About a few months ago, I was having lunch with my friend in Mie Bandung, near Lempuyangan station. I sat down next to a couple, girl and boy, seems that they are students from UGM. Speak a lot, they are having a conversation with ‘not too good English’, but whole words in English fluently and they aren’t foreigners. Then my friend text me; “why are they talking in English? Like strangers” in sound of mocking. I replied “Perhaps they have just came finished studying in Pare (a particular place in East Java which concerning English course), so they want practice it here” giggles. While in that situation, I was thinking “Why me, a fifth semester student of the English Education Department hooted at them who speak English in public area shamelessly, whereas it should be did by me”.

To be honest the answer is I’m too shy to speak English in the middle of society which do speak Javanese, or I just afraid in speaking of English, I do wrong pronounciation, bad grammar, poor vocabulary, awkwardly speech, and those all fucking matters in English discourse. I’m pretty sure that you, whoever you are, feel/had felt the same.

In my own campus, when in college or just sit around doing nothing in canteen with my fellas, I rarely talk to them in English, almost all in Javanese. So do they did. Why don’t we (me and my friends) speaking English routinely in most situations, don’t we are English students now and will become English teachers? Also, it’s a matter for Most English Organizations in certain campus to make English as a daily conversation among the students, of course not everything in English but in case of necessity, MOST.

As the follow up of that matters, my english organization held “English Day” which Monday is a ‘must english’ speaking. Actually this program has been added to the job desk of my org. years ago but still a hard matter to be done. Yes, the problem is poor self-consciousness and shameness in using English. And of course that problem is happening to me. I know it’s hard to use English in daily conversation, but why don’t we try it constantly, even it still using black English or terrible English, yes sounds so funny but it’s all about habits and perseverance, throw grammar away, do not too focus on it while speaking, yes grammar is important but when you are in process making yourself skilled, turn it aside. Now if you watch carefully when a native is speaking, their grammar is not so good but they don’t mind it! As long as the English is understandable, fine! More practicing more advance we are. Happy speaking!