In the beginning

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In the beginning, there were scissors.

That is to say that as I begin this language-learning journey, scissors are sort of my starting point. As of this week, one of the few words I know the Luganda word for is scissors. "Mpako makanse!" My colleagues would often direct me, usually alongside other Luganda requests that I never understood.

Although I spent my first month or two in Uganda taking regular Luganda lessons, it just never stuck. Maybe it was because of my teacher's somewhat rote instruction style, or because of my fear of sticking out even more than I already did (not only a mzungu, but a mzungu that seriously could not speak properly), or because life quickly got busy in Kampala. Whatever the reason, my Luganda remained at the most basic level.

Which brings me to today, a new beginning with the dynamic, multisyllabic, and elusive (to me!) Luganda.

This week has been mostly about planning. I've been thinking about what didn't work during my first attempt at Luganda and during language experiences, and how I learn best. I also researched resources that exist for Luganda, some of which may be designed in a way that's a better fit for my learning style. Developing my Individualized Study Plan was a great exercise to help me make sense of a lot of resources and ideas that have been floating around in my head. I am particularly excited to design and start playing my omuzanyo (game), which hopefully will provide me with a bit of additional incentive to bring Luganda learning into my daily life.

This coming week I'll be putting the plan into action! I'm really looking forward to actually start getting into the Luganda itself, and putting all of these ideas about self-taught language learning to the test.

Comments

  1. Katrina Daly ThompsonSeptember 13, 2015 at 11:31 AM

    What was the deal with the scissors?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lauren Parnell MarinoSeptember 13, 2015 at 11:53 AM

    Haha, I was just being asked to hand them over all the time. We only had one pair and they were VERY much in demand. :)

    ReplyDelete

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