An Appraisal of Linguistic Capital Behavior Among Acehnese EFL Learners

Nowadays, the power of English has changed people's perspectives toward their own native languages. Those who could speak English are recognized as knowledgeable persons. Nonetheless, traditional languages, Acehnese, should not be ignored, but it is preserved to avoid it from extinction. Literature has reported that most traditional languages in Aceh are in the phase of extinction. Acehnese teenagers seem reluctant to use Acehnese in their conversation. This is qualitative case study investigating the behavioral judgement of Acehnese people toward English and Acehnese language in coastal area of Aceh. A set of character-rubric in the Likert Scale was given to 207 Acehnese people, aged between 18 and 30, involved as respondents. The result shows that majority of the respondents felt more secure and comfortable with the Acehnese rather than the English ones. Acehnese is highly addressed in sense of humor, kindness, sociability, and religiousness. Meanwhile, English is highly used in the sense of ambition, leadership, intelligence, and confidence. This implies that Acehnese language in the coastal area could be sustained for a certain length of time in the future.