ENGLISH TEENAGERS

Teenagers in A World of English

English has been used by millions of people throughout the world. It’s described as a “global lingua franca”, which means a language that is commonly used among people who speak various languages. Well, where was the origin of English and how did it flourish and spread? The language (it was a west Germanic language, first spoken in early medieval England) was brought to Britain by German invaders in the 5th until the 7th century. It flourished and spread out quickly due to the British empire, not to forget that the British was the largest empire on earth and had colonized many lands such as northern America, Africa, south Asia and Australia. Then the native people soon adopted the language into their secondary language.

That is a preview on the history of English, now I would like to present some ideas regarding teenagers and English. English is widely spoken everyday whether it is on the news, office, internet or everyday life. So, teenagers that don’t have any experience of English will have a great difficulty adapting in a globalized world. However, there is always a hope only if teenagers are willing to communicate in English. They could go to private English courses.

Now, let’s talk about the importance of English. It is important to learn English because it is the language of science, tourism, diplomacy, media and many more. The language is easily understood with some grammar, a large amount of vocabulary and so on. Learning English can increase the chance of people to have professional jobs in other countries in the future.

As technology develops and improves, English will gradually enlarge its role in education, engineering, business and medicine. We can benefit technology to learn and improve our English and there are many ways we can do. Through the rise of iPads, iPhones and tablets, we could simply download an application that involves English learning such as Duolingo and Babble, which are two best applications for English learners. Listening to cassette tapes and audiobooks can be advantageous, they were popular in the past and are still popular nowadays. Learners could have an interactive conversation with native English speakers through Skype and Facetime as well.

Being a bilingual person is a great choice because it gives us the opportunity to travel to many countries such as The United States, United Kingdom, Japan, China and others. It is also a great advantage of learning the world from another angle, it will increase people’s social developments. To be honest there are many benefits of being an English speaker, therefore we should make them a learning partner wisely on a regular basis. We could teach other people to speak English beside transfering knowledge about English. It’s very important that we not feel arrogant because we can speak English fluently. We cannot guarantee that our English is perfect, so we must keep practicing.

If you’re a fluent English speaker and you worry that you might lose your English capability one day, no need to worry because there are plenty of ways to improve your English. Based on personal experiences, I recommend four methods that could be helpful. First, are you lazy to write an essay or an article like this one? Well, writing is one of the most fundamental parts to upgrade our language competence. Writing is important not only to our English but also to life. It improves our communication skill, encourages us to do creative things, redefines our self-understanding, expresses our feelings, opinions and beliefs and lastly but not least improves our memory skill. Second, learn new words. Find some new words that are unknown to you then apply the words in a conversation with someone. I often look up new words in the dictionary and wrote them down in a notebook along with the meanings. Making a sentence consisting the words can benefit us to acquire a language.

Third, slow down your speech speed. Many people will find it difficult to understand while you’re speaking rapidly. Try to slower your speed for a while and relax, you’ll discover new pronunciation skill. Fourth,  no matter how bad your English is, just keep talking in English. Just try not to hesitate while speaking and it’s fine to make mistakes. Don’t try to translate words into your native language, it takes too much time and leave you with hesitancy. Those four methods can be applied. However, others may be better for you as a proverb says “no one way to Rome”.

There are so many things that can be accomplished by English speakers. They can feel satisfied, make progress and of course enjoy learning English. If you’re an English speaker you won’t rely on translations to write an article like this and possibly enjoy your favorite TV shows, books, films and songs. You could be whatsoever you want in this world such as a politician, UN Ambassador, celebrity, author of a famous book, doctor, scientist and many more. Nevertheless, you need patience to pursue your goals.

English has been used in many different countries and there has been a wide number of schools that offer programs taught in English. Indonesia’s students should realize and be self-encouraged to be able to speak English because it’s a need. Not to forget, we also must preserve our native languages. Being able to use English in oral communication as well as written commnication doesn’t mean taking aside our nationalism.

As teenagers, we need to know these things because it’s important to our life and the adolescence stage is where we absorb information more quickly than the adult stage. The information that we absorb will affect us in the future. It’s not too late to learn English as there’s plenty of time to do it, but it is best to act now. In my perspective, being a bilingual, just say someone speaking both Bahasa and English, is recommended. People may have met many people from other countries, won English competitions, studied abroad and many more due to what they have gained, a languange competence.*