English Language Acquisition and Usage among Asian ESL speakers: An Intercultural Dialogue

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Teaching English to speakers of other languages remained one of the perennial concerns of many countries not just in Asia but even in other places where English is reckoned as an instructional language. This study aimed to arrive at an in-depth understanding of the acquisition and usage of ESL in various Asian countries. Involving Key Research Informants (KRIs) from three different nations vid. Philippines, South Korea and Bali, Indonesia, the researcher has phenomenologically delved into the veracity of acquisition and usage of the language among these countries and deciphered on their shared practices. Thematically analyzed via axial coding, results revealed that both Korean and Balinese English language learners share similar acquisition and usage practices. English to them is a privilege and only those who can afford to enroll in an English crash course program can have the nitty-gritty of the language unless otherwise, they pursue baccalaureate degrees which only the affluent ones could afford. Further, English is taught in both countries based on the principles of structural linguistics whereby the use of such a language is strictly governed by rules of grammatical categories which eventually hamper them to speak it freely. Thus, for them spoken or oral communication becomes an issue. In the Philippines, however, Filipinos are dubbed fluent with the language as this has been part of their curriculum and is taught by functionalism where learners are given the freedom to speak whatever they have in mind so long that feedback mechanism is established. By then, they do not have the inhibitions to use the language because for them, it comes out naturally.

Keywords: Intercultural dialogue, ESL acquisition and usage, Phenomenology