Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-5nwft Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-12T18:13:02.170Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

English, multilingualism and globalisation in Indonesia

A love triangle: Why Indonesia should move towards multilingual education

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 May 2018

Subhan Zein
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Indonesia is the second most linguistically diverse nation in the world. It has established its reputation as one of the largest markets of English language education. This paper examines the context of multilingualism in Indonesia in relation to the increasingly dominant role of English from my viewpoint as a researcher. I begin the paper by outlining how Indonesia is currently adapting to the role of English as a global language. I then discuss the position of English within the linguistic ecology of the country, highlighting how its promotion in the educational system adversely affects the maintenance of the indigenous and heritage languages. Finally, I point to the need for deliberate action in education that promotes multilingualism. I argue for a redirection in the Indonesian educational system towards multilingual education in order to ensure the preservation of the indigenous and heritage languages while adopting English as a Lingua Franca.

Type
Research Article
Information
English Today , Volume 35 , Issue 1 , March 2019 , pp. 48 - 53
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anas, A. 1993, October. Peran bahasa Indonesia dalam pembangunan bangsa. Paper presented at Indonesian Language Congress VI in Jakarta.Google Scholar
Alisjahbana, T. S. 1976. Language Planning and Modernisation: The Case of Indonesian and Malaysian. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
Agnihotri, R. K. 2014. ‘Multilinguality, education and harmony.’ International Journal of Multilingualism, 11(3), 364–79. doi: 10.1080/14790718.2014.921181.Google Scholar
Baldauf, R. B. Jr., Kaplan, R. B., Kamwangamalu, N. & Bryant, P. 2011. ‘Success or failure of primary second/foreign language programmes in Asia: What do the data tell us?’ Current Issues in Language Planning, 12(2), 309–323.Google Scholar
Bertrand, J. 2003. ‘Language policy and the promotion of national identity in Indonesia.’ In Brown, M. E. & Ganguly, S. (eds.), Fighting Words: Language Policy and Ethnic Relations in Asia. Cambridge: The MIT Press, pp. 263–90.Google Scholar
Byram, M., Nichols, A. & Stevens, D. 2001. Developing Intercultural Competence in Practice. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Canagarajah, S. 2013. Literacy as a Translingual Practice: Between Communities and Classrooms. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Chua, S. K. C. 2011. ‘Singapore's E(Si)nglish-knowing bilingualism.’ Current Issues in Language Planning, 12(2). doi:10.1080/14664208.2011.602816.Google Scholar
Dardjowidjojo, S. 1998. ‘Strategies for a successful national language policy: The Indonesian case.’ International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 130, 35–47.Google Scholar
Ethnologue. 2017. ‘Indonesia.’ Online at <http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=id> (Accessed June 15, 2017).+(Accessed+June+15,+2017).>Google Scholar
Gao, F. 2011. ‘Linguistic capital continuity and change in educational language polices for South Asians in Hong Kong primary schools.’ Current Issues in Language Planning, 12(2). doi:10.1080/14664208.2011.609687.Google Scholar
García, O. 2014. ‘Multilingualism and language education.’ In Leung, C. & Street, B. V. (eds.), The Routledge Companion to English Studies. New York: Routledge, pp. 84–99.Google Scholar
Graddol, D. 2006. English Next: Why Global English May Mean the End of English as a Foreign Language. London: British Council.Google Scholar
Hadisantosa, N. 2010. ‘Insights from Indonesia.’ In Johnstone, R. (ed.), Learning through English: Policies, Challenges and Prospects. London: British Council, pp. 24–46.Google Scholar
Hamied, F. A. 2012. ‘English in multicultural and multilingual Indonesian education.’ In Kirkpatrick, A. & Sussex, R. (eds.), English as an International Language in Asia: Implications for Language Education. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 63–78.Google Scholar
Hamied, F. A. 2013. ‘ELT intricacies within the Indonesian language policy.’ In Bigalke, T. W. & Sharbawi, S. (eds.), English for ASEAN Integration: Policies and Practices in the Region. Bandar Seri Begawan: IELTS, pp. 32–40.Google Scholar
Jenkins, J. 2015. ‘Repositioning English and multilingualism in English as a Lingua Franca.’ Englishes in Practice, 2(3), 49–85. doi:10.1515/eip-2015-0003.Google Scholar
Kirkpatrick, A. 2010. English as a Lingua Franca in ASEAN: A Multilingual Model. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.Google Scholar
Kikrpatrick, A. 2012a. ‘English as an international language in Asia: Implications for language education.’ In Kirkpatrick, A. & Sussex, R. (eds.), English as an International Language in Asia: Implications for Language Education. Dordrecht: Springer, pp. 29–44.Google Scholar
Kirkpatrick, A. 2012b. ‘English in ASEAN: Implications for regional multilingualism.’ Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 33(4), 331–44. doi:10.1080/01434632.2012.661433.Google Scholar
Kirkpatrick, A. 2016. ‘English as a lingua franca and its educational impact in Asia.’ In Leitner, G., Hashim, A. & Wolf, H.–G. (eds.), Communicating with Asia: The Future of English as a Global Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 282–95.Google Scholar
Lamb, M. & Coleman, H. 2008. ‘Literacy in English and the transformation of self and society in Post-Soeharto Indonesia.’ International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11(2), 189–205. doi:10.2167/beb493.0.Google Scholar
Lestari, L. A. 2003. ‘Should English be a compulsory subject in the primary schools?’ Jurnal Bahasa dan Seni, 31(2), 197–213.Google Scholar
Lo Bianco, J. 2010. The Importance of Language Policies and Multilingualism for Cultural Diversity (UNESCO Publications). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
MoEYS. 2016. Curriculum Framework of General Education and Technical Education. Phnom Penh: MoEYS.Google Scholar
Montolalu, L. R. & Suryadinata, L. 2007. ‘National language and nation-building: The case of Bahasa Indonesia.’ In Guan, L. H. & Suryadinata, L. (eds.), Language Nation and Development. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, pp. 39–50.Google Scholar
Ostler, N. 2005. Empires of the Word: A Language History of the World. London: HarperCollins.Google Scholar
Phuong, L. N. T. & Nhu, T. P. 2015. ‘Innovation in English language education in Vietnam for ASEAN 2015 Integration: Current issues, challenges, opportunities, investments and solutions.’ In Stroupe, R. & Kimura, K. (eds.), ASEAN Integration and the Role of English Language Teaching. Phnom Penh: IELTS, pp. 104–20.Google Scholar
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. & Phillipson, R. (eds.). 2017. Language Rights. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Stroupe, R. & Kimura, K. (eds.). 2015. ASEAN Integration and the Role of English Language Teaching. Phnom Penh: IELTS.Google Scholar
Sukyadi, D. 2015. ‘The teaching of English at secondary schools in Indonesia’. In Spolsky, B. & Sung, K. (eds.), Secondary School English education in Asia: From Policy to Practice. New York: Routledge, pp. 123–47.Google Scholar
Tsui, A. B. M. 2004. ‘Language policies in Asian countries: Issues and tensions’. The Journal of Asia TEFL, 1(2), 1–25.Google Scholar
Zein, M. S. 2013. ‘Language teacher education for primary school English teachers in Indonesia: Policy recommendations’. Unpublished doctoral thesis. Canberra: The Australian National University.Google Scholar
Zein, M. S. 2017. ‘Elementary English education in Indonesia: Policy developments, current practices, and future prospects.’ English Today, 33(1), 53–9. doi:10.1017/S0266078416000407.Google Scholar
Zein, M. S. In press. ‘Translanguaging as a metadiscursive practice in the EYL classroom: Preparing prospective teachers.’ In Zein, M. S. & Stroupe, R.. (eds.), English Language Teacher Preparation in Asia: Research, Practice and Policy. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar