ASILE CONFERENCE 2016

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Presenter

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Abby Witts

ASILE conference presentation:
Workshop
Do You Speak Bahasa? Navigating a diverse linguistic landscape in the teaching and learning of Bahasa Indonesia.

Abstract
Do You Speak Bahasa? Navigating a diverse linguistic landscape in the teaching and learning of Bahasa Indonesia.

Bahasa Indonesia does not exist in a vacuum, but rather in an extremely broad and varied linguistic and cultural context. Indonesia is a vast archipelagic country formed as a nation state by historical trade, colonisation, and conflict, so it’s little wonder that there exists so many influences on the national language. These linguistic influences present challenges for the learner, but also facilitate the ‘playfulness’ of Indonesian that makes it a pleasure to learn, speak, and teach this language that often plays by its own rules.

What are the underlying assumptions about Indonesian as a language? What are the implications for the teacher and for the learner? Is one Indonesian language enough? Is it possible to present a holistic approach to Indonesian, or do we all fall victim to linguistic hegemony?

This session explores linguistic diversity, language journeys, informal languages, local languages, translanguaging, and hidden languages in the context of teaching and learning Indonesian as L2 speakers. 

​Biodata 
Abby Witts is a lover of Indonesian languages and a NAATI accredited Professional Translator. Her interests lie in morphology, local languages of Indonesia, translation, and the acquisition of high quality tempe mendoan. Abby’s current work at Flinders University is primarily as a research officer within the School of Education, but also includes copyediting, bilingual tutorial assistance, and gamelan teaching. On a freelance basis, she translates, subtitles, and plays drums in a jazz band.

http://www.flinders.edu.au/people/abby.witts
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https://au.linkedin.com/in/abby-witts-21949730
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Contact Details
Abby Witts
EH&L Casual Academic
Office of Humanities and Creative Arts
Flinders University

​E: abby.witts@flinders.edu.au