Final Assignment of Applied Linguistic

The Loss of Identity in Language Teaching and Learning

1. Introduction

Nowadays, in globalization era, communication across country or even continent is highly needed. The world becomes a kingdom which works as a team to fulfill the need of each area. A country is found not able to provide all things they need so they trade with other countries to fulfill the needs. Therefore, communication becomes very important to bridge the countries. English language has been becoming an international language which has been broadly used by people around the world to communicate each other.

Many people learn English in order to communicate with people across the world. They express the need to understand each other and cooperate to fulfill it. In many international forums, English is used to convey the information and express the desirability.

In Indonesia, English stands as a foreign language. Speaking English means becoming “international”. English is viewed as “an imported thing” from international world which has high level. This becomes a problem when an Indonesian learn a foreign language, in this case is English, but he forgets his mother tongue. Moreover, learning other language means learning its culture. It becomes very pathetic problem when a citizen of a country supposes himself as a other country citizen. The problem of loss identity has happened as the result of false perception in language teaching and learning.

This topic “The Loss of Identity in Language Teaching and Learning” is a topic which is appropriate to be considered as result of globalization which may become a national threat.

2. Objective

The objective of this essay is to show the danger of loss identity in language teaching and learning. There will be also some suggestion to solve this problem that may help to correct the false perception of people, in this case is Indonesian, in language teaching and learning.

3. Review of Related Literature

We each have our own identity and personality that is made up of who we are and what we stand for. It is this identity of ours that defines us and makes us. Losing such a things, as ones identity is devastating and can lead to turmoil.

“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.” - George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

However, Learning second language or foreign language is also a good thing, if the perception is correct. The need of learning foreign language is to communicate with people across the world. We could know and understand the differences of each other. We learn others to enrich the understanding and comprehension of differences in this world. By learning other language, people are hoped to think globally and act locally.

Most people in the world are multilingual, and everybody could be; no one is rigorously excluded from another's language community except through lack of time and effort. Different languages protect and nourish the growth of different cultures, where different pathways of human knowledge can be discovered. They certainly make life richer for those who know more than one of them.
(Nicholas Ostler, Empires of the Word)

The correct perception of learning second or foreign language is we can learn our self better. We will never know what black is if we do not know white. By learning foreign language means its culture which will come up with many differences. By noticing those differences, we will understand about ourselves deeper. This is the correct perception which is hoped by learning second or foreign language.

Understanding others makes possible a better knowledge of one: any form of identity is complex, for individuals are defined in relation to other people - both individually and collectively - and the various groups to which they owe allegiance, in a constantly shifting pattern. -UNESCO, Learning : The Treasure Within, 1996

Culture is a defining feature of a person's identity, contributing to how they see themselves and the groups with which they identify. Culture may be broadly defined as the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings, which is transmitted from one generation to another. Every community, cultural group or ethnic group has its own values, beliefs and ways of living.

Language is intrinsic to the expression of culture. As a means of communicating values, beliefs and customs, it has an important social function and fosters feelings of group identity and solidarity. It is the means by which culture and its traditions and shared values may be conveyed and preserved.

As languages disappear, cultures die. The world becomes inherently a less interesting place, but we also sacrifice raw knowledge and the intellectual achievements of millennia. -Ken Hale, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,W. 1999.

Identity is literally traits, or signs of identity attached to something or someone that distinguishes it from the others. Understanding Identity in essence a manifestation of cultural values that grow and thrive in the aspects of life of a nation with distinctive characteristics, and the distinctive characteristics of a nation is so different from other nation in life. Thus the national identity of a nation is the hallmark of a nation that held apart from other nations.

Globalization is like a coin. There are positive and negative sides. Referring to the statements that have been revealed by David Held (2000) in his article titled "Regulating Globalization? The Reinvention of Politics” that globalization has potential to each individual country to become a cosmopolitan citizen, the individual who has the ability to mediate between national traditions, communities united by fate, and alternative lifestyles. In this case, the public is no longer mapped to a cultural identity of a country, but it has been the view that they have equal freedom. Language use (e.g., code choice, register, genre, accent) itself conveys social information such as group identity: geographical region, language variety and thus, in some contexts, socioeconomic status or educational background.

Those things may create a theory of dethronement of native speaker. A welcome consequence of the “dethronement” of the native speaker in language teaching was ably summed up by Davies (1989, p. 169) in the following words: “If it is accepted that the native speaker is no longer at the center of communicative competence, then that liberates language teaching because it means that worthwhile goals are suddenly accessible – intermediate goals perhaps, but at least not unlike the knowledge/ability of many native speakers.

4. Analysis

Learning foreign language has advantages and disadvantages. In today's global society, people are well aware of the more obvious advantages of learning a foreign language for college students, young job seekers and world travelers. Educational literature also abounds regarding the advantages of being bilingual from childhood. Learning a foreign language also brings other, less evident but equally beneficial advantages. These advantages can positively influence your health and family relations, bringing benefits to the young and mature foreign language learner alike.

Brain Fitness

Recent medical studies bring attention to the positive effects learning a foreign language has on the health of the human brain. Studies by York University of Alzheimer's patients demonstrated that those who were bilingual had a significant delay in the onset of the disease compared to their monolingual counterparts. Other studies concerning the health of monolingual and bilingual patients' brains showed that the effects of dementia were less advanced in bilingual patients even though their brains showed more brain damage as a result of the disease.

Family Ties and Networks

Knowing a foreign language can help keep your extended family intact while also expanding your network of contacts. For example, if your family came to the United States during World War II from Germany, you may also have family members who remained in Germany and others who migrated to places like Argentina and Chile; therefore knowing Spanish and German will help you stay in contact with those family members and will also be useful in conducting any genealogical research about your ancestry. On social networking sites, members speak many languages and live all over the globe; knowing another language permits you to reach people who would not necessarily be in your network due to the difference in language. This enlarges the geographical scope of your relationships and enables you to expand your business and personal contacts.

Additional Compensation

Some employers are willing to offer additional compensation to employees who have verifiable foreign language competency, particularly if such languages are in high demand like Arabic, Urdu or Farsi. For example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Language Services Section is dedicated to providing linguists across the law enforcement community to offer translation and other language services. The FBI has developed a special program -- Foreign Language Incentive Pay -- that awards additional compensation to employees who have certified foreign language proficiency in critical foreign languages.

However, the disadvantages of learning second language come up when the basic perception of language teaching and learning is already false. The correct perception of learning second or foreign language is we can learn our self better. We will never know what black is if we do not know white. By learning foreign language means its culture which will come up with many differences. By noticing those differences, we will understand about ourselves deeper. This is the correct perception which is hoped by learning second or foreign language.

Many national organizations believe that the answer to create a correct perception of language teaching and learning is to capture students’ interest at a young age. All kids start out naturally curious about the world around them; however, in elementary school, students begin to be told about their identity. Middle school can be a tipping point as to whether a student will be directed.

The key is to understand that we are a single system; not separate, man is not superior to other living things, but equal to them. So whatever we do locally affects other people and the environment globally. Loss of cultural identity that occurred in the traditional society, the change from a closed society to a more open society, from the values that are homogeneous to the pluralism of values and social norms is one of the effects of globalization. International communication and transportation has removed the boundaries of each nation's culture. Societies develop from primitive society to the modern society and confound between subjective views about the value and purpose of the changes towards the end of modern society is something that cannot be avoided.

Art-art ritual started out and loses its function. Even so, it does not mean all our traditional art disappear. There are a variety of art that still show their existence, and even continue to grow creatively without having oppressed the modernization process. The rapid pace of information technology or communication technology has become a powerful means of cultural diffusion, as well as alternative options are more diverse entertainment for the wider community. As a result people are not interested anymore enjoy various traditional performing arts were previously familiar with their lives.

5. Summary and Recommendation

In globalization era, communication across country or even continent is highly needed. The world becomes a kingdom which works as a team to fulfill the need of each area. A country is found not able to provide all things they need so they trade with other countries to fulfill the needs. Therefore, communication becomes very important to bridge the countries. English language has been becoming an international language which has been broadly used by people around the world to communicate each other.

Some actions must be done to overcome those problems. The correct perception of learning second or foreign language is we can learn our self better. We will never know what black is if we do not know white. By learning foreign language means its culture which will come up with many differences. By noticing those differences, we will understand about ourselves deeper. This is the correct perception which is hoped by learning second or foreign language.

The rapid pace of information technology or communication technology has become a powerful means of cultural diffusion, as well as alternative options are more diverse entertainment for the wider community. As a result people are not interested anymore enjoy various traditional performing arts were previously familiar with their lives.