As I progress through my course of language study, I find that there are certain touchstones I encounter that do a fair job of assessing my Kinyarwanda. Some are conscious and explicit assessments, like tracking long-term learning on Quizlet, determining if I've reached the goals stated on my individualized study plan, or making/taking a final self-assessment; other assessments are more organic and implicit, aimed at determining the ease in which I engage with the language, the confidence in which I speak.
Indeed, as I mentioned last week, I gave a presentation at World Languages Day. Admittedly, I was a little nervous, as producing language has been known to give me anxiety, and even when I intimately know the parts of the language I am producing, I still feel compelled to consult my notes, *just* in case I mess up or stumble, which might actually be the cause of my stumbling. However, I felt rejuvenated by this presentation! Granted, it may be the case that presenting to an audience with no familiarity of Bantu languages provided me with some amount of comfort, but I would hesitate to attribute my ease to that alone, because I was still determined to do a good job, and, furthermore, I recognized that high school students would be a tough audience, if they were not engaged.
I constructed a PowerPoint presentation, more so for the students' benefit, as I recognize some L2 learners find it too overwhelming to produce a word that they've only ever heard, not seen, but for the most part, I did not look at it. I went into the audience and starting speaking with students in the target language. Admittedly, many of them were not so into it, but there were quite a few that not only could produce the language that I requested of them, but they were also beginning to identify patterns within the language. For instance, one student asked me if "U" is the second-person singular/informal marker, whereas "Mu," he hypothesized, was the second-person plural/formal marker. I confirmed his assumption, and later when a new person marker (the first-person singular) was introduced, I brought attention to it, due to his interest. Otherwise, I would have allowed the opportunity to pass, because I wouldn't want to overwhelm them with unnecessary grammar lessons. Similarly, students approached me after the lesson to compare the two second-person forms to the two second-person forms in Spanish, and I affirmed that many languages have such a construction, and even though English does not have a formalized version we seem to be actively searching for one, as evidenced in the rise of "y'all," "yous guys," and "your majesty." In conclusion, it was a great day!
Beyond my presentation, I had an iffy week, due primarily to various department goings on, as well as a visit from my mother and brother for the holiday weekend. Because it was something I could easily do in moments of spare time, I turned to my Quizlet flashcards and studied them. Depending on the day, I spent anywhere from a half hour to an hour with this task (not all at once, however).
I also watched genocide testimony video for approximately fifteen to twenty minutes per day. In an effort to be purposeful about it, I watch the same video once per day, taking notes as I go, writing down words that I don't know, and guessing at the meaning, before eventually comparing initial understanding with the English subtitles provided.
I also spent a little bit of time, thinking of ways to improve upon my formal self-assessment. From my first semester as an independent language-learner, I have used a very similar assessment tool, but now that my language skills are improving, Dr. T has suggested that I revise my it accordingly to make it appropriate to someone of my comprehension level. Accordingly, I might take another look at my classmates' self-assessments for inspiration, as well as scour the internet a little for new and innovative ideas as to how to use vocabulary in context.
As you might note, it wasn't a terribly productive week, but all the same, some amount of progress was made, and I'm happy about that.
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