Swahili Update

When I came here I had big plans of being semi-fluent in Swahili or at least to be able to hold a decent conversation. I didn’t (and still don’t) think it was a stretch to say I could have been as good in Swahili as I was in Korean (Korean being a much harder language with more and greater differences from English). Due to several factors, that has not been the case.

With the loss of my computer, I lost both byki and Rosetta Stone so I no longer had a virtual way of learning. Those two methods were both extremely helpful in teaching me vocabulary and I was able to use the new words in everyday discussion. Without that though, I didn’t get the words with which to practice the language. I borrowed a book from the YCI office, but that was very dry and moved quickly and was all over the place.

Time was also not easy to find to practice the Swahili I did know. Often we were busy during the day (or not in the mood to study) and then at night it got to be bedtime very quickly – since dinner is so late here.

That being said, I feel like I have picked up a bit and I have been able to ask simple questions of the children living in my homestay. I am confident with numbers and have a bit of a grasp when it comes to directions. I’ve been able to figure out what some people are saying – though, as Godfrey pointed out the other day, I only needed to understand one word to know what they were talking about.

Swahili is a language which seems to be spreading (Makho told me many people want it to be used in other countries nearby since pretty much all of East Africa uses it now) and perhaps it will be something I can spend some time on. Living in Canada I need to work on my French, since it is pretty bad. I also want to keep up the Korean I had learned since I was starting to become very comfortable with it. When I tried working on three languages at one time it proved very difficult. I might just take them one at a time. We’ll see where life takes me and how much free time (i.e. will I get a job?) in the near future.

Habari za asubuhi! Ninasema Kiswahili.

Good morning. I speak Swahili. Well, not really that well, but that's what the title says. Since my first foray into learning Swahili I have certainly suffered some setbacks. It's not easy learning a language that you can't really practice. Being in Korea, I was trying to learn Korean. Swahili turned out to be a challenge to learn at the same time. Now that I'm at home, I have been working much harder and I have become more comfortable with my efforts (though we'll see what happens when I actually touch down in a country where people speak it fluently).

Since I last wrote about learning Swahili, I have changed my methods dramatically. I had originally tried using a book. Though I have had some success learning Korean with books, I found the particular book I was using not as helpful as it could have been. It was very text-based and I often didn't have the time to actually study things. That way of learning language was more like how I learned French in school. It would have been much better with a teacher.

Since then I have tried two very similar but different methods. I have been using Rosetta Stone and that has been somewhat helpful. It is a very simple concept, but has been helping me learn some words and phrases. Basically the program shows you four pictures and one word/sentence. You have to match them. There are 40 pictures (10 sets) per lesson and about 10-12 lessons per unit and about 8-10 units per level (of which I have one). The bonus is that there are no translations so you learn to associate the pictures with the words. I could go into a long discussion about how this is both good and bad, but I won't. I'll just say that I have been somewhat successful with Rosetta Stone, despite my suspicions that it might not be teaching me Swahili the way people actually talk (only time will tell). I should also note, the goal of Rosetta Stone is to teach the language, not conversation (so the words and phrases are basic).

The second method I have been using is called byki (Before You Know It) and can be downloaded for free. Basically it is electronic flashcards (with English on one side). It goes through them for you from both sides. You also have to type the answers for each side. It keeps track of all the flashcard sets you've done and then has you refresh them every now and then. I've been doing this for about 2 weeks and I feel it's helped me learn a lot of vocabulary. It is a bit limited for Swahili in that there are only about 20-25 sets available for free, though it has 70+ languages and some of those languages have hundreds of free sets. You can also purchase a better version, but right now, I'm sticking to the free one.

Another website that has been a little useful has been this site, but it's also mainly text based and is not very creative with it's teaching methods.

Overall, I've been working hard and I believe I've set down a good foundation so that when I do arrive, learning will be much easier. I will continue to work a little each day for the next 12 days (can't believe it's that soon!) and hopefully I will be ready to go.

Tutaonana! See you later!

2주후에 캐나다에 갈거예요. Goodbye Party in Seoul

Last Friday, my school had a goodbye party for the teachers (including myself) who are going back to Canada. Since the staff knows I've been trying to learn Korean, I felt obligated to say something in Korean. Due to a busy schedule I didn't have time to memorize anything (like I had done once in the past when I met my students' parents). Here is what I read at the party, with a simplified translation.

한국에 18개월동안 있었어요.

2주후에 캐나다에 갈거예요.

벌씨 시간이 지나간 갓이 믿어지지않어요.

행복한 시간이었어요.

그리고 슬픈 시간이었어요.

그러나 전반적으로 나는 나의 시간을 여기에서 즐겼어요.

저는 유승 선생님 과 미애 선생님 과 햬진 산성님 과 정선

선상님 과 명실 선상님 그들의 도움울 감사하고 싶어요.

또한 경미 선상님이 가르치기에 관하여 많이 가르쳐주었어요.

감사하고 싶어요.

모두와 같이 그녀가 보고 싶어요.

알파뱃 스트릿에서는 나의 시간을 젛은 방범으로 저를 바꼬었어요.

여기에와서 기뻐요.

I've been in Korea for 18 months.
In two weeks I will be going to Canada.
I can't believe that the time is already over.
We've had happy times.
We've also had sad times.
But overall, I've enjoyed my time here.
I'd like to thank Teacher Heather, Teacher Miae, Teacher Jin, Teacher Claire and Teacher Myung Shil.
I'd also like to thank Teacher Betty. She taught me a lot about teaching.
Like everyone, I will miss her.
My time at Alphabet Street has changed me.
I'm happy that I came here.

And yes, if you're wondering, I can read it all, but no, I didn't write that on my own (an online translator and some help from a Korean speaking colleague did the trick).

I leave 2 weeks today and before I go, I'll write something to sum up my experiences here (since, this blog is dedicated to my working/living internationally). Just thought this would be interesting. Who knows, maybe I'll learn enough Swahili to say goodbye like this when I leave Tanzania (or at least Morogoro).

Wewe Unasema Kiswahili? Do You Speak Swahili?

Mimi ninasema Kiswahili... sort of

About a week ago, I received in the mail the book and CD's which are to help me learn Swahili (a major language in East Africa. As a part of my preparations, I will be learning as much Swahili as I can so that I can communicate easier with the Tanzanians I will be working with and for.

Learning a new language is never easy. My experiences with French in middle and high school have given me enough proof of that. Lately, however, I have been trying to not only improve my French, but I have also been trying to learn Korean - a language made more difficult due to a different alphabet.

For the most part, I have had had to rely on books and CD's for my language learning because pretty much everyone at my school here in Seoul speaks English and if they don't a translator is always nearby. Despite this, I have become able to read and write some Korean, as well as speak in small, broken sentences. I can also understand a word every now and then when the other teachers are talking to the students in Korean.

So far - in my one week of concentrated efforts - I have managed to learn a few greetings and I feel c0nfident that I can get to at least a semi-useful level of Swahili by the time September rolls around and I'm off to Tanzania.

So for the above reasons you have read, I will likely be using more than one language in my posts. I'll try to oost in English if I do write in one of the other three languages. It's all part of my efforts to be able to work in different areas of the world.

Mchana mwema! Have a good evening!