Integrating Authentic Contexts in Teaching the Indonesian as Foreign Language: An Eclectic Model for Vocabulary Instruction

Authentic learning context is very important aspect for learner language acquisition, particularly to enhance learners’ expressive skills for real communication. This paper discusses a model of vocabulary instruction which is integrated with reading an authentic text of current affair in Indonesia. For the teaching of Indonesian as second language, the need to use authentic material is a great challenge for either the teacher and the learners. Although resources and online multimedia can be easily accessed, however, selecting and organizing a comparably suitable topic for different learners’ background in higher education need to be methodically prepared. By using multiple activities on teaching vocabulary through authentic reading material can develop student comprehension as well as their productive language skills. The eclectic model is developed to enhance the acquisition of new vocabularies through various tasks and reading activities. This eclectic teaching model is considerable handy choice to organize material using different methods and different techniques of different methods to serve different background of learners, age, gender, goal, either in short term and long term activities.