THE COMPARISON OF 1994 AND CBC or 2004 ELT CURRICULUM APPLIED IN INDONESA
The concept of curriculum has been improved along with the improvement of educational theory and practice. A curriculum is a written document which may contain many ingredients, but basically it is a plan for the education of pupils during their enrollment in given school (Beauchamp, 1996: 6). Talking about curriculum, Indonesia has changed its national curriculum several times, namely in 1968, 1975, 1984, 1994 and 2004. The central theme of this article discusses the ELT 1994 curriculum (1999 Supplementary Curriculum) then comparing to the Competence Based Curriculum or 2004 Curriculum for Junior High School in Indonesia. The brief points of characteristic, weaknesses and strengths of both curricula will be discussed in the next items. The last point will be a conclusion of all.
A. THE CHARACTERISTIC OF EACH CURRICULUM
1. 1994 Curriculum
Since 1994, Indonesia has used the 1994 English Language Teaching Curriculum/Guidelines of ELT Program for Junior High School. This curriculum was revised in 1999 and now it is called the Guidelines Supplement for 1994 curriculum.
This curriculum aims at improving students’ ability in English communication, which covers four basic skills (reading, listening, speaking and writing). Language elements (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling) are used to support the students’ ability to communicate orally and written in different contexts. The syllabus itself is notional, functional, thematic and structural in nature. The approach is communicative or meaningful and the assessment is integrative.
2. Competence Based or 2004 Curriculum
The competence based curriculum or 2004 curriculum was legitimately applied as a national curriculum in Indonesia. In that time, 2004 curriculum for ELT was used as a trial version in some Junior and Senior High School. This curriculum is a replacement for 1994 curriculum.
ELT competency based curriculum is a systematic and a strategic framework to build up the communicative and discourse competence. This implies that the ELT competency based curriculum helps building up all its supporting components such as linguistic, speech act, socio-cultural, strategic competence and a set of discourse substances.
Hence, we can say that an English Language teacher in teaching the language could not start her or his teaching by asking, “What sort of materials should I teach today?” but rather “What sub-competence should my students acquire today?” In this case, the teacher should start searching any related materials to achieve the objectives or competence assigned from any possible sources.
B. THE WEAKNESSES AND STRENGTHS OF EACH CURRICULUM
Generally, the weaknesses found in 1994 curriculum, namely:
1. The openness of the learning materials structures and organization.
2. The disagreement between the themes and the examples of the communicative expressions
3. The overlapping of some functional skills
4. The lack of clarity of some learning objectives.
All these weaknesses caused this curriculum was revised in 1999 and now it is called the Guidelines Supplement for 1994 curriculum. Four basic skills (reading, listening, speaking and writing) and language elements (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling) used to support the students’ ability to communicate orally and written in different contexts are the strengths of 1994 curriculum. Beside that, the syllabus of this curriculum is notional, functional, thematic and structural in nature. Then it is formulated by communicative or meaningful approach and an integrative assessment.
Different from 1994 curriculum, competence based curriculum or 2004 curriculum in English Language Teaching (ELT) has strength where it is a systematic and a strategic framework to build up the communicative and discourse competence. Therefore, the ELT competency based curriculum helps students building up all its supporting components such as linguistic, speech act, socio-cultural, strategic competence and a set of discourse substances.
Comparing to 1994 curriculum, CBC has some other strengths such us:
1 The time allotment is decreasing.
1. The presentation of the materials is integrated makes it more meaningful.
2. Classroom based assessment and competency based assessment, which means that the assessment should be based on students’ mastery of certain competences according to their types and levels of education.
3. Competent teachers of English, which means that the teachers should improve their basic competences in teaching English all the time.
Observing all these strengths made the government decided to apply this curriculum.
Another point of this CBC is that the orientations or the objectives of this curriculum are still unclear. Therefore, to evaluate the weaknesses of it is only by analyzing its implementation in teaching and learning process. It is because of this curriculum is still on going. Some overview will be discussed next.
C. THE COMPARISON OF BOTH CURRICULA IN ELT
Evaluating all the weaknesses and the strengths, we may be able to compare between these two curricula, 1994 and 2004 curriculum by analyzing that vividly, the 1994 curriculum in practice has some weaknesses as follows:
1. That the time has been spent on particular objectives is not enough to complete all themes in teaching and learning process.
2. The placement tests have not placed students at the right level in the program.
3. The English textbook received is inadequate for students.
4. The methodology of teachers are using is not appropriate.
5. Teachers or students have difficulties with any aspect of the course.
6. Students are not enjoying the program.
7. Students sometimes do not get sufficient practice work.
8. The pacing of the material is not adequate
Of all the weaknesses of 1994 curriculum, it has been a consideration from the government especially DEPDIKNAS to change this curriculum to the new curriculum, 2004 curriculum. The problem is that a new improvement in ELT in Indonesia after the curriculum change. The 2004 ELT curriculum has some strong points. In the first place, this curriculum accommodates individual characteristics. For those who are able to learn fast do not have to adjust their learning to the slow learners. Each student has their own learning pace and for that reason, the slow learners can adjust their learning pace by joining tutorial classes and remedial teaching. This is due to the characteristic of CBC of its mastery learning.
Beside that, the objectivity of the assessment is relatively guaranteed. Teachers should not do any illegal actions only to enable their students to pass the grade. Teachers should not be reluctant to give low marks for those who have low competence. They still have chances to improve their ability through remedial teaching, even if they have passed to the next grade.
However, this curriculum is not without problems. Firstly, we realize that many teachers are not instantly giving their students learning evaluation as soon as a competence or a sub-competence is completed. As a result, we are not able to know exactly which of the students have completed the competence or sub-competence and which of them have not. This situation is more or less interrupting the mastery learning principle.
Kamis, 12 Februari 2009
APPROACH TO LANGUAGE TASTING
APPROACH TO LANGUAGE TASTING
Approximately language tests can be categorized according to four main approaches to testing. They are the essay-translation approach, the structuralist approach, the integrative approach and the communicative approach. The model of every approach using in testing will be discussed as follows.
1. The Essay-Translation Approach
a. The Characteristic and Types of Tests of Essay-Translation Approach:
- This approach is commonly referred to as the pre-scientific stage of language tasting.
- No special skill or expertise in testing is required.
- Tests usually consist of essay writing, translation, and grammatical analysis.
- Tests have a heavy literary and cultural bias.
- Public examinations resulting from the tests using this approach sometimes have an oral component at the upper intermediate and advance levels.
b. The Strengths of Essay-Translation Approach:
- This approach is easy to do due to the reason that teachers will simply use their subjective judgment.
- The essay-translation approach may be use for testing any levels of testees.
- The model of tester can easily be modified based on the essential of the tests.
c. The Weaknesses of Essay-Translation Approach:
- Subjective judgment of teachers tends to make bias.
- As mentioned, the tests have a heavy literary and cultural bias.
2. The Structuralist Approach
a. The Characteristic and Types of Tests of Structuralist Approach:
- This approach views that language learning is chiefly concerned with a systematic acquisition of a set of habit.
- The structuralist approach involves structural linguistics in which the importance of constructive analysis and the need to identify and measure the learners’ mastery of the separate elements of the target language such as phonology, vocabulary and grammar.
- In testing the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing are separated from another as much as possible.
- The psychometric approach to measurement with its emphasis on reliability and objectivity forms an integral part of structuralist testing.
b. The Strengths of Structuralist Approach:
- In testing pupils’capability this approach may objectively and surely be used by testers.
- Many forms of tests can be covered in the test in short time.
- This approach using in testing will help pupils to find their strengths and weaknesses in every skill they studied.
c. The Weaknesses of Structuralist Approach:
- It tends to be a complicated job for teachers to prepare questionnaires using this approach.
- By using this approach we will never consider that it is better to measure integrated skills that to measure non-integrated skills.
3. The Integrative Approach
a. The Characteristic and Types of Tests of Integrative Approach:
- This approach involves the testing of language in context and is thus concerned primarily with meaning and the total communicative effect of discourse.
- Integrative tests are concerned with a global view of proficiency.
- Integrative testing involves functional language but not the use of functional language.
- The use of cloze testing, dictation, oral interview, translation and essay writing are included in many integrative tests.
b. The Strengths of Integrative Approach:
- The approach to meaning and the total communicative effect of discourse will be very useful for pupils in testing.
- This approach can view pupils’ proficiency with a global view.
- A model of cloze test using in this approach is to measure the reader’s ability to decode ‘interrupted’ or ‘mutilated’ messages by making the most acceptable substitutions from all the contextual clues available.
- Dictation, another type using this approach, was regarded solely as a means of measuring pupils’ skills of listening comprehension.
c. The Weaknesses of Integrative Approach:
- Even if we think that measuring integrated skills are better but sometimes we consider the importance of measuring skills based on our need, such as writing only, speaking only, etc.
4. The Communicative Approach
a. The Characteristic and Types of Tests of Communicative Approach:
- Communicative tests are concerned primarily with how language is used in communication.
- Language use is often emphasized to the exclusion of language usage.
- The attempt to measure different language skills in communicative tests is based on a view of language referred to as the divisibility hypothesis.
- The test content should totally be relevant for a particular group of testees and the tasks set should relate to real-life situation.
- Communicative testing introduces the concept of qualitative modes of assessment in preference to quantitative modes of assessment.
b. The Strengths of Communicative Approach:
- Communicative tests are able to measure all integrated skill of pupils.
- The tests using this approach face pupils in real life so it will be very useful for them.
- Due to the fact that Communicative test can measure all language skills; it can help pupils in getting the score. Consider pupils have a poor ability in using spoken language but may score quite highly on tests of reading.
- Detailed statements of each performance level serve to increase the reliability of the scoring by enabling the examiner to make decisions according to carefully drawn-up and well-established criteria.
c. The Weaknesses of Communicative Approach
- Different from structuralist approach this approach will not be able to grasp structurally because communicative competence can ever be achieved without a considerable mastery of the grammar of a language.
- It is unavoidable that cultural bias affects the reliability of the tests being administered.
Approximately language tests can be categorized according to four main approaches to testing. They are the essay-translation approach, the structuralist approach, the integrative approach and the communicative approach. The model of every approach using in testing will be discussed as follows.
1. The Essay-Translation Approach
a. The Characteristic and Types of Tests of Essay-Translation Approach:
- This approach is commonly referred to as the pre-scientific stage of language tasting.
- No special skill or expertise in testing is required.
- Tests usually consist of essay writing, translation, and grammatical analysis.
- Tests have a heavy literary and cultural bias.
- Public examinations resulting from the tests using this approach sometimes have an oral component at the upper intermediate and advance levels.
b. The Strengths of Essay-Translation Approach:
- This approach is easy to do due to the reason that teachers will simply use their subjective judgment.
- The essay-translation approach may be use for testing any levels of testees.
- The model of tester can easily be modified based on the essential of the tests.
c. The Weaknesses of Essay-Translation Approach:
- Subjective judgment of teachers tends to make bias.
- As mentioned, the tests have a heavy literary and cultural bias.
2. The Structuralist Approach
a. The Characteristic and Types of Tests of Structuralist Approach:
- This approach views that language learning is chiefly concerned with a systematic acquisition of a set of habit.
- The structuralist approach involves structural linguistics in which the importance of constructive analysis and the need to identify and measure the learners’ mastery of the separate elements of the target language such as phonology, vocabulary and grammar.
- In testing the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing are separated from another as much as possible.
- The psychometric approach to measurement with its emphasis on reliability and objectivity forms an integral part of structuralist testing.
b. The Strengths of Structuralist Approach:
- In testing pupils’capability this approach may objectively and surely be used by testers.
- Many forms of tests can be covered in the test in short time.
- This approach using in testing will help pupils to find their strengths and weaknesses in every skill they studied.
c. The Weaknesses of Structuralist Approach:
- It tends to be a complicated job for teachers to prepare questionnaires using this approach.
- By using this approach we will never consider that it is better to measure integrated skills that to measure non-integrated skills.
3. The Integrative Approach
a. The Characteristic and Types of Tests of Integrative Approach:
- This approach involves the testing of language in context and is thus concerned primarily with meaning and the total communicative effect of discourse.
- Integrative tests are concerned with a global view of proficiency.
- Integrative testing involves functional language but not the use of functional language.
- The use of cloze testing, dictation, oral interview, translation and essay writing are included in many integrative tests.
b. The Strengths of Integrative Approach:
- The approach to meaning and the total communicative effect of discourse will be very useful for pupils in testing.
- This approach can view pupils’ proficiency with a global view.
- A model of cloze test using in this approach is to measure the reader’s ability to decode ‘interrupted’ or ‘mutilated’ messages by making the most acceptable substitutions from all the contextual clues available.
- Dictation, another type using this approach, was regarded solely as a means of measuring pupils’ skills of listening comprehension.
c. The Weaknesses of Integrative Approach:
- Even if we think that measuring integrated skills are better but sometimes we consider the importance of measuring skills based on our need, such as writing only, speaking only, etc.
4. The Communicative Approach
a. The Characteristic and Types of Tests of Communicative Approach:
- Communicative tests are concerned primarily with how language is used in communication.
- Language use is often emphasized to the exclusion of language usage.
- The attempt to measure different language skills in communicative tests is based on a view of language referred to as the divisibility hypothesis.
- The test content should totally be relevant for a particular group of testees and the tasks set should relate to real-life situation.
- Communicative testing introduces the concept of qualitative modes of assessment in preference to quantitative modes of assessment.
b. The Strengths of Communicative Approach:
- Communicative tests are able to measure all integrated skill of pupils.
- The tests using this approach face pupils in real life so it will be very useful for them.
- Due to the fact that Communicative test can measure all language skills; it can help pupils in getting the score. Consider pupils have a poor ability in using spoken language but may score quite highly on tests of reading.
- Detailed statements of each performance level serve to increase the reliability of the scoring by enabling the examiner to make decisions according to carefully drawn-up and well-established criteria.
c. The Weaknesses of Communicative Approach
- Different from structuralist approach this approach will not be able to grasp structurally because communicative competence can ever be achieved without a considerable mastery of the grammar of a language.
- It is unavoidable that cultural bias affects the reliability of the tests being administered.
Gender Bias in Doing Chore Works in Bugis Culture
Gender Bias in Doing Chore Works in Bugis Culture
A. Background
A radical change of a social construction in society had emerged for years. Some new ideologies spread in the society then it directly changes and reconstructs a culture that has already existed and known as a custom of people in a specific place. The research has proved that the word “culture”, is a construction and an on going process, always changes and not as a given thing. In western country, cultural study is only a study on empirical observation of societies’ life style. Therefore a fundamental difference of Indonesian and western study of culture is on the way they observe some phenomenon appear as real evidence.
Generally every country has its own culture. It may be recognized by observing the custom as a kind of culture manifestation. Indonesia is famous with various cultures. It is caused by a number of tribes Indonesia has. These various cultures are also known as the kind of the local culture. Hundreds of cultures have been found in Indonesia. A different custom of every tribe symbolized the different characteristic they had. Bugis or Buginese is one of tribes in Indonesia. In some features Bugis has a different culture from Sunda, Java/Javanese, etc.
As a local culture, Bugis has its own community and every of them have responsibility to conserve their culture. In spite of the fact that the influence of other culture such foreign culture is unavoidable, the Community of Bugis has to maintain and conserve their original culture. In Bugis culture, there is a custom of Bugis community to treat a man better then a woman. This is a kind of gender problem and for some people from other tribes is supposed to be a gender bias. It has been a dilemma in Bugis culture where in one side Bugis has to conserve their custom that has been already existed for century as an appreciation to their ancient, but in other sides they are forced to receive and adapt some new foreign culture as of a development in their tribe. This interesting topic will be discussed in the conflict analysis.
B. Conflict Analysis
In Indonesian culture particularly Bugis culture, both men and women have their own tasks. In other words, a man has totally different task from a woman. The assumptions underpinning the differences are the matters of physical differences, psychological (emotional, logical, spiritual) differences and the nature of the task themselves.
1. Physical Differences
In terms of physical differences, basically men are believed to have stronger muscles than women. It is due to the assumption that women are created from men’s rib. Therefore, in doing their tasks women and men have a limitation where men are supposed to do heavy tasks that women cannot do, on the other hand women are only supposed to do easy tasks. Moreover when men try to do woman’s tasks, people of Bugis will directly judge them as sissy. The reason is that they do not do the tasks properly. The same case for women who do men’s tasks will be judged as tomboy. The popular word for this in Bugis culture is that we put something not in the right place. This statement will definitely be false for people who agree with emancipation.
2. Psychological Differences (emotional, logical, spiritual)
The psychological differences between men and women are unavoidable thing in the society. Men in Bugis culture are more rational than women because men are supposed to have “nine brains” while women only have one. Therefore in doing chore works, men are believed to be able to have a bigger responsibility and better consideration to make a decision. In religious affairs, men have higher position than women because men are supposed to be leaders for women. That is why in every religious ceremony men are much more needed than women. As the result of all these, women cannot do anything freely because they are restricted by some rules they have to perform.
3. The Nature of the Tasks
The nature of the tasks can be the factor that brings a gap between men and women. The nature of the tasks is classified as heavy, risky and easy tasks. In essence women cannot do heavy or risky tasks such as climbing a coconut tree, plowing the field, etc. They can only do easy tasks such us cooking rice, making cakes, etc. Most of women tasks seem like a slave job. Therefore they are likely a slave in their own house where they have to serve men as well after men do the heavy or risk tasks. In Bugis culture, women have no chance to do the heavy tasks because they themselves accustom to do only easy tasks.
C. Conflict Solution
For the solution, being a wise person in judging something is that we should not to be bias because every thing has strengths and weaknesses, so we cannot judge something without any consideration. Secondly, culture is something can be changed. Therefore, we have to be fair in accepting the change as long as it will be good for the development of our community. The last, the cultural conflict of gender can be solved by realizing what is appropriate to do and what is not for us.
A. Background
A radical change of a social construction in society had emerged for years. Some new ideologies spread in the society then it directly changes and reconstructs a culture that has already existed and known as a custom of people in a specific place. The research has proved that the word “culture”, is a construction and an on going process, always changes and not as a given thing. In western country, cultural study is only a study on empirical observation of societies’ life style. Therefore a fundamental difference of Indonesian and western study of culture is on the way they observe some phenomenon appear as real evidence.
Generally every country has its own culture. It may be recognized by observing the custom as a kind of culture manifestation. Indonesia is famous with various cultures. It is caused by a number of tribes Indonesia has. These various cultures are also known as the kind of the local culture. Hundreds of cultures have been found in Indonesia. A different custom of every tribe symbolized the different characteristic they had. Bugis or Buginese is one of tribes in Indonesia. In some features Bugis has a different culture from Sunda, Java/Javanese, etc.
As a local culture, Bugis has its own community and every of them have responsibility to conserve their culture. In spite of the fact that the influence of other culture such foreign culture is unavoidable, the Community of Bugis has to maintain and conserve their original culture. In Bugis culture, there is a custom of Bugis community to treat a man better then a woman. This is a kind of gender problem and for some people from other tribes is supposed to be a gender bias. It has been a dilemma in Bugis culture where in one side Bugis has to conserve their custom that has been already existed for century as an appreciation to their ancient, but in other sides they are forced to receive and adapt some new foreign culture as of a development in their tribe. This interesting topic will be discussed in the conflict analysis.
B. Conflict Analysis
In Indonesian culture particularly Bugis culture, both men and women have their own tasks. In other words, a man has totally different task from a woman. The assumptions underpinning the differences are the matters of physical differences, psychological (emotional, logical, spiritual) differences and the nature of the task themselves.
1. Physical Differences
In terms of physical differences, basically men are believed to have stronger muscles than women. It is due to the assumption that women are created from men’s rib. Therefore, in doing their tasks women and men have a limitation where men are supposed to do heavy tasks that women cannot do, on the other hand women are only supposed to do easy tasks. Moreover when men try to do woman’s tasks, people of Bugis will directly judge them as sissy. The reason is that they do not do the tasks properly. The same case for women who do men’s tasks will be judged as tomboy. The popular word for this in Bugis culture is that we put something not in the right place. This statement will definitely be false for people who agree with emancipation.
2. Psychological Differences (emotional, logical, spiritual)
The psychological differences between men and women are unavoidable thing in the society. Men in Bugis culture are more rational than women because men are supposed to have “nine brains” while women only have one. Therefore in doing chore works, men are believed to be able to have a bigger responsibility and better consideration to make a decision. In religious affairs, men have higher position than women because men are supposed to be leaders for women. That is why in every religious ceremony men are much more needed than women. As the result of all these, women cannot do anything freely because they are restricted by some rules they have to perform.
3. The Nature of the Tasks
The nature of the tasks can be the factor that brings a gap between men and women. The nature of the tasks is classified as heavy, risky and easy tasks. In essence women cannot do heavy or risky tasks such as climbing a coconut tree, plowing the field, etc. They can only do easy tasks such us cooking rice, making cakes, etc. Most of women tasks seem like a slave job. Therefore they are likely a slave in their own house where they have to serve men as well after men do the heavy or risk tasks. In Bugis culture, women have no chance to do the heavy tasks because they themselves accustom to do only easy tasks.
C. Conflict Solution
For the solution, being a wise person in judging something is that we should not to be bias because every thing has strengths and weaknesses, so we cannot judge something without any consideration. Secondly, culture is something can be changed. Therefore, we have to be fair in accepting the change as long as it will be good for the development of our community. The last, the cultural conflict of gender can be solved by realizing what is appropriate to do and what is not for us.
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