Today, an ability to speak in English becomes a major skill to be mastered. Every non-speaking English country has done their best to make their student be able to speak and apply English in their daily life. Since 2005, National Education Department through Direktorat Jenderal Manajemen Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah (Dikdasmen) has proclaimed International standard school in Indonesia. The school will apply one new system called English Bilingual Education. English Bilingual Education manages the schools to use two languages, Bahasa Indonesia and English, in the student daily teaching activity. English Bilingual Education, in fact, needs a lot of good preparations to make it work. Therefore, the government should re-check this policy again whether it is urgent to be applied or not. It is because, still, there are several weaknesses, in the terms of preparation. Here I will explain three major things; those are school facilities, good quantity and qualified teachers, and students’ mentality, which are not prepared yet to do English Bilingual Education properly.
Firstly, the school facilities are not prepared yet. As we know, English Bilingual Education needs complete modern equipment in its teaching process, such as PCs with Internet, latest book references, and so on. According to British council, from a try out held by the government in 450 schools, it turned out there are only 112 schools that are capable to hold English Bilingual Education properly. It means that the facilities provided by the government in schools have not been well-spread yet. Thus, I believe that proclaiming to apply English Bilingual Education in such a way where there are still minimum facilities provided is really unwise. In addition, it will turn out to be failure if the government aim to get a success without preparing everything needed to be one. Generally, we can say that the school facilities must be well prepared to make English Bilingual Education successful.
Secondly, the teachers are not good enough in terms of both quantity and quality. Itje Chodidjah, Education Advisor from British Council, said, “According to some research, students take seven years to be fluent in English in learning certain subjects. This also depends on the teacher’s pedagogy skill” (Dharma, 2007). The number of the teacher who is capable in speaking English is just a small number compare to the number of the student. Some teachers might have a score more than 500 in the TOEFL test, but it does not mean that they are able to give and explain a material in English. Furthermore, one thing we should know together that the TOEFL only measure one’s competence, but not their pedagogy capability. Moreover, most of the TOEFL tests they have taken is the past form of the test, not computer or internet-based test. Briefly, we can say that the quantity and quality of the teacher who are capable to teach in English Bilingual Education are very limited.
Thirdly, the students themselves are not properly prepared from the beginning. Students need approximately seven years to be able to apply English in their way of learning. So, students should be introduced to English from their early age. This can help the students to adapt with English easily. They also have to be motivated by the people around them at all time. They have to be given an understanding that learning in English Bilingual Education will bring them so many benefits in the future; such as, being able to compete with other country in looking for a good job, so that they will not be left behind in the global competition; that they are the main reason why English Bilingual Education existed. It has no aim but help them to transform become a better human resource. In brief, students need to be supported both physically and mentally so that English Bilingual Education will be in the right way to reach a success.
In summary, applying English Bilingual Education in our Education system is a great idea but requires a good preparation. The important thing that should be done by the government is preparing the facility needed, the good quality and quantity of the teachers, and also students’ mentality in dealing with English Bilingual Education instead of forcing to do English Bilingual Education will make a better result. Giving more attention to the schools which facilities are not completed yet, recruiting more qualified teachers, and supporting the students both physically and mentally will be great solutions. Asking supports from all elements included as well, such as the parents, in the teaching process also makes the English Bilingual Education become successful in the future. If it is so, our country will not be left behind anymore.
References:
- (http://www.britishcouncil.or.id/blog/news/agar-sbi-tak-sekadar-mengejar-gengsi/; accessed on August 30th, 2010)
- (http://www.docstoc.com/docs/39821398/Simposium-English-Bilingual-Education-Pendidikan-Bilingual-Kesempatan; accessed on August 30th, 2010)
- written by Riska Ayu Wibisono
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