The Role of Education in Classroom By Using Gorontalo Langauges in Multilingualism

By: Dwi aryanti Gobel ; Supervised by: Muziatun, S.Pd, M.App. Ling, PhD

This article was compiled by interviewing one of the elementary school teachers, Mrs. Katrina Eyato, S.Pd., a teacher at SDN 5 Suwawa.

Education plays an important role in Gorontalo multilingualism as it shapes how languages are learned, used and maintained in society. Historically, various social and political factors influenced the planning of the Gorontalo language, resulting in variations in its status and usage.

Cooperation among educators, legislators, and community members is essential to ensuring Gorontalo's success through education. An atmosphere conducive to the learning and use of the Gorontalo language can be established when stakeholders work together to develop language initiatives and programs. 

Introducing Gorontalo and Indonesian language components into bilingual education programs will help students become proficient in both languages. In addition, technology and digital resources can improve Gorontalo instruction by providing interactive and engaging learning possibilities. By employing state-of-the-art methods in language instruction, Gorontalo can strengthen its linguistic identity and ensure the continued viability of the Gorontalo language for the next generation.

The Role of Education  For the Multilingualism

Local languages should be introduced as early as possible, especially in schools. The Gorontalo government has implemented various initiatives to promote Gorontalo language. To address this issue, Gorontalo language development and learning programs are implemented at the elementary school level as a solution.  Some teachers in elementary school classes often use a combination of Gorontalo-Malay and Gorontalo languages. The teachers have suggested incorporating Gorontalo into the curriculum to help with the development of the language. Fortunately, the government is also very supportive of this concept, and the teachers are just waiting for the official regulation to be issued.

• Role of the tacher to interduce the local languageWhen the teacher in classroom uses the local language directly to the students and the students will respond by asking the meaning of the sentence and the teacher will explain the meaning of the sentence.
• Daily  gorontalo language activitiesIn this activity students are asked to use Gorontalo language in a day to familiarize themselves with the language. this way students will easily get used to using their local language, namely Gorontalo language.
• Using Gorontalo folk songs in class Introducing By singing local songs, it is hoped that students will be more easily accustomed to hearing or speaking their local language. Example "Hulontalo lipu'u"

The native language of Gorontalo is a precious cultural heritage and it is our duty to preserve it so that future generations can continue to enjoy the gifts of their predecessors. And also the participation of teachers in passing it on to future generations. It is hoped that by preserving this language, we will maintain our identity as Gorontalo people. All of us, not just parents and educators, have a responsibility to preserve the Gorontalo language.

Let us use Gorontalo in our daily interactions, teach our children Gorontalo, take pride in our language, and commit ourselves to preserving the Gorontalo language. By doing so, we support the survival of our culture and identity. The Gorontalo language is part of our history and we must preserve it.