ACICIS was very pleased to welcome 28 students from 7 Australian universities for the winter iteration of the ACICIS’ Indonesian Language Short Course (ILSC). The session was held from 1-21 July 2023. Among the 28 students, 23 students were supported by New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant and three students were supported by New Colombo Plan Scholarship Program. Supported by the Yogyakarta Program Assistant, Arifiana Wardhani (Tata), Yogyakarta Program Manager, Sinta Padmi, ACICIS Resident Director, Dr. Adrian Budiman, and ACICIS Program Assistant Dhira Rozaandiar, the students spent three weeks undertaking the Indonesian Language classes intensively in person. To deliver this program, ACICIS partnered with the Language Training Centre (LTC) of Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana (UKSW) in Salatiga as the host university.
On the 1st and 2nd of July, students attended the program orientation. During the orientation, students received information from the LTC UKSW about the academic and language class programs. Students were also provided with materials related to Indonesian culture, health, safety, and academic issues by ACICIS. Our ILSC participants also had a chance to meet with the student buddies from UKSW at the welcome dinner. Students started their Bahasa Indonesia class the next day after the orientation days. At the end of the first week, students also attended a seminar about the marriage traditions in Central Java and had a fun session during the UKSW & Salatiga Amazing Race.
Aside from the regular intensive language classes, optional extracurricular classes were also available for the students to take, such as Pencak Silat, Batik, and Gamelan. Those classes can help the students understand deeper and immerse themselves better in Indonesian culture. To further the immersion of the students to Indonesian culture, the ILSC also provides students with cultural exposure sessions on the 10th and 12th of July 2023. These have allowed students to learn Indonesian traditional songs and the national anthem. Since the main theme of the cultural exposure program was Indonesian traditional musical instruments, the students also had the opportunity to learn how to play various Indonesian traditional musical instruments, such as angklung, kendang, and jimbe.
In the middle of the program, ACICIS held a checkpoint meeting to update students on academic, health, and pastoral care matters, as well as to get feedback from the students on the program so that we knew what we could improve to make the upcoming iterations more meaningful. By the end of the program, all of the students were required to take the final test, final presentation, and post-oral proficiency test. The final presentation was held in front of their classmates, UKSW faculty members, and ACICIS staff. The topic chosen were various depending on each student.
Following the final test, the entire program was officially closed on July 21, 2023. During the program closing, students had an opportunity to show off their skills in performing Indonesian traditional songs. Some students were singing two Indonesian songs while some others were playing angklung to accompany the songs. In the last session of the closing ceremony, we also enjoyed the speeches from student representatives who shared their personal experiences and program highlights.
It is a contentment to welcome all ILSC participants to this Winter 2023 Program. Thank you to all students for your hard work and dedication to the program! Looking forward to seeing you again in Indonesia soon. SAMPAI JUMPA dan SEMOGA SUKSES!