Swahili
Transcription Activity
In this chapter, we will discuss a learning strategy. Transcribing is a great way to gauge how much you’re able to understand in a listening activity. It also helps you to learn what you don’t know. In the following activity, we will learn how to engage transcription activities through an example of the following video.
Some key points:
- If you are using transcription to further your listening comprehension skills, I suggest a source that is slightly challenging for you, but not so much that after multiple listens you cannot understand it on a sentence level.
- Start with one minute segments. You might choose a two-minute segment, but any longer will make the task more tedious than efficacious. You’ll likely listen to the source multiple times to get each word.
- If you can’t get a handful of words or phrases, indicate such on your paper and ask your mentor for support. If you’re struggling with the bulk of it, it’s likely too challenging of material for this type of activity.
The following source is a Dira ya Dunia news piece. As an advanced-high learner, it is an especially challenging text. However, any level of Swahili learner should get the gist of the activity and intermediate learns should understand the context of the segment.
The following transcription is taken from the news episode below. It starts at the 1:24 mark and goes until 1:52. If you’re an advanced learner, listen to the video and try your own transcription of this piece and the compare with the one below!
https://www.bbc.com/swahili/dira-tv-47993927
Vurugu za kikabila azilizo kumba eneleo kati nchini Mali zimesababisha kuvungika kwa serekali nji hiyo ineshitumia kushinda kukabiliana na vurugu zilizosabibisha vifo vya watu mia sita. Tarifa kutoka ofisi ya rais Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta zimesema rais amekubali kujuzulu kwa waziri mkuu Soumeylou Boubèye Maïga na baraza lake zima wa maziri.
