A Survey on Critical Literacy as a Pedagogical Approach to Teaching English in Indonesia

Abstract

In English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) context, critical literacy as an alternative approach to teaching language and literature may be considered as something new, compared to its origin in some English-speaking countries such as Australia or the USA. Teachers wishing to adopt critical literacy stance in their class are often left with little knowledge or experience on what critical literacy is and how to develop this approach in their class. This article discusses the result of a survey involving twenty one English teachers in a teacher education university in Bandung, West Java province, Indonesia, related to their knowledge on critical literacy as an approach to teaching English language. Result of questionnaires followed up by a focus group discussion reveals that although these teachers have been teaching English for approximately five to seven years in different levels of schools, some teachers show lack of knowledge on critical literacy as a methodological approach to teaching English. Finally, this article concludes with suggestions for English teachers to develop a critical literacy-oriented classroom.

An Inquiry Study on Teachers’ Beliefs and Knowledge of Critical Literacy Pedagogy in Indonesia Context

“…However, before promoting the importance of applying critical literacy to students, it is better to know the extent of the teachers" beliefs and knowledge of the critical literacy itself. In line with this, Gustine (2018) found that the majority of teachers still confused with what critical literacy is and how to create and a critical classroom. Whereas, the fact is in conducting a critical-oriented class, the starting point is the teacher should become critically literate to open space for students to be critical (McDaniel, 2006;McLaughlin & Allen, 2002;Riley, 2015).…”

“…Related to teacher knowledge, they considered that their knowledge of critical literacy was very lack and it might have an impact on the teaching and learning process. In line with this, Gustine (2018) argues that English language teachers still have few knowledges about what critical literacy is and how to apply it in English classes. Whereas, in an effort to apply critical literacy in the classroom, it is teachers who become the starting point for the successful implementation of critical literacy itself, since teachers can help students to become critical readers and provide space for students to develop their critical abilities (McDaniel, 2006).…”

“…The lack of research on critical literacy in EFL settings has mostly been linked to lack of teacher confidence in student capacity and teachers' knowledge of critical literacy Gustine (2018). In contrast, this research is expected to enrich the collection of literature on teachers' beliefs and knowledge of critical literacy in EFL context and discovering teachers' expectation in an effort to develop critical literacy-oriented classroom.…”

“…Whereas, the fact is in conducting a critical-oriented class, the starting point is the teacher should become critically literate to open space for students to be critical (McDaniel, 2006;McLaughlin & Allen, 2002;Riley, 2015). Moreover, most of critical literacy researches were carried out in ESL classrooms (Zhang, 2015), only a few researches were done in the EFL context (Gustine, 2013(Gustine, , 2018Ko, 2010), especially in Indonesia (Huang, 2011). In addition, Ko (2010) found that in some Asian country, the knowledge of critical literacy is still lacking.…”

Evaluation of The Implementation of The School Literacy Movement in Elementary Schools in The District and City of Tangerang

“…The school literacy movement is one of the efforts undertaken by the Indonesian government at this time, in addition to replacing the existing curriculum in schools. The Government of Indonesia through the Ministry of Education and Culture Regulations applies a movement in the form of school literacy which is carried out 15 minutes before lessons are conducted in class at the beginning of learning (Damaianti & Mulyati, 2017;Gustine, 2018). It is hoped that through the school literacy movement it can improve the quality of Indonesia by increasing students' interest in reading at school.…”