The Indonesian Embassy in Canberra and UPI hold a BIPA teaching workshop for Australian teachers

TIME.CO, Jakarta – The Office of the Educational and Cultural Attache (Atdikbud) of the Indonesian Embassy (KBRI) Canberra in collaboration with the Faculty of Language and Literature Education (FPBS) of the Indonesian University of Education (UPI) held Indonesian language learning workshops for foreign speakers (BIPA).

This activity, which will take place over two days on 27-28 October 2023, involves the Australian Capital Territory Indonesian Language Center (BBI-ACT) and the Modern Language Teacher Association (MLTA) Canberra.
The workshop took place in Balai Kartini at the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra with the theme “Wisdom-based Local Education in Indonesian for Foreign Students”.

This issue was raised considering that integrating local wisdom into BIPA learning is very important to help students better understand Indonesian culture. Besides that, integrating local wisdom can also help increase students’ interest in learning Indonesian and enrich their learning experience.

The activity was attended by 35 Indonesian language teachers who generally teach in Canberra schools. Opening the event, Atdikbud Najib expressed his commitment to helping Australian teachers increase their skills in learning Indonesian. According to Najib, Indonesian language teachers currently play a very important role in Australia.

“Teachers are a bridge between cultures and can strengthen relations between Indonesia and Australia. This is why we continue to try to support teachers so that they can perform their tasks optimally,” he said in a press release received by Tempo on Sunday 29 October 2023. .

Najib said he was ready to send Indonesian language teaching assistants to help teachers teach and promote Indonesian in schools. This workshop is also part of the community service activities of the UPI FPBS.

According to UPI FPBS Dean Tri Indri Hardini, community service (PkM) abroad has become UPI’s commitment, especially in helping the internationalization of Indonesian language and culture. According to him, Australia is very close and UPI is ready to help strengthen the promotion of Indonesian language and culture in Australia.

Meanwhile, in her material, Yulianeta, a lecturer at UPI FPBS, said that in BIPA learning it is important to pay attention to the characteristics of foreign students, such as their ignorance of Indonesian culture and grammar. This, she said, can avoid language errors.

Announcement

The workshop on teaching Indonesian to foreign students based on local wisdom was held with the aim of deepening knowledge of Indonesian language and culture and strengthening the teaching skills of BIPA teachers in Australia.

One of the teachers at Burgmann Anglican School, Naomi, admitted that she was happy to be able to take part in this activity. “You can find new and interesting things to apply to learning in school,” she said.

Meanwhile, Richard, a teacher at Trinity Christian School, admitted that he is interested in the BIPA learning method with a local wisdom approach. Steven, a teacher at Gold Greek School, also said the same thing. Steven admitted that he benefited greatly from the two-day workshop.

A traditional Riau dance “Mak Inang Pulaiu Kampai” was also performed in the series of workshop activities. This regional dance performed by Jakarta State University (UNJ) student Marsyanda Sandy managed to amaze the participants with the beauty of its movements and traditional music.

The parade of traditional clothing of the Kenyah Dayak tribe, East Kalimantan, presented by UNJ student, Tsamratul Aisyah, was also a highlight, showcasing local wisdom and the richness of Indonesian cultural heritage.

Not only that, the regional songs “Apuse” from Papua and “Kicir-Kicir” from Jakarta sung by UNJ student Gloria Angelin Damamain enthusiastically decorated BIPA’s training activities based on local wisdom. Participants from different regions of Australia enthusiastically welcomed this show and also participated in singing and dancing together.

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