Learning English as a Foreign Language

In this globalization era, the world has no limits in communication, and technology develops very fast. This forced people around the world to master language that is used for international communication. English, as an international language since the end of the Second World War, is used to communicate internationally by people from different countries. It has brought an unprecedented expansion in scientific, technical, and economic activities in an international scale. As a result, it has created a whole mass of people wanting to learn English because it is the key to the international technology and commerce. So, learning a foreign language becomes an important thing, because we need to communicate and co-operate with other people from different countries for different purposes.

In learning a foreign language, some people may have different reasons. Harmer (2001:1-2) points out some reasons why they learn a foreign language. First, people learn a foreign language because of the target community. As they find themselves living either temporarily or permanently in the target language community, they will have to speak in the target language to survive in that community. Second, they have specific purposes. For example, someone learns a foreign language to get a particular job. In other case, a person will learn a foreign language as they want to read and understand some articles and other printed mass media that are written in the foreign language. The third reason is school curriculum. When a foreign language is included in the school curriculum, students have to study it. They cannot refuse to learn it. The last and most interesting reason why people learn a foreign language is to know the background of people who speak it and the place in which it is spoken. When we learn a foreign language, it means that we also learn its culture.

Even though English is not the language with the largest number of native speakers, it is popular as a lingua franca. A language will be categorized as a lingua franca if it is known and spoken by most of people in the world although it has not a large number of native speakers. 

Learning English as a foreign language is different from learning a native language. In learning English as a foreign language, the learners will face several learning problems dealing with vocabulary, sound system, and how to arrange words into sentences that are quite different from those of their native language. Ramelan (2001:2) states that if someone wants to learn a foreign language, he will obviously meet with all kinds of learning problems. These difficulties have to do with the learning of the new vocabulary items and the learning of the unfamiliar ways of arranging the foreign words into sentences.

Several learning problems faced by learners in learning a foreign language are due to the differences of learner’s environment in achieving their first language and a foreign language. For example, learners do not know how to read and write at the time they are learning their mother tongue, but they learn the foreign language through written expression and reading. Learners are not used to communicate in another language in their society. They may be interfered by their earlier language system which has been established in their mind. 

Indonesian learners also have difficulties in Learning English, because English language is quite different from their native language. Its differences cover the different structures, pronunciations, and intonations. Thus, the style of teaching English as a foreign language differs from teaching the Indonesian language. Indonesian learners will find more difficulties in learning English since Indonesian and English are not from the same family language. Ramelan (2001:2) states that the degree of difficulty in learning is also determined by the degree of difference between the two languages. Consequently, the learners should have great motivation. Students are supposed to be more encouraged and interested in studying it. They should be serious in learning English because it needs a total physical, intellectual, and emotional response.

People have different ways in learning English as a foreign language. Their different ways are caused by their different ages and backgrounds. A child will have a different style with an adult when they are learning English. Children would commonly like to learn a language in a normal situation than in a form of study. They would rather acquire any language through play or games. Adults will acquire a language through implementing it in their daily life directly since they can provide themselves in appropriate situation.

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