Indonesian

INDONESIAN BEGINNERS (BDC)

HSC 2 UNIT CATEGORY A HSC and ATAR

Course Description

This course provides students with the opportunity to develop their linguistic and intercultural knowledge and understanding, and the speaking, listening, reading and writing skills to communicate in Indonesian. Topics covered provide contexts in which students develop their communication skills in Indonesian and their knowledge and understanding of language and culture.

Since Indonesia is Australia’s nearest Asian neighbour, the close relations between the two countries make the study of Indonesian a highly relevant choice. Students will develop linguistic ability and gain intercultural understanding through the study of Indonesian.

For whom is this subject intended

The Indonesian Beginners Stage 6 course is a two-year course, which has been designed for students who wish to begin their study of Indonesian at senior secondary level. It is intended to cater only for students with no prior knowledge or experience of the Indonesian language, either spoken or written, or whose experience is derived solely from, or is equivalent to, its study for 100 hours or less in Stage 4 or Stage 5.

The language skills and intercultural understanding gained in this course, in combination with other professional skills, will assist students in taking an active part in the development of a productive relationship between Australia and Indonesia. This is in keeping with the changing focus on economic activity in the Asia-Pacific basin. The ability to communicate fluently in Indonesian will assist Australians to assume a much more active role in the spheres of trade, business, defence, diplomacy, immigration, education, tourism, engineering, science, journalism and law.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has recommended that:

“… to effectively participate in a globalised world there should be the compulsory learning of a foreign language from 7 years of age or earlier”

- Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry ACCI Skills for a Nation: A Blueprint for Improving Education and Training 2007-2019

Main Topics Covered

The prescribed topics should be studied from two interdependent perspectives:

· the personal world

· the Indonesian-speaking communities.

The two perspectives will enable students to develop knowledge and understanding of and skills in the Indonesian language, linked to cultural values, attitudes and practices.

The perspective, the personal world, will enable students to use Indonesian to express and share ideas about experiences and activities relating to daily life and transactions in their own world.

The perspective, the Indonesian-speaking communities, will enable students to inquire about and to express ideas in order to undertake activities and transactions appropriately in one or more communities where Indonesian is spoken.

Particular Course Requirements

Students’ language skills are developed through tasks such as:

• Conversation

• Studying Indonesian through reading and responding to a range of spoken and written texts, including songs, radio announcements, advertisements, news reports etc

• Writing for a variety of purposes

• Studying Indonesian culture through texts