Nine African languages taught in intensive sessions

Students from around the country are spending the second half of their summer learning an African language at IU. \nNine African languages -- Bambara (Bamana), Igbo, Kiswahili (Swahili), Somali, Twi (Akan), Wolof, Xhosa, Yoruba and Zulu (Isizulu) -- are being taught during the national Summer Cooperative African Language Institute, currently being held at IU through Aug. 4. \n"SCALI is a cooperative effort of the Title VI Africa National Resource Centers," said John Hanson, director of the IU African Studies Program. "It is funded by the U.S. Department of Education." \nDuring the seven week session, classes are held for four hours, five days out of the week. Completing the program is the equivalent of one academic year of language study, said Alwiya Omar, SCALI director and IU African languages coordinator. \n"It is very important for Americans to learn other languages, including African languages," said Maria Grosz-Ngaté, associate director of the African Studies Program. "This summer we are teaching a few of the most widely spoken (African) languages." \nStudents who applied during the spring semester listed their top choices of language study and the languages taught this summer were picked to meet that demand, Omar said. \nAlthough most of the 82 students are graduate students, some undergraduates are participating as well. Omar said the graduate students may need to know an African language for purposes of their research or for their future careers as professors abroad, and undergraduate students may use the program as credit toward their language requirement. \nThere are 14 instructors, all of whom were specially trained before the program to teach an intensive language. The teachers had to apply to teach during SCALI, come from IU as well as the other cooperative universities. \nSCALI uses performance-based instruction, which includes reading, writing and speaking a foreign language. Students in this program are learning a language using normal human interaction. \n"Performance-based instruction allows people to generate language use in context," Hanson said. \nIn addition to classes, SCALI students can participate in several evening activities. Graduate students will be given an opportunity to present their African research to anyone interested during research forums each Tuesday evening. An African film series, being held at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, is also open to the public. Five African films relevant to the languages taught during SCALI will be shown. \nThe highlight, Hanson said, will be the language festival scheduled for July 28, at the Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center. Students from each class will prepare and perform a skit or song in the language they have studied. \nThe cooperative universities include IU, Michigan State University, Ohio University, University of California, Los Angeles; University of Florida, University of Illinois, University of Pennsylvania, University of Wisconsin and Yale University. Each university hosts SCALI for two consecutive years -- this is IU's second year. \n"It's amazing to see how much the students have learned so quickly," Hanson said. "They all chose to be here, and they are incredibly motivated." \nSenior Christina Fonte said she feels lucky that SCALI is being held in Bloomington. She already speaks Swahili and is learning Zulu this summer because her career interests are in Africa. \n"It's intense but I love it," Fonte said. "It's a good speed for me because I love learning languages"