As busy professionals, adding “learning a new language” to our plate may seem like a daunting task. But what if, if you can make your learning process fun and easy? Many people straight away associate and deem language learning as hard. Guess what, it’s because they don’t know how to make their learning fun and easy.
In this article we will give you tips on how to make your language learning easier and smoother as compared to what you think it should be – especially when it comes to learning Indonesian.
Start with your hobbies!
What are your hobbies? List a few and think of ways to integrate language learning as part of what you love doing. Do you like reading? Great. What’s your favorite book? Then look for that book’s version in Indonesian. Have one in your native language if necessary. Go through pages by comparing on your native language and the Indonesian version.
Do you love cooking? Great. Watch cooking videos in Bahasa Indonesia. Not necessarily learning how to cook Indonesian food, just cooking videos in Indonesian language. You’ll be surprised at how quick you’ll learn those cooking terms and ingredients in no time.
Do you love playing games? That’s fantastic. Form a pact with Indonesians. In the group chat you’ll learn Indonesian slangs and even, Indonesian text abbreviations. Such a practical skill you’ll get to learn!
How about watching movies? Well, there are some great Indonesian movies we highly recommend for Indonesian language learners. Check them out here.
Make use of your daily commute time.
Listening to Indonesian music is one way to do this. Use Youtube or Spotify to browse through Indonesian pop songs, make a playlist of songs that you like. You don’t have to necessarily know what they mean, in the beginning. Just make a playlist first. If you are driving, you can listen to those Indonesian songs on your way to work and from home to work. Slowly you’ll begin to try to make out the words in those songs. And because it’s songs that you find catchy, you’ll be motivated to learn what those words and expressions mean in the songs.
If you are not driving to work, downloading an Indonesian learning app could be an option! Learn 3 words a day, what they mean and how to pronounce them. You can even utilize your social media, a ka, your Instagram, to learn Indonesian vocabulary words from our Instagram account: www.instagram.com/thinkbahasa .
Do you own an iPod or iTunes? That’s also wonderful. Listen to Indonesian audio book collections. Make use of your time when you’re doing mundane things such as laundry and other house works, and even when you’re exercising. Get the most out of your time. Spice up your approach in learning Indonesian in your downtime. Slowly but surely.
Travel to Indonesia.
Granted. For many people, when they think of Indonesia, they’d think of Bali. Can’t blame them, considering that there are many movies being shot in the beautiful island, such as: Eat Pray Love, Alex Cross, and Toute la Beauté du Monde.
Plan your time off from work, and as you’re looking forward to your time to unwind and switch off, traveling to Indonesia will allow you to be exposed to Indonesian beautiful language and culture.
While in Indonesia you can ask your driver / hotel staff to teach you a few phrases and expressions everyday. The key word here is everyday. Make sure to use those phrases and expressions at any chance you have. Repetition is the key. Not only those phrases will stick better in your memory, you will also get to create meaningful interactions with the locals you meet. Wouldn’t it be a wonderful way to experience Bali in its truest sense?
Learn Indonesian together with your friends or kids.
Having a company will make your learning journey more exciting. Learning Indonesian together with your friend will already set you up in a conducive learning environment. You’ll get to challenge each other, you’ll also get to revise and practice together.
Learning with your kids also works the same way. Common misconception is that you need to be fluent in Indonesian to teach your kids Indonesian. That’s not true. You and your kids can learn Indonesian together. Your quality time watching movies together, for example, can be used as a fun activity to learn. There are many learning Indonesian resources out there that are suitable and fun for kids. Watch those learning videos together. You can also engage your kids in a fun Bahasa Indonesia games using flash cards, for example.
Widen your network.
Join the Indonesian community in your city. If you live in big cities, such as Singapore, Berlin, Amsterdam, it’s very easy for you to find Indonesian community. So why not take advantage of it? Not only you’ll get to make new friends, you will also get to practice your Indonesian, and may be even learn a few new words. This approach is great if you are the type of person who likes and is comfortable to be around new people.
For the introverts, you have the option to join the online community. For learning and practicing your Indonesian, we recommend you to check out: Tandem or Hellotalk. Either chat website allows you to have 1-1 private chat with other people. You can find Indonesians living abroad in other countries too. Please use with cautions, because after all it’s an online space. Another option is Mylanguageexchange.com. Just a little tips when using Mylanguageexchange.com : be patient. Send messages to several people before one replied. It is a good, safe way to make contact with people since you don’t have to share your email address or other contact information. Purely just for language practice.
Please do not look for professional Indonesian language teacher in any of these forums, because though this language chat allows you to connect with Indonesians, but there’s no way for you to 100% verify that the person’s identity and qualification. We only advise you to use this platform to practice your Indonesians only, not to share any of your personal information, and any other things.
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Last words…
Now don’t you see that there are SO many ways for you to integrate your language learning into your daily life and having fun while doing it? If you have been successful in your attempt to learn Indonesian with fun and ease, please share your tips and approaches in the comments section below. Help other fellow Indonesian language learners! We’d love to hear from you.
