Multilingual re-instantiation: Genre pedagogy in Indonesian classrooms

Abstract

The research reported in this thesis investigates the teaching of English in multilingual classrooms in two Indonesian secondary schools. The theoretical framework used is systemic functional linguistics (SFL), with reference to notions of text and context, genre and register theory and genre based pedagogy. The research constitutes a design based action research study, concerned to establish a theoretically strong bilingual pedagogic practice for the teaching of writing in English in Indonesia. The pedagogy developed is interventionist and innovative. It is interventionist in that it proposes active intervention in the teaching, scaffolding the students towards growing independence and confidence in their use of English. It is innovative in that it breaks new ground for the Indonesian context, providing a principled approach to the design and implementation of English programs in the Indonesian multilingual classrooms. The pedagogy does this by making planned and deliberate use of Bahasa Indonesia, while introducing English in a systematic way, so that students are steadily enabled to use English confidently. The methodology underpinning the pedagogy is drawn from the Reading to Learn program (Rose, 2012; 2015), based on SFL and genre theory. The intervention program involves teaching and learning in the two languages, employing an embedded literacy practice, in that the teaching of English involves the teaching of scientific knowledge. In both classrooms lessons are taught in three iterations, and the students’ progress in writing across the lessons is traced systematically, and students’ written texts are collected, analyzed and evaluated. The results of the intervention program indicate two important outcomes. In pedagogic practices, the study provides valuable evidence of using L1 in L2 teaching and learning. In terms of the students’ writing development, the students are shown to have gained considerable control of L2 and knowledge of the field for writing.