Job potential boosted by learning African language

Graduate student Abbie Hantgan hopes that being able to speak Bambara, a language spoken in West Africa, will give her more job opportunities. \nAfter graduate school, she wants to work at the U.S. Embassy in Mali in West Africa.\nBambara is one of several African languages offered through IU's African Language Program, which regularly offers Bambara, Kiswahili, Twi and IziZulu.\nEven though these languages are not commonly taught in the U.S., millions of people in dozens of countries speak them.\nTwenty-six million people in West Africa, mainly in Mali, speak Bambara. Fifty million people speak Kiswahili, primarily in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Nine million people, mainly in Ghana, speak Twi. And 10 million people speak IziZulu, mostly in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Malawi, according to the IU African Language Program Web site.\nClass sizes can range from four to 20 students, and are taught by native speakers recruited from U.S. and African universities.\nAlwiya Omar, the African language coordinator, said a goal of the faculty is to integrate culture and history into the classroom.\nProfessor Muziwandile Hadebe, for example, teaches his IziZulu students the Gumboot dance, a traditional Zulu dance originating in the gold mines of South Africa. Students perform this dance at two cultural festivals put on by African language faculty and students.\nGraduate student Vaughn Love said she enjoyed learning the Gumboot Dance, noting that it's a dance with a "social history that tells a lot about South Africa and the apartheid era."\n"When (Hadebe) explains the origins of Gumboot dancing, you're also learning about South African history," she said. \nKiswahili student Megan Hershey said that her professors have brought "far more than language instruction into the classroom; they have been instrumental in teaching (her) about East African cultures."\nMany study-abroad opportunities exist, and Omar encourages her students to take advantage of them. Countries with programs include South Africa, Ghana, Tanzania and Senegal.\nDoctoral student Jennifer Hart said that learning Twi at IU and in Ghana "will be a major research tool" when she does dissertation research in Ghana. \nOmar said there are many job opportunities for students who know African languages. Jobs are available in teaching, research and with the U.S. government. Former students have also gotten jobs with businesses, the Peace Corps and humanitarian organizations.\n"Indiana University has a world-renowned African language and African studies program, and we would like for our students and community members to take further advantage of the resources offered," Hantgan said.\nOmar said that students who want more information about African languages should e-mail her at aomar@indiana.edu.