Copyright © 2017, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

The Use of English in Teaching Science andMathematics at Public Junior High School 1

GorontaloHasanuddin

Universitas Negeri Gorontalohasanuddin@ung.ac.id

Abstract - The competitiveness in education is one of theimportant issues for developing quality of education inIndonesia. The government of Indonesia has made a decisionabout the criteria of national standard school, planning forinternational standard school, and international standardschool. The international standard school requires English as amedium of instruction for science, mathematics, and corevocational subjects that need to be concerned in relating to theuse of English language as a medium in the classroominteraction where teacher’ talk and students’ talk areunderstandable among others for educational instruction, andthe role of the teachers to teach contents of science andmathematics. The implementation of teaching science andmathematics has some important indicators to be investigated.The objectives of the research are (1) to find out teacherinteractional competence in teaching science and mathematicsthrough English, (2) to find out learners interactional patternsthat occur in teaching science and mathematics throughEnglish, and (3) to find out the roles of the teachers that reflectteaching approach or method in teaching science andmathematics through English. The research used qualitativeapproach and data were collected by using interview anddirect observation to the teachers of science and mathematicswho were teaching subject matters through English that arecalled subjects of the research. Data were analyzedqualitatively with ethnography of communication anddiscourse analysis. The research findings indicated that theteaching of science and mathematics were not maximallyimplemented because of a limited English language instructionand terms related to the contents of the teaching.Key words: teaching, teacher interactional competence, learnerinteractional pattern, the role of the teacher

1. INTRODUCTIONInternationalization at all levels of education in

Indonesia is aimed to achieve the vision of education as aquality and competitiveness. The government of Indonesiathrough the ministry of national education at a universitylevel has proposed that public or private universities have todevelop their regional and world rankings of university to bea world class university that characterized by the presence ofinternational students, teaching and classroom interactionthrough English or other foreign languages, and internationalstandard research, journals, and publishing. At the junior andhigh school levels, the ministry of national education has

already planned to develop quality of education to nationalstandard, planning for international standard, andinternational standard schools that indicate: (1) a curriculumshould be international standard in accordance with anOECD member country, (2) using English as a medium ofclassroom interaction especially for teaching mathematicsand science and core vocational subjects (Depdiknas, 2007).

The implementation of national education vision as acompetitive education at every level of education inIndonesia became a philosophy of a quality of education bystandardizing schools at national, planned internationalstandard, and international standard schools. Internationalstandard schools are according to the criteria that thegovernment and international partners have set up together.For instance, the quality of academic administration andmanagement, process of student recruitment, curriculum andits implementation, human resources including teachers,facilities for education implementation.

The implications of the main tasks of teachers atinternational schools in more firmly again is to educate,teach, guide, direct, train, assess, and evaluate students withinternational standards. Some of the main tasks outlined inthis school are as follows: (1) develop an internationalcurriculum, (2) develop an international syllabus, (3) createlesson plans, (4) conduct a bilingual teaching by using one offoreign languages, especially in English and Indonesian, soteachers must have English language skills, and many moretasks at an international school.

RSBI (Rencana Sekolah Berstandar Internasional)Public Junior High School I Gorontalo SMP Negeri 1Gorontalo has been stated by the government as RSBI that islocated at central city of Gorontalo. This school has beendeveloping international school requirements includingmanagement, curriculum, human resources, teaching andlearning process, facilities, etc. For the RSBI school likeSPMN 1 Gorontalo, it is still developing capacity to be aninternational standard school.

In actual condition of teaching mathematics andscience at RSBI SMPN 1 Gorontalo according to preresearch indicated the teachers of science and mathematicshave already used English as a medium of classroominteraction in teaching and learning process. However, they

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have not been well performed because of (1) lowinteractional competence in teaching science andmathematics through English, (2) learners interactionalpatterns occur in teaching science and mathematics throughEnglish are not so helpful to facilitate learning activities, and(3) the roles of the teachers are not maximal to reflectteaching approach or method in teaching science andmathematics through English.

Interactional competence according to Richards andLockhart (1994) is how teachers manage their interactionwith the class in a way to allow all students in participatingand interacting in the classroom that consists of severaldimensions of classroom behavior: (1) knowing the etiquetteof classroom interaction, (2) knowing the rules for individualand collaborative work, (3) knowing when to ask and answerquestions, (4) knowing how and when to assistance orfeedback in completing a task, and (5) knowing appropriaterules for displaying knowledge.

Teaching science and mathematics through English isalso related to the importance of language teachers in theclassroom communication. Nunan (1989) has investigatedissues related to types of teacher talk, speech modificationsmade by teachers, instructions and explanation, types andnumber of questions asked and error correction. Teachersmodify their speech to make the language easier tocomprehend, and in turn, to help the learner to understandand apply teaching materials for instance science andmathematics. The teacher also instructs and explains theteaching materials to students and therefore the teacher andstudents develop their interactional patterns. For instance,teacher – students interactional patterns, students- teacherinteractional patterns, etc. Besides, the teacher also asksquestions for clarification and check students’understanding.

The implementation of teaching science andmathematics has some important indicators to beinvestigated. The focus of investigation would be on (1) howteachers interactional competence occur in teaching scienceand mathematics through English, (2) how learnersinteractional patterns occur in teaching science andmathematics through English, and (3) what roles of theteachers that reflect teaching approach or method in teachingscience and mathematics through English. The objectives ofthe research are: (1) to find out teacher interactionalcompetence in teaching science and mathematics throughEnglish, (2) to find out learners interactional patterns thatoccur in teaching science and mathematics through English,and (3) to find out the roles of the teachers that reflectteaching approach or method in teaching science andmathematics through English.

The significance of this study are: (1) For theteacher, the result of this study is hoped to give contributionsto teachers of mathematics and science especiallyinteractional competence in teaching and learning processand accommodate students interactional patterns by using

English, (2) For the school, the result of this study is hopedto give the description about the teachers’ ability ininteractional competence and the teachers’ roles in teachingand learning process by using English. By knowing theteachers’ ability in interactional competence and teachers’roles, the school is hoped to make a plan how to developquality of teachers and education for all.

2. METHODSThis research used qualitative and descriptive to

investigate the teaching mathematics and science throughEnglish (Sugiono, 2008; Nunan, 1992, p.91, Nunan, 1989, &Denzin, 1978). The data were the use of English in theclassroom interaction when the teachers taught mathematicsand science. The data were collected by using directobservation and interview. The researcher observed directlyto the teachers of mathematics and science when they wereteaching mathematics and science through English at SMPN1 Gorontalo. There were three teachers in science class wereobserved, and there were three teachers in mathematics wereobserved. The observation was done for 5 sections and eachsection consisted of 45 minutes for presentation. Interviewwas also used to teachers of science and mathematics forsupporting data of classroom interaction. Data were finallyanalyzed qualitatively (Marshall & Rossman, 1989) bytranscribing data, classifying data, sorting data, interpretingdata according to research focus, and finally drawing aconclusion.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION3.1 Teachers’ Interactional Competence in TeachingScience and Mathematics through English

Research findings indicate that teachersinteractional competence in teaching science andmathematics through English were not maximallyimplemented because of some factors: (1) teachers canmanage their class and their interaction but students have alimited opportunity to participate, (2) limited Englishlanguage terms related to science and mathematics to beused by both teachers and students, and (3) there was noguide book for both teachers and students when they werelearning science and mathematics.

The teachers can manage their class when they wereteaching science and mathematics but students have a limitedopportunity to take a part in the classroom interaction. Theteachers of science and mathematics dominate their talk. Thestudents would take a part if the teachers gave themopportunity to do something according to their instruction.This is also because of the cultural background of thelearners that they cannot take a turn without the teacher’spermission.

As teachers of science and mathematics, they haveto know well about how to know the rules for individual andcollaborative work. In the teaching of science andmathematics, the teachers dominated teaching learning

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process so the students have no individual work andcollaborative work. There was less opportunity for thestudents to take turns and the students gave passiveparticipation. Therefore, in the future students would bemore active in learning with individual work and cooperativework in learning science and mathematics. According toTomlinson (2004) personal growth for professionaldevelopment is a part of developing quality of education.

Related to the teacher’s competence in managingthe classroom, it is found that the teachers have managed theclass. The teachers managed the class before she started toteach. Related to the using English in teaching and learningprocess, the teacher used it around the class. In teaching andlearning process, the teachers explained the material byusing LCD. After that, the teacher gave the task to thestudents. Related to interaction or communication in theclass, the researcher found that the teacher can build thecommunication when they were study.

3.2 Learners’ Interactional Patterns Occurred inTeaching Science and Mathematics through English

Based on the observations that have been made, itwas found that there had been interaction in the classroomduring the learning process by using English. Interaction inthe classroom starts with teachers of the early events,activities continued with the opening of the core activities oflearning and end with the closing activities. All stages in thislearning process by using English.

In the warm-up activity, the teacher started in theclassroom interaction with learners greeting. In addressinglearner,s teachers began to greet their students out earlyactivities, learners had begun to get used to the interactionduring the learning. After that, the teachers began to startasking the material learners have learned in the previousmeetings. In this activity, teacher asked the previous materialto learners by their names.

The second stage is the core stage of the learningprocess. At this stage, the teacher began to explain materialto learners. In this stage, the teacher initially displayed avideo related to the material. The video was displayed byusing English as a language of instruction. After seeing thevideo show, the teacher began to give some questionsregarding to the video. The all learners were asked to do thetasks that were assigned by the teacher. They were giventasks that teachers using the English language. After the taskhas been done, the teacher began to explain the material thatbecame the main topic at the meeting. In the matterexplained, teachers used the English language. The last stagein the learning we observed is the closing activity. Withinthis activity, the teacher concluded that the material has beenstudied together with learners. Before the teacher endedactivities on that day, the teacher gave the homework to theirlearners.

According to the stages of the teaching it was foundthat the dominant interactional patterns occurred were the

teacher – learner interactional patterns, teacher- learnersinteractional patterns, and teacher – all learners interactionalpatterns. Besides, learners-teacher interactional patterns andlearner-learners or learners-learner interactional patternswere not found.

Some basic considerations have been paid attentionin the classroom interaction. Allwright and Bailey (1991)stated some factors have been considered like (1) who has tospeak (participants), (2) what the talking about (topics), (3)what will participants do when they have opportunity (task),(4) what situation should be created (tone), and (5) whatlanguage code would be used.

The dominant interactional patterns occurred wereteacher-learners that indicate that learners have lessopportunity to take turn in the classroom communication.Therefore, learners are passive learning because the teacherdominates the opportunity to speak and in turn, they cannotexpress their willingness and practice their communicationin the classroom. They are also difficult to developbackground knowledge and procedural knowledge wherelearners integrate bottom-up and top-down processing, andin their ability to draw inference of the meaning of newwords.

Richards and Lockhart (1994) described 6 differentinteractional patterns. They are (1) task-oriented studentsthat are generally highly competent and successful incompleting academic tasks and they enjoy school andlearning, (2) phantom students that may not often be noted orheard in the classroom, and however, they are participateactively in lesson only infrequently, (3) social students thatplace a high value on personal interaction and they arecompetent in accomplishing classroom tasks and enjoytutoring others in the class, (4) dependent students who needthe teacher’s support and guidance to complete class tasks,(5) isolated students that set themselves apart from othersand withdraw from classroom interaction, and they avoidlearning situation by learning away from activities, and (6)alienated students that react against teaching and learningand are often hostile and aggressive.

3.3 Roles Reflecting a Teaching Approach or Method inTeaching Science and Mathematics through English

Talking about the role of teachers in the learningprocess, it involves classroom setting, to guide and motivatestudents. The teachers’ roles have been seen in the learningprocess. In the role of teachers as mentors, teachers alwayscame to seat students and provide guidance about the task orthe material. They discussed roles of teachers in the contextof teaching science and mathematics may also be influencedby the approach or methodology that the teachers used. It isfound that the teachers (1) communicated clearly by givingaccurate direction, specifying tasks and measurement,presenting new information by explaining, outlining,summarizing, reviewing, (2) obtained and managedengagement by maintaining task focus, pacing instruction

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appropriately, and communicating expectation for successfulperformance, (3) monitored progress by reviewing workfrequently, and (4) provide immediate feedback byinforming students when they are successful, and givinginformation about how to achieve success.

To maximize roles of the teachers in teachingscience and mathematics is needed to train the teachers ofphysics, biology, and mathematics about a guidance ofinstructional terms related to English language instruction,and terms related to contents of physics, Biology, andmathematics themselves. These are main problems faced bythe teachers that have to use the English as a medium ofinstruction in teaching science and mathematics. Breen andCandlin (1980 p.92) stated that characterize the targetcompetence to communicate involve the learners in thesharing and negotiating meaning.

Many ways have been made to overcome theproblems faced by students and teachers in the learningprocess. For the teachers themselves, the school has beenconducting training programs on the use of English in thelearning process. In addition, teachers themselves to improvethemselves by always studying learning handbook. Forstudents, the way they do to overcome the problem oflearning is that they try to find a guide book that uses thelanguage of the Indonesian language. They find this bookjust to support their understanding of the material providedby teachers using the English language. However, the use ofEnglish remains the most important. In addition, for smooththeir mastery of English, they also take courses outsideschool hours. Thus, the main problem is the use of English inlearning science and mathematics can be overcome.

4. CONCLUSIONTeachers interactional competence in teaching

science and mathematics through English were notmaximally implemented because of some factors: (1)teachers can manage their class and their interaction butstudents have limited opportunity to participate, (2) limitedEnglish language terms related to science and mathematicsto be used by both teachers and students, and (3) there wasno guide book for both teachers and students when they werelearning science and mathematics. The dominantinteractional patterns occurred were the teacher – learnerinteractional patterns, teacher- some learners’ interactionalpatterns, and teacher – all learners’ interactional patterns.While learners-teacher’ interactional patterns and learner-learners’ or learners-learner’ interactional patterns were notfound. Roles of teachers in the context of teaching scienceand mathematics may also be influenced by the approach ormethodology that the teacher follows. It is found that theteachers (1) communicated clearly by giving accuratedirection, specifying tasks and measurement, presenting newinformation by explaining, outlining, summarizing,reviewing, (2) obtained and managed engagement bymaintaining task focus, pacing instruction appropriately, and

communicating expectation for successful performance, (3)monitored progress by reviewing work frequently, and (4)provided immediate feedback by informing students whenthey are successful and giving information about how toachieve success.

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