Basic Indonesian and Anecdotes - Book One: Book One, #1

By Maria Uran

This book contains some short stories from the author's experiences in teaching Indonesian to middle school students in Northern Territory, Australia. There are basic level Indonesian language vocabulary and sentences which are presented in this book with simple exercises and solutions. Originally, this book was written as a gift for students who graduated in 2017 but can be extended also to the general public who are interested in Indonesian language and culture or in education generally.

This book is not only limited to people who want to learn the Indonesian language but also for others who want to know the experience of teaching Indonesian language and culture to teenagers, how they behave and interact in acquire this knowledge. Also, this book can be beneficial for anyone who wants to see an authentic glimpse of another culture through a native speaker's teaching experience in Australia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maria Uran
• Release date: Oct 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386795513

Maria Uran

Maria Uran is a teacher at a local middle school in Darwin, Northern Territory since 2011. On a sparse time, she helps other people particularly Indonesian people to understand Australian Legal system on a pro bono basis. Prior to that, she was working briefly as a Barrister/Solicitor in the Northern Territory. She was born in small town in Lewoleba – Lembata, which is a small island next to East Flores. It is located in Nusa Tenggara Timor (NTT) [ East Nusa Tenggara Province] at 18 December 1979. She is the youngest of the family of nine children.  She is also a mother of two lovely children, Claudia and Edward. Education: Sekolah Dasar Katolik I Lewoleba – Lembata, NTT Indonesia1987 - 1993 (Primary School) SMP St. Pius X, Lewoleba- Lembata, NTT Indonesia, 1993 - 1995 (Middle School) SMAN I Nubatukan, Lewoleba –Lembata, NTT Indonesia 1995 - 1998 (High School) Bachelor of Business of Northern Territory University, Australia 2003 Bachelor of Laws – Charles Darwin University, Australia 2005 Master of Laws in Legal Practice – Australian National University, Australia 2006 Graduate Diploma of Teaching and Learning – Charles Darwin University, Australia 2011 Bachelor of Applied Science – Charles Darwin University, Australia 2014

Book preview

title-page

The image of the cover page is the traditional clothes from my island home, Lembata, Indonesia.

Location: Uran’s Prayer Garden II—Waijarang, Lembata—Indonesia.

This work is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no party may be reproduced by any process, nor may any other exclusive right be exercised, without the permission of the author.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: Learning Indonesian

Chapter 2: Alphabet and phonetics

Chapter 3: Greetings (Salam)

Chapter 4: Countries (Negara-Negara)

Chapter 5: Numbers (Angka–angka)

Appendix

Biography

Introduction

This small book is dedicated to all my Indonesian students at middle school. This is Book One, which only consists of some topics that will remind them of our time and experiences together in their alma mater; all the joys, sadness, happiness, stresses, frustrations and tolerance for the past three years of their school life. Countless lessons on good behaviour, consequences for breaking the class rules, such as essay writing about why they should not do what they did, and all the apologies that they have to make in Indonesian for offending or hurting others in their classes.

Those times and memories are always played over in my mind and I will treasure them for the rest of my life. It makes me realise that I am in the right profession since the job is very rewarding and satisfying. I have no regrets and am always thankful for each moment of my life and the role that I played in my students’ lives and their influences in my life.

I always considered my students as my own children, who not only need education but also guidance in the right direction. I know that they will be great individuals one day and will have bright futures, and I want to be part of their life journeys. I don’t want to stop influencing their lives when they graduate from their middle school. Although I know that they will treasure the memories that we have had in their life, I also want to be there for them and to remember them and our times together. They can always refer to the stories whenever they remember me or their time in middle school. I usually joke to my students, I will be expecting a weak cappuccino from you, when you become a successful individual. Please do not forget me.

Although the book was intended originally for my former students, it can be used by anyone that wishes to see the life of a middle school and how the students behave. Also it can be used if you wish to learn Indonesian language and culture from a native speaker.

Chapter 1: Learning Indonesian

Learning language requires dedication and effort. As I always mention to my students, language is repetition. If you repeat the vocabulary that you learn, you will remember it better. As we say, practice makes perfect. The more you practice, the better you are at it. The same thing with language learning, the more we reuse the words that we learn, the quicker we will be able to memorise those words.

Vocabulary

Building up vocabulary is important when learning a second language. It is like when we prepare for a feast. We need to have all the ingredients for cooking to create a variety of dishes for all our guests such as meat, rice, fish, noodles, bread, vegetables, sauces and spices. Without those ingredients, we are unable to cook. It is the same with vocabulary, without it we cannot create sentences.

The larger our vocabulary is, the better is our knowledge of a language. I usually gave my students twenty new words each week