COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

INTRODUCTORY (ELEMENTARY) KISWAHILI SWHL W1101 / first semester COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GENERAL INFORMATION I PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING ITEMS CAREFULLY. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE SEEK CLARIFICATION FROM THE INSTRUCTOR. The grading scale is as follows: 97-100 = A+; 93-96 = A; 90-92 = A87-89 = B+; 83-86 = B; 80-82 = B-; 77-79 = C+; 73-76 = C; 70-72 = CThe grade distribution will be as follows: Five written examinations (75%), one audio/video examination (20%), and attendance/participation (5%). The grade for a missed examination is 0 unless there is a valid and verifiable reason for missing said examination, such as an illness or conducting official University business. Regular attendance and full participation in class activities is expected. If a student must occasionally miss a class, the responsibility for finding out what he/she has missed including any assignments resides with the student. Contact the instructor or a fellow student. Having more than three unexcused absences will result in ones grade lowered by one letter grade. The focus of this class is both language and culture within a functional communicative instructional context. This is NOT a textbook-centered class per se. There are several textbooks of varying quality devoted to Kiswahili. Two will be suggested as supplementary texts for this course. Students neednt purchase these texts, but they may be required to use them for some homework exercises. This is a very vocabulary intensive course. Words are the unspoken, largely unacknowledged heroes in communicative functionality. One can communicate -- perhaps not elegantly -without grammar (book me want). But, without a solid lexical foundation, communication quickly becomes a frustrating exercise in mime. In addition, however, not only will individual lexical items (i.e., words) be stressed, but focus will be placed on meaningful phrases and whole sentences as well.

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Although the underlying instructional methodology for this course is Communicative Language Teaching (CLT), other pedagogical models will be employed. One teaching model is called Content Based Instruction (CBI) where the target language will be used as a tool for the acquisition of new information (especially about Africa) and to explore and analyze social, cultural, historical, and political phenomena. Another model is Total Physical Response (TPI) where instruction takes place via a combination of commands and physical actions. While CLT stresses communication, it does not emphasize only oral communication. Rather CLT places equal stress on all four language skills, i.e., speaking, reading, writing, and aural comprehension. There is NO EXTRA CREDIT possible in this class. TIPS FOR DOING WELL IN THIS CLASS Attend class regularly and make a constant, wholehearted effort to participate. Study a little bit of Kiswahili everyday. Try to absorb and integrate past knowledge with new information. Keep up with the vocabulary. If you do not review the vocabulary daily, by the middle of the semester you may find that you are drowning in words. Fifteen minutes a day on vocabulary should be sufficient. When you read Kiswahili sentences, dialogues, stories, etc., do so OUT LOUD. Reading out loud (rather than silently to oneself, called sub-vocalizing) helps you to learn more deeply and to remember more efficiently. Do the homework assignments conscientiously and turn them in on time. If you have any questions, ask your instructor. If he/she cant answer them, pray. Above all, relax and enjoy the class!

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III COURSE INFO Kiswahili/Swahili: first year/first semester Prerequisites: a good attitude, a good work ethic, and an open mind Credits: 4 Schedule: Mondays & Wednesdays, Wednesdays,10:10-12 p.m. Place: Lewisohn Hall, #208 IV TESTING & EVALUATION

Grading will be based on the following: five written examinations, one audio/video examination, and attendance/participation. In addition, there will be many unannounced quizzes. These quizzes are intended to be diagnostic not evaluative, i.e., they will let both the student and instructor know how well the class as a whole is progressing. This, in turn, will affect lesson planning and content. V EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

Exam # 1: September 29 m Exam # 2: October 20 Exam # 3: November 10 Exam # 4: November 29 Exam # 5: December 8 ----------------------------------------------------Audio/video exam: December 6 udio/video VI INSTRUCTOR INFO

John Mtembezi Inniss, Ph.D. Office Hours: Mon. 12:30 a.m. . a.m.-1:30 p.m./Knox Hall, #414 e-mail address: mji2108@columbia.edu mail

Mama Kenny, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (1983)

kinu na mche (twangio)

jahazi

kinyago cha kiMakonde