Purposes of Practicum

This SEAMEO SEA Teacher initiative aims to provide pre-service teachers with a taste of teaching in a different Southeast Asian nation. The SEA-Teacher Project's specific objectives are:

to facilitate the development of the pedagogy and teaching abilities of the student teachers.
to motivate student instructors to work on their English.
to enable the student teachers to get a more comprehensive understanding of their region and the globe.
to teach aspiring educators the importance of flexibility and expose them to various teaching and learning scenarios and possibilities.

(Home - Seateacher, 2017)

After joining the SEA-Teacher program, I can confidently say that the purpose and goals of the exchange program were successfully attained. UPI, which is my receiving university, has helped me to develop, enrich, and expand my horizon in the teaching profession.

I learned a lot during my time at UPI, particularly about pedagogy; from creating lesson planning, and honing classroom management, to integrating and facilitating learning. My ability to speak English more fluidly improved. This is because, English is what I use as a first language to interact with my cooperating teacher, co-practice teachers, dear students, volunteers, and other SEA-Teacher participants on a day-to-day basis. Furthermore, I was also able to acquire some knowledge of the national language of Indonesia which is the Bahasa Language.

In the end, what I admire the most about this program is the exposure and the exchange of culture and knowledge. As one of the channels of this cultural exchange, I am beyond privileged to share my acquired knowledge and attest to it in a real classroom setting.

Challenges & Overall Impressions

Regarding difficulties encountered during the program, language was not the main challenge as I thought it would be. The majority of students, instructors, and staff can speak in English; though they are not well-versed in English, they understand whenever we communicate with them. The biggest challenge we've encountered in the program was the time constraints. In the span of one month, we only got to practice teaching for two weeks instead of having four weeks. Due to school events like graduation, school trip, and examination, the schedule given to us before our exchange program was adjusted.

Even though time can never be taken back, the cooperating teachers made sure to make the best teaching experience for us at UPI. They are hands-on and frequently check on our progress on our lesson plans, especially during the two weeks vacant. They adjusted it through the teaching classes to complete the 20-hour teaching requirement. Instead of one or two classes a day, I/we taught three to four classes to make up for the time lost.

I am delighted to be a part of the ninth batch of the SEA-Teacher Project. Being able to travel overseas and promote my school and the Philippines is also one of my aspirations. Through this program, I have stepped outside my comfort zone, grown, and become a more capable individual.
I have much of amazing and memorable experiences and had a great time meeting a lot of lovely individuals not just in UPI but in the locality of Bandung. I especially want to thank Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia for embracing us like family during our 1-month stay.

Suggestions for Future Improvement

So far, everything I expected was met; however, there are still things that need to be improved. The entire experience of my practicum in Indonesia has left a lasting impression on me especially since this was the first time I practiced teaching in a classroom. I will rate my whole experience as 9 out of 10 because I have concerns regarding the following:

1. Sahabat or Buddies. They only became our "buddy" when we had excursions. It would mean a lot if we had a buddy who would show up not only on excursion days. During our first week in UPI, we expect that our assigned buddies will show up to at least tour us around and orient us with the place. As someone who does not live in Indonesia, everything is foreign; a buddy would be of great help not only to become my walking map but also a friend and companion.

So, for future programs, I hope that this will be improved and that the assigned buddies coming from the receiving university will be active and will check them from time to time.

2. Schedule. It so happened that the schedule we're given is not aligned with the SMA Labschool schedule. I think also that the time we arrived is not exactly a good time because the Labschool has lots of agenda and events. So, in the future, it would be better if they will cooperate and communicate with the cooperating teachers. Even so, the purpose of the program is still achieved even if there are changes in the schedule.

3. School tour. We haven't experienced being toured inside a very big university. Though it would be really fun to explore it on our own, we would appreciate it if someone who is well-versed in the university would show us around.

This is my suggestion for the SEAMEO SEA-Teacher program:

It would be nice to extend the length of the Exchange Program! Even if we stayed for a month, we cannot help but want to stay for a bit longer. Maybe for the next few years, a month-long program may turn into two to three months long! ♥

For the upcoming SEA-Teacher participants, it would be better if you come prepared by ensuring that you at least 1) know their culture; 2) are familiar with their language, and know their basic greetings; and 3) researched the possible expenses and the place. This would be very beneficial to them while residing there. Finally, but just as importantly, have fun if your university chose you to participate in this program! Give your heart and all your might, respect the reputation of your nation and university, and make plenty of friends and independent discoveries. ♥

Thank you so much, FEU Roosevelt, for this opportunity!

Terima kasih banyak, UPI dan SMA Labschool!