Surya Dharma
Hi Sam,
Bisa menulis pesan Anda di forum ini dalam Bahasa Indonesia? Saya tertarik sekali baca apa yang Anda dapat dari kursus itu dalam 1 bulan.
salam!
balibule
Surya Dharma, it looks as if you have a hidden agenda here. Are you an employee of Cinta Bahasa or do you get referral commission? All your posts are publicity for Cinta Bahasa
Surya Dharma
Hi Balibule,
Thank you for your message, and I'm glad I got your reply by email so I could respond right away while I was still online. No, I am not an employee or get commissions, I don't think they would do that (maybe I should ask, he he). I'm an expat living in Ubud, for the past several years, and I guess I just got fed up with so many, pardon the derogatory expression, bules, can't speak Indonesian here.
I have some friends who have been here 30 years and still can't hold a 5 minute conversation with an Indonesian. And I don't mean ordering their staff to clean the toilet better or iron the clothes, I mean a real human-to-human conversation. All my expat friends who live in Java speak Indonesian, why not my expat friends in Bali?
So to go to a bar or somewhere and listen to someone spout off about how much they know about Bali because they've lived here so long blah blah, and then turn and insult the Balinese or Indonesian for their cultural ways which are different from ours, because they can't understand it because they can't speak Indonesian, this really **** me off.
It's not right, nor fun, for me to go around berating bules who can't speak Indonesian. My approach is to join forums like this and encourage expats to learn Indonesian. It's important, learn it properly with a good school, and don't let a lousy teacher turn you off from learning. I have a bunch of friends who learned privately or at the other place in Ubud who tell me they've given up because their teacher, well to put it kindly, wasn't good. So they've given up learning and stick with their 50-100 word vocabulary.
Cinta Bahasa is a formal school, with classrooms, and certifications. They get training from the ministry of Education and they train their teachers. They're serious about teaching foreigners to speak Indonesian in as short a time as possible. They aren't fooling around with anyone's time or money. A lot of people are looking for the cheapest way to learn a new language, but I know that learning Indonesian properly is worth the investment. It was painful for me, I had to study hard, but it was worth it.
I'm from Ubud so I know Cinta Bahasa. If there are any other good schools, why aren't their students saying something? And if they're good, can these people speak Indonesian, or did they just happen to find the teacher pleasant enough to spend hours and hours with them?
Rangi
balibule wroteSurya Dharma, it looks as if you have a hidden agenda here. Are you an employee of Cinta Bahasa or do you get referral commission? All your posts are publicity for Cinta Bahasa
I would say almost definitly has something to with the school. . Im not saying thats a bad thing coming on here and promoting something your involved with but they should at least be honest about it . . . I just find it hard to believe they are coming on here and posting all these posts in the different threads just because they are fed up with so many bules that cant speak indonesian. .
Celyna
I agree. :icon_lol: with balibule and Rangi. Too much effort has gone in searching and posting on all the Bahasa Indonesia threads.
gilbert de jong
10 years ago this was discussed in Jakarta (government)..."foreigners living in Indonesia should be able to communicate using bahasa Indonesia"
if I remember right the outcome was somewhat to this extend "if Indonesian people can't speak their own language, why should we demand this from foreigners"
#imho, it should be normal to speak the language of the country one resides in.
Surya Dharma
What I was saying did not only promote one school, it promoted all of them. I wrote about the importance of foreigners learning to speak Indonesian. I didn't say that people should only learn at the school I learned at, but recommended that they should learn at a good school with good professional teachers. I had friends who learned at a good school in Yogyakarta, and so when people would ask for a recommendation, I would recommend that school.
Instead of posting about whether or not I'm promoting one school over another, why not focus on the actual issue of whether or not foreigners should learn to speak Indonesian. In Ubud, I estimate 75% of expat residents cannot speak Indonesian. They want everything to be cheap, but they are unable to negotiate. They complain about this and that, but they are unable to explain what is important to them to their neighbor. Anyone who thinks this isn't an important issue should read "Fixed Abode" in the Bali Advertiser or the Bali Update to hear different voices on the issue.
Bali Update, July 2012:
Foreign Workers in Bali Accused of Having No Concern for Island’s Culture
Bisnis Bali quotes a member of the Badung regency House of Representatives
(DPRD-Badung), as calling on the Manpower Department (Disnakersos) to soon
gather the foreigners who work in the regency and enter into a dialogue
addressing their commitment to the island of Bali.
“The Manpower Department should urgently hold a gathering with foreign
workers in order to discuss what they expect and what is expected of
them,” said I Wayan Puspa Negara on Tuesday, July 17, 2012. Puspa Negara,
a member of Commission C of DPRD Badung, accused foreign workers in Badung
of only being concerned only with earning a living with little thought for
the local culture.
He said that foreigners leading companies in the region act arrogantly ..."
But lesson learned, I won't take 10 minutes to post across threads anymore. :fatigue:
pollyanna
Surya Dharma wroteHi Balibule,
I'm from Ubud so I know Cinta Bahasa. If there are any other good schools, why aren't their students saying something? And if they're good, can these people speak Indonesian, or did they just happen to find the teacher pleasant enough to spend hours and hours with them?
There is the library in Ubud. Their Bahasa Indonesia classes are well known. There is also Learning indonesian. Their phone number is 0819 9908 0044 and they are excellent. There are also others.
You have posted 20 times and each post is about the same school. I agree with Balibule. It sounds very much like a personal agenda. Even when I attend a school I don't have as much detailed information as you keep putting on this forum about that one place.
hermit
[QUOTE]
I have some friends who have been here 30 years and still can't hold a 5 minute conversation with an Indonesian. And I don't mean ordering their staff to clean the toilet better or iron the clothes, I mean a real human-to-human conversation. All my expat friends who live in Java speak Indonesian, why not my expat friends in Bali?[/QUOTE]
I fully agree.
Years ago i was a student at IALF and I can only say they are very professinal and after the first level course you can speak with everybody.It is a school with a very good curriculum,university trained teachers,labs,computer rooms and a very nice library.
I also attended lessons at the pondok Pekak library in Ubud,which was different as only two times a week and more informal,but also helped me.
The only problem with IALF is that after level 4 there are almost never people who want to learn more,so to get to a higher level you have to find another way.
One thing i have to remark:i live in a village where hardly anyone speaks english,which in principle should be good for your bahasa indonesia,but it quickly became clear many people in Bali do speak rudimentary bahasa indonesia,or mixed with balinese or bahasa gaul,youth language mixed with sms language.
And to answer your question,yes,i can speak bahasa indonesian.
hanzrobby
they try to do this in australia too but there are more and more people who don't speak much english at all
Berkley
interesting to see people who want to learn bahasa,
i think if your purpose is for work, it is not actually good, because the citizen is still explore and dont comprehend yet
Rangi
Berkley wrote
i think if your purpose is for work, it is not actually good
So in your opinion its not a good idea to learn the language of the country you intend on working in ? Give me a break.
Surya Dharma
Kalau tinggal di negara saya, Anda harus belajar bahasa saya. Kalau saya tinggal di negara Anda, saya harus belajar bahasa Anda. Mengerti, tidak?
If you live in my country, you must learn my language. If I life in your country, I must learn your language. Can you understand what I wrote in Indonesian, or not?
Se sederhana itu ... it's a simple as that.
I promote the Cinta Bahasa school in Ubud, Canggu and Sanur, I know people who have learned to speak very quickly with them.
Barekarma
Just a quick comment to Rangi, about Berkley's message. Berkley's message was, to me, confusing, but it may be that Berkley's primary langauange is not English. I also think that Surya has a good point, but Bahasa Indonsia is usually an Indonesian's second language. In Bali, which is better to learn? Bahasa Indonesia atau Bahasa Bali? I welcome the views of others.
Barekarma
Rangi
Bahasa Indonsia is the most useful of coarse , thats a simple answer
Surya Dharma
Nearly all Balinese speak bahasa Indonesia, so you should learn that first to a comfortably fluent level, then decide whether or not you need to learn bahasa Bali or another local language. If you ever get into trouble speaking Balinese, for example by unintentionally insulting someone by speaking common Balinese to some you should be speaking in high Balinese to, then you can always switch to bahasa Indonesia.
Barekarma
Hi Surya,
Thank you for the advice... and the warning about the difference in Balinese. I would not wish to offend anyone.
Barekarma
Markit
Sam that's fantastic news and let me be the first to congratulate you on your new language, life and love. Please stick around and share your successful experiences with others that are looking to imitate your happiness.
Might I ask what your business is and how you have fared with that and what sort of costs were necessary for the language courses?
Cheers Markit
samyuill
I see my post has been hijacked ha-ha
Hello all I have returned with some good news and feedback.
First - Saya bisa bicara bahasa Indonesian skg (75%) dan punya banyak terman di Bali.
I speak better than i listen or write and that works for me,, its been 2 years and the common lingo is well covered,, it just takes time with the ber's, men's ter's, kan's etc
I would say its a good idea to have a Balinese teacher and take some basic Balinese lingo on top of your Indonesian if you plan to live and stay on Bali.
Nah?
IALF has the best setup for learning Bahasa Indonesian.
Cinta is good as my x partner tried them out for a course but not on the same level. (not looking for forum bashing please)
IALF has the whole school environment nailed, cafe, library,, computer equipment on top of the standard paperwork from most others offering courses on Bali.
I would recommend IALF, it will keep you out of the tourist zones of seminyak, kuta etc while you focus on the lingo
Its been a few years now....
I live here, have a business here now and love Bali with a passion,,, takes 3-4 months to get used to the idea of avoiding kUTA and then you can have a great life here.
Respect the locals or you will suffer more than you know.
I found a beautiful girl from Nusa Penida and we just married this month,,, life is good,, family is great,, friends are amazing.
Proud to be here and hope to help all others around me, (local)
Surya Dharma
Thanks for your update, Sam, and congratulations! It's great to see you making the effort to learn Bahasa Indonesia.
I'm the co-founder of Cinta Bahasa, I'm Canadian.
We collaborate with IALF and participate in events together, so there's no criticism coming from me. We are different, IALF is greatly subsidized, they are older, their published rates are much higher than us and they teach formal Bahasa Indonesia. You will hear few people using mem- and ber- verbs and passive speech in the vast majority of situations. We start by teaching the polite and commonly spoken Indonesian first, then progress to formal speech later.
This is why the Australian Consulate in Bali has chosen to send their consul staff to us, as well the German Embassy in Jakarta and other official clients as well as residents of Bali.
We're different, that's all, not better our worse, and it's up to you to decide where and what you want to learn.
What's important is that we as expats make the effort to learn and your comments to that effect are right on the mark.
We're just coming up to three years old, and we now have 12 teachers in four locations in Bali and about 600 students per year. We publish every testimonial we have ever received on our website at
Cinta Bahasa Indonesian Language School - Ubud, Sanur, Kuta, Canggu, Lovina - Bali,.
