Harry Nuriman
Indonesian territory, commonly called Nusantara, has a wealth of local languages reaching more than 650 languages. Some local languages are endangered with extinction due to a lack of speakers and the absence of systematic efforts to preserve the local languages. This study aims to identify and preserve local languages in classrooms in universities by assigning students to use them and letting students who are not speakers exposed to regional languages then measure their level of understanding. The measurement method used is to use a questionnaire and the results are analyzed quantitatively. The results showed that the students were able to understand the exposure delivered even though the student was not a speaker of the local language. The results of this study are useful for preserving Indonesian culture, especially local languages, and fostering a sense of nationalism and the spirit of diversity of the archipelago among students and discussing environmental issues. Local languages is proven powerful as a communication bridge to address global warming issues amid cultural diversity.
Penerapan Teknologi Tepat Guna, Penerapan Karya Tulis
According to Dell Hymes (Afzali, 2011) it is an instinctive mastery that belongs to a native speaker to use and understand naturally in the process of communicating or interacting with others, and in relationships with social contexts. This means that students who receive local language teaching based on a communicative approach will be able to use local languages to communicate either verbally or in writing in real situations and contexts or in the context of language use (Margie Berns, 2013). One effort that can be done to preserve local languages and foster a spirit of nationalism is to let students be exposed to local languages. This research is important to be conducted because the use of local languages in higher education classrooms has so far never been done and even if it has been tried, its effectiveness has never been measured. Thus, it is expected to grow a sense of diversity among students, to foster a spirit of unity and unity as the Indonesian nation and to measure the students’ awareness towards certain issues, i.e. global warming.