CHARACTER EDUCATION IN ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (EFL) CLASSROOM IN INDONESIA: IMPLEMENTATION AND OBSTACLES

Character education emphasizes the development of students’ behavior as a response to issues in the society. In implementation stages, however, education practitioners need to adapt to the changes and obstacles they face daily. The present, qualitative study aimed at exploring the implementation and obstacles encountered by English teachers towards the implementation of character education in Indonesia. Data were collected from interview sessions in which ten English teachers in South Jakarta participated. Interview sessions were held either in English or Bahasa, depending on teachers’ English level of confidence. Data were then transcribed in a semi-verbatim format. Notably, data gathered from teachers who selected to be interviewed in Bahasa Indonesia were then translated into English. In analyzing the data, thematic grouping was employed. Results showed three major findings: a) mismatch between day-to-day operation and national examination; b) difficulties in connecting English learning contents and the values, and; c) less information regarding the concept of character education. The results of the study shed light on the raising the importance of students’ mastery of English as well as students’ good ethical character. This will ultimately contribute to solving the problems of the nation.