Linguistic Imperialism in English Learning
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Introduction.
Linguistic imperialism is the
dominance asserted and maintain by the establishment and continuous
reconstitution of structural and cultural inequalities among languages. Here
structural refers broadly to material properties, for example, institutions,
financial allocations and cultural to immaterial or ideological properties, for
example, attitudes, pedagogic principles (Philipson, 1992: 46). Phillipson's
theory critiques the historic spread of English as an international language
and that language's continued dominance. In the other word, it can be said that
english linguistic
imperialism is when a language dominances the other people which has different
language with that dominant language, and by the time, they use that language
as their language or their second language. Linguistic imperialism is seen as a sub-type
or one example of lingucism. Phillipson attempts to connect his concept of
linguistic imperialism with a number of other “isms” including racism, sexism,
capitalism, and imperialism (of at least six types). He proposes a new word:
linguicism. Linguicism is intended to convey and summarize how varying isms are
reflected and used in the English language when it is employed-as he repeatedly
us-as a tool of imperialism (Phillipson, 1992: 55). English Language Teaching
or ELT is also a part of linguistic imperialism, because it helps to spread a
language, in this case is English, to other people through education, like
schools, universities and colleges in around the world. ELT also has an agent
that helps to spread English. It usually called the Bristih Council. It is like
a kind of cultural institution from United Kingdom.
Theoretical
Framework.
As it
is explained, one of parts of linguistic imperialism is ELT. According to
Phillipson (1992), ELT is a
programme to spread English language through education which was set up the
initiative of British Council that guaranteed to supply the expertise in pedagogy
like departments of phonetics, English language and general linguistics, English
education and education. The purpose of ELT is to provide a theoretical basis
for the teaching of English as a foreign language within the wider framework of
language teaching in general ELT and educational language planning (Phillipson,
1992: 174).
The
doctrine that was to underlie ELT work was enshrined at Makerere in a number of
tenets. The tenets represent a pre-theoretical distillation of the worldwide
grassroots ELT teaching experience that was assembled at Makerere. There are 5
key tenets of ELT Educational Language. They are, English is best taught
monolingually, the ideal teacher of English is a native speaker, the earlier
English is taught the better the results, the more English is taught the better
its result, and if other languages are used much, standards of English will
drop (Phillipson, 1992: 184-185).
Tenet
one, English is best taught monolingually. It means that English is the only
language permitted to be used in the classroom. Tenet two, the ideal teacher of
English is a native speaker. If there is no native speaker, the teacher who
also ideal to teach is like someone nearly native speaker and has proficiency
in English. Tenet three, the earlier English is taught the better the results.
If English as a second language could not begun at the primary stage then it
should be begun as early as possible at the secondary school level’ (British
Council, India, 1950: 4). Tenet four, the more English is taught, the better
the results. The best material and methods are more important than the length
of time which it is taught. Tenet five, if other languages are used much,
standards of English will drop. The evidence is that this tenet, in combination
with the other four, has been effective in maintaining the privileged position
of English, and that the linguicist structure on which the tenets rest may
actually have contributed to standards falling (Phillipson, 1992: 214).
There
are some realizations of ELT. First, providing textbooks and many kind of
reading materials in English. It is very good for the students to enrich their
vocabularies and knowledgements. Second, held some English prediction tests
like TOEFL and IELTS. Nowadays, many companies give that tests for requiring
employees, because the capability to be able in English, active and passive, is
highly needed. Third, giving scholarships for students in many countries to
make it easy for them learning English. It is very good for them who come from
the poor families. They are still have a big chance to get a scholarship, learn
English, and become a successful person. Fourth, establishment of International
Schools. Because school is like the second home where we can use other language
different from when in home.
International School as the primary agents of English
Imperialism in Indonesia.
These
days, there is a well-known strong lingua franca argument: the pressure to use
English in everyday and everywhere has grown as schools, universities and
colleges have increasingly welcomed foreign students in here, and the lecturers
have found themselves faced with mixed-language audiences or students. The
English Language Teaching or ELT business has now become one of the major
growth in indutries around the world in the past half-century. However, its
relevance to the growth of English as a world or global language lately goes
back much further. It can be seen from the work of the Bristish Council as the
administrator of English language examinations for many people or candidates
from around the world. Beside that also there are many students learning
English and other skills through the medium of English in Council teaching
centres that is made by the British Council itself as an excelent idea. The
figures have steadily grown since then. Thousands of other schools, centres and
may kind of institutions worldwide now also devoted to English-language
teaching (Crystal, 2003: 112-113).
It
can be seen from the explanation by David Crystal (2003) in his book, we can
cocluded that the Bristish Council has the biggest influence in English
Language Teaching or ELT. It is like the British Council is the only agent, or
it can be said that the British Council is one of the important or primary
agents to help ELT spread English in around the world. The British Council is a
United Kingdom-based organization specialising in international educational and
cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and
Wales, and in Scotland. It British cultural and language education (British
Council: Wikipedia.com). It held many kind of examinations to the people around
the world for those who has a big willingness to get a scholarship, study
abroad, learn English and become a successful person as they dreamt of.
Furthermore, the British Council also open Council teaching centres in some
areas in around the world. It can be seen from the fast growth and the
successful work of the British Council which now can produce a lot of schools
and many kind of English institutions spread in around the world as the
positive results of the British Council work so far. It seems like these
effects will last very long until the unexpectable time. The British Council is
a very successful cultural institution from United Kingdom as we can see
lately.
English language
teaching or ELT is a widely used teacher-centred term, as in the English
language teaching divisions of large publishing houses, ELT training, etc.
Teaching English as a second language (TESL), teaching English to speakers of
other languages (TESOL) and teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) are
also used. (English as a second or foreign language: Wikipedia.com). ELT
includes the theories of language learning adhered to, as sufficient for
understanding, analyzing language learning and qualified also dedicated teaching
staff. As it
explained before, there are 5 key tenets in ELT Educational Language that are very
important and very helpful to make the International Schools become excelent
and qualified if it can be applied in there. The tenets represent a pre-theoretical
distillation of the worldwide grassroots ELT teaching experience that was
assembled at Makerere. There are 5 key tenets of ELT Educational Language
(Phillipson, 1992: 184-185). Therefore, for the International Schools are very recommended
to applied these 5 key tenets in their schools, in order to optimizing the students’ abilities and
intellegences to absorb knowledgements as much as they can, because when we
learn something, we first have to interest about the object we are about to
learn. Therefore, the key tenets of English Language Teaching or ELT is like
something that make us feel there are certain principles that will make us
interesting to the object we are learning and help us to learn effectively also
correctly. Nowadays,
it seemed like all of International Schools in Indonesia have already involved
it in the curriculum and in the way they are all teach the students. So, the International Schools with these 5 key
tenets are highly recommended as the qualified and excelent International
Schools that can be trusted.
Beside
that, there are also some realizations of ELT in Indonesia since the fast
growth of the British Council work recently. One of them is the establishment
of many International Schools in some areas in Indonesia. Through the
curriculum, the teachers, the teaching and non-academic staff, they are all
including in the agents of English imperialism in Indonesia. An International
school is loosely defined as a school that promotes international education, in
an international environment, either by adopting an international curriculum
such as that of the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge International
Examinations, or by following a national curriculum different from that of the
country the school is located in (International School: Wikipedia.com). There
are a lot of International Schools spread in some areas in Indonesia. They are
Surabaya, Batam, Balikpapan, Bandung, Bali, Manado, Papua, but mostly, usually
the well-known one, are located in Jakarta. There are many numbers of
International Schools which are located and spread in Jakarta. Those International
Schools have world-class curriculum (but some of them mostly based on the Cambridge
curriculum) complimented by highly qualified and dedicated teachers with
international experiences. There is no slight different between one curriculum
to the others. The Cambridge curriculum frameworks, for example, it identify a
comprehensive set of learning objectives for English, Mathematics and Science
for each year of primary education, which provides a natural progression
through the six years of primary education and provides a valuable structure
that focuses on what children should be able to do at each of the primary
stages. It is clear that they have strong international focuses and the language
of instruction is full of English (Cambridge Primary Curriculums framework:
cie.org.uk). There are some schools which have elements of the national
curriculum are blended into this framework to ensure all of the students
understand both national and international culture. Most of the schools have good
corporations with some well-known International Schools and Universities in the
other country to support their schools’ qualities. In order to look good in the
people opinions. Because the more it has International Schools from the other
country they have corporated with, the more people believe with the school.
It is already
mentioned that the curriculum is the international focused, and it is also
explained that all of the International Schools complimented by highly
qualified and dedicated teachers and other teaching staff with international
experiences. Moreover, most of them have already been involved in
English-language teaching itself for many years. So, it can be said that the
teachers are also very experienced and can be trusted to teach many subjects as
a native speaker teacher in the schools. As it said in that 5 important key
tenets of ELT Educational Language, one of the tenets said that the ideal
teacher is a native speaker. If
there is no native speaker, the teacher who also ideal to teach is like someone
nearly native speaker and has proficiency in English. In every International Schools in
Indonesia, at least, there is one expatriate native English-speaking who is a
teacher, and the others are bilingual Indonesian teacher or a
half-native-speaker of English. There are some full timer expatriate or import
teachers and the others are the teacher assistants. The teaching staff are definitely
all qualified and well-trained to deliver an international curriculum. Their
diverse backgrounds help enrich the teaching environment and give students a
wider prespective in their learning. The teacher usually receive regular
international and national training to sustain professional development and are
able to implement modern approaches in learning. The International Schools
usually have small classes, so the taechers can cater and tailor the curriculum
to each student’s individual needs. Not only the teaching staff, the
non-academic staff and Management team are also truly care about the education.
The result is a high degree of teacher attention and pastoral care.
Beside of the qualified curriculums and dedicated
teaching staff, there is also another reason which can support International
Schools as one of primary agents of English imperialism in Indonesia. It is the
supported facilities that the schools offered to balanced programmed that
prepare the students to achieve good academic results. They are like large
library with extensive book collection, football field, covered basketball
court, swimming pools, computer laboratories, science laboratories, theatre,
music room and exhibition space. Technology is also an essential tool
to learning and is supported by wireless access to the internet (WiFi zone),
across the whole of the school. They are all the kind of facilities that school
offered to support the learning activities of the students. Actually, there are
still so many number of facilities that offered by the school for supporting
the curriculum, but it is all depend on the school itself. Each of the
International Schools definitely has its own facilities and it is all different
from one International Schools to the others.
Conclusion.
It is already
explained about the linguistic imperialism, the part of linguistic imperialism
like linguicism and English Language Teaching or ELT, the 5 important key
tenets for ELT Educational Language, the growth of the British Council for
English-language teaching, the realizations of ELT which happen in Indonesia,
and the development of International Schools in some areas as one of agents of
English imperialism in Indonesia.
In
this modern era, English already become a global language. English is now being
used in everywhere and everytime. It caused English Language Teaching or ELT now
become one of the major growth industries in around the world, because it is
one of important or primary agents of English imperialism through education,
like schools, universities and colleges. As it is known, school is like the
second home where everything is learned, comes after home.
In
the all of International Schools, they use English is the first or the main language.
The curriculum is also fully-focused in the international curriculum. Some of
the schools are using the Cambridge Curriculum. To supporting these
curriculums, all of International Schools are corporating with the other
International Schools and Universities in many country in around the world, and
mostly with the well-known one. So do the teacher and also teaching staff. They
are mostly expatriate and native speaker, and they are using English everytime.
Therefore, these are the reason why International Schools can be called as one
of important or primary agents of English imperialism through education in
Indonesia.
References.
-
Phillipson,Robert.1992. Linguistic Imperialism.Denmark: Centre
University
-
Crystal, David. 2003. English as a
Global Language.Cambrige University Press
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