Literacy in English and the Transformation of Self and Society in Post-Soeharto Indonesia

Abstract

Among several hundred indigenous languages, Bahasa Indonesia gained pre-eminence as the national language of Indonesia during the country's first 50 years of independence. The fall of Soeharto in 1998 and the subsequent devolution of power to the regions might have been expected to lead to a resurgence in use of local languages but instead it appears to be English which is filling the ecological spaces. Propagated by government, demanded by employers, broadcast by the media, imposed by schools and encouraged by parents, the language not surprisingly occupies an important space in the developing mindset of many young Indonesians, going far beyond its actual practical value in daily life. Drawing on two empirical studies in Sumatra, one a large-scale evaluation of educational provision, the other a case study of English learning at school, the paper shows how the degree of investment which young Indonesians make in the language is not solely a matter of personal agency but is constrained by inequalities in the distribution of cultural, social and economic capital. Unless radical curriculum changes are introduced, the spread of English may in the long-term only serve to deepen these inequalities.

A Close Look at Bilingualism Research in Asia

“…In this paper, I will discuss four studies, all of which approach their data using sociolinguistic framework. Lamb and Coleman (2008) studied English literacy in Sumatra using two different stages: (1) one largescale evaluation of English in educational curricula; (2) a case study of English learning at school. He proposed to clarify that young Indonesians' English literacy does not merely lie on individual matter, but is also confined by inequalities in socio-economic capital (Ibid.).…”

“…Meanwhile, Yunusa and Gan (2011) has uplifted the coming of English within Malaysia's bilingual education policy by referring to students' perception. Lamb and Coleman (2008) and Nababan (1991) have contributed their insights on how English works in Indonesian curriculum. Similarly focusing on English in non-English speaking communities, Sisamouth and Lahb (2015) from Thailand and Nguyen and Hamid (2016) from Vietnam have also captured students' attitude toward English in their multilingual setting.…”

Untitled

“…In addition, a duplication of this study might reveal evidence that was imbalance. Interestingly, the English-learning fever has been a hovering issue in other East Asian countries (Lamb & Coleman, 2008;Wei, 2006). Based on the Indonesian cases, Lamb & Coleman (2008) claim that the Indonesians put value in English that "goes far beyond its actual practical value in daily life" (p. 189).…”

Exploring meta-cognitive beliefs of postgraduates in an EFL context

“…Noteworthy is that the model of learning places an emphasis on the Chinese folk term of hao-xue-xin -heart and mind for wanting to learn, stressing diligence, perseverance, application of knowledge, use of effective methods, self-cultivation, and self-perfection (Li, 2002). The Chinese model of learning appears to be connected with 'personal agency' (Lamb & Coleman, 2008), which refers to the socioculturally mediated capacity or willingness to act (Hall, 2005). Associated with metacognitive beliefs (i.e.…”