One Person with Various Languages, Why Not?

A second language is a language that a person learns in addition to their first language. A second language may be learned in a formal or informal way, such as at school or in a family. A person may speak two or more second languages (wikipedia.com). Language Statistics 2019 that has been prepared by Center for Educational and Cultural Data and Statistics, Secretariat General, Ministry of Education and Culture, the number of local languages in Indonesia is 668 (verified and the latest according to dialectology) and the accumulation of language distribution by province is 750 (verified and the latest according to sociolinguistics) which means, besides learning Indonesian, Indonesian citizens also use and understand one or more regional languages (multilingalism). I’ve learned some languages from another country such as English, Japanesse, Arabic. In addition, I also speak some of the local languages in Indonesia such as the Minang language, Jambi language or languages from some villages in Kerinci Regency, Jambi Province such as Koto Iman, Cupak, Seleman, Siulak, and there are many more village languages in Kerinci Regency that I understand and i able to speak. In gaining the ability to use these languages, of course there are various ways, reasons and many things that I went through.

First of all, I will discuss the process and purposes of getting  language besides English in general, because I will focus on acquiring English as a second language.  In acquire Japanese language skills, I studied it formally while in high school. I learned about the Japanese alphabet (hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji), vocabulary and meanings, particles, how to form sentences, and so that I can communicate using Japanese in a basic way.

I learned Arabic from childhood, but only read. As a Muslim, I study Arabic letters or Hijâiyyah then Iqro (اقرأ) or the type of book used by the Muslim community in Indonesia aims to learn the basic understanding of Arabic letters and their pronunciation so that I can read the Qur’an. Moreover, I gained formal Arabic skills while at Islamic Middle School or Madrasah Tsanawiyah where we learned many Islamic-based lessons including Arabic through our teacher.

For local languages, I learn Minang language indirectly and informally. During high school, I went to SMAN 4 Kota Sungai Penuh located in Sungai Penuh city of Jambi province, although the school and the city of Sungai Penuh is in the middle of the Kerinci district, the majority of the people are Minangkabau descendants. Many of my school friends communicate using the Minang language and indirectly I can speak Minang and communicate with them because I often engage in their interactions. In addition, in the Sungai Penuh traditional market, people usually use the Minang language to transact and bargain so I do the same thing and get used to it. For the language of jambi, I am used to hearing  people in schools who do not speak Minang using Jambi language because Kerinci is a regency in Jambi province so that many people understand and can speak Jambi. Another interesting thing is obtaining village languages in Kerinci Regency. Based on the fact that there are approximately 130 dialects or languages in the Kerinci Regency, each village has a different dialect and language spoken. I learned it from daily interactions with people around especially for the language of the village of Koto Iman, which is the village of my birth. I got other village languages when I went to junior high school which is located in Seleman village where there are students from other villages such as Cupak, Tebing Tinggi, Pendung Talang Genting, and many more also go to school there. In addition, I also learn other languages indirectly when listening to Tale Kincay or Kerinci's distinctive songs and also when transacting at Balai Hiang which is a meeting place between sellers and buyers from various villages in the Sitinjau Laut district in Kerinci district or nearby.

English in Indonesia is defined as a foreign language but has a very important influence on school students, students, job seekers and professionals. The proof, English is determined as a compulsory subject at the junior high and high school levels; even tested in national examinations. Scholars also need it because the majority of graduate schools require the TOEFL (Test of English as Foreign Language). I became interested and learned English while listening to a song called "Big-Big World (1999)" sung by Emilia Rydberg when I was around 4 years old. The song became one of my favorite songs, I tried to sing the lyrics of the song even though I didn't know what the singer was saying. As I began to enter the first grade of elementary school, I studied English formally until I graduated from high school. In addition, during the second grade of high school, my teammates and I submitted a proposal to the headmaster and the supervisor of an intra-school student organization to form an English Club organization at our school. We apply "English zone" which applies when we are in the language laboratory room. It all started when I became one of the candidates for the High School English Debate Competition in the Sungai Penuh City level. I and two other friends got English training from our English teacher so that our English skills especially in speakin can be improved.I was chosen as the first best speaker at the competition so that I could continue to Jambi Provincial Level and win 3rd place. There, I learned English from a senior teacher and gained a lot of new vocabulary while participating in and watching the debate competition.

The role of English-based organizations is also the thing that makes it easier for me to gain English language skills. I became the chairperson of the SUPENCIFEL (Sungai Penuh  Kerinci Fun English Learning) organization, we gathered people from various backgrounds to learn English for free. We can practice English skills directly, starting from discussions, telling stories, watching movies without subtittle, rewriting recorded English that we hear, and much more. At the organization, we also learned a lot from the founder of our organization who is very proficient in English, we prioritize the practice so that we can apply our language skills effectively. In 2018, I entered the English education departement in the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education at the University of Jambi. I got considerably of English-specific material and able to speak English in academic or formal situations such as orations, giving presentations, writing fiction and non-fiction and more.

Generally, I obtained a language other than my native language through formal institutions, indirectly, and also informally. I understand and able to use languages from other countries such as Japanese, Arabic and English. In addition, I am also able to communicate using several regional languages in Indonesia.

Note: This essay is the original work of a blog writer, Nita Natalia as a Second Language Acquisition course assignment. Please  include the source if you want to use this article.