A Case Study of Multilingualism on Indonesian EFL Learners

Abstract

This research studied vocational education students’ multilingualism, specifically on the students’ English performance. More precisely, this research investigated 1) whether the students are multilingual, 2) how many and what languages the students acquire and 3) whether multilingualism has a correlation with students’ English Performance. The participants were 60 vocational higher education freshmen in Indonesia. The qualitative approach was used to collect the data. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to look at the impact of students’ English Performance. The results revealed that most students were multilingual and mastered more than 1 local language as well as a foreign language in addition to English. Based on the Pearson correlation, there is a correlation between multilingualism and students’ English Performance. The more languages students can master, the higher their performance in EFL Learning. By doing this research, a lecturer can identify the positive impact of multilingualism, therefore he/she can adjust the suitable English class material which can facilitate local and foreign languages.