My Essay!!!!

English for Young Learners. Why Is it Important?

          In this globalization era, English is the most essential and needed language in the world. Why do I say that? Because English is the International language that everyone around the world use it to communicate. Without learn English, people cannot communicate with other people in different country, because every country has own different language. As Mukminatin (1991) says that in the globalization era all nation need to communicate each other by using English is the medium communication.

            All of the people need to learn English and do either the children. Although as a children they are still young, but that is the right time to accustoming the children with English. There are some aspects that cause English is important to be learned by children. For example, the age aspect that influences the quantity and quality of learning English, the characteristic of the children affects to the studying result, the development of globalization that must be faced by learning English as early as possible.

            One of the most important factors that must be considered by the parents who want to give English learning to their children is age aspect.  As we know that elementary students around 7 to 12 years old are categorized as young learners. Young learners of primary level are the students who get new materials on their school. It is ideal time to learn about English. According  to Marry Finicchiaro (1964:4), childhood is the best period for acquiring a native or near native pronunciation because the speech organs of children are still flexible, so that is easy for them to learn the sound system of the foreign language. Having an accurate pronunciation is very important in mastering language, because a language is a mean of communication. If someone has a bad English pronunciation he or she might have difficulties to communicate in the language. It is easier to teach near native pronunciation as early as possible to have a better result.          

            Children have less in habitation in learning foreign language in a comparison with the adult. They have no problem to express something in a new way, because they have no effort to analyze the similarity or the difference between the foreign language and their mother tongue. They will use the time more talk about the language rather than practice to use language itself from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/adrisel/young-learners-vs-adults-learners-general-pediculiarities. The truth of this theory can be seen mostly in speaking class. It is difficult to be able to speak in the target language fluently if someone is afraid of making mistake while he or she is speaking. So it can be easier to learn English in young age than learn English as adult learners.

            Then, characteristic of young learners effects to the studying result. Because the children have their own special characteristic that distinguish them from adult learners, so it is automatically the result of the study also different. There are some of the young learner characteristics that will affect the result of their study:

1.      They can talk about what they are doing. Because children say what they want, and they see. They are honest about what they feel, like and dislike, so with English they can express it freely.

2.      They are very logical, because they will learn English depend on the situation that they saw and hear.

3.      They love play very much. So learning English is not like study, but they learn it because they love it.

4.      Young children have more time to fit English into the daily program. School program tend to be informal and children’s minds are not yet cluttered with facts to be stored and tested. They may have little or no homework and are less stressed by having to achieve set standards.

5.      Children like to work together. So it is easy to make children fluently in conversation, because they love to have interactive with their friends and love to doing work together.

6.      While, (L.G.Alexander:2005) gives a list of the characteristics which young learners share:

a.    Young learners are only just beginning their schooling, so that teachers have a major opportunity to mould their expectations of life in school.

b.    As a group they are potentially more differentiated than secondary or adult learners, for they are closer to their varied home cultures, and new to the conformity increasingly imposed across cultural grouping by the school.

c.    They tend to be keen and enthusiastic learners,

d.   Their learning can be closely linked with their development of ideas and concepts, because it is so close to their initial experiences of formal schooling.

e.    They need physical movement and activity as much as stimulation for their thinking, and the closer together these can be the better.

           Because children are still have natural characteristic, so it is easier for children to get new information and new knowledge. So that is why the result of the young learner and adult learners are different. Commonly the best result of learning language when we are child.

           The most important aspect is the globalization era that must be face by young generation as early as possible. Without learning and understanding English as early as possible, the children will be surprised by the development of the world. English as International language is a tools for children to know more about the world. Although English is still not obligation for children to learn it, but it will give preparation for the children.

           As we know that in this globalization era, all of the people need to have more ability in some education field. And all of those are need English to learned, because almost all of the book, articles, thesis, blog, website, film are in English. It is not satisfied if we read book or watch film, but we do not know what the meaning of those.

           The education system, especially in Indonesia that there is system SBI( Sekolah Berstandar Internasional) that all of the lesson subjects are explained in English, the teacher speak in English, and the book also in English. So it is obligation for the student in SBI to know and understand English very much. And it is not possible if the all school system in Indonesia will change to SBI. And the children must follow the system that obliging the student use English in school.

           In brief, from the explanation above we know that English is very important and useful for the people around the world, because it is the global language that can connect us to another people in different country. There are also some aspects that explain why English is very important to learn by children.