Under this curriculum, the emphasis is more on critical thinking, analyzing and writing essays, and not just memorizing.
"This encourages us to improve our thinking skills," said Amanda Angelica, a student of Pelita Harapan School (SPH) in Karawaci, Tangerang.
Students often make the transition from state school to international schools in either grade seven or 10, since these years mark the beginning of junior high and high school.
SPH math teacher Wong Su Jan said around one-fifth of his students in grade 10 were new to the international school system, but that there were no new students in grade 12.
Most student transferees interviewed said they had difficulties initially as most were not conditioned to read, speak and listen in English.
"I was afraid to speak directly to international school teachers, but within three months I got used to speaking *English*," said Michelle Anggara, 13, from Sekolah Bina Nusantara (Binus), South Jakarta.
Transferees also said the change in curriculum - from a system that relies on teachers to a system requiring independent research - was difficult to handle to start off with.
"It was a bit of a shift for me when I moved here because I had to learn to study independently," said Jeanette Evaline, 16, from Binus.
According to Zarge Braga, an English teacher at BBS, children could overcome difficulties in English through exposure to English material such as movies and magazines.
Other teachers said in general it took one or two semesters for students to fully adapt to an English-based curriculum.
Contrary to common belief, learning in English does not replace Indonesian as their mother tongue because all students continue to study *Indonesian* in school.
Elizabeth Ho, a grade 11 student at SPH, said Indonesian would always be her first language, as the language that she "thinks in".
"Unlike what many people think, we have a great Indonesian curriculum here," she said. (gzl)
