The concept behind Out of Class Language Activities (OOCLAs) was developed by A/Prof David Reeve of the University of New South Wales when he was Academic Coordinator for the ACICIS Indonesian Language Teacher Immersion (ILTI) program. OOCLAs and tutorials in general are activities designed to force students to activate their language skills in real life situations around Yogya. ACICIS has developed a number of OOCLAs for different age groups; the two examples below were designed by Ms Kate Reitzenstein from Scotch College in Western Australia for her ACICIS study tour in 2012 (Year 11 and Year 12 students). OOCLAs are an integral part of every ACICIS Indonesia school tour. All students must complete the OOCLAs component, which is agreed before the tour begins by the ACICIS Tour Program Coordinator and the Australian school teacher leading the tour group.

An old fashioned treasure hunt

Di Bioskop: Go to Cinema 21 in Amplaz or at the Cinema 21 in Jl Solo and listen to the very frequent message just as the doors of each theatre are opened (‘Pintu teater no 3 telah dibuka!’). It is 5 sentences of beautiful formal Indonesian. Write the message down as proof. You can check film times beforehand by googling Cinema 21.

Di stasiun kereta api: Go to the railway crossing under the flyover, or at Jl Malioboro and listen to the long message, once again in beautiful formal Indonesian, that occurs each time a train passes. Write the message down as proof.

Di pasar: Take Rp 30,000 to Pasar Demangan, 10 minutes walk from Universitas Sanata Dharma, in Jl Gejayan, and buy as much fruit as you can manage for that money. Use all your bargaining skills. Video the exchange.

Di Jalan Malioboro: Get your souvenirs for home when we go to Jl Malioboro, and bargain like a maniac. Video at least one of the exchanges.

Di salon: Find out what a cream bath is and go and have one. Get a photograph or video of you having one as proof.

Di warung stempel: Design your own personal logo that includes a slogan or word in Indonesian (eg Calvin…si terbaik) and get it made into a stempel at one of the stalls on Jl Moses-Gatot Kaca. The finished stempel will be proof.

Di warung jamu: Buy some jamu (you don’t need to consume it yet). Ask the seller what it is, what it is made of, what it is good for, how much it costs? You do not bargain for jamu. The purchased packet of jamu will be proof.

Koleksi Bahasa

During the study tour, collect the following language items as you interact with people, read books, signs, T-shirts, stickers, newspapers, magazines and watch television etc. Your private tutor in Jogja will also be an excellent source of information and knowledge. The number in brackets below refers to how many examples you need to collect:

  • Insults (10)
  • Exclamations (10)
  • Sounds like …onomatopeoia: make a comparative collection of animal noises and other bangs and whirs, in English and Indonesian eg woof-woof/guk-guk; splash/cemplung (15)
  • Secret languages (examples of languages used by gays, youth etc) (15)
  • Pantun (4)
  • Pantun gokil (2)
  • Peribahasa yang sering dipakai (10)
  • Akronim (yang relevan bagi Anda) (20)
  • Akronim lucu (eg Iwan = idola wanita nakal) (15)
  • Agama (religious terminology) (20)
  • Javanese words/phrases (10)
  • Examples of bad English translations (4)