The Controversy of Teacher Certification in Indonesia-Argumentative Essay

In some points, teacher certification in Indonesia is beneficial for stake holders such teachers, education institutions, and the government, but it is a kind of dilemma because the disadvantages are higher that its benefits in practice. Since article no 19 year 2007 from ministry of Indonesian education has been implementing a new standard of certification for teachers, they assert that this assessment result a significant achievement of their teaching performance. On the other hand, some observations conducted to check the real significances in the field show the controversy.

It is doubtful that government succeeds in making competition through this kind of intelligent game “certification”. Instead of improving the teachers’ personality, the teachers are blissful to submit a pile of portfolio from regional, national, or international seminars or institutions for the shake of points. In fact, the certificates have diverse value, thus the teachers need to run until reaching 850 point to get the title of certified teachers. Surprisingly, some friends of mine even asked me whether I had some certificates which are anonymous so they can use that. In addition, the others are willing to pay Rp 50.000,- for such a piece of paper. In result, the condition above shapes goal oriented culture within teachers do not respect the process of getting something but solely how to achieve the goal using any methods, no matter what they are – good or bad.

Money used as a reward is still a controversial phenomenon in any fields. This is what is happening now in Indonesian education. Clearly, on the article is stated that teachers will get profession allowance if they are certified. Nevertheless, in some cases the certified teachers do not have parallel relation to their teaching qualities like what had happened in East Java that the number of failed students slightly increased. In addition, the certified teachers are found still lazy, monotonous, not professional and indiscipline. The reality shows that some teachers are not studying continuously because what they find in the class is a daily routine and they have memorized everything consecutively for years. They may say that there is nothing new. When the government launched the certification program, teachers have external motivation to show their achievement through pile of portfolio. Apparently, external motivation temporarily affects their achievement.

The assessment to portfolio is merely based on examining of material and physical. It is injustice condition because 20 year experienced teachers can not be certified due to incomplete data. They are professional in practice but they do not have good management in keeping the certificates, published papers, teaching experience letters and so on. In addition, teachers who live in disaster area such as in Aceh complain that they can submit nothing because all they have been swept away by tsunami in 2004. In contrary, the fresh graduate teachers who diligently attend meeting, seminar, and other events have ample requirements to be certified. Astonishingly, they are marked as professional teachers due to material and physic examination.

To summarize, this kind of certification must be changed into new method. The method must be based not only on material and physical evaluation but also conscience. It means that the government must give consideration for certain real conditions that happens toward teacher personally. Eventually, the government must supervise the program periodically, thus the teachers will keep their teaching performance as the profession allowance is ongoing.

Manual and Digital Learning-Comparison and Contrast Essay

Students with back packs and piles of books are common sight in the last 2 decades. Nonetheless, during 21st century, considering the needs of effectiveness, human run to leverage time into more valuable than 24 hours in a day. Computers and various wireless tools invade human life without any exclusion. Education field becomes more and more innovative by new hybrid net and note books within implanted learning system. Science e-book clung together with Macintosh smart phone is a new life style and learning culture nowadays. This condition results in challenges and disadvantages concurrently. Students may choose the most effective way in learning by comparing and contrasting manual and digital learning from some diverse points of view.

In student-centered learning theory, the most important part in teaching learning process is the students themselves. They must have internal motivation to use all the resources in order to achieve their determinations. Tools are external motivation to stimulate students’ passion for better learning. In addition, both manual and digital learning must provide certain structures; school, building, classroom, table, chair etc. and infrastructures such as books, computers, teachers, curricula and so on. Structures and infrastructures are means to ease students getting the knowledge. Further, they are set in a mutual relationship which one depends on the other. In this case, it does not mean that using solely digital learning tools will have more significant achievement if it is not united with other aspects especially students’ motivation.

Teachers play the important roles in facilitating students to rocket their potentials. People may say that they learn dependently through internet or educational software, but in certain time they must need tutors, peer teachers, facilitators, or what ever another term of teacher. Apparently, students cannot study alone even they have complete facilities or even they have their own schools. The main point in learning is the word “transfer” which means that there must be resources and receivers. In this way, teachers transfer their knowledge to the students as receivers and direct them into certain behaviors.

From these points of view, manual and digital leaning looks alike, but from the others, they are quite different in the term of economical value and effectiveness.

In long term, digital learning has more economical value than manual one. However, students must make investment to buy some peripherals such as computers, gadgets, head phones, android smart phones and so on. This fact is on the contrary with manual learning which does not need such an investment. For recent Indonesia condition, manual learning is still the favorite one; meanwhile, the digital learning is sneaking behind.

Digital learning is still in the first place for the value of effectiveness. For an example, the use of technology CALL (computer assisted language learning) promotes students to learn individually on their own pace. It means that they may choose the material level on the computer they want to. Even the class contains a big number of students, the teachers will be able to manage it because they play as facilitator who assist the teaching learning process. Different from the manual learning, the material is based on the excerpts in the modules or books. The teachers conduct the teaching learning thoroughly and must pay attention to the students one by one. Moreover, students cannot jump to the next material before the teachers finish the current one.

The most important thing in learning is students themselves because they are the actors who can release the power in them. External factors such as teachers, structures, and infrastructures including manual and digital learning also have important roles to promote students learning. In former cases, manual and digital learning are alike, but in later ones, they are quite distinctive. In practice, manual and digital learning walk together, but sometimes they are tilt in different areas based on the availability of information access.

1. Academic Journal
2. English Grammar Online
3. Online Collaboration Writing
4. Reading 4 Pleasure
5. Writing and Reading free essay, summary, and article
6. CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) 
7. TED

The Effect of TPR (Total Physical Response) Methodology toward Language Performance -Cause and Effect Essay

Methodology of English language teaching has evolved over centuries since it becomes the second of the biggest language users which has 500 million speakers around the world after Mandarin for 1.5 billion ones. Surprisingly, among 6912 languages English is accepted widely as international language and set as a standard of language proficiency to enter universities, job markets, graduation requirements, or life styles. In Indonesian school, English subject has been implemented as main or supplementary subject from kindergarten to university level. In practice, the methodology is always adjusted toward consideration of age (young learners, teenagers, or adults), goals, time limit, or curriculum. On the other hand, the TPR methodology result better language performance and other advantages based on recent observation.

TPR (Total Physical Response) methodology was popular in 1970 after being developed by Dr. James J. Asher as a way to teach students of other languages. Active physical movements dominate the classroom interaction as responses of spoken words, phrase, or sentences either form tutors or tutees in the form of games, imperative, role play, peer teaching etc. This methodology sheds grammar and structure instead of active interactions. This method tries to answer the dead methodology which is one way teaching into two ways of teaching and learning. The most advanced language performances achieved by this methodology are listening and speaking rather than reading and writing because chiefly both senses, hearing and mouth, are used through all classes.

Based on my recent observation, which was conducted through afternoon intensive English classes toward adult learners who are teachers of 2 Junior and 1 Senior High School in Semarang Regency, almost 100% learners claimed that TPR is an effective methodology and favorable. In addition, they found themselves more energetic and passionate because the classroom activities insisted them to move and active in listening and speaking. Such class activities killed their boredom after daily routine teaching. Through monthly questionnaire and supervision, the data showed that there are two main advance achievements; speaking performance and self confidence. Self confidence rocketed because the learners ignored the grammar, structure, or any written expressions spinning in their mind while they are thinking. They were free to express what they wanted to and any responses would be appreciated as worthwhile efforts.

To summarize, TPR has a great amount of results in speaking and self confidence as mentioned previously. Unfortunately, the objects of observation were adult learners in some formal schools in certain place which means that there might be possibilities of different results when the observation is performed in different area and with different learners such young learners or teenagers.

LSRW stages in language acquisition - Chronological Order Essay

Babies start their first journey to the world by crying as the sign that they are breathing and alive. Although they make sounds, it does not mean that their language development begins with speaking stages. They will soon learn that language is a matter of habit. Therefore, they do not need a specific classroom and a set of goals in learning language. For their first language, they will master it through language acquisition, which is an unconscious process in acquiring language. The process to acquire language itself involves some natural stages which start from listening, speaking, reading, to writing.

Listening is the first stage in language acquisition that babies use hearing to acknowledge the surroundings before they have clear sight. The hearing sense precedes the development of the other senses. In addition, hearing helps babies to catch the sounds and memorize them in the long-term brain memory. The repetition words will help them to recognize certain words to certain things such as the word “mama” for mother or “dada” for good bye. In the early age, they still respond anything with certain behavior such as smile, laugh, or body movement. Along with the physical development, the babies are able to connect one word to another into certain patterns. Therefore, they can understand sentence meanings that they hear after several months.

Speaking follows the development of the listening stage that the babies can speak in different times based on language information they have. For instance, a baby may start her/his first word when s/he is 10 months old; however, another is 12 months old. It means that speaking ability represents the storage information in the brain. In this stage, the babies will imitate what they see and hear from their environment. The sight sense eases them to visualize forms and behaviors, then connect them to appropriate words such as nodding head to represent the word “yes” and shaking head from side to side meaning “no”. Further, they will attempt to speak in a sentence. Normally, they speak mainly the main word in early speaking stage. Let us take a look the sentence “Mom, I want to pee”. The baby will say “pee” with repetition to explicate the meaning of the sentence above. Another example, the sentence “Can I eat this Mom?” is replaced by the words “eat this?”. Through language experiment their speaking ability evolves into a complete sentence logically and grammatically.

Reading skills begin when the toddlers are 19 months old and they are able to indicate the existence of pictures, scratches, or forms in papers. Automatically, they are always curious about the formula in written expressions. To accelerate this skill, they need external intervention such as parents who promote learning method and approach such as flash card or introducing the letter spelling. From this starting point, soon or later, toddlers are capable of spelling words and sentences. Through reference improvement and practice, their reading speed will increase.

Writing sometimes is one package with reading stage because psycho-motoric activities in writing help children visualize and memorize the words. For example, drawing book gives the letter “A” in fade away form and the children should bold the letter with pencil and spell it at the same time. In advance, the children may play a game such as hang man which they have to fill out the missing letter from the word given. By this way, they have to recall their memory, rewrite, and spell the words respectively.

Listening and reading are receptive skills that children merely receive and capture from their hearing and sight senses. On the contrary, speaking and writing are productive skills which are harder than receptive ones because they have to collaborate all skills to produce speaking and written expressions. Although language is a matter of habit and children can master it unconsciously, it still needs external intervention to encourage the process faster. The process that is explicated above forms – what the experts said – the term “LSRW” which is coined as an acronym for listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Unforgettable Memory -Narrative Essay

Narrative essay is a composition based on time sequence. There must be transition signals between the paragraphs using the word before-after, started-end.

The outline:

1. Thesis Statement : I found many interesting experiences before and during my first journey to Semarang by Tawang Jaya train
2. Topic sentence second paragraph : My interesting experiences were began when I wanted to get the ticket
3. Topic sentence third paragraph : I spent the whole night on the train until 7 a.m. in the morning
4. Conclusion : That experiences are still unforgettable until now and always remind me to be grateful.

The essay :

(General Statement) I usually take bus during my journey from Semarang to Jakarta. I change the bus into train because I stay near railway station in Senen Jakarta. In addition, there is no bus station nearby. I think that it is nothing to lose to take my first train to Semarang. In fact, I found many interesting experiences before and during my first journey to Semarang by Tawang Jaya train. (Thesis Statement)

(Topic sentence) My interesting experiences were began when I wanted to get the ticket. I asked my landlord where Senen railway station was because I did not know the exact location and how to get there. It is located behind Senen market and I can go there either by shuttle bus or by Angkot. He advised me to take Angkot if I buy the ticket in the afternoon because there are no preman who usually mugs people passing the market in the evening. I tried to reserve the ticket early at 2 p.m. However, I could not afford  to get it directly because the ticket counter would be opened at 6 p.m. At last, I decided to return home and bought it before the train departed at 9.30 p.m. I started my plan at 8 p.m. taking a shuttle bus to Senen market and walking through the main street to reach Senen railway station. I thought that it was a perfect plan. I got in the shuttle bus confidently until I realized that the shuttle bus did not pass Senen shelter. Thus, I got off on the nearest shelter and returned to the starting shelter. What a mess! The good thing was that I must notice the direction before taking the right bus.

(Topic sentence) I spent the whole night on the train until 7 a.m. in the morning. There were many things happened. Once it was nice to taste a new seat on the train. Nevertheless, it was getting bothersome because it was hard to relax and sleep. The passengers must share one seat for 2 or 3 people side by side. In addition, they had to face same passenger number a head. Actually, the seat setting was facing each other and quite near. Such conditions made difficult to stretch my feet and get my nerves relaxed. The merchants were also one of phenomena impressing me. They offered their stuffs persistently along the night. What a relentless spirit! Moreover, they sold many unique and cheap things that I never found in the market. I thought that they were solely available in the train.

(Conclusion) Those experiences are still unforgettable until now. I saw a real life that people really work had in the middle of the night to earn some money for living. When I reviewed back to my recent condition, I said that I have better condition than that. The memory always reminds me to be grateful, take life for granted, and vigorous in making life.