16 Foreign Students of BIPA UB Teach Enthusiastically at BSS Elementary School Malang

A total of 16 foreign students from 8 countries participated in BIPA UB immersion class activities in collaboration with Brawijaya Smart School Elementary School. They came from Poland, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.

This activity took place from January 13-24, 2025. All foreign students were asked to teach and share experiences with various materials, such as introducing countries, flags, languages, traditional cultures, typical foods, tourism, and also traditional games to elementary school children.

One of BIPA students from Vietnam, Dang Nguyen Truc Linh, admitted that she was happy to participate in this activity. According to her, this activity can be a means to share knowledge about differences in countries and also help her to practice Indonesian Language with students at school.

“I am happy with this activity. Very good. Because, with this activity I can share knowledge about my country and culture. I can see and get to know Indonesian children directly. This activity also trains me to practice the Indonesian language that I have learned in class,” said the student who is already quite fluent in Indonesian.

A similar thing was also expressed by a BIPA student from Poland, Jan Michal Kubica. For him, the immersion activity is an event to learn the language directly from the community. In addition, it can also be a means to introduce his country’s culture so that it is known by students in Indonesia.

“I really like this activity. It feels great. I can learn directly from the community (students-red) in Indonesia. I can also share knowledge about my country. They may only know the name of my country. But, during the immersion class I can tell a lot about my country to the students. They are very happy,” he said.

The head of the immersion program, Fredy Nugroho, M.Hum explained that this activity is one of BIPA strengthening programs. Foreign students who study BIPA at UB do not only study in class. However, this program is a form of material reinforcement as well as field experience so that students can directly interact with the native community.

“Immersion activities are a form of support to strengthen BIPA learning. Learning is not only in class, but with this program, students can also directly practice the results of learning in class to the community,” he explained.

Fredy also added, with this immersion program, it is hoped that BIPA UB students will be more motivated to learn Indonesian language well. This activity is also an effort to invite them to share knowledge about their country with elementary school students in Malang City. In addition, this activity is also a form of participation in introducing Indonesia to countries around the world through the BIPA program. The hope is that soft diplomacy can be created with all BIPA participating countries.

In the 2024/2025 academic year, the BIPA UB program is again holding an Immersion Program or immersion class program. A teaching activity in elementary schools with the aim of sharing knowledge about friendly countries with elementary school students in Indonesia. In addition, this activity is also to train and hone students’ Indonesian language skills from the theoretical results that have been obtained in class. [khilmi/sitirahma/UB PR/ Trans. Iir]