Curriculum and Methodology of English Education

1. Definitions of curriculum
Defining the curriculum is no easy matter. Many scholars advocate their own preferred definitions of curriculum, which emphasizes other meaning or connotations, particularly those the term has taken on recently.

The term curriculum means different things to different people.

1. All the learning which is planned and guided by the school, whether it is carried on in groups, or individually, inside or outside the school. (Kerr, 1968:16) 2. We see the curriculum as a desired goal or set of values that can be activated through a development process culminating in experiences for students. (Wiles and Bondi, 2007, 5)

The writer agrees with Lovat and Smith (1995:20)who strongly argue that any complete,
Useful and effetive definition of curriculum must include the following perspectives: Curriculum as as product, curriculum as process, curriculum as intention, curriculum as reality, and curriculum as both normative and descriptive.

2. Definitons of methodology
1. Methodology is the set of methods and principles that you use when studying a particular subject or doing a particular kind of work ( Longman Dictionary of contemporary English) 2. Richard and Smith (2002: 330) 1) Methodology is the study of the principle and procedures used in teaching, and the principles and beliefs that underlie them

The context of ELT in Indonesia

Indonesia is made of 17,000 islands (14,000 are inhabited) stretching across 3,200 miles of equatorial oceans. With her current population over 200 million, Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country and has more than 500 ethnic groups, each with its own language (Purwadi & Muljoatmodjo, 2000)

 Indonesia has a national, unifying language, Bahasa Indonesia, which is the official language used in offices, most business dealings, and social interactions on official occasions. It is also the language of instruction for all levels of schooling in Indonesia.

The Development of a National English curriculum

As early as 1950, when a foreign language to be chosen for the school curriculum nationwide (either Dutch or English), policy makers in Indonesia were well aware that English could serve a very important role as a tool in the development of the country, both for international relations and scientifictechnological advancement. English was chosen over Dutch despite the fact that the Dutch had colonized Indonesia for three and a half centuries

English in Elementary Schools

English in elementary schools is taught within the "local content" part of the curriculum. This gives flexibility to the school management to make decisions regarding the teaching of English based on the students' needs or community and environmental demands (Suyanto 1997).

 The main objective of English lessons at this early stage is to introduce young learners to the idea that in addition to their native and national languages, they can also have a foreign language. More specifically, the teaching of English in elementary schools is targeted toward the development of the ability to understand simple oral and written language (Huda 1999).

English in Secondary Schools

In secondary schools, where students receive the bulk of their English language instruction, English is a required subject.

 ELT in Indonesia's schools adopts a meaningbased approach, as mentioned before, with the following guiding principles: 1) language is an instrument to express meaning; 2) meaning is determined by both linguistic and situational contexts; 3) learning a language is learning to use the language in communicative activities in the target language; 4) mastery of the language components is needed to support the mastery of communicative competence; and 5) the teaching of the language components can be done whenever necessary (Huda 1999).

English in Universities
ELT in universities differs from ELT in secondary schools in various aspects, including its status, number of hours, instructional objectives, teaching methods, and instructional materials

The shift from structural to functional orientation

The 1975 structural curriculum Principles of language teaching and learning Since oral language in a community has a primary status, the teaching of English begins with the introduction of the English sound system, both in isolation and in a series of sounds. Besides learning the English sounds system, students need to the English grammatical system.

The 1984 curriculum

The 1984 English curriculum is intended to be a communicative one as can be seen its introductory statements. (Depdikbud 1987) The nature of language as a means of communication The importance of meaning and functions The nature of language use variations, which should be considered in designing learning activities, and etc

 The curriculum mentions three types of language activity: reading, dialogues, and writing. Reading is aimed at developing the students ability to comprehend various texts and increasing thir vocabulary and structural experiences.

The 1994 curriculum

The 1994 curriculum emphasized the mastery of communicative skills to be acquired through the implementation of the so called meaning based approch.

The 2006 curriculum

The 2006 curriculum is characterized by an innovation in its decentralized management. In contrast to the previous curriculms, which are centalized, 2006 curriculum is decentralized in the framework of national unity.

3. METDODOLOGY OF ENGLISH EDUCATION

Methodology is systematic and scientific way of teaching any subject. It guides how to teach and how his teaching maybe effective. Method may be defined as: The process of planning, selection and grading language materials and items, techniques of teaching

Types of of methods
1. The gammar Translation Method GMT is the oldest method of teaching English. It dominated EFL teaching from 1840 to the 1940s. GMT was used for the teaching of English in the begginning, under the influence of classical language like Latin and Greek and Sankrit.

 The GMT method the students first study the part of speech and syntax in detail. English should be taught by translating into mother tongue.

Disanvantage
1. GMT does not emphasize on the basic skills like listening speaking etc 2. Student gets no opportunities to participate in the discussion of the unit. 3. It prevents students to think directly in English. Students first think in mother tongue and then in English. Thus it prevents establishing of direct bond between thought and expression.

2. Direct Method
Child learns his mother tongue naturally and without prctice. It means child learns mother tongue directly. It is also learnt naturally like mother tongue or first language. The students did not learn language but practiced of acquiring mother tongue or first language.

Disanvantages
1. This method is not useful in over croweded classes 2. This method does not help in important aspect of language learning like reading and writing 3. This method requires many audio visual aids, which are very expensive so our schools cant afford such equipment

3. The Audiolingual Method

Dependence on mimicry and memorisation of set phrases Teaching structural patterns by means of repetitive drills Learning vocabulary in context Use of tapes and visual aids Focus on pronunciation Immediate reinforcement of correct responses

4. Suggestopedia
a method for learning that used relaxation as a means of retaining new knowledge and material Lozanov and his followers tried to present vocabulary, readings, role-plays and drama with classical music in the background and students sitting in comfortable seats. In this way, students became "suggestible."

5. The Silent Way

Gattegno (1972) held that it is in learners' best interests to develop independence and autonomy and cooperate with each other in solving language problems. The teacher is supposed to be silent - hence the name of the method - and must disabuse himself of the tendency to explain everything to them.

6. Communicative Language Teaching

Focus on all of the components of communicative competence, not only grammatical or linguistic competence. Engaging learners in the pragmatic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes Viewing fluency and accuracy as complementary principles underpinning communicative techniques