Swahili
Finding a Swahili Language Mentor
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Identifying a Mentor:
There are a variety of resources available for finding a Swahili language mentor both online and at UW-Madison. The Swahili instructors are a great place to start because they may have time available during their office hours to work with a mentee, know of other Swahili speakers on campus that would be willing to serve as a mentor/resource, or have insight into useful language learning resources. Additionally, there are online resources like italki where you can meet with teachers that come from different backgrounds. Another option is to reach out to existing connections that know the language of interest. For example, as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya, I worked with a language tutor to learn Swahili. Since we worked well together, I decided to contact her and she if she was willing to serve as my language mentor for the purpose of this class and she agreed.
It is important that an individual’s mentor is someone that understands their learning style and is comfortable correcting their mistakes. Language mentors should also be able to provide cultural insights and explain how certain words and phrases can have different meaning depending on the context. Having multiple mentors can be beneficial because it allows the learner to hear the language spoken in different ways which makes them better prepared for speaking with native speakers in the future.
Fostering a Productive Mentor Relationship:
In order to foster a productive relationship with a mentor it is important to create a learning plan based on goals and objectives developed by the learner. Each meeting should be guided by an agenda that outlines learning activities that are designed to help the learner reach their goals. Rather than teaching the material directly, a mentor should provide the learner with guidance and feedback on their progress as well as make corrections to any mistakes. The feedback provided by the mentor helps the learner become more confident in their speaking, writing, reading, and listening abilities.
