Postgraduate Course: Swahili 1A for postgraduates (LLLJ11001)
Course Outline
| School | Centre for Open Learning |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Swahili 1A for postgraduates provides a contemporary, interactive and stimulating introduction to the Swahili language, which is the most international and widely-spoken of all the indigenous languages on the African continent. This course is based on a contemporary curriculum and approach to learning that seeks to link the language to 21st-century East African themes, such as music, literature, film, social media and the environment.
By the end of the course, students will be comfortable interacting in Swahili in everyday situations and will have a solid understanding of wide range of vocabulary and basic grammatical structures such as the key tenses and majority of the noun class system. Completion of the Swahili 1A for postgraduates will qualify students to continue onto Swahili 1B for postgraduates if they wish to do so, where they will have the opportunity to further develop their language skills.
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| Course description |
Swahili 1A for postgraduates aims to provide students with a strong grounding in the key concepts of Swahili grammar and a wide variety of vocabulary items and an introductory insight into both traditional and contemporary elements of East African culture and society. The course also aims to be challenging, stimulating and interactive, providing students with ample opportunity for practice in speaking, reading, writing and listening.
Swahili 1A for postgraduates is based on a contemporary curriculum and approach to learning that seeks to integrate an intensive and effective acquisition of the Swahili language with an understanding of the social and cultural conditions that continue to shape its development to this day.
By the end of the course, students will be comfortable interacting in Swahili in everyday situations and will have a solid understanding of basic vocabulary and grammar such as the key tenses and majority of the noun class system. They will also have been introduced to several elements of Swahili culture and will have discussed the lives of several important individuals in East African history. Completion of Swahili 1A for postgraduates will qualify students to continue onto Swahili 1B for postgraduates if they wish to do so.
Learning Swahili could be considered a crucial step for anyone seeking to travel to East Africa for research, work or travel, as even a rudimentary knowledge of the language will enable you to engage positively with those from the region, better understand your environment and acquire a more grassroots perspective on local and global issues. What's more, Swahili can provide a more general insight into the links between language, culture and history and a linguistic basis from which to explore other Bantu languages, such as Kinyarwanda (Rwanda), Zulu (South Africa), Xhosa (South Africa), Lingala (DRC), Kirundi (Burundi), Shona (Zimbabwe) and Bemba (Zambia), all of which share similar grammatical and lexical features.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2020/21, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 30 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 44,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
152 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
In light of the university's plans for hybrid teaching in Semester 1 2020-21, assessment has been adapted to 100% coursework as detailed below.
40% Average of 3 progress tests, 30% Participation, 30% Oral assessment
Details of the assessment will be provided in the course handbook at the beginning of the course.
[Assessment structure beyond 2020-21:
Final Exams 50%
Coursework 50%
Final Exams: 40%: 2-hour end-of-semester written exam, 10%: 15-minute end-of-semester oral exam
Coursework: 30%: The average of the three progress tests, 10%: mid-course assignment, 10%: Class participation] |
| Feedback |
Assignments will be returned with feedback within 15 working days of submission. In addition, students will receive weekly formative feedback on their homework. |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- understand and use correctly basic syntactic structures and a wide range of vocabulary related to everyday situations
- to read and understand short simple texts on a variety of topic
- show an awareness of some contemporary and historical aspects of East African literatures and cultures
- to write a short simple composition on topics related to personal information such as describing your family, daily habits or travel experiences
- demonstrate confidence to communicate and interact in a range of situations and on a variety of themes relevant to ever- day life in Swahili-speaking areas
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Reading List
There is no set textbook for this course and the core materials will be provided to the students by the tutor.
For vocabulary and grammar reference students can use the following books held by the main library.
- TUKI. Kamusi ya Kiswahili-Kiingereza/Swahili-English Dictionary. 2001. Dar es Salaam: Institute of Kiswahili Research.
- TUKI. English- Swahili Dictionary/Kamusi ya Kiingereza-Kiswahili. 2009. Dar es Salaam: Institute of Kiswahili Research.
- Mpiranya, Fideżle. 2015. Swahili grammar and workbook. London and New York: Routledge.
- Wilson, Peter. 1985. Simplified Swahili. London: Longman.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Knowledge and Understanding
Practice: applied knowledge and understanding
Generic cognitive skills
Communication and ICT skills
Autonomy, accountability and working with others
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| Keywords | Swahili,Kiswahili,Language,Culture,Africa,Kenya,Tanzania,Uganda,Rwanda,East Africa |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Teresa Poeta
Tel: (0131 6)50 4400
Email: Teresa.Poeta@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Nicola Dove
Tel:
Email: Nicola.Dove@ed.ac.uk |
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