Should Indonesian Kids Under the Age of 10 Learn to Communicate in English?

Should Indonesian Kids Under the Age of 10 Learn to Communicate in English?

Eka Sugeng Ariadi

Kemenag Class 2015 – NIM. 157835408

The State University of Surabaya

Due on the title above, readers may pose various interpretations in their mind. Drawing proper answers (moreover to dispute it) in which age period is better for Indonesian kids to start learning to communicate in English, under or upper the age of ten, is always interesting, challenging and emerging countless debate. Fromkin, Rodman, & Hyams (2011) notice that the factors of age, talent, motivation, etc, probably take into account the succeed of second language (L2) learners to learn/acquire a new language. Therefore, among Indonesian scholars, it is indispensable to expose deeper and clearer about this case by comparing and contrasting equally the both sides. Obviously, each side would be enclosed with reasons and argumentations. Impersonal, at the end of this essay, I -as an indigenous person- tend to say that Indonesian kids under 10 should not learn to communicate in English.

Kids Under 10 Years Should Learn to Communicate in English

Several linguists and educators powerfully believe that kids in this period have a lot of advantages to their language acquisition and its flourishment if they attempt to start learning (likewise communicating) other languages as L2 or foreign language (FL). Edelenbos, et al. (2006, p.148) convince us that “young children can benefit in a number of ways if their initial experience is not restricted to listening, speaking and doing but includes a gradual and systematic introduction to reading and writing from an early point”. From ‘an early point’ of young children herein can be understood since the birth until the age of 12. As Yule, Fromkin, Rodman, & Hyams (2011, p.22) claim that “during the critical period, language acquisition proceeds easily, swiftly, and without external intervention, meanwhile after this period, the acquisition of grammar is difficult and, for most individuals, never fully achieved”. According to them, kids under the age of five mostly are able to comprehend language grammar, “i.e. conjoining sentences, asking questions, using appropriate pronouns, negating sentences, forming relative clauses, and inflecting verbs and nouns and in general have the creative capacity to produce and understand a limitless number of sentences.” (p.324).

These beneficial is merely endorsed by kids’ affective filter, as Richards & Rodgers (2002) say that “affective filter (e.g., fear or embarrassment) may account for children's apparent superiority to older acquirers of a second language”. (p.183). Brown (2006) also informs us that “There are dozens of salient differences between first and second language learning: the most obvious difference, in the case second language learning, is the cognitive and affective contrast between adults and children” (p.34). Thus, in contrary to adult learner, affective filter does not take a significant account to acquire and learn new languages.

In general, few educators have done some observations and announced that children are better language learners than adults (Brown, 2006., Horn & Ward, 2006). The insight of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASLHA) also observes that children are prominently able to learn more than two languages (Richard, 2010). Not only to learn but also to communicate with other people as well. Again, Yule (2010) assures that “by the age six, children already know a lot about how to use language and they have begun to master many of the details of how to participate in and manage conversations.” (p.165).

In accordance with those arguments, people then believe that children (wherever they live, particularly in Indonesia) should learn to communicate with their L2/FL as earlier as possible. Hence, in Indonesian context, prior to the implementation of 2013 curriculum and the elimination of English subject at elementary school, he had ‘forced’ his citizen overall to learn English since at very young age. Consequently, this policy then affected Indonesian family to send their kids to learn and to communicate in English attentively in many courses, even send them to study abroad.

Kids After 10 Years Should Learn to Communicate in English

It has been well understood that learning to communicate in English as L2/FL, is better occupied during “the critical period” (Yule, Fromkin, Rodman, & Hyams, 2011) or “the sensitive period” (Yule, 2010). Whereas, on contrary side, Richard’s (2010) finding shows that in bilingualism older learner may also much perceive much beneficial than younger learner. Moreover, if we little bit discuss further about the function of learning language. In the insight of Pragmatics, the speaker/writer should maintain good communication with the listener/reader, in vice versa in form of verbal and non-verbal communication. Carter (1997) maintains that, “it is even more essential that students should understand the contractedness of texts from both the inside, as writers themselves, and from the outside, as textual critics” (p.16). In other words, language learners are recommended and suggested learning to communicate with the target language (TL) entirely.

As a matter a fact, good communication in L2 as TL probably could only be practiced smoothly by older learners. Slavin (2003. p.44) reassures that “notion of a Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD-Vygotsky) is an important facet of social constructivism because it describes tasks that a child cannot yet do alone but could do with the assistance of more competent peers or adults.” Therefore, Brown (2006) says “Adults have developed even greater concentration and so have greater ability for rote learning eventhough rote learning is only for short-term memory or for  somewhat  artificial  purposes” (p.67). In addition, Kumaravadivelu (2006) concludes that adult learners perceive high level proficiency in learning L2 than younger learners.

Finally, based on the arguments above, simply it persuades us that learning to communicate in English after the critical/sensitive period is much recommended for L2/FL learners, particularly for Indonesian learners. Yule (1996) convinces that starting learning L2 in adult ages is better than in kids ages.

The best period of learning to communicate in English for Indonesian Kids

Since “learning language means learning to communicate,” (Richards & Rodgers, 2001, p.156), and “communicating means analysing of what people mean by their utterances than what the words or phrases in those utterances might mean by themselves,” (Yule, 1996, p.3), adolescence is the best period of learning English (as an TL/L2/FL for Indonesian learners in order to be able to communicate with. Learning language fruitfully at the critical period may become substantial clues as the best age for kids to learn their L2, nevertheless those clues are insufficient to support the position. The weakness of this position is argued by Linse (2005) in her research finding that “A child may learn to read at a very early age and have developed advanced cognitive skills but behave in ways that are viewed as emotionally and socially immature,” (p.5). Further, Brown (2007, p.87) has warned us that “There are actually many instances of 6- to 12-year-old children manifesting significant difficulty in acquiring a second language for multitude of reasons”. Therefore, “Children under age 10, an early start by itself however guarantees nothing; it needs to be accompanied minimally by good teaching, by a supportive environment and by continuity from one year to the next, taking children smoothly from pre-primary to primary, and from primary into secondary education,” (Edelenbos, et al., 2006).

In this present essay, it necessary to note what Kumaravadivelu (2006) have done. She clearly states “Those in favour of the “younger is better” case argued that L2 development by children and adults might actually involve different processes; the former utilizing innate properties of language acquisition as in L1 acquisition, the latter employing general problem-solving abilities, and thus accounting for the differential effect of age. However, there are others who suggest that “older is better” because older learners have cognitive and literacy skills that tend to enhance their L2 development” (p.32). Tembe & Norton’s (2011) study have shown the importance of the role of community and with some exceptions, adults need more consciousness attention to learn second/additional language.

Lastly, based on the given arguments above and as already stated in prompt to, the writer proposes to stand in line with the latter position. It means the worthy of learning to communicate in English as L2/FL for Indonesian kids after the critical period/adolescence/adult is more reliable. Hereafter, the best action to take for Indonesian L2 learners is asking them seriously to learn to communicate in English when they are adult or starting to study at Junior High School. This decision will be the same as applied at the United States that children do not start learning additional languages until middle school or college. While at China, the policy of compulsory of learning English since early ages has given rise to new inequities and is far from being a means to fair development. And in Indonesia, itself, new primary school curriculum has been dropped English as one of elementary subject (Pasassung, 2003).

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