Jumat, 30 Juli 2010

Jeff Barrus, Strategies for English Language Acquisition for Indonesian Learners

STRATEGIES FOR ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

FOR INDONESIAN LEARNERS

Jeff Barrus[1]


My experiences as both a student of Bahasa Indonesia and a teacher of English to Indonesian student have convinced me that language and culture are inseparable. The difficulties of pronunciation or grammar are never so great as the difficulties of using word and phrase within their proper cultural context. For Indonesian students, this means that the successful study of English is contingent upon understanding Western culture. This paper will attempt to illustrate some of the difficulties I've observed Indonesian learners face in using "culturally correct" English, as well as some challenges they face from their own culture in studying the language. Finally, I offer some strategies for overcoming those difficulties.

Regrettably, most American is generally ignorant on the subject of Indonesia and its language and culture. But while Indonesians have much greater exposure to American culture, most have had little or no personal contact with Americans. Furthermore, many of the American influences they do receive come from Hollywood movies, MTV and pop music, and product marketing (e.g., Marlboro or Nike). This often creates a distorted picture of American life and reinforces many stereotypes about American culture, which are harmful to student learning English. For example, when I ask students to cite differences between Indonesian and American never use basa-basi (lip service), make no distinctions between formal and informal speech, or are always on-time. A student even once told me, " In American we know criminality and free sex are cool, but in Indonesia we have to think before we do something bad."

I do believe there is a higher degree of politeness in Indonesian culture than in American culture. But this does not mean politeness is nonexistent in American. I constantly remind student that American are usually less direct and more polite than they imagine them to be. In fact, because Americans tend to be less akrab (socially connected) with each other than Indonesians, they use words like "please" and "excuse me" in more situations than Indonesians would. These are some of the first words an English student learns and yet many student fail to use them properly. Many native Indonesian speakers who are courteous and proper in Bahasa Indonesia can sound suddenly rude when they switch to English. Two examples: If an Indonesian student invites me to accompany him by saying, "Follow me", what should have been polite request is turned into command, Or if someone haven't met approaches me by asking, "what are you looking for?" perhaps his intention is to offer directions - an offer that would be better phrased as "excuse me, could I help you find something?" Unfortunately, his language is as rude as if an American walked up to an unfamiliar Brawijaya professor and barked in Javanese, "Golek apa?" The best way to correct these small problems of usage is to practice with a native speaker. But I think it is also a good rule of thumb that one should try to be twice as polite outside their culture as they are within it.

As for understanding larger cultural issues, in my opinion the best approach any student can take is to read in English. Too many students believe if they concentrate on speaking only they will master the language more quickly. In fact, this is the way to illiteracy in a second language. It is impossible to separate the written word from English-language culture, which has a centuries-old tradition of passing on science, history, and drama by writing from one person to another. This is very different from Hawaiian culture, for instance, where information has been transmitted from one generation to another through songs, chant, and dances. Though Indonesia, and particularly Java, has a literary tradition, it is not a pervasive as the oral culture which has dominated society up until the present day.

Research has shown that the primary way English students enlarge their vocabulary is through pleasure reading. Therefore, in order for Indonesian student to be successful English learners they must read consistently. I suggest beginning with short article in a well-written daily newspaper like The Jakarta Post. By following the same news over several days, students are repeatedly exposed to the same vocabulary. They also gain a better understanding of English language cultures. Once student feel comfortable with the newspaper, they should try tackling Short book on the subjects of interest to them. Finally, they should graduated to literature, which in, my opinion, expresses the breadth, flexibility, power, and subtlety of English better than other medium.

Writing is also an important discipline in the study of English. A recently published study showed that teaching writing-in Bahasa Indonesian as well as English- was one of the weakest areas of the Indonesian secondary school system. This is unfortunate, Since writing is the slowest, least pressured, and most thoughtful means of expression. It allows student to test their reading and speaking comprehension by reassembling information in their own words. Also, when student write and than receive criticism of that writing, they can begin to eliminate small errors in, for example, the use of preposition or verb conjugation that plague their spoken English. In English, writing well is therefore an essential part of learning to speak well.

Taking note is also essential. Before I lecture, I advise student to write down words and expressions I use that they don't understand. Later they should look these words up in the dictionary. The next time they come to class they can ask me questions about using the words, in the process beginning to incorporate them into their own vocabulary.

Besides politeness and the adjustment to a more literary culture, Indonesian students face some internal cultural challenges in the learning English as well. One is the fear of making mistakes, which stop many students from attempting to speak altogether. Another is the feeling of sungkan, which inhibits student from speaking when someone of higher or greater competence is present to speak from them. Still another is the feeling of malu ("embarrassment" not "shyness" in this case) at being singled out from the group. For this reason, many Indonesian students are as afraid of praise as they are of criticism. Successful student must overcome these feelings in order to force themselves to speak.

In conclusion, I feel obliged to add that these strategies will amount to nothing if learners are not self-motivated. This is particularly true in Indonesia, where few people use English in their daily lives and native speakers are scarce. Student must learn from practice with each other. They must also bring English into their daily lives. To do this, I suggest subscribing to English-language newspaper and magazines, watching English movies and television shows (try to ignore the subtitle in Bahasa Indonesia), and listening to English radio programs. I myself owe much of my limited success in Bahasa Indonesia to my regular reading of Bola and the Jawa Pos, and my faithful viewing of "Jin dan Jun," Jangan Rebut suamiku" and "Misteri Gunung Merapi".

I admit that English is a difficult language to learn, with confusing rules of grammar and tricky pronunciations. Nonetheless, Indonesian student should not become discouraged. By practicing the above strategies and working hard, their goal of English mastery can be realized.



[1] Jeff Barrus is an Hawaian American, teaching at STIBA Malang and Guest Writer for Hermeneutics.

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