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:
the Kigali Genocide Memorial (or the Kigali Memorial Center)
the cows were intrigued by the umuzungukazi. (Note: I did ask the
cow's owner before taking this picture)
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