Learning Indonesian Online with Rosetta Stone

I remember going to a restaurant with my new friend. He just moved to Bali and he loves languages. While he was ordering his meal in Indonesian, I was truly impressed. He was surprised that after being so long in Bali, I was still unable to speak the language. I felt bad.

A few days later, we are having dinner again, and he ordered something in Indonesian.  Then, he turns to me and says: “you know what, the other day, I’ve met people who live here and they can’t even say the basic stuff”. I was like… “Mmm… yeah man, that’s me”. It was ironic, but I started to feel guilty and I thought I should try and learn a few things.

As my brain likes to trick me, I did forget my new potential resolution, until I heard about Rosetta Stone.

 

Rosetta-what?

 

Language_app

Learn Indonesian Online

 

Rosetta Stone is a language software that uses TrueAccent™ which is the world’s best speech recognition technology.  Rosetta Stone is also way more than just a language app. It uses Dynamic Immersion to teach you new words and phrases in real life context. I’ll get back to this a bit later, don’t worry!

 

Learn Indonesian Online & Clarifications

 

Important Clarifications – AKA Kind Notes

 

work_online_bali

 

In my case, learning Indonesian makes sense! I’ve been living in Bali for a while now and I wanted to learn the basics. If you are wondering if Indonesian is hard to learn – you should know that the language as a whole is quite simple. Although, as I’m originally a French speaker, it’s pretty different from French or English. That being said, I’m not very good at learning languages, so for me, it’s a bit of a struggle! Ha!

Let’s start with a few things about Indonesia and its several languages.

Indonesia is a huge country where you can find many islands with different languages. Here’s a real-life example:

Han is from Java. He speaks Javanese, but there are different dialects there too. This means he would talk a language with his parents, another one with his friends, and he would speak Indonesian with people coming from different islands.  

Indonesian is basically the national language of Indonesia. We also call it “Bahasa Indonesia” and it refers to “Language Indonesia”.

 

Learning Indonesian Online with Rosetta Stone

 

Girl_Travel_Canggu

Rosetta Stone Bahasa

 

As Indonesian is a unique language to me (it’s not similar to English or French, so in my case, it’s harder to remember it and to learn it), I needed to start with the basics. It’s simple: when Indonesians speak their language I can only hear weird sounds that don’t make sense to me!

Taking online lessons was the smart way for me! I started to dive into Rosetta Stone last month when I was still visiting my family in Canada. Then, I pursued it here in Bali where it all started to make more sense. As I’m driving and I see advertising in the language or hear people talk it’s a lot easier to wrap my head around it.

 

How Rosetta Stone Works

 

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Learn Indonesian App

 

As I mentioned above, Rosetta Stone simulates an online immersion. If I compare it to free apps such as Duolingo, it’s way better because there’s no translation on your screen. It can seem hard at first but it’s a great way to understand on your own what a word means.

Rosetta Stone stimulates your brain in different ways. You’ll be seeing images and words. You’ll be hearing sounds, words, sentences and conversations. You’ll be writing down words, picking from a list of choices and speaking!

The way Rosetta Stone is designed is brilliant! You first start with a core lesson (that takes about 30 minutes) and you’ll be learning a lot of new vocabulary in a short period of time. I always feel overwhelmed by these lessons because it seems impossible to remember. Although, my brain seems to be ready for it because it turns out I remember a lot more than I thought I could. After the core lessons, you have shorter lessons (about 10 minutes), where you review everything in different ways (reading, speaking, writing, understanding). The best part is that you always review the previous vocabulary and learn new vocabulary at the same time. This means you won’t forget what you previously learned as it reminds you constantly what you just learned.

You can learn with Rosetta Stone across multiple devices, I personally access it through my desktop as I like it better!

 

Why You Should Learn a Foreign Language

 

travel_app

Best App To Learn Indonesian

 

Why not? If you like to travel short-term or long-term, learning a new language can be super useful. It’s also a polite way to interact with locals. I, personally, struggle with learning new languages and I’m glad I found this app as I’m truly interested in learning Indonesian. So far it’s the first time I managed to retain vocabulary while I’m learning on my own.

If you’re moving to another country it just makes sense you learn the basics to help you get around.

 

Rosetta Stone: The Best Way to Learn a Language on your Own

 

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Learn Indonesia in Bali

 

If you’re wondering how to learn a foreign language on your own and at home, Rosetta Stone has it all figured out for you. They offer over 30+ languages total, and 24 in their mobile app, with multiple subscription packages. You can also try it for free!

Learning a language at home also means you’ll have to be disciplined. I try to do about 30 minutes every day during the week.

I don’t expect to become fluent anytime soon, but I simply want to be able to have basic conversations with the locals.

If you’re wondering if it’s affordable and worth your money – here’s my take on it!

  • It can be as cheap as 7.49/month if you take a package for 24 months.
  • You can also download the lessons to do it even when you’re offline.
  • You can buy the course with confidence (and cancel anytime).
  • Rosetta Stone has been trusted for 25 years now – you can read the reviews and the testimonies.
  • I’m loving their product – and I can’t wait to be able to speak more Indonesian! I’m very happy to recommend them!

 

Note: Unfortunately, Rosetta Stone ended their Bahasa course in 2019.


READ MORE

 

How to Move to Bali
How to Get Started as a Digital Nomad
Best Hotels, Hostels & Retreats in Canggu

 

BEFORE YOU GO

 

☑ Book your flight: If your flight isn’t booked yet – check out the flights on Skyscanner or via Google Flights. My top saving tip is flexibility. If you’re flexible, you should be able to find a cheaper flight.

☑ Book your accommodation: I always use Airbnb and Booking.com. If you’d rather stay in a hostel, you should take a look at the options on Hostelworld. If you click on the Airbnb link and you don’t have an account yet – you’ll get a $30 discount on your first booking.

☑ Protect your cute face: Oh, you may want to protect your cute face with a travel medical insurance. I would suggest SafetyWing as they offer the best rates, especially for long-term travelers. Otherwise, you can also take a look at World Nomads.

☑ Pack the essentials: You can consult this list when it’s time to pack your bag! Do not leave without a universal charger, a power bank and your passport!

☑  Do you need a visa? If you aren’t sure if you need a visa, it would be a smart idea to take a quick look before you go. You can use iVisa – it’s super useful and easy to use.

 

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Disclaimer: I have partnered with Rosetta Stone to learn Indonesian. As always, all opinions are my own! I love it and I’ll keep learning even after the publication of this article! This post may include affiliate links. If you click one of them, we may receive a cute commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you.

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