The Contribution of English Language in Daily Life

Ghefira Dhania Sarasvitha Azzahra

5002211124
Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS), Surabaya

Abstract

English is a global language. In today's era, English certainly cannot be completely

separated from human life. By speaking English, we can get many benefits because
English is useful in everyday life. In education, a person will easily get teaching
from a prominent person because he can speak English. Expanding the business
can also reach the international realm because they can speak English so they are
able to create work agreements. Someone will also easily get a job in a big company
if they have good English skills. However, in Indonesia there are still many people
who cannot speak English. This is due to several factors such as cultural, economic,
and internal factors that come from each person. English ability can be improved
by listening, speaking, reading, dan writing.

Keyword : english, global, education, everyday life

Introduction

English is a global language. As technology develops, the demand for the ability to
communicate using English is increasing. Competition in the global world is also getting
tougher. This of course should be a concern, especially for developing countries like Indonesia.
Therefore, the wealth of the Indonesian nation depends on success in producing an educated
workforce who is proficient in communicating in global languages, so that they can easily
communicate and gain knowledge from more developed countries (Rintaningrum et al., 2017).

English language could be very useful especially in education, businesse, career, and
others. Therefore, the capability of speaking english is indeed needed in this era.

English Language Is Important in Education

 Making English a second language in education provides many advantages. English
language skills can provide a lot of opportunities for someone, both in terms of gaining
knowledge or even a job (Adil, 2021a).

Many highly competent educators come from abroad. Certainly, to be able to get an
education from these great people, we need the ability to communicate using English.

Also, most of the leading researchers in the world come from developed countries. Of
course, the journal must be written in English. Thus making English a second language in
education, will able to help students to be able to learn various new research for the benefit of
the progress of their country.

English Language Helps in Travel

By speaking English, of course, it will make it easier for you when traveling abroad.
Because we may not be able to master all the languages of every country we visit. English
which is a global language makes it easy for us to communicate in any country.

We can easily make hotel reservations, order food, communicate and more. If at any
time we need help, we can ask local people to help us. We will also find it easier to make
friends with new people there, share experiences, stories and so on. Being able to speak English
abroad also allows us to travel independently without worrying about communication
problems.

English Language Helps in Business

Being able to understand and speak in English, can provide lots of opportunities and
ways to run a business. English can be an important role in business (Adil, 2021a).

In doing business, of course, there will be a desire to expand business relations abroad.
By spreading their wings, their business has the opportunity to expand internationally. In this
case, cooperation with international businessmen will certainly be needed. To communicate
with them and make a cooperation agreement, of course, good English language skills are
needed. So, there is no misunderstanding in reaching a business agreement.

English Language Opens New Career Opportunities

 In today's era, many companies need workers who are able to speak English. Therefore,
English can provide opportunities for someone to get a job. Those who can speak English can
have the opportunity to work in various big and international companies (Adil, 2021a).

Why can English be useful in a career? Perhaps this question can be answered with a
few simple examples. First, in terms of teaching, someone who can speak English certainly has
the opportunity to teach in various schools or universities anywhere. Second, someone who is
able to write and understand English well can have the opportunity as a translator for magazines
or books that are written in English. Third, in terms of sales and marketing, someone who can
speak English can certainly offer products internationally so that person can have the
opportunity to join an international company.

English is The Language of Internet

Internet is an inseparable part of human life in today's era. Various things around us
today can not be separated from the role of the internet. The human need for internet use is
increasing. This is because in carrying out daily activities such as work and study, internet
access is needed to help these activities.

Most of the search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo are in the English
language. Almost 80% of the content available on the internet is in the English language (Adil,
2021a). Therefore, to be able to use the internet properly and obtain information from the
internet properly, of course, it is necessary to have a good understanding of English.

Things That Can Affect The Ability Speak English

In Indonesia, there are still many people who cannot speak English. It turns out that
several things can affect a person's ability to speak English. One of them can be seen from the
culture of the country. Indonesia is not a country that uses English as a second language. So,
conversations in English in everyday life become a little strange among people.

In addition, economic factors can also affect a person's ability to speak English. Because
English in Indonesia is not a second language, of course, to be able to get in-depth English
education requires additional tutoring which of course costs money. While this will certainly
be burdensome especially for the lower middle class.
 The low interest in reading in Indonesia can also affect the English language skills of
Indonesian people. The results of a study conducted by PISA (2015) on Indonesian students
about reading literacy showed that Indonesia was ranked 64th out of 72 countries involved in
the study. In addition, BPS data (2015) shows that 91.47% of school-age children prefer to
watch television, and 13.11% like to read (Ritaningrum, 2019). In fact, reading, especially
books that are written in English, can improve one's English language skills.

Besides, there are also internal factors that come from within each of them, which
becomes an obstacle to the ability to speak English. The first is the difficulty in understanding
grammar. It is undeniable that English grammar is quite difficult to learn. Sometimes it is
difficult for them to distinguish when to use the present tense and the past tense (Adil, 2021b).

Second, lack of confidence in speaking English (Adil, 2021b). In this case, the teacher's
role is usually needed to be able to encourage students to dare to speak English in front of
others. Confidence in speaking English is important because it's useless if you only rely on
learning English but don't learn how to speak English. By having the courage to speak English,
if there is an error, you can easily correct it immediately.

Third, fear of making mistakes when speaking english language (Adil, 2021b). This is
something that is often encountered by someone in speaking English. They are afraid of making
mistakes when speaking English because they are afraid that others will laugh at them or are
afraid of looking silly in front of others. In fact, making mistakes in speaking English for non-
native speakers is common. Precisely with those mistakes, in the future, we can know better
and learn from mistakes.

Ways to Improve The Ability to Speak English

The things we can do in learning English are first listening, then speaking, then reading,
and finally writing. These four things are the four basic things in learning English. For
improving our ability to speak English we can make English a part of life at home, at school,
or during our free time.

We can practice our English by listening. First, when listening to a song, focus on the
lyrics of the song and try to understand it. When watching a movie, try to watch it with subtitles
then slowly without using it. Slowly you will get used to the sound of the language.
 Besides listening, there is also speaking. This can be done by speaking and recording
yourself. It might seem weird. But with this method, your abilities will increase by repeating it
until you are satisfied with the result you want. Besides that, you can also find friends who
want to talk with you in English.

Furthermore, there is also improving English language skills by reading. You can start
by reading an easy book like a fairy tale. Then when you start wanting to expand your
vocabulary you can start reading more complex books.

The last is by writing. You can do this by writing a diary in English. Or you can also
write something on a blog and ask someone to help you correct the writing error.

Conclusion

English as the global language seems to have a lot of uses in daily life. By having the
ability to speak English, you can gain a lot of benefits. English can help in business, career,
education, and others. But, in Indonesia, there are still many people who lack English ability.
You can improve your English ability by learning the four basic skills, which are listening,
speaking, reading, and writing.
REFERENCES

Adil, M. (2021a). Importance of English Language for the Students in Education.

https://adilblogger.com/importance-english-language-students-education/

Adil, M. (2021b). Problems Faced by Students in Speaking English Language.

https://adilblogger.com/problems-faced-students-speaking-english-language/

Rintaningrum, R., Aldous, C., & Keeves, J. (2017). THE INFLUENCE OF STUDENT
BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTICS ON PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH AS A
FOREIGN LANGUAGE: INDONESIAN CONTEXT. Jurnal Sosial Humaniora, 10,
112–128. http://iptek.its.ac.id/index.php/jsh/article/view/3068

Ritaningrum, R. (2019). Explaining the Important Contribution of Reading Literacy to the

Country’s Generations: Indonesian’s Perspectives. International Journal of Innovation,
Creativity and Change, 5(3), 936–953.
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