October 4, 2016

International student profiled in new ABC series

PhD candidate helping local students connect with Indonesian culture

Dracula might not seem like an obvious way to learn a language, but for Ika Lestari Damayanti (pictured), Bram Stoker’s gothic tale of Count Dracula combined her two passions: vampires and a new language.

Until she stumbled upon the 1897 novel, Ika, then 15 years old and living in Indonesia, had struggled to grasp English through the traditional grammar-based lessons.

However, the avid reader saved all her pocket money and bought a copy of Dracula, and although she couldn’t understand all the words, it provided the ideal segue into the English language.

“When I was learning English, it was all about learning grammar. I had to learn five new words a day, but I couldn’t understand the patterns, how the words fitted together,” Ika said.

“My father was retired from the Army so we didn’t have a lot of money. But I saved hard and I bought Dracula. I loved the story but I couldn’t understand many of the words. I love to read though, so I started learning the language based on what I love doing.”

That passion for languages and learning has lingered for Ika, who is now a PhD candidate in the University of Wollongong’s School of Education, supervised by Dr Pauline Jones, with her research focusing on how traditional modes of storytelling can be used to teach English to students in Indonesia.

On Friday (30 September), Ika was named the winner of the People's Choice Awards of the 2016 Asia-Pacific Three-Minute Thesis Final, after taking out the UOW competition earlier this year. 

Based in UOW’s Early Start Research Institute, Ika is one of the subjects of the ABC’s International Student Stories, which launched on Monday (3 October) on ABC iView. The series profiles the stories and contribution of international students to Australian universities.

Since moving to Australia two and a half years ago to study at UOW, Ika has become a valuable member of UOW’s Indonesian community.

She volunteers as a Cultural Ambassador for UOW’s International Student Program, a role that sees her travel to primary and high schools in the region and introduce her culture to the students.

“I use storytelling, crafts and traditional games to teach them about Indonesia,” Ika said.

“I taught the students about jumping rope in Indonesia, which is very different from jumping rope in Australia. In Australia, the rope is quite fancy, but in Indonesia, when I was a child we used elastic bands. We would collect all the elastic bands from our mother’s groceries and create one large band to use for jumping rope.”

As cultural ambassador, Ika encourages students to be engaged with their Indonesian studies and also teaches them Bahasa Indonesia using the same pedagogical storytelling model – which focuses on fun, interactive narratives - that comprises her PhD.

Ika, who has two young daughters, has also established a group for parents through UOW’s Indonesian Students Society.

It was born out of a desire to provide support to other mothers who are often away from their home and culture, and are struggling to afford the cost of childcare.

“We have a community of Indonesian mums and we meet every week, and we play games, tell stories, and connect with our culture. We bring Indonesian food,” Ika said.

“Childcare is very expensive, and this helps other mums to connect, have a break and the children learn about their culture.”

It is a small window into the type of person Ika is: kind, unassuming and willing to help in any way she can. Her contribution to both the UOW and wider community are “small things”, she said.

“I don’t think it is a big deal, I created the mother’s group because it helped people and I enjoy it as much as they do,” Ika said.

“One of the boys calls it the Royal Family School because on the first day I introduced myself as a princess. So I am known as the princess and all the mothers are queens.”

But the quietly spoken PhD candidate underestimates the positive role she plays at UOW, as both as researcher and an international student. Her approach, she said, is simple.

“I think if you do something from your heart, you will have an impact.”

Ika’s story is available on ABC iView until 17 January, 2017.

Photo: Paul Jones