Program Overview

The CLS Indonesian Program provides students opportunities to learn Bahasa Indonesia both inside the classroom and in an immersive cultural setting during an intensive 8-week language program. The structure of the program is designed to cover the equivalent of one academic year of university-level Indonesian study. Students receive fifteen hours per week of formal classroom instruction where they focus on four major skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing in Bahasa Indonesia.

The CLS Indonesian Program is hosted in Malang, Indonesia by Universitas Negeri Malang (UM), one of the oldest teaching institutions in Indonesia (dating to 1954). UM has hosted CLS since 2010 and is one of the premiere institutions in Indonesia for the teaching of educators, professors, and future teachers of Indonesian as a second language. Past CLS participants have noted the enthusiasm of all program affiliates and routinely share that they are well integrated into the university community.

Extensive co-curricular activities complement time spent in the classroom. Past excursions have allowed students to visit significant sites on the Indonesian island of Java and meet members of the host community, all while using their growing language skills. Students also have time to informally explore life in the second-largest city in East Java with the help of their language partners. Each CLS student is paired with two local Indonesian students who are also studying at UM. These small groups meet twice a week to practice language informally and to get to know the city. In the past, students have enjoyed visiting local museums and cafes with their language partners after class.

Students can look forward to relaxing and recuperating after long days with their host family. Each student lives with an Indonesian-speaking host family which gives them a window into the lives of people of different ages, occupations, and backgrounds. In the past, students have shared that they took advantage of their time in a host family by learning how to cook Indonesian foods, discussing family and regional histories, and exploring other parts of the city together on free weekends.