Week Nine: A Stable (But Challenging) Schedule

This week, my Kinyarwanda study didn’t really witness any thrilling initiatives on my part, but this may be due to the fact that I have fallen into a comfortable pattern of study. I would argue that this is ultimately a good thing and perhaps, whether explicitly stated or not, it has been my goal since the beginning of the semester, but I still feel the need to be cautious about it. Indeed, I do not want to fall into too stable of a schedule and become complacent in my learning. Instead, I hope to continue to challenge myself and push my learning to greater/higher levels.

In order to do this, I have begun to think of new initiatives to try. One is rather small, but I think it might be helpful to me. You see, I often listen to music while completing mundane and otherwise passive tasks, such as chores, getting ready, and/or walking, and I find myself looking forward to being able to do so, as I cannot have music on while completing homework. In addition, and I think this is significant, I do not block the music out. I am listening to it, singing along, and sometimes even dancing. Accordingly, I think it might be beneficial to replace some of my music time with listening to news pieces/songs/etc in Kinyarwanda, and as I believe I would also not block it out, I might listen and be able to reproduce what is said to some degree.

I believe this technique will force me to practice listening, which, with the exception of meetings with my language partner, is a language skill that has largely been neglected in my studies thus far. In addition, it will assist me in the more cohesive incorporation of my language studies into my everyday life.

I continue to meet with my language partner, A, and I find that when we are communicating (either via text message or email), we often try to negotiate meaning in Kinyarwanda, which is helpful to me, because it is a reminder that the language is to be used, not strictly learned about in an abstract manner.

Finally, last week, my classmates in African 670: Theory and Methods of Learning a Less Commonly Taught Language all took a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator test, and we all reflected on our results in class. Obviously, I entered the test without attempting to bias the results, and I would like to think that I completed the appropriate amount of self-reflection to ensure the most accurate readings, and, accordingly, I received the results of INFJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judgement). The INFJ personality, in addition to a wide variety of other traits and abilities, is noted for his/her ability to learn new languages. Of course, this is my personality, according to the results of the questionnaire, but I can’t help but think that having the knowledge that my personality may be inclined toward language-learning might serve as a self-fulfilling prophecy. And that can’t be harmful to my own sense of efficacy, right?

Murakoze, kandi murabeho!

Week Eight: New Resources, Greater Lessons, and an Improved Website

This week, my Kinyarwanda language study witnessed me continuing to review many of the concepts that my intensive study course introduced me to, but in the interest of not memorizing them as disjointed topics, but instead as communicative tools (as I mentioned last week), I have been trying to find alternative resources to assist me. Of course, my previous notes, as well as textbook, are extremely helpful, but I have recently located the Peace Corps’s Trainee Kinyarwanda Book, which is coming to be very beneficial as it is more focused on communicative competence. (http://files.peacecorps.gov/multimedia/audio/languagelessons/rwanda/RW_Kinyarwanda_Language_Lessons.pdf). 

In addition, I met with my language partner, A, this week, which is a great source of motivation for me. Not only does it create some amount of structure, but it also keeps me accountable for the material that I am studying. Indeed, A notices when I am relearning old or picking up new vocabulary, and he responds in a very encouraging manner, and no matter the reason, this encouragement gives me confidence. In addition, and not as really part of a structured lesson, A began speaking with me in Kinyarwanda after our formal practice. He asked me questions about my stay in Rwanda regarding where I stayed and what I ate, and I responded in English. Of course, I would like to work toward responding exclusively in Kinyarwanda, but knowing that I can listen and identify what he is saying (after all of this time) is impressive to me.

This weekend, I also visited home, which might have distracted me from my language study more than I care to admit, but while seeing a friend, he asked me to speak in Kinyarwanda (though I believe he pronounced it as Keenyamara), and then he asked me to do it again and again. Of course, it was a little embarrassing to me at first, but then again, it was also a little gratifying. Someone is interested enough in my language study to ask me to speak to them in words they do not know and proud enough to have me repeat those words to others. His response is also in stark contrast to that of another who I was living with during my intensive study. Indeed, when I tried to insert words and phrases in Kinyarwanda into our domestic life, he said “stop teaching me. I don’t want to learn this.” And that became the end of that effort, but now, it has become a great reminder that because I am studying independently, those I choose to surround myself with become all the more important.

This weekend’s informal lesson, however, lent itself nicely to the development of a teaching demonstration in one of my other courses, African 575: Methods of Teaching an African Languages- Theory and Practice, in which I was supposed to display the oral approach while teaching a brief lesson in Kinyarwanda.

Finally, I also visited the Design Lab at UW-Madison this week in order to get some advice on how to make my language-learning website a little more accessible and/or helpful to visitors (https://sites.google.com/a/wisc.edu/learning-kinyarwanda/home). The teaching assistant I encountered recommended that I make my current home page, which is a very text-heavy description of the language of Kinyarwanda, a link on the side of the page. My home page, he said, should serve to draw my potential audience in, and he recommended that I create a stylistically appealing translation, as well as insert an informative video. In addition, he thought I should make the website more personal without a pre-constructed template as the background, but rather my own photos from my time in Rwanda, and though I like this idea, I am not sure how well it would work, considering this site will be left available for future potential Kinyarwanda learners to add to/edit. Regardless, he left me with plenty of ideas to consider and asked me to come back again, so he could witness the progress of the website.

Week Seven: Structure, Modifications, and Looking Forward

This week, my Kinyarwanda study saw me investigating verb tense, but as I did not want to neglect the other material I have been learning, I tried to make it relevant to previous lessons as well. As a form of self-monitoring, however, I cannot help but wonder if the goals I set each week in my individualized study plan focus too heavily on structural issues (e.g. vocabulary, verb tense), instead of communicative outcomes. Of course, now that I am aware of this discrepancy, I can change my path, but I hope it has not negatively impacted my study thus far.

Regardless, this week, I made a more concentrated effort to heed the guidance of my classmates in African 670 and 697. Indeed, I created a Quizlet account, which I have been primarily using to make online flashcards for Kinyarwanda, but in hearing my colleagues speak about it, I have come to believe there is some game-component to it, as well. In using Quizlet, I have to be conscious that I do not fall back into a pattern of memorizing disjointed words or receptive verb conjugation, so I have been constructing short sentences for my flashcards. Hopefully, it assists me in some way.

In addition, and to honor my classmates’/professor’s advice, I have been trying to implement a rewards’ system for my Kinyarwanda study. At first, and as I alluded to last week, I tried to reward myself with something I had to do anyway, but that I couldn’t do until I studied Kinyarwanda. First, I tried this with my email, but it wasn’t particularly effective, as I checked my email with or without Kinyarwanda study. Last week, however, I was notified of a grant opportunity, and as constructing a proposal is really only something I want to do, it became my motivation for studying Kinyarwanda. At first, the excitement of working on a proposal made me want to just that, but telling myself that I can’t without studying was very helpful, even if it was a bit challenging at first. Regardless, I think this system will become very rewarding for me.

Pertinently, I find that meeting with my language parter, A, is also motivating, but significantly, it provides me with some necessary structure to the week. He has agreed to me recording our practice conversations, as much of the literature on independent learning and language partners advise, so hopefully that will assist me as well.

Finally, and just as a note looking forward in my language study, I contacted the National University of Rwanda’s College of Education a number of weeks ago, as they offer a certificate in Kinyarwanda proficiency, and I finally received an acknowledgement of my email, though it didn’t actually answer any of the questions I posed. Small victories, I suppose! I will try to keep you advised!

Murakoze, kandi murabeho.

p.s. A few picture from my travels in Rwanda, lest I ever forget my larger purpose here:

                                            One of the first pictures I took in Rwanda, located in the garden next to
                                                 the Kigali Genocide Memorial (or the Kigali Memorial Center)

                                                                           In Kibuye, on the shores of Lake Kivu

                                               On one of many hilly roads between Kibuye and Bisesero. Yes, even
                                               the cows were intrigued by the umuzungukazi. (Note: I did ask the 
                                                                       cow's owner before taking this picture)

                    

Week Six: White Privilege in Learning Kinyarwanda

This week, my Kinyarwanda study saw me reviewing much of what I have been doing the past two weeks. Ultimately, I recognize that this puts me off track, but it also reveals to me that I need to locate and utilize a more beneficial review process that isn’t so reliant on repeating vocabulary terms and conjugating verbs, but on actually putting these components into use together in the form of practice conversations.

Luckily, this process will be aided by my language partner, A, who is both willing and eager to assist in getting me to a place where I am conversational. We both expressed excitement at the prospect of holding our conversational meetings entirely in Kinyarwanda, and when possible during our time together thus far, we have both attempted to use the target language as much as possible. Of course, A was much better at doing so than me, but he was nonetheless impressed by my effort and, in particular, my notebook containing notes from my intensive study in Kinyarwanda.

This brings me to a point in my language study that I have felt incapable of discussing until now, and that is the “privilege” I feel I receive as a white woman speaking in an African language. Of course, my initial Kinyarwanda instructor, Dr. B, frequently praised my language performance, and perhaps it was his role to do so. In Rwanda, however, those who I spoke to would take great care to acknowledge my language use. My Rwandan companion, D, called me a Rwandan every time I used Kinyarwanda, no matter if it was a small comment, such as yego (yes) the identification of an animal such as imvubu (hippo), or the use of small talk such as nejejwe no kukubona (it’s nice to meet you). And, more recently, my language partner, A, is so pleased when I say anything in Kinyarwanda that he has a full-body response. He smiles, he nods his head in approval, and, in a rare instance, he elbows me in excitement. 

Whether it is surprise and/or gratitude that a white woman would even be speaking Kinyarwanda at all, a polite courtesy to acknowledge my effort, or any combination of factors, I cannot help but feel that my language performance is receiving an undue privilege. On the one hand, it is encouraging to receive such positive feedback, but it is also accompanied by a strange sense of guilt. Indeed, if I were to visit Rwanda presently, and despite my best efforts otherwise, Rwandans would have to accommodate me linguistically. They are welcoming me into their nation, their culture, their language, and I cannot even meet them in those terms.

Given my experience in Rwanda, this is an incredibly frustrating recognition to me, in particular, as an American companion who travelled to Rwanda with me, A, engaged each person she encountered, or at least those she thought she could identify as “African,” by asking, “How’s your English?” It’s a strange, if not rude question, and it embarrassed me to be associated with her. Of course, those she asked were equally embarrassed, as if it reflected on some error they, themselves, had made in speaking.

Relatedly, however, my intensive study of Kinyarwanda briefly placed me with one fellow student, L, and when learning how to count in the language, she stopped Dr. B and said, “I don’t want to learn that.” You see, numbers in Kinyarwanda change their prefix based on the class of noun that is being counted, though the stem typically remains the same. L only wanted to learn the general form of the numbers. She had no interest in learning how to make sure the number agreed with the noun, insisting that once she was in Rwanda, they would know what she meant.

Connecting these accounts very briefly, white privilege in language, to me, resembles entitlement, that is- comfort in stating when we can speak your language and under what conditions, and the assumed ability to state when we can speak my language and under what standard. I do not wish to be protected under this principle, nor can I be with any sense of ethicality in place.

This is the reason for my language study, and it has subsequently become my motivation for it.