Hi!! I'm back after a rather long absense. If you want to learn the Indonesian language, then you've come to the right place. For those of you at an intermediate level, have a look at our new video on YouTube for learning Indonesian.
Learn Indonesian YouTube video
Stay tuned as I begin adding a lot more material. I'm back in Jakarta for a few months and will be busy working on my Russian and French, so it will be a good opportunity to look at all aspects of languages and language learning, and in particular, we'll be able to show you that the Indonesian language is kaleidoscope of possibility. For a bit of background on the Indonesian language, go to our new page Indonesian Language - Unravel the Secrets. Or to start learning for beginners go to our Basic Indonesian - Lesson 1
As I've said many, many times before, learning Indonesian (or any language) is actually a fairly straight forward process. The problem is always the method. At LearnIndonesian.org you will discover a new and amazingly effective way to learn any language.
The first thing to remember is that learning a new language is mainly a physical process, not a mental process.
You have to learn to recognize new words (both listening and reading), know their meaning, and know what they mean in relation to other words and the ideas that are being expressed by the 'group of words'. Memorizing vocabulary really doesn't do you much good, it's difficult and boring.
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(Click drop down to continue reading.)
Likewise studying grammar. It's really not effective, and should play a supportive role to intuitive understanding which is developed by learning words and expressions from 'situations' where the meaning of what is being said is self evident.
The easiest way to start is simply with scenarios of "What's this? What's that?". This allows for a lot of natural repetition in 'real life' scenarios with a minimal vocabulary (and it's better to set up the physical environment).
In this way, you immediately begin learning the language. There's no wasted time with explanations. You immediately begin trying to pronounce the new words. As new words are introduced, your conscious mind starts focusing on them, and the important words, expressions and grammar are absorbed 'automatically' by your 'intuitive mind'.
The most important aspect is to develop the 'physical reflex' so that you say things correctly without thinking, because more often than not, if you start thinking, you'll start making mistakes.
We had a student start with us who had had about 2 months language training in Australia before being posted to the embassy in Jakarta. She knew plenty of words and was generally able to express herself, but the pattern of her speech was much closer to English than 'native' Indonesian. She also repeatedly said 'saya suami' (my husband).
In Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia), there is only 'saya' for I,me,my,mine. If you've been reading the simple dialogue to the right, you perhaps already realize that the possessive is always after the object. But when you learn using our method, explanation of this grammar point is never needed. Why waste time explaining something that can be learned automatically with no effort?
After weeks of language training with us she still often made the mistake because it had become a bad habit. If she had studied with our program from the beginning, it would have been physically impossible for her to make such a mistake. Her 'mouth' would have already been conditioned to saying: suami saya, anak saya, buku saya, rumah saya, etc. etc.
Again, learning a language is more of a physical process than a mental process. Stay with us as we help you learn Indonesian quickly and easily.
My current passion/obsession is to finish developing a new method for learning any language. I have searched the internet over and over and I have yet to find anyone teaching languages effectively. Even (and especially) the big companies (Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone, Berlitz, Rocket Languages, etc) do not measure up to their promises.
It's really not rocket science, and it seemed obvious to me as a student/teacher/engineer. Perhaps my lack of formal training has allowed me to keep an open mind to see the obvious.
For learning Indonesian, there is even less material available. One booklet that is reasonably good, albeit a bit out-dated, is "Bahasa Indonesia in 7 Days". The author does make some good points:
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Face it--whether you are in Indonesia for one week or for 10 years, it is not only polite and useful to know a little of the language, in many cases, it is outright necessary. If you don't want to be trapped at the Hotel Borobudur or restricted to traveling with a translator, you need to be able to communicate with that cheerful, friendly, curious populace out there. This booklet provides one approach to learning a very basic level of the Indonesian language, Bahasa Indonesia, with no strain.
I have yet to encounter a structured, functional approach to learning Bahasa Indonesia. Phrase books confront the linguistic novice with a barrage of special purpose phrases ("Is the play a comedy or a tragedy?"). They are often badly organized into social situations (going to the market, at customs) where you are likely to have neither the time nor the inclination to be fumbling around with a silly little phrase book even if you did bring it with you, which is highly improbable. With these books, you can either memorize several hundred phrases that may or may not have an application. Or you can keep the book in your pocket and hope that your fingers are fast enough to find the phrase for "turn left here" before the taxi takes you completely out of town in a straight line.
Grammar books and dictionaries, although fine for a long-term study of the language, are even more of a hindrance in taxis and at the supermarket checkout. Language tapes also have their place in learning to communicate but this approach requires time and effort to achieve practical results.
What is required for the short-term visitor and even for the newly arrived longer-term expatriates is a list of common, useful and necessary words and phrases grouped into bite-sized quantities so the most important ones can be learned and used first.
The most useful phrase book I have found is Indonesian Words and Phrases by the American Women's Association. It provides some very important basic concepts and I recommend it highly but no one wants to memorize an entire book the first day in a new country.
With the internet, mp3 players, ipods, cellular phones, etc, the possibilities for new ways to learn a language are nearly endless. We agree, traditional phrasebooks are not really very useful, but if you incorporate the new possibilities into a new style of phrasebook, then you can create something really, really useful.
We haven't finished putting such a "phrasebook" together yet but we have lots of very useful material that you can use in the meantime while we finish putting it all together in one handy e-book.
Indonesian is a very easy language to learn, so a little effort goes a long way. We have a very handy little booklet and audio file 'Tiba di Bandara' (Arrive at Airport) which adheres to the concept of 'keeping it real' and progressing step-by-step (word-by-word).
It's actually much better than a traditional phrasebook because it literally almost leads you by the hand (tongue?) from arriving at the airport, getting through immigration, getting a taxi, going to your hotel, calling your friend, meeting him for lunch, and going to his house for dinner. All that is accomplished with a vocabulary of just 80 words!
Give it a try:
Tiba di Bandara (right click to download audio file)
For absolute beginners you can get started with
Basic Indonesian - Lesson 1
I discuss in detail how to learn a foreign language quickly, easily and enjoyably so for anyone interested in suggestions for how to learn a foreign language effectively this is also a very useful page to visit.
For intermediate and advanced Indonesian learners, there are some audio files below that you can listen to.
As I indicated earlier, our aim is to have the best online language program anywhere; and not just for learning Indonesian, but also other languages including Russian, Japanese, French, and Spanish to start with. To be sure, that's a BIG ambition, but we're convinced we can do it and convinced that we're on the right track.
To accomplish this for several languages is obviously a very big project and we'll need help completing it, so if you're interested in joining our team please send me an email. We're open to all new ideas, so any you may have would be most appreciated.
To give everyone a reference of what's currently out there, we've made a comparison of various programs, including Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone and others so you can see for yourself what is included with these programs and then decide for yourself how you want to learn your new language.
There are also many, many sites for learning languages online, and we've highlighted some to save you the time and effort of going to each one individually.
Ideally, we'd like to allow you to learn Indonesian online without a teacher; accomplish that within a few months, and when you arrive in Indonesia you can comfortably talk with anyone. Yes, it is possible, but practically speaking, a teacher will greatly improve your speed of learning. If you'd like a teacher to help you one-on-one, online, or in person if you're already living in Indonesia, please contact us and we'll set you up.
I just started this particular site recently so it will be growing steadily. You can visit our sister site at Bintang Bahasa and, if you have any questions or would like some more downloadable material, just drop me an email.
Hope you enjoy using the audio files below and good luck learning Indonesian online.
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Apa ini? (What's this?)
Apa?
Ini.
Itu buku. (That's a book.)
Buku siapa? [Book who?]
Buku saya. (My book.)
Buku kamu? (Your book?)
Iya, buku saya.
…
Ini buku kamu juga?
Iya, itu buku saya.
Dan ini?
Iya, itu buku saya juga.
…
Ini apa?
Apa?
Ini.
Itu majalah.
Majalah siapa?
Majalah saya.
Majalah kamu?
Iya, majalah saya.
…
Dan ini?
Itu majalah saya juga.
…
(looking at a photo)
Ini siapa? (Who's this?)
Mana? (Where?)
Ini.
Itu anak saya.
Namanya siapa?
Rayhan.
Umurnya berapa?
(How old is he?)
Delapan. (8)
Tinggal di mana dia?
(Where does he live?)
Sama ibunya.
(With his mom.)
…
Ini apa?
Koran.
And so on..
Each individual student can progress at whatever speed they're comfortable with.
Another important factor is to trust the method and trust yourself. Just 'let it happen' and you will learn very quickly.
selamat pagi
(good morning)
selamat siang
selamat sore
selamat malam
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Here's a list of words to get you going, and remember, don't waste time and effort trying to memorize words. Glance over the list quickly and let your intuitive learning ability take control.
apa
siapa
mana
kenapa
bagaimana
berapa
juga
saya
kamu
dia
mereka
buku
majalah
koran
pulpen
pensil
meja
kursi
suami
istri
anak
kakak
adik
ayah
ibu
bapak
ibu
teman
nama
umur
dari
ke
di
sama
tinggal
kerja
main
baca
mau
makan
minum
tidur
jam
waktu
jam berapa
sekarang
nanti
tadi
hari ini
kemaren
besok
pagi
siang
sore
malam
hai
halo
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what
who
where
why
how
how many
also, too
I, me, my
you, your
he/she
they
book
magazine
newspaper
pen
pencil
table
chair
husband
wife
child
older br/sis
younger br/s
dad
mom
mister
ma'am
friend
name
age
from
to
in, at, on
same; with
live, stay
work
play
read
want
eat
drink
sleep
time, hour
time
what time
now
later
earlier
today
yesterday
tomorrow
morning
mid-day
afternoon
night
hi
hello
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