Literacy in English and the Transformation of Self and Society in Post-Soeharto Indonesia

Abstract

Among several hundred indigenous languages, Bahasa Indonesia gained pre-eminence as the national language of Indonesia during the country's first 50 years of independence. The fall of Soeharto in 1998 and the subsequent devolution of power to the regions might have been expected to lead to a resurgence in use of local languages but instead it appears to be English which is filling the ecological spaces. Propagated by government, demanded by employers, broadcast by the media, imposed by schools and encouraged by parents, the language not surprisingly occupies an important space in the developing mindset of many young Indonesians, going far beyond its actual practical value in daily life. Drawing on two empirical studies in Sumatra, one a large-scale evaluation of educational provision, the other a case study of English learning at school, the paper shows how the degree of investment which young Indonesians make in the language is not solely a matter of personal agency but is constrained by inequalities in the distribution of cultural, social and economic capital. Unless radical curriculum changes are introduced, the spread of English may in the long-term only serve to deepen these inequalities.

Keywords:

• literacy
• identity
• sociocultural context
• multilingualism
• social inequality

Notes

1. Adult literacy was estimated by UNESCO to have reached 92.5% among males and 83.4% among females by 2002–2003 (www.uis.unesco.org/profiles/EN/GEN/3600.html, accessed 20.11.05). This makes sense only if literacy in languages other than Bahasa Indonesia is also included.

2. However, Schiffman (2004) notes wryly that perhaps part of Indonesia's success in rejecting the former colonial language can be attributed to the fact that it was Dutch and not English that was being rejected.

3. Nevertheless, some of these non-users of Bahasa Indonesia may be multilingual in two or more local languages.

4. Nominally, use of six of the major local languages was tolerated in the first few years of primary education, although this was not encouraged. In reality many primary school teachers – especially in the early years – have always used the local language as medium of instruction, and they continue to do so. But there are very few published teaching materials to support this use of the mother tongue.

5. In 2003, one of the authors interviewed the Provincial Head of Planning in a newly created province regarding the number of local languages to be found in that province and what plans there were, if any, to use these mother tongues in the education process. The official found the questions amusing and replied, ‘Let's get the economy sorted out first before we start worrying about minor languages in rural areas.’ Crystal (2000: 103–105) discusses the difficulty of responding to this type of argument.

6. Library of Congress Country Studies, http://islam.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site = http%3A%2F%2Flcweb2.loc.gov%2Ffrd%2Fcs%2Fidtoc.html. Accessed 24.11.05.

7. In the mid-1970s one author observed a notice next to a public telephone in Kendari, Sulawesi, which read, ‘No Chinese to be spoken into this phone’.

8. www.kompas.com/kompas%2Dcetak/0510/02/kehidupan/2096001.htm published on 2.10.05. Accessed 20.11.05.

9. Recorded by one of the authors in Jambi, 2002.

10. Usman et al. (2004) calculated teacher absenteeism in primary and junior high schools in Indonesia to be in the region of 19%. They also found a negative correlation between teacher absenteeism and pupils’ performance in tests.

11. There are clear parallels between this extremely restricted repertoire of pedagogical behaviours and the ‘safe talk’ identified by Chick (1996) in South African primary schools.

12. All teacher and learner quotations here are the original words unless stated otherwise.