Curating experiences for language learners. Islands and Beef Rendang Sandos.
Post 21 - 28.10.24-16.11.24
It is funny how Indonesia and Indonesian manages to follow me, even in the most unexpected places. I was in a medical appointment yesterday and got chatting to the nurse. She remarked that I was either in teaching or healthcare based on my ability to ‘be pretty okay with anything that came my way’. We got chatting about what I teach and the nurse was originally from Darwin. She had studied Indonesian at school and her sister had studied at Green School in Bali for all of year 10 - such an amazing opportunity.
I was recently inspired by Dr Howie Manns and colleagues’ article on the state of Indonesian studies in both secondary schools and the university sector. Tonight, I read a wonderful article by Elena Williams about ‘small acts’ in maintaining the Indonesia-Australia relationship.
The onset of Spring in Melbourne has prompted me to spring clean. Big time. My home was the first place, courtesy of some minor renovations. Last week, I had a welcome calm before the end of Term 4 storm and started spring cleaning my office. In my cupboard, I found little memories of times gone by. The first ever article I wrote for my school’s newsletter, with a grainy black and white photocopied photo. Three of my students were holding up their Indonesian textbooks alongside some introductory sentences I had translated for our parent community. Clippings of newspaper articles on a variety of topics, however, what stood out was the cyclical nature of the dire numbers of students enrolled in Indonesian studies in both secondary schools and universities.
I have written on this topic previously, but when you continue to see programs close, especially at prestigious schools, it can feel like your ‘small acts’ aren’t making a big difference. Then, a memory pops up that keeps my thinking more on a positive track.
Back in September, I visited my school’s camp property for the weekend. I was reminiscing about two different language immersion camps that I created and facilitated on Phillip Island in Victoria. The ‘island’ theme rang true of the other archipelago that we were learning about. I still remember a student calling out “We’re going to Indonesia!” as we drove over the bridge from San Remo to Phillip Island.
We had about 30 year nine students involved in a 3 day 2 night camp. The first involved a collaboration with a local primary school. The little people came down for the day on a bus and we ran a marketplace, traditional dress ups and games. With the assistance of some Indonesian university students, it was a hectic fun initiative that students recalled with fondness in their senior school.
The second camp was held at the backpacker’s hostel at Newhaven. The students had a key-card to enter their room hotel style. They were loving life. This time, we engaged the help of the local rangers to run a program focused on microplastics and the impact on the unique Phillip Island environment. I had found a connection with a school in Indonesia through a worldwide platform and we sent some handmade books to the students with an environmental message. We watched an Indonesian film, played games and connected over learning and language. Our Indonesian volunteers were excited by cooking banana pancakes and visiting wild Victorian beaches.
I think of all of the Indonesian film festival excursions, lunches at Nelayan on Swanston Street, Indonesian food deliveries and Indomie sessions in our kitchen at school. I love looking out for anything with an Indonesian flavour in the world of performance in Melbourne. We came across a contemporary performance from an Indonesian troupe as a part of an Asian themed festival. My year 10 students watched contemporary dance and theatre and thought out themes of travel and migration across Australia and Indonesia at the Immigration Museum.
Another recent moment of inspiration came on an Instagram reel scroll, where a couple were reviewing sandwiches at an Indonesian themed sandwich bar - think Beef Rendang, Ayam Goreng and a fried Fish sando with sambal matah *salivating*
Social media inspires me to think outside the box with how our students experience Indonesia and its many languages as a high school student on another large Island thousands of kilometres away. Melbourne is rich with Indonesian focused experiences. I feel it is our duty to evolve our thinking as language teachers, fusing our programs with a mix of the traditional and modern. Whilst I am captivated by the Ramayana love story and how this comes to life in Wayang puppetry, I need to be mindful that the 14 year old boys that I teach may be more captivated by a sandwich adventure in the city.
I look at the numbers of students continuing on to post compulsory Indonesian studies in many school settings and feel a pang of sadness and disappointment, but then I tune in to the bigger picture. 14 years of teaching plus 6 years of my own study. 20 years of small acts to further the Australia Indonesia relationship.
This year alone, my students have experienced an Indomie noodle session, traditional batik making experience with cold wax and their own designs, an incursion with Gamelan, dance and trivia and Independence Day games. They are a hilarious group of 25 who I have really come to love. Their language skills have developed leaps and bounds this year. As to whether they will continue to learn Indonesian into the future, I am unsure. But I am sure that my small acts have made a difference in my own little part of Melbourne this year.
