Indonesian Language – UCLA Department of Asian Languages and Cultures

Indonesian, or Bahasa Indonesia, is the national language of Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world. Standardized in the 20th century and adopted as a unifying national language in 1928, it developed from Malay and now serves as a key medium of communication across the diverse Indonesian archipelago. Indonesian belongs to the Austronesian language family, which includes languages spoken across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. It uses the Roman alphabet and has incorporated vocabulary from many languages, including Sanskrit, Arabic, Dutch, Portuguese, and English. Today, Indonesian is spoken by over 200 million people and is widely used not only in Indonesia but also in parts of Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, and neighboring regions. In daily life, conversational Indonesian often blends with local languages, reflecting the country’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity.

Indonesian Language at UCLA

For more than a quarter century, the Indonesian language program at UCLA’s ALC has supported students across UCLA and the UC system in pursuing language study for general education and major requirements, as well as for fellowships, graduate training, research, and future careers. As the national language of Indonesia, the fourth most populous country in the world, and a key player in Southeast Asia, Indonesian is essential for work in fields such as global studies, public policy, environmental studies, business, and international development. The program not only prepares students academically but also connects them with community engagement opportunities and provides access to scholarships and language study programs in Indonesia and beyond, opening pathways to global careers.

Indonesian Language Instructional Faculty

Juliana Wijaya

Senior Lecturer

Indonesian Language and Culture, Pragmatics

jwijaya@humnet.ucla.edu

Dr. Juliana Wijaya is a Senior Lecturer in the UCLA Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, specializing in Indonesian language and culture. She coordinates the Indonesian Studies program at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies. She earned her PhD in Applied Linguistics from UCLA. Her research spans second- and heritage-language pedagogy and acquisition, discourse analysis, pragmatics, and corpus linguistics. She previously served as President of the Consortium for the Teaching of Indonesian (COTI) and the Council of Teachers of Southeast Asian Languages (COTSEAL). She currently serves as co–Vice President of the American Institute of Indonesian Studies (AIFIS) and as a founding steering committee and executive board member of the Southeast Asian Language Council (SEALC).

Curricular Roadmap

First-Year Sequence:Introductory Indonesian (Indo 1, 2, 3)

The Introductory Indonesian courses emphasize practical communication, enabling students to engage in simple conversations about everyday topics, understand spoken Indonesian in familiar contexts, and read and write basic texts. Cultural elements are integrated throughout, introducing students to Indonesia’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity. Through interactive activities and cultural content, students build confidence in navigating common communicative situations and develop an awareness of Indonesian cultural norms, preparing them for continued language study and meaningful interaction.

Second-Year Sequence: Intermediate Indonesian (Indo 4, 5, 6)

Building on the introductory sequence, Intermediate Indonesian courses strengthen students’ communicative competence for both everyday and professional contexts. Students develop greater fluency in discussing familiar and new topics, expressing opinions, and producing more complex narratives and descriptions. The courses emphasize practical language use through authentic materials, cultural exploration, and interaction with native speakers, including exposure to both colloquial and formal Indonesian. Students also engage with historical and cultural topics, practice public speaking, write formal correspondence, and read authentic texts such as short stories and news articles.

Third-Year Sequence: Advanced Indonesian (Indo 100 A, B, C)

Advanced Indonesian courses focus on developing high-level communicative competence, enabling students to participate in complex discussions across academic and professional domains. Students explore key aspects of Indonesian society, including cultural traditions, social dynamics, and contemporary issues, while refining their ability to navigate different registers of the language. Through engagement with authentic materials—such as news media, literature, and academic texts—students strengthen their skills in comprehension, analysis, and critical discussion, preparing them for advanced research, professional work, and sustained engagement with Indonesia and the broader Southeast Asian region.