It is the most widely spoken native language of Africa, but Swahili is making its first appearance among language classes at Brown.
The Center for Language studies will offer a non-credit introductory course in Swahili for the first time this fall. Swahili is used both as a trade language and the main language of the East African countries Kenya and Tanzania. In many cosmopolitan areas, Swahili is the only common language.
"Lots of students study abroad in Africa ... and love to learn about Africa," said Merle Krueger, associate director of CLS. "This is an experiment to determine how much interest there is and how deep it goes."
Krueger said he has received over 90 inquiries since he first announced the course through Morning Mail. He now faces the "pleasantly difficult situation" of determining how many people can be accommodated within two sections of the class.
Organized by CLS for the entire Brown community - from students to medical staff to alums - the class is taught by David Kyeu, a native Kenyan who arrived at the University through the Fulbright International Teaching Assistant Program. The federally sponsored program, in its first year, brings teachers from other countries to the United States to teach their native languages.
Two other Fulbright TAs are also at the University, Khairieh Abbas from Jordan and Ariadna Lugo Huerta from Mexico. In addition to teaching, the three will be able to take two classes a semester, with their tuition provided by the University.
The competition for the Fulbright program was fierce at Kyeu's university in Kenya, he said, with 200 people competing for four Fulbright spots. But the opportunity was too good to pass up, he added, and he completed what he called the "rigorous tests" given to applicants.
Kyeu has been passionate about Swahili and mathematics since elementary school. With the "great encouragement" of his parents, Kyeu pursued both subjects in graduate school. He expects to complete his master's degree coursework in 2008.
For now, the two-semester Swahili course cannot be taken for credit. However, it's possible that the course could be offered for credit in the future, Krueger said.
Stephanie Larrieux GS, studying in the Department of American Civilization, was one of the first to e-mail Krueger about the course. Larrieux, who plans to visit Africa one day, said that "any opportunity to learn a language is a good one."
Offering a Swahili course is important "in terms of ... what Brown offers, being a place to explore individual interest and also to take advantage of greater knowledge," Larrieux said. "It's one of the things that attracts students to Brown in the first place."
