Thesis Chapter One: Introduction

1.1 Background

Over the past few decades, many pedagogical approaches to teaching foreign languages have been developed to increase students’ success in language learning. A succession of teaching approaches has followed the traditional grammar translation approach, some examples being the audio lingual method and communicative language teaching. These innovations reflect the need to develop pedagogical knowledge for better results in language education. This phenomenon is also the case with the educational system in Indonesia.

To improve the outcomes of education in Indonesia, the Ministry of National Education has decided to bring in a new curriculum in all subject areas, including English. In 2004, the Ministry of National Education introduced a new curriculum which introduced a new approach for teaching English that is the genre-based approach.

The genre-based approach can be defined as an approach to teaching language using different types of text. It was initially developed in Australia (Kongpetch, 2006) and it has been noted that “Australia is the place in which practitioners have been most successful in applying genre theory and research to pedagogy” (Johns, 2002, p. 5). The results show that this approach gives good results in developing the literary skills of primary school students, and those of disadvantaged school students in Australia (Thwaite, 2006; Christie, 1993; Callaghan, Knapp and Noble, 1993). In the Indonesian context, there is a lack of literature regarding the rationale of the Indonesian government’s decision to introduce this approach for teaching English in Indonesian Schools. Therefore, it is my assumption that it was the Australian success in developing this approach for effective language teaching in its schools that has triggered the Indonesian government’s decision to implement this approach in Indonesian educational contexts, specifically in Indonesia’s secondary school English language curriculum. The 2004 English language curriculum and its follow up, the curriculum of 2006, suggests that the teaching of English as a foreign language in Indonesia should be text-based. Teachers are encouraged to use different kinds of texts, such as narratives, descriptive and expository texts, in their teaching practice to develop students’ communicative competence, including linguistic, sociolinguistic, strategic and discourse competence (Depdiknas, 2003a, 2003b).

The succession of a number of pedagogical approaches to teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in Indonesia is not without problems. Bringing innovation to an established education system will pose a number of challenges to educators concerning the approach and “may bring problems to language teachers” (Feez ,1998, p. 13) . There will be an urgent need for EFL teachers to develop an understanding about the approach and how the different elements in the new curriculum fit together. Phrased differently, the Indonesian government’s decision to introduce an innovation into the Indonesian English language curriculum requires teachers as the key persons in the restructuring task to adapt effectively (le Roux & Ferreire, 2005) to the changes as determined and directed by the educational authorities.

Therefore, as an answer to these potential problems, it is paramount to introduce the curriculum first to in-service teachers as the people who will be directly involved in the implementation of the approach in Indonesian schools. In doing so, since the beginning of the pre-introduction of the new curriculum project in 2001, there have been a great number of in-service training programs and education for teachers specifically designed for the introduction of the new curriculum. This training has mainly involved government funded programs as a part of the new curriculum project. In order to reach all levels of education in Indonesia, the training has been conducted from various levels, including central government, local government and institutions such as schools.

However, another problem arises concerning how effective the provided in-service teacher training is at developing teachers’ understandings about the genre approach and the way they should apply this approach in their classroom. Working as a trainer in a government funded teachers’ training and development centre; it is part of my job to introduce the 2004 curriculum to the elementary and secondary school English language teachers in my working area - Riau province. In my experience, there is still much confusion among teachers about the curriculum, and the genre-based approach in particular. The confusion centres on understanding the conceptual theory of the genre-based approach and its pedagogical application in the classroom.

Another problem that arises from the implementation of this approach is the appropriateness of the genre-based approach to be implemented in the Indonesian context because English is a foreign language. In the Australian context, this approach is aimed at developing the students’ literacy skills in writing and reading in the context of English as a first language and second language (Wales, 1993). It is assumed that students with English as a first language have already developed the ability to speak and listen from their early childhood. In addition, students who learn English as a second language in an English speaking country such as Australia benefit from the environment where they get more exposure and opportunity in the target language than students who learn English in a non-English speaking country like Indonesia.

In addition, much of the literature on the pedagogical applications of the genre approach in classrooms shows that some educators think that the approach “seems to be connected largely with the teaching of writing” (Kay and Dudley-Evans, 1998, p. 312). In the Australian context, this approach has been found to be an effective approach to teaching writing to native speakers and in teaching English as a second language (Hammond, 1989 in Kongpetch, 2006). However, less attention has been paid to the possibility of using the genre-based approach for teaching integrated language skills, whereas in the Indonesian context, this approach is suggested to be used for teaching integrated English as foreign language skills (Depdiknas, 2003a; 2003b; 2006b).

These facts have aroused my interest to do research on the implementation of the genre-based approach in Indonesian schools. In particular, I am interested in Indonesian teachers’ adoption of teaching integrated English language skills using a new approach, and the problems they encounter during the process. The focus of this study is some Indonesian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers who teach English at secondary schools in Indonesia. They need to be familiar with the genre-based approach from the 2004 curriculum and possibly have applied the approach in their teaching practice.

1.2 Research aims

This research generally aims to explore teachers’ adoption of the genre-based approach for teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in the Indonesian context. Specifically, it aims to:

1) identify what teachers understand about the genre-based approach in the Indonesian context.

2) explore how teachers implement the genre-based approach in their classrooms.

3) investigate how teachers develop their professional knowledge of this approach.

1.3 Significance of the study

In accordance with the objectives mentioned above, this research is expected to contribute positively to the development of English teaching in Indonesia, and the implementation of a genre-based approach in particular. In addition, it is hoped that it can draw more attention to the need to assist teachers in implementing this approach in their classroom.

1.4 Thesis outline

This thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter One is an introduction to the study including the background of the study, the explanation of the choices made in the study and a statement of the main questions to be answered in the thesis. Chapter Two reviews the literature on the genre-based approach in general, and the genre-based approach in the Indonesian context, in particular with reference to the 2004 English language curriculum. Chapter Three discusses the research methodology, with a focus on semi-structured in-depth interview. Chapter Four presents the findings of the data collected from the interviews. Chapter Five discusses the findings in light of the review the research literature. Chapter Six sets out the conclusion and recommendations to Indonesian teachers of English for teaching integrated language skills using a genre-based approach in their teaching practice. Following the chapters are references and appendices.