Learn Indonesian in London

Indonesian Language Courses at LSI Language School in Central London

Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a standardized dialect of the Malay language that was officially recognised as such with the declaration of Indonesia's independence in 1945. The Malaysian and Indonesian languages remain quite similar.  Bahasa Malaysia (Malay), spoken in Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian), spoken in Indonesia are sufficiently similar to be considered merely dialects of a single language.

Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation in the world. Of its large population the number of people who speak Indonesian fluently is quickly approaching 100%, thus making Indonesian one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. Most Indonesians, aside from speaking the national language, are often fluent in another regional language/local dialect (examples include Minangkabau, Sundanese and Javanese) which are commonly used at home and within their local community. Most formal education, as well as nearly all national media and other forms of communication, are conducted in Indonesian. In East Timor, formerly part of Indonesia, the Indonesian language is recognized by the constitution as one of the two working languages (the other is English, alongside the official languages of Tetum and Portuguese).

Indonesian is spoken by more than 240 million people in Indonesia and over 1.5 million people worldwide, particularly in the Netherlands, the Philippines and Malaysia and some parts of Southern Thailand, Brunei, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Australia and the United States.

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is the world's largest archipelagic state comprising 17,500 islands in Southeast Asia. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected parliament and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, the Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Indonesia was the country hardest hit by the East Asian financial crisis of 1997-98. Against the US dollar, the currency dropped from about Rp. 2,000 to Rp. 18,000, and the economy shrunk by 13.7%. The administration led by Mr Yudhoyono, elected president in September 2004 has emphasised the need to increase economic growth and investment and to create jobs. The administration's other stated priority is to stamp out corruption, which significantly raises producers' costs and deters investment. The 2006 GDP growth (5.5%) is expected to increase in 2007, but it is not enough to make a significant impact on unemployment, and stagnant wages growth, and increases in fuel and rice prices have worsened poverty levels. As of 2006, an estimated 17.8% of the population live below the poverty line, and 49.0% of the population live on less than US$2 per day.

Whether you are learning Indonesian for business, leisure or academic purpose, at LSI we will ensure that your Indonesian language course at our school in Central London is a successful and enjoyable experience.

• Your current level of Indonesian and training requirements will be carefully assessed.
• Our Indonesian tutors, who are all highly qualified, have many years of experience teaching Indonesian at all levels.
• Your course will be tailor-made to meet your specific training needs, ensuring that it is relevant, practical, effective and fun.
• Our tutors use a wide range of up-to-date teaching materials including a variety of books, authentic documents, audio and video recordings.