Rekan-rekan yang saya hormati,

Selamat Tahun Baru 2011 dan selamat memulai tahun sekolah!  Semoga tahun ini memberikan sukses dan kenangan manis, karena kita semua sedang bekerja di bidang pendidikan paling penting, betul, kan?  Yaitu mengajar Bahasa Indonesia!

Saya sendiri baru kembali dari tiga minggu di Indonesia – 5 hari di Malang, Jawa Timur, di mana saya bertemu lagi dengan rekan-rekan sekolah partner di Proyek BRIDGE, dan 14 hari di Bangli, Bali untuk Reciprocal Teacher Visit (RTV).  Sekali lagi, saya terkesan oleh penerimaan yang hangat dan ramah oleh teman-teman di Indonesia, di manapun saya berpijak (maaf meminjam liriknya lagu Project Pop Indovers).

In Malang my intention was to “drop in” at school each day, help with English classes and observe the way that Indonesian language and Civics are taught.  Teachers in the staff room whom I had met on our school visit last April welcomed me warmly and treated me as a colleague.  My “saat paling memalukan” was in a Kewarganegaraan class when I was asked to comment for the students on an aspect of the Indonesian Constitution compared with the Australian Constitution.  Waduh, I had no idea.  But then, I’m an Indonesian teacher, not a history teacher!

Again I was impressed by the bustling city of Malang, built by the Dutch (so full of impressive old buildings) and a university town.  The climate is cool and pleasant and the surrounding mountains quite beautiful.  And the food!  There was an amazing variety of jajan and sweet desserts around every corner.  Aduh for my waistline.

But the main reason for my visit to Indonesia this time was of course the RTV (Reciprocal Teacher Visit).  This was the 2^nd part of the 2010-2011exchange between WILTA and the IALF, following the visit by Ibu Anik during October-November.  I was placed in Bangli, a delightful small town about 1.5 hours from Denpasar and not too far from Gianyar on the Kintamani road.  The school was SMAN1 Bangli and they were very excited about having a native speaker in their midst.  It was a very rewarding experience – for the full account, please see Warta WILTA.

But it wasn’t just me in Indonesia over the holidays!!  The Endeavour Language Teacher Fellowships Indonesian course was taking place at the IALF in Denpasar, led by Ibu Karen and Ibu Rini, and comprising Indonesian teachers from across Australia.  The ELTF report can be read in Warta WILTA.

And at the same time in Yogyakarta, the ILTI (Indonesian Language Teacher Immersion) course was taking place at Sanata Dharma University in Yogyakarta.  They had a packed schedule and by all accounts a wonderful experience.  See Prof David Reeve’s summary in Warta WILTA.

It’s now time to renew your WILTA membership, either direct through the website www.wilta.org or via MLTAWA at www.mltawa.org.  Also, don’t forget to register for our first workshop for the year Tuesday 8 March – coming up soon!  We will be entertained by the fabulous Feni Bembridge as she tackles that super-important issue: languages and literacy, then enjoy a delicious Indonesian meal at Tasik Restaurant.

Sampai ketemu di WILTA ya!

Salam hangat

Sue