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!
Monday, May 1, 2017
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Week 13: Looking Back to Proceed Forward
This week, I transitioned to preparing for my final self-assessment, so my weekly routine was a little different than normal. I found myself working with my flashcards quite a bit more than I had allowed myself previously. At this point in the semester, however, I am no longer adding new material to my database, but rather reviewing that which I have produced previously. I am spending approximately an hour and a half per day on Quizlet.
In addition, and pertinent to my Quizlet use, I think I have identified a way in which to use a wealth of vocabulary in context for the purposes of my final self-assessment. In previous self-assessments, I have merely listed terms, but this time, as per Dr. T's suggestion, I'm going to test my knowledge, vis-a-vis my ability to use the terms. Using my Quizlet, I'm going to identify words that I have trouble with historically, and place them into categories- verbs, nouns, adjectives, and prepositions (possibly). I will submit each category's list onto List Randomizer (https://www.random.org/lists/), and for the first five terms that the randomizer selects and/or generates for me in each category, I will form a story. At first, I thought I would take one random verb, one random noun, one random adjective, and one random preposition, in order to form a sentence, but I thought that could easily lend itself to creating grammatically correct, but nonsensical, sentences. I'm hoping the flexibility a story allows will decrease that possibility.
In order to continue improving upon my listening skills for the final self-assessment, I also continued to watch 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.
As a final activity, though it isn't necessarily as formal as my others, I also found myself practicing conversation in Kinyarwanda...with myself. Indeed, historically, I have not excelled at the conversation portion of my final self-assessment. But perhaps with the confidence given to me by my World Languages Day presentation (or maybe in the interest of improving more broadly), I have found myself engaging with myself in the target language, while washing the dishes or getting ready in the morning or taking a shower. Interestingly, whichever conservation partner I chose to be during any given "practice," I only think one side of the dialogue (and keep it inside my head) and articulate the other. So, even if I am, indeed, talking to myself, I am not answering myself. Ha!
In a very subtle way, I am feeling some sort-of-way about the ending of this semester. I'm not sure if it's nostalgia (if the period is not yet over), or if it's something else; however, this semester will be the last I can anticipate enrolling in African 671. Of course, I intend to continue using Kinyarwanda, but I recognize that I'm going to have to be extra-conscious about maintaining it without the assistance of a formal course structure to "guide" me. Indeed, I was in an intensive study of Kinyarwanda once, and after completing the course, I allowed Kinyarwanda to be pushed to the "back burner" until I enrolled in African 671. This summer, I'll be visiting Rwanda, which I hope will help, but I am not permitted to begin research yet, so I concerned. Furthermore, I will also begin studying Swahili this summer, which I am worried will somehow take precedence in my head.
With all my trepidation, however, I can only move forward, using what I have accomplished thus far, as a stepping stone, sure, but also as a sounding board, learning from my mistakes and my triumphs alike.
In addition, and pertinent to my Quizlet use, I think I have identified a way in which to use a wealth of vocabulary in context for the purposes of my final self-assessment. In previous self-assessments, I have merely listed terms, but this time, as per Dr. T's suggestion, I'm going to test my knowledge, vis-a-vis my ability to use the terms. Using my Quizlet, I'm going to identify words that I have trouble with historically, and place them into categories- verbs, nouns, adjectives, and prepositions (possibly). I will submit each category's list onto List Randomizer (https://www.random.org/lists/), and for the first five terms that the randomizer selects and/or generates for me in each category, I will form a story. At first, I thought I would take one random verb, one random noun, one random adjective, and one random preposition, in order to form a sentence, but I thought that could easily lend itself to creating grammatically correct, but nonsensical, sentences. I'm hoping the flexibility a story allows will decrease that possibility.
In order to continue improving upon my listening skills for the final self-assessment, I also continued to watch 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.
As a final activity, though it isn't necessarily as formal as my others, I also found myself practicing conversation in Kinyarwanda...with myself. Indeed, historically, I have not excelled at the conversation portion of my final self-assessment. But perhaps with the confidence given to me by my World Languages Day presentation (or maybe in the interest of improving more broadly), I have found myself engaging with myself in the target language, while washing the dishes or getting ready in the morning or taking a shower. Interestingly, whichever conservation partner I chose to be during any given "practice," I only think one side of the dialogue (and keep it inside my head) and articulate the other. So, even if I am, indeed, talking to myself, I am not answering myself. Ha!
In a very subtle way, I am feeling some sort-of-way about the ending of this semester. I'm not sure if it's nostalgia (if the period is not yet over), or if it's something else; however, this semester will be the last I can anticipate enrolling in African 671. Of course, I intend to continue using Kinyarwanda, but I recognize that I'm going to have to be extra-conscious about maintaining it without the assistance of a formal course structure to "guide" me. Indeed, I was in an intensive study of Kinyarwanda once, and after completing the course, I allowed Kinyarwanda to be pushed to the "back burner" until I enrolled in African 671. This summer, I'll be visiting Rwanda, which I hope will help, but I am not permitted to begin research yet, so I concerned. Furthermore, I will also begin studying Swahili this summer, which I am worried will somehow take precedence in my head.
With all my trepidation, however, I can only move forward, using what I have accomplished thus far, as a stepping stone, sure, but also as a sounding board, learning from my mistakes and my triumphs alike.
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Week Twelve: Assessing my Kinyarwanda
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Week Eleven: Biting Off More Than I Can Chew, or Saving Some for Later?
This week, as with so many others, I readily acknowledge that I have bitten off more than I can chew, almost by habit, it seems. I'll start with my successes, and then I'll concede my not-so-successes, and then I'll try to end with a positive spin. So, here we go:
I continued working with my flashcards, again, continuing to limit the amount of time I spend creating them to half (or under) the amount of time I spend studying them. This week, I didn't spend much time at all creating flashcards, but I spent about an hour, per day, studying the database I have accumulated. I'm happy about this, for the most part, not because it is indicative of the fact that I have somehow accumulated all of the possible Kinyarwanda vocabulary, but because I feel I spent my time particularly meaningfully this week, with outcomes-based assessments, in mind.
I continued working with my flashcards, again, continuing to limit the amount of time I spend creating them to half (or under) the amount of time I spend studying them. This week, I didn't spend much time at all creating flashcards, but I spent about an hour, per day, studying the database I have accumulated. I'm happy about this, for the most part, not because it is indicative of the fact that I have somehow accumulated all of the possible Kinyarwanda vocabulary, but because I feel I spent my time particularly meaningfully this week, with outcomes-based assessments, in mind.
I have also continued watching genocide testimony video for approximately fifteen to twenty minutes per day. I try to be strategic about this, watching the same video once each day, taking notes as I go, writing down words that I don't know, and guessing at the meaning, before eventually comparing my proposed understanding with the English subtitles provided.
And I have also continued trying to parse a document from the Genocide Archive of Rwanda's website, which I've been trying to dedicate only twenty minutes to per day, so as to not burn myself out. I'd like to think of this as good practice for when I will be at the archive this summer. Fingers still crossed on that note!
I have also spent a fair amount of time preparing for my World Languages Day presentation, entitled "Muraho! Mwitwa nde?: Saying Hello and Introducing Yourself in Kinyarwanda." Of course, it is only a rudimentary lesson in my target language, but I am nervous all the same, because, for some of the high school students I will be presenting to, this might be their first [and maybe only] encounter with an African language, so I want to make a good and meaningful impression!
I also modified my final self assessment tool from last semester. Much of it remained the same; however, I eliminated an activity pertinent to idioms, as my language-learning activities were not built around or building up to an assessment about idioms.
Now, as for my not-so-successes, I was excited to create new activities for my language-learning website, centered around school-related items and household items, and coloring sheets, and I made a sincere effort to make this happen. In fact, looking at my TimeTrack, it is evident that I spent more time than I actually had, in order to construct these activities, but the product has still not been yielded, due to technological issues on my part. Indeed, instead of asking my website visitors to color the sheets themselves, because I determined I could not make that activity interactive in the way I wanted it to be, I decided to color them in myself and ask such questions as: What color is the table? What color is the roof? However, I couldn't find a program that would allow me to fill in the spaces on the coloring sheets, as the programs I was attempting to use did not recognize the lines on the sheet. So, I have decided to print them off and color them in (old-fashioned, I know), scan them into my computer, and then ask the questions. Maybe it will serve the function of guilt-free stress-relief, as well.
And now for my positive spin: Looking at my list of successes and not-so-successes, it is evident that my successes win the day, and yet I began this blog post, insisting that I had bitten off more than I could chew, and I discussed my not-so-successes at a greater length then any of my multiple successes. Perhaps the problem then isn't that I routinely bite off more than I can chew, though I do believe that occurs. Instead, perhaps the problem relates to when I can't forgive myself for having to save some- even the smallest bit of- Kinyarwanda for later. Perhaps not so surprisingly, the problem has never been with my language-study, nor my language-use, but rather my perception of it, and if any great improvements stand to be made, my perception must change first.
And I have also continued trying to parse a document from the Genocide Archive of Rwanda's website, which I've been trying to dedicate only twenty minutes to per day, so as to not burn myself out. I'd like to think of this as good practice for when I will be at the archive this summer. Fingers still crossed on that note!
I have also spent a fair amount of time preparing for my World Languages Day presentation, entitled "Muraho! Mwitwa nde?: Saying Hello and Introducing Yourself in Kinyarwanda." Of course, it is only a rudimentary lesson in my target language, but I am nervous all the same, because, for some of the high school students I will be presenting to, this might be their first [and maybe only] encounter with an African language, so I want to make a good and meaningful impression!
I also modified my final self assessment tool from last semester. Much of it remained the same; however, I eliminated an activity pertinent to idioms, as my language-learning activities were not built around or building up to an assessment about idioms.
Now, as for my not-so-successes, I was excited to create new activities for my language-learning website, centered around school-related items and household items, and coloring sheets, and I made a sincere effort to make this happen. In fact, looking at my TimeTrack, it is evident that I spent more time than I actually had, in order to construct these activities, but the product has still not been yielded, due to technological issues on my part. Indeed, instead of asking my website visitors to color the sheets themselves, because I determined I could not make that activity interactive in the way I wanted it to be, I decided to color them in myself and ask such questions as: What color is the table? What color is the roof? However, I couldn't find a program that would allow me to fill in the spaces on the coloring sheets, as the programs I was attempting to use did not recognize the lines on the sheet. So, I have decided to print them off and color them in (old-fashioned, I know), scan them into my computer, and then ask the questions. Maybe it will serve the function of guilt-free stress-relief, as well.
And now for my positive spin: Looking at my list of successes and not-so-successes, it is evident that my successes win the day, and yet I began this blog post, insisting that I had bitten off more than I could chew, and I discussed my not-so-successes at a greater length then any of my multiple successes. Perhaps the problem then isn't that I routinely bite off more than I can chew, though I do believe that occurs. Instead, perhaps the problem relates to when I can't forgive myself for having to save some- even the smallest bit of- Kinyarwanda for later. Perhaps not so surprisingly, the problem has never been with my language-study, nor my language-use, but rather my perception of it, and if any great improvements stand to be made, my perception must change first.
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Week Ten: Kinyarwanda, Working on the "Efficiently"
This week, in Kinyarwanda study, wasn't a terribly eventful one, but I can't expect them all to be "home-runs," I suppose. I continued working with my flashcards, again, continuing to ensure that the amount of time I spent creating them was half (or under) the amount of time I spent studying them. I'd like to think this system holds me to account, so I'm not just creating flashcards. I'm also using them. This week, I spent an average of twenty minutes, creating flashcards (for both my individual use and for my language-learning website), and about forty minutes, studying them, per day.
Pertinent to my language-learning website, I have continued embedding flashcards into my website. I think it looks great, and it is much more technologically advanced than I would have ever thought myself to be, but I'd still like to do more! One of my fellow language-learners, R, has started to create adult coloring-books for her own language-instruction, and I'd be interested in investigating with that as a potential method. In particular, this week, I am going to modify lessons that I previously posted (on household and school-related items), and I could see where placing an un-colored image of a house or a school might be very fruitful. For example, I could tell them to "color the door red," or I could ask them to "color the table brown." Not only would this exercise test website visitors on the items of study, but it would also test their knowledge of colors. I could then post an answer key. Of course, I think this is asking too much, but I am forced to wonder if there's a way I could embed the coloring sheet and have website visitors color it on my website, but I'll look into it all the same...
In addition to flashcard work and website progress, I have continued watching genocide testimony video for approximately fifteen to twenty minutes per day. I try to be strategic about this, watching the same video once each day, taking notes as I go, writing down words that I don't know, and guessing at the meaning, before eventually comparing my understanding with the English subtitles provided.
And I have begun trying to parse a document from the Genocide Archive of Rwanda's website, which I've been trying to dedicate twenty minutes to per day. I'd like to think of this as good practice for when I will (hopefully) be in Rwanda at the Genocide Archive this summer.
Last week, I said that I would be investigating with TimeTrack, and I did, indeed, download the app and have been trying to use it faithfully, but I guess I'm not used to such a standardized system yet, because sometimes I forget to start the TimeTrack (when I begin an activity), or I forget to end it (when I finish an activity), or I simply forget about it. I'm going to try to make a much more concentrated effort to commit myself to it this week. Indeed, I think such an would be useful to me, because I've been adding additional activities to my daily schedule, such as research visa applications, reviewing French, and continuing to investigate summer learning options for Swahili. I feel it is now even more essential that I use my time wisely.
Pertinent to my language-learning website, I have continued embedding flashcards into my website. I think it looks great, and it is much more technologically advanced than I would have ever thought myself to be, but I'd still like to do more! One of my fellow language-learners, R, has started to create adult coloring-books for her own language-instruction, and I'd be interested in investigating with that as a potential method. In particular, this week, I am going to modify lessons that I previously posted (on household and school-related items), and I could see where placing an un-colored image of a house or a school might be very fruitful. For example, I could tell them to "color the door red," or I could ask them to "color the table brown." Not only would this exercise test website visitors on the items of study, but it would also test their knowledge of colors. I could then post an answer key. Of course, I think this is asking too much, but I am forced to wonder if there's a way I could embed the coloring sheet and have website visitors color it on my website, but I'll look into it all the same...
In addition to flashcard work and website progress, I have continued watching genocide testimony video for approximately fifteen to twenty minutes per day. I try to be strategic about this, watching the same video once each day, taking notes as I go, writing down words that I don't know, and guessing at the meaning, before eventually comparing my understanding with the English subtitles provided.
And I have begun trying to parse a document from the Genocide Archive of Rwanda's website, which I've been trying to dedicate twenty minutes to per day. I'd like to think of this as good practice for when I will (hopefully) be in Rwanda at the Genocide Archive this summer.
Last week, I said that I would be investigating with TimeTrack, and I did, indeed, download the app and have been trying to use it faithfully, but I guess I'm not used to such a standardized system yet, because sometimes I forget to start the TimeTrack (when I begin an activity), or I forget to end it (when I finish an activity), or I simply forget about it. I'm going to try to make a much more concentrated effort to commit myself to it this week. Indeed, I think such an would be useful to me, because I've been adding additional activities to my daily schedule, such as research visa applications, reviewing French, and continuing to investigate summer learning options for Swahili. I feel it is now even more essential that I use my time wisely.
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Week Nine: Kinyarwanda, Efficiently
This week, I intended to take a conscious break from Kinyarwanda, in adherence to Spring Protocol 101, and though it is, indeed, true that I was nowhere near as productive as I should have been, I wasn't as un-productive as I could have been. And I consider that a win, albeit a modest one.
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I decided to download an app that streamed Rwandan radio stations, and I listened to it the majority of the drive to Michigan and back to Wisconsin. Listening to the commentators, as well as the songs, I recognized that my language-skills are not comparable to that of an advanced speaker (or listener, in this case). Yes. This is disappointing, after all this time, but I also recognize that I believe I am capable of acquiring the necessary skills to become one, should I chose to buckle down.
Indeed, last week, my professor, Dr. T, brought to my attention that the one-plus hour I was spending per day on Kinyarwanda was not enough, not for language-learning, nor for the course's credit load. And, of course, I know this is true, and I can also readily admit that there are days (maybe even weeks) that Kinyarwanda is not my priority. So, I'd like to work toward reframing my language study, not only to increase the amount of time I am spending with the target language, but also in a way that ensures I am developing and sustaining the skills of an independent language-learner, skills that will be helpful long after this class ends.
With that said, I made sure to post a lesson to my language-learning website, as well. One of my classmates, L, had commented on my lesson on Fruit, reflecting on the ways in which her target language helped her to get through the deck in Kinyarwanda successfully. Of course, I know that she wasn't looking at my website as a potential L2 speaker, but regardless, knowing that someone was looking at my website, that she thought it looked cool, and that it was useful, was very motivating to me. Accordingly, I followed up my lesson on fruit with a lesson on vegetables!
After a delay, I was also finally able to talk to someone in Rwanda about my upcoming research trip this afternoon. I'm not entirely sure as to whether or not he liked my research direction, but he said some pretty interesting things about the "official narrative." In particular, he stated that the term "genocide" was borrowed from French. In Kinyarwanda, it is "jenoside." Of course, I knew this already, but he mentioned this in response to my observation that the "official narrative" had changed over time. He stated that initially the genocide was referred to as "itembatsemba" (extermination), and then the imported "jenoside." For those familiar with the history, you will know that it is not referred to as the Rwandan Genocide in country, but rather the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. He argued that Rwanda does not have a singular term (like the Holocaust) that immediately invokes what happened, but speculated that there may one day be such a term. From this conversation, I envisioned a chapter of my dissertation- what the genocide has been called historically-, where I didn't necessarily have such a clear vision before.
Moving forward, I'd like to carve out more time in my schedule for Kinyarwanda, so this week, I'd like to use this app Dr. T suggested called "Time Track" in order to determine how long I am spending on certain tasks (including those outside of language-learning), to increase my efficiency across my courses.
As I mentioned in my last blog post, I decided to download an app that streamed Rwandan radio stations, and I listened to it the majority of the drive to Michigan and back to Wisconsin. Listening to the commentators, as well as the songs, I recognized that my language-skills are not comparable to that of an advanced speaker (or listener, in this case). Yes. This is disappointing, after all this time, but I also recognize that I believe I am capable of acquiring the necessary skills to become one, should I chose to buckle down.
Indeed, last week, my professor, Dr. T, brought to my attention that the one-plus hour I was spending per day on Kinyarwanda was not enough, not for language-learning, nor for the course's credit load. And, of course, I know this is true, and I can also readily admit that there are days (maybe even weeks) that Kinyarwanda is not my priority. So, I'd like to work toward reframing my language study, not only to increase the amount of time I am spending with the target language, but also in a way that ensures I am developing and sustaining the skills of an independent language-learner, skills that will be helpful long after this class ends.
With that said, I made sure to post a lesson to my language-learning website, as well. One of my classmates, L, had commented on my lesson on Fruit, reflecting on the ways in which her target language helped her to get through the deck in Kinyarwanda successfully. Of course, I know that she wasn't looking at my website as a potential L2 speaker, but regardless, knowing that someone was looking at my website, that she thought it looked cool, and that it was useful, was very motivating to me. Accordingly, I followed up my lesson on fruit with a lesson on vegetables!
After a delay, I was also finally able to talk to someone in Rwanda about my upcoming research trip this afternoon. I'm not entirely sure as to whether or not he liked my research direction, but he said some pretty interesting things about the "official narrative." In particular, he stated that the term "genocide" was borrowed from French. In Kinyarwanda, it is "jenoside." Of course, I knew this already, but he mentioned this in response to my observation that the "official narrative" had changed over time. He stated that initially the genocide was referred to as "itembatsemba" (extermination), and then the imported "jenoside." For those familiar with the history, you will know that it is not referred to as the Rwandan Genocide in country, but rather the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi. He argued that Rwanda does not have a singular term (like the Holocaust) that immediately invokes what happened, but speculated that there may one day be such a term. From this conversation, I envisioned a chapter of my dissertation- what the genocide has been called historically-, where I didn't necessarily have such a clear vision before.
Moving forward, I'd like to carve out more time in my schedule for Kinyarwanda, so this week, I'd like to use this app Dr. T suggested called "Time Track" in order to determine how long I am spending on certain tasks (including those outside of language-learning), to increase my efficiency across my courses.
Monday, March 13, 2017
Week Eight: Midterms + Language-Learning = ?
This week was a busy one for me. So far in my graduate career, I haven't had much experience with midterms, but this semester has been different, and it's altered the course of my entire week, forcibly changing the times in which I normally study Kinyarwanda and, in some cases, altering the amount of time I'm able to spend with my target language. One of the first changes I made was to excuse myself from flashcard construction this week. Not only have I been trying to wean myself off spending a substantial amount of time creating (as opposed to studying) flashcards, I also have a large accumulation of flashcards built up, so I was able to spend my time on Quizlet purposefully. I spent approximately forty minutes per day with my flashcards, though I "cheated" a little, by including bus-time and waiting-for-class-to-begin time in that total.
I also continued engaging with audiovisual material in Kinyarwanda, namely genocide testimony. I watch each video once per day for five days, and over the course of the week, I try to determine what exactly I think the video is about. In the first viewing, I jot down a few notes with my preliminary guesses. The second time, I write down words I don't know; for those whose language skills fall at the beginners' level, I would recommend adding an additional step between the ones I've listed here, that is- write down the words you do know. It's a good confidence boost, and it will help you to feel more guided. Finally, over the next third to fourth viewings, I write a summary of the text (in English), and during the fifth viewing, I confirm my understanding by reading the video's English subtitles. This process usually takes fifteen to twenty minutes per day.
This week, I was supposed to continue engaging with source material from the Genocide Archive of Rwanda, which has some documents in Kinyarwanda, including local newspapers and magazines. One magazine, Isibo, is of particular interest to me, because it does not contain Hutu propaganda, which is often what is discussed in relation to pre-genocide news; instead, it was ran by the opposition, and its purpose was to expose and protest the government's hidden agenda. This week, however, I didn't feel I had adequate time to dedicate to these sources, so I opted for reading and analyzing Igihe instead. A while ago, I "liked" the news site on Facebook, and though I am usually able to scroll through my newsfeed with little event, I find that Igihe's posts often catch my attention, because most of the time, they are in Kinyarwanda. For instance, last semester, I found out "The Rock" was People's Sexiest Man in Kinyarwanda, before I even knew it in English. This week, I intentionally identified articles that I knew something about the content in English, so I could be more efficient with my reading time. This week, I tried to dedicated fifteen to twenty minutes per day to Igihe.
Finally, I posted two language lessons on my language-learning website. As usual, I have grand plans for my website, but I often don't feel I have the time to execute them properly. And though I enjoy constructing lessons for my website, just as I enjoy making flashcards for myself, I also recognize that such preparation likely falls into the category of planning, so I try to prioritize other language-learning activities for myself, by only allowing fifteen minutes per day for website construction.
Although I did not meet with fellow independent language-learners this week, we maintained conversation in our Facebook group, and one of my peers, L, gave me a little inspiration for an idea I'd like to try. She was put into a situation where she had to drive more than she expected this week, and she feared that it might cut into her language-study time, but then she remembered a mobile app that streamed radio stations in her target language, and she listened to them while in the car. She observed that she thought she retained more in so doing. As spring break is coming up, and with it, two long car rides (one to Michigan, and the other back to Wisconsin), I'm going to try to identify something I can listen to in Kinyarwanda during my journeys, just to determine if L's experience can be replicated. In addition, perhaps it will be the case that by scheduling some language-study during my "down time," I can feel better about the times in which I prioritize other work (e.g. midterms, [formerly] driving]). We'll see how it goes anyway!
I also continued engaging with audiovisual material in Kinyarwanda, namely genocide testimony. I watch each video once per day for five days, and over the course of the week, I try to determine what exactly I think the video is about. In the first viewing, I jot down a few notes with my preliminary guesses. The second time, I write down words I don't know; for those whose language skills fall at the beginners' level, I would recommend adding an additional step between the ones I've listed here, that is- write down the words you do know. It's a good confidence boost, and it will help you to feel more guided. Finally, over the next third to fourth viewings, I write a summary of the text (in English), and during the fifth viewing, I confirm my understanding by reading the video's English subtitles. This process usually takes fifteen to twenty minutes per day.
This week, I was supposed to continue engaging with source material from the Genocide Archive of Rwanda, which has some documents in Kinyarwanda, including local newspapers and magazines. One magazine, Isibo, is of particular interest to me, because it does not contain Hutu propaganda, which is often what is discussed in relation to pre-genocide news; instead, it was ran by the opposition, and its purpose was to expose and protest the government's hidden agenda. This week, however, I didn't feel I had adequate time to dedicate to these sources, so I opted for reading and analyzing Igihe instead. A while ago, I "liked" the news site on Facebook, and though I am usually able to scroll through my newsfeed with little event, I find that Igihe's posts often catch my attention, because most of the time, they are in Kinyarwanda. For instance, last semester, I found out "The Rock" was People's Sexiest Man in Kinyarwanda, before I even knew it in English. This week, I intentionally identified articles that I knew something about the content in English, so I could be more efficient with my reading time. This week, I tried to dedicated fifteen to twenty minutes per day to Igihe.
Finally, I posted two language lessons on my language-learning website. As usual, I have grand plans for my website, but I often don't feel I have the time to execute them properly. And though I enjoy constructing lessons for my website, just as I enjoy making flashcards for myself, I also recognize that such preparation likely falls into the category of planning, so I try to prioritize other language-learning activities for myself, by only allowing fifteen minutes per day for website construction.
Although I did not meet with fellow independent language-learners this week, we maintained conversation in our Facebook group, and one of my peers, L, gave me a little inspiration for an idea I'd like to try. She was put into a situation where she had to drive more than she expected this week, and she feared that it might cut into her language-study time, but then she remembered a mobile app that streamed radio stations in her target language, and she listened to them while in the car. She observed that she thought she retained more in so doing. As spring break is coming up, and with it, two long car rides (one to Michigan, and the other back to Wisconsin), I'm going to try to identify something I can listen to in Kinyarwanda during my journeys, just to determine if L's experience can be replicated. In addition, perhaps it will be the case that by scheduling some language-study during my "down time," I can feel better about the times in which I prioritize other work (e.g. midterms, [formerly] driving]). We'll see how it goes anyway!
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