Curriculum Material Development

(CMD)

English is an international and universal language which is used all over the world. Some countries apply English as the second language while in fact, Indonesia applies English as foreign language which is being learned in order to be ready for the globalization. English language itself is being taught since elementary, junior high school, senior high school, and also university level. Here is further analysis about the implementation of curriculum in teaching English as foreign language for the junior high school level.

Teaching English in junior high school level is based on the school-based-curriculum which is being applied now in Indonesia. Further, curriculum framework helps teacher in conducting the teaching and learning process. Curriculum framework is an organized plan or set of standards or learning outcomes that defines the content to be learned in terms of clear, definable standards of what the student should know and be able to do. It involves the four basic skills that need to be learned by the students which are reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Curriculum framework is the basic foundation; therefore, it guides teacher to explore the materials that need to be taught to the students, the activity that can be conducted in the class, and also the students’ competency that need to be achieved using the assessment.

Teachers at school see the curriculum framework as the guidance which sets things that need to be achieved by the students. That’s why, they arrange the lesson plans based on it. For example, the students need to learn kinds of reading text: procedure, descriptive, recount, narrative, and report. Further,The students are not only asked to understand the reading text but also need to learn the vocabulary, grammar, and the rethorical steps in the reading text. Next, the students need to learn about transactional and interpersonal conversation in speaking.

Actually, developing curriculum is a complicated thing. There are some basic principles that need to be fulfilled based on the Australian Council Curriculum. First, it encompases the view of curriculum underlying the learning environment, teaching methods, the resources, the assessment system that need to be applied by both teacher and the students. Second, it represents the explicit acknowledgement of core values on how to behave in our pluralistic society and learn the core of shared values. Third, the curriculum can be accessed by all groups of students and many kinds of educational setting. Fourth, it should be adaptable to fullfil the needs of different school and communities due to social and technological changes. Fifth, it encourages students to see and learn various form of knowledge in the community. And sixth, it develops students’ way of learning in constructing new language in accordance with the development of collaborative approach involving the responsibility of the students, teachers, parents, and the community which can be shared in order to attain the success of teaching and learning process.

Moreover, understanding as well as implementing the curriculum framework is such a burden for teachers. First, It happened because the curriculum framework uses “formal term” of language which lead teachers to have different interpretation or even misinterpreted the meaning of each sentences. This misinterpretation will affect the way teachers arranging the lesson plan. Second, the competency and the materials are too broad for the students to learn and it is difficult to be acquired within the limited time in classroom situation. Third, both teacher and students are having lack of exposure and less practice of English language. Actually, It is not always students who need to study, but it is also teachers’ responsibility to always keep up to date of how to use the English language properly and correctly so that the teachers themselves can be good role model for the students.

How to overcome those problems above? In order to answer this, we need to overview the function of English language in Indonesia. Since it is only a foreign language, it is not necessary to learn four basic skills in a limited time. First, the curriculum itself should fulfill the needs of the students and what certain skill that needs to be achieved at the end of the learning process by the students. Second, the curriculum framework should be revised using “common term” of language in order to avoid misinterpretation among teachers. Third, there should be sufficient activity which can develop and improve students competence in using English so that they will have sufficient exposure and practice of English language inside and outside the classroom.