In the Indonesian context, Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan (SMK) or public vocational school is educational system where students are prepared to be able to involve in many aspects of global contention. To fulfil that demand, one of the keys with which students should be equipped is the ability to use English since it is the language used in the global communication. However, as mentioned in Ministry of Education and Culture Regulation (2014 No. 60) the English that should be mastered by SMK students is related not only to their daily communication but also to their future professions and jobs. In other words, students are expected not only to be able to use English as a daily communication language but also as a language that supports their performance
…show more content…
National Education Standards Board (2013) found that there is still a gap between what students have learnt at schools and the expectation of the work fields. Hersulasti (2012) points out that the EFL teaching practices which are conducted at SMKs are not effective to make students able to use English appropriately. She adds that the teaching and learning process is only focused only on written tasks, vocabulary memorizing or grammar. Herisulasti’s explanation clearly indicates that the teaching and learning activities are still far from preparing students to be able to use the target language in their daily life and their future work …show more content…
Marwan (2009) suggests that there are four challenges faced by SMK teachers in implementing ESP program at SMK, those are students’ motivation, mismatch between reality (students’ English proficiency) and expectation (curriculum), lack of quality resources, and teachers’ heavy workload. Furthermore, Andriani (2014) mentions that problems in teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) at SMK can be categorized into five broad problems. They are (1) teaching pedagogy, (2) the teachers, (3) the design of the course, (4) students’ ability and (5) students’ needs. In terms of teachers’ professionalism, Cahyadin (2013) suggests that ESP teachers under his study are not specially prepared and trained for teaching ESP, in fact they are GE teachers. The same view is also stated by Dardjowidjojo (2000) and Kusni (2011), who explains that, with respect to the education background, some ESP teachers do not have any qualification in English
National Education Standards Board (2013) found that there is still a gap between what students have learnt at schools and the expectation of the work fields. Hersulasti (2012) points out that the EFL teaching practices which are conducted at SMKs are not effective to make students able to use English appropriately. She adds that the teaching and learning process is only focused only on written tasks, vocabulary memorizing or grammar. Herisulasti’s explanation clearly indicates that the teaching and learning activities are still far from preparing students to be able to use the target language in their daily life and their future work …show more content…
Marwan (2009) suggests that there are four challenges faced by SMK teachers in implementing ESP program at SMK, those are students’ motivation, mismatch between reality (students’ English proficiency) and expectation (curriculum), lack of quality resources, and teachers’ heavy workload. Furthermore, Andriani (2014) mentions that problems in teaching English for Specific Purposes (ESP) at SMK can be categorized into five broad problems. They are (1) teaching pedagogy, (2) the teachers, (3) the design of the course, (4) students’ ability and (5) students’ needs. In terms of teachers’ professionalism, Cahyadin (2013) suggests that ESP teachers under his study are not specially prepared and trained for teaching ESP, in fact they are GE teachers. The same view is also stated by Dardjowidjojo (2000) and Kusni (2011), who explains that, with respect to the education background, some ESP teachers do not have any qualification in English