Australian Students’ Perceptions of Indonesian Culture

Abstract

Indonesian language is widely taught in Australian universities and schools. Australian students who learn Indonesian often demonstrate a strong interest in the associated culture, yet struggle to articulate an understanding of Indonesian culture and of the cultural other. This qualitative research investigates Australian university students’ perceptions of Indonesian culture, their intercultural interaction with Indonesian speakers and pedagogical implications. It uses in-depth interviews with students and lecturers from several Australian universities. The investigation of students’ perceptions of Indonesian culture and their intercultural engagement reveals how they, as language learners, think, act and interact in being and becoming intercultural. For the context of this research, an important dimension of being intercultural is countering negative attitudes towards the Indonesian other that have emerged since the so-called ‘era of terrorism’. I examine how the Australian self can ethically respond to the Indonesian other, and what implications this has for language teaching and learning.