From an Active Learner to a Reflective Practitioner: Learning to Become a Professional Indonesian EFL Instructor

Authors

Teuku Zulfikar, Ar-Raniry State Islamic UniversityFollow

Abstract

For teachers, professional development is a lifelong journey and a complex and multi-dimensional process. Effective professional development requires practitioners to engage not only in training but also in habitual reflection. However, research on reflective learning within the context of Indonesian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching, at both secondary and tertiary levels, is limited. Using the-Self Study, Qualitative Inquiry this article explores my reflective practices in the Indonesian educational context. It is structured around a narration of my roles as an active EFL learner and instructor which have led me to become a reflective practitioner. The article starts with my first contact with English and then goes on to my later learning-teaching experiences. It highlights the process of my reflective learning experience and its influence on my practices as an EFL instructor. In doing so, it aims to encourage similar awareness and reflective professional development in Indonesian EFL teachers. My reflection reveals that learning from experience allows educational practitioners to improve professional competent.

Keywords

Qualitative Inquiry, Self-Study Research, Reflective Practices, Professional Development, Teaching Competence, Learning Experience

Author Bio(s)

Teuku Zulfikar is an associate professor and the head of Department of English Language Education, UIN Ar-Raniry Banda Aceh. Dr. Zulfikar earned a Ph.D. degree from Monash University, Australia in Pedagogy, Language and Cultural Studies (2011). His Master’s degrees were obtained from Ohio University, the USA with Fulbright Scholarship, and from Monash University with AusAid Scholarship. Dr. Zulfikar now also serves a senior researcher of the International Centre for Aceh and Indian Ocean Studies (ICAIOS). His research interests include education governance, education management and leadership, pedagogy, language and cultural studies, youth and religious identity, and ethnographic studies. His selected publications are “Researching my own backyard”; “I feel different though: Narratives of young female Indonesian Muslims in Australian public school”; “Understanding Muslim identity from multiple lenses: Insights from a minority group in Australia” and other important work. His most recent publication is a book entitled, Indonesian Muslim in the Global World, published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing and an article, “Understanding One’s Own Teaching: Learning from Reflective Practices,” published in Reflective Practices: International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: teuku.zulfikar@acehresearch.org.

Publication Date

3-3-2019

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3693

Recommended APA Citation

Zulfikar, T. (2019). From an Active Learner to a Reflective Practitioner: Learning to Become a Professional Indonesian EFL Instructor. The Qualitative Report, 24(3), 429-440. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3693