some statistics

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As this semester draws to a close, I'm feeling reflective about the term and my language learning in general. One of the things that stands out to me is not just the actual language skills acquired, but the degree to which I've improved as an independent language learner.

Having kept track of my Omuzannyo points since the beginning, I'm able to see this unfold in numbers. So, for fun, here are some stats that reflect how I've grown as a learner:


Year
Mean points
Min
Max
2015-2016
45
20
74
2016-2017
62
25
85
2017
77
62
86

As you can see, my mean has consistently increased over the past three years. What makes me even happier to see, though, is that my minimum point score has significantly increased this year. Whereas in the past, a bad week put me in the 20s, I've built up enough habits that my minimum this semester is more than twice that. (Granted, I've only been through half the academic year, so there is still time for me to meet that very low minimum... but let's hope I don't!)

Of course, that's just the quantitative stuff. Qualitatively, I notice many differences in how I think about my language learning as well. I have built in so many little Luganda interactions in my day that I often have trouble remembering to count things / add them to my point total. And when I think about moving on to life as a dissertator, I'm already scheming about how I'll keep up with my language learning (even if I'm not enrolled in 671!).

Obviously, there's always more to learn, but I'm happy with my progress and derive great satisfaction from looking at those point statistics!

On to the current week - it was a good one. I was able to make plenty of time for Luganda and also did a wide range of activities. My conversation with Kevin and Simon was particularly fun on Thursday. As both Kevin and I struggle with the wide range of conjunctions that exist in Luganda, we have decided that 2018 will be the Year of Conjunctions. No word yet on how we'll enact that. :) 

Another fun thing of late is I've been teaching a co-worker/friend (who hopes to be spending time in Uganda on a Fulbright) one Luganda word a day. It's been enjoyable to watch her memorize more and more. And I find that choosing one word as the word of the day often opens up a whole set of related ideas/grammatical considerations/cultural stuff to discuss. I hope she gets the Fulbright for many reasons... of course because it would be great for her. AND because she says she will want to actually do some more lesson-like things with me. Yippie! I would love to share my knowledge and help her prepare. 

Okay, here's the week's rundown of activities:
Monday: Session with Simon, 50 Quizlet words, extensive text conversations
Tuesday: Read two Bukedde articles, texting, give a presentation about Luganda (remember? Gyebale ko!)
Wednesday: 15 minutes deep listening, 100 Quizlet words, texting
Thursday: Session with Simon & Kevin, 50 Quizlet words
Friday: Work on creating another Luganda presentation
Saturday: 10 minutes of listening exercises, 1 Taata Sam video, 15 minutes of a KLAwood movie, 50 Quizlet words
Sunday: 15 minutes of the Jesus video, 30 minutes lesson work, texting a friend

Next week, the finals begin. I am hopeful that my evaluation tools will provide me with an accurate snapshot of my proficiency and that all of the things I need from Simon will happen without a hitch. I'm looking forward to doing another presentation with you again on Tuesday!



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