Learning English through an English Student Body or ESA; A Promising Opportunity to a Better English Aptitude- faruqubaidillah.wordpress.com

A vast demand of globalization has led people to prepare themselves in English language mastery. Today’s commerce has also shaped English as an international language which dominates among other languages- Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, and so on. In education, English has been a primary need for all students either primary or secondary school level. On another front, curriculum has been designed to deal and to match English as a subject which commonly is used to learn other subjects such as science, technology, economics, etc.

In relation to English as a language, Brown (2002:60) pointed out that using language means to communicate with other people; sharing the ideas and thoughts, for instance. Therefore, involving people in learning English language is a must to do. What Brown revealed has proven us that learning a language need people to communicate with. Involving in an English discussion, small talks, daily conversation, and debate activity are examples of what an English student body commonly covers. These, certainly, can foster students’ English skill- their speaking ability in particular. In American universities, albeit English is their first language, many of the students engage in an English organization after the lecture. They do discussion, debate, sharing each other, and even teaching children. They so much differ from students who don’t actively engage in it, where they don’t improve so much with their English as well as personality. This is a fact that students who involve in an English organization not only can refine their English but also foster more on their personality; because they meet other people who can give them more insights, knowledge and ideas. As always, the interaction here appears. They, then, can build up their personality through this interaction well. As what Jacobs and Farrell (2003) suggest that learning is not an individual, private activity, but a social one that depends upon interaction with others. By this interaction, students gain interpersonal skill as well as learn to respect others.

To more extent, another important thing covered by an English student body is networking. Certainly, students who engage in it will be able to make friends as many as possible. Inter-varsities English activities, for instance, really serve the purpose. They can get to know one another as they meet in the activities. They can also adapt themselves to the environment where new people with different character, personality, and thoughts emerge in one place; that is English organization. This is a quite joyful learning activity, as they will share a lots of  their culture, country, etc. Afterwards, this will enable students to increase their insights that they will probably not gain during the classroom activity. The facts that happen today are about students’ perspectives on it. They themselves claim that involving in this organization will only disturb their time in learning and teaching process. However, this argument then is coped with another reason; managing time for learning and teaching process is a way out to engage actively in an English student body.

Eventually, this analysis does indicate us how perspectives on learning English through an English student body will benefit students. As English is a language of today’s communication, this breakthrough is really needed to apply and to refine the English aptitude. If this happens, the need for English mastery either in secondary or higher school is optimally fulfilled. Furthermore, this will also help the improvement of English learning process in a school, as it becomes the purpose of Indonesian government in the newest curriculum of 2013. All in all, these all have encouraged you to taste myriad advantages which an English organization covers from time to time