In Indonesia we should train our students in schools as much as possible. We should also provide circumstances that encourage them to write. These methods should go along with training them to question and criticize the materials used and teaching styles. This will give students an opportunity to be critical thinkers as well as making it easier for them to write. I think the Indonesian curriculum prevents students from going straight to the point; they are not given information on how to write paragraphs or short essays.

(Suharjo Makalalag, ADS 6, IALF Bali)

I want to emphasize that a lot of Indonesian students are not accustomed to giving their opinion through written argument, whether at primary, secondary or tertiary level. I think that we need a lot of practice in this and our educational system should give us more support, and provide opportunities to push us to do some writing on our courses. We must get into the habit of writing.

(Yudi, ADS 6, IALF Bali)

For students doing research, not coursework, like me, organizing yourself is the most important thing. Our progress depends on ourselves. I have to think carefully about what I need to do every week. So, every day before going to uni I have a list of what to do to keep me on track. Supervisors are very busy people and only give you general guidance, not what to do everyday.

(Ida Ayu Astarini, UWA Perth)

There are good and bad teaching styles at Curtin University I have found. The good things are that they give you broader flexibility in formulating the way classes are run, however it is much more demanding in terms of academic work. Sometimes I can't finish reading the articles given to me the week before. Another problem is some lecturers have terrible spoken English which I can't understand, especially the older lecturers.

(Andi Gunawan, Curtin Uni.)

(Rahayu Indriasari, ex-IALF Bali)

Regarding teaching and learning styles here, yes, it's very different compared to Indonesia. Here in Australia most lecturers expect and demand us to study independently and not just rely on the lecturer's explanation in class. Also, some lecturers don't talk clearly due to their Australian accents and sometimes I can't catch what they are saying so it's impossible to take notes. I think the best way to cope with this is by doing pre-reading before the class to get familiar with what the lecturer is going to say and with basic terms and concepts. This has been very useful for me and I can ask about anything I am still having difficulty with. It is hard to do this when we're overwhelmed by assignments, especially towards the end of a semester, so another strategy we must have is good time management. Arranging a timetable for completing assignments is compulsory.

Another suggestion - last semester I also joined an academic skills class especially for postgraduate students. This course was free but unfortunately not many students took the chance to attend. In this class I consulted with the tutor about my writing assignments. Although a lot of the materials were the same as what I learnt at IALF and IAP, I still found that the class was very helpful. I'm sure every uni in Australia offers the same class so I suggest new students join this kind of class.

(Serli Wijaya, ex IALF)

I don't think all Indonesians have problems getting straight to the point in academic writing, it's just that they're not used to the English style. Indonesians always try to answer all the questions that have been asked even if they don't know much about the topic. This is what we call 'Indonesian Politician Style'. Sorry to all Indonesian politicians!

(Dharmawan Phie, ADS 6, IALF Bali)

Featured Topic - Cultural Differences in Teaching and Learning English

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