English Language Teacher Proficiency in the Free-Trade Era

 

 

B. B. Dwijatmoko

 

 

 

In the coming free-trade era, English language teachers from any country may come to Indonesia and get job here as teachers. English language teacher training institutions have a stronger challenge to prepare their students for the competition. They have to prepare their students to become qualified teachers. If they do not, their graduates may not get the chance to get a job.

 

To qualify a s competent English language teachers, teachers need not only to be able to master English but also to analyze English for teaching purposes, design a syllabus and lesson plan, teach what he has planned well, evaluate their teaching for improvements, and evaluate their students’ achievements. Such abilities should not theoretical but practical because not all people who know the theory on material design and teaching are good teachers.

 

It is urgent, therefore, that an English teacher proficiency test be developed. The test covers prospective teachers’ English mastery and skills on language analysis, material design, teaching, and evaluation. The language mastery test can be in the TOEFL or TOEIC form, and the test on the skills can be in the form of problem solving. Such a test is a comprehensive test which needs a lot of time, energy and money to develop, but if work on it does not start it will never come into being.

 

 

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Dwijatmoko, B. B. (2003, October). English language teacher proficiency in the free-trade era. Paper presented at the 51^st TEFLIN International Conference, Bandung, Indonesia.

 

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