Participants’ responses differed from responses expected and provided highly relevant data to the topic of inquiry. In this study participants provided commentary that establishes the profile of English teachers at primary level in Indonesia. Teachers’ data on their educational background includes information pertinent to their prior education at pre-service level and whether or not they undertook EYL (English for Young Learners) during their pre-service teacher education. This is a grounded category that is pertinent to the discussion of the study (See Table 5.1 overleaf).
The data demonstrates that the bulk of English teaching force at primary level in Indonesia is diverse. Teachers can be divided on the basis of whether or not they have a background in English during their pre-service education, since some “have no English” while others “have English” (LTE3: 17-18). This is parallel to the contention made in Section 3.3.1 that divides teachers in terms of their educational background.
Out of 13 teachers, four (PSET7, PSET8, PSET2, and PSET3) did not have a background in English education. The rest of the teachers (PSET4, PSET5, PSET6, PSET9, PSET10, PSET11, PSET12, and PSET) had all completed an undergraduate degree in a major related to English.
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Table 5.1 Teachers’ educational background Types of
teachers
Tea- chers
Pre-service education School
Degree EYL
PSET2 B.A. in French from Manado State University
No SDN Frater Don Bosco, Tomohon, North Sulawesi
PSET3 B.A. in Physics from Manado State University
No SDN Frater Don Bosco, Tomohon, North Sulawesi
PSET7 SPG (Sekolah Pendidikan Guru/
School for Teacher Education) No
SDN GEMIM Rurukan 7, North Sulawesi
PSET8 PGSD from Manado
State University
No SDN GEMIM Rurukan 7, North Sulawesi
PSET1 Diploma 3 in English from
Kertanegara Academy
Yes SDN Jagakarsa 10 Jakarta, DKI Jakarta
PSET4 B.A. in English Language &
Literature and Certificate IV in Education
No SD Muhammadiyah 2, Denpasar, Bali
PSET5 B.Ed. in English Education No SD Muhammadiyah 2, Denpasar, Bali
PSET6 B.Ed. in English Education No SD Muhammadiyah 2, Denpasar, Bali PSET9 B.Ed. in English Education from
Mataram University
No SDN 4 Praya, Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara
PSET10 B.Ed. in English Education from Galuh University
Yes SDN Rempoa 2, Tangerang, Banten
PSET11 B.Ed. in English Education from State University of Malang
Yes SDNP Malang 2, Malang City, East Java
PSET12 Diploma 3 in Business English and B.Ed. in English education in State University of Malang
Yes SDNP Malang 2, Malang City, East Java
PSET13 B.Ed. in English Education from
Pancasakti University
Yes SDN Tegalandong 2, Tegal Regent, Central Java
Teachers without an English Background
Evidence in this study maintains a similar distinction made by Suyanto (2010) and Zein (2011) that teachers of English at primary level who are not graduates of any English programs can further be categorized into two groups: 1) those who graduate from a major
Te ac h er s w ith o u t En gli sh B ac kg ro u n d Te ac h er s w ith En gli sh B ac kg ro u n d
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aimed at primary schooling education; and 2) those who graduate with an undergraduate degree other than English. The following discusses these two groups of teachers.
At the time of data collection, two teachers, namely PSET7 and PSET8, did not have a degree related to English. Whereas the former completed SPG (Sekolah Pendidikan Guru/ School for Teacher Education), the latter completed an undergraduate degree in PGSD (Pendidikan Guru Sekolah Dasar/Primary School Teacher Education). These classroom teachers were appointed to teach English. Both PSET7 and PSET8 were “prepared to become classroom teachers” (LTE3: 15-16), and their teacher education equipped them with specific knowledge and skills pertaining to their occupational needs, that is, teaching subjects such as Civic Education, Indonesian language, Mathematics, and Social Science to primary school children (PGSD FKIP UNNES, 2011). It is of no surprise that teachers of this group did not undertake extensive tuition in English during their pre-service education. Out of the two teachers, only PSET8 attended a unit called English for University Students with 2 credit points.
The findings of the study provide evidence for the contention made in Chapter 3 that strong demands of society were the major factor for the employment of these teachers. Both PSET12 and EC1 illustrated the situation:
552 : ... So schools, schools usually do it on their own. They’re looking for
553 : their own teachers. Then, unfortunately there are teachers who are appointed 554 : in different schools, but not on their subject of expertise. So they have no 555 : English background, but they are asked to teach English. (PSET12)
26 : ... the fact is in primary schools
27 : some teach English just because they want to elevate the prestige
28 : of their school without necessarily considering their potential. As consequence, 29 : their school principal all of a sudden could appoint someone to become 30 : an English teacher. Or if there is someone with some English and is considered 31 : good, then they are appointed to teach English, even though
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Two teachers who did not have a degree related to primary schooling education or English were PSET2 and PSET3. PSET2 who held a bachelor degree in French and PSET3 who graduated from an undergraduate degree in Physics were asked to teach in SDN Don Bosco Tomohon because the school did not have qualified English teachers. Both teachers accepted the appointment primarily due to their passion for English. This is in line with the following commentary:
31 : THE OTHERS, the ones we found hundreds of them, in
32 : East Java or outside Java (.) are those who love teaching English language. They
33 : have an undergraduate degree in Biology, [Indonesian language], the bottom line is… (LTE3) 34 : [I found one] with an undergraduate in French [R]
35 : Yes, French, the bottom line is they have undergraduate degree and they 36 : love teaching English (LTE3)
This clearly shows that passion for English is another factor for teachers embarking on English language teaching profession. The alignment between their passion for the language and the needs of the school for English teachers results in PSET2 and PSET3’s part-time employment in the school.
Teachers with an English background
Out of the thirteen teachers participating in the study, nine teachers undertook a major in English during their pre-service teacher education. Although the number makes up a majority in this study, it is unrealistic to assume that this number represents the entire population of English teachers in Indonesia. The fact is that there has been bigger demand than supply when it comes to teachers with an English background because, according to PSP1, “teachers who graduate from English major are exceptionally few” (PSP1: 280-281). This provides evidence for previous research that demonstrates teachers with no English background form the majority of the teaching force in primary English education, covering a wide range of areas including Bandung (Nizar, 2004), DKI Jakarta (Suyanto & Chodidjah, 2002), Medan (Ernidawati, 2002), Malang (Rohmah, 1996), Sidoarjo (Susanto, 1998), and Blitar (Agustina, et al., 1997).
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The findings of this study show that this cluster of teachers can be categorised into three different groups: 1) Those who graduated from English Study Program (PSET4); 2) Those who graduated from English Education Program without EYL (PSET5, PSET6, PSET9, PSET10); and 3) Those who graduated from English Education Program with EYL (PSET1, PSET11, PSET12, PSET13).
Of these nine teachers, only one teacher completed an undergraduate degree in English Study Program (PSET4 who graduated from “English Language and Literature” (PSET4: 569). As a graduate of English Study Program, she undertook units related to English skills such as Literal Listening, Interpretive Listening, Speaking for Group Activities, Speaking for Formal Setting, Literal Reading, Critical Reading, and Argumentative Writing but did not undertake units related to English pedagogy apart from Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) (Universitas Negeri Malang, 2011b; Saukah, 2009).
Four teachers (PSET5, PSET6, PSET9, and PSET10) completed their undergraduate in English Education but did not undertake English for Young Learners (EYL) during their pre- service education. LTE3 defined this group of teachers as graduates of English Language Education Program “who undertake TEFL but have never undertaken a unit called English for Young Learners” (LTE3: 26-27). PSET5, PSET6, PSET10, and PSET9 are members of this group. Throughout their pre-service education, this group of teachers were prepared with units such as Literal Listening, Interpretive Listening, Speaking for Group Activities, Speaking for Formal Setting, Semantics, Syntax, and English Grammar (Universitas Negeri Malang, 2011a). They were also prepared with knowledge and skills related to curriculum, syllabus, language testing and assessment, teaching methodologies, teaching skills, materials development, among others. However, they were not familiar with various topics and issues related to English and young learner pedagogy because they did not undertake EYL.
PSET1, PSET11, PSET12, and PSET13 all completed their undergraduate degree in English education with EYL. These teachers graduated “from English Education with EYL” (LTE3:
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30-31). They were prepared with appropriate training in improving their pedagogy and knowledge of English such as Semantics, Syntax, English Grammar, Morphology, and Phonology as well as various units aimed to improve their language proficiency such as Literal Listening, Interpretive Listening, Speaking for Group Activities, and Speaking for Formal Setting throughout their pre-service education (Universitas Negeri Malang, 2011a). What makes this group of teachers distinctive is the fact that they were equipped with knowledge and skills related to teaching English to primary school children because they undertook EYL. These include knowledge of children’s language acquisition, psychological development of children, and young learners’ learning strategy (Saukah, 2009).