1. INTRODUCTION
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome(s) (Spolsky, 2005). The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol. Whereas a policy will contain the ‘what’ and the’why’, procedures or protocols contain the ‘what’, the ‘how’, the ‘where’, and the ‘when’. A Policy can be considered as a “Statement of Intent” or a “Commitment”. For that reason at least, we can be held accountable for our “Policy”. The term may apply to government, private sector organizations and groups, and individuals. Policy differs from rules or law. While law can compel or prohibit behaviors (e.g. a law requiring the payment of taxes on income), policy merely guides actions toward those that are most likely to achieve a desired outcome.
There are many kinds of policy in society. One of them is language policy. Language Policy is highly relevant to scholars, students, specialists and policy-makers working in the fields of applied linguistics, language policy, sociolinguistics, and language teaching and learning (E. Shohamy; K. King: 2009). Moreover, Spolsky (2005, available on internet) stated that:
“Language policy includes not just the regular patterns of choice, but also beliefs about choices and the values of varieties and of variants, and also, most saliently, the efforts made by some to change the choices and beliefs of others.”
In this paper, the writers would like to present about the importance and the influencing language policies at classroom level and school level includes influencing family, community, legislation, and national spirit to benefit English learners.
2. POLICY AT THE CLASSROOM LEVEL
In the classroom, the teacher of the classroom should make some classroom rules to create an educational and social climate that makes school a place where all students can succeed. The language policies are included in the implementation of classroom rules. Its existence is very important, because when students fail to learn, schools and teachers have failed. Teachers are best able to foster dual-language proficiency by carrying out equitable, empowering instruction.
Fair education practices require discipline and vigilant self observation on the part of the classroom teacher. Practicing gender, socioeconomic, racial, and cultural equity requires all students to have an equal opportunity to participate. Teachers must extend mentoring to all students. Referrals to special education or to programs for the gifted should be equitable.
Teachers can incorporate multicultural inclusion into instructional plans, obtaining unbiased materials that promote positive role models from variety of ethnic groups (Diaz-Rico in Lynne, 2008). Multicultural educational materials are readily available (Harris, 1997; Nieto, 2004 in Lynne, 2008). Teachers can be use multicultural examples to illustrate points of instruction, elicit the stories and voices of the students from various cultures, and knit together home and school for the benefit of the students. The following classroom policies promote equity and inclusion for English learners.
- Feature minority languages and cultures in school shows, written communications, and displays.
For example:
Some students in minority cultures and languages must feel that they are different with the other students who are the majority. It could affect negatively for their psychological development in learning process at the classroom. They might feel not confident to express what they think about things. They might also think that what they do, which is different with the others, is something that unimportant for the others. They could not communicate well to the others. So, the teacher, in this case, should take a role as a person who features these minority students to disappear their anxiety, unconfident, and uncomfortable feelings in learning at the classroom. Thus, the students, both the majority and minority, could experience a comfortable atmosphere at the classroom learning.
- Take students’ interest, languages, and backgrounds into consideration when planning instruction.
For example:
Every child has his/her own interest as well as individual background. They are different each other. To face this difference, the teacher should be able to take students’ interest, languages, and backgrounds into consideration when planning the instruction. The teachers should think first about the learning material that could be meaningful for all students from various backgrounds and languages. The use of general information text, or public phenomenon analysis could be as neutral materials that maybe appropriate as the medium of learning language (in this case, English learning).
- Use materials that depict successful individuals of both genders and various races and cultures.
For example:
Same as what have been explained previously that the students in a classroom are students with various backgrounds, races, and genders. The teachers should think first about the learning material that could be meaningful for all students from various backgrounds and languages. The use of general information text, or public phenomenon analysis could be as neutral materials that maybe appropriate as the medium of learning language (in this case, English learning). The materials should not touch sensitively to the particular races so that there would be no any problem for the students.
- The teachers ask an outside observer to help them guarantee that the teachers giving boys and girls equal access to their attention.
For example:
The teacher needs another observer who could observe her way in teaching the students. The observation is about observing whether the teacher have given chance for the all of the students in delivering their ideas during the learning process. Besides, the observer also observes about the way of the teacher gives attention to all of the students.
Beside the inclusion of diversity students, the social environment of the classroom can support student’s achievement. Equitable cooperative grouping can address status differences among students in the classroom (Cohen, Lotan, & Catanzarite, 1990). School practices in non-curricular areas such as school clubs should be nondiscriminatory. If not, a resistance culture may develop among excluded students, leading those students to reject schooling and either drop out or carry out acts of school vandalism. The social climate of the school can be one acceptance for all students in a variety of ways.
3. POLICY AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL
A school is one of the formal institutions that also need the implemented policy. The existence of policy is needed in order to create comfortable, regular, and safety school environment. Besides, it also needed to make the learning and teaching processes run efficiently and effectively.
The example of the language policy in school that has been implemented is the language policy in Harare International School (HIS) in Zimbabwe. This school strives to enhance each student’s self-worth, confidence, and pride by providing curricular programs and activities that encourage participation in multicultural experiences to make the most of the advantages offered by a our multicultural school community. The linguistic and cultural diversity of the school’s population is considered to be both a strength and a rich resource in the promotion of language learning amongst students.
The language of instruction used to deliver the curriculum at Harare International School is English, the official language of Zimbabwe. Students admitted to the school are taught the skills needed to become proficient readers, writers and communicators in the English language both for social interaction and academic success.
Moreover, HIS seeks to develop the elements that will encourage students to be positively engaged in learning an additional language to the mother tongue or first language. Building on the encouragement of a strong foundation in a student’s first language, these include the following competencies:
• grammatical competence (referring to knowledge of vocabulary, sound and grammar)
• sociolinguistic competence (knowledge of how to use language appropriately in different contexts)
• discourse competence (linking elements of language together to take part in certain kinds of discourse, for example, conversation or debate)
• strategic competence (knowledge of appropriate strategies to use if communication breaks down and knowledge of how to learn language)
• cultural competence (includes sensitivity toward attitudes, norms, behaviors and cultures in which the other language is spoken). The example of a detail language policy in school can be seen on the appendix 1.
Furthermore, an exemplary teachers in schools that implement the language policies should provide leadership, goodwill, and academic models for students, advocating funding increases for ELD (English Language Development) and bilingual instruction, working to configure classes and class sizes to the benefit of the English learners, acting as lead or mentor teachers to help new teachers meet the needs of the English learners, and developing a climate of acceptance for linguistic and cultural diversity. Teachers can collaborate and share resources to teach cooperatively, thus mutually increasing their expertise despite cultural, linguistic, or philosophical differences.
What the teachers in a school have to do related with the language policy at the school level to benefit English learners are:
- Ask for teacher assistants to help student who are making a transition to English from primary-language instruction.
- Experts in ELD or primary language instruction should be given time to assist other teachers.
- Negotiate so that ELD and primary language teacher are given an equal share of mentoring and supervisory assistance.
- Vote that an equitable share of budgeted resources be available for bilingual and multicultural instructional materials.
Because of the variety of the students in a school, sometimes a problem caused by the difference of race, language, or culture happen. So, as intercultural educators, the teachers have to show to the students that they do not let this to happen by giving comment. One of the examples of comment that can be given is “it surprises me to hear you express that kind of opinion”. It can show to the students that derogatory sentiment is rejected.
Besides solving the problems which happen because of the diversity of culture, language, and race, the intercultural educators have also to do some prevention. There are several ways proposed by Lynne (2008) to oppose racism at school.
1. Expect leaders in the school to set an example of respect for the diversity.
The students usually imitate what is usually done by the school leaders or teachers. So, if the teacher or the leaders at school who become the model for the students do something that show their tendency to treat one culture better than another, this behavior will also be imitated by the students.
2. Ask school staff (e.g. office personnel) to be equally courteous to all the students and visitors. Besides students, the equality which is received by the visitors who come to the school will also affect the students’ behavior to appreciate the differences among them. if the students see that the visitors who come from the same culture with them are treated differently by the school staff, the students will feel that they are humiliated.
3. Do not use dress codes to discriminate against some subcultures while allowing others to dress as they wish.
The rules including the dressing rule implemented for students at school should be followed by all students without any exception. If the school principle, teacher and other school staffs treat the students equally, it minimizes the tendency of the problem caused by the difference of students’ race, language, or culture.
Another policy that should be made by the school in order to benefit English learners is the policy that can improve students’ academic achievement especially in English. Students’ academic achievement becomes an essential thing to promote the school. Schools attract community attention because of academic achievement of the students. So, schools have to ask their students to join the academic competitions especially outside school. In order to prepare the students joining the academic competition, some schools establish an academic group in which they can learn more intensively and can be taught by dedicated teacher. Schools can foster English Learners participation in academic extracurricular activities through some ways.
1. Insists that the teachers who sponsor academically oriented extracurricular activities receive extra pay.
By giving extra pay for the teacher, the teacher will feel responsible to the academic extracurricular. It means, the teachers have to give their best to the activity and to leads the students to get their success.
2. Arrange for the school to support students with funds to travel to intellectual competition.
The success of the academic extracurricular is also determined by the success of the students in winning the competition that they attend. The success of the students in learning in the academic extracurricular will be nothing if it is not compared with other students from the other schools. So, the students need a great support from school to put them in the competition. If the representatives of the school are able to win the competition, it will promote the school in the society. In contrary, if the school is not able to win it, the school will do such kind of reflection and make a lot of improvement.
3. Ensure that teams competing for academic awards actively solicit individuals from diverse cultural and linguistic background.
In choosing the representatives of the school to compete in the competition, it is also necessary to choose the students from different culture, so that the students will not think that certain culture is more preferable than the others. In line with that consideration, if there are awards in the school level that are dedicated to the students, it is important to choose the students from different culture and linguistic background. So that the students understand that all students from all races have a chance in getting the awards.
4. Hold some intellectual activities such as contest at school level.
Intellectual activity such as seminar and contest held at the school level is very important in improving the quality of the students especially their ability in English. By conducting the contest the students have a chance to practice their English. Besides, they can also feel the atmosphere of the competition which make them accustomed to show their ability in the contest.
For example:
In Indonesia, many schools especially the schools that are well-known have a group special for certain subject which is usually competed, such as Science, Accountancy, Mathematics and English. In this group, the students that have high achievement in those subjects are given additional lesson to deepen their understanding and ability and broaden their knowledge about the subject. For this reason, in order to be able to join the group, they are usually selected or they have to pass certain score for the test prepared by the school. It is hoped that through selection, the group can get the best students who are ready to be the representative of the school in competition. Some schools has policy that the students are only allowed to attend one subject group, so that they can concentrate their mind for one subject which leads to the best achievement they got from the subject group learning process.
SMA Negeri 1 Singaraja is one of the schools which have additional subject group as what is explained previously. This group is usually called KSP (Kelompok Siswa Penggemar). The learning process in the group is usually held once until twice a week outside the school time. During the learning process the students are assessed by the teacher and the score is put as their extracurricular score in their report. For English group, the teacher emphasized the learning material to the contest usually held, such as debate, storytelling, speech, etc. Before joining the competition, the teacher usually hold a competition among the member of the subject group to choose the best student to be the representative of the school. ....(continue to Part 2)
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