BIPA

INDONESIAN LANGUAGE
COURSE

UNIVERSITAS PENDIDIKAN INDONESIA

BALAI BAHASA

Introduction
As one of the oldest higher teaching and learning of both
education institutions, Universitas national and foreign lang-
Pendidikan Indonesia or UPI has uages through coordination
been running various international with departments in UPI
programs for years to bring the  Translating textbooks and
university into a world-class uni- other materials from foreign
versity in education sector. Balai languages to Indonesian or
Bahasa UPI or the Language Center vice versa
of UPI aims to be a nationally and  Administering standardized
internationally re-cognized center language testing whether by
of excellence for language studies developing instruments or by
and services, including Indonesian cooperating with other insti-
language training program for non- tutions
native speakers.
Services of Balai Bahasa UPI
 providing training of the
national language or BIPA or
foreign languages for faculty
members, administrative
staff, students, international
students, expatriates, and the
general public
 Developing materials, me-
thods, and teaching media for
A student from Japan winning the
the teaching of national and first place in an Indonesian language
foreign languages speech contest for international
 Undertaking research and students.
development in the field of
Goals of BIPA Program known, in the Participants
long run we from
With the increasing number of will benefit
international communities coming both
to Indonesia to learn Indonesian
language and culture, it has always
been UPI’s aim to reach out more
politically
and
economically.
32
international partners and to Countries
obtain worldwide recognition.
Thus, Bahasa Indonesia Bagi Pe-
nutur Asing (BIPA) or Indonesian Program Objectives
for Speakers of Other Languages is
one of the university’s efforts to BIPA program is aimed at
tighten the cooperation with the introducing Indonesian Language
international world through wel- and cultures to international
coming international participants communities and nurturing a
to learn Indonesian language and positive image of Indonesia in the
share it with its rich culture international communities. More
throughout the globe. specifically, by joining BIPA
In this era of globalization, course, participants are expected
Indonesian language and cultures to be able to:
should not only function as • communicate in spoken and
national identities, but also should written Indonesian language
improve public diplomacy of the at both formal and informal
nation in the world. With situations
Indonesian diverse cultures be- • appreciate diverse Indonesian
coming more internationally well culture, and
• use Indonesian language skills
to reach a better future.

`
Teaching Staffs
Teaching staffs for BIPA
Program in Balai Bahasa UPI are
bachelor and master’s graduates
of Indonesian Language and English
education study programs from
notable universities in Indonesia,
mainly from Universitas Pendidikan
Indonesia, where national BIPA
program was initiated, and has
been established as a field of study
in the Faculty of Indonesian
Language Education. Years of
teaching experience and creative
pedagogical approaches are of our
teachers’ plus points.
Many of them are actively
involved in training, seminar, or
research in BIPA area, and some of
them have experience of teaching
Indonesian language in other
countries, including Australia,
Germany, China, Japan, South
Korea, Thailand, and the
Philippines. If necessary, guest
lecturer(s) can be invited,
especially to deliver extra
materials from other languages or
subjects, such as Business English,
bahasa Sunda, foreign investment,
Indonesian history, traditional
music, or traditional dances.
BIPA participants and a class
teacher after performing an
Indonesian traditional dance
Study Buddy/ Mitra Bahasa
In addition to classroom
learning process, participants of
some programs are accompanied
by mitra bahasa or study buddies
that will give more encouragement
to practice Indonesian language
skills and share more information
on everyday expressions and some
cultural aspects. Participants may
also invite mitra bahasa for some
other activities outside those
arranged in the program design.
In particular conditions,
participants may consult
difficulties encountered in their
learning Indonesian language to
their teachers after the class.
Alternatively, extra tutorial
sessions with more flexible time
and place can be provided.
Current Students
In the last few years, almost or more than one hundred participants
joined BIPA program in Balai Bahasa UPI annually. The participants came
from different countries and learned Indonesian language with different
arrangements and purposes. Table below illustrates the countries of
origin and the number of participants during the academic years of 2016–
2018.

NUMBER OF NUMBER OF
NO COUNTRY NO COUNTRY
PARTICIPANTS PARTICIPANTS
1 Armenia 1 19 Peru 4
2 Australia 59 20 Poland 2
3 Azerbaijan 2 21 Russia 1
4 Bangladesh 1 22 Slovakia 1
5 Canada 1 South
23 90
6 China 16 Korea
7 Egypt 1 24 Taiwan 1
8 Germany 5 25 Tajikistan 3
9 Italy 1 26 Tanzania 1
10 Japan 39 27 Thailand 15
11 Kazakhstan 2 The
28 1
12 Laos 4 Philippines
13 Madagascar 1 29 Ukraine 1
14 Mexico 1 30 USA 4
15 Morocco 1 31 Vietnam 3
16 Namibia 1 32 Zimbabwe 2
17 Nigeria 1 Total 267
Papua New
18 1
Guinea

A participant from Italy receiving the training

certificate from the head of the language center of
UPI, also with the presence of the vice rector and
head of the international office of UPI

`
Program
General Program
The general program is
designed for participants who
wish to learn Indonesian
language or develop their
ability to communicate in
Indonesian language for
academic, social, or other
more specific purposes. Table
below shows two schemes of
the training; regular program
and private program.

Regular Program Private Program

Number of Participants 3-10 persons 1-2 persons

50 hours (Level 1-4) 30 hours (Level 1-4)

Length of Study (per term)
60 hours (Level 5-6) 40 hours (Level 5-6)

January, May,
Class Period Start Any time of the year
September

Class Frequency 2-3 sessions/ week 2-5 sessions/ week

Mid-term test Mid-term test*

Evaluation and Assessment
Final term test Final term test*

Notes
 Candidate participants with
some experience in learning
or using bahasa Indonesia
need to take a placement test
to identify a suitable level for
them more accurately.
 Only participants who take
mid-term and final-term tests
deserve to receive an
academic transcript and a
certificate of completion.

 Mid-term and final-term tests

cover all language skills
(listening, reading, speaking,
and writing) and grammatical
expressions.

Group discussion in a BIPA class

`
 Learning topics and materials
for both programs are relatively
similar, ranging from daily use
expressions and survival language
in early levels, to more academic
or complex topics in higher levels.
The lesson will be more than on
the language, since some cultural
notes are included as
complementary knowledge for
topics covered in the course
modules.
Currently, the curriculum and
materials for BIPA program in Balai
Bahasa is being developed to meet
the national standards of
Visiting a traditional market;
a practical experience in BIPA
program
BIPA participants with Mitra Bahasa
(Study buddies)
`
competence of BIPA course
participants as outlined by the
government of the Republic of
Indonesia. We believe that this
step will positively lead to better
quality training and outputs.
In-Country Training (ICT)
Program
In-Country Training (ICT)
Program is a tailored program
aimed to provide an opportunity to
learn and use Indonesian language
in for more specific purposes
through practical activities in real
situations in order to survive in
Indonesia by communicating and
interacting with native speakers of
Indonesian language in a variety of
situations. Participants may
choose to find their own
accommodation, or to take a
homestay since being involved in
the daily activities of local
residents will be one of valuable
experiences obtained from that
scheme.
The design and characteristics
of the program can be adjusted
and customized based on
participants’ needs. The program
may be focused on learning bahasa
Indonesia for daily communication,
professional or academic purposes,
or it may also include some
cultural sessions or activities, such
as traditional music or dance class.
The intensity of the program will
not drain away participants’
enthusiasm since the materials are
delivered through various methods
and the program may also include
excursions arranged as a part of
the learning process, such as:
  Bandung city tour under a six-months contract with
 Batik workshop an institute from South Korea by
 Watching performing arts conducting an intensive language
 Cooking Indonesian food training program for a number of
 Learning Indonesian Martial participants that will be employed
Arts (Pencak Silat) in multinational companies in
 Playing Indonesian traditional Indonesia. Another one is a
games cooperation program with an
 Visits to museums, tourism, Australian association which
and cultural sites delegates some of its members to
study BIPA in Balai Bahasa UPI in
 Etc.
two weeks in order to have
experience of learning the
The activities are especially
language in its home-country and
intended to find out about local
using it in real-life situations.
cultural and tourism potentials and
bring new experience to the
participants. In
addition, participants of
this program may be
accompanied by mitra
bahasa or study buddies
to support the success
of the program.
The most current
ICT Programs organized
by Balai Bahasa UPI is
The closing ceremony of BIPA
training cooperation with
a South Korean institute
Contact
For further information, please contact us:
BALAI BAHASA Jalan Dr. Setiabudhi No. 229
UNIVERSITAS PENDIDIKAN Bandung – West Java 40154
INDONESIA Indonesia
Telephone/Fax: +62-22-200-0022

email: balaibahasa@upi.edu
website: balaibahasaupi.upi.edu
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