How Promising is the Future of English in Indonesia?

Author: Ignatius Tri Endarto

Being an English teacher in a home country which has more indigenous languages than one might probably think has been a reality that tickles me all this time. Indonesia, the country where I live, is known for having more than 300 native languages and “none” of them happens to be English. So why do I choose this job of promoting a language which is basically foreign to me and most of my students?

My mere motivation was at first the fact that English used to be the “property” of two dominant countries, the UK and the US. But then I realized that there might be something compelling about English which can be used for the good of the country. Adopting a new language does not necessarily mean losing one’s identity. Just like the Indonesian language which unites and helps people from hundreds of ethnic groups to express their pluralistic natures at the national level, I believe that English, which has become a global language, could help Indonesia promote its culture and shine out on the international stage.

As a nonnative speaker of English, my first encounter with this language was when I studied in junior high school. It was quite a late start given that the younger generation these days has been exposed to English even so much earlier as they spend their time at the kindergarten’s table. Ever since English was first included as one of the subjects taught in Indonesia’s schools, it has been gaining more and more popularity among the people. It is definitely a good progress. The century, which is marked by the so-called globalization, has been indicating that there is a very promising future ahead of English teachers in Indonesia.

How badly do Indonesian students need English? The answer lies in almost every aspect of our life. Even in such an English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) country like Indonesia, the prominence of English is unquestionable. Countless people nowadays access the internet on a daily basis with most of world web pages being written in English. Most advancements in science, technology and many other fields in general are published internationally through English.

Within the country itself, it is a common thing to watch public figures switching from Indonesian to English and vice versa just to show how “cool” or “educated” they are. As one might notice, many advertisements and commercials these days jump out at us with English jingles to outsell their products. A lot of luxurious restaurants also use English words and phrases to name the foods they offer on the menus. To keep up with the rapidly changing world, many big companies require their employees to be proficient in English. Those phenomena have proven that English has subconsciously become a symbol of prestige and high social status in Indonesia.

English has also become the most recognized working language of many international organizations. In ASEAN, where this language is not spoken as a day-to-day tongue by the majority of member countries, English has been acknowledged to be the sole official language which is used both in its publications and meetings. The ASEAN Charter, which was first published in 2007, obviously affirms this by declaring that “the working language of ASEAN shall be English.” With the implementation of ASEAN Economic Community, it is not overrating to say that English is the “ticket” that we all need to buy in order to go global and create a strong international presence.

Online version of this article was published in 2016 at:

http://www.globalindonesianvoices.com/28810/how-promising-is-the-future-of-english-in-indonesia/