The West Java Japanese Language Teachers’ Working Group (MGMP) meeting, which is held annually, was held this time at SMAN 10 Kota Bandung. The Subject Teachers’ Working Group, similar to the KKG, is a teachers’ organization formed to serve as a communication forum aimed at solving problems faced by teachers in their daily work in the field. MGMP is at the secondary school level, both at the junior high school/MTS and senior high school/K/MA levels.
The Subject Teacher Working Group, originally called the Study Field Teacher Working Group, is a non-structural professional organization formed by teachers in secondary schools in a region as a vehicle for exchanging experiences to improve teacher skills and learning quality. In addition to the commissariat level, MGMP also has a broader forum at the district or city level. This is to cover the issues faced by teachers more broadly so that the gaps between teachers are smaller, and they can better understand the problems and solutions from the results of the working group meetings as a whole. The legal framework for this subject teacher organization is based on Law No. 14 of 2005 concerning Teachers and Lecturers.
The presence of the high school Japanese Language MGMP provides an opportunity for lecturers in the Japanese Language Study Program to contribute, particularly in organizing a series of events. “This is the second year we have collaborated with the MGMP. They, as the committee, welcomed our assistance in facilitating the meeting, which was attended by almost all teachers of the subject at their school,” said Mrs. Novi, a permanent lecturer at the Widyatama University (UTama) study program.
The series of events included competitions involving ninth and tenth grade students accompanied by their teachers. The competitions included cover sing, Rodoku Competition, quiz, Suuji, and Cos-street (Cosplay Street). The students were very enthusiastic, as seen from the data showing that the number of registrants in 2015 compared to this year has increased by around 25%. This was a source of great satisfaction for the committee and event supporters, including UTama. The contributions made by UTama lecturers included serving as competition judges, supporting publicity, preparing questions, etc. In addition, this was an annual program for them in carrying out their three pillars of higher education, especially community service.
This collaboration has benefited many parties, especially the MGMP committee, which consists of subject teachers in secondary schools. Furthermore, teachers can share updates on the curriculum and their linguistic knowledge in this forum.
