Luh Putu Artini: Feasible Bilingual Education Model in International Standard School in Indonesian Context: Theoretical Perspectives

Feasible Bilingual Education Model in International Standard School in Indonesian Context: Theoretical Perspectives

Luh Putu Artini, PhD

Ganesha University of Education

tien_miasa@hotmail.com

Abstract

This paper reviews bilingual education practices in pilot projected international standard schools (RSBI) in Indonesia. As a new program, a number of problems have been documented, one of which is the unavailability of bilingual education model for the schools to follow. A number of models are described after exploring relevant literature. The feasible model should help both students and teachers. For students, transitional bilingual education is considered to be applicable as it starts with the use of first language (i.e. Bahasa Indonesia) as dominant language at the beginning and then proportion of English can be improved according to students’ progress in the language until they are ready with bilingual instruction with dominant English. For teachers, the four-stage bilingual education model is proposed as it does not only improve teacher’s English proficiency but also ability in conducting instruction in English.

Keywords: Bilingual education, international standard school, feasible model

Introduction

Globalization era nowadays is identical to many forms of global competitions. This phenomenon has been responded seriously by all countries in the world in different ways in the attempts to ‘win’ the competition, that is, to gain the opportunities to improve socio, economic and political quality of the nation. One of the strategic efforts taken by the Indonesian government to respond to this phenomenon is through deliberate education reforms. One of those was the development of national education based on three pillars: (1) equality in education for all people, (2) improvement in quality, relevancy and competitiveness in education, and (3) strengthening of management, accountability and public image in education (Depdiknas, 2006).

Various efforts have been underway to follow up the three pillars in national education development. Database on school age children has been improved and access to education has been facilitated. In terms of quality improvement, every possible aspect that contributes to quality has been given serious attention. For example, teacher qualification and professionalism have been improved by motivating teachers for further study or trainings, teaching quality has been encouraged through continuous in-service trainings, supervision and better reward system for teachers. In addition, the government, through the Department of National Education has done its best to provide teaching and learning facilities that are considered to contribute to improvement in quality of educational outcome.

One of the great innovations done by the Indonesian government to improve the quality, relevance and competitiveness in education in response to globalization challenge is through establishing international standard schools (UUSPN 20/2003, article 50 item 3). These schools are designed to adopt education models in developed countries that accommodate students’ potentials to achieve standards that are higher than those implemented in common public schools. In other words, pupils in international standard schools are directed to achieve extra standards from the national standard so that the graduates’ competencies can be expected to resemble to those from schools in developed countries.

The implementation of international standard competencies in some selected schools in Indonesia has been formally launched in 2006. Ever since there has been a growing number of schools that gain the status as piloted international standard school or in Bahasa Indonesia Rintisan Sekolah Berstandar International (henceforth: RSBI). Both the regular and international standard schools aim to achieve the national education standards as assigned by the Department of Education, however the latter type of schools should design extra targets to meet the international standards in education as formulated in the formula: SBI = SNP + X where SBI stands for Sekolah Berstandar Internasional (International-Standard School), SNP is for Standar Nasional Pendidikan (National-Standard in Education), and X is for extra standards to meet international trend / demand in education. For example, a school may adopt part of IGCSE curriculum from Cambridge for English subject.

Despite the growing number of schools with RSBI labels, empirical evidence that these schools have better quality outcome has not been available. The writer’s observation on pedagogical practices in such schools found that the major differences between the regular public schools and RSBI were mainly on the use of English as the language of instruction and the provision of IT facilities for the students to use in class. The number of subjects varies depending on the level of schools. In senior high school level for example, there are four subjects taught in English; Math, Biology, Chemistry and Physics.

The use of English as media of instruction for these subjects has made the classes to be labeled as bilingual classes. Artini et.al (2009) found that most Math and Hard Science teachers in RSBI senior high schools in Bali struggled to keep instruction going in English because the majority of the teachers have low English proficiency. In addition, model schools from which new appointed RSBI schools can learn best practices of bilingual education program are not available. Thus, these schools tried their best (based on their interpretation of bilingual education concept) to achieve the targeted standards.

This paper attempts to describe the pedagogical practices of bilingual education in RSBI in Indonesia in general, and in Bali in particular. The purpose is to discuss the observed and potential problems viewed from bilingual education concepts and discuss feasible models that meet the cultural and educational contexts in Indonesia.

Bilingual Education Principles

Historically, bilingual education was established in the US in the 60s as the result of growing number of migration to the country (Cummins, 2003). The immigrants were considered to be disadvantaged by education system that ignored the existence of minority languages. Through their inability to speak the majority language (English), therefore, the discourse of equity programs in education was initiated. Schools started to take into account the language of the minority groups in the classroom. For the first few years, the pros and cons about bilingual education florished but it was then settled through California’s Proposition 227 in June 1998. One of the article in this proportion was the issue that the use of mother tongue in the school was part of human rights.

In its early development, bilingual education was targeted to help students from minority group to gain proficiency in English so that they could be placed together with the native speakers in the classroom and achieve well at schools. For this purpose, two varieties of bilingual education approaches were proposed: (1) Transitional Bilingual Education refers to the use of mother tongue and English in the classroom as the language of instruction. At first, the mother tongue was used dominantly with small proportion of English. This proportion was then improved gradually as students getting more used to English and then finally it became the only language use. (2) Maintenance Bilingual Education refers to continuous use of two languages (the mother tongue and English) with the purpose to help improve students’ English proficiency without sacrificing/loosing their first language.

In a more detailed way, according to the two approaches above, bilingual education can be classified into three categories (Dewaele, et.al., 2003): first, transitional/early exit bilingual education, second, maintenance/late exit bilingual education, and third, enrichment / two-way bilingual education.

(1) Transitional/Early Exit Bilingual Education refers to class instructions in two languages (one of which is English) that is transitional in nature because the proportion of the first language (mother tongue) decreases while at the same time English frequencies are improved. Thus, at a certain point, when students are considered having sufficient proficiency in English language for attending ’English-only’ classess, the mother tongue is no longer used. In other words, bilingual mode is only used during the transition period toward students’ readiness to follow instruction in English language. The major characteristics of this model is the consideration of proportions of language use until students are ready to use the dominant or more prestigious language as a media of instruction. The transitional process may vary according to students’ progress, however, the effort is attempted to ’exit from the mother tongue as soon as it possibly can. Faltis and Hudelson (1988) noted the period of four years (at grade four) that elementary school students are able to exit from the mother tongue and follow instruction in English.

(2) Maintenance / Late Exit Bilingual Program refers to bilingual education model that aims at balanced proficiency in the mother tongue and English. Both languages are of continuous use in class with special arrangement. For example, some subjects are taught in English and some others in the mother tongue. This bilingual education model has the target to improve proficiency in English and at the same time maintain students’ mother tongue. Exclusive use of English may be done at a latter stage, when proficiency in both languages are ’balanced’ so that there is no fear of loosing the mother tongue. The characteristic of this model is that language use in the classroom encourages linguistic prularism as students can be expected to be balanced bilinguals in the two languages, in addition to satisfactory academic achievement.

(3) Enrichment / Two way Bilingual Education is also known as immersion or dual language program, an education program in which two groups of students with two different language background are put together and the learning process occurs in the two languages. The arrangement is designed in such a way that one group of students learn to use the language of the other group because the instructions utilize the use of both languages. The difference between this model from the maintenance/late exit bilingual program as described above is that there is no target of ‘exit’ in this model. In other words, both languages are continuously used with special arrangement so that students could be proficient in the two languages.

Bilingual Education Models

Based on pedagogical practices, bilingual education models can be classified into five ( Faltis & Hudelson, 1988):

(1) The alternate day model: the use of language of instruction in the classroom is scheduled on day to day bases. In other words, instruction is conducted in one language on one day and the other language on the following day.

(2) The alternate times model: the use of language of instruction is scheduled according to time. One language of instruction is used in the morning and the other language in the afternoon.

(3) Certain curriculum areas model: the use of language of instruction is scheduled according to subject matters or areas covered in the curriculum. One language is used for certain areas of curriculum and the other language is used for other areas. For example, mathematics instruction is in English and history instruction is in Bahasa Indonesia.

(4) Proportional model: the use of two languages of instruction where the arrangement is made according to proportions. Low proportion of English may be used in the beginning stage as students are not yet having sufficient proficiency in the language. The proportion is then gradually improved to follow students’ English language development.

(5) Translation model: The use of two languages of instruction through translation method. In other words, content is taught twice, first in the mother tongue and then in English.

The five models as described above provide options for running a bilingual program in a school. The models obviously show something in common, that is, the use of two languages as language of instruction. The purpose of a bilingual program is to improve proficiency in two languages while at the same time achieve targeted competencies in various curriculum areas. This is in line with the requirement of RSBI in Indonesia as stated in the Handbook of International Standard School Implementation Program released by the Department of National Education in 2006. The mission of the international standard schools is to produce quality human resources who are intelligent and internationally competitive and able to compete and collaborate globally (Depdiknas, 2006:4-5). This mission reveals two targeted outcomes: graduates’ competencies in subject contents and in foreign language (English).

The choice of the model should take into account the school conditions such as the readiness of the school in terms of curriculum expectations, human resources, and facilities. A school should have clear goals of what they expect the students to achieve in their curriculum. Meanwhile, teachers should be bilingual themselves in order to be able to teach in bilingual class. The schools should also be equipped with supportive learning facilities such as good library, self accessed learning resources, computers etc.

Bilingual Classes in RSBI in Indonesia

The Department of National Education through the Directorate General of Basic and Secondary Education has documented 1,110 RSBI schools in Indonesia by the end of year 2009. These schools share at least one thing in common, that is, they are enthusiastic to establish bilingual classes. In fact, the existence of bilingual classes seems to become the characteristics of an international standard school in Indonesia. The popularity of bilingual classes is caused by the utilization of English language as media of instruction. English is an international language that proficiency in this language according to the community improves opportunity to gain success in students’ future career (Artini, 2006). Parents and community are commonly very proud if their children or family member can be accepted in a bilingual class because this class is considered to be prestigious and exclusive.

The popularity of RSBI with its bilingual classes has motivated every school to do efforts to be eligible to get the status. According to the Department of National Education, there ia a number of criteria for a school to become an international standard schools (henceforth SBI). Some of the criteria are as follows:

1. The curriculum should meet the national standard plus adaptation of internationally recognized standard in a curriculum of similar level in a developed country

2. The school is scored A in the national accreditation

3. For senior high schools, 30% of the teachers should have masters (S2) qualification (20% for junior high schools and 10% for elementary schools)

4. The headmaster and teachers should have good proficiency in English and are capable to communicate well in English

5. Implementing an information-technology based management and instructions.

It is observable nowadays that there is an increasing number of teachers of all level of schooling pursuing further study so that the RSBI status could be improved into SBI. The non-RSBI schools are also trying hard to get the RSBI label for their schools. This is not only because of the prestige but also the real life demand for better quality education in Indonesia. RSBI can be considered as a pathway to international standard school because the RSBI schools have the advantage of intensive supervision from the Department of Education.

An analysis of Pedagogical Practices of RSBI in Indonesia

There is a substantial problem as far as bilingual education in Indonesian context is concerned. As theories indicate, a bilingual program is characterized by the use of two languages as the language of instruction. In the context of RSBI in Indonesia, the two languages refer to Bahasa Indonesia and English. The use of the languages should follow special rule that is in conformity to the model followed.

RSBI in Indonesian context seems to follow the certain curriculum areas model, that is, the model in which only some school subjects are taught in English and other subjects in Bahasa Indonesia. In senior high school level, the subjects taught in English are hard sciences (biology, chemistry, and physics) and mathematics; while subjects taught in Bahasa Indonesia are social sciences, religion and moral education. It means that theoretically, all science and mathematics teacher in RSBI should have high proficiency in English and are able to teach in English

Artini, et al., (2009) found that teachers in RSBI in Bali tend to use English as a language of instruction as much as they possibly can without any consideration of students’ level of proficiency in English. In some classes observed, teachers’ use of English was not adjusted to students’ level of English but to their own ability to speak in English. In other words, teachers use English as much as they possibly can. An analysis on the frequency of English use in the bilingual schools in Bali found that there was a wide range of frequencies, from 32.9% to 72.5% of the entire utterances used within one lesson.

In addition, teachers’ efforts to use English as much as they can, to some degree, affect students’ competency in the foreign language as demonstrated in the following data;

Table 1: Students’ Perception about English as language of instruction in RSBI in Bali

NO.	Questionaire Items	Students’ Responses
1	How do you feel about the use of English as the language of instruction in Math & Sciences classes?	I like it very much	I like it	It’s Ok	I don’t like it
1		6.76 %	27.40 %	53.42 %	13.67 %
2	Do you understand Math & Science classes in English?	Yes, I do very well	Yes, I do	Not quite	No I can’t
2	Do you understand Math & Science classes in English?	6.85 %	65.75 %	26.03 %	1.37 %
3	How do you find Math & Science classes in English?	Very interesting	Interesting	Not quite interesting	Not interesting
3	How do you find Math & Science classes in English?	10.96 %	64.36 %	13.67 %	10.96 %
4	Do you think your teacher speaks and explains clearly in English?	Very clear	Clear	Not quite clear	Not clear
4		1.37 %	24.66 %	49.36 %	26.03 %
5	How often do you find problems understanding teacher’s explanation in English?	Very often	Often	Sometimes	Never
5		15.07 %	24.66 %	57.53 %	2.74 %
6	What do you think about teacher’s language in giving instruction in English?	Hard to understand	It’s OK	Easy to understand	Very easy to understand
6		36.67 %	50.68 %	5.63 %	1.37 %
7	Do you often find problems in doing tasks assigned in English?	Very often	Often	Sometimes	Never
7		2.74 %	26.03 %	63.01 %	8.22 %
8	What do you think about teacher-students communication during the teaching and learning process in English?	Very fluent	Fluent	Quite fluent	Not fluent
8		4.11 %	42.47 %	36.62 %	1.37 %
9	When the teacher gives instruction in English, can you respond accordingly?	Yes, I can very well	Yes, I can	Not quite	No, I can’t
9		2.74 %	64.38 %	31.51 %	1.37 %
10	Does the use of Bahasa Indonesia and English in the classroom have positive impact on your progress in English language?	Yes, it does very much	Yes, it does	Not quite	Not at all
10		20.55 %	58.90 %	13.67 %	6.85 %

Source: Survey data on 120 RSBI school in Bali (Artini, 2009)

The data above reveals that one of the major problems with bilingual education in RSBI schools in Bali is teachers’ limited English. To the question “Do you think your teacher speaks and explains clearly in English?”, 49.36 % of the respondents answered with “Not quite clear”. As discussed earlier, the bilingual model implemented in RSBI in senior high school level in Indonesia is the curriculum areas model in which the mathematics and science teachers should have very good proficiency in English. The finding that the teachers were unable to speak clearly corresponds to the other finding that 36.67 % students found it hard to understand the instruction. In other words, it was likely that students were confused with the whole process of teaching and learning in the classroom. If this happens, it will be difficult for the students to achieve the intended extra standards.

However, in response to the question ” Does the use of Bahasa Indonesia and English in the classroom have positive impact on your progress in English language?, 79.45% students demonstrated positive perception that regardless of teacher’s limited English, the learning condition utilizing two languages (bahasa Indonesia and English) motivates students to improve their English. Further research need to be done to examine how students actually improve their English. It may that the bilingual program improve their motivation to learn English because they are challenged by the label of international standard class they have that characterized by an ability to speak English well. Thus, from student’s side, bilingual education concept implemented in RSBI should be given serious attention from the decision maker in RSBI program development.

Feasible Model of Bilingual Education in RSBI in Indonesia

So far, there has not been a practical guideline or advice about bilingual education model to follow in Indonesia. What curriculum areas should be taught in English has been established, however how and how much English should be used has not been settled. As has been presented above, teachers have differing degrees of proficiencies in the foreign language, therefore, the proportion of English used in the classroom were not based on students’ level in the language but on teachers’ level of English. The better English the teachers have the more English they will use in the classroom. Thus, the consideration is not based on the students but the teacher.

As mentioned above, teachers generally have problem with their English proficiency. To improve teachers’ English proficiency, every RSBI has different strategies. Many RSBI schools send their bilingual teaching staff to take a short English course. Other schools seek assistance in running a bilingual teaching program. For example, a school may employ a bilingual biology lecturer from a leading university to teach in their school in English. Other schools may follow a team-teaching scheme where they come to a class together, one will teach in English and the others act as observers. After the class, the team sit together to discuss about the instruction. All these strategies are actually still on the area of language use (i.e. focus is only on improving English proficiency of the teachers).

As a matter of fact, concern should be given to students and teachers. For students, transitional model is appropriate since students’ first language ( Bahasa Indonesia is used at dominant level at the beginning of the school year. The proportion of English can be improved according to student’s level of progress. The school should design an instrument or strategy to assess student’s progress in English and decide whether or not the proportion of English as language of instruction should be improved.

Not only the students, the teacher also needs help. According to Faltis and Hudelson (1998) a bilingual education in non English country should prepare students to be ready with English-only instruction. For this purpose, a bilingual class should follow four stages: (1) primary language instruction (specially designed English course to prepare students to join a bilingual class), (2) sheltered teaching (special class with adjusted language use), (3) combination of primary language instruction and sheltered teaching (for extra language instruction and the teaching with adjusted language), (4) regular classes and EFL support ( normal bilingual class with possibility of having extra language course). These four stages were desined to help students to be ready for instruction in English. However, as teachers in RSBI in Indonesia have problem with their English, these four stages could be applied to teachers with some adaptation as follows:

(1) Primary language instruction is special English language course designed for teachers prior to teaching in bilingual classes. This course should be done based on prelimenary English proficiency test so that the school know how much help the teacher needs to conduct instruction in English in the classroom.

(2) Sheltered teaching is the teaching of a subject content with adjusted language by the teacher in the classroom. This teaching allows teachers to teach content in ’adjusted English’-that is, teacher could adjust the proportion of English according to their English level. The teaching and learning process should be convenient for both students and teachers. In other words, teacher and students are not forced to speak English if they are not ready yet. The proportion of English will be increased according to their progress in the language.

(3) Primary language instruction and sheltered teaching is a combination between provision of exclusive English course and sheltered teaching, according to teacher’s need. For example, when after teaching with adjusted language a teacher feels that s/he needs more help with English (after teaching a topic in English) s/he can have an extra English course based on her/his need. This stage sometimes called as ESL pull-out (see Cummin, 2003).

(4) Regular classes and EFL support is the teaching of a subject in English with flexible extra language help for the teacher. Here, the class goes on as normal using increasing proportion of English, but whenever needed, an English teacher could have more help with English language.

Those stages help teachers gradually improve their English. To assure their progress in English, there should be an English language consultant in every RSBI school or a group of RSBI schools. The consultant is preferably a native speaker of English who has backgroud knowledge and experiences in pedagogy. The consultant shouls supervise teachers until they have sufficient English language for teaching in a bilingual class.

Conclusion

Bilingual education is now a popular trend in Indonesia. This trend is motivated by the international standard education policy in education that give RSBI status to selected schools involved in the pilot project to establish such school. While the schools that provide bilingual classes have been positively responded by parents and community, feasible bilingual education model has not been establish. Moreover, the majority of teachers who are assigned to teach in bilingual classes do not have sufficient English to conduct instruction in English. Therefore, the model proposed in this paper should be applicable for students and teachers. For students, transitional bilingual model is feasible since students are exposed to English with small proportion at the beginning and then this proportion is gradually increased until instruction can run in dominant English. Meanwhile, preparing teachers is more complicated as they need English not only to understand but also to teach with the language. Therefore, four stage-model proposed by Faltis and Hudelson (1998) is considered feasible. This model does not only prepare teachers to be proficient in English language but also to be successful teacher and communicator in the classroom.

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