Indonesian for Beginners

Selamat datang! Learn to read, write, and speak Indonesian!

By completing the 12 lessons in Indonesian for Beginners, you will learn not only to understand, speak, read and write basic Indonesian, but also about many important aspects of Indonesia's amazingly diverse culture, people, and places. This book provides a gateway to understanding the Indonesian language and country, and helps you to apply what you learn in a way that is relevant, meaningful and fun.

The course is structured around the concept of spending a year in Indonesia—experiencing different seasonal events which bring the learner on a journey. In this way, the cultural and background information becomes a natural part of the understanding of the Indonesian language and helps you to place what you learn into context within a full narrative about life in Indonesia.

Each chapter contains the following elements:

An introduction with images and captions
Grammar points
A word bank presenting key vocabulary
One or more sample conversations
Listening practice and readings
An "Indonesian and me" section that uses Indonesian to talk about yourself
Key questions and statements
Drills and exercises



Indonesian for Beginners includes reading, writing and speaking tasks based on authentic real-life materials. While aimed at learners taking a classroom course, it can also be used by anyone studying Indonesian in other ways—in a high school course or as a self-study book.