Internationalization of Higher Education Through Indonesian Language Training for Foreign Speakers (BIPA)

Abstract

The internationalization of higher education encourages institutions to prepare faculty members capable of supporting the learning process of international students. One of the challenges faced by higher education institutions is ensuring that faculty members are prepared to establish academic communication and adaptive learning environments for international students with diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. This community service activity aims to enhance faculty readiness in supporting international students’ learning through a training program for teaching Indonesian as a Foreign Language (BIPA) at STAIN Majene. The activity was held over two days on May 4–5, 2026, in the Combining Lab and Microteaching Lab at STAIN Majene. Participants included 20 full-time and part-time faculty members from various academic programs at STAIN Majene. The training featured two presenters from the Bolasugi Language School in Makassar. The activity employed a participatory approach through interactive lectures, discussions, instructional material development exercises, learning simulations, teaching practice sessions, and evaluation via pre- and post-tests. The results of the activity showed an increase in participants’ understanding of BIPA teaching and cross-cultural academic communication. The average pretest score of 56.4 increased to 84.7 on the posttest. Participants also demonstrated improved ability in developing simple teaching materials and using more communicative language.