«The Indonesian Way» (TIW), a textbook for beginners of the Indonesian Language (bahasa Indonesia), was originally composed by Dr. George Quinn from the Australian National University, and later enhanced, and adapted for online learning by Dr. Uli Sembiring, Professor in the Indonesian Language Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
«The Indonesian Way» is the most comprehensive course book for beginner. It is rated highly (4.9 out of 5 stars) by its users.
3 Editions of «The Indonesian Way»
The best way to learn the Indonesian Language: «The Indonesian Way»
The best way to learn to speak a new language is, for most people, in a traditional class. However, most of us live in places where the next university teaching the Indonesian language courses is miles away. eLearning provides an excellent alternative, especially if the online courses are well designed and equipped with a large number of sound files. After all, learners want to be able to develop strong listening and speaking skills. If you want to learn to speak Indonesian, «The Indonesian Way» is the best online course available as we offer dedicated one-on-one tutorials.
Textbook vs Online e-learning
«The Indonesian Way» is available both as a downloadable textbook in pdf format, and as an interactive online e-course.
The online and the textbook edition are almost identical. Both consist of 113 lessons that are divided in four parts: 1. the topic of the lesson (dialogues or reading texts in Indonesian), 2. grammar explanation, linguistic and cultural notes etc. 3. the interactive exercises (multiple choice, matching, cloze exercises, sentence jumblers, crossword puzzles, find-the-words, memory games, dictation exercises etc. and 4. word list and electronic flash cards.
Interactivity is key: Each of the 113 chapters of «The Indonesian Way» has between ten and twenty interactive exercises, at least a dozen sound files, digital vocabulary flash cards. For more effective vocabulary learning the spaced repetition software Anki was integrated, and the IndoLingo application serves as a tool to actively practice speaking.
It takes between 60 and 90 minutes to complete one lesson. Another ten minutes per lesson should be reserved to learn the new vocabulary by using the spaced repetition software Anki.
So what is better: Online e-Learning or using the PDF Textbook? This is a matter of preference. We advise to predominantly use the online version as it provides a greater variety of interactive exercises including memory games and dictation exercises.
Different is only the mode of delivery: the Online Edition is interactive in that students can see instantly the results of the online exercises whereas in the Textbook Edition students need to consult the Keys to the Exercises.
Both the Online Edition as well as the textbook edition of «The Indonesian Way» are designed in such a way that students of the Indonesian language can (and should) work on them without the help of a teacher. The materials are hence also highly suitable for those who want to learn Indonesian language through self-instruction, or with the assistance of a private tutor.
Memberships
Basic Membership
The Basic Membership is for those who want to test The Indonesian Way for one month before committing themselves. Delivery format is online only.
Student Membership
For most learners, the Student Membership (24 months) is all they need. However, if you want to work with a tutor, it is highly recommended to buy the Premium Membership instead. Delivery format is online AND a printable PDF edition. The Anki flashcard decks are also included.
Premium Membership
The Premium Membership is for teachers as well as for our most committed students. For each of the 113 chapters, we include lesson plans that instruct the teacher what to teach, and how to teach it. Besides the teacher notes, the Premium Membership includes 196 student handouts, 51 slide shows, hundreds of images (picture cards etc.), and 35 tests. These are additional materials that are not included in the Student Membership.
When «The Indonesian Way» is used in a traditional classroom setting, it is advisable not to use the online materials or the textbook in class. Instead students should study the online materials or the textbook lessons before their Bahasa Indonesia class commences.
For in-class use we have developed accompanying in-class materials for all 113 lessons. The in-class materials are designed for a class of 50 minutes (but can easily be stretched to 75 minutes). They contain teacher notes with detailed instructions on how to conduct each class, but most importantly for each lesson there are student handouts, additional sound files, slide shows, games, and other fun and engaging materials assisting students to learn the language. The in-class materials are only available in the Premium Edition of «The Indonesian Way». We recommend the Premium Edition not only for teachers, but also for the most dedicated students. The additional in-class materials will benefit them in their effort to learn bahasa Indonesia.
Learning Outcomes
«The Indonesian Way» is a beginner’s textbook to learn Indonesian language intended to raise the student’s language skills from the elementary or novice level (no knowledge of Indonesian at all) to CERF (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) Level B1 (The CERF B1 level is equivalent to Intermediate Mid/High on the American ACTFL scale). «The Indonesian Way» is hence suitable to be used by novice, elementary, and intermediate learners.
A speaker of B1 is expected to be able to perform the following skills:
Can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. Can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken. Can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest. Can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes & ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.
On successful completion of «The Indonesian Way» students will be able to demonstrate:
- familiarity with the phonology (pronunciation, word-stress, rhythm, intonation), morphology (general overview of affix system) and syntax (word order, sentence construction; phrase order in declarative and interrogative sentence) of the Indonesian language (bahasa Indonesia);
- familiarity with about 1,500 most frequently used words necessary for communicative competence;
- within this communicative competence, the ability to: a) comprehend basic standard spoken Indonesian; b) perform simple conversation in an intelligent way; c) read elementary passages and stories with a fair degree of comprehension; d) write simple descriptions of objects, situations and activities and write short-non-technical letters; e) recognise and utilise basic rules in Indonesian grammar; f) integrate the linguistic skills specified above;
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