English
is an international language. People all over the world consider English as the
main language that they have to master in order to survive this modern era in
which English is used everywhere and every time. It is proven by the number of
English speaker, which trails in the third place (approximately 335 million
speakers) after Chinese and Spanish according to Etyhnologue, 2014. This fact
probably encourages non-English speaking countries’ people, including
Indonesian, to learn English and make English as their second language. Learning
English for Indonesian is no longer becoming a rare sight since it has been
taught in elementary, junior high and also senior high school. There are also
many English courses spread all over the country i.e.; English First and The
British Institution. Yet, surprisingly, the participant of English learner is
not limited to students and adults, even early aged children who have not
entered school yet are given English by their parents. It seems that parents
start to load their children with English to face the future. However, there
are pros and cons emerge facing this issue; those who agree mention that it is
important to survive in the globalization era and to develop children’s
characteristic and those who do not agree state that it may cause bilingualism
and diminishment of national and local languages for non-English speaking
countries.
The ones who agree with
this issue stated that early learning of English is important as children’s
preparation to face globalization and as a media for children characteristic
development. Globalization increased economic, cultural, environmental, and social
independencies and new transnational financial and political formations arising
out of the mobility of capital, labor and information with both homogenizing
and differentiating tendencies (Blackmore 2000, p.133). In other words, one of
the implications of globalization itself is the closer relationship of many
aspects among countries around the world. English, as an international
language, becomes the bridge that connects them in the real time or even with
the help of technology. In conclusion, the capability to master English well is
really important on this occasion. If we have been well-prepared with English
since early-age, it will not be a big deal to be the survivor in globalization
era. Eric H. Lennenberg, neurologist, said that early age is the best time to
learn the second language since our brain is still developing and flexible so
that we can easily absorb new language naturally from our environment without
even trying hard to acquire it. Thus, if we are already expert in English even
when we are still children, it will be so much easier to face the globalization
era. Another argument agreed with this issue is to build up children’s
characteristic. Learning second language, in this case English is so helpful
for children mental development. Brown (1994:135-21152) reviewed some factors
related to affective factor in learning language, which are; self-esteem,
inhibition, risk-taking, anxiety, empathy, extroversion and motivation. Children
who learn the second language have higher self-esteem than the ones who do not
because they are able to express themselves well. Besides self-esteem, children
can also build their curiosity and try to find the answer of new things that
they learn from the second language. For instance, an elementary student who has
been taught English since he was a baby, will more likely to perform better at
school because he feel so confident that he can be good at something that his
friends do not.
However, there are also
some cons opinions facing this issue, it causes children to possess
bilingualism and causes diminishment of national and local languages for
non-English speaking countries. When children are taught English in their early
age, it is so possible that they absorb some words in their mother tongue and
some in English. As they grow up, they will tend to mix both words when they
speak or write. It means that they cannot master both languages well. Their
capability in mother tongue and second language is so limited so that they
choose to mix them both to communicate. When they do not know what it is called
in English, they will say it in their mother tongue, and it also happens in
reverse. An example related to this issue; an Indonesian girl who was born and
lives in New York were given Bahasa Indonesia as her mother tongue from her
parents. Due to their environment, their parents also have to teach her English
in order to be able to survive there. As she grows up, sometimes she still gets
confused about the language that she has to use. She does not know how to speak
in English properly and find it difficult to talk with her friends. The other argument
that does not agree with this issue stated that it can diminish national and
local language. Undang Undang Dasar 1945
verse 36 stated that Bahasa Indonesia is
Indonesia’s national language. Undang
Undang Dasar 1945 verse 32 also stated that Indonesia appreciate and
protect local languages as a national heritage. From those two norms, we can
conclude that it is really important to protect our national and local
languages as our nation’s identity, yet the presence of second language has a
high potential to scrape our nationalism believe. For instance, a child who has
been taught English since early age, can get really confuse about which
language that he/she has to consider as his/her main language. It is so
possible for him/her to love English more than Bahasa Indonesia since he realizes that he/she is the only one
among his friends who can speak English well and he finds it cool. He/she will
more likely put aside his national language and choose get deeper in mastering
his English instead. If this keeps on happening to other children all over the
country, it seems that it is the apocalypse of our national language.
In a nutshell, there are
some people who agree with the idea of early learning of English and some who
do not. Both sides have their own reason and prove that strengthen their
opinion. The agreed side says that it is important to survive in the
globalization era and to develop children’s characteristic, and the disagreed
one says that it can cause bilingualism and diminishment of national and local
languages. It now depends on you which one that you think is better, whether
you are on the agreed or disagreed side.
REFFERENCES:
Undang
Undang Dasar Negara Republik Indonesia 1945.
PALUPI SEKAR APSARI
130222614305/H
TASK 4
(Public
Discussion)
No comments:
Post a Comment