English Teaching Reconstruction at Indonesian Elementary Schools: Students' Point of View

Abstract

Indonesia has experienced a resurgence of interest in the English language teaching. English learning is viewed as an essential aspect to build skills of the youth. In order to keep abreast of these demands, a lot of curricular and pedagogical changes have been made in teaching programs and formal education setting. This research investigated the reconstructing patterns of English Teaching after the implementation of the New 2013 curriculum in the Indonesian elementary schools from students' point of view. The sample of this qualitative study constituted participants randomly selected from primary schools in Serang City, Indonesia. Questionnaire and in-depth interviews were used to collect the data on three factors, namely the potential of reconstructing English curriculum learning sources, the opportunity of English learning, and students’ perception toward learning English. This study found that primary school students had higher English learning familiarity since they had access to adequate English learning sources; they also responded very well to learning opportunities of the English courses; and revealed a positive perception about their English learning experience. These results indicate that the English language had the potential to be reconstructed in the latest curriculum of primary schools in Indonesia to optimize the young learners' potential for language acquisition. This study recognizes that the reposition of English teaching is essential to maximize students' potential. The study recommends highlighting students' points of view while reconstructing the curriculum. This study also answered the gap of students' perception towards English learning in order to complete user acceptance.