Mastering English: Breaking Boundaries, Choosing Our Path

Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

Good morning everyone, honorable judges, teachers and all my friends.

Firstly, let us say thanks to Allah, who has given us healthy and blessing, so we can attend in this beautiful place.

Secondly, praise and salutation to our prophet Muhammad SAW, who has brought us from the darkness to lightness.

Thirdly, I don’t forget to say thank you to the committees and judges who has given me the time and place.

So in this morning, I want to talk about something simple but really important, entitled “Mastering English: Breaking Boundaries, Choosing Our Path”.

I am so grateful to be standing here today. Now, I want to share a short story:

“You’re scrolling through Instagram and find a funny meme with an interesting graphic. Because it’s in english, you just feel a little left out. But, when you tell it to your friends, they burst out laughing.”

 That’s what I call the boundary. Like a wall, what you will have is cultural misunderstandings, limited access to information, a lack of confidence, a lack of knowledge, and a bleak future. It means that we are stuck in the same position year by year.

Then, how do we break free from that boundary?

Ladies and gentlemen,

According to Ethnologue in 2024, more than 1.5 billion people from around the world speak English as their first language. So, the only way out of all that is to master English.

As student, we often see English as the subject that has much grammar. But if we look closer, this language is more than that. It is the hammer that breaks that wall.

Breaking that wall means refusing to be limited. First, we break the Information Boundary by accessing many contents written in English. Second, we break the Opportunity Boundary by preparing ourselves for global universities and international careers. Third, we break the Fear Boundary by gaining the confidence to speak up in any room.

I can say that English is totally a bridge for many aspects. When we master English, we have the capacity to share our own culture, develop emphty, and collaborate.

As a result, many people from around the world know our traditions and local wisdom. We can also realize about what’s happening from other countries by reading books or news. And lastly, we can collaborate to create a solution for a global issue.

Let’s simplify with the aspect I love, which is music. By mastering English, we are no longer a passive listener. We have the control to choose which songs align with our religion. That’s also the breaking boundary, because we have the freedom to choose, not just going with the flow.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We all know that mastering English is not a gift you are born with. It’s skill you forge through practice, mistakes, and persistence. Every vocabulary and every nerveous conversation is a brick in the bridge you’re building for your future self.

In the end, let’s see English as the key to open the bigger world, not as the subject that has much grammar.

I am Mudrikah Nur Alifaturrohmah from MA Diponegoro Yogyakarta. I want to apologize for my mistakes in both my words and behavior, and thank you for your attention.

Wassalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.