Improving English Learning Method In Indonesian Schools

English language education - whether in school or higher education at university does not guarantee that learners can speak English. We are already in 2022. But our country is still at a point where English is not advanced. We are still far behind. According to a page from ef.co.id, it is stated that in 2021, Indonesia ranked 81 out of 111 countries for English proficiency. This finding puts our country at a low level in language skills used by 1.34 billion people in the world. Even until last year, Indonesia was still relatively low for English skills. Due to the wrong or inappropriate learning patterns applied by teachers in Indonesian schools, many students are not good at speaking English, and unfortunately, that pattern continues until now.

Based on the perspective of the author who has studied in formal institutions from elementary school to high school, most teachers apply inappropriate methods, there are several factors that the author thinks are inappropriate ways by teachers to do when teaching English at school.

The first is grammar, English learning at the author's school more often discusses grammar than conversation practice. Although there is nothing wrong if the teachers want their students to speak well and correctly, but the effect caused is that many students stutter or stammer when told or invited to speak English because students are afraid to use the wrong grammar, this also makes students feel less confident when they want to speak English when criticized for using the wrong grammar. The author thinks, it would be nice if learners were encouraged first to dare to speak English in public without having to think about grammar because actually native speakers do not object to grammatical errors spoken by non-native speakers.

The second is boring, most English lessons in class are monotonous. Where the teacher explains, students take notes, given exercises, tests and then finished. The author has never met a teacher who teaches English in a way that is fun and easy to catch. The author thinks it would be nice if English learning is made fun so that students feel at home learning English, for example, the teacher reads a funny story or song and then the teacher and students dissect the vocabulary of the story or song together. And it could be interspersed with watching English movies together, listening to radio broadcasts or cooking with an English-language cooking guide book.

The third factor is the lack of programs or practices such as "English Debate Club" or "English Zone" or "English Day" so that students who have talent or interest in English can continue to develop. And this last factor is a factor that is considered less important but also has an impact on students' listening skills where learning media in Indonesia looks very inconsistent. Learning media mostly use American accents but when approaching the listening exam the speakers from the audio use British accents. Because the author feels that the accents of the two accents have many differences that will make students confused when carrying out the exam. The learning media and exam system should be equalized and made consistent, it would be better, so students also focus on learning only on one accent.

The conclusion is that the method of learning English in Indonesia must be changed so that students are able to speak English in front of the public and full of confidence, of course with some method suggestions from the author. The author would like to invite English teachers or anyone who holds educational policies in this country to continue to improve, especially with regard to teaching English in
this country.

References:

www.ef.co.id. 2022. EF-EPI 2022 - Indeks Kecakapan Bahasa Inggris EF.
Accessed on 8 December 2022 at 23.01 WIB. https://www.ef.co.id/epi/