Week Ten: Byina! (Dance!)

This week, my language study witnessed me returning to my individualized study plan in order to revise it based on factors such as motivation, personality, learning styles, and preferred strategies. In so doing, the significance of my language-learning blog became all the more apparent to me, you- as in the blog itself- relies on a degree of metacognition that I don’t think my language-learning has quite experienced before. With that said, you- as in the readers of my blog (who I imagine to be my classmates in and professor of African 670/697)- have also become an invaluable resource to me, as well, due to your unwavering support and guidance as we all locate and build our learning methods and strategies. Thank you both.

At a more concrete level, however, I have been making a concentrated effort to incorporate Quizlet and Kinyarwanda music videos into my everyday “rhythm.” Of course, Quizlet is fun, and it operates as a bit of a game, but what I’d like to talk about most is the use of Kinyarwanda music in my language-learning. Indeed, when I proposed the idea in class, I insisted that replacement of my typical radio station with songs in the target language, would be helpful, as I listen, sing along, and dance to music in English, while performing passive tasks. My own sense of logic indicated that I would do the same if the music were in Kinyarwanda, which prompted one of my classmates, La, to encourage me to consider the possibility of kinesthetic learning, which, confessionally, I had never done even though I am an effective learner in both auditory and visual learning styles. 

In considering the relationship between movement and learning, I began to think- I could create my own dance moves to match the songs, which might enable learning, but I could also watch the traditional dance videos and mimic the movement I see, in order to gain a cultural component as well. Perhaps that contradicts the notion of listening to music while completing passive tasks, but then again, if it enhances my language-learning, I don’t want to eliminate the possibility. In fact, and though this may be a little embarrassing, this thought process prompted an image of my being included in a dance either here (in Madison’s annual Africa Fest) or in Rwanda. Perhaps that image doesn’t necessarily fit my personality, but a certain level of preparedness or familiarity with Rwandan dance appeals to me. Regardless, however, you must not anticipate a video of me performing a dance any time soon, if ever. 

Once again returning to a more tangible component of my language-learning, however, I noticed that my language partner, A, seemed very distracted during our last conversation, and even though he became excited gradually, he also seemed eager to leave. Perhaps something was going on in his personal life, but I hope last week wasn’t a reflection of diminished enthusiasm regarding our project. I will have to keep you all advised on this matter.

Murakoze, kandi murabeho!

p.s. A song/dance of the Kinyarwanda culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ui91236OwY