There are many ways to learn a foreign language - in this case learning Indonesian or Bahasa Indonesia. Like what has been revealed in foreign language literature, an effective and reliable way to learn a foreign language is by learning it directly from native Indonesians. Here are why and how.
Why? Indonesia has Thousand Vernaculars
If you want to visit Indonesia, let say for example for 1 or 2 months long, things you should make certain first is knowing what vernacular(s) is(are) mainly spoken in the city you will stay. Remember, that Indonesians do not mainly speak Indonesian or Bahasa Indonesia makes it difficult to maintain communication with the locals. Therefore, for the purpose of maintaining effective and practical communication, you should at least understand vernacular spoken in location you will stay.
Again, Indonesia has thousand vernaculars. Majority of Indonesians do not speak Indonesian or Bahasa Indonesia instead of their vernacular(s). In South Sulawesi, people speak Makassarese, Buginese, and Torajanese. In Bali, people speak Balinese, in Java, people speak Javanese. Furthermore, every vernacular exists in Indonesia has at least 3 styles - polite, less-polite, and impolite. In selecting what kind of language style one should utter, it mostly depends on “to whom you will be talking to”.
Your purpose determines your reality. If you want to visit Indonesia only for vacation, then understanding vernacular of community you will be in does not really matter. Knowing a little vocabulary and expressions are sifficient for you. But if your purpose is to stay for a long period of time - for learning or working for instances - then acquiring and learning the common style of the language is essential.
How? Online Resources
Most of online resources (online news portal, maganize, website, etc.) you can find on the internet apply formal Indonesian - the language style that you will never find anywhere in Indonesia except in formal situation. In fact, most of your time will not be spent in formal style, isn’t it?!
So far, Youtube becomes the most reliable learning resources among others as it can bring you visual and audio input. Foreign language literature states that the more senses are involved in learning, the more effective the learning will be. By learning through Youtube, you can at least have two sources of input - visual and audio. You can take advantages of this fact by regularly access Youtube to watch how Indonesian is spoken by native Indonesians.
Podcast can also be a great learning environment. It offers more flexible learning than Youtube. Instead of keeping your eyes focus on your device screen, podcast lets your device be on the table, in your bag or pocket while learning. However, podcast just provides audio input. But it is still great.
The next online resources you can apply is social media. It is very easy to find groups on Facebook that share anything about Indonesia including Bahasa Indonesia. You can join the groups and tell your intention to all the group members. Of course, as Indonesians are famous for their friendliness, they will respond your greetings there.
