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Playing with words for greater opportunity
On a typical day at the cinema, one can hear Indonesian children critiquing the movies they just watched in fluent English
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On a typical day at the cinema, one can hear Indonesian children critiquing the movies they just watched in fluent English.
"The movie was really cool, Mom. It was funny. I really like the movie," say the children to their parents. Similar scenes can be spotted at many public places throughout Jakarta.
Nowadays, many Indonesian children speak at least two languages fluently: English and Indonesian.
The fact that the phenomenon coincides with the sprouting of English courses and bilingual schools across the capital is not a coincidence.
Many parents send their children to English courses at an early age, hoping the students will master the language.
Lalang Ken, 30, has enrolled his 3-year-old daughter in English classes. He said he wanted her to get an early start because young children could pick up languages quickly.
"Ilearn English until I was 12 years old. As a teenager, it's more difficult for you to learn a new language because at school you have to study other subjects," Ken said.want her to take English because I want her to grow up as a bilingual speaker. But I never force her to take the class. So long as she is happy, I will follow her needs.
"She looks happy and enjoys learning English. She looks excited every time she goes to school," he said, adding that his daughter attends the class twice a week.
Sumartini Puspa Dewi, also known as Ninin, 42, hires a private English tutor to teach her two children at her home in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. is an important language in this era of globalization. My children should be able to speak it well so they can compete for good opportunities in the future," Ninin said.
She started employing a tea-cher when her children were six years old.
"Young age is considered an ideal time for learning a language because it is easier for them to absorb new things."
She said she preferred hiring a private teacher rather than sending her children to an English course because it saved time and energy.
"Sending them to an English school means it would take a lot of their time because they would have to commute from home to the school," she said.
The number of children attending English courses across the city has increased, according to a number of English institutions.
Mimi Kaida, from EF English First, said two programs at EF -the High Flyers, for children aged between 7 and 10, and the Trailblazers, for children aged between 11 and 14 - had become more popular over the last five years.
"Before 2003, most of our students were adults, but now the trend has changed. About 55 to 60 percent of our students are children and teenagers," Mimi said.
"There is also a slight increase in Small Stars program, which is for children aged 4 to 6, but the number is not as much as those in the first two programs."
There are some possible reasons behind the increase, she said.English has become a part of the elementary school curriculum. The sprouting of international schools is also behind
She said EF tried to make the classes for children fun.
"We do try to make the classroom environment very interactive with computers and the Internet so the kids enjoy it," Mimi said.
English is a lingua franca for people around the world. Two-thirds of the world's population speak English, either as their first or second language.
The education ministry has made English part of schooling at elementary schools, especially in big cities like Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Medan and Denpasar.
Pasaribu Tarigan, the marketing manager of English school LIA, also said his workplace had seen an increase in young students.of our students are adults. However, we are seeing that the number of students from elementary school and junior high school are on the rise in the past few years," Tarigan said.
At LIA, 48 percent of students are adults, 25 percent are junior high school students and 13 percent are elementary school students. The remaining 14 percent attend specialized classes, including, for example, English for business.
Young students have discovered the advantage of learning English.
"It is an international language. I hope I can master it well so I can study abroad," said Shavina Benyamin, 11.
"But, I still need to improve my speaking because that's the most important thing in learning a language. I try to practice speaking English with my father at home," she said.
EF English teacher Rob Morgan praised his pupils' language skills. children are fantastic. I was very surprised when I arrived here because they could speak better than some of the adults," he said.
"I think that if they immerse in an English environment at a very early age and their parents speak English, *it* will help them a lot," he said.
He said Indonesians could speak better English than some students in other countries.
"Previously, I taught in France so I do compare Indonesian and French students. Indonesian students speak English so much better than French students," he said.
"Their accents skills are much higher than the French students. Their listening is very good.
"However, we always go back to reading and writing. Writing is a big problem for everybody," said Morgan, who has been teaching in Jakarta for about three years.
"I always tell my students to listen to the radio. You don't necessarily have to understand what they are saying.
"Listen very carefully and start repeating the words you hear and eventually you will pick it up."
He said parents should not force their children to learn English.
"I don't think it's good to force children to learn a language. They *children* should want to do it naturally. The parents can suggest and show them what it would be like."
