Development of intermediate proficiency in Swahili through speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Exploration of complex linguistic structures and authentic texts and media within East African cultural, social, historical, and contemporary contexts. Emphasis on culturally appropriate communication, interpretation of diverse perspectives, and intercultural understanding in Swahili-speaking communities.
Athena Title
Intermediate Swahili I
Prerequisite
SWAH 1020 or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student learning Outcomes
Students will be able to communicate effectively in spoken Swahili on familiar academic, personal, and social topics by initiating, sustaining, and concluding conversations and adapting language appropriately to different interpersonal and cultural contexts.
Students will be able to comprehend and interpret spoken, written, and audiovisual materials in Swahili, identifying main ideas, significant details, linguistic patterns, and cultural meanings in authentic and adapted texts and media from Swahili-speaking communities.
Students will be able to produce organized written communication in Swahili, including narratives, summaries, reports, and essays, using increasingly complex grammatical structures, appropriate vocabulary, and culturally appropriate conventions for different purposes, audiences, and contexts.
Students will be able to analyze and interpret cultural perspectives, practices, and forms of expression represented in Swahili language, literature, and media, including idioms, metaphors, and proverbs and evaluate how historical, geographical, social, environmental, and contemporary contexts shape language use and communication.
Students will be able to engage with diverse perspectives and improve oral and written communication through an iterative process of intercultural interaction, collaborative practice, feedback, self-reflection, and revision, incorporating feedback to communicate with increasing clarity, accuracy, and cultural appropriateness.
Topical Outline
1. Intermediate Swahili Language Structures
• Intermediate Swahili grammar and vocabulary, including review and expansion of essential structures, verb tenses and aspects, conditional and subjunctive forms, and noun-class agreement in increasingly complex sentences.
• Parts of speech and sentence structure, including nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, and the grammatical relationships that form simple and complex sentences.
• Verb forms and voice, including active and passive constructions, causatives, reflexives, and their use in spoken and written communication.
2. Communication, Interpretation, and Expression
• Intermediate conversational structures and culturally appropriate communication, including social and cultural codes, interpersonal interaction, giving directions, describing locations, and the interpretation and use of metaphors, idioms, and proverbs in everyday communication.
• Reading, listening, viewing, and interpretation of authentic and adapted Swahili texts and media, including short stories, literature, articles, music, films, and other materials representing Swahili-speaking communities.
• Intermediate writing and oral presentation, including narratives, summaries, reports, essays, presentations, and goal- and culture-based speaking and writing tasks developed through practice, feedback, and revision.
3. Everyday Life and Professional Contexts
• Daily life and social interaction in Swahili-speaking communities, including routines, family and relationships, social customs, food and cooking, shopping and markets, health and wellness, and community interactions.
• Education, work, and professional communication, including language and cultural conventions appropriate to educational, workplace, and other social contexts.
• Travel, transportation, tourism, and geography in East Africa, including practical communication related to travel, lodging, directions, locations, and interactions across communities.
4. East African Cultures and Contemporary Issues
• East African history, culture, and contemporary society, including traditions, cultural practices, literature, music, and the historical and social contexts of Swahili and Swahili-speaking communities.
• Environment, globalization, and contemporary issues, including discussion and interpretation of environmental, social, cultural, and other current issues affecting East African and Swahili-speaking communities.
5. Intercultural Understanding and Communication
• Cross-cultural and intercultural communication, including comparison and interpretation of diverse cultural perspectives, reflection on cultural assumptions and social contexts, and development of culturally appropriate communication with speakers from different backgrounds.
General Education Core
CORE IV: World Languages and Global Culture
Institutional Competencies Learning Outcomes
Social Awareness & Responsibility
The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.
