VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Embassy  Canberra on Tuesday launched the 'Kawan Ngobrol' program to facilitate students of Indonesian for Foreign Speakers (BIPA) in Australia. According to the Education and Culture Attaché (Atdikbud)  of the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra, Mukhamad Najib in a release from the Indonesian Embassy received in Jakarta on Tuesday (23/1) the program aims at providing space and friends for the people of Canberra who want to learn Indonesian language. Najib explained/ like friends, the 'Kawan Ngobrol' program provides comfort for BIPA students to chat without  being stressed like if you are studying in class.  Najib also explained that although there are quite a lot of Indonesian language learners, it doesn't mean there are no obstacles in learning it. One of the challenges is finding a community that can help you practice what you have learned.This program, which is held every month, brings together BIPA students in Canberra with native Indonesian speakers that make the students able to chat casually and improve their conversation skills, as well as forming a language community in the region. Apart from pupils and university students, this program can also be participated by  Australian citizens who worked or lived in Indonesia and want to maintain their Indonesian language skills. One of the citizens, Steve, who served in Indonesia for two years, admitted that he couldn't find anyone to practice Indonesian with, so he forgot a lot of words.Therefore, he is happy with the 'Kawan Ngobrol' program and he will often come according to the specified schedule. Steve is not the only Australians who are interested. Phil Domaschenz, who  worked in Jakarta for a year feels that he misses speaking Indonesian, and hopes that this program can cure his longing.Currently, there are 16 schools and 2 universities in Canberra that provide Indonesian language lessons. The two universities are the Australian National University and the University of New South Wales Canberra campus.  Besides that there are non-school institutions and campuses that also offer Indonesian language classes for adult people such as the Australia-Indonesia Association. The 'Kawan Ngobrol' raised the theme of Indonesian food, where everyone told their favorite Indonesian food. One of the participants named Damian was even able to explain various types of fried rice in Indonesia, as well typical food tastes that differ across regions in Indonesia// that’s Diplomatic Corner.