Kiswahili (Swahili) Course Information

The courses

The Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian, and African Languages, Michigan State University and the African Studies Center offer three levels of Swahili instruction.

Course Name Semester Course Credits
Beginning Swahili Fall AFR 101A 4
Spring AFR 102A 4
Intermediate Swahili Fall AFR 201A 4
Spring AFR 202A 4
Advanced Swahili Fall AFR 450A 1-6
Spring AFR 450A 1-6
  • First Year Swahili (AFR 101A - 102A) provides students with basic communicative skills to function in a Swahili speaking community. The emphasis is on conversation skills as well as reading and writing. The instructors introduce the students to various aspects of East African culture through written texts, video and audio tapes, and slide pictures. Students learn and discuss cultural differences between America and East Africa. Grammatical structures are learned as needed.
    Goal: ACTFL Intermediate Low level of proficiency - making requests, giving and taking directions, bargaining, simple interaction at store, bus/train station, etc. Students write simple compositions describing themselves, events, etc.
  • Second Year Swahili (AFR 201A - 202A) broadens speaking, reading and writing skills as students engage in discussions and writing on more complex topics. Videos, audio tapes, newspapers, magazines and the internet provide resources for the content of materials of the students’ interests as well as exposure to more advanced language. They are encouraged to discuss culture as well as news from Africa. Students begin to read short novels, plays, poetry, and essays.
    Goal: ACTFL Intermediate high -
  • Advanced Swahili (AFR 450A) hones on advanced speaking, reading and writing skills with longer essays and advanced reading texts. Students are assigned advanced readings selected according to their interests and future research projects.
    Goal: ACTFL Advanced

Instructors

  • Deo Ngonyani - Ph.D., Associate Professor
  • Jonathan Choti - Teaching Assistant

For more course information, please go to Description of courses for list of courses, including course descriptions and prerequisites, and go to Schedule of courses for course scheduling information for each semester, including class times and locations.