English Teacher Should Be Creative to Face the New Curriculum

The increasingly complex educational challenges following the enactment of the 2013 curriculum, requires the readiness of teachers as an important element in the implementation of this curriculum. Especially for English teachers, they are not only required to have a good mastery of the material but also have the creativity when delivering lessons to the students. In addition, the rapid development in the digital era also provides an opportunity for teachers to create interactive teaching methods that utilize the digital technology. It is considered to be very positive because most students today are digital native generation.

As stated by Rector UII, Dr. Ir. Harsoyo, M.Sc when opening the 11th Jogja English Teachers Association (Jeta) and The 1st International English Language Teaching Conference (IELTCON) which took place in the Auditorium Kahar Muzakkir, UII main campus on Wednesday (18/6). The event, which lasted for 2 days, brings together educators in the field of English language teaching from various professions, such as teachers, lecturers and practitioners. They not only come from the region of Yogyakarta, but also from other parts of Indonesia. Some participants even come from foreign countries, such as Japan, Philippines and United States. The conference at the same time also serves as medium to exchange ideas and experiences in order to improve the quality of English teaching in Indonesia.

In his speech, Dr. Harsoyo also stressed the importance to enhance capabilities and prepares students to speak English in order to face the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015. “Herein lies the role of educators so that they can educate their students to not only master the working skill, but also proficient in English”, he added.

Meanwhile, Senior Chief of JETA Dra. Endang Triningsih, M.Pd advised that fellow teachers should be open minded and dynamic when faced with changes in the curriculum. “Some of our colleagues are still not confident. Therefore, this is the role of the conference to exchange experiences, gain new knowledge as well as shape the teaching skills of teachers,” she said. She added that this is the first time UII hosted the event which represented by the English Education Program UII.

Spectacular Performances from Opera van JETA

Besides attended by over 400 participants, the conference participants was also entertained by spectacular musical performances entitled Opera van Jeta who presented the play “Ken Arok and Ken Dedes”. This opera is an extraordinary because most of the players are English teachers. Even so, they were able to portray each character perfectly so that able to invite admiration from the conference participants who enjoyed it.