04 Eko Purwanti.cdr Eko Purwanti 30-43 is an English lecturer at English L a n g u a g e E d u c a t i o n D e p a r t m e n t o f U n i v e r s i t a s Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta. S h e e a r n e d h e r P h D f r o m Monash University, Australia in November 2016. Her research i n t e r e s t s i n v o l v e t e a c h e r professional learning, reective practice, collaborative reective p r a c t i c e , l e s s o n s t u d y a n d P r o f e s s i o n a l L e a r n i n g C o m m u n i t y ( P L C ) Additionally, she is interested in linguistics, especially issues related to sociolinguistics and pragmatics. ABSTRACT The establishment of Teacher and Lecturer Law No. 14/ 2005 has an implication that all lecturers in Indonesia should maintain their professionalism in order to improve the teaching and learning process. In an attempt to be professional, lecturers are expected to carry out on-going professional learning. This study aims to seek the perceptions of English as a Foreign Language lecturers about their professional learning in a language training centre of a private university in Indonesia. Underpinned by interpretive paradigm and naturalistic design, the study employed qualitative methods using focus group interviews by which seven EFL lecturers were included as the participants. The nding of the study reveals that professional learning activities conducted by the participants are perceived as a compulsory activity, a result of their experiences, their learning orientation, their learning passion, and their internal motivation. These ndings, in fact, corroborate the principles of adult learning theory of Malcolm Knowles called Andragogy which is based on the learning principles such as self-concept, readiness to learn, orientation to learning, adult learner experience, and motivation to learn. Keywords: Andragogy, adult learning, professional learning, teaching competencies BACKGROUND Understanding the EFL Lecturers' Beliefs about Their Professional Learning from the Lens of Malcolm Knowles Theory of Andragogy The profession of teachers and lecturers in Indonesia has an important role to improve the quality of human resources in Indonesia. This role has been strengthened by the issuance of the Teacher and Lecturer Law No.14/2005 in which all teachers and lecturers in Indonesia are stipulated as profession (Supriatna, 2010). Thus, to be regarded as professionals, all 31 lecturers in Indonesia should full some requirements comprising appropriate qualications, sufcient competencies, and teaching certications. In terms of qualication, all lecturers should hold at least a graduate degree, and they are expected to pursue higher study up to doctoral degree, while in terms of competencies, there are four competencies that should be possessed by all lecturers such as pedagogical, personal, social, and professional. Finally, all lecturers are required to achieve teaching certication, and without which they cannot be regarded as professionals. These requirements are intended to improve the capacity of Indonesian lecturers, and thus the establishment of the Teacher and Lecturer Law No.14/2005 becomes the need of Indonesian government to improve the quality of teaching and learning process. The improvement of teaching and learning process in Indonesian schools is inevitable due to some reasons. First, the development of knowledge and technology in the world has rapidly changed and people are required to equip themselves with sufcient education or otherwise they will be left behind. Similarly, the quality of education in Indonesia should be increased in order to make Indonesian people able to cope with rapid changes of global information and development of knowledge (Supriatna, 2010). Second, having high quality of education, Indonesian people are ready and capable of facing massive competition in the global job market among people in the world. In so doing, universities as the highest level of education in Indonesia are expected to improve their quality simultaneously since one of their roles is to become the agent for producing qualied human resources in the future. As the consequence, all lecturers in a university level as one of the main factors inuencing graduates' quality should maintain their professionalism by improving their competencies. In responding to the need of improving teaching competencies, lecturers commonly conduct a series of activities called professional development or professional learning, and so do the EFL lecturers of a language centre of a private university in Indonesia. The need to improve teaching competencies by conducting various professional learning activities was experienced by the EFL lecturers of the Smash Language Centre (SLC) (pseudonym). While some EFL lecturers in the SLC pursue their higher study, some others try to involve themselves in both formal and informal activities such as attending seminars, workshop, training, as well as doing mentoring program and having informal discussion, informal peer consultation, and so forth. Some authors argue and state that the notion of professional development and professional learning are similar and thus can be used interchangeably  ; however, the latter is preferable and used in this study because of the basic tenet attached to it, improvement. It is interesting to note that while the activity of professional learning is often motivated by external factors such as remuneration, policy, or career opportunity, there are no such things in the SLC. Indeed, the EFL lecturers who teach compulsory English for students from almost all faculties in the university are unique because they are recruited as EFL instructors by the director of the SLC, and therefore their duty is different from the common lecturers in general. Normally, based on the National Education Law No. 20/2003, all lecturers have an obligation to conduct Tri Dharma Perguruan Tinggi by which they have three responsibilities involving educating students, conducting research, and carrying out community services (Purwanti, 2016). However, these EFL lecturers in the SLC have no such obligation as their status is regarded as instructors rather than lecturers. Being EFL instructors in the institution, they are responsible for teaching EFL subject in the classroom, and they are not obliged to conduct research or community service as lecturers are. Thus, their intention to conduct their professional learning is likely driven by their own initiatives. The phenomenon by which the EFL lecturers initiate their own learning can be viewed from the perspectives of adult learning Journal of Foreign Language, Teaching & Learning Vol.2 No. 1, January 2017 32 theory of Malcolm Knowles called as the theory of Andragogy (Knowles, 1984). Based on his theory, adult learning is commonly characterized by ve principles such as 1) self-concept, 2) adult learner experience, 3) readiness to learn, 4) orientation to learning, and 5) motivation to learn. These ve principles of Andragogy theory may underpin adult learners' motivation in conducting their professional learning. However, detailed information about the reasons underlying their intention to conduct professional learning should be investigated more thoroughly. This study then aims at seeking the EFL lecturers' beliefs about their professional learning from the lens of Malcolm Knowles theory of Andragogy. REVIEWS OF LITERATURE Teacher professional development vs teacher professional learning Professional development and professional learning are often used to refer to any activities conducted by professionals to improve their capacity in their work place. Some experts argue that professional development is similar to professional learning, while some others think as vice versa. While the notion of professional development and professional learning has frequently been used interchangeably  , these terms are often used to refer to activities emphasizing on improvement. Take for an example, pursuing higher study, presenting a paper at seminars, attending workshops, joining academic trainings, and so forth can be included as such activities. However,   stated that when referring to the literature, these terms have actually different meanings. Professional development is dened as any activity that is intended partly or primarily to prepare paid staff members for improved performance in present or future role in the school districts ' . Other scholars such as Day and Sachs '  asserted that professional development is activities by which teachers engage during the course of a career which are designed to enhance their work. Moreover,   urged that professional development has a purpose to advance people as professional practitioners. Since then, the term 'development' was introduced, and the word professional development was used by people to describe an activity done by someone to someone else, or what someone does to others (Easton, 2008). Based on these above denitions, one thing characterizes the notion of professional development, improvement. This is in line with  , who stated that the word "development" may be an improvement. However, Easton said that the term development itself is not sufcient, especially in education, as educators need to change what they do, on a daily or sometimes hourly basis, as they respond to the needs of the learners they serve. In so doing, the educators need to learn. Also, professional development is often merely seen as participation, thus there is scarcity in empirical facts that it has an impact on teachers' practices or on students' outcomes. Therefore, the term “professional learning” is more preferable than “professional development”  . On the other hand, professional learning is something most teachers and educators do every day as they reect on their professional practice, work together and share ideas to improve students' outcomes  . Professional learning implies an internal process in which individuals create professional knowledge through interaction with this information in a way that challenges previous assumptions and creates new meanings ( . Also, professional learning requires teachers to be seriously engaged in their learning. Thus, professional learning should be continuously and thoroughly carried out by teachers and school stake holders. Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that professional learning is teachers' routine and on-going activities which are derived from their own motivation. In addition, professional learning can be conducted both formally and informally. In this context, the characteristics of professional learning t the activities conducted by the EFL lecturers of the SLC. Journal of Foreign Language, Teaching & Learning Vol.2 No. 1, January 2017 33 Malcolm Knowles theory of Andragogy People learn in different ways, and so do children and adults. To understand children or adult learning, theories of learning should be presented as they can explain how people learn and what factors are included in the complex processes of learning. Since this study is focused on EFL lecturers or adult learners in relation to their professional learning, the theory used in the study is also focused on adult learning. According to  , there are three different types of adult learning. Theory of Andragogy and theory of Self-Directed Learning (SDL) are earlier theories of adult learning. Both theories emphasize on the difference between child learning and adult learning. Emerging in 1968, Malcom Knowles made a distinction between pedagogy which is referred to a child learner, and andragogy, on the other hand, is used to describe an adult learner. This theory of adult learning, the theory of Andragogy by Malcom Knowles is used in the study as it is suitable to analyse the practice of EFL lecturers' professional learning in the SLC. Principles of Andragogy According to Knowles, as cited in Alkadhi (2008), in relation to adult learners, teachers of a higher study should pay more attention to adult learners' interests; not to what they believe as the learners' interests. Thus, teaching and learning process in a classroom context should be cooperative, and having guided interactions between the teacher and the learners with various resources to develop their own potential. Also, the relationship between the teacher and the learners should be based on equal partnership rather than having subordinate and superordinate interactions. Based on that opinions and his own observations, Knowles developed a set of four principles of andragogy in 1980, and later in 1984 he added another principle. The ve principles of adult learner (andragogy) which are different from child learner (pedagogy) are elucidated in the following section. Self-concept Initially having dependent personality, a person shifts to be more independent and self- directed human being as he/she becomes mature. In relation to learning, adult learners have more responsibility for their learning process, and respond to a modied type of teaching  . The adults' independent self-concept brings implications that they are autonomous, self- reliant, independent, and self-directed in achieving their learning objectives  . Consequently, adult learners need to be free to direct themselves (Lieb, 1991, as cited in Cercone, 2008). To enable this to occur, adult learners must play active roles in their learning activity. Yet, not every adult learner can be expected to be independent, and some of them really need assistance from other adult learners to become more self-directed. In this case, scaffolding should be given to promote self-reliance and help them become more self-directed. In addition, self- concept also has a meaning that the relationship between adult learners and their teachers or lecturers should be equal  , thus results in learner- teacher equal partnership. Adult learner experience The more mature a person is, the more experienced he/she is, and so are adult learners  . Having wide range of experience, adult learners are able to connect what they learn at present to their various past experiences. Thus, their past experiences become a valuable resource in their learning, or in other words, adult experience becomes invaluable resource for learning. As Merriam and Caffarella (2012) mentioned, “an adult accumulates a growing reservoir of experience, which is a rich resource for learning” (p. 84). How adult learners develop their knowledge is by relating new information to past events and experience  . Thus, it brings an implication that teachers are expected to be able to understand students' experience because experiential learning is powerful to teach adult learners. The learners' experience or what the learners already know and already experience becomes the foundations of the current learning situation. This information is important for teachers to give appropriate treatment to the Journal of Foreign Language, Teaching & Learning Vol.2 No. 1, January 2017 34 learners so that the situation in which the teachers give too sophisticated materials or too imbecile materials can be avoided. Readiness to learn Adult learners are eager to learn and to further develop their skills. Also, adult learners are having awareness of the value of new knowledge as a means to develop in all respects. Thus, adult learners are more inclined to apply new knowledge and skills without postponing  . Readiness to learn from adult learners should be related to their changing social roles  . Adult learners usually know what they want to learn, why they want to learn, and how they want to learn. Knowing what they want to learn encourage adult learners to have personal goals in their learning. Also, having reasons of learning something makes them aware with their learning orientation. Orientation to learning Adult learners have learning orientation from subject- centeredness to problem centeredness. As learners becomes mature, they often nd opportunities to expand their knowledge by solving the problems they have because they realize that every problem brings a learning situation for them. Thus, they learn something or new knowledge by solving the problems they have. In the real learning context, adult learners are encouraged to be prepared for more challenging tasks and responsibilities than current tasks in order to develop their knowledge and skills. Motivation to learn Motivation to learn tends to be internal as a person matures. This implies that motivation, either internal or external characterizes adult learners. However, it is the internal motivations that prove to be most compelling for adult learners  . In addition, adult learners need to know why they need to learn, what they are learning, or whether the reasons of learning correlate with their external and internal motivations. Thus, the adult learners should know the reasons of their learning and the consequences of what they are learning or not learning. Adult learners' internal motivation drives them to undertake new learning. There are several factors inuencing adult learners to take initiative learning such as increasing job satisfaction, self-esteem, and quality of life (Cercone, 2010). In fullling their motivation to learn, adult learners are willing to conduct trainings or courses that will positively affect their job performance Andragogy and Teachers' Professional Learning The emphasis of andragogy which is focused on adult learner and the principles of andragogy such as self-concept, experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learn and motivation to learn are applied in this study to explain the phenomenon of professional learning conducted by the EFL lecturers of the SLC. Understanding the characteristic of adult learners, an effective professional learning can be established based on these characteristics. As asserted by the principles of Andragogy, good and appropriate professional learning should be autonomous, self-reliant, independent, and self- directed. Also, the professional learning for the EFL lecturers should acknowledge their existing knowledge and experience to facilitate learning, and thus triggers these EFL lecturers to develop their skills. Another consideration is that the EFL lecturers should be challenged into problems to give them opportunities to learn in order to encourage their internal motivation to learn. Reviews on Related Studies Research on adult learning theory, or andragogy, has been done by many researchers. Of various topics of andragogy, the discussion about its relationship with teacher professional development has been blossoming in a couple last decades. The followings are some of the examples. A case study on teachers' professional development was conducted by Gregson and Sturko (2007) in which the assumptions of Malcolm Knowles' Andragogy were applied. Journal of Foreign Language, Teaching & Learning Vol.2 No. 1, January 2017 35 Based on these assumptions, six principles of adult learning emerged, such as (a) make a situation that makes the teachers feel respected; (b) strengthen active involvement; (c) share their experiences; (d) apply inquiry collaboratively; (e) guide learning for immediate application; and (f) encourage the teachers to do reection and action based on their learning. Using these principles, the teachers took an active role in their professional development which is suitable for their own needs to be better teachers. The study also revealed that teachers could review their reective practice, build their professional knowledge, and establish collegiality with their peer teachers. Another study on professional learning using adult learning theory was carried out by Terehoff (2002) in a school in the United States. Exploring the notion and philosophy of the adult learning, andragogy, this study examined the role of the school leader in structuring appropriate learning environment for adult learners, or the teachers. Adopting the principles of Malcom Knowles principles of adult learning, the school principal should be able to structure a professional development process which has characteristics: 1) setting up an environment for adult learning, 2) involving adult learners in mutual planning, 3) attending to the adult learners' needs and interests, 4) involving adult learners in setting the program's goals and objectives, 5) involving adult learners in designing an effective program, 6) involving adult learners in implementing the program, and 7) involving adult learners in the programs' evaluation. These principles could create enthusiastic atmosphere of mutual inquiry and growth among the teachers as well as mutual accountability for student achievement. The nding showed that the establishment of adult learning environment and the involvement of school staff in mutual planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of professional development learning experiences, and the process of school-based teacher professional development were successfully increased by the school leader. In this study, the school leader let the teachers participate actively in the process of their learning by solving their problems based on their needs. Thus, the ability for the school leader to build communication with the teachers regarding their goals and objectives of their professional development became the key success of their learning. The other study focussing on andragogy theory which stated that the adult learning theory contributed to a good design for evaluating training services was carried out by Karagiorgi, Kalogirou, Theodosiou, Theophanous, and Kendeou (2008). Located in Cyprus, the study investigated adult learning which was attached to optional seminars as the primary form of formal in-service teacher training. Using quantitative research design, the study employed a nationally representative number of participants. The nding showed that teachers regarded adult learning as multidimensional consisting of characteristics of adult learning theory such as orientation to learning, readiness to learn, accumulated experience and self‐concept. In addition, the nding revealed other characteristics of adult learning such as organization of seminars and dissemination of results. The teachers in Cyprus had positive attitudes towards optional seminars as a part of their adult learning, and therefore activities such as training the trainers, restructuring organizatinal aspects, and enhancing dissemination practices should be conducted. Based on these previous studies, it is shown that the theory of Andragogy is able to uncover how adult people learn and maintain their professional development. Similarly, this study investigated how the EFL lecturers in an English Training Centre conducted their professional learning through the lens of Malcolm Knowles' andragogy theory. However, the study is different from those mentioned above in that this study is conducted in which professional learning is not a compulsory activity and that doing professional learning does not result in any rewards for these EFL leacturers. Thus, professional learning carried out by these participants is based on their own initiatives, and therefore it is called as bottom-up approach Journal of Foreign Language, Teaching & Learning Vol.2 No. 1, January 2017 36 Journal of Foreign Language, Teaching & Learning Vol.2 No. 1, January 2017 professional learning. This situation makes this study unique. METHODOLOGY This study was conceptualised within an interpretive paradigm. An interpretive paradigm is based on the knowledge of reality; making sense of the world is socially constructed by human beings and these meanings are subjective, rather than objective  . Thus, interpretivism is a way to understand human behaviour in relation to their actions in their social world  , and in this case, human beings are understood as 'agents' instead of as 'objects'. While human beings create their meanings in their social worlds, at the same time their interpretations of meanings are inuenced by their worlds  . In this study, developing understandings about how these EFL lecturers in the SLC make sense of their professional learning require subjective interpretations. A naturalistic, interpretivist approach was then used as the research design of the study. Qualitative methods are central to interpretive research and were used in this study in order to incorporate the interpretivist approach explained earlier. In addition, qualitative methods encourage subjective information to be gathered , and this is important in this study because it allowed me to investigate people's interpretations resulting from their interactions with their world and their experiences Using qualitative methods, there were seven EFL lecturers in the SLC involved in the focus group interviews. Of these seven lecturers, three lecturers were permanent lecturers and the other four were non-permanent ones. Most of them were included as young lecturers, ranging from twenty-ve to fty year old. In order to cover their identity, their pseudonyms, namely Erin, Isla, Uta, Agin, John, Aria, and Amaris were used in the nding instead of their real name. These EFL lecturers were responsible for teaching general English skills as a compulsory subject for students of almost all faculties in the university. The use of focus group interviews in this study allow the participants to hear each other's responses and to make additional comments beyond their original responses as they hear what other people have to say (Patton, 2002) Several criteria were used in the study in order to nd participants appropriate for the study. These participants were purposively selected to participate in this study because they had EFL education background, had a minimum of ve years teaching experience in the SLC, and had an interest in professional learning activities. Their participation in the study was signicant because they provided insights about how they conducted their professional learning in the SLC. The data collected from these participants were then transcribed, and analysed using Qualitative Data Analyses model (Seidel, 1998). To maintain the objectivity of the research, trustworthiness is obtained using member checking. FINDING AND DISCUSSION Being lecturers in a university needs a lot of preparation and work to do, and so as the EFL teachers in the SLC. The reason is because university students have been commonly regarded as adult learners who are able to study independently or autonomously. With the massive development of information technology such as internet, university students can always update new knowledge by searching or browsing information related to their study from the internet. This condition creates greater opportunities for university students to learn autonomously, and thus the EFL lecturers in the SLC must be aware of this situation and anticipate it by conducting learning activity as a way to become professional EFL teachers. Based on the focus group interviews among seven EFL lecturers of the SLC, it was revealed that there were ve themes emerging from this nding, which included 1) learning as a compulsory work for teachers, 2) learning as a result of teachers' experience, 3) learning as teachers' passion, 4) learning as teachers' orientation, and 5) learning as teachers' internal motivation. These features of learning type, indeed, shares similarities with the theory of Andragogy from Malcolm Knowles (1984) in 37 which adult learning is characterized by ve principles such as self-concept, experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learning, and internal motivation (Merria,2001) How these EFL lecturers' learning in the SLC is aligned with the theory of adult learning of Malcolm Knowles is described in the following paragraph. Learning as Compulsory Work for Lecturers The SLC serves compulsory EFL subjects to students from almost all faculties in the university. In an effort to give the best service to the students, the SLC requires all of the EFL lecturers to have not only good EFL knowledge, but also good teaching skills. In addition, these EFL lecturers have also awareness that they teach university students who are much updated to knowledge development. Thus, they must always keep learning in order to cope with the vast development of knowledge. As a consequence, learning becomes a compulsory job for every lecturer. They have to keep learning because their profession as EFL lecturers requires such things, or otherwise they will be left behind. They keep learning because they realize that it is important for their career. One of the EFL lecturers mentioned: “We have to be more prepared here [in the SLC], or at least preparing our teaching a night before” (Erin). The statement above shows that the Erin is eager to prepare her teaching because she has a belief that as a lecturer, she should be more knowledgeable than her students. Thus, she can be ready whenever her students ask about information or anything related to the subject. As a consequence, she said that she had to prepare the material well prior to teaching, even if she had to prepare it a night before. In Indonesian society context, teachers or lecturers have high social status and become a role model for the society. They are also regarded as having high intelligence and therefore people put high trust on them. Therefore, they have to be able to respond to students' questions, or even random questions from the society. Indeed, the word teacher or lecturer in Indonesian language is literally translated as 'guru' which in Javanese language and Javanese philosophy means 'digugu' and 'ditiru'. Thus, the word 'guru' means someone who should beIn school contexts, the teachers or the lecturers are trusted because they are expected to transfer their knowledge and skills which are needed for their students, both academic and personal skills. In addition, the teachers or the lecturers should behave well according to their religion and local customs  . It means that people who have these professions in Indonesia, regardless the beliefs and religion they have, should always worship God by keeping all His commandments and abandoning all His restrictions. Also, these teachers and lecturers are supposed to always commit acts in accordance with the prevailing traditions in which they live. Violating the values of religion and local customs might lead to mistrust from the students and students' parents. Referring to these facts, Erin prepares her teaching because she is aware of her identity as a lecturer. Being a lecturer, Erin has to maintain her life long learning such as taught by her religion by doing various learning activities, with or without nancial support from the institution. This way, Erin realizes learning should become a compulsory activity so that she can maintain her professionalism. trusted and imitated. In school contexts, the teachers or the lecturers are trusted because they are expected to transfer their knowledge and skills which are needed for their students, both academic and personal skills. In addition, the teachers or the lecturers should behave well according to their religion and local customs  . It means that people who have these professions in Indonesia, regardless the beliefs and religion they have, should always worship God by keeping all His commandments and abandoning all His restrictions. Also, these teachers and lecturers are supposed to always commit acts in accordance with the prevailing traditions in which they live. Violating the values of religion and local customs might lead to mistrust from the students and students' parents. Referring to these facts, Erin prepares her teaching because she is aware of her identity as a lecturer. Being a lecturer, Erin has to Journal of Foreign Language, Teaching & Learning Vol.2 No. 1, January 2017 38 maintain her life long learning such as taught by her religion by doing various learning activities, with or without nancial support from the institution. This way, Erin realizes learning should become a compulsory activity so that she can maintain her professionalism. Acknowledging the importance of learning in maintaining their career, the participants view their role as equipping their students with EFL skills. As adult learners, they are also able to achieve this by exposing themselves to different learning situations. Thus, learning becomes an autonomous activity for many of them. Erin mentioned she became aware of her duty to keep learning so that she was able to deliver well prepared teaching practices in front of her students. Thus, her learning is driven by her profession as an EFL lecturer. In this case, she fully understands her self-concept as an EFL lecturer, and this situation correlates with Malcolm Knowles' Andragogy theory which mentions that as adults mature, learning is caused by self-concept (1984). This nding is also similar to the case study conducted by Gregson and Sturko (2007) in which teachers took initiatives in their professional development in order to become better teachers. Similar ndings related to teachers' awareness about their self-concept in terms of professional development are also found in Karagiorgi, et.al (2008) study. Learning as a Result of Lecturers' Experience The EFL lecturers in the SLC have various backgrounds of English study such as Linguistics, English Literatures, and English Education, and they have various experiences of teaching English subject in other places. These different backgrounds of study and different teaching experiences enrich them with new knowledge and teaching pedagogy when they immerse themselves in various informal learning activities in the SLC. The most common ways for them to conduct their learning is by having sharing experiences in terms of sharing teaching practices and sharing English knowledge among their colleagues. Through this informal activity, these EFL lecturers used to share teaching media, games, icebreaking activity, as well as tricks and tips in teaching. Many of them believed that these sharing activities on their teaching experience equipped them with new knowledge about teaching regardless the source was from junior or senior lecturers. Many things were shared including teaching materials and pedagogies. As mentioned in the following excerpts, many believed that this sharing experience could benet their teaching and provide them with different learning resources, strategies to solve different student problems as well as anticipation to their students' responses in teaching. They also believe that sharing on their experience is the best way to empower EFL lecturers' learning. One of the participants said: “ …yeah, cos sharing [experience] is very helpful, even as a senior [lecturer], I learn a lot from novice [lecturers], either from their eld [teaching practice] or from their new theories…” (Isla). Isla agreed that experiences brought by different lecturers, regardless they are senior or junior, bring valuable knowledge for the EFL lecturers in the SLC when they are shared. In other words, these experiences will be useful if these EFL lecturers learn something from them so that they can complete each other. Therefore, Isla added “ ...cos we can learn each other, complete each other, share good things [experiences], and learn from other's mistakes”. Another participant stated about the benet of sharing experience in a simpler way by saying “yes, sharing [experience] develops my knowledge and teaching” (Uta). Therefore, learning happens due to sharing activities among these participants. Another interesting concept that was discussed in the interviews was how the process of sharing experiences was an activity which occurred not only among peer colleagues, but also between the lecturers and the students. Although many rmly believed that it was their role to be wiser and more resourceful than their students, a small minority held vastly different opinions. These lecturers believed that students should have equal positions to their teachers. As one participant stated in her interview Journal of Foreign Language, Teaching & Learning Vol.2 No. 1, January 2017 39 conversation, “ [being lecturers] does not mean to outweigh [the capacity] the students, rather to become a partner and facilitator for students. Also, because lecturers are normally older than the students, they are expected to be more resourceful” (Erin). The EFL lecturers as adult learners develop their knowledge and teaching skills by having previous experience in teaching and by sharing their experience with their colleagues. This is in line with one of the principles of Andragogy of Malcolm Knowles (1984) which mentions that adults learn new knowledge because of their previous experience. However, while the theory of Andragogy states that adult learners use their previous experience to learn new knowledge, the nding of the study showed that adult learners did not only use their experience to develop new knowledge, but also shared their experience to improve more knowledge within their learning community. This is an interesting nding from the study. Learning as Lecturers' Passion Besides having the habit of sharing experience among peer colleagues as their daily informal learning, most EFL lecturers in the SLC are eager to always improve their knowledge and their skills. They usually welcome any type of professional learning offered by the institution as they have a passionate of readiness to learn. One of the participants stated: “[we joined] seminars and workshop [carried out in the SLC], at least twice a year” (Agin). He explained that the institution usually conducted formal activity of professional learning, and it was commonly in the form of seminars or workshop. Besides, they also have routine professional learning when they review their curriculum or syllabus. Another participant, John added “…involving in training, syllabus design, curriculum design, and so forth around four times ... even more [every year]”. In fact, one of the lecturers' responsibilities in the SLC is to review the English curriculum and syllabus, and together with their team, they revise them when necessary. Having these activities, they are challenged to know more about how the curriculum and syllabus in the SLC are designed. In addition to the above nding, they are also ready and willing to conduct informal learning such as stated in the following excerpts: “ …in terms of informal professional learning, the lecturers here usually have informal discussions [during break time] about their teaching practice. In addition, [the SLC] supports [the lecturers] to continue their study, and support them to get scholarships as well as give a subsidy on the English prociency test and document delivery” (Aria). Based on the excerpt, an interesting fact emerges. As Aria has a position of the director of the SLC, she knows about the policy of giving supports to the lecturers such as mentioned above. Thus, while this institution does not give career path to the lecturers, there is a good policy to support the lecturers' teaching competence by allocating nancial assistance for them to have English language prociency tests and documents related to the requirements of obtaining a scholarship. This policy, however, corroborates the Teacher and Lecturer Law No 14/2005. In line with the third principle of Knowles' Andragogy concerning 'readiness to learn', the participants in the study expressed the different passions for learning they have during their career. As well as fullling a requirement as part of meeting the Indonesian government standard related to lecturer's requirements issued in 2014 of their role as lecturers at the SLC, the participants also viewed their learning as their needs to accomplish their tasks. Moreover, the lecturers' intention to carry out their professional learning in the SLC was fully supported by the head of the institution. Indeed, the role of the head of the institution in encouraging the lecturers to conduct various types of professional learning is paramount as Terehoff (2002) found out that the role of the school leader in structuring appropriate learning environment for adult learners, or the teachers, had been proven to be effective in promoting teacher professional development. Learning as Lecturers' Orientation The EFL lecturers in the SLC are Journal of Foreign Language, Teaching & Learning Vol.2 No. 1, January 2017 40 demanded to be able to deliver English basic skills to all students from almost all faculties in the University. These include reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills. Having various levels of students' English skills ability, these EFL lecturers should be able to respond appropriately by using their best method of teaching practices. This method of teaching practices should t either the low level or the high level of students as treating students inappropriately may lead to problems. There is a need in the SLC that high level of students should be taught by a good EFL lecturer too. Erin said “One of the best study programs such as International Relation needs better qualied lecturers. The head of the study program wants only the best treatment of English subject [in the SLC], …” In this context, Erin knows the situation better than the other lecturers because she holds the position of the academic manager in the SLC. She added that being an academic manager, she always tried to assign only the best lecturers to the high level of students. Thus, it is expected that the students are able to get the most benet of teaching and learning process in the SLC. In addition to the previous problems, the EFL lecturers in the SLC occasionally nd more challenges such as limited knowledge of EFL, lack of teaching strategies, lack ideas of teaching media, teaching innovation, as well as classroom management. They realize these problems, and they also know the impacts to their students. One of the participants asserted: “Students now tend to nd a replacement to their lecturers who are regarded as incompetent, or having unacceptable jokes, or those who teach them like elementary school students. If a lecturer gets such complaints, he/she can be shocked. All lecturers may have such complaints” (Amaris). Thus, as adult learners, these lecturers in the SLC should be ready to face problems in their work, and therefore focus their orientation from their individual centeredness to problem centeredness. In other words, they must be ready to turn their problems into learning. As Erin stated, “The good thing [about such situation], it becomes a trigger [for them] to become better [lecturers]”. The situation when the lecturers turn their problems into learning occurs when they get feedbacks on their teaching performance from their students in the end of the semester. It is the time when students evaluate the lecturers. One of the participants mentioned: “…there is a situation when I found the new lecturers got score [of students' evaluation sheet] 3 or 2 [out of 5], they became depressed. They thought they were not good lecturers, and they [thought] were very bad” (Amaris). Based on that statement, it is understandable that the lecturers in the SLC have to perform well in front of the students, otherwise they can be regarded as incompetent and the students can give low scores of their teaching evaluation. In addition, the students can sometimes report this case to the academic manager in the SLC, and they may ask for a replacement for another lecturer. The EFL lecturers are aware of this situation, and therefore they should have their on-going orientation to learning. In other words, sustainable learning becomes the lecturers' orientation. This has an implication that learning results from the problems and the solution to the problems. The situation when adult learners, in this case the EFL lecturers, develop their knowledge as their response to their current problems and apply solutions to the problems is what Malcolm Knowles identied as 'orientation to learning'. This nding is also similarly found in the study conducted by Gregson and Sturko (2007), Terehoff (2002), and Karagiorgi, et al. (2008), in which teachers are encouraged to learn because they face problems and thus they are challenged to nd the solutions. Being adult learners, this type of learning becomes possible to do for these participants. Learning as Lecturers' Internal Motivation Being adult learners, most of the EFL lecturers' willingness to improve their knowledge by attending formal and informal professional learning is basically driven by their internal motivation. However, as mentioned earlier, the Journal of Foreign Language, Teaching & Learning Vol.2 No. 1, January 2017 41 case of the lecturers' motivation in the SLC is quite unique because the lecturers will not have any remuneration or higher structural status when they complete their professional learning. Unlike lecturers in the study program or the faculty, the EFL lecturers in the SLC have no academic career, and the lecturers are paid based on their work only. They do not have xed monthly salary. Yet, most of them have internal motivation to keep learning through various ways of professional learning. One of their motivation is stated by one of the participants: “We have responsibilities other than teaching. When we contribute our knowledge to other colleagues, we can strengthen and support each other, …” (Erin). Erin's statement indicates that one of the internal motivation that directs the lecturers to keep learning is caused by their responsibilities as lecturers. She acknowledges that lecturers' role is not limited to teaching practices in the classroom, but it covers more than that. It was also revealed in the interview that most of the participants were motivated to carry out their professional learning for various personal reasons. Among these reasons are to give the best teaching practice to students, to be ready when facing problems in teaching, to be updated with the development of knowledge and technology, to be professional, and so forth. This situation is distinctive because the EFL lecturers in the SLC are eagerly participating and attending various professional learning despite the lack of rewards from the institution such as mentioned earlier. This phenomenon is probably caused by their maturity status such as explained by Malcolm Knowles' Andragogy theory (1984), which stated that mature people such as these EFL lecturers in the SLC conduct learning because they want to and because they need to. Thus, with or without rewards, they will continue their learning activity along with their teaching career in the institution. Related to this context, Aria concludes the topic by giving relevant statements: “I think you [the researcher] come to the right place because you can see [the lecturers'] motivation [to have professional learning] is stronger in this SLC than in the study programs. In the study program, the lecturers have clear path [of career]. They will have good reward when doing research, and they will have good remuneration and nancial reward when pursuing higher study, and when they ignore about such things, they will have their consequences. However, as this SLC functions only as a supporting unit, the lecturers have no career path. It means that these lecturers conducted [professional] learning because they want it and they want to survive [as lecturers]. Thus, it is clear that professional learning conducted by the EFL lecturers is mostly caused by their internal motivation. Similar case is also found in Gregson and Sturko (2007) in which teacher professional development took place because the teachers took their own initiatives in learning. CONCLUSION The establishment of Teacher and Lecturer Law no 14/2005 has mandated that all teachers and lecturers in Indonesia have proper teaching qualication and teaching competencies such as pedagogy, professional, personal, and professional. Having completed such requirements, it is expected that the quality of teaching and learning process in Indonesia is improving, and therefore Indonesian human resources are competent and ready to face a erce and tough competition in the job market in the world. The Teacher and Lecturer Law No.14/2005 is thus regarded as a means for teachers and lecturers in Indonesia to maintain their professionalism by conducting continuous professional learning, and the EFL lecturers as the main agent of transferring EFL knowledge to students in the SLC are no exception. Despite the lack of remuneration, interestingly, these EFL lecturers are willing to keep updating their knowledge and teaching skills by conducting various professional learning, either informally and formally. Even though unique, this phenomenon is reasonable if viewed from the perspectives of adult learning theory of Malcolm Knowles, Andragogy. Journal of Foreign Language, Teaching & Learning Vol.2 No. 1, January 2017 42 The ndings from the study have implications that professional learning should be rooted from the teachers' initiatives. In other words, professional learning among EFL teachers should employ a bottom up approach rather than a top down one so that the types of professional learning activity t their needs, and therefore its sustainability can be maintained. However, the active involvement from the school leader also plays an important role in supporting teacher professional learning. Therefore, the teacher professional learning should consider both bottom up and top down approach so that the result can be optimum. This study is limited to seven EFL teachers as the participants. Having more participants, the study will perhaps portray more phenomena on teachers' experiences in relation to their professional learning. However, this limited number of particants gave an advantage in which the interviewer was able to investigate more in- depth information from the participants. Thus, the data richness can be achieved. REFERENCES Alkadhi, S. (2008). Learning theory: Adult education: Andragogy. 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