There are four skills students should achieve. These are listening, speaking, reading, and writing. However, I sometimes am wondering about which skill is the most important for my students who lived in a country which doesn't use English as the first or the second language.
In my country, English is a foreign language. It means that I found it almost impossible to make my student apply their speaking skill since there isn't anyone willing to speak English especially in a small town of my country where people only speak Javanese or Bahasa Indonesia.
Without practicing the language and the language community, language will be easily forgotten. Thus, listening and speaking skill aren't my concern anymore. However, at least students should be able to listen and understand the language well since the government makes English, along with the listening and reading test, as a compulsory subject to tested at the final examination prior to the graduation at senior high school level.
I think, for my students who lived at the non English speaking country, which English isn't the first or second language, listening and speaking are too precious. At least, by mastering reading and writing skills, hopefully, they will be able to survive at the era of globalization.
Bali island, which is also part of my country, is the exception. The island is overwhelmed by the tourist who are coming from English speaking countries like the bordering country, Australia and New Zealand. The Aussie told me that visiting Indonesia is much cheaper than visiting another state whose distance between cities is very far. The flight fare between Darwin to Bali is cheaper than Darwin to Melbourne. That's why Darwinian like to spend their holiday in Bali. It causes English is widely used in the island.
Learning language is not as simple as it is expected. The teacher bears a heavy burden to have their students understand the language. However, the show must go on and English should not be regarded as a foreign language anymore but as an International language, whether students like or dislike, as a mean of communication in the era of globalization so that students won't be left behind.
In my country, English is a foreign language. It means that I found it almost impossible to make my student apply their speaking skill since there isn't anyone willing to speak English especially in a small town of my country where people only speak Javanese or Bahasa Indonesia.
Without practicing the language and the language community, language will be easily forgotten. Thus, listening and speaking skill aren't my concern anymore. However, at least students should be able to listen and understand the language well since the government makes English, along with the listening and reading test, as a compulsory subject to tested at the final examination prior to the graduation at senior high school level.
I think, for my students who lived at the non English speaking country, which English isn't the first or second language, listening and speaking are too precious. At least, by mastering reading and writing skills, hopefully, they will be able to survive at the era of globalization.
Bali island, which is also part of my country, is the exception. The island is overwhelmed by the tourist who are coming from English speaking countries like the bordering country, Australia and New Zealand. The Aussie told me that visiting Indonesia is much cheaper than visiting another state whose distance between cities is very far. The flight fare between Darwin to Bali is cheaper than Darwin to Melbourne. That's why Darwinian like to spend their holiday in Bali. It causes English is widely used in the island.
Learning language is not as simple as it is expected. The teacher bears a heavy burden to have their students understand the language. However, the show must go on and English should not be regarded as a foreign language anymore but as an International language, whether students like or dislike, as a mean of communication in the era of globalization so that students won't be left behind.