Since the 11th Indonesian Language Congress in 2018 Indonesian as an international language has been and is being Programmed by the Government of Indonesia through the Language Development and Development Agency of the Ministry of Education and Culture (Language Agency). In 2045 Indonesian will be programmed as the international language of instruction at the United Nations. In order to achieve the internationalization of Indonesian, in 2024 the Language Agency targets to increase the number of foreign speakers of Indonesian to 100,000 people. The process of adding Indonesian as a Foreign Language Education (IFLE) must be balanced by the presence of competent IFL teachers. However, until now there has been no tertiary institution that has opened a IFLE study program, apart from UPI. Thus, the MPIFLE is the first IFL Study Program in Indonesia, even in the world.
The MPIFLE is the only study program that focuses on IFL, both at the national and international levels. Education related to IFL in various tertiary institutions in Indonesia is still in the form of IFL courses or concentrations. In addition, IFL organized by various tertiary institutions, institutions, professional associations or IFL study centres is still limited to IFLE training with varying hours, 10 hours to 10 hours. 30 hours. The IFLE training is carried out online or offline, depending on the scope of the participants, national or international level. In general, the training is in collaboration with the APPBIPA/ATP-IFL (Association for Teaching and Promotion Indonesian as Foreign Language) or Agency of Language Development and Fostering MoEC (ALDC/Badan Bahasa).
The IFL has challenges and opportunities covering political, economic, socio-cultural, and science and technology development aspects in developing IFL. In addition, the Postgraduate School as the MPIFLE is very intensive and conducive in developing science.
On the political aspect, in line with Indonesia’s foreign policy which is getting better, the interest of foreigners to learn Indonesian is also increasing. There is a significant relationship between Indonesian political conditions inside and outside the country and the interest of foreigners to learn Indonesian language and culture.
In the economic aspect, the increase in the interest of foreigners to study IFL is closely related to the opening of the free market, for example the Asean Economic Community. Foreign companies or foreigners who work and do business in Indonesia are required to use the Indonesian language in accordance with the Government Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia No. 57 of 2014 concerning Development, Development and Protection of Language and Literature, and Enhancement of the Functions of the Indonesian Language as well as Regulation of the President of the Republic of Indonesia Number 20 of 2014 2018 concerning the Use of Foreign Workers in Article 26 paragraph (1c) regarding the obligation of foreign worker employers to facilitate Indonesian language education and training for foreign workers. Thus the opportunities for the MPIFLE are increasingly wide open.
Social and cultural aspects have also become important aspects in the development of IFL today. Indonesian social and cultural aspects are one of the Indonesian Government’s diplomatic tools in the global world. Indonesian social and culture has become a form of soft diplomacy from the Government of Indonesia which has made Indonesia a tourist destination for foreign tourists. In addition, the interest of foreign students participating in the Darmasiswa and Developing Countries Partnership (DCP/KNB) program to study Indonesian language, social, and culture has also increased.
In the science and technology aspect there is also a significant relationship between the number of IFL students and the progress of science and technology. As mentioned above, the Badan Bahasa targets the number of IFL students to increase by 100,000 by 2024. IFLE is one of the flagship programs of the ALDC/Badan Bahasa since 2021. During the Covid 19 pandemic, IFLE was carried out online. It turns out that online learning makes it easier for foreigners to learn IFLE so that there is a significant increase in the number of IFLE students, especially in England, Russia, Germany, the United States, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the Philippines, and Thailand.
MPIFLE was established in 2020 as part of the development study Programs pointed to Directorate General of Higher Education and UPI State Higher Education Institution. The establishment of the MPIFLE is one of the ways UPI supports the Indonesian Government to internationalise the Indonesian Language by providing IFL teacher candidates who are ready to be at the forefront in IFL teaching, either domestically or abroad. In addition, the MPIFLE was established to provide opportunities for graduates of the IFLE concentration S-1 to further deepen the knowledge of IFLE. Several tertiary institutions that hold IFLE courses at the undergraduate level include UPI, UM, UNJ, UNY, UNNES, UNESA, UM, UI, UNPAD and various other public or private universities.
Based on the analysis of the necessity of various departments of IFL either domestically or abroad, IFL teachers who have competence in language and literature, art, and Indonesian culture, Indonesian knowledge, and foreign language become a necessity. Therefore, the curriculum applied is the curriculum depends on the Indonesian Qualification framework at the 8th level by providing courses based on the necessity of the field.
The research and expertise of the study program is the teaching of the Indonesian language for foreigners. Graduates will become professional IFLE teachers who have the ability to teach Indonesian to foreigners at IFLE institutions at home and abroad, Cooperation Education Unit schools, Indonesian Studies programs at universities abroad, as well as teaching programs IFLE and Indonesian culture as part of cultural diplomacy at various Embassies of the Republic of Indonesia (KBRI) in the world.
Users of graduates of the MPIFLE Study Program are various tertiary institutions that hold IFLE courses, language institutions at public or private universities, institutions administering IFLE courses (formal and informal), schools in Cooperation Education Units (international schools), institutions the government that organizes IFLE courses, armed forces command schools (SESKOAD, SESKOAU, SESKOAL) that accept foreign student officer exchanges, Indonesian Embassies in various countries, Indonesian diaspora in various countries, foreign embassies in Indonesia, or independent IFLE instructors.
Sources of prospective students of the MPIFLE are bachelor graduates from various public or private tertiary institutions that hold IFLE lectures, bachelor graduates who are interested in teaching IFLE, whether those with a background in Indonesian, English, or foreign languages others, or IFLE teachers with non-Indonesian language backgrounds, foreign students who want to learn Indonesian language and culture, diaspora or Indonesian citizens living abroad who teach IFLE. Externally, prospective students are recruited through various lines of media and collaboration with professional associations (APPBIPA, HPBI, HISKI, FORPROSSI), IKA Indonesian Language Education, IKA UPI. Internally, through the fast track program, Indonesian Language Education students concentrate on MPIFLE. This fast track program is part of maintaining the sustainability of the MPIFLE.
In the aspect of Partners and Alliances for the MPIFLE, the Masters Program partners with the Agency for Language Development and Cultivation, the professional Association for Teaching and Promotion Indonesian as A Foreign Language (APPBIPA), various IFLE course institutions at such as Puri Bahasa, Wisma Bahasa, and Cinta Bahasa, international schools such as the Bandung Independent School, Stamford School, and Mutiara Nusantara, various tertiary institutions that hold IFLE courses at S-1, overseas universities that open IFLE. Several activities in the MPIFLE collaborate with these partners, for example a webinar inviting IFLE lecturers at Xi’an International Studies University, inbound visiting professors from Moscow State University Russia, becoming guest lecturers at Moscow State University Russia, Guangxi University China, Nanzan University Japan, conducted community service at the Indonesian Embassy in London and APPBIPA England, the study program curriculum development was also assisted by the Bandung Independent School, Puri Bahasa, and the West Java Language Center.
The aspects of E-Learning, Open Course Ware, and Distance Education are very possible to be carried out by the MPIFLE considering that some of the study program’s market share are foreigners or Indonesian citizens living abroad. Even now, Distance Education (PJJ) has been carried out because there are foreign students from China, America, France who are studying from their countries.
The first-grade lecture was begun on 1st February 2022 the academic year 2020/2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic. Even though the lectures are through online techniques through online meeting applications, lectures continue to run according to UPI academic standards.
In January 2023 the MPIFLE graduated 3 students with a study period of 3 semesters (1 person) and 4 semesters (2 persons). Graduates of the IFLE Study Program can become IFLE teachers, IFLE researchers, and IFLE institutional developers. These three graduates have worked according to their fields, namely IFLE teachers at international schools, independent IFLE teachers online and offline, and IFLE content creator in social media. The Indonesian government’s policy on internationalization of Indonesian needs to be supported by universities. Higher education as a scientific barometer makes various efforts to strengthen the role of Indonesian as the official language of the country, national language, and towards the role of international languages. Colleges need to prepare graduates to support those roles. In this regard, to strengthen the existence of Indonesian in the international realm, as stated in Law of the Republic of Indonesia Number 24 of 2009 concerning the Flag, Language, and National Emblem, as well as the National Anthem in Article 33 mandates that “Employees in government and private work environments such as those who are not able to speak Indonesian must follow and be included in learning to achieve Indonesian language skills”. In addition, Article 44 mandates:
- The government is improving the function of Indonesian to become an international language gradually, systematically, and continuously;
- The improvement of the function of Indonesian into an international language as referred to in paragraph (1) is coordinated by language institutions;
- Further provisions regarding the function of Indonesian becoming an international language as referred to in paragraph (1) are regulated in a Government Regulation.
The mandate of the law was further downgraded into Government Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia 57 of 2014 concerning the Development, Guidance, and Protection of Language and Literature, as well as the Improvement of Indonesian Functions as well as Presidential Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 20 of 2018 concerning the Use of Foreign Workers in Article 26 paragraph (1c) concerning the obligation of employers of foreign workers to facilitate Indonesian education and training for foreign workers.