Week Three: Returning to Kinyarwanda (Again)

I have taken a number of breaks from Kinyarwanda, first, after my return to Michigan State University from my summer intensive study at Boston University, and second (and most recently), during the winter break between the fall and spring semesters at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Of course, it has to be said that these “breaks” were of varying lengths, but they are similar, insofar as they see me returning with the same thoughts, most often, fears of forgotten material, solutions to “make up for lost time,” and renewed interest in the subject.

Returning to Kinyarwanda this time (and last time, as well, I suppose), I constructed an Individualized Study Plan (ISP), in order to begin my studies. While it is a required component of African 697: Directed Study of a Less Commonly Taught Language, I find it to be useful, above and beyond the grade it provides. In particular, it allows me to envision what I will be doing in more of a concrete way, which makes my goals for language study seem all the more attainable. Additionally, because I am selecting the material that will be studied, I am able to be enthusiastic about what I am studying, or maybe it’s the other way around- I am enthusiastic, so I can pick out the appropriate material for my language study. Either way, I am happy to be doing so!

For the first few weeks, I allowed myself the opportunity to review material I was already familiar with, not only to circumvent the possibility of forgotten material, but also to re-gain confidence about what I do know. If nothing else, it allows me to re-adjust to the schedule more gracefully, because, during the remaining weeks, I was much more detailed regarding the manner in which I expect to study, including increased attention to the language-learning apps, Memrise and Quizlet, as well as increased specification regarding what lessons were to be posted to my language-learning website and when. I recall that posting lessons really helped me last semester, so I am hoping that it will continue to do so.

That is all, for now, but I look forward to keeping you updated as the semester progresses.