World Englishes and the Teaching of English as an International Language: Indonesian Teachers’ Perspectives and Professional Development Experiences

Abstract

This study examined teachers’ perspectives and professional development experiences about the teaching of English as an International language (TEIL) in relation to World Englishes (WE) at junior high school levels in Indonesia. Considering the growth of the number of English speakers around the world, it has been argued that WE-based TEIL is more realistic and relevant (Kachru & Nelson, 2006; Kirkpatrick, 2007; Matsuda, 2002, 2018). Accordingly, efforts have been done to challenge the standard English hegemony such as through teacher education programs. However, previous research focused primarily on pre-service teachers through teacher preparation programs at higher education levels. There were limited studies investigating in-service teachers’ professional development experiences, especially in relation to World Englishes and at junior high school levels in Indonesia. Meanwhile, professional development has been deemed important for in-service teachers as the content in pre-service education is usually limited and there are educational as well as pedagogical changes that in-service teachers need to constantly respond over time (Richards & Farrell, 2005). Considering how relevant and significant WE-based TEIL is, it is also crucial to update in-service teachers with such knowledge. Hence, this study was aimed at exploring and understanding teachers’ views on WE-based TEIL including their professional development experiences and use of social media in its implementation at Indonesian junior high schools. A mixed methods research design, in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in two phases of study (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2017), was used to answer three research questions: 1) What are teachers’ perspectives on incorporating World Englishes into the teaching of English as an international language at the junior high school level in Indonesia?, 2) How have teachers used social media as potential resources to incorporate World Englishes into the teaching of English as an international language at the junior high school level in Indonesia?, and 3) How have teachers experienced professional development in relation to English teaching in general and the incorporation of World Englishes in particular? 64 teachers joining a local English teacher forum participated in the online survey in the first phase, and 6 focal teachers were selected for the second phase, in which observations, focus group discussion, and interviews were used to collect the data. The quantitative data from the survey were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The qualitative data from the survey, observations, focus group discussion, and interviews were triangulated and coded to identify themes and patterns in the data. The findings show that English language teaching at Indonesian junior high school levels was quite complex. While teachers acknowledged the importance of WE-based TEIL, they did not find it urgent to prioritize because they did not feel knowledgeable enough about WE and also because they were facing other problems as English teachers. In addition, even though teachers benefitted from using social media especially in locating WE materials, they could not really maximize it due to the insufficient institutional and technological support. Furthermore, the professional development that they have experienced has never focused on World Englishes. In fact, teachers’ professional development experiences did not address some of their problems and challenges in English teaching in general. Hence, the findings of this study generate some pedagogical implications and suggestions for future research in hopes to improve teacher professional development experiences about English teaching in general and in relation to WE in particular as well as to understand the issues in a broader scope in Indonesian contexts.