This week, I've continued to prepare for my final self-assessment. In addition to reviewing my Quizlet flashcards, I have also begun examining my long-term learning, in order to identify words that are historically troublesome for me. As I said last week, though I am only "forcing' myself to use five words from each word category (noun, verb, adjective, and [possibly] preposition), I won't know until exam-day which words the List Randomizer will select for me, so I will be studying much more than five, not to mention that I will, of course, be utilizing many more words than twenty in the story I produce. Thus far then, I have my work cut out for me.
In addition, though I haven't been watching them with as much structure as usual, I continue to return to genocide testimony video, if only to keep my ear attentive to Kinyarwanda sounds and tones. Pertinently, I have also tried to turn on the Rwanda radio app, when doing activities that do not require my full attention (e.g. washing dishes, getting ready for the day, or getting ready for bed). The latter activity is particularly purposeful, because I will not always have the advantage of seeing someone while he/she is talking, and I wouldn't like to have to depend on reading another's lips for meaning. Indeed, sometimes the Skype connection is not very strong with my language partner, and reading her lips is completely out of the question!
Producing verbal language is still a struggle for me, and insomuch as I try to practice independently (in front of my mirror, talking to myself, and/or recording a staged dialogue [where I play both "roles"]), I know this will have to be something I work on moving forward.
Luckily, however, though my enrollment in African 671 ends with this semester (at least for the foreseeable future), my Kinyarwanda study does not. Not only is it a necessary component for my research (as I envision it now), it is also an investment I hope to maintain and capitalize on in other ways. Similarly, African 671 has also produced short-term gains, but the long-term ones, I suspect, are what will remain with me. Indeed, the power of independence, personal motivation, and the significance of time-management will all cross over, not only to my future language study, but also to such major projects as my preliminary examinations, my dissertation proposal, and my eventual dissertation (I hope!). The creativity, patience, and resilience, it takes to locate your own sources and create your own, as necessary, will push me to be a more innovative scholar, but a more guided, practical, and purposeful one, as well. And, finally, the support an academic network provides, as well as the importance of creating and sustaining one, isn't something I will forget. Instead, I hope it encourages me, not only to return to my current classmates (as the need arises), but also not to hesitate to build my network as I move forward.
It's been a delight working with you all, and I look forward to seeing your progress-in-action. Murabeho!
