- Learning Journal 14: Summarize your work this semester, the progress you made and the difficulties you encountered.
I have learned a great deal this semester. Since I have successfully accomplished all tasks in the language learning plan, the learning plan will be my guide to walk you through what I have learned this semester.
I started as a "novice low" when I first took on this challenge. I had set out some ambitious goals. Ultimately, in the broader scheme of things, I had this to say:
In the future, I want to continue taking Bahasa Indonesia at U of R until I graduate, and perhaps continue my learning process for a while thereafter. I believe that Indonesian will be a big part of my life moving forwards.
My tasks were:
1. "Greetings": That is, to introduce myself — name, age, where I am from, etc. — and to introduce others (who are they, their age, where they are from, etc.) as well as personal identification: I am a student, what I study, basic hobbies, etc.
2. "Family Tree": Meaning, the meaning of family in Indonesia’s culture — especially in Bali. The hierarchy and social structure that tags along with the family. How to introduce them to others, how to introduce myself to them.
3. "Telling Time, Date, and Counting": How to ask for the time, How to tell the time. How to count to a reasonable extent. How to ask for the date, How to tell the date. Know the months and days of the week.
4. "Survival Language": That is, functional language. For example, things you need to learn when your language breaks down.
More than not, I put in about 2 hours of "academic" work each week. These hours were dedicated to learning the tasks outlined above. For each task, I consulted two great sources, one from the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Education and the other from Global Studio. In addition to these sources, I listened to audio of Indonesian phrases and dialogue.
However, I believe I learn the most outside these contexts. My girlfriend and I chat in Indonesian every day. And we talk about topics far ranging in scope. I cannot stress enough about the pedagogic advantages this unique situation has given me. Furthermore, I am taking a music course called "Global Repertoires," and one ensemble in it is gamelan -- a musical idiom native to Indonesia. Here too I have learned a great deal about Indonesian culture.
As for my tasks, I believe that I have accomplished what I envisioned just a few months ago. Now, I have a brand capability and a solid foundation on which to build in the future. For example, Greetings, Family Tree, Survival language are some topics with which I am comfortable. I am confident that should I need to speak about these topics, I would be able to. On the other hand, however, Telling Time, Date, and Counting challenges me yet still. Perhaps, this is because I am terrible at math and numbers are just not my thing.
All in all, I have learned a great deal this semester, and I look forward to continuing my pursuit of learning Indonesian.
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