Fluent Indonesian in 3 months in Australia

Image by Nicolas Raymond

Since 2010, I have been 'studying' Indonesian and have gotten A's on my reports, assignments and tests. But I still can't speak it fluently. Around August 2012, I started 'learning' Indonesian; speaking it on Skype, learning vocabulary on Memrise1 and other resources outside of the classroom. 

For the last couple of years, I have been reading Benny Lewis' blog 'Fluent in 3 months'2 and learnt some key points about languages such as:

• 'Fluent in 3 Months' is not a guarantee, but a challenge.
• You are more likely to succeed in the challenge if you tell a large number of people about it. (I did announce on FaceBook that my new year's resolution is to be fluent in Indonesian)
• Your target language should be part of your daily schedule. (I am working out how to balance assignments with learning Indonesian)
• You learn more from speaking that writing. (Indonesian uses a phonetic Latin alphabet, so each word is written how you speak it)
• Whether you were good at languages at school or not is irrelevant: your commitment is. (I did have the advantage of very enthusiastic teachers who focused on speaking) 
• You don't need to be in the country to become fluent. (He learnt Egyptian Arabic in Brazil)
• All languages are hard, with the exception of Esperanto for some people. 

Image by zsoolt

Currently, my Indonesian level is A2 (way-stage or elementary) on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages3. 

I can have a pretty good basic conversation in Indonesian with a few Indonesian-ised English words for when I don't know a word. I have held conversations only in Indonesian for about 15 - 20 minutes then swapping for English. 

Officially this means I can:

• Understand sentences and frequently used expressions relating to areas of immediate relevance. This includes: basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography and employment.

• Communicate in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters.

• Describe in simple terms aspects of my background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need.

By 31st of December 2013, I want to have at least a B2 level of Indonesian in Australia. 

This means I can:

• Understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in my field of specialisation.

• Interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers possible without straining for either speaker.

Image praline3001

• Produce clear and detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options. 

My personal Indonesian goals include:

• Knowing at least 2000 Indonesian words.
• Having an Indonesian or specifically a Javanese accent when I speak Indonesian.
• Having native Indonesian speakers ask me "how long you lived in Indonesia?" or "what city/island in Indonesia are you from?". 

I chose this level because from B2 is the lowest level that is described as fluency. Benny Lewis has a B2 level in a couple of languages and had very little communication issues while travelling in the country it is spoken in. 

If manageable, I will try to aim for a C1 level of Indonesian which means I can:

• Understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts and recognise implicit meaning.

• Express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions.

• Use Indonesian flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.

• Produce clear well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices.

The reasons why I am want to have at least a B2 level or a C1 (if manageable) by 31st of December 2013 include:

• The fact that I am annoyed at myself on how low level in Indonesian I have achieved after 3 years.

• My Indonesian class will become revision rather than a lesson, which results in higher marks.

• I want to learn another languages next year, probably Hindi. (Indonesian shares many words with Hindi and other Indian languages. I also like the sound of Hindi :). ) 

Image by Heather Paul

• Having a specific 'due date' for a language will motivate me to become fluent sooner than wanting to become fluent 'someday'.

I will announce that I did have quite a 'head-start' with already knowing about 300-400 Indonesian words and already having Indonesian language-exchange partners on Skype. During this challenge, I will be immersing myself in Indonesian online as well as learning vocabulary and speaking on Skype. 

Thanks for reading my challenge. :)

Resources:

1. Memrise, received 1st of October, 2013. http://www.memrise.com

2. Fluent In 3 Months, Benny Lewis. http://www.fluentin3months.com

3. Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages