Learning the Lingo

The Jakarta Post | Tue, 04/29/2008 3:27 PM | Trends

For those intent on being able to berbicara Bahasa Indonesia, there is no better place to learn than right here. Maggie Tiojakin finds that mastering Indonesian is not as easy as it sounds.

Learning a language is scary. Some prefer to use the old UGS (Universal Gesturing System) rather than putting themselves through the humiliation of spouting clunky grammar and pronunciation that leave native speaker friends desperately trying to suppress giggles.

Nevertheless, things get better with determination and their time. Practice does make perfect after all.
“Apha khabar?” recites Don Spalding, an American businessman who recently married an Indonesian woman he met online, during a two-hour session of learning basic Indonesian phrases.
“Apha khabarr?”

“No, roll your tongue a little bit longer,” instructs Aini, a 26-year-old Indonesian who provides Indonesian tutoring for foreign nationals.

Her standard rate is Rp 200,000/session and for that amount she’s willing to take the bus from her home in Pulomas, East Jakarta, to wherever her students wish to meet for their weekly lessons.
“Apa kabarrrrrrr.”

The trouble with English-speaking foreigners, Aini says, is they have a hard time pronouncing the sharp, clear ‘r’, which comes easier for people whose native languages are Spanish, Arabic, Punjabi or Italian.
“The structure of the phrases is backward from English,” explains Don, 36, at the Pondok Indah apartment he shares with his realtor wife.

“My wife tells me that in order to learn bahasa I have to think like an Indonesian. I can’t even get around to rolling my tongue right.”

That difficulty with the language is highlighted in Happy Show, a Global TV Saturday night variety show where foreigners butcher their way through Indonesian tongue-twisters and pop songs.

“People have different levels of adapting to a language,” says Juri, an instructor at LIA, a language training center based in Jakarta that offers Indonesian language courses.

“We begin with phrases that enable the students to interact with native speakers on a daily basis.”
An English literature graduate of the University of Indonesia, he understands the difficulties faced by students.

“What’s more important than understanding a language is to be able to use it correctly, or within context. But you have to allow yourself to make mistakes, otherwise none of these lessons is going to do you any good,” he continues.

Don prefers to practice with his wife before he makes the leap to interacting verbally with other native speakers. He also carries a dictionary wherever he goes, just to make sure he understands what people are saying to him.

“I’ve only been here a year,” he says. “I’m not in any rush to finish the lessons.”

“He’s a bit shy,” Aini says with a smile. “But he’ll get there.”

Indonesian-language tutors often place ads in local papers or expat-oriented newsletters offering their services. Formal courses are also available at universities, including the University of Indonesia, and language institutions around the country.

For more information on Indonesian courses, visit:

www.ialf.edu
The Indonesia Australia Language Foundation (IALF) offers both intensive and semi-intensive courses for foreigners who wish to learn Bahasa Indonesia. Courses are provided for: new arrivals, residents, businesspeople, teachers and students. One-on-one private courses are also available.

www.lia.ac.id
The LIA language training center offers a Bahasa Indonesia Program for expatriates who are looking to learn the language in small, private classes. The program is divided into: General Indonesian (GI), Indonesian for Specific Purposes (ISP), Intensive Program in Yogyakarta (IPY), International Baccalaureate (IB) and Indonesian Proficiency Test (IPT).

www.languagesabroad.com
Languages Abroad, a travel-and-learn study program available in 50 countries, offers programs to learn Bahasa Indonesia while students are involved in a myriad of fun activities in Bali. Programs include: teacher training, language explorers, family study and group travel.

www.alambahasa.com
Alam Bahasa Indonesia, previously known as PURI Indonesian Language Plus, is a language institution for foreigners to learn Bahasa Indonesia. Located in Yogyakarta, the institution emphasizes on a natural environment where students are enrolled in an intensive program. They are given the options of either staying at a hotel or with a homestay family during the course of the program.

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