https://urcapture.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=f15a6cd4-d4a8-4c25-b260-ac37012b7d40

See presentation here: 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WovPB3wj1oiaMU9tfV-X5RG0qjyRj08AhSLoDbzSJ-Y/edit?usp=sharing

See this google drive folder for the videos: 

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1g2DtonhFFlbgNZe_xrhOU-nGBeIZyriA?usp=sharing

This week, we completed the A1 level of the textbook and are now starting A2. Hurray! I am very impressed that we have made it this far. The first thing we learned about in this new unit was Indonesian slang. When not in a formal setting like school or businesses, most Indonesians do not use the official Bahasa language structures for greetings. Instead of Bagaimana kabarmu? They may say ngamain? Slang is usually shorter and often includes leaving out the pronouns. Knowing slang will help us connect with students and teachers outside of class if we are ETAs in Indonesia. As of right now, though, I think I will focus on memorizing the official language rules because the patterns are much clearer and easier to internalize than the slang. Plus, I think it is better to accidentally speak too formally to teenagers than too informally to elders or professionals because they may become insulted. 

We have also been expanding our language about the family this week. Now, I am able to talk about sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, and cousins. This is good, because I personally have a very large extended family. I like that we are reviewing these lessons again more indepth because knowing how to address family members will be important for navigating interactions with my host community. I liked that Farida showed us a picture of her family for this lesson. 

During language table class this week we got a list of kata hubung, which are conjunctions. These words were very helpful. I have already been pretty comfortable with dan (and), tapi (but), atau (or), and karena (because), but was excited to learn vocabulary for words like so (it’s begitu) that I always accidentally say in English. While conjunctions are not the most important part of speech for conveying meaning - one can speak in simple sentences and be able to communicate -- they definitely help the conversation flow more smoothly, and make speaking a bit easier. 

On Friday, we chose topics for our final exam - conducting in interview in Bahasa Indonesia with a native speaker. Since I study geography, like to visit new places, and often paint outside when I go to new places, I decided to focus my presentation on tempat yang umum dan wisata, or public and tourism places. I think this is also a good topic, because I can ask my interviewee which places I should visit if I go to Indonesia. It was funny, because Madelyn chose a similar topic. I think we both like jalan-jalan di luar (walking outside). Our final exam will consist of three parts: 1) the reasons we want to choose this topic and drafting of interview questions 2) the interview itself for 10 minutes 3) a conclusion about what we learned from the interview. I appreciate that during the drafting phase, Farida provided real-time feedback on our questions, making sure they are grammatically correct and all set for the interview, which we will be conducting after Thanksgiving break. 

During the next couple of weeks, we will continue meeting for lessons, with a special emphasis on preparing for our upcoming interview and final exam. I trust that we will be prepared to do well and am excited to meet some of Farida’s friends. 

Somehow, it is the final day of class with Farida! I didn’t realize we did not have formal classes after the break, so it was a surprise when she told us that this was our last meeting together. I have very much enjoyed learning together.
This week, we have spent a lot of time preparing for our upcoming interview. Farida asked us questions about the process, and we responded in Indonesian. Some of the questions included: Have you reached out to your speaking partner? Yes, I emailed Lisana. Have you chosen a date yet? Not yet, but I will. Are you nervous? Very much. Conversations are stressful. Do you think this is a good final excitement? Yes, even if I am nervous, I think this will push me out of my comfort zone and challenge me to use the languages (speaking, after all, is the key to becoming fluent and also the reason I am learning the language in the first place.) What will you do if you don’t understand something? I will ask them to speak very slowly or repeat. I will do my very best to speak only in Indonesian. I’m happy we talked through these things and think that the interview will go well. After our conversation, we had two guests who come to our class: extra speaking practice! We had to do practice interviews with Farida’s friend. The first one I did was a little tricky because there were internet troubles and we had difficulty hearing and understanding one another. There were several moments of awkward silence. The second interview went much smoother. Since Farida’s friends are also language instructors, they know how to speak slowly and clearly, so we understand them. Her friends were supportive as we did our best to speak the new language. From this practice interview, I had some insights on how I can best prepare for the final conversation. First, I realized that even as I want the native speakers to talk slowly and clearly, I was asking relatively complicated questions and speaking pretty fast when I asked them. I think it is important that as a beginning speaker of Bahasa Indonesia, to use simple sentence constructions and seek to clearly and slowly articulate my questions. I plan to go back in and edit these. Second, I need to make sure that I know how to ask the basic questions: How do you say _ in Bahasa Indonesia? What does _mean? Can you repeat that? These questions are so important for continuing the conversation while remaining in the target language. There were a couple of moments during the practice interviews when my mind went blank and these questions would have been very helpful.
Our speaking assignment this Tuesday was to film the first part of our final exam and answer the question of what our interview topic is and why we chose it. I am writing about public places and tourism sites because I like geography. I also find myself using this vocabulary pretty often and feel pretty comfortable with it. During the next weeks, I will contact Lisana to schedule my interview, revise my questions, and practice vocabulary related to places so that I am all set for the final exam!

It’s the week of my interview, and it went very well! As noted in the previous post, I planned to revise the questions and practice speaking, both of which I accomplished. I first simplified the wording for my questions. Then I arranged them so that they could build off of each other and into two main sections: questions about public places and tourism. I started with a question about where she lived and then went on to talk about the public places nearby. The next questions were about the beach, and then I asked about her experiences in traveling and visiting tourism sites in Indonesia and other countries. I felt like this format flowed much better, and I was able to brainstorm some of the possible answers she may give. I also realized that conducting an interview is much less stressful than an unscripted conversation because I am the one asking the questions, rather than being asked the questions (that’s usually the most stressful part for me!). I was able to have responses prepared to my questions that I could add to the conversation and keep it going. After drafting the interview questions, I also compiled a list of important words in questions in case I got into a pickle of not understanding something. These were accessible on my word document. I then talked through the questions several times to make sure I felt comfortable with everything. I recorded myself so that I could practice with the zoom room setting. I felt pretty good about our interview at 7:30 am on 3 December 2020. It’s the week of my interview, and it went very well! As noted in the previous post, I planned to revise the questions and practice speaking, both of which I accomplished. I first simplified the wording for my questions. Then I arranged them so that they could build off of each other and into two main sections: questions about public places and tourism. I started with a question about where she lived and then went on to talk about the public places nearby. The next questions were about the beach, and then I asked about her experiences in traveling and visiting tourism sites in Indonesia and other countries. I felt like this format flowed much better, and I was able to brainstorm some of the possible answers she may give. I also realized that conducting an interview is much less stressful than an unscripted conversation because I am the one asking the questions, rather than being asked the questions (that’s usually the most stressful part for me!). I was able to have responses prepared to my questions that I could add to the conversation and keep it going. After drafting the interview questions, I also compiled a list of important words in questions in case I got into a pickle of not understanding something. These were accessible on my word document. I then talked through the questions several times to make sure I felt comfortable with everything. I recorded myself so that I could practice with the zoom room setting. I felt pretty good about our interview at 7:30 am on 3 December 2020.  Since Daylight Savings Time, Farida has been 11 hours ahead of us, and since Lisana is one of Farida’s friends I assumed she was in the time zone. It turned out that assumption was incorrect. When I logged onto zoom at 7:30 am, I was a bit confused because Lisana was not there! It turns out that she lives in a different part of the country and was a full 12 hours ahead. Fortunately, I was already awake and didn’t miss the meeting. We ended up talking at 8:30 instead. The interview went very well. I started recording the meeting right away but accidentally forgot to check the time. We ended up talking for 13 minutes, even though I think we only had to do 8-10 minutes. I’m happy the conversation lasted that long. Lisana was very kind, engaging, and spoke slowly and clearly. I learned that she lived near Jakarta and likes to talk to friends at the park. She goes to the beach during breaks and takes photographs there because the landscape is beautiful. I shared how I also like to swim at the beach and paint. We then discussed the best places to visit in Indonesia, such as Bali, and how both the United States and Indonesia have nice landscapes. I’m happy I had the opportunity to talk with Lisana and was able to understand almost everything she said. I had to show this listening comprehension during the final section of the final exam. In my conclusion video, I was able to articulate these. I just uploaded the videos today, so I have officially completed Bahasa Indonesia for the semester. It has been a lovely learning experience, and I have learned so much about language and Indonesian culture and places!

This week began a bit stressful because Farida informed us that we had a big midterm exam two days before the test (it was on the syllabus that I should have been paying more attention to). I was a bit worried about this assessment because she did not give us specific guidelines of what to focus on studying. I decided the best method was to go back through all of my vocabulary, neaten up my dictionary, and then go through the past powerpoint presentations. I made sure I knew how to introduce myself, talk about my family, describe objects using colors, and use a wide range of verbs. The exam itself was not terrible. I felt comfortable with the listening section because the speaker spoke very slowly and said predictable words. The reading section was a bit harder, though, because the vocabulary in the matching section included words about daily routines that I was not as familiar with. I did my best, though, and gave an educated guess. The writing section felt like it went well, though it turned out that I had misread the instructions. Rather than answering the questions individually, we were supposed to write an invitation for a birthday party. We went over the correct format for our responses in class the next day. The speaking section also went quite smoothly. We could choose from a couple of different topics, so I decided to speak about my family because I am quite comfortable with that vocabulary. I described my younger brother and sister and their hobbies quite easily. Having this midterm exam helped me to reflect on how much I’ve learned so far and consider the places where I can improve, such as reading directions carefully and trying to use context clues when I don’t understand something. I will say as an aside that the physical conditions of the exam were challenging. I usually zoom into class outside because I need to be near the gym because my next class starts at the same time Bahasa Indonesia class ends, but it was very, very, cold that morning. My hands were freezing and I had a lot of trouble concentrating on the exam. From this experience, I know that physical conditions affect my ability to use language effectively and will seek in the future to find lebih hangat, or warmer places to work on my assignments.  Content wise, during these two weeks we have been learning about the habits of Indonesian teenagers, and foods in Indonesia. There are fortunately a lot of cognates, but I’m happy we were able to go over the list of foods so that I can talk about more than bananas, or pisang-pisang, which is one of my favorite go-to words. I often use it when we make up sentences and I need a noun.  In the following weeks, I will continue to practice reading, and studying the vocabulary I was less comfortable with. I will make sure that I am reading directions carefully but also be open to making and learning from my mistakes.

Indonesia is a country with much diversity--thousands of islands, hundreds of languages, diverse landscapes, and animals. Given that there are also people of many different faiths, Indonesia’s natural doctrine of Pancasila supports religious diversity. The country is predominantly Muslim, but Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, and Hindus, among other traditions, are free to practice their faith side by side, according to Pancasila. This interfaith culture speaks to the national motto of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, which means unity in diversity. Between this national doctrine and motto, Indonesia’s values are grounded in creating a just society. The religious architecture supports these goals; however, given the entanglement of the political and religious, interfaith cooperation does not always prevail. 

In Indonesia, the physical mosques, or masjids, support Pancasila. The largest of these architectural masterpieces is the Istiglal Mosque, which was completed in 1978 by Frederich Silaba. This massive mosque that can hold a capacity of 120,000 worshippers at one time was created with the intent of serving as a national symbol of Indonesia’s newly won independence. Fittingly, the name Istiglal means “independence.” Indonesia had been colonized by the Dutch, who had brought Christianity, both Catholic and Protestant denominations, so this symbol of Islam shows freedom from the culture of the colonizers. This mosque has a large, white dome, and geometric structure--hundreds of dark windows outlined by gray material. The scale is impressive and shows how large of a role religion plays a big role in Indonesian culture, as well as its scale as a symbol of the state. Interfaith relations are part of the culture, though, because across the street, is an old church that has a good relationship with this mosque. 

Another example of the interfaith spirit, furthering religious tolerance in Indonesia, is the relationship between St. Paul Catholic Church and Sunda Kelapa Grand Mosque. These houses of worship, though with completely different histories and architectures, share the same geographic location: they are neighbors in Jakarta. Given their geographic proximity, these two communities support one another and sometimes have joint programming. The religious leaders of each community of faith talk to one another and support efforts for religious tolerance. In working together, these communities of faith support the motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika as they seek to build a more just and loving society. 

Unfortunately, interfaith relations do not always achieve the idealistic vision and can be complicated in Indonesia. The overlap of state and religion, as seen in the Istiglal mosque causes confusion and is the source of some events of civil unrest. Furthermore, the large presence of Islam, coupled with attacks by extremist groups, is on one hand scaring Christians and other minority religions that Islam is taking over. On the other hand, many Indonesians do not have adequate education (half have not completed the first level of schooling), so they cannot accurately discern the source of the problem and misdiagnose the problem by blaming Muslims. The truth is that the Quran, Islam’s holy text, promotes just and peaceful relationships. The media’s reports tend to overplay the image of violent crimes by Muslims and undermine the efforts of interfaith dialogue that are happening and succeeding, such as that at St Paul’s Church and Sunda Kelapa Grand Mosque. 

These examples of interfaith relationships speak to Indonesian culture on a national and local level. Religion plays an important role in the lives of Indonesians, but to fully embody the spirit of Pancasila that includes tolerance and respect for other religions, access to education that provides religious literacy is key. 

My original motivation for learning Bahasa Indonesia was that I was applying for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant position there. Knowing the national language was a practical step that would allow me to connect with the culture and effectively communicate with my host community. However, studying Bahasa Indonesia through the SDLC turned out to be extremely formative in my work as a language learner and cultural explorer...and an artist! I was pleasantly surprised by how well this course connected with my global sustainability geography class, sociology class on race and crime, and figure painting course, and senior thesis art project. In fact, this semester was a pretty cool experience for me living life as an interdisciplinary, socially-engaged artist.My original motivation for learning Bahasa Indonesia was that I was applying for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant position there. Knowing the national language was a practical step that would allow me to connect with the culture and effectively communicate with my host community. However, studying Bahasa Indonesia through the SDLC turned out to be extremely formative in my work as a language learner and cultural explorer...and an artist! I was pleasantly surprised by how well this course connected with my global sustainability geography class, sociology class on race and crime, and figure painting course, and senior thesis art project. In fact, this semester was a pretty cool experience for me living life as an interdisciplinary, socially-engaged artist.As a language learner, I found phonetics very tricky; fortunately using the international alphabet was not crucial for my studies of Bahasa Indonesia similar pronunciation to English. (Learning about it was still helpful because I was able to see some differences). If I were learning another language like Korean that has a completely different alphabet, the international phonetic symbols would help mediate that relationship. On the other hand, I discovered that I really like grammar and syntax. I enjoyed lessons where we learned verb structures and word order. However, learning Indonesian with the context of SDLC 105 opened me not just to the structure, but the semantics of the language. It was fascinating to learn about the Sapir Wharf hypothesis and how language ultimately shapes our worldview. By learning Bahasa Indonesia, a language spoken in a very different cultural context, my worldview expanded, and apply this to my studies of Indigenous language in the United States. I was able to see how Farida sometimes perceived things differently than I did. I am excited that she will be on campus next semester so that we can continue learning about one another’s cultures. Even though I am an artist who spends countless hours in the studio painting (and is a therefore a kind of cultural producer), I tend to live under a bit of a rock when it comes to American culture. I don’t watch much TV, listen to current music, scroll through social media, or pay attention to the sports teams. The iceberg model helped me to reframe culture as the deep values and traditions, and recognize that as an artist, I am not just producing visual culture, but also the values of society: I am an active cultural explorer! Art, like language, helps shape how we think about time and relationships. Similarly, from the people-powered organization United States Department of Culture, I realized that artists are actually cultural workers who can help cultivate a culture of “equity, empathy, and belonging.” Learning about Indigenous cultures, such as the Pondok Damar in Kalimantan Indonesia for my final cultural presentation helped me see that culture mediates our relationship with the land. These insights were helpful for my senior thesis art project. My favorite part of the class was the group presentations. I liked getting to learn about what other students were learning in their language studies and think this was an effective way to build community. SDLC 105 was a unique experience that deepened my connection with Indonesian culture and also helped me find connections across other cultures. I'm grateful for this opportunity to learn the importance of language and communication this semester. 

While the 2012 New York Times article explains why bilinguals are smarter, the Science Line article provides more nuance to this claim. According to Kovac's study, young bilingual children exhibited more attention to their surroundings than monolingual children. However, after reading the Science LIne article, I agree with Ossola about being careful to say that bilinguals are smarter because it supports the notion that there is only one way to be smart. As we learned from the multiple intelligences quiz at the beginning of the semester, there is more than one way to learn and to meaningfully engage with the world. Ultimately, learning a second language and or growing up bilingual helps with this process, and should be strongly encouraged, but it’s not the only way to be smart. Reading this article made me think about how I’ve learned three languages in the past several years (German, Italian, Indonesian), but I am nowhere near fluent in any of them. I find words of these different languages often popping in my head, so hopefully, they will continue to be in storage in my mind for when I need them. It’s definitely sad, though, how quickly language abilities seem to fade. Still, I think the process of learning the languages as a student has helped me understand the worldview of different cultures. Learning the grammar and cultural notes helps me to understand the implications of my own language as well. 

I found an interesting article called "An Investigation through Different Types of Bilinguals and Bilingualism" by Hamzeh Moradi, a Ph. D Research Scholar in Linguistics at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India. (https://www.ijhsss.com/files/Hamzeh-Moradi_6813z4a4.pdf)

about the different types of bilingualism. Needless to say, there are many different ways to classify bilinguals, and these different classifications can be based on when, how, and where the learner acquired their second language. Some people learn the language early in their lives, while others are late learners. Some know the two languages equally well, while others have a clearly dominant language. One common classification method supported by Weinreich (1953) includes the categories of the compound, coordinate, and subordinate. This method connects with our morphology unit because it explores how we organize meaning in our brains. In compound categories, learners have the meanings of the two languages stored together. 

I found these different categories interesting, especially in relation to our conversations at the beginning of the semester about fluency and proficiency. While fluency is more of an all or none achievement, proficiency has a wide range. Similarly, bilingualism comes in many different forms and for each speaker, the two languages have a unique relationship to one another that depends on their environment and educational upbringing. 

Overall, bilingualism is much more complex than just speaking two languages. It is important to take into account the context of language acquisition to best understand the effects of knowing multiple languages. Since intelligence also comes in many different forms, I think it is inaccurate to make the blanket statement that bilinguals are smarter. However, being bilingual definitely shapes the way the speaker thinks; therefore, being bilingual makes for a unique worldview. 

Works Cited

Moradi, H. (2014). An investigation through different types of bilinguals and bilingualism. International Journal of Humanities & Social Science Studies, 1(2), 147-154.

If I received a research grant to conduct a linguistic study of my target language and culture, I would explore the role of slang in Bahasa Indonesia. In my language class with Farida, we just finished the A1 level, which includes formal constructions.   If I received a research grant to conduct a linguistic study of my target language and culture, I would explore the role of slang in Bahasa Indonesia. In my language class with Farida, we just finished the A1 level, which includes formal constructions.  We are now starting to learn how teenagers really speak. It turns out that the fewer words, the better. Nouns are often dropped, verbs contracted. For example, instead of saying "Bagaimana kabarmu" Which means how are you the slang version is only "ngamain" Efficiency of communication seems much more important than following structural components. In past blog posts, I’ve talked about how Indonesian is much less structured than German, which is a language I have studied in the past. Learning Indonesian slang adds to this contrast. Indonesian seems more about communicating meaning that creating an orderly form of speech. It’s also probably partially that Bahasa Indonesia is a relatively new language - one that serves as a lingua franca, a common tool of communication, rather than an ancient form of Indonesian culture. Each community has its own language that they probably spend more time preserving. 

To conduct my research, I would look compare grammatical structures in Indonesian textbooks, and compare this formal version to how it is spoken in the classroom with slang. For example, I could go to a sports activity and listen to how teenagers speak. I would note which grammatical structures get dropped. In class on Tuesday, we discussed morphemes. I would look for patterns in parts of speech and common root words. It seems that verbs are quite important in Indonesia. While they are not conjugated based on the subject, different suffixes change the meaning of words, which means these added morphemes are therefore derivational - I think.  For example, ber- added to the front of the verb means to have. Warna means color, so berwarna means to have color. One could say, "Buku berwarna merah mudah." (The book has the color pink.) I am interested in whether attention to the derivational morphemes continues in slang expressions among Indonesian youth.  Ideally, I would love to spend time in Indonesia, doing a kind of ethnographic language research in Indonesian schools. However, if this in-person method were not possible, I could also use social media, which is a place where young Indonesians actively and informally communicate with one another. For this virtual format, I would be able to not only to hear how Indonesians convey meaning through sounds, but also observe writing patterns. 

After comparing slang and formal Bahasa Indonesia, I could expand further to see how the Bahasa Indonesia grammatical structures compare with German's formal language and slang. While the formal language speaks to the national values that the country has, Bahasa Indonesia is ultimately a national language that does not capture the diversity among different local communities or the modified slang versions that people actually communicate with throughout their daily lives.  By studying slang, I will better understand how Indonesians use the language and the way it shapes their worldview.

Overall, things are going well. My Indonesian teacher is providing a helpful structure for progressing in the language. When I look back on my presentation, I agree that I am still on the right track and have been learning a lot from Farida. My speaking skills are improving, and I have been exposed to a lot of vocabulary, which I record in my language journal. My lesson plans have focused on sociolinguistic competence and personal and interaction functions. For example, in weekly cultural journal entries, I write reactionary responses to Indonesian sports, housing, and foods from my perspective. We practice the interaction function when trying to have conversations with one another. As a potential teacher, knowing how to communicate with students in a specific cultural context is key to being an effective teacher. I’m grateful for the culture classes and the practical vocabulary that we are learning, which will help me if I am an English Teaching Assistant in Indonesia. I have also been learning a lot about Indonesian Indigenous culture and the importance of language learning in general. I think these skills will be invaluable even after this semester of learning Indonesian. Overall, things are going well. My Indonesian teacher is providing a helpful structure for progressing in the language. When I look back on my presentation, I agree that I am still on the right track and have been learning a lot from Farida. My speaking skills are improving, and I have been exposed to a lot of vocabulary, which I record in my language journal. My lesson plans have focused on sociolinguistic competence and personal and interaction functions. For example, in weekly cultural journal entries, I write reactionary responses to Indonesian sports, housing, and foods from my perspective. We practice the interaction function when trying to have conversations with one another. As a potential teacher, knowing how to communicate with students in a specific cultural context is key to being an effective teacher. I’m grateful for the culture classes and the practical vocabulary that we are learning, which will help me if I am an English Teaching Assistant in Indonesia. I have also been learning a lot about Indonesian Indigenous culture and the importance of language learning in general. I think these skills will be invaluable even after this semester of learning Indonesian.  Since all our language courses have been on zoom, there are some cultural competency categories, like olfactory, artifact, and eye contact that may be different in the virtual world. I am excited that Farida will hopefully be on campus next semester so that we can communicate in person. She has offered some insights that connect to these categories. For example, Indonesians bathe every single day, which means smelling nice is probably a priority. Clothing also has significance - many women who identify as Muslim wear hijabs. It is important to wear long pants, especially when in places of worship. When learning vocabulary for clothing, I noticed that the word for “shorts” actually referred to short pants and not the above-the-knee shorts that people often wear in the United States. It seems like eye contact is important for communication through our lessons, but I think there may be a cultural norm of avoiding eye contact when greeting elders. I know honoring the hierarchy is at least somehow embedded in how Indonesians interact with each other. Since the language is quite simplified and people often talk in slang or shortened versions, reading between the lines and paying attention to body language is helpful for effectively communicating. For example, saving face is part of Indonesian culture, so people don’t always say what they mean for the sake of having a good impression. When I am speaking to Indonesians, I will also want to make sure that I am not too blunt with my comments so as not to be disrespectful. I think the key is to observe and listen first before jumping in blindly. I can also ask Farida if I have specific questions. Overall, learning Indonesian this semester has so far been an exciting opportunity to develop communicative competency across cultures. I am excited to continue learning Bahasa Indonesian!

10/25/20

During the past two weeks, we have had several units related to houses. We learned the names for the different rooms and common objects in each one. One of our assignments last week was to make a video that describes the different objects in our bedrooms, and this week we had to interview one another about our dream houses. I was excited that we learned a lot of new adjectives this week, including colors! As an artist, being able to say what things look like is important. Knowing adjectives is also helpful for describing words that I am not sure about. 

We also learned prepositions, which was helpful. I always accidentally say in instead of di, but I think I’ve gotten over this habit now. 

I also appreciate the cultural knowledge we've learned about houses - I didn't realize that parts of the city are often poorer than the rural areas and in much worse shape. I think it would be interesting to compare housing inequalities in the United States and Indonesia. The best part of this lesson was learning about a village that painted the houses rainbow colors--a creative art renovation project!

There have been a couple words that I’ve been having an especially hard time pronouncing: ungu (which means purple) and mengagumkan (which means awesome). The particular "ng" sound is difficult for me to pronounce, but I am continuing to practice. The articulatory phonetics framework can, fortunately, provide some insight on which part of the mouth is the point of articulation. Otherwise, I have not had too much trouble with Indonesian pronunciation. 

I’ve said this before but it is still true: questions stress me out because I’m always afraid I won’t be responding to the right question! Thinking about communicative competence, I need to rely on context clues. Even if I do not catch every word, it is fair for me to assume that when I first log onto zoom, Farida will ask, "Bagaimana kabarmu?" or how are you? And if we are doing a unit on animals, she may ask, "Which is your favorite?" Even if I do answer wrong, that is okay! Language learning is a process, and we can learn from our mistakes. We are continuing to have our speaking class on Wednesdays, which is pushing me to speak more. Farida had the helpful advice that when we are responding to one of the images with two minutes of talking, we should think through the question words and include these in our response: who, what, when, where, why, how? This will help us organize our thoughts instead of rambling. I have also found it helpful to take a couple of notes in the margins so I remember what I would like to say. 

In the upcoming two weeks, I will challenge myself to ask questions in Indonesian. Perhaps if I’m more comfortable asking questions, I’ll also be more comfortable responding to them when I hear them. I can repeat things back in Indonesian and use the language as a communication tool. I will also continue working on my vocabulary notebook because we’ve recently acquired a lot of new vocabulary, and I tend to remember things best if I write them down repeatedly. Having a print version of all my words may be more effective than just using an online translator. Ultimately, I’m excited by my Indonesian progress so far and look forward to continuing to learn more. 

For this cultural artifact post, I am exploring two key questions: What do people do for fun and exercise? What does this say about the culture?
Indonesia has a wide range of sports--some of these sports originated in Indonesia. Others came from other countries in Southeast Asia, and others came from parts of Europe. While the traditions of these different physical activities themselves contribute to Indonesia's culture, they also help illuminate some of the deeper cultural values below the cultural iceberg.
Many of the sports listed in the article I chose (https://factsofindonesia.com/traditional-sports-in-indonesia and https://factsofindonesia.com/cycling-in-indonesia) support Indonesia's national identity. For example, Pacu Jalur (which means rowboats), Egrang (which means stilts), and Tarik Tambang (which means Tug of War) support national pride because the competition is hosted during Independence day (August 17). Interestingly, Independence Day for Indonesia is a relatively new holiday, so I wonder if these particular sports had the same significance previous to being unified as a nation, or were they just played for fun. Some of these sports seem more ritualistic than competitive, like Egrang. This sport is performed in a parade without the framework of a competitional structure.
Some of the sports have contested backgrounds but may have a shared heritage with neighboring countries. For example, Pencek Silat (which means martial arts) came from Malay, and Sepak Traw, which is a hybrid between football and volleyball may have come from one of several countries in Southeast Asia.
Clogs, for example, a game from West Sumatra requires the collaboration of students as they try to slide to the finish line and can teach how to work together.
Some sports came from a legacy of colonization by the Dutch, such as cycling. While bikes were common for nobility when the dutch first arrived, most Indonesians use motorbikes. There are still bike tours, European influence in Indonesia.
I was intrigued that the article included on the list of traditional supports were also tug of war and sack races, which are games I've played in the United States before. The article didn't specify where these originated, though.
From this article, I get the sense that sports are associated with national pride because so many are celebrated on independence day. Sports serve more celebratory, ritualistic purposes than in the US, where we have a year-round sports entertainment industry.
As a collectivist culture, Indonesia has many team sports like rowing and clogs, though there are also some individual ones. Some of the sports have performative aspects like stilts and rocks jumping. I think these may connect with the concept of saving face, which is making a good impression in public. Comparing some of these sports to ones in the United States - in football, basketball, and baseball, we prioritize competition--but in Indonesia, most sports have some performative aspect. Ultimately, traditional sports in Indonesia creates a sense of unity for Indonesian across the Archipelago.
If I am an English Teaching Assistant in Indonesia, participating in sports will be a great way to build community connections with my hosts. Playing together is fun and also provides an inside look at cultural norms that are communicated through subtle actions.

For this cultural artifact post, I am exploring two key questions: What do people do for fun and exercise? What does this say about the culture?
Indonesia has a wide range of sports--some of these sports originated in Indonesia. Others came from other countries in Southeast Asia, and others came from parts of Europe. While the traditions of these different physical activities themselves contribute to Indonesia's culture, they also help illuminate some of the deeper cultural values below the cultural iceberg.
Many of the sports listed in the article I chose (https://factsofindonesia.com/traditional-sports-in-indonesia and https://factsofindonesia.com/cycling-in-indonesia) support Indonesia's national identity. For example, Pacu Jalur (which means rowboats), Egrang (which means stilts), and Tarik Tambang (which means Tug of War) support national pride because the competition is hosted during Independence day (August 17). Interestingly, Independence Day for Indonesia is a relatively new holiday, so I wonder if these particular sports had the same significance previous to being unified as a nation, or were they just played for fun. Some of these sports seem more ritualistic than competitive, like Egrang. This sport is performed in a parade without the framework of a competitional structure.
Some of the sports have contested backgrounds but may have a shared heritage with neighboring countries. For example, Pencek Silat (which means martial arts) came from Malay, and Sepak Traw, which is a hybrid between football and volleyball may have come from one of several countries in Southeast Asia.
Clogs, for example, a game from West Sumatra requires the collaboration of students as they try to slide to the finish line and can teach how to work together.
Some sports came from a legacy of colonization by the Dutch, such as cycling. While bikes were common for nobility when the dutch first arrived, most Indonesians use motorbikes. There are still bike tours, European influence in Indonesia.
I was intrigued that the article included on the list of traditional supports were also tug of war and sack races, which are games I've played in the United States before. The article didn't specify where these originated, though.
From this article, I get the sense that sports are associated with national pride because so many are celebrated on independence day. Sports serve more celebratory, ritualistic purposes than in the US, where we have a year-round sports entertainment industry.
As a collectivist culture, Indonesia has many team sports like rowing and clogs, though there are also some individual ones. Some of the sports have performative aspects like stilts and rocks jumping. I think these may connect with the concept of saving face, which is making a good impression in public. Comparing some of these sports to ones in the United States - in football, basketball, and baseball, we prioritize competition--but in Indonesia, most sports have some performative aspect. Ultimately, traditional sports in Indonesia creates a sense of unity for Indonesian across the Archipelago.
If I am an English Teaching Assistant in Indonesia, participating in sports will be a great way to build community connections with my hosts. Playing together is fun and also provides an inside look at cultural norms that are communicated through subtle actions.

For this cultural artifact post, I am exploring two key questions: What do people do for fun and exercise? What does this say about the culture?
Indonesia has a wide range of sports--some of these sports originated in Indonesia. Others came from other countries in Southeast Asia, and others came from parts of Europe. While the traditions of these different physical activities themselves contribute to Indonesia's culture, they also help illuminate some of the deeper cultural values below the cultural iceberg.
Many of the sports listed in the article I chose (https://factsofindonesia.com/traditional-sports-in-indonesia and https://factsofindonesia.com/cycling-in-indonesia) support Indonesia's national identity. For example, Pacu Jalur (which means rowboats), Egrang (which means stilts), and Tarik Tambang (which means Tug of War) support national pride because the competition is hosted during Independence day (August 17). Interestingly, Independence Day for Indonesia is a relatively new holiday, so I wonder if these particular sports had the same significance previous to being unified as a nation, or were they just played for fun. Some of these sports seem more ritualistic than competitive, like Egrang. This sport is performed in a parade without the framework of a competitional structure.
Some of the sports have contested backgrounds but may have a shared heritage with neighboring countries. For example, Pencek Silat (which means martial arts) came from Malay, and Sepak Traw, which is a hybrid between football and volleyball may have come from one of several countries in Southeast Asia.
Clogs, for example, a game from West Sumatra requires the collaboration of students as they try to slide to the finish line and can teach how to work together.
Some sports came from a legacy of colonization by the Dutch, such as cycling. While bikes were common for nobility when the dutch first arrived, most Indonesians use motorbikes. There are still bike tours, European influence in Indonesia.
I was intrigued that the article included on the list of traditional supports were also tug of war and sack races, which are games I've played in the United States before. The article didn't specify where these originated, though.
From this article, I get the sense that sports are associated with national pride because so many are celebrated on independence day. Sports serve more celebratory, ritualistic purposes than in the US, where we have a year-round sports entertainment industry.
As a collectivist culture, Indonesia has many team sports like rowing and clogs, though there are also some individual ones. Some of the sports have performative aspects like stilts and rocks jumping. I think these may connect with the concept of saving face, which is making a good impression in public. Comparing some of these sports to ones in the United States - in football, basketball, and baseball, we prioritize competition--but in Indonesia, most sports have some performative aspect. Ultimately, traditional sports in Indonesia creates a sense of unity for Indonesian across the Archipelago.
If I am an English Teaching Assistant in Indonesia, participating in sports will be a great way to build community connections with my hosts. Playing together is fun and also provides an inside look at cultural norms that are communicated through subtle actions.

I have been writing in my target language since the first week in several different formats. Writing is my favorite of the different modes of communication because I like to be able to edit what I am trying to communicate. Speaking and listening are trickier because you have to be very focused at the moment, and it is easy to miss important information. In class, I take notes by hand, and for homework, I write sentences using the vocabulary. Our longer homework assignments are usually completed online, but I like to start by writing freehand. This helps me to use the vocabulary that I know rather than continuously referring to an online translator. I’m often impressed by what I come up with and can use the practice of circumlocution that we talked about during class a couple weeks ago. If I don’t know how to say the specific word, I can use other words that I do know to describe what I mean. When I was studying German and Italian, I found that journaling in the target language was a very helpful strategy for developing my writing skills. Several patterns are beginning to emerge in the structures between words, clauses, and sentences. For example, the subject always goes first, and then the verb, or an adverb, and then the object. Adjectives always follow the noun and are linked using the word “yang.” Verbs do not require conjugation based on the subject, but prefixes do change. We haven’t yet learned exactly when or why to drop the prefixes, but we did learn that “ber” means “to have.” There are also no definite articles. Indonesians, especially in informal speech, tend to shorten things. The sentence structures that I most often use are modal verbs (I want to eat pasta) and two clauses connected by a conjunction (I want to eat pasta, so I will cook some). I’m not sure how other complex sentences work if they don’t have conjunctions, so hopefully, we will learn more about that soon. Overall, grammatical structures are a lot more flexible than Indo-European languages like German. After having learned adjective endings that change based on gender and part of speech, Bahasa Indonesia’s grammar is a breeze. When we listen to audio lessons from the textbook, it seems like most of the speakers are using simple sentences (but that may just be to meet us on our level). Knowing parts of speech, government, and agreement supports my ability to communicate in written contexts because I can use context clues to figure out the meaning if I know which words are verbs versus nouns.
Here is an example of a culture journal entry in which I wrote about my reactions to some Indonesian films:
Di Ayat-Ayat Cinta, saya melihat empat orang bersama. Mereka punya pakaian yang formal. Ada buku dan lilin diatas meja dibawah tangan mereka.Ada laki-laki tinggi dengan kacamata, dan dia berbicara dengan laki-laki yang muda. Mereka berpegangan tangan. Banyak orang menonton dari luar. Kemudian mereka semua merayakannya bersama. Wanita melempar bunga yang merah. Mereka semua sangat senang.
Pertama kami pergi ke rumah Habibie. Kami melihat dia membaca buku. Kemudian dia berpikir tentang dia ketika muda. Ada wanita yang cantik, namanya Ainun. Badan Ainun kecil dan kurus. Rambut Ainun panjang dan berwarna hitam. Dia punya baju panjang. Ketika muda, mereka pergi ke sekolah bersama. Ainun belajar kedokteran Mereka teman, tapi tidak bisa menikah. Ainun mengatakan, Kami di buku sama, tapi halaman yang berbeda. Laki-Laki merasa sangat sedih.
This exercise was meaningful because it allowed me to practice expressing myself in the target language using the grammar that I have learned so far.

A language dies when people stop speaking and using the language, especially if it is not written down. This is the case for many indigenous languages, in communities that prioritize the oral tradition.  I admit that I did not realize the importance of preserving endangered languages until being in the self-direct language acquisition program. I used to think of language as a vehicle for communication, and in an increasingly globalized world, having a shared language seemed central to developing relationships across cultures. But as I have been studying Indigenous peoples in my geography class and for my senior thesis art project coupled with the readings for this class, I have come across the recurring theme that local languages do matter. The way our languages are structured in turn shapes our worldviews. When Native Americans were forced to go to boarding schools and learn English, they lost a part of their culture. A language dies when people stop speaking and using the language, especially if it is not written down. This is the case for many indigenous languages, in communities that prioritize the oral tradition.  I admit that I did not realize the importance of preserving endangered languages until being in the self-direct language acquisition program. I used to think of language as a vehicle for communication, and in an increasingly globalized world, having a shared language seemed central to developing relationships across cultures. But as I have been studying Indigenous peoples in my geography class and for my senior thesis art project coupled with the readings for this class, I have come across the recurring theme that local languages do matter. The way our languages are structured in turn shapes our worldviews. When Native Americans were forced to go to boarding schools and learn English, they lost a part of their culture.  We talked about the iceberg model of culture a couple weeks ago but after learning about endangered languages, I have a better grasp of what it means for culture to be more than the traditional artifacts. As the video noted, language is a cultural artifact older and more complex than any of the paintings, architecture that we associate with the epitome of culture. It holds nuances and the values of the community. Thinking about the values that culture holds helps me realize then the role that artists play. As an artist, I don’t want to just paint pretty pictures to hang on walls. I want to play a part in shaping the culture, which is important. At this current moment, we have an opportunity to shift. We can listen to the Indigenous voices, support their cultures, protect their languages, which helps us to have a reciprocal rather than exploitative relationship with the land. I recently read a poem by Natalie Diaz called “The First River is the Body.” In this work, she explores the limits of translation concerning how her culture sees bodies and rivers. Reading poetry reminds me that language is beyond utilitarian and provides a glimpse into the human condition and culture.  The article showed that technology, while perhaps a big reason that languages simplify into shared ones, is also a tool for making the languages accessible and bringing them back to life. When people have access to the vocabulary, they are more likely to learn new languages. Linguists are doing many research projects to digitally document these endangered languages so that we do not lose them forever.  I’m wondering what an ideal world would look like in terms of language. There is certainly reason to preserve the many languages, but do they need to be functional in society, or more of a traditional token? Which languages have priority? Should there be a common global language? And are the common ones of English, Mandarin, Spanish the best ones?  One key is probably to focus on locality. If there is a local Indigenous community near my town, schools could offer language and cultural courses in that particular language. My local high school could have opportunities for community-based learning, to learn from indigenous perspectives, to understand the history of the land. Having a place-based curriculum in schools could make language not just a tool for practical communication but a key to understanding our relationship with the world. 

These readings helped me to contextualize the history of Indonesia and the role of language in this development. I knew that Bahasa Indonesian was only recently established as a nationally unifying language, but I did not know how this particular language became the official one and how other cultures helped shape this history. I also did not realize how many people speak Bahasa Indonesian: this language is actually often ranked as the sixth most commonly spoken language in the world. Beyond Indonesia, Bahasa Indonesian is spoken in Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia, among other places. These readings helped me to contextualize the history of Indonesia and the role of language in this development. I knew that Bahasa Indonesian was only recently established as a nationally unifying language, but I did not know how this particular language became the official one and how other cultures helped shape this history. I also did not realize how many people speak Bahasa Indonesian: this language is actually often ranked as the sixth most commonly spoken language in the world. Beyond Indonesia, Bahasa Indonesian is spoken in Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia, among other places. Indonesia is part of the Austronesian language family, which includes the Pacific, Southeast Asia, and some parts of Australia. The language has overlap with languages spoken in the Philippines, Hawaii, and Madagascar, among other places. I enjoyed looking at a chart that compared numbers 1-10 in different Austronesian languages - there is a lot of similarities in the languages. Indonesian comes directly from Malay, which began in Sumatra as an official court language and continued to serve as a common language for business exchanges. Today, Bahasa Indonesian is the Lingua Franca, or official language students study in schools and use for formal business encounters and navigation of daily life. It became the official language in 1928 through the Young People’s vow. This unifying means of communication strengthened the Indonesian collective identity and led to independence. At home, though, most Indonesians speak a local dialect. There are more than 700 local languages across the archipelago of Indonesia Bahasa Indonesian is still not the first language for many people - Javanese, Balinese, and Sudanese among others continue to be more widely practiced. 
Indonesia was colonized by the dutch, but unlike many other colonized countries, Bahasa Indonesian did not absorb much influence from the Dutch language. Religious groups did participate in the development of the language: Malay, or now Bahasa Indonesian, was the language used by missionaries, and Muslims helped switch the script used for the language from Jawi to Arabic. My Indonesian instructor has told us that many Indonesian names have Arabic influences because a large percentage of the population practices Islam.  Given that Indonesian is a lingua franca, it is designed to be pretty easy to learn - simplified grammatical constructions. Throughout the archipelago, there are many dialects and variations. For example, the way people use verbs that begin with ber- varies. Knowing the history of Bahasa Indonesia clarifies that if I am in a rural placement as an ETA, the primary language of my host community is not Bahasa Indonesia. To participate fully in their culture, the part below the iceberg, I will want to learn the local language. Fortunately, knowing Bahasa Indonesian will allow me to navigate daily life across the archipelago. Languages change over time based on who is using them. When people stop using the language, they inevitably die because people do not pass them on to the next generation. Politics and history also play big roles, as seen by the influence of colonization in many places. Indonesia is a unique case where it did not absorb the dutch language. Increases in technology and increased contact with speakers of different languages, so that languages begin to merge and common vocabulary becomes necessary for everyday exchanges. 
I think that geography, the why of where, can be an extremely valuable discipline for linguists to track, predict, and extrapolate changes in languages. For example, there are many ways to create maps that would help track migration and population and interactions between different cultures. Physical proximity seems like it would be a key indicator that a language has the potential to change. Language is always changing, though national languages may make such evolution hard to perceive. I think linguists can learn a lot about how language is being used informally through social media. In this informal, realtime, virtual space, linguists can study how people actually are engaging with language as forms of communication and notice trending slang words. 

I am very excited by the progress I am making in Indonesian. The switch to meeting synchronously three times a week and having independent assignments twice a week has been especially helpful. 

We had our first monthly assignment, part one was to write about why we were studying Indonesian (at least ten lines typed). Farida, my language teacher, then gave us feedback to make sure we were using proper grammar. Once we had these ideas written down, we had to make a video of ourselves talking through the prompt, but the catch was that we do so without reading a script. I had to practice reading through my written version many times, and then I adjusted what I was saying to use vocabulary that felt more natural to me. For example, rather than talk through my original reason for wanting to learn about religious diversity based on my studies, I instead phrased it as wanting to go to diverse places of worship. This sentence construction flowed more naturally so it felt like I was communicating rather than speaking from memorization. 

Last week, we talked about occupations (I can now tell everyone that I’m an artist who loves to paint) and places to visit in Indonesia. The landscapes we saw were beautiful, and they make me want to visit! This past week, we learned about animals. While at this moment, I don’t have much need to talk about elephants, lions, and monkeys right now, but the vocabulary was still helpful and allowed us to practice using colors. I think I’m getting a pretty good handle on verbs. I can easily say what I want to do but could expand my adjective and noun vocabulary. My goal this weekend is to work on transferring all this new vocabulary into my vocabulary notebook. When I need to find a word, I’ve been just using the Mango language translator. I think it may be helpful to push myself to use my dictionary so that I am looking at my handwriting, which may aid with memory retention and making sure to review the vocabulary we have covered in past classes to build on. For our daily vocabulary reports, I have noticed that I can use them correctly in a sentence, but I have not been effective in committing these words to my long term memory. This week, my goal is to take these vocabulary memorizations seriously and try some different strategies on testing myself to make sure I remember the words. I have had a hard time remembering numbers greater than ten. Learning how to count big numbers correctly is very important for navigating daily life in Indonesia so that I can buy food at the market. Even for small purchases, the denominations are much bigger than in the United States.  A pound of rice may cost 7,000 rupiahs! The other students and I did a role play of being in the market, and it was very tricky to tell the customer how much her items cost. I know that striving to say and hear these numbers accurately will help me in Indonesia so I will do some extra practice during the upcoming weeks!