PAPER WRITING CLASS ENGLISH 2

The Important of English in World, Especially in Indonesia

Tsamarah Insyirah (5001201155)

Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), Surabaya, Indonesia.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

The role of English language in career advancement is undeniable in this era of

globalization. Though English language proficiency is not the only criterion for
career development, its importance in the corporate world is widely recognized. It is so
obvious in countries like Indonesia how lack of English language skills affects the
career prospects of many young graduates. Though low-paying jobs may not
require advanced level of English proficiency, many organizations expect the
graduates to possess intermediate level of language proficiency to carry out their
responsibilities. Today many research reports emphasize the relationship between
English and employability all over the world. Due to the globalised market, employees
need to have day-to-day business dealings and communication with executives from
different parts of the world. Activities like emails, online chat, business
presentations require ‘above average’ language skills in order to have
unambiguous and clear-cut transfer of information to all participants (Clement dan
Murugavel, 2018). In today’s global world, the importance of English cannot be
denied and ignored since Egreatest common language spoken universally. With the
help of emerging technology, English has been playing the main part in several
 sectors including medicine, engineering, and education, etc. English is a vital language
for all kinds of propersonal goals (Nishanthi,2018).

1.2 Problem Statement

a. How about English Background ?

b. Why is English so Important?
c. What is the Reason to Learn English ?
d. What Functions does English Serve in Indonesia ?
e. Will English Take Over Language Development Indonesia in the State of
Indonesia?
f. Which Variety (norm) of English is Right for Indonesia ?

1.3 The Purpose of the English Language

This makes it easier for us to communicate with other people as social beings, as well as
in everyday life communicate and interact with fellow humans. Learning English is no
less important because we may meet foreigners who need conversation and it might
make us more confident. Often feel insecure or lack self-confidence? Insecurity comes
when we can only see other people speaking English even though we are only the
audience, therefore by using English we can be judged cool by others. In addition, of
course we will also be considered smart or insightful if our English is fluent.
 CHAPTER II
MAIN TEXT

2.1 Historical Background of English

English was initially the language of England, but over the historical efforts of the
British Empire, it has developed the primary or secondary language of numerous
former British colonies such as the United States, Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka, and
India etc. Currently, English is the primary language of not only countries actively
touched by British imperialism, but also many business and cultural spheres dominated
by those countries. In another word even outside of countries like the U.S. and the
U.K., many people can speak and understand English It is the language of
Hollywood and the language of international banking and business. As such, it is a
useful and even necessary language to know. An estimated 1 billion people
worldwide speak English On top of this, 67 countries have English as their official
language and there are 27 countries that have English as their secondary official
language. Why is this? It all has to do with history and the key is the British Empire
(Nishanthi,2018).

2.2 Significance of The Study

English is the most commonly spoken language in the world. One out of five people
can speak or at least understand English. It is also called the major window on the
world, which means that English gives us the view of the various progress taking place
in the world. Majority of Sri Lanka and Indian students, particularly from rural
area considers the word of English as a magical and a mystical word The moment
they hear something in English they start to feeling discomfort. Twelve years of
school study and three years of college study do not make students mastery over
English. While they are in schools as well as colleges English is not taught properly.
The majority of the students are addressed from rural areas, the bilingual method
 is adopted in language classes. This method helps only to slow learners to some
extent. Moreover, this act reduces the real learning process as a whole. To learn
English requires constant practice and patience. The kind of feeling that succeeds
among students is that it is not possible to achieve fluency or mastery over the English
language. This kind of tendency prevents students from learning English. Most of
the students study English from the examination point of view, so they are not
able to produce even a single sentence without the grammatical error. Furthermore,
sufficient practice is not given to students to learn a language. Knowledge of English is
necessary if one wants to come up in life. It is the major window of the modern world.
This is all the more true where the advanced countries have opened their doors for
recruiting technically qualified persons. Only those who have a command over the
English language are given a job (Nishanthi,2018).

2.3 REASONS TO LEARNING ENGLISH

There are several factors that make the English language essential to
communication in our current time.
1. English is the International Common Tongue
First of all, English is the most common foreign language. This means that two
people who come from countries (for example, a Mexican and a Sri Lankan) usually
use English as a common language to communicate. That’s why everyone needs to
learn the language in order to get in touch on an international level. Speaking it
will help you communicate with people from countries all over the world, not
just The British Council projects that by 2020 two billion people in the world will be
studying English. Learning English is important as it enables you to communicate
easily with your fellow global citizens (Nishanthi,2018).

2. Education
English is also necessary for the field of education. In many countries, children are
taught and encouraged to learn English as a second language. Even in countries
where it is not an official language. We will find many curriculums in science,
 engineeringeducation filed are written in English. Because it is the dominant
language in the sciences, most of the research and studies you find in any given
scientific field will be written in it as well.

At the university level, students in many countries study almost all their
subjects in English in order to make the material more accessible to
international students. English remains a major medium of instruction in
schools, universities. There are large numbers of books that are written in the
Englislanguage. English literature is vast and rich. Many of the latest scientific
discoveries are documented in English (Nishanthi,2018).

3. The Internet and Press

On the Internet, the majority of websites are written and created in English. Even
sites in other languages often give you the option to translate the site. It's the
primary language of the press: more newspapers and books are written in English
than in any other language, and no matter where in the world you are, you will
find some of these books and newspapers available. In fact, because it is so
dominant in international communication, you will find more information
regarding nearly every subject if you can speak this language. According to a report
by Education First, English is the language of the internet. An estimated 565
million people use the internet every day, and an estimated 52 percent of the
world’s most visited websites are displayed in the English language.Learning
English is important as it gives access to over half the content on the internet.
Knowing how to read English will allow access to billions of pages of information
which may not be otherwise available (Nishanthi,2018).

4. Resources Make Learning English Easy

Although many people think that it is very difficult and confusing, English is
actually the easiest of the world to learn because there are so many resources
available. As soon as you decide you want to learn, there are thousands of
resources on the Internet and in bookstores (Nishanthi,2018).
5. Travel and Business
With good understanding and communicatioEnglish, we can travel around the
globe. Because it is the international language for foreigners, it's easy to get
assistance and help in every part of the world. We can test it by online travel. Any
travel booking site we can find will have English as a booking option. English skills
will also help us in any business venture you choose to follow. If we visit some
offices, companies, governmental organizations, or even math or engineering
companies, we will see the importance of English. Any big company will hire
their professional staff after getting to know whether the people they are hiring
are good at English or not. Companies who want to function at an international
level only consider their staff well educated if they are good English speakers,
writers, and readers (Nishanthi,2018).

English is the dominant business language and it has become almost a necessity for
people to speak English if they are to enter a global workforce. Research from all
over the world shows that cross-border business communication is most often
conducted in English and many international companies expect employees to be
fluent in English. Global companies such as Airbus, DaimlerFast Retailing, Nokia,
Renault, Samsung, SAP, Technicolor, and Microsoft in Beijing, have mandated
English as their official corporate language. In
addition, in 2010 the company Rakuten, a Japanese cross between Amazon and
Ebay, made it mandatory for their 7,100 Japanese employees to be able to speak
English (Nishanthi,2018).

6. The Language of Hollywood/ Most movies are in English

Everyone knows that Hollywood is in the United States and that the biggest
television and music industries in the world are based there. As I mentioned
above, TV and movies are a great way to practice your English once you start
learning. What' more, knowing English opens up thousands of movies,
 television shows, and games for your enjoyment. If you want to one day
work in the entertainment industry, English is even more essential. Those who
are still unaware of the importance of English should start learning it, as a time
will come when everything will be understood, spoken and written in English.
In a lot of ways, that time is already here. Go ahead, watch some media, and get
an idea of the language. You won't be disappointed (Nishanthi,2018).

2.4 English Function in Indonesia

The current status of English as an international or global language is underpinned by its
wide use in a range of fields such as politics, diplomacy, international trade and industry,
commerce, science and technology, education, the media, information technology, and
popular culture (Crystal, 2003a: , Huda, 2000: 68, Jenkins, 2003). Crystal (2003a: 86 ff.,
2003b: 106), for example, suggests that English importance in particular because of the
extent of the role it plays in the following areas:

• Economics and business: The USA’s position as the world’s number one
economy exerts a pull on global business. Organizations which wish to do enter
the international market are not likely to be able to do so without using English.
The tourist industry in particular is dependent on English, but any multinational
business with international offices must have staffs who can work in English.
• International relations: English is one of the official languages of the United
Nations and other key international bodies. Diplomats may learn a number of
languages during their careers, but when it proves impossible to learn the
language of a country, then English may be used as a lingua franca.
• Education: A large proportion of the scientific papers published in all subjects
are in English. English is also increasingly used as a medium of instruction in
schools and universities, with subjects such as management, information
technology and the humanities making particular use of English. English is also
 taught widely as a foreign language for students intending either further study in
an English speaking country or as a requirement for employment.
• Communications: Much of the world’s communications are done in English.
80% of the world’s electronically stored information is in English. Although the
internet can now handle a variety of languages and non Roman scripts (Hussain
et al., 2005), it is difficult to envisage being able to make the maximum use of
the resources on line without a good knowledge of English.
• International travel and safety: English is the language used for navigation at
sea and for air traffic control

Because English in Indonesia is used for important matters and the large number
of speakers who use English worldwide, can be considered valid reasons for its
special status in Indonesia. Commentators on the use of English in Indonesia
have seen it as potentially serving a number of important purposes
1. as a means of international communication in practically all fields or walks
of life;
2. as a medium through which scientific knowledge, and new technologies can
be accessed implemented with a view to succeeding in the global marketplace;
3. as a source of vocabulary for the development and modernization of
Indonesian;
4. as a way to get to know native speakers of English,their language, culture
and literature, or as a means of expanding one’s intellectual horizons
(Lauder,2008).

2.5 English Will Not Take Over The Development of Indonesian Language
The statement or sub-headings above have good reasons for considering the language
status English in Indonesia as a foreign language only. More than that, to strengthen the
statement above requires an understanding of the concept of various language statuses,
and how the language is learned. Due to its status as a foreign language only, hence
 English is not used as a colloquial language, language of instruction in the world of
education, the language of government, as well as the language of instruction in business
world in Indonesia. The Indonesian people have very few opportunities to use English
for listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Thing this is because English does not exist
in Indonesia. English is just this one of the fields of study studied in school. Teaching
also emphasizes grammar and structure abilities, because the teachers are not native
speakers so has limited ability to speak English fluently. So that reasons such as the
decline in Indonesian language skills of elementary school children, reduce children's
love for Indonesian and regional languages which resulted in its decline in the spirit of
nationalism, the dominance of English against Indonesian is very bad realistic to be used
as a basis for eliminating English from the elementary school curriculum. Why? We
have to go back to seeing the characteristics of a foreign language. English in Indonesian
is not used as the language of instruction in the world of education, government or world
of business. Because of its status as only a foreign language, then opportunity use it is
very little and limited only as a subject learned in class, and is not used for listening,
speaking, reading and writing in daily life. So how could the English be dominate or
take over the existence of the Indonesian language? However, if there is no access to use
their first language, these children will undoubtedly be dominated by their second
language (missing from the first language). Therefore, access to language that has been
built in the brain is still needed, considering that Indonesian children still use the first
language (Indonesian) around them. therefore Indonesian will not disappear from the
Indonesian state (Rintaningrum,2015).

2.6 Variety (norm) of English is Right for Indonesia

Indonesian English is 'norm-dependent'. Question for Indonesia which norm should be
the basis of usage model? To be sure, until recently this was generally the case. It is
assumed that a variety of English will be taught or learned is British or American
English, both "inner circle" varieties. Both have an influence on teaching. To a lesser
extent, the presence of Australian English has been seen, for example in Australian
government sponsored teaching materials for the police, or in Australia Broadcasting
English lessons for English Indonesian people. But Australian English continues to have
less prestige than both British or American varieties, except perhaps with students who
returned from studying there. There has been relatively little discussion among local
people scholars about the possibility of teaching other varieties English, for example the
"outer circle" varieties like English Singapore or Malaysia. Most of today's teachers will
even see Australian English as has less prestige than Britain or America and rightly so
there's no way they'll be positive about outer circle varieties like Singaporean English.
However, when the middle class began to discover it send their children to Australia,
Singapore, or Malaysian education becomes their choice ask the experts if their kids
want English taking there represents the desired norm, or at least which is not bad.
Maybe it will be pragmatic for distinguish the norms enjoyed traditionally more (US,
UK) or less (Australia) prestige, than emerging norms in outer circle states (Singapore,
Malaysia), which may be tolerable for that parents because they consider all the factors
in making them make up their mind. Varieties that develop norms such as Malaysian and
Singaporean English may have a practical or useful value, but it has not shown any signs
of prestige for them to be adopted as a model for Indonesia. This leaf Indonesian
policymakers with a dilemma because there may be a refusal to adopt a local norm
developing varieties like the Singaporean English, but problems remain with basing
teaching only on inner circle varieties such as English or American English. It has been
argued that in the end Indonesia may develop its own variation of the standard of
English. However, at present it may not be realistic to claim the existence of a variety of
Indonesian in the same way that Outer Circle countries like Nigeria, India or Singapore
can. Types of errors between languages made by Indonesian speakers, not English
consistent enough to claim that they form new varieties. In addition, variations in the use
of English in Indonesia are partly because of the distraction of the many differences
mother tongue, native language such as Javanese, Batak, or Balinese. This makes us
think that perhaps now is the right time to consider seeking a definition of some
internationally accepted variations such as World Standard English or English as an
International Language. Difficult, because there is no research for define what are the
characteristics of Indonesian English which might match the EIL model. This will must
include a syntax description and phonological features as well as attention to the lexis.
but, from a pedagogical point of view, for now, it still is it is necessary to make a
decision about which variety to be taught. If British and American English had retained
the 'Gloss' then it might make sense to stick with it for now while research is being done
to help define the features of the International variety (Lauder,2008).
CHAPTER III
CONCLUSION

English is one of the most used and dominating languages in the world. This is
having its impact on every field of work. Undoubtedly, English play a much greater
role in the world that it is inevitable for people to ignore it fully. It has a bright future, it
helps connect us in a global world, and it can also help us in our personal and
professional life. Although learning English can be challenging and time-consuming,
we can see that it is also very valuable to learn and can create many opportunities.
Based on the critical review and evaluation of English language as part of the
curriculum in Indonesia, it was
observed that there is adequate need of regular evaluation of the both educational
system and curriculum so as to ensure uniformity in dissemination of knowledge. This
will give a way of measuring the efficacy of the system. Through evaluation,
accountability will be given to external stakeholders. I will also conclude that the
should be constant re training of teachers and students in order to level up with
international standard and make business transactions and dealing easy for Indonesians.
Improving on the English language as part of the curriculum will also give an additional
advantage to the graduates to be able to get job opportunities at international levels. It is
therefore to very paramount to evaluate the English and a foreign language as part of
the curriculum in Indonesia.
 REFERENCES

Clement, A dan T. Murugavel.(2018). English for the Workplace: The Importance of English
Language Skills for Effective Performance. India : the journal The English Classroom, 2.
(Jurnal)

Nishanthi, Rajathurai.(2018). Important of learning English in today world.India :

International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development, 871-873. (Jurnal)

Lauder, Alan.(2008). The Status and Function of English in Indonesia: A Review of Key
Factors.Depok : Makara, Sosial Humaniora,12-15. (Jurnal)

Rintaningrum, R. (2019). English Does Not Need To Be Removed From The 2013 Primary
School Curriculum. Journal of ADPISI National Seminar Proceeding "Building Indonesia
Based on Religious Values", 129-130. (Jurnal)