Massachusetts, 4/18/2020—COVID-19 pandemic evidently cannot stop our students from learning Indonesian language, Bahasa Indonesia. And today, we are very proud of their accomplishment in completing ICONE's Bahasa Indonesia course for the spring term of 2020.
The seven-week program of ICONE's Bahasa Indonesia course this term was unlike any other previous terms we ever done. The circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have forced everyone to practice social distancing by staying home, and in turn, required us to modify our Bahasa Indonesia course to be done virtually. Started with an in-person class meeting on the first session at Pao Arts Center in Boston, the course was then switched into virtual face-to-face sessions for the remainder of six weeks led by our experienced instructor Tia Wulansari.
The change from in-person class to virtual learning did not stop our adult beginner students from learning Bahasa Indonesia and making tremendous weekly progress. Every week students were given recorded lessons, online materials, quizzes on multiple platforms, and followed by live interactive online teaching sessions on Saturday mornings. The students learned various aspects of Bahasa Indonesia, such as ways of self-introduction, numbers, and vocabulary to talk about daily activities. Their vocabulary grew larger and their understanding of the language grew stronger. Embedded in each lesson, the students also learned about the richness of the Indonesian cultures and its people. Students' hard works were paid off when each of them proved their newly acquired language skills by composing a well-written short descriptive essay in Indonesian and reading it fluently on the final day of the course.
It was such an honor for ICONE to follow each of the student's improvement throughout the weeks. We commend our students for their eagerness to keep learning virtually and our instructor for her hard work in maintaining the quality of each lesson from the comfort and safety of their homes.
Warmest congratulations to Emeric Viani, Laura Brubaker-Wittman, Margaret Geary, Jason Katz-Brown, and Aden Makris for completing the course. We hope that with the language skills they have acquired, they will be able to communicate better in Bahasa Indonesia with their Indonesian family, friends, or colleagues, and can effectively enjoy their future travel or work in Indonesia.
Special thank you to our Ibu Guru Tia for a job well done in teaching Bahasa Indonesia with well-thought preparation, passion, and dedication, especially in such a unique situation we are currently in.
Thank you as well to the Education and Cultural Attaché, Prof. Popy Rufaidah, and her team at the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Washington DC for supporting ICONE in rolling out this program. Our appreciation also goes to the management of the Pao Arts Center at Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center for assisting ICONE in providing a classroom for our first in-person class session. Last but not the least, thank you to the President of ICONE Olla Chas and the Treasurer of ICONE Trisia Bantacut for leading the initiative and managing the funding, and Dhanni Setyaning, the Educational and Cultural Programs Director of ICONE, for managing the program.
Keep on practicing Bahasa Indonesia and we hope to see you back at the next ICONE's Indonesian Language Course!
