Swahili Language Resources

• YLC Swahili Message Board
  Communicate with your tutor and classmates using the new audio/video friendly Message Board. We now use it for portfolios and speaking practice, too—See Blackboard for log-in information.
• Yamada Language Center Holdings
  Find out what materials are available for Swahili by using the Yamada Online Catalog. Watch the news from Tanzania online on the virtual language lab.
• Survival Swahili
  Resource for language and cultural study of Kenya or Tanzania courtesy of LangMedia.
• Swahili Exercises for Listening and Reading University of Pennsylvania. Excellent audio and video-related exercises. Requires RealPlayer.
• Web Assisted Learning
  UPenn's Language Research and Resource Center. General online exercises for use with any language. Check under link "Tell a Tale."
• Brief History of the Swahili Language
  The influence Swahili received from Arabic and other languages. By Hassan O. Ali
• Swahili Student Videos This is an excellent website as it showcases actual students showing off their language skills on video. An important tool that can be used as models for final projects.
• Swahili Profile
  UCLA Language Materials Database. Linguistic profile of Swahili. Includes information about linguistic affiliation, language variation, orthography and Swahili's role in society.
• Introduction to Swahili
  General information with links to many vocabulary items, useful phrases, numbers and Kenya's national anthem.
• Kamusi Project
  Internet Living Swahili Dictionary, Yale University. Swahili learning resources, songs, poetry, discussion forum.
  • Swahili Grammar Notes
    Part of the Kamusi Project
  • Swahili Pronunciation Guide
    Part of the Kamusi Project. Study pronunciation through comperative examples from English.
• Useful Swahili Words and Expressions
  From Hassan O. Ali
• See our Language Guides for more resources

• Kanga Writings
  A list of insightful Swahili proverbs found on bolts of cloth called "Kanga."
• History of Kanga
  A brief history of a popular Tanzanian garment which incorporates proverbs and popular sayings.
• Menus and Recipes from Africa
  Includes links to major African cuisines such as Tanzanian and Zanzibaran cuisine.
• Kenyan Wildlife
  Safari game park site with photographs of common wildlife.
• Swahili Stories
  Links to "Little Red Riding Hood" and "Hadithi - Masha cha Utundu"
• Swahili Culture
  UNESCO exhibit highlighting history and architecture

• BBC World Service
  News in Swahili. Requires RealAudio.
• Deutsche Welle - Kiswahili News - Audio On Demand
  Swahili, German and English news. Requires RealAudio.
• African News Links
  Links to various African newspapers online

Study Abroad

UO-sponsored SIT programs in Tanzania and Kenya that include language and culture as areas of study. Contact OIP (330 Oregon Hall) or go to http://studyabroad.uoregon.edu for more information.

University of Georgia’s Intensive Advanced Swahili Group Project (part of the Fullbright-Hays Group Project Abroad, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education) is an eight week program in East Africa (either Tanzania or Kenya) involving five to six hours of language instruction daily. One does not need to be a UG student to attend. http://www.uga.edu/afrstu/

Yale’s Intermediate Summer Program in Kenya http://www.yale.edu/ycias/african/ (Note: this is the website for the Council on African Studies through the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, which has a very good listing of other summer programs and fellowship opportunities)

Makerere University, in Kampala, Uganda has undergraduate and graduate programs in Kiswahili. http://www.makerere.ac.ug/index.htm. Their Institute of Languages webpage has a listing of classes for in beginning and advanced Kiswahili. http://www.makerere.ac.ug/arts/depts/lang.html

State University of New York (SUNY) has listings of a variety of international programs whose courses include language http://www.studyabroad.com/suny/

Internships

For UO-accredited internships, go to http://ie3global.orst.edu for more information. Examples include teaching or facilitating events at UAACC in Tanzania or participating in health education in Takaungu, Kenya.

Programs in the U.S.

The University of Ohio will host SCALI during the summer of 2004 (Summer Cooperative African Languages Institute), a seven-week program of intensive instruction in a variety of African languages. http://www.ohiou.edu/scali/

Michigan State University sponsors a summer program in Africa. http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfricanStudies/afrilang.htm

The National African Language Resource Center (of the University of Wisconsin-Madison) has a great website, even though it’s mostly geared toward teachers of African languages. http://lang.nalrc.wisc.edu/nalrc/home.html

Volunteer Positions

The Global Service Corps (GSC) has volunteer positions in Tanzania ranging between two weeks and six months, in the areas of sustainable agriculture or HIV/AIDS awareness education. There is also an International Health Internship Program, which lasts ten weeks and is aimed mostly med. and pre-med students. http://www.globalservicecorps.org/tanzania/tanzania_main.html

Self-Study Language Program •Yamada Language Center
121 Pacific Hall • 1236 University of Oregon • Eugene, OR 97403-1236
(541) 346-1543 Fax: (541) 346-3917
email: flstudy@uoregon.edu