Indonesia
Jan Michal Kubica from Poland, Teaching Class 5A at SD BSS
The BIPA (Indonesian Language for Foreign Speakers) Program of the Faculty of Cultural Studies (FCS) of Universitas Brawijaya (UB) held another Immersion Program in the 2024/2025 academic year. The program, which aims to hone the Indonesian language skills of international students, collaborated with Brawijaya Smart School (BSS) Elementary School and lasted for two weeks, from Monday to Friday (13-24/1/2025). Sixteen international students from eight countries, namely Poland, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, participated in this activity.
The program allows international students to teach in elementary schools while sharing information about their home countries. The materials taught to BSS elementary students included country recognition, flags, languages, traditional culture, specialty foods, tourism, and traditional games.
Dang Nguyen Truc Linh, a BIPA student from Vietnam, expressed his positive impression of this activity. He felt that this program was a good way to share knowledge about his country while practicing his Indonesian language skills.
“I feel happy with this activity. It’s perfect. This program allows me to share knowledge about my country and culture and practice Indonesian with the students. The children are delightful, and I feel this experience is very valuable,” said Truc Linh, who is already quite fluent in Indonesian.
Like Truc Linh, Jan Michal Kubica, a BIPA student from Poland, also expressed his excitement. For him, this program is an opportunity to learn about Indonesian society while introducing his country to students.
“I like this activity. I can learn directly from the people (students) in Indonesia and share stories about my country. Before, they might only know the name Poland, but through this immersion class, I can explain more about the culture and traditions of my country. The children are very enthusiastic!” said Jan.
Dang Nguyen Truc Linh from Vietnam, Teaching Class 4C of BSS Elementary School
The program’s chief executive, Fredy Nugroho, M.Hum., explained that this activity was designed to strengthen the learning of BIPA FIB UB students. This program provides real experience for international students to practice the theories they have learned in class.
“This immersion activity is a form of strengthening BIPA learning. Learning is not only done in class; students can also practice learning results directly to the community. This program also teaches international students about social interaction and Indonesian culture directly,” Fredy explained.
Furthermore, Fredy added that this program is also a means of soft diplomacy, introducing Indonesia to the world through BIPA international students.
“We hope this program will encourage BIPA FIB UB students to learn Indonesian better, as well as motivate them to share knowledge about their country with the Indonesian people, especially elementary school students in Malang City,” he added.
In addition to being a learning event, this program aims to create harmonious cultural diplomacy relations with BIPA participating countries. Through interaction in this immersion activity, international students are invited to get to know Indonesia more deeply and introduce their unique culture to elementary school students.
This two-week activity is expected to benefit international students who learn Indonesian, elementary school students who gain insight into other countries, and the UB BIPA program’s efforts to expand global networks.
With the spirit of sharing and learning, the BIPA UB Immersion Program continues to be a cultural bridge connecting Indonesia with the international world. [dts/PR FCS]