Intensive Swahili

I was in good hands when it came to housing and host family. The housing was a 5-minute walk
from the center, and I was never hungry because my host parents made sure to cook plenty of
delicious foods. If there was anything that I needed then I could rely on them. They were so talented
in what they did, and I do miss them, and recommend them. They had access to major news channels,
political channels and sports channels- suitable to a person of international relations (myself), as well as
being an active part of my Swahili language journey.

My teacher had a curiosity for learning just like I do, so it created a potential for many, many conversations,
both in English and the target language of Swahili. He might introduce a new rule of grammar, a way of pronouncing
the words, a history behind the language construction. I consider Swahili to be quite easy to learn, and my teacher to
be really good. Since I know Arabic, Hindi and French languages it was easy to identify an entire range of loan words
from these languages. Since teacher worked in the Peace Corps and taught French he had another language to help
in his teaching and could make a cultural distinction- ultimately making lessons easier to learn. “Got it!”

All of the grammar that is needed is spread throughout the blue beginners book, so for next time…
I didn’t feel it was necessary to do every single example in that blue book
as that took significant amounts time away from finishing the book in one
month. I had to grind many extra hours at home to move far ahead in one month
in order to finish the blue book in my last week there.
It would be MUCH better to do half of all the examples, finish the blue book earlier,
and have the remaining last week practicing the grammar in an overall review as well as
how to speak using these. It would’ve helped my exam scores in the end, plus would’ve give me
1 or 2 days to review and learn from them.

In the end I feel like this was by far an excellent investment in my language future. Not many individuals seem to know about
Africa and its most important languages in general. One will have to await for the “Rise” which is the return of Africa into the world stage, as it was in ancient times, and has an ever increasing potential: certain countries like Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia,
Tanzania, South Africa, DRC; a generation of youth to serve as a workforce; enormous population growth; vast amounts of resources to use; some of the fastest growing economies in the world; budding industries or businesses; a few major languages
to serve as communication and unification across the continent (currently English, French, Arabic, Swahili); increasing status in the medias of the world such as from Afrobeat music, Swahili language, Olympic performances, food and tourism.

I had a great experience at KIU. I was really lucky to get courses tailored to my level, with an excellent teacher who, beyond the classes themselves, was really helpful in terms of tips and support if I needed anything. It is a small school but there is a very nice atmosphere between the staff, teachers and students which made my stay there super good.

I had a good time in Dar es Salaam, because the teacher of KIU were smart, very friendly and humorous. It’s obviously, that they had a lot of experience in teaching Kiswahili. Even the material was very well done and helpful. The family, where I lived, was also friendly, warmhearted and they took care of me.

So I got a very intensive introduction from both sides into the culture of Tansania. I would like to recommend the combination of staying with a guest family and doing a language course like this.
Because there were no other students on my level (beginner) I had individual lessons with a wonderful teacher named Nancy. The absence of other students was a bit of a shame at first, but everyone was so keen to make me feel like I belonged that it didn't matter.

KIU was a very good school in general. Even though my teacher Jonathan used traditional teaching methods, I learned so much from him. His patience and encouragement were remarkable, especially when I was tired or sick. Benjamin and Martin were also great, always willing to talk and help during breaks. Amani and Hadija were incredible as well, especially Hadija helping me with my schedule and lending me Swahili books. Faraji, the school director, was kind and accommodating, especially during my illness. I appreciated how the school paused my courses until I recovered, showing great flexibility. The provided coffee and tea were nice, but having milk (or milk powder) and a small snack would have been even better. The classrooms could get noisy due to the partial walls, which was a bit distracting. Overall, I had a great experience and learned a lot.

I liked it all. Being in a third world country you can´t expect conditions like you are used to in the westen countries.
Therefore I appreciated the effort from the school stuff and the housing family. They did their best.

The classes and teachers were very nice they are the best.

I really enjoyed my experience with KIU. Everyone was friendly, accommodating, and professional. Even being far from home, it made a huge difference to feel so welcomed.

I got to practice a lot of listening and speaking, which I was missing while studying online prior to the class. They provided me with all the materials necessary, including a book that I continue to study from to this day. Every Friday we did cultural trips to various markets and museums within the city where I got to interact with the locals and experience the public transportation system in Dar.

They also seem to have the flexibility of enabling you to do part of the class at a different KIU training center (Dar, Arusha, Iringa, Zanzibar) if you wish to study in more than one place.

Bahati njema!

I only studied for two weeks at KIU in Dar Es Salaam, but learned more than i had expected.
My teacher was good. He followed the text book very closely, which was fine since i only studied for two weeks, but for a longer course it would have been nice with more variety, for instance including listening exercises. I didn't get a pre-course level-test.

I very much liked the teachers, they are open, welcoming and friendly. They really support you in speaking Swahili as much as possible in daily conversations. The location is fine as well, the facilities are enough for a few students per room downstairs. As far as I know they have more rooms upstairs if more students attend the classes. In general I very much enjoyed the Swahili Course since it will give you a good insight in the language itself, explanation of grammar, increasing your vocabulary, etc. If I had the time and the money I would extend the course to two or three months even in order to fully grasp the language and learn to speak more freely.

I'm very happy with having chosen KIU. Everybody at KIU is very helpful, supportive and always makes you feel welcome and like your part of a big family. The teacher - and therefore the quality of the classes - was very good and I made a lot of progress during my time in Dar. The groups were all very small (beginners, intermediate, and advanced equally) and everybody could benefit a lot from them cause the teachers can really adapt the lessons to your language level and personal interests and needs. The school is located in a modern building in a nice area of Dar. Activities were also part of the curriculum and provided further insights into the Tanzanian culture.

We liked everything in this school, starting from teachers who were very experienced in Swahili, finishing with apartments we were provided! Many thanks!

I liked the class. The other student and I were at a very similar level which allowed for a smooth class. We reviewed many grammar things that I had forgotten. The one suggestion I have is to review quickly again the grammar from the previous day. For example, we would go over something like subjunctive, but then not come back to it really later in the week unless I managed to work it in to the other lessons.

The teaching was excellent. Lusungu was a stellar teacher - we learnt quickly, he adapted the course to the students and our needs.

The flexibility of the classes was a big bonus. On top of that, another big plus is that we were a small class so had a lot of flexibility for the sessions.

The facilities and location were great. The value/pricing was very fair.
I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for beginner or continuing classes to get around Tanzania :)

At first I was a bit confused about the email communication according to possible locations and course dates, but once I came to the office I found the whole crew as very friendly helpful and flexible. My Teacher (Marco) was very friendly and good in explaining, with a perfect mixture of humour and precise explanations. As I was the only pupil he also included a few sessions which were particularly useful for my individual needs in my work, which helped me a lot and I appreciated a lot. The time of the course was also flexible and uncomplicated, which I enjoyed. I appreciated that there were tea, coffee and water offered in the class room. The whole ambiance with all the crew of KIU was so kind and familiar that it was fun and became almost a social event to come to. Due to this I even found good friends among the other students. Thanks a lot for the great time and I’m looking forward to continue learning kiswahili pamoja na KIU.