Indonesia to introduce foreign language instruction for elementary first-graders

Policy reversal with historical precedent

President Prabowo Subianto announced Friday that Indonesia will introduce foreign language instruction beginning in the first grade of elementary school, marking a significant shift in the country's education policy and reversing a 2013 curriculum change that removed mandatory English from elementary schools.

Speaking during his annual state address at the Parliament Complex in Jakarta, Prabowo emphasized that early childhood represents the optimal period for language acquisition and outlined an ambitious multilingual program.

"We will introduce foreign languages to first-grade elementary students—they must start learning early," Prabowo stated. "Our children must have access to top-tier education so that when they enter the job market, they possess superior skills that allow them to work anywhere."

The proposed curriculum includes English, Mandarin, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, and Russian. The president specifically noted Russia's strong standing in science and technology as a rationale for including Russian language instruction.

Policy reversal with historical precedent

The announcement represents a reversal of Indonesia's 2013 curriculum reforms, which made English mandatory only at the junior and senior high school levels. However, the country has experimented with early language education before—in 1993, a ministerial decree first permitted schools to teach English as a local content subject at the elementary level.

Despite the 2013 policy shift, Indonesia maintained substantial elementary-level English education infrastructure. As of 2015, more than 26 million children were learning English as a foreign language in elementary schools, placing Indonesia second only to China globally in this measure.

Economic rationale and workforce development

Prabowo linked the language initiative directly to Indonesia's growing overseas workforce and international labor demand. The president noted that several foreign governments have approached Indonesia to recruit workers for tourism, healthcare, nursing, and caregiving positions—sectors that require foreign language proficiency.

The economic stakes are substantial. Indonesian migrant worker remittances reached US$17.255 billion in 2025, up from US$15.702 billion in 2024, representing over 1 percent of the country's GDP. In 2025, Indonesia deployed 286,422 migrant workers overseas, exceeding the government's target of 259,144.

Current overseas worker placements demonstrate the sectors Prabowo aims to strengthen: domestic work leads at 36.5 percent, followed by healthcare at 20.6 percent, with Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia serving as primary destinations. The majority of Indonesian overseas migrants work as domestic workers or caregivers in their destination countries.

Scientific basis and implementation challenges

The president emphasized that children under 11 or 12 absorb languages much faster than older learners, making primary education the ideal starting point. Research on language acquisition supports early learning, with studies finding that children maintain strong language-learning abilities into their late teens, though younger learners have advantages in achieving native-like proficiency.

Prabowo argued that combining early language skills with the natural resilience and hospitality of Indonesian workers will enhance the country's international labor competitiveness while driving domestic economic growth through remittances and global integration.

The proposed expansion builds on existing infrastructure—English currently serves as a core subject at the secondary level, alongside Indonesian language, mathematics, science, and civics. Extending this framework down to first grade and expanding to multiple languages represents a significant scaling of resources and teacher training requirements.