Teach English in Tongqiao Jiedao - Chongqing

Problems for learners in IndonesiaDuring this century, English has become the world?s most important language in various manners such as technology and employment, due to this increase importance of learning the English language a large array of problems and difficulties have risen for every individual learning English. However it has become notable that many learners form a particular ethnic backgrounds can generally share similar problems with learning English, as their class mate seated right next to them, their uncle or their best friend. Within my research article I will focus on the common problems that can arise when teaching students from the country of Indonesia. As my father is a native Indonesian I have first handily experienced and observed his own personal problems with English, in which I wasn?t surprised to see again during my cultural exchange in Indonesia during high school. Some of the most common problems that Indonesians experience with learning a foreign language such as English can be tied towards the differences between their native language and English, which allows various difficulties to arise such as pronunciation and grammar problems. And also the manner of the Indonesian education system which I believe has taken part in creating some significant barriers between the two languages. The factor of the Indonesian education system creating some learning difficulties can be tied towards the teaching system within Indonesia, were students often become passive learners as a result of Indonesia?s strict education system, thus meaning many students cannot effectively comprehend the content of what they are learning and are rather subjected to absorb limited information from their unapproachable teachers. This factor is also clearly portrayed within an online article where it states ?[students] able to produce complex grammatical forms, but has little awareness of the actual meaning of the language they are using.? This notion bleatingly highlights the problems arising when learning English as a result of the utilisation of ineffective teaching methods. This opinion is also further discussed within the point of view of Nova Dwi Handayani in her article where she expresses ?English is taught since elementary school until high school and university. It means that students in Indonesia have learned English for years. However, there are only a small number of students who have mastered the language.? Another factor creating problems with learning English for Indonesian students is also discussed within Abudira?s article as she discusses, ?Our government still considers English is not a language that is appropriate to be used in schools and universities, English is still regarded as foreign language ?Bahasa asing?. Since our government regards it as a foreign our feeling and attitude towards this language also feel foreign. Comparing to other countries like Malaysia or Singapore, they use English as their second language.? Perhaps this is Indonesia?s way to preserve their native language prominence, however as this world keeps turning and developing so does the importance of the English language globally, so this further supports the issue of the Indonesian education system and government choices that are hindering the abilities of Indonesian learners through their means of teaching. Through another quote from the article by Abudira, we can identify the knowledge of Indonesians towards the teaching environments within many Indonesian schools, where she states, ?the enthusiastic feeling that emerges in the learning process will have important role on the success and failure of learning. In my opinion, it is the great duty and responsibility of lecturers and teachers to motivate students by creating the atmosphere and environment that enables students to learn English in comfortable and enjoyable situation.? This quote also shows there should not be a significant barrier between student and teacher, which is created by Indonesia?s educational system. Another factor, in which hinders many students learning English in Indonesia is the factor that many Indonesian students don?t realise why they should study the English language, this is largely due to their lack of knowledge of the advantages of this language in their futures. Hence, the problems apparent while teaching Indonesian students are largely due to a reluctance of the Indonesian education systems, and its government?s inability to revise their teaching motives and methods. However this reluctance could also be a result of the apparent differences between the two languages. There are also more prominent problems arising from Indonesia?s language Bahasa and its diversity in comparison towards the English language. Many Indonesians like university student Raden Albian Nofansyah also believe this is a problem, where he stated ?grammar, vocabulary and punctuation are the most difficult for me, because I think Bahasa is much simpler,? this comment is also similar to English teacher Devi Sukmati?s remarks where she stated ?Most of the indo students, including myself when I was still in high school. Had problems with the structure of the language, how to use appropriate dictions so the person we address will get the message we convey, and also the structure of English itself in terms of past, present and present continuous etc, that is way different to Bahasa, because in Bahasa we only have sekarang (now), kemarin (yesterday) and yang akan datang (what will come/future) and they aren?t as complicated as English. The usages of tenses and verbs, how to apply each tense in the right situation and timing, I guess those are all the common problems we usually face when we learn English.? This detailed comment accounts Devi?s own teaching experiences and from her own personal high school experiences the large array of problems that can be faced by students as a result of the differences between the two languages. As discussed within Sukmati?s comments in Bahasa Indonesia there are virtually no tenses and this introduction of new tenses is often difficult to grasp for many Indonesians which indefinitely becomes an area of importance for English teachers to conquer. This can also lead to confusion and further problems such as troubles creating sentences with correct word order, as for example ?the blue dog? in literal translation in Bahasa (anjing biru) will become ?dog blue?, this is one of the most prominent problems that I realised during my stay in Indonesia and from my father, who still today after living in a native English speaking country for 18 years still has major problems with word order in sentences, as their native languages sentence structure is so diverse in comparison with English. Another issue due the differences in the languages are that Indonesian words are spelt phonetically, this creating a definite problem with punctuation as they must learn the inconsistent and almost random way in which English words are spelt, and how they are so different to their pronunciation. As well as the detailed comment by Devi, many Indonesian students can experience major troubles with pronunciation, for example when pronouncing consonant clusters or words consisting with the letter ?r? or ?c?, is another common issue, as within Bahasa the sounding of the alphabet is diverse towards the English alphabetical sounding, where you see letters like ?r? being rolled becoming ?rrr? and ?c? pronounced as ?ch?. It is clearly seen there are a range of problems faced by the majority of Indonesian learners which are the result of the apparent differences between the two languages, but however these certain challenges could easily be solved with effective methods of teaching in practise. Due to my research, it is undeniable Indonesia has a large array of problems facing the individual English learner, these problems will continue to exist until further effective changes and teaching methods are revised, this I believe is already significant in language institutions like IALF, in which I had the opportunity to study at, where you can easily see the EFL teaching methods in full practise, and I believe with further EFL adoptions used within high schools, primary schools and universities many of the problems from the differences between the languages such as grammar, and word order will eventually be no challenges towards a majority of Indonesian learners. In conclusion, there will forever be individual problems due to a large diverse amount of factors, however through effective teaching methods employed and barriers carefully destroyed, these common problems seen within certain ethnic groups such as Indonesia should become less apparent within the future.