SWAHILI LEVEL 1:

Step 1 to Swahili success

Hujambo! My name is Karen Stringer, Ph.D. Creator of the LSN accelerate program. Like you, I know what it's like to try to learn a new language in a non-immersion setting as opposed to being immersed in the language and culture. It is hard! One day it feels like you are making progress, then the next day it feels like you know nothing at all…

YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A BETTER WAY IF:

  •  You have spent hours and hours on YouTube®
  • Memorized 400 words from Duolingo® but still are no better for it.
  • Maybe you have 5 different resources all telling you something different and you are getting overwhelmed.
  • Maybe you simply do not have the time to meet twice a week with your Swahili tutor whose internet is as spotty as the Sahara desert.

Sometimes you wonder if you are cut out for this…Been there done that..😏 and it does not have to be so.

Over the last couple of years, I have helped over 100 students to achieve their goals of learning Kiswahili. It is my mission to provide Swahili learners with the tools they need to succeed so that they can accomplish their mission whatever it is. 

Whether it is service in Swahili speaking countries, volunteering in local communities, connecting at a deeper level with loved ones or simply better communication with your Swahili speaking clientele, I can help you. 

I designed this course for busy adults who desire quality and flexibility in their learning. Especially if you just want to strengthen your understanding of foundational Swahili concepts. It is what I wished I had when I was learning Arabic and French a while back. (Thankfully with Spanish my experience has been much better) And I am extremely excited for the opportunity to share it with you!

What will you do with your new found fluency?



Why you can excel in learning Swahili

Even as a busy adult...

When I started teaching Kiswahili, I was pretty much like any teacher around. I would meet with students one on one. I absolutely love engaging with students one on one. But I soon realized that there was a problem.

 Half the time students would not show up to sessions because life kept getting in the way. Also, having to wait for me for the whole week to learn something new was also slowing them down. Then, I would give homework only to find that they had not done it because, let us face it, as busy adults life can get really hectic. Even my most dedicated students seemed to have this problem. Besides, I completely emphasized because I was struggling just the same although I am a language teacher. 

After observing this for a while, I decided to do something radically different. I was going to sit and record everything I knew into short understandable videos that students could access as their own schedules allowed. I created them in ways that synthesized all useful information they needed to know in a systematic way so that they would never have to question if they had missed anything. I took my experience as a college professor, busy adult and struggling language learner to create a platform that would enable students of all types to succeed. This journey culminated with the creation of LSN platform. Although it was a lot of work (It took me two years of daily work), I soon realized that it was the best thing I ever could have done for my students and for myself.

  1. My students were no longer at the mercy of my day. As a mom of a special needs kid, one day can be radically different from another. With recorded lessons, they always had the best version of me.
  2. My students did not need to wait for me once or twice a week. They could continue to learn on their own even in the middle of the night if they could not sleep.
  3. My students could watch the same content 400 times if they wished without any embarrassment of having to ask the same questions over and over again if they did not understand.
  4. In-built and intuitive assessment made it easy for them to evaluate their own progress. 
  5. When they came to office hours and conversation practice, they already had so much to work with. 

Although initially I was sad to not work with students everyday, I realized that it was really not about me but about what worked for students of all abilities. Very quickly I began to see huge improvements in my students’ ability to communicate in Swahili. I want the same for you too.


SEE WHAT OTHER STUDENTS ARE SAYING!

Awesome Course!

by CATHY N

“Karen is a great teacher, very enthusiastic. She helped me focus on the big picture, learning a new language takes time, but at the same time learn small ninja tricks that helped connect what I already knew, with what I needed to learn."

Fantastic Course!

Mary M.

I have just completed Learn Swahili Now with Karen Stringer. My learn experience was Fantastic!! Some of the things I liked about the course were, I could access the course anytime, learn at my own pace, and the concept in each module was explained by an instructor lead video. After each module, there were reviews, quizzes, and assignments that helped me to grasp and remember the material in the module. I highly recommend this course for anyone that is looking for a course that is easy to understand and provides an opportunity to practice speaking the language.

Thank you!

Kayla H.

“I definitely benefitted from this comprehensive course. As a person who has been learning Swahili for two years now, this course helped me to review and build upon the basic concepts of Swahili. It increased my knowledge and confidence in speaking this beautiful language. I would absolutely recommend this to others- whether they were old learners or new."

Quality and Affordable!

Emma M.

I had been trying to learn Swahili on my own for more than a year. After being in Professor Stringer’s class for only a month, I feel so confident. LearnSwahiliNow teaches you the structure of the language. She teaches fundamental concepts in a simple way that anyone can understand. This class is university quality education at such an affordable rate. Looking forward to her next class.

Course curriculum

  1. 1

    • Welcome to Swahili 101
  2. 2

    • How to use this course

    • Before we begin...
  3. 3

    • Lesson 1: Introduction to Basic Swahili Pronunciation

    • Lesson 2: Introduction to the Swahili verb structure

    • Lesson 3: Sentence formations drills

    • Lesson 4: Introduction to Verbs Quiz

    • SUBMIT YOUR SENTENCE ASSIGNMENT HERE

    • Lesson 5: Greetings and introductions supplementary material

    • Lesson 6: Listening practice

    • VERB FLASHCARDS

    • COMMON NOUN FLASH CARDS

    • PRACTICE SENTENCES

    • QUIZ 1
  4. 4

    • Lesson 1: The Present Tense.

    • Drill 1: Simple Present Tense (I, You, He/She.)

    • Drill 2: Simple Present Tense Plural (We, You (PL), They).

    • Lesson 3: The Past Tense.

    • Drill 3: Simple Past Tense (Singular Affirmative and Negative)

    • Drill 4: Simple Past Tense Plural (We, You(Pl),They)

    • Lesson 4: The Present Perfect and Future tense.

    • Lesson 4b : Negation of the present perfect tense

    • Drill 5: Simple Present Perfect Tense Singular (I, You, He/She)

    • Drill 5a: Simple Present Perfect Tense Plural (We, You (pl), They)

    • Drill 5b: Simple Future Tense Singular (I, You, He/She)

    • Lesson 5: The Habitual Tense.

    • Drill 6: Simple Habitual Tense Singular (I, You, He/ She)

    • Drill 7: Simple Habitual Tense Plural (We, You (pl), They)

    • Lesson 6: The Conditional Tenses.

    • Drill 8 : Monster Drill with all the tenses

    • Lesson 7: SIMPLE TENSES DOWNLOADABLE CHART

    • Submit your sentence assignments here. (Present and past tense)

    • Please submit your sentences below (Present perfect, future and Habitual tenses)
  5. 5

    • Lesson 1: Introduction to Noun Classification System (NGELI)

    • Introduction to Noun classes quiz

    • Lesson 2: Noun Classes 1 and 2 (M/WA)

    • Noun class 1 and 2 Quiz

    • Lesson 3: Noun Class 3 and 4 (M/MI)

    • Noun class 3 and 4 Quiz

    • Lesson 4: Noun classes 5 and 6 (JI/MA)

    • Lesson 5: Noun class 7 and 8 (Ki/Vi)

    • Lesson 6: Noun class 9 and 10 (N/N)

    • Lesson 7: More on Noun Prefixes in the 9/10 CLASS

    • Lesson 8: Noun classes Drill

    • Lesson 9: Listening practice (module 2)

    • Practice sentences.

    • Submit your sentences assignment here (Noun class 1-4)

    • Submit your sentences assignment here (Noun class 5-8).

    • Submit your sentences assignment here (Noun classes 9-10)

    • QUIZ 2

    • A-WA FLASH CARDS

    • U-I FLASHCARDS

    • LI-YA FLASHCARDS

    • U-ZI FLASHCARDS

    • Comprehensive guide to the Noun classes (e-book)
  6. 6

    • Lesson 1: Noun Class 11 (U/ZI) Tangible things

    • Lesson 2: Noun class 14 (U) and 15 (KU) abstract concepts

    • Lesson 3: Noun classes 16-18 ( PO, KO, MO)

    • Lesson 4: Chart for noun classes 11-18

    • Lesson 5: Review drill for noun classes 11-18

    • Lesson 6: A review of subject prefixes and object infixes by noun classes.

    • Lesson 7: The associative ‘of’ and Possessives.

    • Lesson 8: Associative 'of' drill

    • Lesson 9:Listening practice (module 3)

    • Practice sentences

    • Submit your sentences assignment here (Noun class 11-15)

    • Quiz 3
  7. 7

    • Lesson 1: Final Review

    • Lesson 2: Final review drill part 1

    • Lesson 3: Final review drill part 2

    • Lesson 4: Final review drill part 3

    • Lesson 5: Listening practice (Module 4)

    • FINAL EXAM.
  8. 8

    • Before you go...