Teaching English to Young Learners in Indonesia

(Pros and Cons)

Tatu Zakiyatun Nufus

Universitas Islam Negeri Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta, South Tangerang, Banten,
Indonesia
[email protected]

ABSTRACT

Teaching English for young learners in Indonesia still invites the controversies among
the educators and psycholinguists that concern on learners’ development in thinking
and communication. Because teaching English for young learners in Indonesia seems
to force them in knowing the rule and forms of the sentence. In addition, some of the
teachers who teach English for young learners have not the appropriate educational
background that can teach the younger as well as the objective wish. Actually, there is
not any regulation or decisions that obligate the school to teach English to young
learners. It only depends on the school itself. In this paper, the writer would like to
describe the teaching English to young learners in Indonesia in the side of its
implementation and also the pros and cons based on the second language acquisition
experts.

Keywords: language acquisition, theory of young learners, pros and cons of teaching
English to young learners, teaching English to young learners in Indonesia.
Citation APA Style: Nufus, T. Z. (2018). Teaching English to Young Learners in
Indonesia (Pros and Cons). English Language in Focus (ELIF), 1(1), 65–70.

INTRODUCTION material and also the message in one

E
nglish is the international language interaction.
which is used in most population Up to now in Indonesia, the
in the world, therefore it is taught appropriate age for introducing English
from the primary to university, in the as a second language to young learner
primary level the English teaching still invites many controversies from
process is introduced to know the many education experts, and it is still
language used in communication. being unresolved issue in the field of
Indonesia is a nation in which the most second language acquisition up to now,
population used Bahasa Indonesia as the because age is one of the crucial issues in
lingua franca, and English is considered the field of child second language
as a foreign language. But in most central acquisition and their cognitive
cities in Indonesia, English is used on development. In addition, there is not
many occasions in delivering speech, any regulation which is obligated the

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school to give the English subject since learner applied in Indonesia, fully with
kindergarten to elementary school so its pros and cons based on the researcher
that there are many researchers that in language acquisition.
point out both the benefit and drawback
of introducing a second language to the Introduction to Second Language
young learner. Are young learners better Acquisition
than older learners in acquiring the Language is an important means
second language? Does early exposure to to convey message and information to
the target language field get a better other people, we need language to share
result? In addition, those questions are information and to build relationship
not easy to answer only with “yes” or with others. Since the people were born
“no” expression to those questions. It they have to communicate with their
needs several theories and evidence to environment directly by their own
support them. language because the expected cry of a
The decision which taken by the newborn baby is the first sign of human
ministry of national education no 060/U/ communication, language acquisition
1993 on 25th of February 1993 about the process can be seen as a running parallel
elementary curriculum with the throughout a child’s life every day. The
appendix 1 consists of main subject that process begins in the early life of human
used as a lead in developing curriculum and requires a healthy start, sufficient
in the young learner classroom, the opportunities, and exposure to care
objective of teaching in the elementary giving environment that allows the
school and the material which is taught child’s innate predisposition to learn to
in the elementary school and junior high communicate to function (Rossetti,
school (Nababan, 1993). This decision 2001).
should become the leader to teach young The process of receiving language
learners in many subjects. Actually, has many ways, it depends on the
young learners did not need the material individual, and the situation of learning
of the subject but far from it, they need to and acquisition, learning is considered
know how the introduction of language as a conscious process, knowing the
and how to use it in real communication. rules, being aware of them, and being
Today the writer finds the able to talk with them, while acquisition
education system in Indonesia is going is a process by which children
rapidly. Many schools offer English unconsciously acquire their native/first
subject to be taught in formal school language. In language acquisition, the
since playgroup to university. The school focus is on communication and reception
also determined to use bilingual in of a message in the interaction process.
teaching process to young learner, even There are many kinds of language
though the government did not give any used in communication, native language,
regulation to held the English subject in second language and also foreign
young learner classroom and these language, In Indonesia English is used as
situations carried the writer to describe a foreign language while Bahasa
how was teaching English to young Indonesia acts as second language,

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Nufus, T. Z. (2018). Teaching English to Young Learners in Indonesia (Pros and Cons)

Second Language Acquisition is defined accepting the material because the

as any language other than the first children learn based on what they see,
language (Ellis, 1994) in the term of SLA and in this case the role of teacher is
it contains a different between English as more expected in giving good material to
second language and also as a foreign children, because in this process the
language. They are used to refer to the children will imitate on what the
context which the language learned and teachers do in classroom and it is
used in communication, for example, in appropriate with the following theories
United State the people who were born which put by some researchers to show
there and used English as their lingua the children habit in accepting materials.
franca in all their activities and it is used Children in Indonesia is coming
in the official language as medium of from a different culture with the different
communication and transactions. The language, and they have their own
English here called with the second different native language with make
language, on the contrary, in Indonesia, them easier in communication, English as
English is considered as a foreign a foreign language which is taught here
language because English is learned only should tend the appropriate age for the
to explain the material subject in learner to learn English. Because not all
classroom and it is not used in the real the children have the learning readiness
communication. in learning foreign language, they should
have completed enough in mastering
Theories of English for Young Learner their native language to learn other
Teaching English to young languages easily. They proceed through
learners invites the researcher to find out early stages of syntactic and more
the theories and proofs whether the phonological development faster than
introduction English as material subject children, and age-related constraint
taught in young classroom good or not, begin to set in as early as six for
and does it influence their cognitive in suprasegmental phonology, these
language development? Here some of the constraints would make it increasingly
theories (put forth by Piaget, 1967; difficult for learner to acquire the second
Vygotsky, 1962; & Brunner, 1996) show language without an accent, and it led to
the inevitable link between the cognitive the existence of critical period that the
and language development in children, learner should learn second language
Piaget’s theory reiterates that any kind of after which of them had complete
teaching can be effective only when the mastery of their first language
child is able to assimilate what is said (Lennenberg as cited in Larsen-Freeman
and done, a concept he called as “learning & Long, 1991).
readiness”. Teaching by asking questions
and by demonstration can influence the Teaching English to Young Learner in
intellectual development of children only Indonesia
when are ready for it (Yuvaraj, 2009). Based on the previous research
When the children learn with that has done by Nilawati, she said that
appropriate age it will make them easy in Indonesia is an archipelagic country

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which encompasses an estimated 17,508 language, there were: environment,

islands, only 6,000 of which are motivation, learners, teacher, and
inhabited. Indonesia’s 238 million people facilities. These factors enable learner in
make it the world’s fourth-most learning the language easily. In the
populous state. The official language is reality, we find there is not a book that
Indonesian language or Bahasa Indonesia used in teaching which is appropriate
which is used in administrative offices, with the children in improving the
schools, science, and mass-media (Alwi language, the content of the book serve
as cited in Hadisantosa, Huong, the task and the translation that did not
Johnstone, Keyuravong, & Lee, 2009). invite them to use it in communication
And English is used as a foreign language but make them worry to use and take it
that is used in certain occasions with as a language. Because of this, the young
some people. learners learn language not from only
Indonesia has 726 local languages, from the book but also from the
second-ranked as language diversity environment which supports them.
laboratory in the world after Papua New In acquiring language the children
Guinea which has 867 languages (SIL as should get an interesting thing that can
cited in Hadisantosa, 2009). There are at motivate them in using it, because the
least 13 large-scale local languages with children is easy to get any language that
at least one million speakers. In addition can create a mind map in their
to that, there are hundreds of local hemisphere, younger learner has not
languages with less than one million developed social attitudes towards the
speakers which with the advent of use of language, therefore they are
globalization can become potentially cognitively “open” to another language.
endangered or even extinct. In acquiring language, the students
Indonesia implemented teaching usually need time to feel interesting with
English to young learner since 2004 the language they learned, when they
which is considered as local content in learned language they do not need to
the elementary school. In addition, know about how to use the language, but
English is taught in different objective the important one they know to use and
without any regulation that leads the practice it. But after age 12 children
teacher in teaching. Basically, in English develop their abstract thinking with the
young classroom, the teacher should final stage of cognitive development and
have various strategies in attracting the they are predisposed to recognized
learner in studying; they should differences and similarities, think
introduce the function of language as a flexibility and de-center (Chodidjah,
means of communication and make them 2011).
joyful in using it. Actually children learn at different
To acquire language, the learner rate, the speed of learning is influenced
should have great motivation in getting both by innate abilities and environment,
and practicing it as a way to make it and the development of language
memorable, and many factors that can acquisition of all children occurs
influence the learners in acquire the gradually through interaction with

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Nufus, T. Z. (2018). Teaching English to Young Learners in Indonesia (Pros and Cons)

people and environment, and naturally CONCLUSION

T
the young learners are keen, enthusiastic, eaching English for young learners
uninhibited and can be easily motivated basically is the unique activity
through their interaction among the which invites the learners to think,
environment (Cameron, 2001). In play and communicate with the language,
addition, those are the reasons on how and this activity should attract them not
the children learn a second language to force them in knowing the forms or
easily. the structure of the language, because
Leontʹev (1981) in their book teaching English for the primary learners
“Psychology and the Language Learning did not have any regulation that can force
Process“, stated that Language learning the school to give the teaching or not.
in an early age of a child (6 – 12 years Actually learning language in the
old) has a deceptive effect. His language term of younger age is better in the side
development will be greatly affected by of pronunciation and exposure of
his experience in learning the language. speaking, it will enable them to speak
When he has undergone the right track of more fluently and it should make them as
learning his language acquisition will native-like. But one thing that should be
develop smoothly. concerned by the teachers that teaching
Actually, this view warned the English to young learners should let them
teaching language process to give good to speak and express their thought using
teaching to the young learners on the the language and not make them confuse
side of the teachers’ competence. in using the form of the language,
Because the teacher has the main role in because when they make interaction
deciding the good material which is suit using their own English language it will
to the learners’ mind without forcing make them interested in language and
them in learning, the learner will see the consider English as the real mean for
teachers’ use the language as the communication and taking interactions
motivation for them in learning. with others.
Because teaching English for Actually the younger can acquire
young learners in Indonesia is not the the language with practicing and
one content of the curriculum and it is understanding in using the function of
considered as only the local content of language as a means to express their
the school, so the book which is used as willingness, and it can be concluded that
the guide is not served, therefore the there are different acquisition process
teacher should seek the appropriate and sequences faced by children and
book which is used as the teaching adult, a younger learner may receive
materials and the methods used should simpler input and older learner may
be interesting and joyful to the learners. obtain better prepare to negotiate it with,
Besides, the teacher also must tend the and the evidence here that the younger
psychological of learners themselves. produce clearest for phonology and also

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English Language in Focus (ELIF), 1 (1), 65-70. https://jurnal.umj.ac.id/index.php/ELIF

exist for accent recognition and Ellis, R. (1994). The Study of Second
listening comprehension. On the Language Acquisition. Oxford, UK:
contrary, older children such as isolated Oxford University Press.
and deaf children starting sign language Hadisantosa, N., Huong, T. T. T.,
late, also start off faster, presumably Johnstone, R., Keyuravong, S., & Lee,
W. (2009). Learning through English:
because the adult had got their greater
Policies Challenges and Prospect.
cognitive maturity, and if they begin too Retrieved from
late, however, they will stop far short of https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk
native-like abilities, a fact widely /sites/teacheng/files/publication_1_
accepted as evidence of maturational -_learning_through_english.pdf
constraints on child development stage. Larsen-Freeman, D., & Long, M. (1991).
Hopefully, this paper will give a clear An Introduction to Second Language
explanation about English to young Acquisition Research. New York:
Longman Press.
learner, and the writer hopes that it will
Leontʹev, A. (1981). Psychology and the
get the suggestions from everyone who
Language Learning Process. London:
read it to make this paper better and give Pergamon Press.
advantage for others.
Nababan. (1993). Kurikulum Nasional.
Jakarta: Balai Pustaka Gramedia.
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