I outlined two goals in my learning plan.
Goal 1:
- To read a children’s book:
Unfortunately, procuring a children's book in Bahasa Indonesia is rather difficult/expensive. So, as a suitable replacement, I chose to read comic books in Bahasa Indonesia because this resource is readily available, free, and more popular among Indonesian children. Indeed, the regular Indonesian rarely read -- be it newspapers or books. But, comic books are the exception. What's more, comic books offer a unique view into the "street" culture, and thus the culture with which I will be surrounded during my stay in Bali this summer. This culture is less formal, and informal talk is the norm.
However, I did read passages from a children's book that were posted online. And for one of my cultural posts, I wrote a summary in Bahasa Indonesia about a passage that relates to my cultural presentation: dogs.
As I progressed, I began to disregard the sentences plastered onto the comic strip and instead came up with a scenario and spoke about it accordingly. This activity proved to be very effective, and my language partner guided me along the way. Each weekend, when my language partner and I would meet, I would have a conversation with her about the material that I read over the past week. In addition, I usually wrote down ten words that I had learned each day.
Goal 2:
- I will be able to describe human and animal traits. For example, he is shy (unit 6); I will be able to ask for and give directions (unit 7); I will be able to say what my hobbies are and those of others (unit 8); and I will be able to describe an object’s shape and color (unit 9).
This goal follows a more orthodox learning method, which required textbook units sourced from the Indonesia Ministry of Education and Culture. I completed all units -- unit 6, unit 7, unit 8, and unit 9. During the course of accomplishing this goal, I practiced my reading, writing, listening, and speaking through the various activities in each unit. I also took a quiz upon completing each unit.
My artifacts included:
- Describing my house's features -- rooms, garage, pool, and so on -- and my favorite things to do in my home (unit 6);
- A recording of myself giving Thalia directions (unit 7); and
- I recorded myself talking about a typical day's schedule -- from waking up to going to bed (unit 8).
During my language evaluation, my partner and I will:
- Have a conversation about my physical and innate characteristics;
- Ask and give directions from one place to another;
- Have a conversation about my hobbies and those of others; and
- Describe an object’s shape and color.
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