10/11/2025
๐The AII is proud to be providing funding support of $25,000 through its 2024-25 annual grants program to Pondok Bahasa. Their project creates curriculum-aligned cinematic Indonesian lessons and classroom materials to strengthen student engagement. By supporting Australian teachers, it aims to re-engage students with authentic content and promote cultural understanding in Indonesian language education๐
In a studio just outside Bogor, the final takes roll for our Term 3 studio sessions. The crew leans in, the presenters hold their lines, and Yayasan Cipta Mandiri-YCM Bogor apprentice sound mixer โ once hesitant โ now adjusts the levels with quiet confidence, having developed new production and post-production skills alongside the team.
At Pondok Bahasa, we create cinematic lessons that bring Indonesian to life for students across Australia. Designed for classroom use, our resources blend storytelling with curriculum-aligned learning, helping teachers inspire curiosity and connection. Each production is also a form of collaboration โ where Indonesian creatives, educators, and communities contribute their skills and perspectives to make language learning authentic, visual, and human.
For Pondok Bahasa, this project goes far beyond film. Supported by the Australia-Indonesia Institute, itโs about building bridges โ between language, creativity, and opportunity. Weโre working to grow the number of Australian students that choose Indonesian as an elective subject through authentic storytelling, made possible by hands-on collaboration like this.
An Australian Volunteers Program volunteer, currently with YCM at Bogor Tours, joined the team for a short while โ guiding English pronunciation, refining delivery, and sharing insights from her career in marketing and production.
It feels like coming full circle. Pondok Bahasa first began through work with YCM and the Australian Volunteers Program years ago. To return here, creating side by side again, is a reminder that language learning isnโt just about words โ itโs about people, purpose, and shared growth.
