Syntax Error on Written Language in Bipa Program: A Study on Cambodian Students at Widyatama University Bandung, Indonesia

Bahasa Indonesia becomes one of the most favored language for foreigner, especially in Asia. Though the language has the similar root as Malay, Singapore and several South-east Asian countries, Indonesia attracts more to the foreigners within some reasons. The study of Bahasa Indonesia for foreigners is called BIPA, Bahasa Indonesia untuk Penutur Asing. This program has continually developed since the beginning of its appearance. Foreigners who come to Indonesia in various purposes, as traveling, business or even study in some institutions. One of the institution which accepted foreigners as their student was Widyatama University Bandung. They collaborated with NPIC (National Polytechnic Institute of Cambodia) to have a join degree program in 2017 (batch I) and in 2018 (batch II). Students tended to make some mistakes in learning process. The errors were attributable to their native language (Khmer) which was basically different with Bahasa Indonesia. During the learning process in BIPA Program, syntax error occurred especially in written language when they sent information through social media (instant messaging), such as WhatsApp or Line. The research was conducted in Widyatama University during a four-month-program. The research focused only in Syntax level and This study was qualitative research in the form of case study.