Teaching Practices

SMP 1 Negeri Surakarta

Procedures of Teaching

I had eight meetings with my Grade 9 students from sections A, B, C, and D. During these classes, I prepared a lesson plan following the format SMP 1 used with three main parts: Introduction, Core Lesson, and Closing Activity.

Introduction (10 minutes) – This is the part where I check the students’ attendance, greet them, and ask one of the students to lead the prayer. Afterward, as the teacher, I must explain the learning objectives for the meeting. Finally, provocative questions will be asked to explore students' prior knowledge about the topic through the Socratic method. I must also make adjustments to the learning according to the responses from the students, as my students are EFL learners.
Core Lesson (60 minutes) – This is the part of the lesson where discussion and lecture occur. I tried my best to make the lesson more engaging and understandable by making use of simple terms in English and making use of visual aids. I spoke very slowly and did repetitions of explanations, constantly asking the students if they understood the lesson. The assessment is also done under this part, the formative and summative assessments wherein I used simple worksheets approved by my Supervising Teachers.
Closing Activity (10 minutes) – The teacher invites students to reflect on what they have learned, summarizes the learning, and reiterates the importance of the lesson before the closing prayer.

Time Management and Organizing Activities

The allotted time for English in SMP 1 is two periods, with 40 minutes per period. Therefore, I had 80 minutes per meeting with the four sections I handled. I believe 80 minutes is just suitable for teaching EFL students. I maximized the time for the core lesson and assessments.

For my final demo, since my lesson was about Procedure Texts and Imperative Sentences, I made a worksheet and procedure text on “Making a Butterfly Clay.” I organized this activity so that the students could have fun while learning. They also presented their outputs after the activity, naming their butterflies and sharing their experience while following the procedure text.

Classroom Management

I used the “Hep Hep, Hooray” game in my classroom management. This is a Filipino game where one person will say “Hep-Hep,” and the other person has to say “Hooray.” I explained this activity during our first meeting, which aims to get the students’ attention when they get noisy or unattentive. Thankfully, the students in SMP 1 are disciplined and well-behaved.

Problem-Solving

One of the problems I expected as a foreign student teacher is language barriers, especially in Surakarta City, where Bahasa Indonesia and Javanese are the dominant languages in the region. There was also a cultural difference, as I was from another country adjusting to their way of life. But for me, I had prepared myself for these challenges way before arriving in Indonesia. I studied the culture of Indonesia and Java, learned basic and important phrases before arriving, and used available resources to combat the language barrier with students.

When teaching, I speak very slowly and repetitions of explanations in consideration of my foreign students. I spoke basic English and simple terms that were understandable to EFL learners. I used visual aids and images to better relate the lessons to the class. In SMP 1, the majority of the students can understand English. However, some can’t speak complete English. I try my best to communicate through body language as well. I also received help from my UNS buddies when conversing with non-English speakers.