Try to surround yourself with the language to learn it in a more fun way. Sign up for newsletters , watch an Indonesian movie with subtitles, discover Indonesian music, listen to Indonesian podcasts, etc. You can also get a tutor or join a language club. This will make it much easier for you to stick to your goal once you interact with people on a regular basis, also get yourself an English-Indonesian dictionary. It will be very useful to learn and to flip through when you encounter an unfamiliar word. Online translators are infamous for their translations, but you can use those once in awhile as well.
Besides all this, there are also various websites available which can come in handy to help you learn Indonesian. These websites give you free lessons/tutorials and also sometimes free audios to listen and practice.
Official Indonesian test
For years the Indonesian Government has required all school students to learn English. Now it is considering a new policy - requiring all foreigners to learn Indonesian. There are about 30,000 expats who live in Indonesia and who could soon find themselves swotting for their language exams if the Ministry of National Education gets its way and begin nationwide testing of all present and future foreign workers and students.
The results have been devised-those ranging from 816 to 900 (out of 1000) marks are impeccable and those with 162 to 246 are inadequate communicative proficiency.
Although this plan has not yet been put into action, the test fees which range from US$30 to $40, have been set and the bank account where the money should be sent is open.
If a foreigner fails this test then they would not be kicked out of the country but would have to go away and study. His centre would offer them courses, for a fee, and there would be no restrictions on the number of times they could attempt a test.
The testing is not going to be mandatory for all foreigners immediately. It’s mostly for those who interact with the local people frequently. Like doctors and journalists.
There are some specific tests that are offered by LBI (Lembaga Bahasa International FIB UI ) pursuant to your needs. Namely:
- Indonesian Proficiency Test for Academic Purposes.
- Indonesian Proficiency Test for Occupational Purposes.
- Indonesian Proficiency Test for High School Students.
The Indonesian Proficiency test which is also known as TIBA (Tes Bahasa Indonesia sebagai Bahasa Asing) is a comprehensive test which assesses all aspects of your Indonesian proficiency - Listening, Reading, Speaking, Grammar and Writing.
Besides this, if you are interested in enrolling yourself in a language school then there are some leading language schools in Indonesia offering language courses even if you want your own private lessons.