Impact of English on the Indonesian language and culture: High school students' perceptions

Abstract

With the advances of globalisation and technology, English dominates international politics, the economy and culture. Spoken by over a quarter of the world's population and enhanced by the presence of the Internet, it enjoys an unparalleled dominance in global communication and has affected people's lives across the globe.This study explores the perception of Indonesian high school students towards the impact of English on the Indonesian language and culture amids concerns about the hegemony of the international language and the country's efforts to maintain its national language. As many as 333 students from five schools in Salatiga, Central Java, participated in this research by filling out a Likert-scaled questionnaire. Unlike previous studies investigating a similar issue in the context of Indonesia, the study demonstrates strongly divided responses from the participants towards English. The students' religions and majors were also shown to be significant factors affecting the responses. Conducted on a wider scope, this research overall reveals stronger perceived tensions between the national language/culture and English than what has been demonstrated in previous research.