English Language Proficiency in Indonesia : Issues and Prospects

Abstract

In this article, we discuss key issues about English language proficiency in Indonesia, focusing in particular on the level and kind of proficiency that English language teachers need to have to support their classroom teaching. We first define the concept of proficiency and how it is usually measured, and then present some data about teachers and students' English language proficiency in Indonesia and the Asian region. The next section discusses research that helps us understand why a threshold of proficiency is required for effective teaching. As many teachers may not have reached a level of proficiency considered sufficient for effective teaching, we then discuss key theoretical principles from SLA that can be used as a basis for developing a training programme to help raise teachers' proficiency. We conclude by calling all stakeholders (i.e., policy makers, language education providers and professional associations) to work together and find ways to support teachers in their effort to acquire a higher level of proficiency in English.

Issues on the initial impact of CEFR in Thailand and the region

“…Indonesia's English language proficiency CEFR has not yet gained currency in English language teaching outside of universities (Renandya, Hamied, & Nurkamto, 2018). According to this study, nationwide Copyright © 2018, IJAL, e-ISSN: 2502-6747, p-ISSN: 2301-9468 official data on teachers' language proficiency, in general, is not available.…”

Exploring EFL teachers’ English language proficiency: Lessons from Indonesia

“…The most important point to make is that the proficiency of English language teachers needs careful and targeted support. A combination of institutional and individual teacher development programmes is crucial to maintaining and improving EFL teachers' L2 proficiency (Farrell, 2015;Harvey et al, 2010;Renandya et al, 2018;Richards et al, 2013;Richards, 2017). Firstly, teacher proficiency development needs to be supported by institutions and government policy.…”

“…Third, the addition of 4000 word levels allows the test to better reveal gaps in lexical knowledge than in the earlier versions of the test. As indicated by Renandya et al (2018) and Elder and Kim (2013), to have a more comprehensive and reliable results of EFL teachers' English proficiency, the design of the future test should also consider the assessment of not only the teachers' general proficiency in English but also their pedagogical language proficiency. Researchers could also investigate what variables affect EFL teachers' language attrition in non-English speaking countries, other than low levels of input and use of the target language.…”

“…These results are consistent with other previous studies which found that EFL teachers were challenged by their low English proficiency and they tended to use their first language (Bahasa Indonesia) to communicate in academic forums (Lie, 2007) and to communicate with their students in the classrooms (Marcellino, 2005). Because EFL teachers have to use English to communicate with their students and model language use for their students (Renandya et al, 2018& Richards, 2017, we believe that EFL teacher English language proficiency is a core part of their professionalism. Reflecting upon the results of the proficiency tests, greater efforts are needed to ensure that professional development (PD) of the EFL teachers in Indonesia needs to be adjusted to better help them achieve and maintain the required level of professionalism in terms of their L2 proficiency.…”

“…That said, it is important to understand that the graduates of English teacher training education should have sufficient English proficiency to teach English effectively in the classrooms. Renandya, Hamied and Nurkamto (2018) state that language proficiency is one of the key components that make up a language teacher's professional knowledge. (p. 622) Vocabulary research suggests that English as a foreign language learners demonstrate fairly low levels of lexical knowledge.…”