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.
You should still feel free to personalize the site! Who knows if/when we'll have another student working on it?
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