Customer Reviews

Teach Yourself Indonesian Complete Course (Teach Yourself Books)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this book because my boyfriend wanted to learn my language. I have to say that the book will really be helpful for beginners because the grammar sections (around chapter 4 to 10) is very clear and easy to understand. However, as an Indonesian, I must say that many of the words in the dictionary/vocabulary section are quite outdated - modern Indonesian hardly recognize some of the words anymore ;-) and some grammar explanations can be a little bit too simplified.

Indonesian is among the world's easiest languages to learn, with phonetic pronunciation, no tenses or pluralization, no gender, and a very simple grammar. I found i was able to begin writing ,speaking in Indonesian quickly, thus making u want to learn at a faster rate. This book focuses on vocabulary, grammar structure, i felt it was easy to follow. I only wished it had more games and reading passages.

If u decide to buy this book, it is also good to get a modern dictionary, for updated words and phrases.

This is a traditional style language learning manual. If you like an academic approach to learning then you will like this but I am not sure that it is well suited to those who wish to gain a useful knowledge in a short time for a trip. I do think that it is good for presenting grammar and structure to students who are serious about learning the language properly, maybe to read books and newspapers rather than to say just "Hello" and "Do you sell disposable razors". That this is an older text is apparant from reading the first couple of chapters which present words such as "hunter", "poisonous" and "tiger", which, although not immediately useful, are in keeping with the type of language learning approach of 20-30 years ago (ie with the focus being on grammar rather than vocabulary). A modern approach begins with useful expressions and high frequency words in keeping with current language trends. I personally like this book and the way it presents structure in a no nonsense academic way, but I am a linguist. For the non-linguist it may seem a little dull or hard-going. There is a high degree of straight learning (ie with no games or "fun" activities) that needs to go on to progress through each chapter which means that the responsibility to learn is entirely with the student. Explanations are full and clear but not unnecessarily overblown. The pronunciation section in chapter one is also very clear. I think that this would be great used in conjunction with a phrase book with tapes to get grammar as well as vocabulary. But if you want an immediate knowledge for use on your trip, you may be disappointed with this book.

The reviewer before me is obviously unaware that there is already a new version of Teach Yourself Indonesian but you can only get it through Amazon.co.uk. (ISBN: 0340847549) That's where I got mine. I have the old one too, which is very outdated. I was diescouraged to use the old one for this reason. The new one is great! It had a totally dialogue based approach, realy clear explanations for the grammar and notes about culture, language and some really useful info on how to get the most out of learning languages! I am only part of the way through it, but I am enjoying it a lot, well as much as anyone can enjoy a language book...! What strikes me most is how immediately useful the language in this book is. Also, my Indonesian Indonesian friend who is helping me to work through the dilaogues and say them properly said the language in the book was so realistic. There's even a section on Jakarta slang in one of the units! By the way, if you don't have an Indonesian on hand to study with you should definitely consider getting tapes with the book Even though the book itself is completely self contained, and you can learn Indonesian from that alone, you need to hear a language spoken as a real boost to learning. Can't wait to try out my Indonesian next time I go out there...

I'm amazed that this skimpy and superficial work didn't go out of print years ago, on merit. Oh well, I can say "The snake is poisonous." I wish I could say "The book is worthless." Then I would have learned something I could use.