Implementing a Teacher Education Program in Indonesian Context: from Theory to Practice

Abstract

The need for education, more specifically English, inevitably has increased the demand for language teachers. To provide a better quality of education, these teachers then are called to exercise their professionalism. In Indonesia, the call for implementing teacher’s professional development has become primary attention of the Government. In response to the issue, it is mandatory for teachers in various teacher-education institutions in Indonesia to upgrade their existing knowledge and skills in teaching as well as those who are still preparing themselves to be teachers. In this context, teachers in this country can further develop and/or continue their professional development as language teachers. This paper attempts to build a teacher-education program based on a preliminary need analysis on skills that the teachers expect to have. Samples of activities in the teacher-education program are also presented.