Learning Bahasa Indonesia the National Language The Easy Way !
Based on the Malay trade dialect,
Bahasa Indonesia is the national language of the Republic of Indonesia. It
unites the over 254 million people of Indonesia (2014), whose native tongue may
be one of the over 300 distinct languages or regional dialects. Older people
may speak some Dutch and English is the foreign language of choice for
business, tourism and academia.
While it may be technically
possible for foreigners to live in Jakarta, Bali, or other big cities without
learning/speaking Bahasa Indonesia, it is highly recommended that you obtain a
working knowledge of the Indonesian national language. An inability to
communicate in Bahasa Indonesia will cut you off from the mainstream of
society, and dealing with those Indonesians who don't speak your foreign
language will be very difficult. By not learning the language, you also deny
yourself the rich cultural experience of fully communicating with those from
another culture. Indonesians are very appreciative of foreigners who make the effort
to learn Bahasa Indonesia and build relationships with them. Both business and
personal relationships with Indonesians will improve because of the effort made
to learn their language
Based on the Malay trade dialect,
Bahasa Indonesia is the national language of the Republic of Indonesia. It
unites the over 254 million people of Indonesia (2014), whose native tongue may
be one of the over 300 distinct languages or regional dialects. Older people
may speak some Dutch and English is the foreign language of choice for
business, tourism and academia.
While it may be technically
possible for foreigners to live in Jakarta, Bali, or other big cities without
learning/speaking Bahasa Indonesia, it is highly recommended that you obtain a
working knowledge of the Indonesian national language. An inability to
communicate in Bahasa Indonesia will cut you off from the mainstream of
society, and dealing with those Indonesians who don't speak your foreign
language will be very difficult. By not learning the language, you also deny
yourself the rich cultural experience of fully communicating with those from
another culture. Indonesians are very appreciative of foreigners who make the
effort to learn Bahasa Indonesia and build relationships with them. Both
business and personal relationships with Indonesians will improve because of
the effort made to learn their language
In the twenty-first century,
multilingualism is becoming the norm. It’s estimated that over half the world’s
population is at least
bilingual and this figure is growing. So where do you fit into this changing
world? Do you see yourself as part of a dynamic population of world citizens,
or stuck on a shrinking monolingual island? The real question should be: why not learn another language?
If you’re at all curious about
the world beyond your own day-to-day routine, speaking Indonesian (or any other
language besides your native tongue) can upgrade your life by increasing
opportunities for career, living, travel, friendship, adventure and love. The
more languages you speak, the bigger your world becomes.
And there is absolutely no reason
to be discouraged, or to tell yourself you don’t have the talent for it. The
idea that only children can become bilingual is simply a myth. You can learn to
speak another language no matter your age or educational background; maybe
you’ll never be mistaken for a native speaker, but you will be able to
communicate – and that is what languages are for. Speaking a language is about connection,
not perfection. So let’s ask a new question: who do you want to connect
with?
Learning
Bahasa Indonesia
The best time to start learning Bahasa
Indonesia is before you even make your move to Indonesia, however it may be
difficult to find language materials in your home country. You may want to ask
your sponsoring company to help you obtain CDs and books several months before
you move, so that you can start becoming used to the sound of the language and
start familiarizing yourself with its structure and vocabulary. Another option
is joining online courses. There are free online Indonesian courses available,
even though the materials offered are fairly limited and mostly for beginner
level.
Bahasa Indonesia is not as difficult to
learn as many other foreign languages; for example, verbs aren't conjugated as
in English and French. Bahasa Indonesia also uses the same alphabet as
English, making it much easier to learn when compared to other Asian languages
where tonal differences and pictograph written languages are common.
Formal
Courses
Soon after your arrival in Indonesia,
you may want to make it a priority to register for a Bahasa Indonesia course.
Often your sponsoring company will pay for at least 40 hours of instruction.
There are several excellent schools and community organizations in
Jakarta (and other cities) which have comprehensive, structured programs to
help you begin learning Indonesian. Theh importance of learning Indonesian
properly from the beginning cannot be stressed enough.
An advantage of signing up for a course
is that it's a great place to meet other newcomers and make friends. The people
that you will be taking the course with will also be facing many of the settling
in and adjustment challenges that you too face as a newcomer. Their advice and
sharing newly discovered resources will help to ease your transition.
Some people find they are more committee to attend a class rather than arrange
for a private tutor.
Several schools offer 2 and 4 week
intensive programs, in Bali or Yogyakarta, where you can study for the full day
and have some enjoyable cultural experiences as well. These schools are suited
for expats who need to learn Bahasa Indonesia quickly, such as diplomats or
those with jobs where they have a lot of interaction with Indonesians who don't
speak English (or another foreign language), or any expat who is fully
committed to learning the language early in their stay.
Tutors
Some expats opt for private lessons in
their home or office from private tutors because of their time restrictions or
wanting to save on travel time. This option tends to be the most expensive, however
gives the opportunity for the instruction to be tailored to specifically meet
your needs. Even though the tutor may come highly recommended from other
expats, that does not ensure the quality of their instruction. Teachers that
are employed from quality schools may be the most qualified and have a proven
curriculum that they will follow. You may, however, just want to cover specific
sections of the course that best meet your specific needs. You may also find it
useful to meet with a tutor for a period after you have completed several
levels of a formal course. That way they can help you with any special
requirements or challenging aspects of the languages that you may be
encountering.
Self-Taught
Bahasa Indonesia
Some expats opt to learn Bahasa
Indonesia on their own. Excellent books to learn Bahasa Indonesia are available
in bookstores in the major cities. Once you are in Indonesia, you will have the
opportunity to practice your fledgling Indonesian with your household staff,
driver, vendors, people you meet in the stores, and social encounters. The
diligent will quickly pick up enough Bahasa Indonesia to feel comfortable
interacting with Indonesians on a daily basis.
The Bahasa Indonesia that is used on a
daily basis by Indonesians is quite different than what you may learn in a
formal course, though most Indonesians will certainly understand formal
Indonesian grammar as well as the more relaxed versions. Look at your
needs and who you will be speaking with to determine the best method for you to
learn the language.
Pen
Pals and Indonesian Friends
True
fluency in a language requires active use of the language. Many expats find it
helpful to get a pen pal or have a "language buddy" relationship with
an Indonesian where you help each other to learn a desired language by sharing
your skills. This can be as simple as setting up a time to meet once or twice a
week where you focus on learning language and developing a friendship over
coffee or even just emailing each other any questions you have about the
language.
Many Indonesians want to learn English,
or French, or German so if you want to learn Bahasa Indonesia, offer to
"trade" skills by investing time in each other's language studies.
Obviously you can pay a private tutor to do the same thing, but this type of a
relationship is based on mutual benefit and doesn't involve payment which is
great if you're on a limited budget. One time you focus on helping the expat to
learn Indonesian, and the next time you meet you focus on helping the
Indonesian to learn the foreign language.
Source :
http://www.expat.or.id/info/learnbahasaindonesia.html
https://www.babbel.com/learn-indonesian
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