Name : Sari Berlianti

Student’s Number : A1B217009

Language is the most important aspect of human life. With language, humans can communicate
with each other, express ideas, opinions, and so forth. In Indonesia there are a variety of verbal
languages that characterize each. As for dealing with people of different ethnic groups, they use
Indonesian as a national language. However, nowadays Indonesian language is not enough as a
tool of communication to face globalization era. So, this is what underlies the birth of a foreign
language subject in schools. One of the foreign languages taught at school is English. English is
not a new subject for the students at schools. but lately there is an rumored that a new policy
will be launched from the Ministry of Education, namely English subject will be eliminated at
the junior and senior high school. English subject will only be conducted in elementary school. I
agree with this policy because there are some theories that support it.

As we know that elementary school, students can be categorized as young learners, because they
are in the early ages that start from six until twelve years old. Most of students in Indonesia start
entering elementary school when they are six years old. This age is considered as the right phase
to learn formally at school. According to Halliwel (1992) there are some characteristics of
children as young learners. First, they are already very good in interpreting meaning without
necessarily understanding the individual word. Next, they already have great skill in using
limited language creativity. Then, they frequently learn indirectly rather than directly. After that,
they also take good pleasure in finding and creating fun in what they do. Last, they have a
complete imagination, children words are full of imagination and fantasy, and it is more than
simply matter of enjoyment.

And based on Piaget's theory of cognitive development, in elementary schools, students are on
the Preoperational Thinking stage. in this stage children begin to form simple concepts by
classifying certain objects, imitating, children solving problems intuitively rather than based on
the rules of logic. In addition, there is the opinion of the psychologist Roslina Verauli, who states
that the age of golden age (0-6 years) is a time when the development of children's language is
experiencing rapid progress. So in my opinion the policy of learning English in elementary
school is the right policy, because at the age of children, their brains are still fresh, they are also
known as active learners and also learning English at an early age will run more effectively than
Name : Sari Berlianti
Student’s Number : A1B217009
adults. So, young children can learn a foreign langauge particularly effectively before puberty
because their brains are still able to use the mechanisms that assisted first language acquisition.
It's just that children are also known as learners who if they find difficulties they will easily give
up. To overcome this, need interesting strategies and teaching methods that are right for them.

Giving them a foreign language needs some stages along with their ability. In grade 1 of an
elementary school, we can tell them vocabulary that is near with their activity or environment
with the pictures. For example, the teacher gives them a pictorial dictionary. In grade 2, we tell
them a simple song in English and ask them to sing together. For example, the teacher asks
children to sing a song twinkle-twinkle little star. In grade 3, we give them a simple game to
guess something in English. For example, the teacher points a table then the teacher asks the
students to guess what the name of that thing is. In grade 4, we tell them to write and read words
in English correctly with the simple way. For example, the teacher shows the right spelling of
word and tells how to pronounciate it. In grade 5, we teach them to make a simple sentence about
what they doing are. For example, the teacher asks the students to make a simple sentence such
as ‘I bring a book’. In grade 6, we teach them to speak English a little bit such as telling their
family, hobby, and etcetera. For example, the teacher asks the students to tell about their hobby
such as ‘My hobby is singing’

However, there are other things that must be done to support the policy. Cooperation between
parents and teacher is needed. Not only teachers who teach foreign languages at school to
children. But the role of parents at home is also very important. Parents need to invite children
to play while learning foreign languages at home. For example, reading English stories with
children. And occasionally invite children to talk about the story. The goal is to make them
familiar with the vocabulary that is heard every day. As based on Vygotsky's theory which states
that child is an active learner in a world full of other people. It means those people play
important roles in helping children to learn, bringing objects and ideas to their attention, talking
while playing and about playing, reading stories, asking questions. In a whole range of ways,
adults mediate the world for children and make it accessible to them. With the help of adults,
children can do and understand much more than they can on their own.
Name : Sari Berlianti
Student’s Number : A1B217009
In brief, English as an international language is important for human’s life because it becomes a
bridge between countries in the world to interact so that in this modern era we are supposed to
learn English in order to face the challenges of life. Therefore, English is important in an
elementary school education because the better time to learn a foreign language is at the age of
elementary school. Because children in elementary school can categorized as a young learner
that at that age their brains still fresh and also they imitate easily the new language. Besides that
learning English since in an elementary school to get the better and easier life because English
has become a crucial tool for continuing education, employment and social status. But to support
that policy we need cooperation between parents and teacher to help the children learn a foreign
language.