FBS-Karangmalang Every year FBS students’ performances increasingly get internationalized. In early 2015, good news spreads from Kampus Ungu, FBS. This is because the best student from FBS, Rahma Fitriana (English Education Student Year 2010) has carried out a scholarly mission to teach at the Singapore Indonesia School for about three months (October-December 2015). Initially, Rahma participated in a series of selection processes for the Teaching Experience Enrichment program (PPM) held by the university’s Office of International Affairs and Partnerships (KUIK). The PPM activity is a collaborative program between UNY and the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore, which in this case is under the coordination of the Education and Culture Attaché (Atdikbud). According to Rahma, she (along with three other UNY students) was sent from UNY. "But when being there, we came under the responsibility of the Indonesian Embassy," she said.

While in Singapore, Rahma said that he taught English for junior high and high school levels, with both the national and Cambridge curriculum. “For the junior high school level, I teach grade 8 and 9, while at the high school level, I teach grade 11 and 12. However, I and the other teacher students often get assigned to teach in other classes, such as grade 7, grade 10, even the elementary school grades. Once, when one of the SIS teachers was leaving for a comparative survey to Myanmar, I taught science to 3rd-grade elementary school students," she explained. Rahma also explained that in addition to teaching at SIS, she and other participating teacher students were invited to be involved in the activities of the Indonesian Embassy, such as (1) becoming an administrative staff at P3K (Center for Job Training and Education)—a course institution from the Indonesian Embassy that is intended for Indonesian Migrant Workers in Singapore, and (2) participating in the ASEAN Gala Night.

“This ASEAN Gala Night is an annual routine agenda where representatives of the embassies of ASEAN countries in Singapore gather and hold exhibitions featuring food, tourism information, and dances," she said. “On several occasions, Head of Atdikbud also involved us in campus visits to MDIS Campus, National Institute of Education (NIE), NUS (National University of Singapore), and UTM (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia),” Rahma added.

When interviewed, Rahma conveyed several things related to her experience. “This experience taught me many things. The first is obviously the teaching experience. The problem that I faced most when I taught there was managing mixed-ability classes. In the English class, many students are already very fluent in using English both orally and in writing (unfortunately, some students can speak English very well but cannot speak Indonesian). However, some of them still cannot greet people in English properly. In the end, I demanded myself to be able to face the new learning context. Some of them are by varying the materials and media, as well as applying problem-based learning in the classroom,” she explained.

As a closing statement, Rahma conveyed her message related to her teaching experience in Singapore to UNY students. "Never stop learning. Enrich yourself with experience and knowledge. Singapore is a country that never stops learning and consistently develops. Today many people want to change friends, even society, but forget that before changing society we must change ourselves, enrich ourselves. Borrowing Aa Gym's