A language learners’ forum

I hope to start a log on what I am doing both learning languages and teaching English. Looks like I will probably be going to East Java in Indonesia next, subject to the visa. Neither Indonesian nor Javanese were on my wish list, really I wanted to continue learning Mandarin and refresh my German TBH.
Anyway, I will try to make the best of it. I guess it would be rude not to learn some Indonesian at least. I will probably give Javanese (which is seemingly quite a lot harder from what I have read) a miss unless (unlikely) I stay more than one year.

So I will try to continue with Mandarin (no hard and fast goals, just keep it ticking over), learn some Indonesian (exactly what goals I will set myself I will decide when I see if it is as easy as people claim*, try to improve as an English teacher and maybe play a bit with German for enjoyment. In fact my only hard and fast goal this year is to try and start a DELTA, so that I hopefully have more choice of location in future. I'm sure Indonesia is lovely for many people; but at my age a year is a long time to waste.

We will see.

* Given that many of the phonemic descriptions I have seen are shockingly wrong, I have my doubts about these claims. A perfect phonemic description is too much to ask; but 5 minutes Googling will give you a pretty solid foundational roadmap for Spanish, German, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese... hell even Greek and Yiddish. I was quite shocked at how misleading the descriptions of Indonesian I found were! Honourable exception to the DLI course, which to my ears seems to have done a somewhat better job than any others I found.

Looking forward to your log!

Random Review wrote:* Given that many of the phonemic descriptions I have seen are shockingly wrong, I have my doubts about these claims. A perfect phonemic description is too much to ask; but 5 minutes Googling will give you a pretty solid foundational roadmap for Spanish, German, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese... hell even Greek and Yiddish. I was quite shocked at how misleading the descriptions of Indonesian I found were! Honourable exception to the DLI course, which to my ears seems to have done a somewhat better job than any others I found.

I spent ten months in Yogyakarta and I have some choice words about the way Indonesian is often taught, particularly with regard to the sounds. Say the word and I will write you (here or over PM) a detailed introduction to Indonesian pronunciation. I'll even throw in what I was able to figure out about Javanese.

Axon wrote:Looking forward to your log!

Random Review wrote:* Given that many of the phonemic descriptions I have seen are shockingly wrong, I have my doubts about these claims. A perfect phonemic description is too much to ask; but 5 minutes Googling will give you a pretty solid foundational roadmap for Spanish, German, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese... hell even Greek and Yiddish. I was quite shocked at how misleading the descriptions of Indonesian I found were! Honourable exception to the DLI course, which to my ears seems to have done a somewhat better job than any others I found.

I spent ten months in Yogyakarta and I have some choice words about the way Indonesian is often taught, particularly with regard to the sounds. Say the word and I will write you (here or over PM) a detailed introduction to Indonesian pronunciation. I'll even throw in what I was able to figure out about Javanese.

Hi Axon, I have just seen this post offering your insights on Indonesian pronunciation, teaching etc to Random Review. Did you ever PM him with that? If so, could I have a copy? If you didn’t, and it’s not too much trouble at the moment, I’d be really interested in what you have to say. If you’re busy atm, don’t worry.

Random Review, did you take that job in Java? If so, how’s it going? How’s the Bahasa Indonesia going?