Instilling English to Create an English Speaking Community in an Indonesian National-Plus School

English has been used as the main international language spoken in the entire globe. https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/how-many-countries-speak-english/ states that there are 58 countries in 5 continents whose official language is English. This might be the basis for choosing it as the world's language of communication: widely spoken in the world.

As it is the major language of international communication, people from various countries, whose official language is not English, strive to master it in order to be able to communicate one another. Considering this necessity, the government of these countries, including Indonesia, include English learning in their education curriculum. Then, it is taught in schools, public or private.

The Use of English in Indonesian Education System

In Indonesia, English is started to teach in grade 7, which means that it's not compulsory for primary schools to teach it. The National Curriculum of Indonesia (citation) states that the main point of primary education is to build students' character instead of foreign language mastery.

Some private schools do not agree with this policy. They want that foreign language learning, particularly that of English, should be started in children's golden age. In this period of life, children can grasp knowledge very easily. Therefore, language learning is expected to be successful when it is started at this age. 

To address this expectation, some private schools apply international curricula, and one of the most prestigious ones is that of Cambridge Curriculum. This curriculum is more simple in subject provision but more thorough in the inquiry process. The main subjects to study are Science, Math and English. And of course, in consequence, the language of instruction would be that of English. It means that it's not only when students have English class when they need to use/speak it. But instead, in all subjects.

The School I'm working at is one of those who use English as its language of instruction. It applies Cambridge Curriculum along with the National K-13 Curriculum of Indonesia. Therefore, Then it is not only spoken/used when students are in class, but also in daily conversation when we have a break, organize events, or even in the writing of all school documents. 

How We Do It

Cambridge requires its international schools to teach at least three subjects: Math, Science and English. And, to teach them in English. Some schools use the concept of bilingualism where student-teacher interaction uses English, but when there is a difficulty, they may switch to their first language, i.e. Bahasa Indonesia. However, the School wants all teachers, of any subjects, no matter how good their English mastery is, to speak English not only in class but also in our daily interactions at the break time, in the ceremony, even in the communication using online platforms like Whats App, etc. By doing this all, it is expected that English is instilled in our attitude and character.

There are four main applications of  instilling English into our daily activities:

1. speaking-listening: through teaching any subjects in English and speaking English at anytime during school hours,

2. online communication outside environment with online platforms: Whats App,

3. reading: getting students to do "reading log" program: a program to improve students' reading comprehension where they need to borrow a book a day to bring and read at home according to their reading level. the leveling test is done once they go to the school,

4. writing: write all school documents in English (termly plans, weekly plans, term overviews, letters, announcements, notice boards, quotes, reports, question papers, etc.) and ask students to write learning journal on a daily basis and provide them with more English writing such as composing stories, descriptions, explanations, etc.

The Real Experience 

After it was first established in 2017, the school has committed to using English in our daily life at school. Therefore, Since the first year I taught, until today, I always try my best to speak English appropriately. When I don't know how to express something appropriately, I will not hesitate to search for it on the internet or ask my peer teachers. Lucky for us that there are two English native speaking teachers. Then I can ask them, too. 

Some students may be reluctant to speak at first. However, I keep speaking English with them. Even when it comes to texting messages on whats app, I use English. I do it to get students used to English expressions, then they need to learn how to respond to it from time to time. According to my observation, after 3 years of teaching the same group of students in a row, their English speaking has changed quite significantly. When I taught this group for the first time when they were still in grade 3, majority of the students were reluctant to speak English in class. However, today in grade 5, after two years, their English speaking has changed very significantly. Those who were reluctant to speak English have become very confident in expressing their ideas and feelings. I don't have any scientific data to prove it, but I can see in general that wonderful change. 

The change is not only seen in students's speaking. When it comes to writing, they also have shown quite a positive change. We instill the writing through journal writing and other writing tasks. After 2 years, they have been able to write English sentences with better structure, though spelling or tenses grammar are still found here and there. However, that is not a big deal. What really matters is that by practicing, they get used to write everything in English which in turns, will help shape their linguistic thoughts from Bahasa Indonesia to English, in terms of the language structure. 

The curriculum documents do not have something to do with the students, but they do help the teacher and staff community get used to English writing. Then in turns, it also help shape their language structure, from Indonesian to English. Although it's not perfect yet, but we're still striving to do it consistently.

Then, in terms of reading, a lot of students have got used to the reading log program. They have got accustomed to reading an English book a day. This instilled habit also contributes to their knowledge of English language structure. It then helps them create better English writing which in turns, will also shape their English speaking style. 

Conclusion

After that simple but reliable observation, I have come to a conclusion that all the four language skills are interrelated to help instilling English to create an English speaking community. It is by reading English books students and teachers can write better-structured English sentences. Then, by listening to English spoken regularly, they will be able to create their own English spoken expressions. And, all and all, it is by reading, writing, listening and speaking English regularly, we are creating an English speaking community of our own.