Should I pick up 3/4 Indo?

[tigerclouds]

Some backstory: I'm going into year 12 next year and undertaking English, Bio, Chem, Psych and Legal. Lately, I've been contemplating and kind of regretting not choosing Indo as a VCE subject. I did it from year 7 till year 10 and I reallllyyy enjoyed the subject as I found the language and culture so interesting and similar to my native tongue (Arabic). I actually ended up getting the academic award for Indo 4 years in a row and got 2nd place in the Sayembara Lisan competition a few years ago, when I took part in it.
I feel like I didn't consider it enough as an option for VCE.
However, if I did choose it, I would have had to have done it through Distance Ed as I'm the only person who would want to do the subject in my school (we have a tiny cohort) and I feel like that might have put me off. Also, I remember the workload in year 10 being extreme, like I probably had the most homework for Indo out of all my subjects and that was such a huge jump from previous year levels. This reduced my liking for the subject because I felt like I was just being bombarded with work and I feel like that ultimately is what stopped me from continuing it in VCE. My grades also dropped a bit in year 10, going from predominantly A+s to mostly As and a few A+s. So that was another factor to consider and I think that's because I found the topics and assessment tasks becoming more complex and sophisticated. However, I've always had a thing for languages, always enjoyed learning them because it stimulates my brain in a very different way than say my science subjects do. Not to mention the scaling for Indo is huge and it would also be really cool to receive a Baccalaureate (I did Methods this year). Tbh, the scaling is what's having me regret not choosing Indo big time, like a 40 literally scales to a 46 and if I'm fairly good at it then why not, you know?
So. If I were to pick it up in year 12, I would have to drop either Psych or Legal. I do have an interest in Law and I do find Legal interesting but it's really hard to do well in this subject because it's all about writing skill. Psych I find to be quite dry at times but I really like some of the topics and since I find it easier than my other subjects, I like that it gives me a sort of break. Also, both subjects are also quite applicable to everyday life: like Legal really helps me stay informed with the news and psych is interesting in the way it explains human behaviour, however, I can't really apply Indo in my everyday life as I don't know where I would use it outside school so it's gonna be hard to consolidate my learning and also gain motivation for it.

Is it going to be very challenging picking up Indo 3/4 without 1/2? Honestly, I'm leaning towards not picking it up because I'm scared it would take up too much time from my other subjects as I would probably need to spend time catching up on the 1/2 stuff and I'm aiming really high for all my subjects. Also, isn't it like really risky picking up a new subject this late? I'm just having a lot of 'what if..." moments.

What are the assessments like? I know there's an oral at the end of the year but I'm curious to know what the SACs are like. Would the Distance Ed program make this more challenging and what's it like studying a language through Distance Ed?

Any advice would be VERY much appreciated!

[J_Rho]

Some backstory: I'm going into year 12 next year and undertaking English, Bio, Chem, Psych and Legal. Lately, I've been contemplating and kind of regretting not choosing Indo as a VCE subject. I did it from year 7 till year 10 and I reallllyyy enjoyed the subject as I found the language and culture so interesting and similar to my native tongue (Arabic). I actually ended up getting the academic award for Indo 4 years in a row and got 2nd place in the Sayembara Lisan competition a few years ago, when I took part in it.
I feel like I didn't consider it enough as an option for VCE.
However, if I did choose it, I would have had to have done it through Distance Ed as I'm the only person who would want to do the subject in my school (we have a tiny cohort) and I feel like that might have put me off. Also, I remember the workload in year 10 being extreme, like I probably had the most homework for Indo out of all my subjects and that was such a huge jump from previous year levels. This reduced my liking for the subject because I felt like I was just being bombarded with work and I feel like that ultimately is what stopped me from continuing it in VCE. My grades also dropped a bit in year 10, going from predominantly A+s to mostly As and a few A+s. So that was another factor to consider and I think that's because I found the topics and assessment tasks becoming more complex and sophisticated. However, I've always had a thing for languages, always enjoyed learning them because it stimulates my brain in a very different way than say my science subjects do. Not to mention the scaling for Indo is huge and it would also be really cool to receive a Baccalaureate (I did Methods this year). Tbh, the scaling is what's having me regret not choosing Indo big time, like a 40 literally scales to a 46 and if I'm fairly good at it then why not, you know?
So. If I were to pick it up in year 12, I would have to drop either Psych or Legal. I do have an interest in Law and I do find Legal interesting but it's really hard to do well in this subject because it's all about writing skill. Psych I find to be quite dry at times but I really like some of the topics and since I find it easier than my other subjects, I like that it gives me a sort of break. Also, both subjects are also quite applicable to everyday life: like Legal really helps me stay informed with the news and psych is interesting in the way it explains human behaviour, however, I can't really apply Indo in my everyday life as I don't know where I would use it outside school so it's gonna be hard to consolidate my learning and also gain motivation for it.

Is it going to be very challenging picking up Indo 3/4 without 1/2? Honestly, I'm leaning towards not picking it up because I'm scared it would take up too much time from my other subjects as I would probably need to spend time catching up on the 1/2 stuff and I'm aiming really high for all my subjects. Also, isn't it like really risky picking up a new subject this late? I'm just having a lot of 'what if..." moments.

What are the assessments like? I know there's an oral at the end of the year but I'm curious to know what the SACs are like. Would the Distance Ed program make this more challenging and what's it like studying a language through Distance Ed?

Any advice would be VERY much appreciated!

Hey tigerclouds!

I was/am in a similar situation to you!! I did indo previously and excelled but dropped it in yr 11. In regards to LOTE by distance: IT IS HARD. Most people strongly recommend not doing LOTE unless you are already fluent cause you can't get up to the standard to get an amazing score unless you're a crazy genius brilliant kid. However, if you want to do it because you enjoy it and not because it scales up, by all means, do it! Just bear in mind you probably won't score amazingly because you are up against students who have always been fluent as it is/was their native language. My past indo teacher, from whom I asked for advice said to me: Look, VCE LOTE is nothing like what you did in Yrs7 - 10 and if you're not already fluent RIGHT NOW you will do terribly.
Now, of course, it needs to be taken with a grain of salt, this teacher is not optimistic of student ability and is very much down to the facts and his advice to me perhaps won't be relevant to you but maybe it helps.

Have you/could you do Arabic as a subject?

[tigerclouds]

Hey tigerclouds!

I was/am in a similar situation to you!! I did indo previously and excelled but dropped it in yr 11. In regards to LOTE by distance: IT IS HARD. Most people strongly recommend not doing LOTE unless you are already fluent cause you can't get up to the standard to get an amazing score unless you're a crazy genius brilliant kid. However, if you want to do it because you enjoy it and not because it scales up, by all means, do it! Just bear in mind you probably won't score amazingly because you are up against students who have always been fluent as it is/was their native language. My past indo teacher, from whom I asked for advice said to me: Look, VCE LOTE is nothing like what you did in Yrs7 - 10 and if you're not already fluent RIGHT NOW you will do terribly.
Now, of course, it needs to be taken with a grain of salt, this teacher is not optimistic of student ability and is very much down to the facts and his advice to me perhaps won't be relevant to you but maybe it helps.

Have you/could you do Arabic as a subject?

Thank you so much J_Rho, that puts things into perspective cause you’re right, it is gonna be hard going up against people who have mastered the subject already. As for Arabic, it’s quite hard to study because it’s so technical and it doesn’t end up scaling anyway so I don’t think I’ll end up doing that. Thank you again, you’ve helped me out a lot!

[nocturn3]

Hi tigerclouds!

I just finished Year 12 this year and managed to get a 43 in Indo! Although I can't say that I have mastered the subject... >_< I started learning Indonesian in Year 11 via Distance Education, although I do have an Indonesian background which made it a bit easier to ease into. However, the main difference between myself and the other Distance Ed kids (many of whom had no Indonesian background) was that they had learned Indonesian at school in the classroom since Primary School, or even Year 7, so had a better foundation in terms of grammar and speaking formally without slang! So I think that you may have the advantage of having a teacher at school to ask questions if you have any issues with the homework.

Basically, every week you must complete a workset and call your Distance Ed teacher to practice your speaking/oral. I personally quite liked the SACs from VSL and I've heard that the SACs at VSL are fairly straightforward compared to other schools? Try to ask your teacher questions about the SAC around a week or so before so that you can get a better idea of what it will be like. In the end I think the SACs either stayed the same or scaled up a tiny bit which I was pretty happy with

In terms of keeping on track, it's down to you! If you don't complete one workset, it's as if you didn't attend a week of Indonesian class. So it's important to try to stay up to date. Every term there will be a seminar in the city where you can meet your Distance Ed teacher and other fellow students. I didn't go to all of them, but it was fun to meet the other kids in the cohort and the teachers are extremely kind and really want to help you achieve your best!

Hope this gives you some insight! Personally, I also really like languages -- I did two languages in Year 12 haha -- and they do help with your ATAR. So I think it would be good to keep an open mind. Best of luck with your decision!

[tigerclouds]

Hi tigerclouds!

I just finished Year 12 this year and managed to get a 43 in Indo! Although I can't say that I have mastered the subject... >_< I started learning Indonesian in Year 11 via Distance Education, although I do have an Indonesian background which made it a bit easier to ease into. However, the main difference between myself and the other Distance Ed kids (many of whom had no Indonesian background) was that they had learned Indonesian at school in the classroom since Primary School, or even Year 7, so had a better foundation in terms of grammar and speaking formally without slang! So I think that you may have the advantage of having a teacher at school to ask questions if you have any issues with the homework.

Basically, every week you must complete a workset and call your Distance Ed teacher to practice your speaking/oral. I personally quite liked the SACs from VSL and I've heard that the SACs at VSL are fairly straightforward compared to other schools? Try to ask your teacher questions about the SAC around a week or so before so that you can get a better idea of what it will be like. In the end I think the SACs either stayed the same or scaled up a tiny bit which I was pretty happy with

In terms of keeping on track, it's down to you! If you don't complete one workset, it's as if you didn't attend a week of Indonesian class. So it's important to try to stay up to date. Every term there will be a seminar in the city where you can meet your Distance Ed teacher and other fellow students. I didn't go to all of them, but it was fun to meet the other kids in the cohort and the teachers are extremely kind and really want to help you achieve your best!

Hope this gives you some insight! Personally, I also really like languages -- I did two languages in Year 12 haha -- and they do help with your ATAR. So I think it would be good to keep an open mind. Best of luck with your decision!

Wow that’s an awesome score, well done to you!! Thank you so so much for your time and insight, I'm definitely more informed with the Distance Ed program now.