THE ANALYSIS OF TEACHER PEDAGOGICAL COMPETENCE FOR

YOUNG EFL LEARNER IN INDONESIA EDUCATION

DESI NATALIA GULTOM

UNIVERSITAS BANDAR LAMPUNG

Abstract

Currently, English has been recognized as an international language that should be

mastered by all levels of Indonesian education because it will provide a positive entity in
order to develop the quality of human resources in Indonesia. In responding to this
situation, teachers play an important role in students’ life to become successful in careers
and also show up the quality of human resources in Indonesia. Teachers are required to
have the skills which are needed in their work field, so they are able to do their job as a
proficient teacher. One of the successes of the teaching-learning process is not only about
whether the teachers use English during teaching-learning process, but also the teacher
needs to have pedagogical competence which is involving some component: understanding
the character of the learners, planning the materials, managing the classroom and knowing
the best ways in delivering the materials. Thus, developing teacher pedagogical
competence for young learners may become an example of outputs to the improvement of
professional teaching-learning abilities to be more significant.

Key words: Pedagogical Competence, Teachers’ Competence, Teaching English, English

to young learner, English Teacher, Young Learners.

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Introduction

English use as an international language or global language. Since English as a global

language certainly entails that many primary schools in Indonesia to admit English
materials in their subject schools, Either English is included as a school subject or
extracurricular subjects. English is required and should be mastered by people to interact
all over the world especially for young learners. Moreover, it is becoming the exigency in
developing the quality of human resources in Indonesia. Thus, the teacher plays an
important role to achieve the realizations of the goal of the regions by teaching foreign
language. But, in the real situation, still, there are teachers has a low quality of teaching
performance in Indonesia.

Teachers are people who are very important in the teaching-learning process. They have
major responsibilities in achieving the goals of education. Based on the exigency, Thus,
teachers should carry their students to the learning aims to be achieved. Teachers'
obligation is able to guide and influence their students. A good quality teacher helps the
students to be a good human being in a society of the country because teachers know that
students are the future of the nation. Considering with this description, it is significant for
teachers to be proficient in their teaching performance especially in their nature of
teaching as a job.

Teachers who have good performance in teaching will be able to cultivate the spirit and
motivation of students to learn better, which in turn will improve the quality of learning
(Eko Putro W 2008: 3). It means that one of the factors that determine the quality of
learning and the quality of students is the quality of teachers performance in the learning
process. The performance of teachers in teaching foreign language in the school has an
important role in achieving the goals of the school, especially when teaching EFL for
young learners because all the students depend on them. Concerning the exigency of the
teacher become an important role in developing the quality of learners at an early age or
younger, the teacher of young EFL learners has more intentions and responsibilities.
Teaching and learning process is the onset of quality education the overall measure of
education is in the teaching attributes of the educators, UNESCO (2011). Teachers are
required to have the skills which are needed in their work field, so they are able to do their
job as a proficient teacher.

However, even many primary schools have put English in their school as subject content,
the learner still has not mastered English yet. Thus, it makes educators require to evaluate
their teaching performance to improve students’ English proficiency. One of the successes
of the teaching-learning process is not only about whether the teachers use English during
teaching-learning process, but also the teacher needs to have the capability involving
understanding the character of the learners, planning the materials, managing the

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classroom and knowing the best ways in delivering the materials to set up the whole
teaching process well. Those capabilities call pedagogical competence. Pedagogical
competence is a specific competence that distinguishes teachers from other professions
(Jahiriansyah et.al., 2013; Retnowati, 2013). It means that the teacher requires to master
this competency.

Pedagogical competence is one of the important competence that all the teachers must
have in their teaching performance. Pedagogical brings effect on teachers’ performance, so
to develop the quality of the teacher, teachers need to develop their pedagogical
competence. Pedagogical competence refers to educational and teaching qualifications. It
means that the teachers should have the ability to manage to learn, including planning the
materials before teaching, implementation, and evaluation of the learning of the learners.

Pedagogical competence, according to Mulyasa (2007) stated that pedagogical competence

is the ability to manage the learning of learners includes an understanding of learners,
instructional design and implementation, evaluation of learning outcomes, and the
development of learners to actualize their potential. From the explanation above it may
conclude that Pedagogical competence is one of the competencies that involves some
components of the ability of teachers in managing the students in the teaching process.

Cooper as cited by Syahruddin et. Al (2013) said that “pedagogical competence refers to
performance, knowledge, and skill in teaching and learning, thus it includes teachers’
capability to manage the teaching and learning process from the planning to the evaluation
stages.” It means that pedagogical competence is an important thing for the teacher in their
teaching performance because it is mentioned to educational and teaching qualifications in
gaining quality in the teaching profession. Competence pedagogical is basically the
capability of teachers in managing learning school tuition.

Discussion

Pedagogical Competence
Pedagogical Competence is one type of competencies that absolutely need to be mastered
by teachers. Pedagogic competence is teachers’ ability to manage the learning process of
students. It consists of mastering learning theory and learning principle which is
educational, understanding the students, developing the curriculum, organizing the
learning lesson, developing technology in the learning process, organizing evaluation,
developing students’ potential (the law of 74:2008, subsection 4). The seven points
mentioned clarify that those points needs to be implemented by a teacher to conduct the
work field as educator in the classroom.

Components of Pedagogical competence

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According to the Law No. 74, 2008 about teacher And lecturer in section 3, subsection 4,
mentioned that teachers there are eight components of teachers’ pedagogical competence
as followed:
a. Mastering the knowledge theory
Teacher should be mastering the learning material which will be taught to the
students in practicing teaching learning process.
Teacher must understand the subject deeply and flexible when they are teaching the
content.

b. Understanding the students

Understanding the students means that the teacher should be knowing every
characteristics of learners well, the teacher should be understanding the intelligence
development of the students, and the teacher should be understand the physical
mental condition of the students. So the relation of the learner between the teachers
can be closer to each other and the students will not feel unconfident or feel not
comfort in conducting interaction between themselves in the classroom.

c. Developing curriculum
Designing the syllabus based on the curriculum is one of the requirement of the
teacher as an educators. The teacher must be able to determine the lesson based on
the learners’ need and appropriate materials for young learners based on the
curriculum.

d. Designing the learning lesson

The teacher is not only about mastering the materials or some theory, but a teacher
also has the capability in delivering the materials to the learner in creative ways. In
other word the teacher have to know how to design or planning the materials
creatively for each meeting. Moreover, the teacher should has capability in using
technology in the learning process as a media to create amusing and enjoyable
class for instance provided game, videos related to the lesson and etc. the teacher
should has capability in choosing the strategies method are appropriate for young
learners, the teacher should be has capability in managing the classroom and able
to managing the time of lesson plan. So, it will influence young learner motivation
in learning foreign language in the classroom and reducing their boredom.

e. Organizing evaluation
Then, teacher needs to evaluate the learner achievement and make reflection of
their performance after their teaching as well as the teacher needs to organize the
assessment of students result after they finish teaching process in the class. So, it
will help the teacher to monitor the target materials that have accepted by the
learner is already achieved or not as well as renewed teacher quality.

f. Developing students’ potential

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 One of the function of the teacher is they should be able to develop students
potential whether it is in academic or non-academic potential. As we know, the
children has their own ability, so teacher plays an important part in guiding and
directing students’ academic potential based on their field ability (guiding to
competitions or giving additional materials) and non-academic potential (directing
to the extracurricular, hobbies and interest to see their potential) to be receive an
advantage for their future.

Young EFL

According to harmer (2007), the term children are generally used for learners between the
ages of about 2 to 13., young learners are between the ages of 5 to 9, and very young
learner are between 2 to 5 years old. From that definitions, children who are learning and
having range ages of five to thirteen year olds called as young learners. Young learners are
started from preschool until finish elementary school. Related to English young learners,
all of them who studied English at that level which English language is learnt as local
content subject or extracurricular in the schools now. The age of the learners is a major
attention of the teacher about how and what to teach, because as we know that people of
different ages have different needs, competences, and cognitive skills. For instance,
teaching English to young learners that expected they can be acquire much of foreign
language through fun learning, while teaching English for adult is use more complex
learning and thought.
Vygotsky (1962) as cited by Cameron (2011) theory focused on social factor or children
learn through social interaction. He believes that children are surrounded by full of other
people in the world who conduct socialization with the child from being infant. So, it
means the people, especially adult people play important role in helping children to learn,
bringing objects and ideas in their mind, speaking, reading in developing students
intellectual (Cameron, 2001).
Nunan (2011) said that there are some challenges in teaching foreign language to young
learners are related to cognitive development, motivation, attention, and multi-level
groups. So, it means that the teacher

Teaching English for young learners

According to Stakanova & Tolstikina (2014) argue that teaching English is better when it
starts from early age. Teaching young learner is not same as teaching adult. Children are
born with appetite and interest for learning, and their desire to learn should be fueled
when they begin school (Cameron, 2001: 167). Children often more active and

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 enthusiastic as a learners. The nature of young learners is energetic, so young learners
needs fun activities when they learning in the class.

Young learners are easily in getting bored and cannot accepted the materials well if they
feel the materials is too hard and monotone for them. That is why the teachers have to
make the classroom circumstance more alive and fun to achieve the goal. The English
teachers are not only giving the book to the students, but also able to delivering the
material and understanding the learners need, grasp the attention of the learners, create
the creative teaching, manage the class, and evaluate the students’ progress.

The characteristics of Young Learners

People often think that teaching young children is an easy job and anyone can teach at
primary level without knowing its challenges but actually teaching children is a big
challenge for educators. Teaches children takes so much energy and patience. When
teacher conducting the teaching process, they will always moving around, showing the
gesture to show the meaning of the words, and must be providing with fun activities to
keep the students attention in achieving the goal of the lesson. From the previous statement
above about why teaches children takes a lot energy and patience, exactly because it is
related to the characteristics of young learners. Some young learners have their own
characteristic. Young learners have short attention. Children is active learner and they like
to move around. So teachers should create creative activity to break the boredom of them.
they should give variety of activities as handwriting , songs , or try to ask them to play
games , role play dialogues, and etc. Besides it, the teacher should be provided with the
appropriate materials for them based on the characteristics of young learners.
Understanding the characteristics of young learners can help us to create effective
atmosphere and help us to manage the learners in the classroom.

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Teacher

A teacher is related to person who delivers educational program. A teacher has a different
shapes and characters. Scott and Yterberg stated that as a teacher of young children should be
have a sense of humour, open-minded, adaptable, patient, and etc. According to the
characteristics of young learners, those things will help the teacher in controlling and
managing the class activities. Teaching English to young learners is not the teacher only
spoken word with English language during the activities but the teacher need accompanied by
movement activities as many as possible because as we know that the characteristics of young
learner is active learner. But also teacher need accompanied by some tools such pictures and
real objects to demonstrate the materials that can engage the students’ attention to learning in
the class. Scott & Ytreberg, (1990:5) stated that the ways that commonly used in developing
first stage of foreign language can teach them by playing with the language.

Let them talk nonsense, experiment with the words and sounds: „Let’s go – pet’s go‟ “Blue
eyes - blue pies‟. Teacher can applying by songs or tell stories, so it will make the students
talk to themselves and play with the language itself. Let the children inspire to read something
and write whether they can write or draw based on the lesson that was presented by the
teacher. Let them be aware and create the meaning by their own language. when the children
start to read they need to take in time to comprehend the meaning of the words, so the children
can take a book home therefore they can read it again until they understand about the content.
Make an interesting activities for children in every meeting so it will make the children feel
enthusiastic about what is the activity will be coming next. Create fun activity such game time
in teaching routines to engage the children motivation in learning English. Scoot and ytreberg
(1990:6), said that Use familiar situation, familiar activities, repeat stories, rhymes, etc.
Teacher should have system, have routines, organize and plan the lesson. So it will make the
children knowing the rules and being familiar with the circumstances in the classroom.
Assessment is needed for teacher to create notes to monitor the progress of the young learner
and offer additional teaching when they need more attention. It also used to communicate with
the parents how their children are doing, and should be talking to the children recurrently
about their work and enhancing self-assessment (Scott and Ytreberg, 1990:6).

Conclusion

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 Pedagogical competence is one of the competence that must be mastered by the teacher. It is one
of the important competence that all the teachers must have in their teaching performance.
Pedagogical brings effect on teachers’ performance, so to develop the quality of the teacher,
teachers need to develop their pedagogical competence. Pedagogical competence refers to
educational and teaching qualifications. This research result is not to giving a judgment to the
teacher who still has low capability. Furthermore, the result has served to distribute information
and ideas for improving teachers’ pedagogical competence itself especially for English primary
teachers. It is also become place for discussion about the future of the teaching profession and
the nature of teaching as a job. Based on the previous explaination above, it can conclude that
Pedagogical competence is typical competence, which will distinguish teachers to another
profession. Besides, it also pedagogic competence required that teachers able to manage
learning well with understand various characteristics students in learning and managing the
whole teaching foreign language process in developing human resources in Indonesia since early
age. Learners have different developmental stages, what works with lower-grades learners may
not work with high-grade ones, as well as teaching English for young learners different with
teaching English for adult. Moreover, the research is to give information to the educators that is
pedagogical competence become one of the competence that will affect their teaching
performance.

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Undang-Undang Nomor 74 Tahun 2008 Tentang Guru.

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