60 that particularly, for second language learner moreover foreign language writers,
writing can cause anxiety, unless for those who have more advanced proficiency, it is very important to always prioritize “motivation in successful writing”. The
writers’ goals, willingness, beliefs and attitudes about writing is really influencing in the way they do the writing tasks. Older learners generally decide that writing
is worth invested. You g learners need to find motivation in the task for its own sake. The testers, assessors and teachers cannot rely on their extrinsic motivation
to complete the tasks Mc Kay, 2006: 250. From the above explanation about reading and writing for young learners, in
this case elementary school English learners, tester or assessors or teachers need to be careful in designing and composing tasks due to the characteristics of young
learners who are unique and much different from the older learners. Otherwise the goal of conducting test assessment or teaching will not be effectively productive.
4. English Education in Elementary Schools of Indonesia
a. Role and Position of English in Indonesia.
Indonesia was occupied by the Dutch for over 350 years from 1595. During the colonial period, few Indonesians received any education. Dutch’s policy of
keeping the colonized people in the dark was quite different from that of British in their colonial territories. English was taught as a foreign language in Indonesia in
1914 when junior high schools were established. Yet only the privileged class of Indonesians who could attend the school. Hence, English was never taught to be
used as a medium of communication Gregory, 1964, 15.
61 During the second World War, the Japanese prohibited the teaching of
English. When the Dutch returned to Indonesia after the Japanese defeat, they attempted to carry with the curriculum they had used before the war. English was,
again, taught as a foreign language. On August 1945, Indonesia won independence from the Dutch and five years later, on 17 August 1950, Republican
government of Indonesia was established. It was the first time that Indonesia acted independently to manage their own social and cultural matters including
education. Early on, it was decided that English rather than Dutch would be the first foreign language of the country instead of Dutch. Dutch was considered as
the language of the colonialists and it did not have the international status that English did Lauder 2008, 13.
Language policy in Indonesia has to compete with a highly multicultural and multilingual society. English, its status and its role in education has to be seen
as the third of three main categories: Indonesian bahasa Indonesia, the regional vernaculars bahasa daerah and foreign languages. The choice of Indonesian to
be the national language is successful. It is now understood and spoken by the majority of Indonesians. Indonesian is used for ‘high’ or public functions and one
or more of the regional vernaculars are used for ‘low’, informal, personal purposes or as a means of connecting local ties and cultural identity Renandya,
2000: 114. English is one of a number of foreign languages, which have been in use for some time and taught in schools. English has a special position in
Indonesia between other foreign languages such as Japanese, Arabic, Dutch, German or Chinese. This probably is due to English’s role as International
language of communication. English is chosen as the language of wider
62 communication and has become a compulsory subject in Schools. Other foreign
language such as French, Chinese, Japanese, if offered, are electives. Renandya, 2000, 115-116.
English is also seen by many Indonesian people as carrying a certain amount of prestige. “According to Gunawan 1998, English has a prestige among
Indonesians that may even surpass that of Indonesian” Lauder, 2000: 14. Knowledge of English is seen as either important or essential by large numbers of
people and is a requirement for many types of employment, as well as being seen as a symbol of education, modernity or even sophistication. Members of the
Indonesian elite, from politicians to celebrities, increasingly use code-mixing English into their daily use of Indonesian.
Despite of its special role, English remains ambivalence in the minds of some Indonesian scholars and policy makers Lauder, 2000: 13. There is a push
and pull between the need to benefit from communicating in English for national development and the fear that too much influence from English, in particular
culturally, can influence undesirably on Indonesian life and language. English is essential but the role that English is permitted to play restricted to its utilitarian
value in accessing information which can promote economic growth. English, in its role as an expression of general cultural and intellectual identity is considered
as a threat. Some educators in Indonesia have long worried that the widespread knowledge of English will cause negative impact on Indonesian culture, values
and behavior. Alwasilah 1997 even sees that Indonesians run the risk of having their own culture sullied or polluted by liberal western cultural values. Lauder,
63 2000: 14. This threat has usually been portrayed as a threat of western ’liberal
values’ which according to Kartono 1976: 124 a kind of ‘language schizophrenia”.
With such ambivalence, while in countries like Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines English plays an important role as the administrative and business
language of the country along with their national language, in Indonesia, the policy has never recognized English as an official or second language. The
situation is complicated by the multilingual situation of Indonesia with the use of one or more of the local vernaculars. The promoting the use of English for
international communication is less successful. Therefore, according to Dardjowidjojo 2003, 31-32 an attempt to compare the English language
situation in Indonesia with that in neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and Philippines is not reasonable. It is not advisable to try and imitate the policies
there due to the ambivalence and the historical aspect that Indonesia has not been a colony of either U.K. or U.S.A which use English as their native language.
To close the discussion on the role and position of English in Indonesia, it can be summed up that English is considered as the first foreign language in
Indonesia. It has a special position among other foreign languages taught in Indonesian schools. Yet, despite of its special position, English is reacted
ambivalently in the people of Indonesia, especially the politicians and decision makers between the fear of its threat over the nationality and culture and its role as
International language which has to be mastered for the benefit of national economic growth.
64
b. English Education for Elementary Schools of Indonesia
