Swahili Learning in the United States: What Does It Mean?

Abstract

The study reported in this chapter was carried out in a Midwestern University in the United States. The study investigated Swahili learning in a third year classroom. In particular, it sought to find out what it means to study Swahili in the twenty-first century. The study found out that the students participated in dynamic social interactions in the classroom, interacted with supportive teachers and peers, and interacted with supportive Swahili native speakers when they visited East Africa. Also, it found out that students studied Swahili because they were both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to study the language. All these factors in the Swahili classroom and outside the classroom promoted language learning.