Lauren Learns Luganda

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

This was a solid, if unextraordinary week for my Luganda studies. I was able to reach my goal of 80 points, due to putting in a good chunk of time every day this week, and then spending a long  time working on some lesson work today. One of the things I am most excited about this week is a new idea and use of technology that Simon spontaneously came up with. Usually, Simon will send me readings, grammar activities, or writing prompts via email or Whatsapp. On Monday, I received a set of Whatsapp voice messages from him instead. On the first message, he recorded himself reading a short story. On the second, he asked me a set of comprehension and interpretive questions about the story. Both recordings force me to practice my listening skills, and I'm excited because this is exactly the kind of new tool that I need. As you all know, I've been doing a lot of listening to talk radio, videos, etc. And certainly, that listening practice helps. However, this new method seems likely