This course taught in Swahili will focus on reading/writing skills and speaking/listening skills as well as structural and cultural information. The course will be structured around three thematic units: History, Politics, and Education. The course will provide background on the Swahili-speaking world: Who were the first Swahili speakers and what varieties of the language did they speak? How did Swahili spread from the coast to other Swahili-speaking areas as far inland as Uganda, Rwanda, and Congo? Swahili is a lingua franca and has importance in the spread of religion and trade movements. Influences of other languages on Swahili and influences of Swahili on local languages will be discussed. Political and educational systems will be discussed as well.

This is an advanced Kiswahili course which will engage learners in extended spoken and written discourse. Advanced learners of Kiswahili will listen to, read about, write and speak on authentic video materials, contemporary novels, and newspapers. They will also participate in various discussions on cultural and political issues.

Beginning level of Swahili which provides training and practice in speaking, reading and writing with initial emphasis on speaking and listening. Basic grammar, vocabulary and cultural skills learned gradually with priority on the spoken language. Especially during the second term, folktales, other texts and films will be used to help introduce important aspects of Swahili culture.

The Elementary Twi I course can be taken to fulfill a language requirement, or for linguistic preparation to do research on Ghana/Africa-related topics. The course emphasizes communicative competence to enable the students to acquire linguistic and extra-linguistic skills in Twi. The content of the course is selected from various everyday life situations to enable the students to communicate in predictable common daily settings. Culture, as it relates to language use, is also a part of the course content.


Students will acquire the speaking, listening, reading and writing skills at the mid-high novice level, based on the ACTFL scale. The mid-high novice level proficiency skills that the students will acquire constitute threshold capabilities of the second semester range of proficiency to prepare students for Elementary Twi II course materials.