Introduction to language policy in superdiverse Indonesia

English language education in Indonesia: A review of research (2011–2019)

“…For example, how English competes with Indonesian, major indigenous languages and RLFs that have been argued to be detrimental to locally used indigenous languages (see Anderbeck, 2015) is under-represented in scholarship. It is necessary to investigate how English interacts with, impacts and is impacted by other elements of Indonesia's superglossia (Zein, 2020).…”

“…A proper examination of English language education in Indonesia cannot be separated from the country's highly diverse linguistic ecology. Indonesia is a superdiverse context (Goebel, 2015; Zein, 2020) in which English is situated, along with 707 languages by one count (Simons & Fennig, 2017a, p. 6), 731 different languages and more than 1,100 dialects in another estimate (Frederick & Worden, 2011, p. 97), or 733 indigenous languages with 652 of them being identified as reported by Indonesia's language planning agency, the Badan Bahasa (Badan Bahasa, 2017). These figures place Indonesia second in the world after Papua New Guinea (841) in terms of linguistic diversity (Simons & Fennig, 2017b) and establish its reputation as a country that accounts for one-tenth of the world's languages (Florey & Himmelmann, 2010; Steinhauer, 1994).…”

“…This sociolinguistic situation has developed from being conceptualized as a diglossia (Grimes, 1996; Moeliono & Grimes, 1995), a complex diglossia (Arka, 2013; Moeliono, 1986), and a polyglossia (Musgrave, 2014; Steinhauer, 1994) to a superglossia (Zein, 2020). Zein refers to superglossia as “a polycentric sociolinguistic situation in which linguistic varieties and practices of language mixing perform relationships that are complex and dynamic, often inter-glossic and sometimes intra-glossic, reflecting their varying degrees of status, influence and order of importance” (p. 60).…”

“…Within such a superdiverse context, English has been catapulted to new heights. It is currently playing a role as a new H, a new centre of normativity within Indonesia's superglossia (Zein, 2020). The emergence of English as a new centre of normativity is evident in light of the increasing prestige of the language within society and the prevalent social discourse that deems English important for social mobility, upward economic mobility and participation in the global economy (cf.…”

“…The contributions cover primary education, secondary education and tertiary education in highly diverse Indonesia where 707 living languages co-exist and struggle to find space in its linguistic ecology. The discussion will provide insights into how factors such as educational policies, ideologies as well as sociocultural and religious values are in contestation in shaping research into and the practice of English language education in the complex, dynamic and polycentric sociolinguistic situation of Indonesia, which has been recently conceptualized as superglossia (Zein, 2020). It is hoped our insights will help inform other multilingual contexts facing the unprecedented need for transforming English language education in this increasingly globalized world.…”