The Importance of Learning English as an Indonesian
I might be an Indonesian but I use English in any kind of social media most of the time, including writing in this platform. The main reason why I make this Medium account is not only sharing my personal experience and thoughts but also to increase my English writing skill. It’s not that I don’t like Bahasa Indonesia but I thought that by speaking English I would get wider audiences across the nation, especially my interests are about travel and design. It’s really good to share with people across the nation about our interests, we would likely get something that we’ve never heard or seen before. In order to get along with people from abroad, having proficiency in English is the key to everything.
I remember when I was a kid, my parents forced me to go to an English course. I was upset back then because I didn’t know the reason why I had to be able to speak English at such a young age. I thought my parents just being a fool for forcing me because I had no idea the importance of learning English and they kept saying it was for my future, while I had no idea what future was like. There was a time my parents almost gave up to take me to an English course until they decided to subscribe to a TV Cable (TV that includes the international channels) to let me watch a variety of cartoons instead of soap opera (sinetron). I was freaking out when there was no Indonesia subtitle on Cartoon Network and then I complained to my parents because I couldn’t understand anything on TV. My parents easily said “I told you” and that was the day when I decided to learn English.
Unfortunately, we live in a society where those who learn English are most likely being bullied such as “gausah sok Inggris lo” or “nggak nasionalis lo”. Those who speak or learn English are seen as a smart-ass or wanting to show off. This has led people to be afraid to learn or speak English because every time they try to, they always being mocked. This happens everywhere including in a big city where foreigners or tourists come and go. This kind of mortification makes people have less confidence to speak English, even when they’re grown up. Some people think that by speaking English means that we’re no longer love our own language. Some people like to make fun of those who don’t speak like the native speakers’ accent which makes no sense to me. For me, learning a new language is not about to sound exactly like the native speakers but to communicate.
Let’s get real, English has been a part of our life and it’s the most spoken language in the world. Wherever we are, we can’t deny the existence of English, even most of the job vacancies require us to have proficiency in English. Learning English is not only about being able to watch a movie without subtitle or being able to speak with the foreigners but also to wide up our opportunity in many things such as joining student exchange or participating in an international forum. It’s really great to be able to transfer knowledge from people with a variety of backgrounds and all of them are united with English. Not only that, most of the literature is written in English so if you want to gain knowledge of everything, the first thing we have to conquer is to be able to comprehend English. You already one step further compared to those who don’t learn English in digging knowledge.
Let me guess, you have at least one or two (or many) favorite artists coming from the Western, right? Either it’s Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, or Maroon 5, whatever. There must be a time when you stalk their social media just want to know their latest updates or you accidentally found a scandal about them. How could you understand their latest news when you don’t even know what they’re saying? Being able to speak English will make you easily reach them. You can say hi or just give them a compliment of what they’ve created, don’t think about the reply but at least you try to reach them. Well, perhaps one day you could meet them in person? You don’t want to miss a once-in-a-lifetime-chance to talk to them in person, right? You’re not only being able to reach them but also get in touch with their fans across the nation too, right?
By being able to speak English, you no longer need to limit yourself. Have you ever skip watching a movie because there’s no Bahasa Indonesia subtitle? Or you skip going abroad because you have no idea how to communicate with the locals? Or you skip your internship opportunity abroad because you’re lacking in speaking English? Or have you ever facing difficulties reading instruction in any electricity equipment (I rarely find the instruction letter in Bahasa)? Please keep in mind that there are many opportunities left if you don’t realize how important English is. Having proficiency in English is like a door wide open to any kind of opportunity.
In conclusion, being able to speak English is like a stepping stone to any kind of opportunity. You no longer need to limit yourself or worry about communicating with the locals when you go abroad. Not only that, having fluency in English makes you one or two steps further in digging knowledge and opportunities if compared to who don’t.
