Posted 09 Mar 2010

Teaching English in Indonesia could be a smoother experience with the help a few local phrases and one blogger has offered a couple of examples.

Writing on the i-to-i Chalkboard, Astrid Citralokam provided a run down of the most important words and expressions that people might need while they are in the country.

She explained that to say hello, people can say ‘hai’ – pronounced like hi – or ‘halo’, while ‘how are you?’ is ‘apa kabar’, to which somebody might respond ‘baik’, which means ‘good’ and is said like "bike".

One of the most important phrases to learn in her opinion is ‘how much?’ – ‘berapa harganya’ – since it will not only endear those teaching English in Indonesia to local residents, but may also save a few pennies in the process.

Astrid commented: "Even you have a ‘bule’ (that’s how Indonesian call western people) face, but if you can speak Bahasa, you will get a lower price or they just don’t give you a foreign price."

The blogger is Indonesian and is hoping to her TEFL course will allow her to perfect her English.

Category: Living Abroad