Last week we updated our syllabus for learning Indonesian. I spoke to Farida, my language partner, and expressed that I would really like to start using the language more. For the first few weeks of the semester we really focused on learning new words and concepts, but I was reaching the point where I had to start using it regularly to make the language feel more accessible and not just a list of terms to memorize. Luckily, Farida is amazing and took my feedback into account to adapt our learning plan immediately.
Now, instead of meeting daily with Farida to have her go over new concepts and words of English, we are only meeting three times each week for an hour. During this time, we are often mostly focusing on using the language. Every morning for class I have 5-10 new words memorized that I use in sentences with Farida. This week I have been focusing on learning sentences that will be very practical. For example, I learned to ask how to say a word: “Apa maksud kata ini?” I also learned to ask ‘what to you mean’ or ‘maksudnya?’ which I think will really help me at this point in the language where I don’t know the meaning of many things and may need to frequently ask for clarification. I am glad that I can now ask for that clarification without necessarily switching languages.
This past Monday we learned how to talk about dates in class (months, days of the week, years, etc). We practiced reading out loud some conversations about dates and talked about the dates of our birthdays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays when I don’t have class, I try to practice Indonesian by myself for at least an hour. I use Duolingo to practice every night before bed. I also copy my notes from class and try to plan out my day using my Indonesian vocabulary. I’ve also found it very helpful to count in Indonesian for various things (like trying to fall asleep, or counting the steps in the stairwell). There are now lists of 100 common Indonesian verbs taped around my room so that I can look at them as I get ready or clean and try to make a sentence about what I am doing or thinking. I enjoy this method of incorporating the language into my daily life as much as possible, although I wish it were possible to fully immerse in Indonesian.
Wednesdays we especially focus on speaking the language. This past week, we were talking about different professions. Farida had a list of basic occupations, like teacher or police, and I had to talk about each one for 2 minutes. Farida timed me and counted how many sentences I could come up with for each. If I didn’t know a word in Indonesian, I simply said it in English and Farida wrote it down for me later. Although I didn’t enjoy this in the moment, I know it really helped me practice speaking the language spontaneously and overcoming that silly fear of making mistakes.
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