Introducing Indonesian Studies
Indonesian
is Important
About
the Indonesian Language
Indonesian
and Your Study Program
In-country
Program
Off-campus
Program
Course
Overview
Honours
Year and Graduate Study
Our
Approach to Indonesian Studies
Indonesian is important
Since the 1960s Australia has been an important centre for the study of Indonesian language and culture. Indonesian has been popular both in our primary and secondary schools, and at the tertiary level where t is one of the 'big three' Asian languages, together with Japanese and Chinese. So why do students choose to study Indonesian? Consider the following:
Strategic Importance
Indonesia is one of the largest and most diverse countries in the world. With over 220 million people and more than eighteen thousand islands linking the Pacific and Indian Oceans it is of great environmental, cultural, political, and economic interest to the countries in the Asia Pacific region.
In particular, neighbouring countries such as Malaysia , Singapore , the Philippines and Australia have a rich and complex relationship with Indonesia . This is reflected in a range of diplomatic and commercial agreements that call for cooperation in such diverse fields as tourism, trade, education, agriculture, science, security, and culture.
Communication
While industry and government agencies need to secure thousands of professionals to work across these diverse fields there has been a clear shortage of professionals with the appropriate communications skills in Indonesian. This means that it has often been left up to the Indonesians to acquire the linguistic and cultural knowledge required for an efficient workplace. However, there is an increasing awareness for a greater balance in this relationship and those professionals who do make the effort to learn Indonesian find they experience a much more efficient and rewarding work environment. There are also additional benefits of developing more general cross cultural and communication skills which can be transferred to other situations.
Personal Development
Ultimately language study can not just be about the work place, you need to personally engage with a new culture and understand more about your own. Language study therefore is also about the pure enjoyment and inspiration of entering another culture, journeying into someone else's world. You may explore Indonesia 's theatre, literature, music, and cinema or you might like to follow interests in politics and religion. All of these are possible through the tasks and projects you will be given in the language units or through the electives you choose to complete your major. There are also opportunities to design your own research at the upper levels or in our post graduate programs in order to go more deeply into what interests you.
About the Indonesian language
- Indonesian is the national language of Indonesia and can be used from one end of the country to the other
- It uses the same script as English; its spelling is regular making pronunciation relatively easy; it is not tonal.
- However, it is not easy (despite what you may have heard) - it has an interesting grammar, and a wide vocabulary It is a sophisticated, modern language, adapted for use in all aspects of life, including science and technology
- It is closely related to other Malay dialects used in Malaysia , Singapore , Timor Loro Sae, Brunei and Southern Thailand .
Indonesian and Your Study Program
While most students at Monash can study some language units as electives, students who wish to undertake more extensive study in Indonesian will need to consider which degree is the most suited for your personal goals and career path. The following list of courses is intended to provide some useful examples of relevant programs that allow you to undertake a minor or a full major in Indonesian:
Bachelor of Arts Caulfield, Clayton
Bachelor of Arts (Languages) - Clayton
Bachelor of Arts (Global studies) - Caulfield, Clayton
Bachelor of Arts (Journalism) - Caulfield
Note for some of these degrees you may need to combine an Arts minor with electives to make up your major in Indonesian.
If you wish to combine a degree in another faculty with language study it is recommended that you consider the Diploma of Languages (Indonesian). This diploma will give you a full major in Indonesian with considerable flexibility.In-Country Program
Our program works together with Gadjah Mada University 's Indonesian Studies Program in Yogyakarta to offer courses in Indonesian lasting six weeks during our summer, i.e. late December till early February. These are available for one year's credit, and are at four possible levels. This facility means that you can accelerate your progress through a degree, and the in-country experience is, of course, invaluable. All students should endeavour to study at least one unit through our In-Country Program.
Off-Campus Program
The Indonesian program is the only language program which is offered for off-campus study. It has been developed for people who are interested in developing their skills in language and culture but are unable to attend the standard pattern of on-campus lectures and tutorials. It allows you to incorporate study into your weekly work pattern or provides an alternative for on-campus students who have difficult timetabling problems.
An extensive range of support is offered for off-campus students including electronic and print materials delivered to your home, library access via the Internet and a postal loan service. Person to person assistance is offered through phone, Internet or on-campus consultations and via a weekend workshop each semester.
It is important to remember that you can move between modes as you progress through your degree or diploma. So it is possible to move from off-campus to on-campus or to study in-country. For further information see the Off-Campus page
Course Overview
At Monash we offer basically four levels (Beginners, Intermediate, Advanced and Indonesian for Special Purposes) in two streams. For the Beginners stream, you need have no previous knowledge of the language whatsoever we really begin from the beginning. Those who have VCE Indonesian (or equivalent) go straight to the Intermediate stream. Both streams can make up a "major", i.e. a sequence of three years. To complete the major, students also select from a number of options at third year level. Please read the Undergraduate Enrolment Information for more details.
Honours Year and Graduate Study
An Honours year (fourth year) in Indonesian is available. Please consult the School's Honours page for details.
M.A. or a Ph.D. Postgraduate theses can be undertaken in areas in keeping with the research interests of staff members. The usual prerequisite is an Honours degree or equivalent.
Our subjects in Indonesian language and studies are also offered with the M.A. in Asian Studies, administered by the Monash Asia Institute. In short, there are many challenging possibilities. For full details, please refer to the University's Undergraduate and Postgraduate handbooks.
Our Approach to Indonesian Studies
Finally, a few words about our approach or philosophy of Indonesian studies. We would like to think that we offer more than a language school. As well as teaching language, we encourage our students to enter the world of ideas, and to reflect on issues which affect the way in which language is used and functions in real-life situations; when human beings meet and communicate, they do this within a social and cultural context, with the result that an understanding of these is essential not an optional extra on top of the vocabulary, grammar, conversation and so on. With this in mind, we have "studies" components incorporated into the program at each level (alongside the subjects mentioned above), and take them just as seriously as the other components.
As with any other Asian language, students of Indonesian find themselves on the "cutting-edge" of culture-contact, and their contributions to understanding another society and culture are vitally important to the community as a whole. Our students can do more than just hold a conversation in fluent Indonesian they can make informed opinions on a range of issues, to the advantage of their chosen career.