Prabowo: Mandarin, French, and Russian Language Lessons to Start from Grade 1

President Prabowo Subianto believes that possessing foreign language skills can make it easier to find employment. Prabowo said foreign language lessons will begin to be taught to students from Year 1 of primary school.

“Whatever the subject, we will gather the best teachers, including for foreign languages. Foreign languages must absolutely be mastered,” Prabowo said during his speech at the 2026 Annual Session of the MPR and the Joint Session of the DPR-DPD at the parliamentary complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Friday (14/8/2026).

Prabowo said the government will begin foreign language lessons for children from Year 1 of primary school. The languages to be taught, he said, are the most important and widely used in various countries.

“We will begin foreign languages for our children starting from primary school. From Year 1, they must begin foreign languages — the most important languages: English, Mandarin, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French,” he said.

Prabowo argued that foreign languages must be taught from an early age because they are easier to master. He said foreign languages will also make it easier for children to build their careers in the future.

“From a young age, under 11 or 12 years old, they learn more quickly. Our children must have access to the best education so that later, when they enter the job market, they have greater abilities, they can be accepted anywhere, they can work with any party,” he said.

Prabowo assessed that the languages to be taught are those of countries that are now advanced, including Russian.

“We now understand that China has the most dynamic economy, Japan is also advanced, Korea is advanced, France is advanced, many countries speak Spanish, many countries speak French, many countries speak Arabic. We must also learn Russian — they are strong in science and technology,” Prabowo said.