The text is taken from a book entitled ENGLIS AS A LINGUA FRANCA IN ASEAN: a Multilingual Model. By A. Kirkpatrick, 2012: p. 181.The truth is that the major role of English in ASEAN is as a lingua franca. This means that ASEAN speakers will be interacting with people from the region. It follows that a topic area which could be taught through English is cross-cultural communication and international relations, but with a focus the cultures of ASEAN member states. Thus the English curriculum needs to be radically redesigned to become one in which local cultures are studies and where a ‘critical cultural consciousness’ is enhanced (Lie 2002/3:72
TASK
Write
a critical response to the text.Consider
these
aspects in writing your response:
Ê. Are you in favour or against the idea? What is your stance?
Ê.What is the main purpose of your writing?
Ê. What is your thesis?
Ê. What is (are) your argument(s)
Ê. What justification(s) do you give to convince the
readers?
CRITICAL RESPONSE
ENGLISH AS A LINGUA FRANCA IN ASEAN
Lingua
franca is any of various languages used as common or commercial languages among
peoples of diverse speech. We see that lingua francas tend to contain a large
member of non- standard forms. More Lingua franca can be defined as a common language among people who do not share a mother tongue. Other
said that “a lingua franca is contact
language between person who share neither
a common native tongue nor a common (national) culture and for whom English
is the chosen foreign language of communication (Firth 1996:2)”
Throughout
history every country has lingua franca. In ASEAN such as ; Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia,
Singapore, Philippine, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Timor
all have their own local languages
but they couldn’t communicate to each
other if they are not using language to
unity among them. With English they could study their each culture togetherness and they can respect
each culture and it will be supported them to be more understanding .It can
avoid disunity among countries ,enhance cultural mutual respect among them. So
English is the spirit of unity in diversity.
The
importance adopting English as unifier
of language is for communication to each
other in ASEAN area. One implication of adopting what have called a
multilingual model of language in ASEAN because
English play as language franca
in ASEAN area. In the context that the success multilingual from the ten
countries can provide the linguistic benchmark. Adopting English also has
implication for the culture content .Thus learners
can study the culture of ASEAN is of particular importance as it is rare
to find government school in ASEAN teaching
an ASEAN language other than the respective national language. That
why ASEAN have used in the region's educational curricula. and
just Indonesia is the only one of the ten countries which doesn’t have English as a core subject in the primary
curricula. while another country some use English as a medium of instructional in primary
school even like Malay, English is currently for math and science in teaching
and process learning, Brunei take the bilingual education policy.
In Indonesia different because Indonesia has
Bahasa Indonesia as the second
language and English just as foreign language. Therefore the based
is different language background, learning
or speaking English often
get some problem as pronunciation
features, spelling. Grammatical and writing, To cover all, We need curricula.
In curriculum have designed all planned learning for which the school is
responsible
If we focus
The truth that the major role of English in ASEAN is as a lingua franca. This means that ASEAN
speakers will be interacting with people from the region. It follows that a topic
area which could be taught through English is cross-cultural communication and
international relations, but with a focus the cultures of ASEAN member states. Thus the English curriculum
needs to be redesigned to become one in which local cultures are studied and where
the culture awareness is enhanced.
