Inquiring English Teachers with Non-English Educational Backgrounds in Bali: Do They Know How to Teach English?

Abstract

The fact that Bali is an international tourism destination places the needs to teach English since an early age in Bali. However, research to date about English teachers of primary schools in Bali shows that not all of these teachers are holding English education qualification backgrounds. This qualitative study involved interviewing 4 non-English education qualification teachers who have to teach English regardless of their unsuitable qualification. This article presents a narrative of these teachers’ experience of teaching English. It presents insight on what they understand about English teaching, the challenges they encountered, and the professional development disposition they had. The interview shows that these English teachers understand the principles of teaching English but for some reasons such as school support and English competency, they hardly put some of these principles into action. They are struggling with using the target language fully in the classroom, using interesting media, and providing more students-centered activities. These teachers have compliant disposition in attending formal professional development program and some selfdirected learning which is more oriented to their needs.