“They can speak English, but they don’t want to use it.” Teaching Contents through English in a Bilingual School and Policy Recommendations

Authors

Amirul Mukminin, Jambi University, JambiFollow
Siti Rahma Sari, Jambi University, Jambi
Eddy Haryanto, Jambi University, Jambi
Akhmad Habibi, Jambi University, Jambi
Marzul Hidayat, Jambi University, Jambi
Lenny Marzulina, Universitas Islam Negeri Raden Fatah, Palembang
Nurulanningsih Nurulanningsih, Tridinanti University, Palembang, South Sumatra
Ikhsan Ikhsan, Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia

Abstract

The growing need for English as a key to global communication, relations, and information, is noticeable in schools around the world. In response to these imperatives of global competitiveness, one of the private bilingual schools in Indonesia has adopted English as a medium of instruction (EMI). The aim of this study was to explore the implementation of English as a language of instruction in a bilingual school in teaching contents in one private bilingual school in Jambi City, Indonesia. The data were collected through demographic profiles, documents, and semi-structured in-depth interviews. The documents were used to find out the comprehensive overview of the bilingual education program while the in-depth interviews were used to ask participants to narrate their accounts and perspectives on the use of English as the medium of instruction at a micro (classroom) level. Overall, the findings of this study revealed that the successful implementation of English as a language of instruction in a bilingual school were interrelatedly challenged by teachers’ attitude and ability to use English, language policy, teaching materials, students’ English proficiency, curriculum, student assessment, and admission policy. Implications and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Keywords

Bilingual Education, Case Study, Instruction, Teaching Content

Author Bio(s)

Amirul Mukminin, PhD is a faculty member of Jambi University, Indonesia. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: amirul.mukminin@unja.ac.id

Siti Rahma Sari is a doctoral student in education in Jambi University, Indonesia.

Eddy Haryanto, PhD. is a faculty member of Jambi University, Indonesia.

Akhmad Habibi is the Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP) awardee and lecturer of Jambi University, Jambi, Indonesia.

Marzul Hidayat, PhD. is a faculty member of Jambi University, Indonesia.

Lenny Marzulina is a faculty member of State Islamic University of Raden Fatah, Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia.

Nurulanningsih is a faculty member of Tridinanti University, Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia.

Ikhsan is a researcher at Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia.

Acknowledgements

This study had no financial supports from any parties. We are heartily indebted to the all participants in this study who had given their time for the interviews and shared their feelings and experiences with us. We also want to thank the principals of the research site who supported us to conduct the research. Additionally, we would like to say many thanks to the reviewers and The Qualitative Report for giving us a chance for publishing our research article.

Publication Date

6-8-2019

Creative Commons License

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

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3580

Recommended APA Citation

Mukminin, A., Sari, S. R., Haryanto, E., Habibi, A., Hidayat, M., Marzulina, L., Nurulanningsih, N., & Ikhsan, I. (2019). “They can speak English, but they don’t want to use it.” Teaching Contents through English in a Bilingual School and Policy Recommendations. The Qualitative Report, 24(6), 1258-1274. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2019.3580