Learn Hardcore Indonesian: Dosen kami menjelaskan langkah penelitian ilmiah sebelum kami melakukan eksperimen kecil. - Our lecturer explains the steps of scientific research before we do a small experiment.

The closest natural translation is “lecturer” or “university teacher”.
It does not usually refer to school teachers (elementary, middle, high school); those are called guru.
Profesor in Indonesian is a specific academic title, not a general word for any university teacher.

So dosen kami is best translated as “our lecturer” or “our professor”, depending on context.

Why is kami used here instead of kita? What’s the difference?

Both kami and kita mean “we / us”, but:

kami = we (excluding the person spoken to)
kita = we (including the person spoken to)

In this sentence, kami refers to “we (the students)” and does not include the listener. That’s why kami is used. If the speaker wanted to include the listener in the group, they would use kita.

How do we know this sentence is in the past? There’s no past tense like in English.

Indonesian verbs do not change form for tense (past, present, future).

menjelaskan can mean “explains”, “is explaining”, or “explained”, depending on context.
melakukan can mean “do/does”, “is doing”, or “did”.

The time is understood from context or from time words like:

tadi (earlier, just now), kemarin (yesterday), besok (tomorrow), etc.

In a narrative about class activities, the natural English translation is past:
“Our lecturer explained … before we did a small experiment.”

What exactly is menjelaskan and how is it related to jelas?

jelas = clear (adjective)
menjelaskan = to explain / to make something clear

Formed as:

meN- (verb prefix) + jelas (clear) + -kan (suffix) → menjelaskan

So literally, menjelaskan means “to make (something) clear,” which is why it’s used for “to explain.”

What is the structure of langkah penelitian ilmiah? Which word modifies which?

Breakdown:

langkah = step(s)
penelitian = research
ilmiah = scientific

The structure is:
> langkah (penelitian ilmiah)

So it means:

“the steps of scientific research”
or “scientific research steps”

Word order:

langkah (head noun)
penelitian (noun that specifies the type: research steps)
ilmiah (adjective: scientific)

Why is langkah (singular) translated as “steps” (plural) in English?

Indonesian usually does not mark plural forms on nouns.

langkah can mean “step” or “steps”, depending on context.
To emphasize plurality, Indonesian often uses reduplication:
- langkah-langkah = steps (clearly plural)

In this sentence, it’s natural in English to say “steps of scientific research”, even though Indonesian just says langkah.

Can I say langkah-langkah penelitian ilmiah instead? Is that better?

Yes, you can.

langkah penelitian ilmiah = step(s) of scientific research (plural is implied)
langkah-langkah penelitian ilmiah = explicitly “the steps of scientific research”

In textbooks or formal explanations, langkah-langkah penelitian ilmiah is very common, because the writer usually talks about a specific, standard list of steps. Both forms are correct; the reduplicated one just makes the plurality clearer.

What does the prefix me- do in menjelaskan and melakukan, and what about -kan?

In both menjelaskan and melakukan:

meN- (a form of me- that changes shape depending on the first consonant)
- creates an active verb, usually transitive (takes an object).
-kan is a suffix that often adds meanings like:
- causative: “to make something [adjective]”
- or indicates doing something to/for an object.

Examples:

jelas (clear) → menjelaskan = to make something clear → to explain
laku (act, behavior) → lakukan → melakukan = to carry out / to perform an act → to do, to carry out

So meN- … -kan is a very common pattern for active transitive verbs.

What does melakukan mean exactly? Is it just “do”?

melakukan means “to do / to carry out / to perform.”

It’s commonly used with abstract nouns or actions, for example:

melakukan eksperimen – to carry out an experiment
melakukan penelitian – to conduct research
melakukan tugas – to do a task
melakukan wawancara – to conduct an interview

English often just says “do”, but “carry out” or “perform” can be closer in meaning.

Could we say mengadakan eksperimen kecil instead of melakukan eksperimen kecil? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say mengadakan eksperimen kecil.

melakukan eksperimen kecil
- focuses on performing / carrying out the experiment.
mengadakan eksperimen kecil
- mengadakan comes from ada (to exist), and often means “to hold / to organize / to put on”
- this emphasizes organizing/holding the experiment as an event.

In many contexts they overlap, but:

describing the procedural action → melakukan is more neutral.
describing setting up or hosting an event → mengadakan is more natural.

Why is it eksperimen kecil and not kecil eksperimen? Where do adjectives usually go?

In Indonesian, adjectives normally come after the noun.

eksperimen kecil = small experiment
rumah besar = big house
buku baru = new book

Putting the adjective before the noun (kecil eksperimen) is not normal; it would sound wrong or at best poetic/marked. So the standard order is:
> noun + adjective → eksperimen kecil

What is the role of sebelum in this sentence, and can we change the order of the clauses?

sebelum is a conjunction meaning “before”. It introduces a clause that happens earlier in time than the main clause.

Original order:

Dosen kami menjelaskan … sebelum kami melakukan eksperimen kecil.
- Our lecturer explained … before we did a small experiment.

You can also put the sebelum-clause first:

Sebelum kami melakukan eksperimen kecil, dosen kami menjelaskan langkah penelitian ilmiah.

When the sebelum clause comes first, it’s usual to add a comma after it. The meaning does not change.

Is penelitian ilmiah redundant? Doesn’t penelitian already mean “research”?

penelitian does mean “research”, but penelitian ilmiah is more specific.

penelitian = research in general (any investigation, study, inquiry)
penelitian ilmiah = scientific research, research done in a systematic, scientific way, usually following a method.

So in a context like this (steps, experiments), penelitian ilmiah emphasizes that we’re talking about formal scientific research, not just any casual investigation.

How formal or casual is this sentence? Would it be used in everyday speech?

The sentence is neutral to slightly formal, and it’s very natural in:

textbooks
academic writing
classroom descriptions

In everyday spoken Indonesian among students, the structure would be similar, for example:

Tadi dosen kami menjelaskan langkah-langkah penelitian ilmiah sebelum kami melakukan eksperimen kecil.

The vocabulary (dosen, menjelaskan, penelitian ilmiah, eksperimen) is standard for academic contexts but still common in ordinary conversations about classes.