This was my first experience teaching myself an entire course on my own. I found the task difficult, but very rewarding. It was a long journey to learning just a little bit of Bahasa Indonesian. Besides learning the language, I also learned a lot about the culture.
I found the cultural aspects of Indonesia very interesting. After doing the cultural presentations, I learned about the influence of different countries on the islands, the current political climate, and what living in Indonesia is like. The history of the country is filled with occupation, invasion, and differing ideas. Each island has its own culture that is completely unique. Together, the islands make up the country of Indonesia, but it is false to equate that to a unity amongst the different islands. Due to the history of the Dutch trading company and Chines migrants, the culture is unique. It is a mixture of indigenous ideals and western and eastern philosophies. In many ways, the country is a melting pot much like the United States. Different groups have left different impacts on the country. The Dutch have influenced cuisine, the Chines have advanced the economy, and the indigenous Indonesians have brought their history and culture. This has led to a country that is very segmented and, at times, antagonistic toward different groups. I think learning and understanding these differences is as important as learning the language.
As far as learning the language, the class was extremely helpful in preparing me. At first, the task seemed daunting. Trying to learn an entire language is a difficult goal to achieve. At times, I felt like I was learning the language quickly and easily. At other times, I felt like I was going nowhere. The most important aspect I realized was to keep trying. Whether I was confident or not in a lesson, I reviewed it several times to try and learn a lesson backwards and forwards. The most valuable characteristic of learning is devoting time. With this class, I found that easy because I really enjoyed the language, the history, and the culture of Indonesia. Even when I had nothing to do, I would pull up an Indonesian business newspaper online and try to see what I could understand. This led me to vocabulary and grammar questions that I could discuss with Thalia. Using professional, outside resources helped me to put my learning in perspective. I was able to see what I know and how far I am from being able to function in the country.
Having Thalia as a resource as I was learning was extremely useful. When learning a foreign language, it is difficult to know what is the “book way” to say something and what is the common “slang way” to say something. There were countless times where Thalia was able to tell us to ignore some vocabulary or some grammar rules because they do not apply to how most people communicate in the country. Having a native speaker is a huge advantage to SDLC students. Their guidance, suggestions, and lessons, are all based on our individual learning plans, and it helps the students to focus on a few tasks that are important to them. Their personal knowledge can only be gained from experience. In language, this is very useful.
Finally, it was great to have someone else learning the language with me. Kevin and I helped each other with questions and worked together on one presentation. We could learn differently on our own, but by coming together, we were able to solidify our knowledge of individual lessons. We would meet up and test each other’s vocabulary, discuss previous grammar lessons over dinner, and we studied for the final together. It was helpful to have a friend who was as dedicated as I was at learning the language. I am sure I would have been able to learn the language without another student taking the same language, but it was very helpful to have him there.
I greatly enjoyed my SDLC 105 and SDLC 110 classes. Taking both classes together helped me bring different aspects to different classes. 105 made me dissect the language and look at it in its simplest form. It also helped me to draw connections to other languages I know. 110 helped me learn the major points of the language so that I will one day be able to visit the country. I am looking forward to my next semester with Thalia. I hope that my basic understanding will grow each semester so that I will be close to fluent by the time I graduate in a year. I hope to learn more about the specifics of the culture and as much vocabulary as I can in my future lessons. One aspect I want to bring to Thalia next semester is to create a vocabulary list full of useful words and phrases. Hopefully we can focus on a section every week so that I can learn the entire list by the end. The only thing I would like to change is my lesson plan. I think my lesson plan needs to be more realistic next semester. After learning how difficult some tasks are, I think I will be better prepared next semester.
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