Language

I am now on language learning attempt number three.  The guy who tutored me for my first three months here started university in January, so he no longer has the time.  We decided to go to an adult school nearby and take the level 1 Setswana class.  Though our teacher, Queen, is accustomed to teaching illiterate adults who speak Setswana how to read and write, she willingly took on the challenge of trying to figure out how to help us learn the language.  It was quite an adjustment for her, I think.  Our first class she spent teaching us about syllables, and trying to get us to form words from different sounds.  We tried to explain that we could put random sounds together all day and that wouldn’t mean they were Tswana words, but seemed to have trouble getting the point across.  When we would ask her about rules and grammar it would take a long time to get the point across-probably because her normal students don’t ask about those things.  Though she did try, and got progressively better in our four classes with her, she eventually decided that the work load of trying to put together lesson plans for us on top of all her usual classes was too much.

Now, Mama Jane, a dear partner to InnerCHANGE South Africa (and the woman I lived with from November to January) has taken on the challenge.  She is a retired teacher, and taught Setswana.  It’s also her first language.  I know it’s difficult because we are at different levels-I have been learning since October, Emily has a month or so under her belt, and Rebekah is just starting out.  We like to know what rules are and why things are the way they are, which can sometimes be hard to explain.  We want to understand the structure of sentences and words the way we understand the English (or Spanish, for me) structure of sentences, and have to just learn to let go of our desire for everything to have an English correlation.  It’s an interesting journey for all of us, but I’m excited to have someone who knows us and loves us and has experience teaching taking on the challenge.  Maybe there’s hope for me yet!