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Chapter 1

Introduction:

A language is a tool used to communicate with each other, so there is an understanding between the parties involved. The language itself can make it easier for us to channel ideas, ideas, feelings, and many other things. In this world, many languages are used, even one country can have up to 2 languages. And in this modern world, many languages are also used by many people. Those languages used by many people are known as the English language.

In a recent study conducted by Education First (EF) on the English proficiency index, Indonesia’s 2017 ranking fell from the previous year’s order of 32 (Intermediate Proficiency level) to 39 (Low Proficiency level). Based on data from the study, the Asian country’s average English proficiency score was 53.60. Now, as a comparison, the average score of English proficiency in Indonesia is 52.15, still below the average number of English proficiency in the Asian region. From this data, we can conclude that understanding b, English in Indonesia is yet said low.

Even though English today is used for many things. We were starting from education, business, politics, to technology. The importance of learning English in today’s times cannot be underestimated or ignored seeing English as the language spoken in most parts of the world. English does not only play a role as a communication tool but can also make it easier for us to adapt to the environment and work in the present and future. From this, we can think about how important is learning English for everyday life?

Problem statement:

  1. Why should we learn English nowadays?
  2. What are the difficulties in learning English?
  3. What methods can be used to learn English?
  4. How does literature help us learn English?
  5. What kind of skill can we get if we study English?
  6. How does English affect in young generation?
  7. How does English advance our country nowadays?

The Purpose of Writing:

  1. We know the reason why we learn English nowadays.
  2. We are identifying the difficulties in learning English.
  3. Knowing what is the best method to learn English.
  4. We are identifying the importance of literature that can help us in learning English. 5. Knowing the skill, we can get from learning English
  5. Identifying how English affect the young generation
  6. Identifying how English to advance in our country

Chapter 2

Reason to learn English nowadays:

First of all, English is the International Common Tongue. English is the most well-known unknown dialect. This implies that two individuals who come from various nations (for instance, a Mexican and a Sri Lankan) generally utilise English as an ordinary language to convey. That is the reason everybody needs to get familiar with the language to connect on an international level. Talking it will assist you with speaking with individuals from nations everywhere in the world. Not only English-talking ones. The British Council extends that by 2020 two bills individuals on the planets will consider English. Learning English is significant as it empowers you to communicate effectively with your kindred worldwide residents. (Nishanthi, 2018)

The emergence of English as a World language is now indisputable. Crystal (2000) and Nunan (2001), as well as British Council (2013), argued that the spread of English provided unlimited access to the modern world of science, information and communications technology (ICT), money, power, international communication, and intercultural understanding as well as entertainment and many more fields. English has been said to have official status in 60 countries as the second language and has a prime place in 20 more TEFLON International Conference 2, pp. 253-260, 2015, Udayana University, Bali Page 254 countries as the primary foreign language (Yang, 2001). It is widely recognised that English is the native language of five countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. (Ratna Rintaningrum, 2015)

Besides that, English also increases intelligence, why like this ?. Is because we learn a language that is not our native language, which is the growth of our brain intelligence, especially for children. For children, this is an excellent stimulus for them to learn English as a foreign language in its golden age (HAKIM & CHIANI, 2019)In addition to educating the brain, learning English also makes it easier for us to have relationships because we can easily communicate with strangers. And also English makes it easier for us to understand technology so that we can continue our education to a higher level easily.

Difficulties in learning English:

In learning English, we often have difficulty. This difficulty has been acknowledged by many countries, especially if we only know about it as adults. Some of the reasons or factors from the English language itself are, first, there is an exception from the rules that should be. The three pronunciation of words is sometimes strange and different. The fourth is that many words sound the same but have different meanings. The sixth is synonyms, which are synonyms that cannot always replace other synonyms in a sentence. And the last one is Idiom. The Idiom itself is a unique saying that is sometimes difficult to understand.

Apart from the English language factor itself, other factors influence us to learn English. The factors causing difficulty in learning English are declining health conditions or illness, lack of training to improve English listening whether with their classmates or with a native speaker and the last thing is the motivation they had to be advanced in learning English. (Dewi Kurniawati, 2016)

Methods can be used to learn English:

Many methods can be used to learn English. The first is we can use English in activities at home. While we are learning our pronunciation, we can also know the language that is commonly used in everyday life. Second, we can learn English through English songs and watching English films, by paying attention to the pronunciation of words and meanings, we can know a lot of accents and new words in English. And finally, we can do literacy using literature that is on the internet and around us.

From the methods described above, it can be said that reading, listening, and speaking are essential factors in speaking English. Because by paying attention to these fundamental basics, we can understand English with many variations. And of course, we can add to our insight about anything related to aspects of understanding the English language. Literacy can be an effective and easy method to do because this method covers the essential elements of learning English

In Indonesia, literacy is more popular with the term ‘literacy’ or literacy in English, namely the ability to read and write. However, in various references, the definition of literacy can vary, referring only to reading ability, sometimes involving reading and writing skills, and less often referred to as reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills.(R. Rintaningrum, 2019). From the definition above we can conclude that literacy is one of the best methods for learning English

How literature helps us learn English:

Literature is beneficial in learning English. It can be proven that when we get a new English vocabulary, we will look for the meaning of the vocabulary either from book literature or the internet. Another example, such as when we start learning grammar, we don’t understand what the rules are, so we must look for sources of literacy that we can support to make it easier for us to understand them.

From the example above, we can conclude that literature helps us to learn English because the source of understanding that we are looking for often comes from literature. Because of the fact why when we know English, it is crucial to be accompanied by some existing literary literature.

Chapter 3

Skills we got from learning English:

The skills we get when learning English, of course, the first thing we can understand is the English language that is in our environment, and we also gain insight into English. From the process of understanding English, we improve our reading ability. This ability we get because we often read English and understand the vocabulary that is difficult to understand. The next ability, namely the ability to write, this ability is obtained because when we learn grammar, we will undoubtedly find many differences. There and begin to understand it all.

In addition to the skills above, there are still more skills that we can get, namely listening skills, this ability we get because of our habit of listening to conversations of people who use English. And the last gift we get is the ability to speak, this ability we get because we often practice pronunciation of English words regularly. The skills above show that learning English is not an easy thing, but that doesn’t mean it’s all in vain. These all result in beneficial skills for any generation to compete in the world of work

The effect of English for the young generation:

In this era of globalisation, English has been known to many people, from the older generation to the younger generation. It makes a lot of changes that occur among the younger generation. Starting with the younger generation who already understand a little bit the meaning of English because of social media mainstreamers, many families make English their second language when talking at home. and the good thing is that the younger generation is starting to speak fluent English even though they are still young.

Despite the positive impact as mentioned above, the negative effect of the presence of English in the younger generation is that their understanding of their own mother tongue is Indonesian. It is also starting to fade in asking young people to learn their own local languages because they are too comfortable using English. These are all positive and negative effects of the presence of English in the younger generation today. What is certain is that we must be able to sort out and choose whatever things are bad for our nation and us

The advance of English in our country:

In Indonesia, the use of English is not recognised as the national language, but when we are talking about the international field, English is a reliable option to choose. English itself in Indonesia has been widely applied everywhere. It is starting from the public sphere, education, business, politics, and many more. The things that are applied can be in the form of information guides, discussion studies, or other items. It shows the use of English in Indonesia has grown rapidly and is already being used for everyday purposes.

Chapter 4

Conclusion:

At this time, the use of English is very much needed because of the importance of using English in everyday life, starting from education, business, to technology. If the learning uses an effective method, the output of using English will also produce useful soft skills ranging from the ability to write, speak, listen, and read soft skills like these are very much needed in the world of work. Therefore this shows how important the use of English is nowadays.

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Reference:

  • Dewi Kurniawati. (2016). Studi Tentang Faktor-Faktor Penyebab Kesulitan Belajar Menyimak Bahasa Inggris Pada Mahasiswa Semester III PBI IAIN Raden Intan Lampung Tahun Pelajaran 2015/2016. PBI IAIN Raden Intan.
  • HAKIM, F., & CHIANI, S. H. (2019). Pengaruh Mempelajari Bahasa Asing Terhadap Perkembangan Otak Anak. Ganec Swara, 13(2), 332. https://doi.org/10.35327/gara.v13i2.100
  • Nishanthi, R. (2018). The Importance of Learning English in Today's World. International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development, Volume-3(Issue-1), 871–874.
  • https://doi.org/10.31142/ijtsrd19061
  • Rintaningrum, R. (2019). ). Explaining the Important Contribution of Reading Literacy to the Country’s Generations: Indonesian Perspectives. Journal of Turkish Science Education, 11(1), 3-23. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity, and Change, 5(3), 3–23.
  • Rintaningrum, Ratna. (2015). Examining Model Of English Foreign Language Proficiency Using Plspath: Inward Mode. International Conference Proceeding, Udayana University: Bali., 253– 260.

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