How will English help you in your career and future

For English Learners,

As an Indonesian university student or employee you may wonder how much English is going to help you with your career. Certainly if you have already been an employee for a while now you would know that in applying for jobs a lot of companies ask for great English skills and to find staff who speak English well is very difficult.

Even in India where the English speakers are proportionately a much larger number when compared to countries like Indonesia, the employee who can speak English well earns an average of 30% more that their non-English speaking counter parts. This is 30% extra for the entirety of their career. That is a big difference. Not only does it command a higher salary there but it also opens up more opportunities, somebody who speaks English well will be able to secure a position or promotion sooner, also they will be able to acquire different clients and make different connections than their non-English speaking counterparts.

Also for professional development English provides a competitive edge because all of the latest materials for your industry are probably released in English. In Indonesia, the case is even more impressive than that of India in that people of certain professions who can speak English can sometimes earn up to double their non-English speaking counterparts. This is for the same work, the same hours, having the same qualifications and the same experience. What a huge cutting edge English gives to your career!

If you're confused where to start in learning English don't be! If you already have a basic communicative ability in English you've already won half the battle. Perhaps as many as 90% of learners of a foreign language don't continue to be able to communicate in that language. Just take the graduates from High School around Indonesia as an example, how many of those that you went to school with can speak English well? How many of those that came from the local government high school can speak English well? You'll see that in Indonesia there is a huge skills shortage when it comes to English, which is why as in India people with English skills here command such great opportunities for themselves.

So as somebody who wants to go from being able to communicate to become fluent in English there has never been a better time to start than now! For those who cannot communicate confidently yet then for you also there is good news, to get from not being able to communicate to being able to communicate confidently will only take 6-12 Months of serious study, and for those who want to get from communicating to professional fluency you're looking at around 2-3 years.

How can you get started on your English journey? Well for the beginner the best thing to do is to start formally studying the language. If you have access to a good English course this is a great way to get started, but that by itself is not enough. You must also have a discipline routine to practice daily, so that you can improve steadily. For the person who is looking to get to an advanced fluency a lot of what you will do is self-study quite often structured courses will not take you exactly where you need to go because the more advanced you get in English the more tailor made the approach needs to be. The person who best knows your weaknesses and who best knows what more you need to learn are yourself and if you can a personal coach to assess your language needs.

 So the key phrase for people looking to reach advanced fluency is "guided learning". It is very useful to have somebody look at your individual situation and be there to mentor you and guide you as you progress on your language journey. For somebody who is looking to just reach communicative competence in the language the key phrase is "a structured course, with lots of practice in your own time". If you can commit to these things, set aside the money and the time needed I'm sure that you can reach your goal of getting better English for a better future.


 Don't forget that learning English can be fun, and if you relax and make a good habit out of it you'll learn much more easily. Okay I hope that this has helped you in your quest to continue your language journey and that you'll have the best of success with your English and in your life.

Kind regards,

-Hugh

Salah Persepsi Belajar Bahasa Asing

For the English version click here

Banyak orang indonesia yang merasa mereka tidak mempunyai bakat sedikit pun untuk belajar bahasa ataupun merasa ‘terlalu tua” untuk belajar bahasa Inggris dengan baik saat ini.

Saya percaya bahwa kita semua tidak pernah terlalu tua untuk belajar bahasa asing.  Bahkan pelajar dewasa justru mempunyai lebih banyak faktor yang menguntungkan dalam proses pembelajaran dari pada pelajar-pelajar  yang lebih muda.

Beberapa faktornya antara lain :

1.    Kemampuan untuk membaca.

2.    Lebih berpengalaman (kelebihan dalam kemampuan belajar secara kontextual)

3.    Mengerti taktik (pelajar yang masih sangat muda tidak mengerti taktik, mereka lebih condong “mengikuti arus” )

4.    Kosa kata lebih luas yang dimiliki dari bahasa ibu biasanya mempunyai banyak kesamaan dengan bahasa yang dipelajari.

5.    Kemampuan secara mandiri mencari lawan bicara untuk berlatih  dan lain sebagainya.

Berikut ini adalah kutipan dari sebuah artikel  yang ditulis oleh Steve Kaufman   mengenai  kesalah-kaprahan umum yang terjadi di masyarakat dalam belajar bahasa.

1.    Belajar bahasa itu sulit.

Akan menjadi lebih sulit apabila kalau kita sendiri tidak ada motivasi . Belajar bahasa perlu proses yang lama namun tidak sulit. Kita hanya perlu mendengar dan membaca. Percayalah,  ini memang semudah itu.  Secepatnya anda akan merasakan kepuasaan dalam mengerti bahasa asing.  Tanpa anda sadari anda sudah mulai menggunakannya.  Begitulah biasanya bahasa diajarkan yang membuat itu mudah untuk disukai.

2.    Kita harus punya bakat dalam belajar bahasa.

Tidak perlu. Siapapun yang ingin pasti bisa. Di Swedia dan Belanda kebanyakan orang berbicara lebih dari satu bahasa. Mereka tidak semua berbakat dalam Kebahasaan. Atlet asing di Amerika Utara biasanya berbicara lebih cepat daripada orang yang berada di dalam lingkungan belajar yang formal.   

3.    Kita harus berada di negara dimana bahasa tersebut dipakai.

Kebanyakan  imigran di Amerika Utara tidak pernah belajar  bahasa selain bahasa inggris yang lambat namun kita melihat beberapa dari mereka yang berbicara inggris dengan sempurna. Pada tahun 1968, saya belajar bahasa Mandarin hingga lancar selagi saya tinggal di sana, dimana hanya sedikit yang berbahasa itu. Dengan adanya internet, pelajaran bahasa juga lebih mudah diakses oleh siapa pun yang mempunyai komputer atau dengan menguduhnya ke iPod. Saat ini Lokasi bukanlah suatu halangan. Dimana-mana anda bisa mengunduhnya.

4.    Hanya anak-anak yang bisa belajar bahasa lain dengan baik.

Hasil penelitian terakhir terhadap otak manusia menyebutkan bahwa otak kita tetap mempunyai sifat yang sama alias tidak berubah sejalan dengan umur kita yang menua. Orang dewasa yang kehilangan daya penglihatannya harus belajar huruf Braille sebagai perbandingannya. Tapi tidak dengan otak. Ketajamannya tetap konstan. Orang dewasa mempunyai kosa kata yang lebih luas dan pembelajar yang jauh lebih baik dari pada anak-anak. Saya telah belajar 4 bahasa sejak saya berumur 55 tahun. Orang dewasa hanya perlu semangat anak-anak untuk berexperimen dan keinginan yang besar utk berkomunikasi tanpa takut terlihat konyol.

5.    Untuk belajar bahasa diperlukan ruang kelas yang formal.

Ini sangatlah penting dalam hal ini. Ruang kelas mungkin lebih ekonomis dan tempat yang tepat untuk bertemu dengan murid lainnya. Terdapat bobot sejarah dan tradisi di dalam kebiasaan ini. Sayangnya ruang kelas menjadi tidak efisien dalam kegiatan belajar bahasa. Semakin banyak murid semakin tidak efisien kegiatan ajar mengajarnya. Bahasa tidak bisa hanya diajarkan namun juga harus dipelajari. Penjelasan secara struktur  teoritikal kadang sukar untuk dimengerti, sulit untuk diingat dan makinlah susah untuk dipraktikan. Pengulangan dan latihan sangat menjengkelkan untuk beberapa orang. Mayoritas lulusan sekolah anak-anak tidak dapat menggunakan bahasa yang yang mereka pelajari selama 10 tahun.

6.    Kita perlu berbicara agar dapat belajar (dan kita tidak mempunyai partner untuk itu)

Menggunakan bahasa yang dipelajari adalah goal utamanya, namun itu bisa menunggu. Sesudah kita menguasai suatu bahasa, kita akan menemukan kesempatan untuk menggunakannya. Pada saat kita belajar bahasa adalah sangat penting untuk mendengarkan.  Menggunakan penggalan-penggalan yang kita pikir “berguna” justru akan membuat kita terjebak dalam kesulitan. Apabila bertemu dengan seorang Native speaker, akan tidak dapat terhindarkan kita menghabiskan waktu hanya untuk mendengarkan. Kecuali kalau kita sudah mahir. Kita tidak perlu berbicara untuk belajar, kita perlu menyimak untuk belajar berbicara.   

7.    Saya ingin belajar namun saya tidak punya waktu.

Bagaimana kalau kita menggunakan waktu yang terbuang saat kita menunggu antrian, perjalanan pulang pergi kerja, melakukan kerjaan di sekitar rumah atau sekedar jalan-jalan dengan mendengarkan suatu pelajaran bahasa di iPod atau MP3 player kita ?   sekali kita mencoba 5 sampai 10 menit sehari,  kemudian bisa sampai 30 menit sehari. Kalo kita percaya akan mencapai suatu hasil dan kita menikmatinya, seperti saya, anda pasti akan menemukan waktu untuk itu.

Silahkan terus mengikuti tips dan motivasi untuk mencapai target belajar bahasa anda.

Datang dan ‘Like’ halaman Facebook saya buat yang belajar Bhs Inggris di  facebook.com/mylanguagevillage atau berlangganan di blog saya untuk hal-hal terbaru.

Misconceptions on Learning a Foreign Language

Untuk versi Bahasa Indonesia klik desini

Many Indonesians feel that they have no "talent" for language or that they are too "old" to learn English well now.

I believe that you are never too old to learn a foreign language. In fact Adult learners posses many resources in learning a foreign language that younger learners don't.

Examples are:

 1. The ability to read

 2. More world experience (i.e. greater context for contextual learning)

 3. Understanding of tactics (very young learners don't use tactics so much but "go with the flow")

 4. Wider vocabulary in mother tongue usually means many similar words in target language

 5. Ability to independently search out language partners And many more.

 The following is an excerpt of an article written on the subject by Steve Kaufman on some common misconceptions people have about learning another language:

 1. Language learning is difficult

 It is only difficult to learn a language if you don’t want to. Learning a language takes time, but is not difficult. You mostly need to listen and read. Believe me, it is that simple. I have done it many times. Soon you feel the satisfaction of understanding another language. Before you know it you start speaking. It is the way languages are usually taught that makes language learning hard to like.

 2. You have to have a gift for learning languages

 No you don’t. Anyone who wants to, can learn. In Sweden and Holland most people speak more than one language. They can’t just all be gifted at languages. Foreign athletes in North America usually learn to speak English faster than people in more formal learning environments. In language learning it is attitude, not aptitude, that determines success.

 3. You have to live where the language is spoken

 Some immigrants to North America never learn to speak more than halting English. Yet we meet people in other countries who speak flawless English. In 1968, I learned to speak Mandarin fluently while living in Hong Kong, where few people spoke it. With the Internet, language content is available to anyone with a computer, and you can download it to your iPod and listen. Where you live is not an obstacle.

 4. Only children can learn to speak another language well

 Recent brain research has demonstrated that our brains remain plastic well into old age. Adults who lose their eyesight have to learn a new language, braille, for example. Adults have a wide vocabulary in their own language and are better language learners than children. I have learned 4 languages since the age of 55. Adults only need the child’s willingness to experiment and desire to communicate, without the fear of ridicule.

 5. To learn a language you need formal classroom instruction

 This is the crux of the problem. Classrooms may be economical to run and a great place to meet others. They have the weight of history and tradition behind them. Unfortunately, a classroom is an inefficient place to learn a language. The more students in the class, the more inefficient it is. Languages cannot be taught, they can only be learned. Theoretical grammatical explanations are hard to understand, hard to remember, and even harder to use. Drills and exercises are annoying to most people. A majority of school kids graduate unable to communicate in languages that they study for 10 or more years.

 6. You need to speak in order to learn (and I have nobody to speak to)

 Speaking the language is usually the goal of language learning, but speaking can wait. Once you have acquired the language, you will find the opportunity to speak. When you are learning the language it is more important to listen. Trying to just pick up a few “handy” phrases to say is likely to just get you into trouble. If you meet a native speaker, you will inevitably spend most of your time listening unless you already know the language. You do not need to speak in order to learn, you need to learn in order to speak.

 7. I would love to learn but I don’t have the time

 How about the time you spend waiting in line, commuting, doing things around the house, going for a walk? Why not use that time to listen to a language on your iPod? Once you get started, even 10 or 15 minutes a day will soon grow to 30 minutes a day, or one hour. If you believe you will achieve significant results, and if you enjoy doing it, as I do, you will find the time.

 Please stay tuned for more tips and motivation to achieve your language learning goals.

 Visit and like my facebook page for learners at facebook.com/mylanguagevillage or subscribe to the blog for regular updates.

China the land of Silk, Tea and English Centres

Students Learning English in Wuhan.

I greatly admire the Chinese resolve.

Not only in work, migration, friendship, family and business but also in studying. They are (in general) extremely diligent students. I've taught Chinese Indonesians before, was schooled alongside Chinese natives in Australia and have many Chinese friends. More recently too I've started to see the mammoth rise in demand for English in China just continue growing.

English centers are sprouting up all across the country, children start studying English many times at the age of 4. The US licensed institute Disney English now has hundreds of centres in China and they aren't even the biggest. The New Oriental English course is said to have 324 learning centres and schools in China. The entire English tuition industry is said to be worth over USD 3.1 Billion.

Even with difficulties
the Chinese still try their best.

Every year more than 10 Million students take the Gau Kau College entrance exam. The exam lasts 3 days itself but many students spend 3 years with 12 hours a day preparing for it. In this mighty exam where literally the future of millions of young Chinese rests 25% of the score is based on English competency. Meaning if you cant speak English you will equivalently fail in the eyes of the top universities.

Fail to get into a local university? International Universities have even more stringent English exams for entrance, unless you are prepared to put in a year or two of expensive pre-university English study in the host country, which is what many overseas students do every year.

So English is really a game changer for Chinese students. That doesn't mean it isn't for the rest of students studying English as a foreign language but it does mean the Chinese are stepping up their game and realise the importance of this global language in such a dynamic international economy.

Unfortunately English is not cheap. EF (Education First) estimated in 2010 that there were just 5,000 Native English Speaking  Teachers (NEST) with valid work visas at that time in China, with an estimated 300 Million students looking to learn English. That means 60,000 students for every NEST. Of course not all those students study with a Native but most Chinese students and parents still believe a NEST is better and would opt for one if they had the choice, access and means.

The above means that local English teachers (nNESTs) have to bear the responsibility of preparing those 300 Million students for a promising future. Teachers like Li Yang the founder of Crazy English who is perhaps the most financially successful English teacher in the world. He sometimes teaches stadiums full of students in intensive camps and courses that last weeks with full days of study.

Li Yang teaching a class.

Why do you ask is English such a big deal in China? Isn't Mandarin supposed to be the next 'International Language'?

Well despite Mandarin being very useful to learn if you plan to do business in China, it's unlikely it will be the next 'International Language'. English is the first ever truly International Language, there has never been an International Language established like English has been and there is now perhaps not a country on earth where students are not expected to at least have some command of this International Language. Even in North Korea, the most shut of country in the world next to Myanmar the students are all required to learn English.

This means that even if the apparent economical and military superiority of the USA subsides English will still be here to stay, simply because it's already there.

Chinese students taking a nap.
They can study for up to 16 hours a day.

So the Chinese are on the ball. They know what needs to be done to succeed and they are going about doing it, whether it takes 12,14 or even 16 hours of study a day they will succeed at any cost.

What does this mean for the rest of Asia and the rest of the world of ESLers (People learning English as a second/foreign language)?

It means that we better pick up our game if we are going to succeed. A global economy means a competitive economy. The students in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand will not only be competing against the school next door for jobs and business but they will also be competing with people from all over the world. Now with the upcoming New ASEAN work and trade agreement English has become more essential than ever. Unfortunately our schools, education departments and even parents are late to catch onto the changing climate.

Before English was a plus, now it's a must!

Even in countries like India where the education system was largely modeled off the British and English is felt to be a familiar language, employees who speak good English will earn an average of 30% more than their equally skilled counterparts. In Indonesia I have no idea of the exact figures but from what I can see from my friends and coworkers it is probably the same or greater.

Also more often now, a lack of English skills is becoming a barrier to securing decent employment. With an increase in qualified individuals due to the rising amount of University enrollments employers can be more picky when selecting candidates, English is now often a basic criteria to filter applicants. Which means in the future you may not even be able to get an interview without good English skills.

I write this article as a reminder to this pressing challenge we all have before us. As teachers, parents and students. A better English education for all means a fairer playing field. Lets promote the better study of English and help the current and next generation succeed in this challenging market with so many dedicated and diligent competitors.

Until next time...

...try and change some lives!