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Advice for teachers -
Indonesian Second Language

Teaching and learning activities

Unit 4

Unit 4 – Area of Study 1: Interpersonal communication

Theme: The Indonesian-speaking communities
Topic: Cultural heritage
Sub topic: Modern and traditional arts – architecture

Outcome 1

Share information, ideas and opinions in a spoken exchange in Indonesian.

Examples of learning activities

  • Read a collection of news clippings about a famous site (for example, Borobudur temple or the Great Mosque of Medan) and listen to a tour guide introducing the site; then create a timeline of significant dates/events associated with the site.
  • Search travel sites for an Indonesian hotel or restaurant that features traditional architectural elements in its design. Find out more about the style of architecture; then write a blurb that the hotel could display in its guest rooms or add to its restaurant menu to attract the interest of guests.
  • Listen to an engineer talking about bamboo and summarise the information in a table showing the pros and cons of bamboo as a building material.
  • View images of places of worship from different parts of Indonesia. Identify similarities and differences and note local and foreign influences in design; then discuss your observations with your classmates.
  • Write an article for an Indonesian-speaking audience about the design of a building in your local area that has particular cultural significance (for example, the Bendigo Islamic Community Centre, Brambuk Cultural Centre or the Shrine of Remembrance).
  • Listen to a presentation about a traditional home in an Indonesian region and annotate a blank plan with the names and functions of rooms and outside areas.
  • Take a virtual tour of an architecturally significant tourist destination in Indonesia; then write a journal entry from the perspective of a tourist who has just visited the site.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Write the script of a conversation between a tour guide and a visitor who is interested in an Indonesian architectural style and its cultural significance.
  • Read and view information about traditional architecture making way for modern buildings in Indonesia, including the opinions of developers, architects, historians and local residents. Discuss the different opinions with your classmates and share your views on the strengths and weaknesses of the different arguments.
Example icon for advice for teachers 

Detailed example

The script conversation about a regional style of architecture in Indonesia

  1. View video footage showing the architecture of a particular region in Indonesia.
  2. Read an article about the ethnic group or groups associated with the region.
  3. Create a glossary of appropriate architectural terms to support this topic.
  4. Research the cultural significance of the architectural style.
  5. Identify buildings in the chosen region that exemplify the traditional architectural style.
  6. Discover if these are heritage buildings or modern interpretations and consider why this might be significant.
  7. Create a montage of images to illustrate the architectural style and its connection to local culture(s).
  8. Listen to local people talking about traditional and modern buildings. Note their reactions and grade them as positive, negative or neutral. Note also examples of language used to describe the buildings.
  9. Review useful vocabulary and structures for asking questions and exchanging information in a culturally appropriate manner.
  10. Prepare a draft script of a conversation about the style of architecture you have studied.

Unit 4 – Area of Study 2: Interpretative communication

Theme: The Indonesian-speaking communities
Topic: Cultural heritage
Sub topic: Folklore

Outcome 2

Analyse information from written, spoken and viewed texts for use in a written response in Indonesian.

Examples of learning activities

  • Study a map of Indonesia and identify the regions, their geographical situation and features.
  • Individually or in pairs, choose a region. Read about it and list particularities of the region; for example, languages spoken, unique customs, dominant religion, significant historical events, notable geographical features. Prepare a poster or illustrated booklet outlining key characteristics of that region.
  • Read an origin myth or legend from the region and identify the natural or social features of the region that it describes. Compare your chosen story with one from a different region that a classmate has studied.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Deliver a three-minute speech about your chosen myth or legend. Summarise the story and explain its purpose. Respond to questions from the class and to their comments about the presentation in terms of content and language used.
  • View a series of illustrations that depict key scenes in an origin myth or legend and write captions.
  • Watch a video of an excerpt of a Kancil fable wayang performance. Make note of your reactions. Listen to a retelling of the same fable from a children’s storybook and create a mind map to record characters, setting and plot. Watch the video again and review your notes. Discuss with classmates whether or not prior knowledge of the story enhanced your enjoyment of the performance.
  • Create a resource-bank of text-type features and relevant vocabulary and sentence structure for writing a children’s story.
  • Write a formal letter to the director of an arts organisation in Indonesia to apply for a creative residency in which you propose to study local folklore; then share it with a wider audience as a writer, film-maker or performer.
Example icon for advice for teachers 

Detailed example

A three-minute speech on a chosen myth or legend

  1. Choose a myth or legend to read and create a glossary of key words and structures.
  2. Answer a series of comprehension questions about the myth or legend.
  3. Write a brief summary of the myth or legend outlining its main characters, setting and cultural, geographical or historical aspects.
  4. Create a list of questions that you anticipate could be asked by your classmates and draft short responses.
  5. Draft the speech, including a summary of the myth or legend and its meaning. Practise delivering it, paying attention to pronunciation and intonation.

Unit 4 – Area of Study 3: Presentational communication

Theme: The world around us
Topic: Environmental issues
Sub topic: Pollution

Outcome 3

Present information, concepts and ideas in evaluative or persuasive writing on an issue in Indonesian.

Examples of learning activities

  • Search online for videos with the key phrase ‘peduli lingkungan’. Watch several clips that have been recently uploaded to get a sense of current environmental concerns in Indonesia. Discuss your findings.
  • Listen to interviews with participants at an environment conference and note the key issues raised.
  • View a documentary about forest clearing in Indonesia and discuss reasons for doing this, who is involved, and the social and environmental impacts as presented in the documentary.
  • Compare statistical data about land, sea and air pollution in Indonesia and in Australia before writing a 150-word summary of the similarities and differences.
  • In pairs, choose a major pollution issue in Indonesia and discuss the steps that have been taken or that might be taken to tackle the problem.
  • Example icon for advice for teachers
    Study listening and reading texts in order to answer a series of questions about pollution in Indonesia, in Australia and as a global issue.
  • Research an initiative or innovation aimed at reducing a form of pollution in Indonesia. Write a 300-word evaluative report about it for a funding body. Alternatively, write a 300-word persuasive text for a crowdfunding campaign website for a project that aims to tackle pollution in Indonesia.
Example icon for advice for teachers 

Detailed example

Responses to questions based on listening and reading texts about pollution in Indonesia, in Australia and as a global issue

  1. Visit the website of an Indonesian environmental organisation. Browse the homepage and other main pages to get a sense of the organisation’s work and to compile a list of vocabulary, expressions and grammar relevant to the topic.
  2. In a class discussion, comment on comprehension exercises previously completed. Analyse the texts, questions and required answers for general clues and/or specific ideas for how to study for reading and responding tasks.
  3. Read and annotate an article for homework. Discuss in class how each class member tackles reading comprehension. For example: Do you read it through once to get the gist? Do you read it and highlight unknown words? Do you look up every word in a dictionary? Do you translate the whole text? When do you read the questions? Do you read them first and then only look for clues to them in the text? Which of these would work best when there is a time limit?
  4. Do the same with a listening text. Discuss how different class members take notes while listening. For example: Do you try to write every word? Do you write how some words sound so you can look for them in a dictionary later? Do you just listen and take no notes the first time you hear the text and then write some notes the second time?
  5. Create a class poster with everyone’s comments about how they read and listen most effectively.
  6. Listen to or read advice given by a former student about successful reading/listening techniques.
  7. Re-answer a previous comprehension exercise to practise successful responses.
  8. Complete a practice task individually and in the next lesson discuss the answers as a group. Correct your own work and note areas that need attention.