After my five-day project to learn some basic Indonesian came to an end, I had almost two days left in Yogyakarta on the island of Java to explore. The highlights were the Prambanan temple, the sultan's palace and Berinharja market. Here's my final "on the road" report and video. The Prambanan temple On Saturday morning I went on the back of a motor bike to the Hindu … [Read more...]
“Minimmersion” Indonesian 7: Day 5 (video) – my last class and unforgettable Borobudur
My five-day Indonesian course came to an all-too early end today (Friday) with my final class with Anggun, the teacher who taught me on Tuesday. We were working on the numbers, prices and telling the time, all stuff you need right from the start. After the lesson I was asked to fill out an evaluation form and I took some photos with Johan and Totok (my other two teachers - … [Read more...]
“Minimmersion” Indonesian 6: Day 4 (video) language, rain and the Tugu.
Today was the last day but one of my five days' studying Indonesian on the island of Java. It was sweltering hot and sunny when I arrived for class but they don't call this the rainy season for nothing, as I discovered on my journey back to the hotel. The lesson went well, with Johan, my co-ordinator, who also taught me on Monday, back as my teacher. After an early … [Read more...]
“Minimmersion” Indonesian 5: Day 3 (video): more key vocab, the US elections and downtown Yogyakarta in the rain
It's Wednesday evening and I'm a good half-way through my five day "minimmersion" in the Indonesian language, here in Yogyakarta on the island of Java. The day began, as yesterday, with a 45 minute lesson via skype where we dealt with ways of saying "have" and some important "classroom" vocabulary (table, chair, pencil, pen and so on). Then it was over to the language … [Read more...]
“Minimmersion” Indonesian 4: Day 2 (video) begins online and ends with a splash
It's Tuesday night, the end of Day 2 of my five-day crash course in beginners' Indonesian. I got a good start this morning, even before I left my Yogyakarta hotel room: a 45 minute lesson on italki with Zacky, the teacher I met up with in a café yesterday afternoon. I had a different teacher at the school today for my daily 10:15 to 12:00 session: a young lady called … [Read more...]
“Minimmersion” Indonesian 3: Day 1 (with video) at the school, further explorations & speaking some Indonesian
Yesterday I posted for the first time from Yogyakarta, Indonesia. I'm here on a one-week "minimmersion" to try to get some Indonesian language basics and to learn about the country and culture. Today was the first of my five days of study. The day started with a good breakfast at the hotel, then I was picked up and driven to the language school. The driver told me to … [Read more...]
“Minimmersion Indonesian” 2: arrival video
I'm now in my hotel room in Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java on "day zero", the eve of my week's intensive Indonesian. The flight from Singapore was smooth, made easier by the efficient civility of the airport there. I was pretty tired on board after only about four hours' sleep last night and, as a result, I worked less on vocab that I'd have liked....I did try … [Read more...]
“Minimmersion” Indonesian 1: the plan revealed
Hi from Singapore! I arrived here four days ago for a work trip straight from the Greek city of Thessaloniki, where I was attending the fourth Polyglot Conference. Look out for my review and videos from that wonderful event later. I've got a vlog on the languages of Singapore in the pipelines too. Now though, I want to tell you about the new project I hinted at in the last … [Read more...]
Basque Intensive! 5: post-course native speaker call
Hi from Thessaloniki where I've arrived for the 4th Polyglot Conference. Look out for more later on the site on that, as I'll be blogging and vlogging like last year and the year before. I'll be straight on from here to Singapore with work. A second leg to Hong Kong was cancelled at short notice, so I'll have a spare week in South East Asia. So, just time to duck and dive … [Read more...]
At large at Language Show Live (vlog)
I've just attended Language Show Live at London's Olympia. The show - which is free - is held there over three days every October (and, since last year, there's one in March, in Glasgow). The event's core is a large hall packed with exhibitors including publishers, app developers, language schools, educational agencies and cultural institutions. I went on Saturday and Sunday … [Read more...]