US Students Start Learning Indonesian

Indonesian language and culture attract students from the United States. They came to the State University of Malang (UM) to learn Indonesian. That’s what 23 students from the US did in the 2022 Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) program. This CLS program is a scholarship the United States government provides for students who want to learn Indonesian directly in the country. The student studied for two months at UM and will get assistance from BIPA (Indonesian for Foreign Speakers). International students will also learn some Indonesian culture.  

Institute Director of CLS Indonesia, Dr Gatut Susanto MM MPD, explained that the existence of this program cannot be separated from the good relationship between Indonesia and America. For this reason, the Indonesian language and culture are considered by Americans as essential things to learn. This year’s CLS program is themed Social Development. All learning topics will be directed towards social development. The material provided is, of course, related to Indonesian culture and language. In addition to language learning in the classroom, participants will be given additional learning to learn more about culture. “This year, we offer optional classes, including gamelan class, dangdut class, dance class, and batik class,” said Gatut.  

Picture 1. Opening of Critical Language Scholarship 2022 ProgramGatut said the number of participants or international students participating in the CLS program this year decreased slightly. The previous year, there were about 26 participants. However, this year, there are 23 participants. Gatut explained that this was due to financing issues, one of which was related to housing. Because before the Covid-19 pandemic, those who participated in this program stayed at people’s homes. However, for this year, the participants were placed in hotels due to health factors and maintaining health protocols.