Swahili (Spoken World) Review

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Swahili (Spoken World) ReviewIf you could judge a book by its cover, choose this one. The cover picture is delicious, and so is the book! The book will be like a mother to you - it guides you through each step as if no one had ever taught you carefully, sensitively enough, how to learn a language on your own. I say this book is not tedious because it doesn't ask you to simply figure that part (the self-teaching part) out all on your own. On the other hand, if you already know how to teach yourself, that's not a problem - just skim through those parts.
I have used Teach Yourself: Swahili by Joan Russell, Kiswahili Kwa Kitendo, and Swahili: A Foundation... by Hinnebusch, and I have already basically gone through two semester's worth of Swahili, but this one put together by native East Africans is my favorite and still has a lot to teach me after all that. It starts you out with a friendly introduction to each lesson, gives you a warm-up, and the dialogues are longer than in other courses, especially the non-audio ones. Dialogues also come with translations. As usual, there's a list of vocab and, like Teach Yourself, there's a list of key phrases, but unlike Teach yourself, they are more than just translations from the dialogue. Culture notes are a lot of fun and quite elaborate and practical:
"When you get to your table, you won't find napkins (tishu) waiting there for you. Napkins are generally available at the restaurant counter, and customers help themselves. Don't be surprised if you see other customers eating with their hands; this is acceptable table manners in many parts of the world. If you choose to eat with your hand, be sure to use your right hand, as eating with the left hand is considered to be at least odd, if not downright rude and unhygienic, especially in Muslim communities... When you're ready to pay the bill, simply ask naomba kulipa (can I pay?)..."
There are also readings which come in Swahili with English translation. These readings are simpler than in other courses, which makes them less tedious - I'm not sure if that means you get less out of it. Then there are grammar notes. There are the exercises, which are plentiful and simple; answer key at the end of the lesson. Finally, there's an independent study box in each lesson which just suggests how you can enhance your learning experience, but it's a good reminder if you are bad about keeping up with journals and the like, or if you've never studied a language before.
The audio is much better than Teach Yourself: the voices are clearer, with better enunciation. Also, Teach Yourself fills up half of the recordings with annoying English-speakers who are just telling you about the dialogue, which Living Language doesn't do. You end up with about 12 times more audio than Teach Yourself. There are two sections to the audio: one you listen to along with the lesson, the other is supplemental and can be listened to any time.
Another great thing about this course is that it's brand new and very modern! Each lesson has a salient theme, which is drilled into you by its recurrence in each part of the lesson. And there are a lot of parts to each lesson - it's very elaborate! Unique to this book is its inclusion of a lesson on internet language. This course doesn't look very long, and although I have only glanced at most of it, it seems unlikely to be quite as thorough as Hinnebusch. If you are very intent on learning the language, it couldn't hurt to have both Hinnebusch and this book, but this one would be my first recommendation for the independent learner.Swahili (Spoken World) OverviewThis simple and effective introduction to Swahili will teach you everything you need to speak, understand, read, and write in Swahili.This program assumes no background in the language, and it explains each new concept clearly with plenty of examples, making it ideal for beginners or anyone who wants a thorough review.Living Language Swahili includes:·A course book and six audio CDs·Two unique sets of recordings, one for use with the book, and a second for use anywhere to review and reinforce·Natural dialogues, clear grammar notes, vocabulary building, and key expressions·Plenty of practice, both written and recorded·Notes on culture, cuisine, history, geography, and more·Real life "discovery" activities and internet resources·An extensive two-way glossary

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