Swahili Beginners Step 3

Course Times & Enrolment

Mondays from 14th April 2025 (Code SH021-303)

Mondays from
14th April 2025 5:30pm - 7:00pm • (10 classes) G44 Paterson's Land, Holyrood Campus • Tutor: Seline Okeno

£175.00 Concessions and discounts

Course Summary

To acknowledge the pace of learning and the importance of student confidence with using a language, our 45-hour Swahili Beginners course is subdivided into three progressive steps: Beginners Step 1, Beginners Step 2, and Beginners Step 3.

Beginners Step 1 is suitable for students with no previous knowledge of the language.

Upon completion of the three steps, students who have fully engaged with all the learning activities will achieve the equivalent of A1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and will have developed their confidence in holding a basic everyday conversation.

Students will develop these basic linguistic skills through a variety of listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities. The course focuses on language that is required for communicating in real everyday situations, such as introducing oneself and others and talking about the daily routine.

Our courses are taught by specialists, using the target language productively in the classroom.

The course will include autonomous learning activities, which enable students to practise and consolidate their skills.

Course Details

Pre-requisites for enrolment

Swahili Beginners is subdivided into three progressive steps: Beginners Step 1, Beginners Step 2 and Beginners Step 3.

Beginners Step 1 is suitable for students new to the language.

Students who have completed Beginners Step 1 will be able to progress to the next step.

Students who have any prior knowledge of the language are encouraged to self-assess their proficiency by using our on-line assessment or by contacting the Course Organiser

Students who have registered for a course that is not at the right level can request a transfer after session 1 and 2 of the course. (see our Languages FAQ)

Special Information

This course is taught without a coursebook. Students will be provided with most necessary course materials in class.

We recommend that students buy the following dictionary to help with their learning:

Majeda Hourani, Abdullah Qawariq (Illustrator), Abela Millanzi (Translator): "Ruman Swahili Picture Dictionary: Kamusi Ya Kiswahili Yanye Picha". Ruman LLC, 2020 - ISBN: 9781734925197

Content of Course

As they progress from Beginners Step 1 to Beginners Step 3, students will learn how to:

Give personal information
Talk about daily routine
Express likes and dislikes
Ask for and give directions
Describe their home, their town
Go shopping
Order food and drinks
Make reservations

Students will learn more about the cultures associated with the language and its speakers.

Teaching method(s)

Students will explore the use of the language in a safe, supportive and inclusive learning environment.

Students will experience the target language in a productive way, carefully designed to grow familiarity and confidence.

We follow an action-oriented communicative approach. The lessons include whole-class activities and pair or small-group work, role-play, responding to short texts, listening to dialogues, and watching video clips. Grammar is introduced in context. Pronunciation is practised regularly. Students will engage with more extensive written exercises and reading texts as part of the autonomous learning activities on the course page on-line (the Virtual Learning Environment of the University of Edinburgh).

Learning is assessed informally throughout the course with the teacher providing regular feedback to help students progress and plan their learning.

Learning outcomes

On completion of the three steps of the Beginners course, students who have fully engaged with all the learning activities will achieve the equivalent of A1 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), and will be able to:

1. introduce themselves, ask and answer simple questions about family, hobbies and housing;

2. carry out basic everyday tasks like ordering a meal or asking for directions;

3. understand very simple oral and written texts;

4. write simple short text;

5. show limited control of a few simple grammatical structures and sentence patterns in a basic repertoire.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.