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Introduction
Indonesia is the second most linguistically diverse nation in the world. It has established its reputation as one of the largest markets of English language education. This paper examines the context of multilingualism in Indonesia in relation to the increasingly dominant role of English from my viewpoint as a researcher. I begin the paper by outlining how Indonesia is currently adapting to the role of English as a global language. I then discuss the position of English within the linguistic ecology of the country, highlighting how its promotion in the educational system adversely affects the maintenance of the indigenous and heritage languages. Finally, I point to the need for deliberate action in education that promotes multilingualism. I argue for a redirection in the Indonesian educational system towards multilingual education in order to ensure the preservation of the indigenous and heritage languages while adopting English as a Lingua Franca.
English as a global language and Indonesia
It is not an exaggeration to say that for the first time in the history of humankind, a language could achieve truly global dimensions, becoming the driving force for globalisation with influences permeating the economic, political, cultural, ideological and religious spheres. The language is English, a language that is now widely adopted as a lingua franca for international communication involving people from various linguistic, ethnic, national, cultural, and religious backgrounds (Graddol, 2006; Jenkins, 2015).
The global status is also reflected at a continent-regional level such as in the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Economic Community, as English has recently been officialised as its working language (Stroupe & Kimura, 2015). English has been voluntarily adopted by ASEAN members (Brunei Darussalam, The Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Myanmar) to communicate with one another. This voluntary adoption of English among the ten ASEAN member states means that English plays an official role in cultural contexts beyond its traditional Anglo-American cultural sphere (Kirkpatrick, 2010).
Indonesia, as a founding member of ASEAN, has a key role to play. The country has massive human resources. It has a population reaching 264 million in 2017, making it ASEAN's most populous country, and the fourth most populous in the world. Having such an enormous population means Indonesia's reputation as...