Indonesian Language and Culture Maintenance and Development Program for Non-Native Speaking Teachers of Indonesian

Dear Indonesian language teachers and enthusiasts,

It is very important that Indonesian language teachers who are not native speakers understand and use Indonesian correctly and are familiar with the appropriate register of the language. Teachers who do not have a linguistic and cultural background as native speakers are inevitably influenced by their own mother tongue and their own native culture, leading to the danger of their using inauthentic language in their teaching. This inauthenticity may include the use of non-authentic idioms and the inappropriate use of slang terms.

The lack of available up-to-date teaching materials and the lack of exposure to proper and correct Bahasa Indonesia are some of the main reasons why Indonesian teachers who are not native speakers are unable to keep up with the trend of the development of modern Bahasa Indonesia.

Apart from an incomplete knowledge of the language, a lack of familiarity with Indonesian society may become an obstacle to the teaching of quality Indonesian language and culture. The skills of Indonesian language teachers who are not native speakers need to be further developed so as to maintain and improve the quality of the of teaching Bahasa Indonesia.

It is undeniable that the confidence of Indonesian language teachers is crucial to an attractive and sustainable Bahasa Indonesia program. With improved Indonesian language proficiency and skills, and more extensive knowledge of traditional and modern Indonesian culture, it is expected that teachers will be able to maintain and even increase the number of students interested in the Indonesian language program.

The Victoria – Tasmania Indonesian Language & Culture Centre (Balai Bahasa & Budaya Indonesia Victoria – Tasmania, BBBIVT) is opening special classes for the Maintenance and Development of Indonesian Language and Culture. These classes are integrated, communicative and interactive. They will be conducted online, with the opportunity for face-to-face teaching sessions for those residing in the Melbourne area.

The number of participants per class will be limited to a maximum of 5 (five) participants to maintain the quality and efficiency of the program.

This program is specifically for Indonesian language teachers who are not native speakers and is worthy of being part of your professional development program plan and a certificate of completion will be issued at the end of each term.

For more information, send an email via our website: www.bbbivt.org at the ‘contact us’ section.