With its 200 million speakers, Indonesian is the sixth most prevalently spoken of the world s languages. The relatively simple syntactic and grammatical structures that characterize Indonesian make it an accessible language for native speakers of English. The elementary course comprises a two-term sequence designed to provide the student with a basic working knowledge of the Indonesian language. The class emphasizes aural-oral exercises and practice and the learning of culture throughout the course. The text used is keyed to a set of tapes for use in the language lab and concentrates on practical knowledge of the language.
Evaluation is based on classroom performance, homework assignments, tests, and a final project.
Although increasing emphasis is given to the development of reading and writing skills, listening and speaking constitute an integral part of the course which is conducted entirely in Indonesian. Vocabulary building and instruction in matters of cross-cultural sensitivity are of great importance. The primary text used is keyed to a set of tapes for use in the language lab and concentrates on practical knowledge of the language. Supplementary materials introduce the student to reading modern Indonesian literature. Evaluation is based on classroom performance, homework assignments, tests, and a final project.