Teachers’ language ideologies and classroom practices in English bilingual education: an ethnographic case study of a senior high school in central Java, Indonesia

Teachers’ language ideologies and classroom practices
in English bilingual education: an ethnographic case study of a senior high school in central Java, Indonesia

This dissertation reports on a study that investigated subject teachers’ language ideologies of English, conducted during the implementation of the government’s policy on the use of English alongside Indonesian in teaching Mathematics and Science and habitual language use of English in selected government-owned schools. This was an ethnographic case study of a state Senior High School in a city in the province of Central Java, Indonesia.
This study identified and examined subject teachers’ language ideologies about English to gain insight into their language practices in classrooms in enacting the government’s promotion of the use of English in school. Central to the study was exploration of links between subject teachers’ English language ideologies, classroom practices, and the contexts that shape both of these. Drawing on Kroskrity (2010), I used the concept language ideologies as the conceptual framework of this study. Language ideologies, or beliefs about language, play a powerful role in the English bilingual education practice in the school context.

The participants were teachers of Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Geography, and Information and Communication Technology, and some school executives to enhance the extent and depth of convictions about English language use. This study was carried out using multiple methods of data collection: whole- school observations, pre-lesson interviews, classroom observations, post-lesson interviews
with video-stimulated recall, observation notes, and site document review. The interpretation and analysis of the data involved cross-checking different sources of evidence. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) thematic analysis was employed in the analysis of the data.
The analysis of the data revealed that subject teachers held multiple and competing language
ideologies about English language use which were manifested in classroom practices. However, teachers’ stated language ideologies were not always in alignment with their language practices. The school context impacted on teachers’ actions and decision-making on the use of English in the
classrooms and in the school. The multiplicity and contested language ideologies circulating in the
school promoted and inhibited teachers’ use of English.
The study offers deeper insights into the complexity of the implementation of English bilingual education in the selected government-owned school. With regard to the empirical implications of the current study, I propose some suggestions which should be taken into account when establishing English bilingual education, particularly if it is top-down policy.