Hi! I'm Yohana, the creator behind the content and curriculum here.
I grew up learning English without a "proper" English environment, yet here I am speaking it! My parents barely spoke the language, nobody around me used it back then, and I was even ridiculed for trying to learn it.
That didn't deter me, though. I kept learning, mainly through movies, books, and songs.
Learning Languages as an Adult
However, as an adult, I've realized it gets tougher to learn a new language, especially those with different writing systems. I remember learning Japanese in high school; as a visual learner, I aced it. But after a few years of not using it, I found I couldn't remember a single thing.
I eventually moved on to Spanish to better connect with my students from South America, Mexico, and Spain. Then I tried Korean because I loved the music (though I've never been a "K-Poper"), and later Mandarin, honoring my Chinese heritage as a born-and-raised Indonesian.
For a long time, these languages just wouldn't stick, until recently. I started using the Goldlist method and focused more on handwriting. What I've achieved in the last 1.5 years has resulted in more progress than all my previous years combined.
Learning Like a Giant Baby
My level in these languages is still around A2, but I've already started speaking and writing with native speakers. I decided to jump right in because, honestly, it's the best way to learn. It reminded me of how I gained fluency in English: I learned like a baby. Or, as I like to call it, a "giant baby."
Advice for Indonesian Learners
If you're learning Indonesian now, let me give you some advice as both a native speaker and a fellow language learner:
- Don't overcomplicate it, just speak!
- Prioritize the words and phrases you actually use every day.
- Make mistakes and learn from them.
People say Indonesian is one of the easiest languages in the world, until you encounter the rules of affixes. I've heard the horror stories! But hey, most of my students become conversational in just six months, and I know you can, too.
Bijan and I built the JADI app specifically for those who want to start speaking from Day 1.
— Yohana
