THE ROLE OF MOTHER TONGUE IN LEARNING ENGLISH AS THE FOREIGN

LANGUAGE AT ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY SCHOOL

INTRODUCTION

Providing education to children to have bilingual language skills today is

quite popular among parents. recently, we can found English courses not only in
schools. Parents facilitate English learning through English courses outside school
hours. And familiarize children with having a conversation in English at home.
Bilingualism is the ability to speak two languages. Children who fluent in two
languages perform better than their counterparts who only speak one language. At
the tests of attention control, concept formation, analytical reasoning, cognitive
flexibility, and cognitive complexity 1. That is why parents are very interested in
providing bilingual language education to their children.

Children can get bilingual education through courses and subjects at school
through courses and subjects at school. For children of elementary schools or
middle school, which is at the age of adolescence, new vocabulary is easier to
learn, more than new sounds or grammar 2. research supports bilingual education in
(1) children who have difficulty learning a marine subject to be taught in a
language they do not understand, and (2) when both languages are integrated into
the classroom, children who are learning a second language more readily and more
actively willing3. Therefore, learning in mother's tongue will be a benefit for
bilingual education, especially English in Indonesia.

English in this modern time is really important, because English is one of the
greatest second languages of the world. So, It is estimated that 1.4 billion people
use English as their official language. It is the language of more than 1500 million
non native speaker’s .It is claimed that three out of four speakers of English are
non natives.

1
John W. Santrock, Life-Span Development, Jakarta:Erlangga, 2012
2
Ibid, pp. 350
3
Ibid, pp. 351
 The mother tongue is the greatest asset people bring to the task of foreign
language learning and provides Language Acquisition Support System. Throughout
the history of English language teaching and second language acquisition, the role
of mother tongue has been an important issue. The various views are reflections on
the methodology changes in English language teaching, which have in such way
brought different perspectives on the role of mother tongue. Although the use of
mother tongue was banned by the supporters of the direct method at the end of
the nineteenth century, the positive role of the mother tongue has recurrently
been acknowledged as a rich source which, if used judiciously, can assist second
language teaching and learning4. Thus, based on that explanation, this article will
discuss the role of mother tongue in learning english as the foreign language at
elementary or secondary school.

DISCUSSION

Mother Tongue

The term “mother tongue‟ harks back to the notion that linguistic
skills of a child are honed by the mother and, therefore, the language
spoken by the mother would be the primary language that the child would
learn5. Soenjono said that Mother tongue is the first language mastered or
acquired by the child, Wherever the child was born, and wherever he gained
or controlled his first language. Then the language that he mastered is
called, the mother tongue. Whether it's regional language, the national
language until international language like English. Generally, the first
language to be mastered in a child is the mother tongue (language region)
and not the National language or International. But it doesn't close the
possibility that the first language he knew and use is the language of the
other country or an international language like English. it is depending on
who, where, and what is his interests in learning a language6.

4
Cook, V. (2001). Second Language Learning and Language Teaching (3rd ed.). London: Arnold.
5
Dr. Manoj Kumar Yadav, Role of Mother Tongue in Second Language Learning, International Journal of
Research (IJR) Vol. 1, Issue 1, December 2014
6
Lisdwiana dan Izhar, Bahasa Ibu Dalam Pembelajaran Anak Di Sekolah, Jurnal Vol. 1 No 1.STKIP
Muhammadiyah Pringsewu Lampung, 2015
 So, in conclusion, the mother tongue is the first language that
humans get and the language they use the most to interact with their
families and their immediate environment.

Language Development in Late Childhood and Adolescence

Elementary and secondary school students have a range of ages from

7 until 18 years old. In this age, they are included in the development stage
of the concrete operational stage and the formal operational stage by
Piaget. The concrete operational stage is the stage when children can do
concrete operational, they can think logically as long as that
reasoning/thought can be applied to concrete (specific) examples 7. Beside,
the formal operation stage is the ability to think in abstract idea. Children
in formal operation stage usually called adolescence, they can engineer
their thoughts as if they happened, to various situations or events that are
purely still hypothetical possibilities or abstract propositions 8.

In elementary school age, there is an advance of grammar and

vocabulary in children. This condition is accompanied by the development of
metalinguistic awareness. Metalinguistic awareness is the knowledge of a
language, which includes knowledge of prepositions or the ability to discuss
language sounds. This metalinguistic awareness allows children to think
about the language they use, understand the words, and defines them 9.
Besides, along with the learning and conversation processes about the
components of sentences such as subjects and verbs, children's knowledge
of syntax is also increased10. So, it is the right moment to provide a variety
of language learning and include foreign language learning to children.

In terms of reading, children who enter elementary school, have a

benefit in learning to read. Because they already have good vocabulary skills
to interpret words easily. Rich Mayer explains that there are three cognitive
processes involved in the reading ability of children. there are::
7
John W. Santrock, Life-Span Development, Jakarta:Erlangga, 2012
8
Ibid, pp. 423
9
Ibid, pp. 347
10
Ibid, pp. 348
 1. Understanding sound units in words, which includes understanding
phonemes.
2. Re-coding the words, which includes converting the written words
into sound.
3. Access the meaning of a word, by imagining a representation of a
word11.

Mother Language in Learning Language at Elementary and Secondary

School

Learning anything is not only enough with orders or rules from the
teacher or parents, but also needs motivation from within. It's the same
with learning a language. Motivation to learn language appears influenced
by several factors, there are12:

1. Learning Environment
Someone is motivated to want to master the language because
influenced by the place of learning which is competitive in
expressing an opinion regarding a matter related to science. So
that there is a desire to balance abilities
language.
2. Neighborhood
Living or residing in a foreign place requires someone besides
understanding their culture, also forces someone to master the
language even though it is not perfect. Or a sense of desire knows
the language in the new environment. Self-taught learning by
paying attention and even studying openly with friends or
neighbors.
3. Work Environment
A place to work usually encourages one to learn languages
association in the work environment. because the language of

11
Richard E. Mayer, Learning and Instruction, Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall, 2008
12
Heni Hernawati, Penggunaan Bahasa Ibu Sebagai Pengantar Dalam Pembelajaran Bahasa, Jurnal Ilmiah
Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra Indonesia
 colleagues unique and diverse motivates a person to learn the
language.
Therefore, in terms of giving englis learning to student in elementary
and secondary schoo, the teachers need to pay attention in student’s
motivation. Using mother tounge in learning English at school could be an
advantage because it can built the student’s motivation as the learning
enviroment is important to increase motivation of learning language.
In a research about role of mother tongue in teaching-learning English
in India, was discovered that some weak students feel inferior to speak in
English with their friends who are better in speaking English than them. A
few students are seen using mother tounge deliberately in English class
room because they feel proud of their own blasphemous. Seeing that,
instead of using mother tongue or English frequently all through the class, it
will be better if the teacher using both of mother tongue and English in
balance13.
Using mother tongue frequently in class is good as well. But the
cognitive ability of students in elementary and secondary is good enough
and even really prepared to think more structured and can receiving new
language as well. So, it is a good moment to start using English frequently in
a class too. However, there are students who already comfortable with their
mother tongue, and if the teacher forced them to understand the class with
full english, there will a big possibility that they will lack of motivation in
learn English. Therefore, there is important to have a balance of using
between mother tongue and English frequently in a class.

CONCLUSION

The students of elementary and secondary school is included in two

development stages of cognitive, there are the concrete operation stage and the
formal operation stage. These two stages of development are describes the ability
of students to think more concrete and abstract. So, it is the right time to using
English as a major language in English class. But, motivation to learning language is

13
Dr. Chittaranjan Bhoi, Role of Mother Tongue in Teaching-Learning English, Paripex- Indian Journal of
Research Vol. 3 Issue 10, October 2014
an important thing to make student can understand English faithfully. This is when
mother tongue take a role. Using mother tongue and English in balance when
teaching an English class is a big help to student in elementary and secondary
school.

REFERENCES

John W. Santrock. 2012. Life-Span Development, Jakarta:Erlangga

Cook, V. (2001). Second Language Learning and Language Teaching (3rd ed.).
London: Arnold.

Dr. Manoj Kumar Yadav. (December 2014). Role of Mother Tongue in Second
Language Learning, International Journal of Research (IJR) Vol. 1, Issue 1

Lisdwiana dan Izhar. 2015. Bahasa Ibu Dalam Pembelajaran Anak Di Sekolah,
Jurnal Vol. 1 No 1.STKIP Muhammadiyah Pringsewu Lampung’

Richard E. Mayer. 2008. Learning and Instruction, Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall

Heni Hernawati, Penggunaan Bahasa Ibu Sebagai Pengantar Dalam Pembelajaran

Bahasa, Jurnal Ilmiah Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa dan Sastra
Indonesia

Dr. Chittaranjan Bhoi. (October 2014).Role of Mother Tongue in Teaching-Learning

English, Paripex- Indian Journal of Research Vol. 3 Issue 10,