The Role of Mastering English

The Role of Mastering English in Grabbing the World*)

By Drs. Abdul Muth’im, M.Pd.**)

Introduction

Mastering foreign language may result in something great. Moslems at the era of Umayyah Clan and also at the era of Abbasiah Clan proved this. Their mastery on Greek enabled them to read and learn science and philosophy written in the language. As the result, in not very long time, Moslems could make astonishing progresses in these three fields. Medicine, mathematics, chemistry, astronomy, philosophy, etc. were among some of the advancements made by Moslems. What Prophet Mohammed said to his followers around fourteen centuries ago, “Get knowledge though it is in China” seemed to inspire Moslems to do and to be the best.

English

English : the Key to Become International “Players”

By Drs. Abdul Muth’im, M.Pd.*)

Introduction

The tendency to use English as a means of communication in the world, unexceptionally in Indonesia, seems to increase every year. One of the indications of the increase can be seen from the number of users of the language. Robert (1981:595), for example, noted that in 1500 English was a minor language, spoken by a few people on a small island. However, about five centuries later the number has multiplied significantly. Hasman in English Teaching Forum published in January 2000 claimed that one out five of the world’s population speaks English with some degree of competence. And by 2000 one in five – over one billion people – will also be learning English. In addition, he added that over 70% of the world’s scientists read English. About 85% of the world’s mail is written in English. And 90% of all information in the world’s electronic retrieval systems is stored in English. He even predicted, “By 2010, the number of people who speak English as a second or foreign language will exceed the number of native speakers”.

The title of this paper is “English : the Key to Become International Players”. Its main purpose is to show us how important the mastery of English in this era is and what areas that need English more urgently. Hopefully, the discussion that comes from the presentation of this paper will motivate and encourage us to be more competent to communicate in English.

Teaching and Learning English

Teaching English in an FL Context: a Challenge for English Teachers

By Drs. Abdul Muth’im, M.Pd.*)

A Introduction

The learners who learn English in a second language (SL) context have more benefits than those who learn it in the context of foreign language (FL). In the context of SL, though English is not native for them, they still can directly be exposed to English through the four language skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing used around them. Wherever they go: to the market, to campus, to government offices, to bus station, to the airport, or anywhere – they will find English used by the native speakers (NS) easily. Whatever the learners do: attending lectures, buying something, asking for information and direction, etc. they will encounter English used as medium of communication. This situation enables them to develop their skills in English quite abundantly.

Teaching English in an FL Context: a Challenge for English Teachers

By Drs. Abdul Muth’im, M.Pd.*)

Abstract

The context where English is learnt will influence the result of the mastery of the language. In the context of second language (SL), learning English will be more advantageous for the learners because they will have lots of comprehensible input from various language activities and language situations. The same benefits will not be enjoyed by the learners who learn English in the foreign language (FL) context. The language activities and the language situations are not readily available. They must be provided and created. Those who are supposed to be able to provide and create the conditions are English teachers. Can English teachers enable these all to happen? This is the biggest challenge they have to face.

Key words: context, second language, foreign language, comprehensible input, language activities, language situations

Pendidikan yang Tidak Mendidik

Drs. Abdul Muth’im, M.Pd.

(Dosen PS Pendidikan Bahasa Inggeris FKIP Unlam)

Adalah hal yang sangat wajar jika pejabat pemerintah maupun orang tua berharap bahwa para pelajar di tingkat SMA/SMALB, SMK, dan Madrasah Aliyah (MA) maupun siswa-siswi SMP/SMPLB dan Madrasah Tsanawiyah/MTs berhasil dalam ujian Akhir Nasional (UN) yang mereka tempuh. Bagi pejabat pemerintah, keberhasilan siswa dalam menempuh UN dapat menjadi barometer keberhasilan pejabat bersangkutan dalam bidang pendidikan. Sebaliknya, jika banyak siswa yang gagal dalam UN, dipersepsikan bahwa pejabat tersebut gagal dalam membangun pendidikan di daerahnya. Tidak heran kalau hampir semua pejabat daerah baik bupati atau walikota, kepala dinas, kepala sekolah dan guru berusaha sekeras-kerasnya agar tingkat kelulusan siswa dalam UN di daerah masing-masing mencapati tingkat yang setinggi-tingginya – bila perlu 100%, tidak boleh ada yang tidak lulus.

Forming Sentences from Functional Words

By: Abdul Muth’im*)

Abstract

For many linguists and language teachers, it is believed that a sentence can only be formed by arranging either wholly content words or the combination of content words and functional words. However, it is never formed by wholly functional words. From the data collected, however, it is found that a sentence may also be formed by combining a series of functional words. This paper tries to show this proposition.

Key words: content words, functional words, sentence

INTRODUCTION

What distinguishes human beings from other living creatures in the world is that their capability in producing sounds is amazing. They can produce unlimited sounds to form thousands of words, and by manipulating the arrangement or order of those words they can build as many sentences as they want to show their anger, their happiness, their disappointment, and the like. They will also be able to produce the same quantity of sentences as manifestation of their thoughts, ideas, wants, desires, and whatever they are named only by manipulating the arrangement of sounds. In shorts, by changing the order of sounds they will be able to produce a very large number of words and by manipulating the arrangement of words they will also be able to form limitless number of sentences.

English as an International Language

By Abdul Muth’im

(Lecturer of English Department, FKIP Unlam Banjarmasin)

English is a widely distributed language originating in England that is currently the primary language of a number of countries. It is extensively used as a second language and as an official language in many other countries. English is the most widely taught and understood language in the world, and sometimes is described as a lingua franca[1]. Although Modern Standard Chinese has more mother-tongue speakers (approximately 700 million) English is used by more people as a second or foreign language, putting the total number of English-speakers worldwide at well over one billion.