Do Indonesians Speak English Well?

Recently a couple of questions where asked about how well Indonesians speak English. A lot of Indonesians may feel that the quality of Indonesian English is generally low, but I have found otherwise. I elaborated on my feelings in the following answers.

How good are Indonesians in speaking English, their accent and fluency?

Previously Indonesians in the public school system used to study English starting from SMP-SMA (Junior-Senior High School) then schools changed it to start at SD 3 (3rd Year of Primary School) and then for quite a while it has been obligatory since SD 1 (1st Year of Primary School). For private schools, they were usually a few steps ahead with when their students started learning English, most private kindergartens already start giving English from playgroup with songs and chants, but not all.

There is an interesting phenomena here though where students can 'learn' English for 12+ years but still not be able to communicate with it. This is due to a number of reasons such as:

• A one track curriculum, where if you fall behind there are no more entry points. This also leads to multi-level classrooms that are unmanageable for teachers.
• Poor teaching quality (either with pedagogical knowledge, content knowledge or both)
• Too many unrealistic competencies which are the same for city schools and schools on a mountain in the middle of a jungle. That leads to poor teaching.
• Some people feel motivation is also a factor but I feel with realistic expectations and well trained and facilitated teachers motivation will not be a major issue. Sure if students are self-motivated learners they will do well, but they will do well without classes too.

It is a very general question when referring to 'Indonesians' but as a whole those who are given the right environment usually learn English very well, I have seen in general the Indonesian tongue and mind is very well suited for English, usually well trained Indonesians have a lovely accent and if they are of the younger generation have good grammar too. The options for Indonesians wanting to introduce their children to this international language have increased with many more schools using the Cambridge curriculum for their Maths, Science and English subjects including Islamic schools. Previously if the Muslim majority wanted to have their children schooled well and speaking English they had to send their children to Catholic schools, now though many Islamic schools have improved in regards to English, although they still haven't yet got the experience to overtake Catholic schools in general.

What do people from other countries think about Indonesian accents (when speaking English)?

I feel I am qualified to answer this question because I have been teaching English to Indonesians almost exclusively for around 10 years. I am an Australian who lives in Jakarta and also a Toastmaster (public speaking organization), so I hear a lot of different English accents coming from Indonesian English speakers.

In general, Indonesians adapt their pronunciation to English very easily. Sometimes when they have studied English poorly this is not the case but after receiving good instruction early on they have very few long standing difficulties, in fact I would be hard pressed to mention any.

An exception perhaps are people with a strong Javanese accent in Bahasa Indonesia, I have found a lot of the time their accents stick thickly when they learn English. This is not to say that some can't master English pronunciation and intonation or that those who don't can't be understood. Even Javanese English learners find English easier than Japanese, Chinese, Thai or Korean English learners. Mainly because of the similarities between Bahasa Indonesia and English.

Inter-language (mixing the two codes of mother tongue and new language) can be an issue but again with proper instruction this can be easily overcome.

The important stage is Threshold stage, where the learner begins to become independent in their language production. If they have good resources to learn from and a good guide they will do fine, if they have poor resources and a poor guide (maybe the teacher isn't proficient themselves) then this can lead to fosilisation of a poor accent and inter-language.

So in summary you will find most Indonesians do not speak English, there are many though who can though and many who can speak English quite well, especially if you are dealing with big companies from Jakarta, most international companies only hire Indonesians who can speak English (for obvious reasons).

The above are edited excerpts from my Quora answers. You can see more questions I've answered on Quora from my Quora profile here!

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

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!