Mother of invention

The author's tutors, Mbak Dwi, foreground, and Mbak Anin (Rai is in between). Their full names are Dwi Fatmalasari and Anindita Sastavianti.

July 3, 2011

By Maria "Rai" Hancock

When I started really reading the literature on the Critical Language Scholarship program, I started to worry. The numbers were frightening. Five hours a day of class plus lunch in Bahasa Indonesian. Lunch followed by either two hours of cultural classes or two hours of tutoring. Evenings filled with at least an hour, perhaps more, of homework. Weekends frequently scheduled with trips to remote locations.

In reality, none of this is so bad. Classes aren't lectures; they're generally discussions, role plays, and silly inventions of ads. Occasionally we have grammar lessons, but more often we ask for clarification on what we need. Because we all come from different backgrounds, often we can help each other out. For instance, I have a strange knowledge of grammar and phrases, but don't have the smooth delivery of conversation that Melanie has or the broad vocabulary of Jonathan. One day, Kieran took it upon himself to teach us animals during a class break because he noticed that he didn't know ones that others did. Sometimes we even learn from the beginning classes because they cover topics we never did in class.

Our tutorials aren't bad either. We are not sitting in the library within ruler-whomping distance while being forced to write perfect Indonesian sentences. Tutorials are visits to special locations around the city to learn about culture and resources, and to practice talking to others. So far, my tutors have taken me to the market, library, train station, government offices, their friends' places, a temple, and great roadside food stands. Sometimes Mbak Dwi is pretty tough on my grammar, but I certainly appreciate the learning scaffolding. Really, they're like friends with an imperative to make me sound smarter. Our classes are also fun and interesting because we have great teachers, and there are quite a lot of them. When not in class, they're hard at work creating lessons, cutting out game pieces, and otherwise working to make everything engaging and valuable. My class has a head teacher -- Mas Kusen -- and four other instructors, Bu Agnes, Mbak Wuri, Mbak Ayu, and Mas Thoriq. This program is remarkably staffed, and they really know how to distribute the work load. There are 25 participants and 50 tutors. There are six classes with one lead instructor and four instructors each. I think there are several cases where teachers outnumber students. I think a student rebellion is out of the question, despite our clear size advantage; we are far outnumbered. Fortunately , many of the tutors double as teachers, so we manage to keep the total under 100. But then there is still also the regular academic staff, plus the great building staff that makes things more manageable with food and coffee.

The homework hasn't really become all that laborious. It's difficult sometimes, but not laborious. Often, our homework requires us to ask questions of others and to write up the answers. In fact I reckon this is the teacher's favorite type of homework. Journal writing is also a major homework assignment since we have two journals to be done daily, one which is somewhat formulaic and the other which is free writing. In the end they are time-consuming, but not really difficult either.

All of the students seem to find time for other things, despite classes that start at eight in the morning. Many of the guys work out and there are frequent trips by different groups to karaoke, restaurants or other places of interest. I like to play with the kids at my house (or the kittens). I've taught the kids how to play Speed and Go Fish and they taught me Empat Puluh, which is very much like Gin Rummy. Aden, 9, and I spent a good half hour the other day playing with a bracelet and two juice bottles.

In the end, I've actually sought out additional language challenges. I've bought several Indonesia books that are at my reading level -- I can get through teen books in a reasonable way -- and try to spend some time learning new vocabulary. The best lessons, though, are still the times when I have to do something like buy a new dress or order dinner on my own, and find that I can be successful. Necessity is not only the mother of invention; it is also the mother of growth.