SACE Stage 2 Indonesian (continuers) common mistakes
SACE Stage 2 Indonesian (continuers) · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Using informal spoken forms such as 'nggak', 'udah', 'gimana', and 'kayak' when writing a formal letter, report, or essay, or conversely using 'tidak' and full formal syntax in a chat-style reply to a friend.
Candidates learn conversational Indonesian from media and peers and do not consciously track the register demanded by the task type, so the first form that comes to mind is written down regardless of audience.
What to do instead
Before writing, decide the register and label it: formal (tidak, sudah, bagaimana, seperti, Anda/Bapak/Ibu) or informal (nggak, udah, gimana, kayak, kamu). Draft, then scan specifically for register markers and swap any that clash with the stated audience and text type.
Answering a listening or reading comprehension question with a single word or a copied phrase from the text instead of a full sentence that directly addresses the question.
Under time pressure candidates treat comprehension items as vocabulary checks and lift the first matching phrase they see or hear, without checking what the question actually asks.
What to do instead
Practise the routine: identify the question word (siapa, apa, mengapa, bagaimana, kapan), find the relevant clause, then write a complete sentence that answers that question word. For 'mengapa' and 'bagaimana' items, include the reason or the process, not just the fact.
Translating word-for-word from English, producing calques such as 'Saya sangat suka untuk pergi' or 'Dia adalah sangat baik' and misplacing 'sangat' or 'tidak'.
Candidates compose in English first and map each word across, unaware that Indonesian avoids the copula 'adalah' with adjectives and does not use 'untuk' after 'suka'.
What to do instead
Memorise high-frequency predicate patterns as chunks: 'suka + verb', 'sangat + adjective', 'tidak + adjective/verb' with no 'adalah'. After drafting, reread each sentence asking whether it follows an Indonesian pattern you have actually seen, and rewrite any that do not.
Confusing the meN- verb with its di- passive and misapplying meN- nasal assimilation, writing 'membaca' correctly but 'mensapu', 'memtulis', or 'di tulis' as one or two words incorrectly.
The assimilation rules (meN- + s becomes meny-, + t becomes men-, + p becomes mem-) are learned as a list rather than a system, and the passive prefix di- is treated as a free-floating word.
What to do instead
Learn the assimilation by the initial sound of the root: meny- before s, men- before t/d, mem- before p/b, meng- before vowels and k, me- before l/m/n/r. Drill ten roots per sound class. Treat 'di-' as a bound prefix joined to the verb, and use 'oleh' only when the agent follows.
Ignoring the affixation of the root when guessing meaning, so 'pembangunan' is read as 'building' rather than 'development', or 'memperbaiki' is missed entirely.
Candidates look up or recall the bare root and stop there, without unpacking ber-, peN- -an, memper- -i, or -kan, which shift meaning substantially.
What to do instead
When meeting an unfamiliar word, strip the affixes, identify the root, then rebuild: ber- (to have/do), peN-...-an (the process/thing), memper-...-i (to make more so), -kan (to make/cause). Record new vocabulary in affixed families rather than as isolated roots.
Producing a short response that lists points without developing them, or omitting one of the required elements (for example, a letter that gives an opinion but no reasons, or a report with findings but no recommendation).
Candidates focus on sentence-level accuracy and run out of planning time, so they satisfy the first requirement and stop rather than checking the whole task.
What to do instead
Spend two minutes writing a skeleton of the required content points from the prompt before composing. Build each point into a paragraph with a statement, a reason, and an example. Finish by ticking each prompt requirement against the draft.
Using 'Anda' with peers or 'kamu' with a teacher, and addressing a letter to 'Bapak/Ibu' while using informal greetings such as 'Hai' in the opening.
Textbook dialogues model peer-to-peer speech, so the polite pronouns and honorific conventions for elders, teachers, and officials are under-practised.
What to do instead
Learn the address system as a set: 'Anda/Bapak/Ibu' for formal and unknown adults, 'kamu' for peers and juniors, plus titles (Pak, Bu, Kak, Mas, Mbak) for real-world contexts. Match the salutation ('Dengan hormat', 'Yth.') to the pronoun choice throughout the text.
Writing about Indonesian culture in generic English-derived generalities ('Indonesians are very friendly and respect elders') without specific, accurate detail such as gotong royong, selamatan, or the role of the family in decision-making.
Candidates rely on broad impressions from class discussion rather than concrete cultural knowledge, and cannot supply the specific practice, term, or example that would earn credit.
What to do instead
Build a bank of five to six cultural topics, each with a key term, a description of the practice, and an example from daily life. In the exam, anchor each claim to a named practice and explain what it involves rather than asserting a trait.
Misreading the time frame or negation in a text, so a plan described with 'akan' or 'rencananya' is reported as something that already happened, or 'tidak semua' is read as 'none'.
Candidates scan for content words and skim over markers of tense, aspect, and scope, which in Indonesian are carried by adverbs and auxiliaries rather than verb inflection.
What to do instead
Underline time and scope markers on the first pass: sudah, telah, sedang, akan, belum, pernah, tidak semua, hampir. Then answer. When a question asks what happened, check explicitly whether the text says it happened, is planned, or was cancelled.
Running out of time because the writing task is started last and left unfinished, or because too long is spent on multiple-choice items that carry few marks.
Candidates work through the paper in order without regard to mark value, and the extended response, which carries the most marks, is squeezed at the end.
What to do instead
Before the exam, set a per-section time budget based on marks. In the exam, do the extended writing task at a planned point with a fixed allocation, keep to a word limit that satisfies the requirement without over-writing, and leave five minutes to check agreement, affixes, and register.