So, you want to come to Indonesian for vacation or even long-term resident. Indonesia is a country rich in cultural diversity including the language. If this is the first time you come to the country you have to at least understand the culture and importantly the language.
Coming to a country when you have no understanding about the language is definitely unadvisable. Even though lots of Indonesians speak conversational English, but learning Bahasa Indonesian will give you major advantage. Indonesians really appreciate the effort you put for learning the language. Also, learning Indonesian while you are in Indonesia brings you many benefits in building professional as well as personal relationship with the people.
There are different dialects spoken throughout the archipelago, but the national language is also widely used in daily activity. Here are some easy ways to learn Bahasa Indonesia for beginner.
1. Start with pronunciation and grammar
The first important step to learn Bahasa Indonesia is to learn the correct pronunciation. Compared to English, pronunciation in Bahasa Indonesia is very easy because you spell the words exactly the same as you write. Bahasa Indonesia also uses the same Latin alphabets similar to English. If you have understood Spanish, there should be no real problem to encounter because there are similarities in pronunciation and also sentence order.
The next topic that you should learn in the first place is Indonesian grammar. In general, bahasa Indonesia does not have complex grammatical rules such as verb gender, changes, and other attributes. However, the language uses affixes to create words and it is quite different from English. We have bunch collection of articles on this one, please do check our latest article about Indonesian pronunciation guide, Indonesian grammar exercise, and Indonesian affixes.
2. Sign up for online courses
Still in the internet, you can literary get everything just by surfing the net including learning Bahasa Indonesia. There some online courses specifically teach in Bahasa Indonesia to sign up for. You can join the free version but as the name suggest, the materials are limited in this version.
If it is possible, you can join the paid version of online courses for premium access. Online courses is a good step to learn Bahasa Indonesia as it provides audio lesson, writing prompt, reading lesson, vocabulary bank, and even exam simulation. Also learn Indonesian Guide to Indonesian Grammar.
3. Read and write a lot
One important step when learning a language is you should read a lot of reading material. Reading helps improve your vocabulary comprehension. There will be new vocabulary to learn when you read Indonesian text. You can read newspaper, magazine, Indonesian books, or even articles in the internet.
Every time you read Indonesian text, try to memorize new words as well as find the meaning on dictionary. Besides reading, writing is also important as it is a way to prove that you have understand Indonesian grammar and able to compose sentences.Â
4. Tune in Indonesian radio, television, and YouTube channel
The next step to hone your skill in Bahasa Indonesia is to listen. You can tune in Indonesian radio, television, movies, and also song to help you speak the language better. There are many Indonesian movies which includes subtitles to learn the informal language.
YouTube channel is also a great platform to find listening material related to Bahasa Indonesia. There are also some channels providing tutorial to learn the language. That;s one of the easy ways to learn Bahasa Indonesia for beginner.
5. Do not shy to speak up
Learning a language is a matter of speaking up. No matter how good your comprehension of grammar or how fluent your pronunciation, if you are too shy to speak, no one will understand. The key for speaking Indonesian fluently is to be brave to speak up. Do speak in Indonesian when you are in public places or speaking with fellow expats. You can also create study group consists of fellow expats to learn the language together.Â
6. Join Indonesian class
After you learn Bahasa Indonesia on your own but still encounter problems, the best way is to join Indonesian class. Choose Indonesian lesson with qualified teacher for better classroom environment. Also, learning in classroom gives you more chances to speak in Bahasa with fellow students and get better learning material as well.
It may be not cheap, but it surely worth the experience that you get. It will be better if you can find Indonesian class in your country, so, you are already comprehend the language when arrive in the country.Also learn strategies to learn Indonesian through English.
7. Keep In Touch With Us
Thus, the easy ways to learn Bahasa Indonesia for beginner is by scrolling down our materials as your guide book.
One thing to remember when learning Indonesian language is to make sure that you practice a lot. Practice makes perfect, so, make sure to read and listen a lot and do not be shy to speak up. Selamat Belajar Bahasa Indonesia! (Happy Learning Indonesian!)