Continued on page 6 YLC QuarterlyYamada Language Center Winter 2006 I n T h i s I s s u e ? Instructor instills passion for culture ? UO grad teaches Chinuk Wawa ? Self-Study program emphasizes student- centered learning ? African languages at UO: an update Italian Teacher Shares Passion for Language Cultural Exchange Enhances Language Learning Ar iel Olson, Newslet ter Ed itor For ma ny people t ravel is a hobby. For resident Ita lia n i nst r uctor, Nad ia Ceccacci, it?s a pa ssion? one t hat she ha s i mpa r ted to her st udent s for t he pa st 20 yea rs. ?I love t raveli ng,? Ceccacci says. ?If I cou ld, I wou ld be on t he road a ll t he t i me. I love la ng uages a nd to lea r n about d if ferent cu lt u res.? Or igi na lly f rom Fabr ia no Ita ly? a cit y k now for it s med ieva l paper i n - dust r y a nd a s t he bi r t h tow n of Rena issa nce pa i nter, G ent ile de Fabr ia no ? Ceccacci ha s been at t he Un iversit y of Oregon si nce 1981. She bega n her life i n Eugene a s a g raduate st udent pu rsu i ng a n M.A. i n compa rat ive literat u re, a nd ha s si nce become d i rector of t he second-yea r Ita lia n prog ra m a nd a t h i rd- yea r Ita lia n i nst r uctor. Ceccacci?s present resea rch is focused i n t he field of la ng uage pedago - g y?t he st udy of cla ssroom la ng uage i nst r uct ion. ?It?s a ll t he d if ferent a spect s t hat need to be ta ken i nto considerat ion when teach i ng t he la ng uage,? she says. Ceccacci uses a va r iet y of teach i ng met hods i n her cla sses, but considers pa r t icipator y d iscussion a nd cu lt u ra l en r ich ment to be a mong t he most va lu - able a nd ef fect ive met hods of la ng uage i nst r uct ion. ?We t r y to a lways encou rage com mu n icat ion i n ou r cla sses,? Ceccacci says of t he depa r t ment, ?a nd t r y to prov ide enoug h vocabu la r y a nd st r uct u re of t he la ng uage so t hat t hey ca n sta r t com mu n icat i ng ea rly on i n t hei r st udy of t he la ng uage. Cu lt u ra l contex t is a lso ver y i mpor ta nt. I t r y to ma ke t hem awa re of t he d if ferences t hat t here a re bet ween Ita lia n cu lt u re a nd A mer ica n cu lt u re.? To accomplish t h is Ceccacci says she of ten uses add it iona l mater ia ls such a s newspaper a r t icles, v ideo clips, photog raphs a nd adver t isement s to help st i mu late d iscussion a nd cu lt u ra l lea r n i ng. ?They help prov ide a spr i ngboa rd for d iscussion,? she says. I n a n ef for t to consolidate a g row i ng collect ion of t hese mater ia ls, Ceccacci recent ly completed a v ideo project t hat she pla ns to ut ilize i n second-yea r Ita lia n cla sses a s ea rly a s nex t ter m. The project, wh ich wa s completed i n a med ia work shop sponsored by Y LC t h is pa st su m mer, shows va r ious Ita lia n fest iva ls a nd how t hey a re t rad it iona lly celebrated. ?It w ill show st udent s d if ferent Ita lia n compet it ions,? Ceccacci says, ?pa rades w it h med ieva l cost u mes, a nd compet it ions t hat were played i n t he M idd le Ages, a nd a re st ill bei ng played. It gives a n idea of t he r ich ness of cu l - t u res t hat ex ist i n Ita ly.? To Ceccacci, t he cha llenge of cu lt ivat i ng a sense of cu lt u ra l cu r iosit y i n her st udent s, a nd mot ivat i ng t hem to pu rsue f u r t her la ng uage st udy is one of t he most rewa rd i ng pa r t s of la ng uage i nst r uct ion. ?I love to sha re my ent husia sm for la ng uages a nd for ot her customs w it h ou r st udent s,? Ceccacci says. 2 The YLC Quarterly is published by the Yamada Language Center at the Uni - versity of Oregon. As part of the University of Oregon, the Yamada Language Center is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. YLC Quarterly ?Ch ild ren a re ou r f ut u re,? says for mer UO st u - dent Leslie R ig gs. As a Cu lt u ra l Educat ion Specia list work i ng w it h t he Nor t hwest I nd ia n La ng uage I nst it ute (N I LI) on teach i ng prog ra ms at t he Gra nd Ronde t r ibe res - er vat ion, R ig gs work s ever yday to preser ve Oregon?s Nat ive A mer ica n her itage. Ch ild ren a re t he ma i n fo - cus of t hese prog ra ms. R ig gs? i nvolvement w it h la ng uage preser va - t ion bega n w it h a N I LI i n it iat ive. C reated at t he Un iversit y of Oregon i n 1997 a s a resu lt of t r iba l re - quest s for nat ive la ng uage teacher t ra i n i ng, N I LI a s - sist s t r ibes i n restor i ng t hei r nat ive speech a s a foca l poi nt i n com mu n it y life. Because for so ma ny yea rs Nat ive A mer ica ns i n Oregon were forbidden to spea k t hei r ow n la ng uage i n gover n ment?r u n reser vat ion schools, ma ny Nat ive A mer ica n ch ild ren a nd yout h have been depr ived of t hei r t rad it iona l la ng uage a nd cu lt u re. ?Because of gover n ment policies a nd pa st genocides, it ha s made it necessa r y to rev ita lize t he cu lt u re,? R ig gs says. N I LI prov ides ma ny ser v ices i n a n ef for t to rev ita lize nat ive cu lt u re. One such i n it iat ive i n - volves t ra i n i ng Nat ive A mer ica n la ng uage teachers i n t he met hods of applied la ng uage teach i ng. Th is is t he prog ra m t hat R ig gs, who had a l ready ta ken up Ch i nu k Wawa?t he la ng uage he st ill work s w it h today? sig ned up to work on at t he Gra nde Ronde reser vat ion. On a usua l day, R ig gs teaches Ch i nu k Wawa to ch ild ren at t he reser vat ion pre ? school du r i ng t he mor n i ngs. He t hen heads over to t he Cu lt u ra l Resou rces Depa r t ment where he a ssist s w it h t he process of cu r r icu lu m development for N I LI?S teach - i ng prog ra m. These act iv it ies represent a n ef for t to ach ieve a n a mbit ious cu lt u ra l rev iva l. As a member of t he Gra nd Ronde t r ibe h i mself, R ig gs fi nds i n t he N I LI teach i ng prog ra ms t he em - bod i ment of h is a spi rat ions for h is people. Even a s a u n iversit y st udent, R ig gs says t hat he a lways felt a desi re to ret u r n to t he reser vat ion a nd work for h is t r ibe?s well?bei ng. ?I?m a non-t rad it iona l st udent,? R ig gs says, ?i n t he sense t hat I?m t he fi rst ever to g raduate f rom a u n iversit y, f rom bot h sides of my fa m ily.? Understa nd i ng t he sig n i fica nce of t h is pr iv i - lege mot ivated R ig gs t h roug hout h is college ca reer. R ig gs adds t hat a not her power f u l d r iv i ng force wa s t he awa reness of h is cu lt u re a s somet h i ng d ist i nct ly sepa rate f rom h is college deg ree, one wh ich was en - forced t h roug h h is i nt i mate relat ionsh ip w it h t r ibe members. ?You must have t h is relat ionsh ip to u n - dersta nd t he responsibilit y, a nd t he rea son to go work for t he t r ibe,? R ig gs says. Once R ig gs bega n h is work w it h t he t r ibe, how - ever, he rea lized t hat t here rema i n sig n i fica nt cha l - lenges to preser v i ng Nat ive A mer ica n la ng uages. For UO Alum Battles for Native Language Preservation Ar ya Surow idjojo, Sta f f Repor ter Staff Director: Jeff Magoto Office Coordinator: Karen McDonald IT Specialist: Ginny White Graduate Teaching Fellows Self-study: Ben? Santos Newsletter: Ariel Olson, Tom Dolack Operations: Andrew Porter Research: Sermsap Vorapanya Student Coordinators FLIS, Scheduling: Michelle Keiser Computer Lab: Eric Beltran Staff Reporters: Ariel Olson, Arya Suro - widjojo Fulbright Language Teaching Fellows Turkish: Nilay Sevinc Arabic: Dorsaf Naoui Winter ?06 Schedule M - H: 8:00 - 7:00 F: 8:00 - 5:00 Sun: 1:00 - 5:00 Phone: (541) 346-4011 E-mail: ylc@uoregon.edu Website: http://babel.uoregon.edu Cover Photo: Second-year Spanish student Jake Snyder performs at 400 th anniversary celebration of Don Quixote. My Sacred Home , UO st udent s Ch r is Boyd a nd Mu n Li Ku ng?s 2005 docu menta r y, wa s recent - ly show n on OPB. The v ideo h ig h lig ht s t he t ra ns - for mat ion of t he Ma ny Nat ions Long house wh ich opened i n ea rly 2005 (old show n on lef t, t he new long house is on t he r ig ht). Ca mpus g roups such a s N I LI ma ke use of t he new facilit y for educat ion, cu lt u re, a nd socia l event s. UO Sacred Home  exa mple, t he la ng uage R ig gs work s w it h, Ch i nu k Wawa, or Ch i nu k ?Spea k,? ha s been adopted by t he t r ibes of Oregon a s a com mon la ng uage. Yet, a s t here a re severa l d ia lect s i n t he Gra nde Ronde reser vat ion, teach i ng a sta nda rd ized la ng uage t hat is not a n i nd igenous tong ue ha s been problem - at ic, especia lly si nce English ha s become t he dom i - na nt la ng uage on t he reser vat ion. Th is problem ex - tends to t he home, where Ch i nu k Wawa is ra rely used, or is even d iscou raged. ?Somet i mes t he cla ssrooms a re d if ficu lt?what we have a re t h ree to five yea r-old k ids not k now i ng why t hey?re i n a cla ssroom where nobody?s spea k i ng English to t hem,? R ig gs ex pla i ns. R ig gs contends t hat a big pa r t of what is needed to adva nce t he cause of la ng uage a nd cu lt u ra l pres - er vat ion is a h ig h-level of ded icat ion a mong t hose i nvolved. ?It?s a r ipple ef fect where it ta kes a whole com - mu n it y to ma ke it work,? he says. ?The ch ild ren need to ded icate t hemselves to lea r n i ng Ch i nu k Wawa, pa rent s need to promote t hei r lea r n i ng by spea k i ng it at home, a nd t he whole com mu n it y i n genera l needs to become i nvolved.? R ig gs says t hat t he ded icat ion he w it nessed a mong elderly t r ibe members beca me a n i nspi rat ion for h i m i n h is ow n work. At a n average of si x t y yea rs old, t hese elders rea lized t hat t hey were a mong t he la st rema i n i ng li n k s to t he t rad it iona l cu lt u re for t hei r yout h, a nd even today t hey st ill com m it t hem - selves to la ng uage i nst r uct ion. ?It wa s a n a ma zi ng t h i ng to meet people who not just ta l ked t hei r cu lt u re, but a lso wa l ked t hei r cu lt u re ? I lea r ned so much f rom t hem,? R ig gs says. Fu nd i ng for t he cont i nuat ion of N I LI prog ra ms is a lso a mat ter t hat requ i res consta nt at tent ion. As R ig gs h i mself put s it, ?k now i ng t hat t he bot tom isn?t goi ng to fa ll of f ? is a big sou rce of mot ivat ion. However, N I LI is a s much about t he people who work i n it a s it is about it s goa ls. R ig gs sa id t hat he believes i n t he teach i ng prog ra ms? i nev itable success la r gely because of t he ded icated i nd iv idua ls t hat, ever yday, a re put t i ng a ll t hei r ef for t i nto t he reser vat ion. ?N I LI is about a ll of us,? R ig gs says. ?If a ny of us doesn?t show up, t hen it doesn?t happen. What?s i mpor ta nt, t hen, is to ma i nta i n t he stea m needed to keep on teach i ng.? For more information about NILI, contact Janne Under riner at: nw ili@uoregon.edu. Continued from page 2 Community Effort Needed to Revive Chinuk Wawa September ?UO a nd Por t la nd Public Schools received a Nat iona l Secu r it y Educat ion Prog ra m (NSEP) g ra nt for $700,000 to f u nd t he nat ion?s fi rst Nat iona l Flagsh ip La ng uage I n it iat ive Ch i nese K- 16 la ng uage prog ra m. The g ra nt a i ms to establish a nat iona l model for t he teach i ng a nd lea r n i ng of Ch i nese. Second-yea r Japa nese st udent s begi n usi ng ?Ca sua l Speech i n Japa nese? a DV D a nd website produced by Sen ior I nst r uctor Na ncy Iwa k awa. Fil med on a nd a rou nd ca mpus, it s 99 v ig net tes h ig h lig ht contempora r y speech i n contex t s com - prehensible for i nter med iate lea r ners. October ?Way ne Morse Center for Law a nd Polit ics hosted a sy mposiu m on Sovereignt y and Native Education at t he UO K n ig ht Law Center. UO wa s well-represented at statew ide teach - ers? con ferences i n foreig n la ng uages a nd ESL. Y LC?s web-ba sed speech tools (Message Boa rd, Qu iz ma ker, A m iga) were presented at bot h. November ? The M idd le Ea st wa s t he focus of a week of ta l k s, fil ms, a nd cu lt u ra l presentat ions at t he I nter nat iona l Resou rce Center. Global Talk , a mu lt ili ng ua l maga zi ne fo - cused on UO st udent w r it i ng, published it s fi rst issue. Hu nd reds of second-yea r Spa n ish st udent s celebrated t he 400t h a n n iversa r y of t he publica - t ion of Don Quixote w it h a specia l colloqu iu m (see photo above). St udent project s ?ra ngi ng f rom poems to a r t work to mu lt i med ia presentat ions ? were on d isplay, filli ng t he EM U Fi r Room. The day had a specia l flavor a s ma ny ca me i n cost u me to embrace t he spi r it of Cer va ntes? opus. Fall Highlights A special note of thanks to UO alum, Phil Lig ht y... Lig ht y?s gif t of $8,000 w ill be used to sup - por t the self-study language program. Self-Study Program Puts Students First Ar iel Olson, Newslet ter Ed itor Continued on page 5 There a re ma ny ways to teach a foreig n la ng uage, of ten depend - i ng on what resou rces a re ava il - able a nd t he t y pe of proficiency t hat is requ i red of t he st udent s. These met hods va r y a rou nd t he world. Yet, f rom Bra zil to Tha ila nd a nd f rom Tu rkey to Ta n za n ia, t utors i n Y LC?s self-st udy prog ra m seem to sha re one com - mon teach i ng st rateg y: la ng uage lea r n i ng shou ld be st udent-centered. Com mu nicat ion is Key Fi rst-yea r Por t ug uese t utor a nd d i rector of t he Y LC self-st udy prog ra m, Ben? Sa ntos, ha s been a la ng uage teacher for more t ha n t went y yea rs. Wh ile complet i ng her B.A. i n Por t ug uese a nd English Let ters f rom t he Un iversit y of Ma ra n hao i n Bra zil, Sa ntos complemented her for ma l English t ra i n i ng w it h add it iona l cou rses f rom a pr ivate English i n - st it ut ion. ?At t he Un iversit y t he focus of t he teach i ng wa s on g ra m ma r st r uct u re a nd literat u re rat her t ha n com mu n icat ion,? Sa ntos sa id. ?St udent s were ex pected to teach a nd use on ly h ig h sta nda rd la ng uage, wh ich somet i mes h i n - dered com mu n icat ion.? Sa ntos obser ved t hat ad her - ence to such for ma l sta nda rds of ten d iscou raged st udent s f rom pu rsu i ng t he la ng uage, bot h due to t he prog ra m?s d if ficu lt y a nd to it s fa ilu re to adequately prepa re st udent s for rea l life com mu n ica - t ion. ?They ca re too much about pronu nciat ion,? Sa ntos sa id of la ng uage prog ra ms i n Bra zil. ?Here i n t he USA pronu nciat ion is a problem on ly if it h i nders com mu n icat ion. I a lways show st udent s t he for ma l a nd i n for ma l a spect s of a la ng uage. I wa s taug ht t he for ma l way on ly, a nd I t h i n k it wa sn?t good.? St udents at t he Center Tha i t utor, Ser msap Vorapa nya, obser ved a si m ila rly st r ict approach to English i n - st r uct ion i n Tha ila nd. The for ma l, teacher-centered met hod st rongly i n fluenced her ow n teach i ng st rat - egies when she fi rst ca me to work at Y LC nea rly t wo a nd a ha lf yea rs ago. ?I wa s fa m ilia r w it h t he teach - er-centered approach,? Vorapa nya sa id, ?so I prepa red ever y t h i ng for my st udent s a nd i nst r ucted t hem. However, t hat d id n?t a lways work ver y well. As t utors we work a s suppor ters, not feeders. When I t houg ht about t hat, it g radua lly cha nged my approach.? Now Vorapa nya i ncor porates much more t i me for g roup d iscus - sion, giv i ng her st udent s a n op - por t u n it y to ora lly pract ice what t hey a re lea r n i ng. She a lso i nv ites her st udent s to br i ng i n new a r t icles a nd object s to sha re w it h t he cla ss so t hat t hey a re more engaged i n t he ma - ter ia l t hey a re st udy i ng. They a lso go out to a Tha i restau ra nt once per ter m to pract ice order i ng a mea l i n t he la ng uage. ?I t r y to a sk my st udent s what t hey need f rom me,? sa id Vorapa nya. ?We?re more li ke f r iends.? Cult ural Context I n t he ex per ience of Tu rk ish t utor, Nilay Sev i nc, st udent pa r - t icipat ion ha s a lways for med t he fou ndat ion of her la ng uage i n - st r uct ion. Sev i nc received her for ma l English t ra i n i ng f rom t he A nadolu Un iversit y i n Tu rkey a nd ha s been teach i ng si nce 1998. She descr ibed t he ex per ience lea r n i ng English i n Tu rkey a s i n - tensive, suppor t ive a nd st udent- centered; add i ng t hat it wa s her posit ive ex per ience a s a la ng uage lea r ner t hat i nspi red her to be - come a la ng uage teacher. ?La ng uage lea r n i ng is not a one d i mensiona l i ntellect ua l ac - t iv it y or abilit y,? Sev i nc sa id. ?I have to ta ke my st udent s? ex pec - tat ions, needs a nd i nterest s i nto considerat ion. I especia lly focus on com mu n icat ion sk ills. I?m teach i ng not on ly Tu rk ish, but t he ?I tr y to ask my students what they need f rom me. We?re more like f riends.? Ser msap Vorapa nya, Tha i Tutor Thai tutor, Ser msap Vorapanya (standing), facilitates a communicative exercise in Thai. Small classes enable personalized at tention, one of t he advantages of t he prog ram. 5 Tutors Use Student-Centered Approach Continued from page 4 cu lt u re of Tu rkey, so I t r y to ma ke t he lesson a s i nterest i ng a s I ca n by giv i ng some i n for mat ion about cu lt u ra l issues, i nclud i ng customs a nd t rad it ions, music, etc?? Prov id i ng a cu lt u ra l contex t for her Por t ug uese st udent s is a lso i m - por ta nt to Sa ntos, a nd she is g ratef u l for t he f reedom she now ha s to i ncor - porate aspect s of Bra zilia n cu lt u re i nto her lessons. ?For me,? Sa ntos sa id, ?la n - g uage a nd cu lt u re go toget her. Words a ren?t a lways used t he sa me way t h roug hout t he cou nt r y. Somet i mes even if you a re teach i ng d ia log ue t here is a word t hat is speci fic, or comes f rom a speci fic pa r t of t he cou nt r y.? Vorapa nya ag reed. ?I rea lly believe t hat lea r n i ng cu lt u re re - a lly helps,? she sa id. ?St udent s a l - ways a sk, ?Why do we have to say t h is?? I n Tha i cu lt u re we respect elders, so you may have to cha nge somet h i ng i n a g reet i ng to show you?re bei ng polite.? Most t utors com mented t hat t hey va lue t he level of i nt i macy a nd st udent pa r t icipat ion a f - forded by t he self-st udy prog ra m. However, accord i ng to Swa h ili t utor, Ma rko Mw ipopo, t here a re t i mes when d i rect teach i ng is necessa r y i n order to convey new idea s ef ficient ly a nd accu rately. ?The da nger w it h t he rela xed lea r n i ng st yle,? Mw ipopo sa id, ?is t hat somet i mes st udent s may be a sk i ng too ma ny quest ions, be it releva nt or not, a nd t he teacher?s goa ls may not be met. I t h i n k, de - pend i ng on t he mot ivat ion a nd goa ls of a st udent, t he teacher may k now bet ter about what st udent s need t ha n t hey do. I n t h is sit ua - t ion, t here must be some k i nd of cont rolled lea r n i ng.? Indiv idualized At tent ion Gra m ma r a nd pronu nciat ion a re t wo a rea s of la ng uage lea r n i ng t hat genera lly requ i re more d i rect met hods of i nst r uct ion. Accord i ng to Sa ntos, t hey a re a mong t he most d if ficu lt a spect s of a foreig n la ng uage to teach to non-nat ive spea kers because t he g ra m mat ica l st r uct u re of each la ng uage is d if - ferent a nd t here a re some sou nds t hat English spea kers? tong ues do not wa nt to produce. I n t hese sit u - at ions, Sa ntos spends t i me work - i ng w it h each st udent demon - st rat i ng how to shape t he mout h cor rect ly i n order to produce t he r ig ht sou nds. I n Tha i, t h is a spect of teach - i ng t he la ng uage is f u r t her compli - cated by t he fact t hat t he la ng uage is tona l. There a re five tones i n Tha i, a nd t he sa me word repeated i n a d if ferent tone of ten ha s a to - ta lly d if ferent mea n i ng. ?Teach i ng g ra m ma r is re - a lly ha rd,? Vorapa nya sa id, ?be - cause t here a ren?t a s st r ict of r u les i n Tha i. Teach i ng tones is rea lly ha rd, too, because st udent s a ren?t used to hea r i ng t he d if ferent tones.? I n order to demon - st rate t hese d if ferences Vorapa nya t r ies to teach her st udent s w it h a n ex - a mple t hat t hey ca n a ll re - late to, hav i ng t hem each pract ice say i ng t hei r na me i n each of t he five tones. Self-st udy t utors work to i ncor porate a va r iet y of teach i ng met hods for t he benefit of t hei r st udent s a nd ma i nta i n t hat flex - ibilit y is key. I n so doi ng, t utors w i nd up lea r n i ng a lot f rom t hei r st udent s a s well. ?It is not ea sy to be com for t - able w it h ever y t h i ng i n t he new cu lt u re a nd set t i ng,? Mw ipopo sa id. ?One ha s to u ndersta nd a nd ack nowledge cu lt u ra l d if ferences, a nd enjoy lea r n i ng new t h i ngs f rom ot hers.? ?If you do not possess t hese qua lit ies,? Mw ipopo cont i nued, ?t here w ill be no ha r mony w it h t he lea r ners. They w ill be d isap - poi nted by you r ways a nd for get to lea r n t he la ng uage, wh ich is t hei r u lt i mate goa l.? Get t ing Sta r ted For a nyone i nterested i n Self St udy plea se contact Ben? Sa ntos at flst udy @ uoregon.edu or v isit ht tp:// babel.uoregon.edu. The or ga n izat iona l meet i ng?where cla ss t i mes a re a r ra nge d ?w ill be held Thu rsday, Ja nua r y 12 t h at 5:00pm i n Paci fic 121. Self-study coordinator Ben? Santos (second from right) coaxes a song and a samba out of her beginning Portuguese language students. Santos tries to incorporate aspects of Brazilian culture into each of her lessons. Ceccacci k nows fi rst ha nd t he benefit of st udy i ng abroad a nd at t r ibutes her lifelong pa ssion for la n - g uage a nd cu lt u re to t hese ea rly oppor t u n it ies. ?They were t he most g rat i - f y i ng ex per iences i n my life a s a st udent,? she says. ?I hope t hat a ll of ou r st udent s, somet i me i n t hei r st udent ca reer, w ill be able to have such a n ex per ience.? Ceccacci ha s si nce st ud ied G er ma n, Dutch, Spa n ish, French, Russia n a nd English a nd ha s t raveled to Ch i na, Per u, Mex ico, Tha ila nd a nd t h roug hout much of Eu rope. She says her nex t t r ip w ill be to Tu rkey a nd Greece. ?I rea lly a m excited about lea r n i ng la ng uages,? Ceccacci says. ?I rea lly love t hem. They give a lot to people a nd t hey rea lly en r ich you r life. Then when you get to go abroad, a nd you get to ex per ience it d i rect ly it gives you somet h i ng t hat rema i ns i n you forever.? 6 Ceccacci a lso work s to ex pose her st udent s to new cu lt u ra l ex per iences out side of t he cla ssroom. Si nce 1992 she ha s ser ved a s t he resident d i rector of t he su m mer excha nge prog ra m, escor t i ng UO Ita lia n st udent s on a st udy abroad prog ra m to Per ugia, Ita ly. The 2-mont h, f u ll-i m mer - sion prog ra m ha s been r u n n i ng for nea rly 40 yea rs, a nd ha s be - come one of t he most popu la r st udy excha nge prog ra ms at t he Un iversit y. ?It?s a wonder f u l ex per ience bot h for t he st udent s a nd for t he d i rectors to be able to be i n touch w it h a d if ferent set t i ng,? Ceccacci says. ?It a llows us to excha nge idea s w it h ot her Ita lia n teachers, a nd a llows t he st udent s to st udy t he la ng uage onsite. They ca n go a nd v isit t he sig ht s a nd lea r n more fi rst ha nd about t he cu lt u re.? Hav i ng st ud ied i n G er ma ny, Belgiu m a nd Holla nd a s a yout h, Summer Abroad Offers Full Immersion to Italian Students Continued from page 1 Organizational Meeting: Thursday, January 12th 5:00 pm in Pacific 121 Besides directing t he second- year Italian lang uage prog ram, Nadia Ceccacci has ta ken hundreds of UO students to Per ug ia since 1992.  I n order to meet t h is need, t utors tend to em - pha size ba sic vocabu la r y a nd com mu n icat ion rat her t ha n read i ng, w r it i ng a nd adva nced g ra m mat ica l st r uct u res. Now t hat fou r of Mw ipopo?s st udent s have com - m it ted to long-ter m st udy of Swa h ili a nd a re con - cer ned about ach iev i ng proficiency i n a ll t h ree a rea s of t he la ng uage ?read i ng, w r it i ng a nd spea k i ng?he is of fer i ng a second, more i ntensive cla ss to prepa re t hem for 2 nd yea r Swa h ili nex t yea r. I n t h is supplementa r y Swa h ili cou rse, st udent s receive a more i n dept h u ndersta nd i ng of t he la n - g uage?s u n ique g ra m mat ica l st r uct u re. There is a lso more d iscussion of t he d if ferences bet ween English a nd Swa h ili a nd t he st udent s a re more accou ntable for t hei r lea r n i ng. ?They go beyond t he need of ta k i ng t he la ng uage just for com mu n icat ion,? Mw ipopo ex pla i ns. ?Ma ny of t he st udent s a l ready have a la ng uage backg rou nd Ta nza nia ?Swa h ili is a n of ficia l la ng uage, a long w it h English. Kenya ?Swa h ili is a nat iona l la ng uage, a long w it h ot her major Af r ica n la ng uages. Uga nda ?Swa h ili is w idely used a s a la ng uage of i nteret h n ic com mu n icat ion. Democrat ic Republic of Congo ?Swa h ili is one of fou r nat iona l la ng uages. Continued from page 8 Ot her cou nt r ies Swa h ili is a lso used i n Rwa nda, i n Bu r u nd i (for com mercia l pu r poses), a nd by a sig n i fica nt nu mber of people i n t he sout her n pa r t of Soma lia a nd i n nor t her n Moza mbique. It is a lso encou n - tered i n t he la r ger cit ies of sout her n Et h iopia. Dialects There a re ma ny regiona l va r iet ies of t he Swa h ili la ng uage. Sta nda rd va r iet ies used for teach i ng a nd i n t he med ia i n Ta n za n ia a nd i n Kenya d if fer on ly slig ht ly. The d if ference bet ween t hese va r iet ies a nd t he sta nda rd used i n ea ster n Congo is, however, much g reater. Use of Swa hili in public life Swa h ili is used i n a ll spheres of ever yday life, i nclud i ng telev ision, rad io a nd newspapers. I n edu - cat ion, it ser ves a s a med iu m of i nst r uct ion up to seconda r y school level. It s r ich litera r y a nd a r t ist ic t rad it ion, wh ich goes back to t he 18t h cent u r y, ha s kept up w it h moder n t rends i n ora l a r t a nd i n w r it - i ng. Sou rce: Un iversit y of Zu r ich, ht tp://w w w.u n iz h.ch /spw/a f rli ng/a liswa h ili Where is Swahili Spoken? a nd a sk more li ng u ist ic quest ions t ha n usua l.? Mw ipopo says t hat h is role a s a la ng uage i n - st r uctor ha s become more dema nd i ng a s he at tempt s to meet t hese needs a nd prepa re h is st udent s for a proficiency exa m, wh ich t hey w ill ta ke at t he end of each academ ic yea r. ?The adva nced cla ss is more d if ficu lt to teach,? he sa id, ?because t he st udent s? needs a re g reater a nd t he academ ic dema nds for t hem to meet t hei r requ i rement s a re a lso heav ier. Th is is cha llengi ng for me. I have to be more prepa red t ha n I used to be i n t he pa st.? For more information about Af rican Studies at UO, see ht tp://w w w.uoregon.edu/~af rica. For infor - mation about the Swahili language program, please contact Marko Mw ipopo at: mmw ipopo@uoregon. edu. Swahili Program Gains Academic Focus Swahili is used as either the single, or one of sev - eral primar y languages in much of central and eastern Af rica, and as a language of commerce in sur rounding nations. A Bantu language, around 50 million people speak Swahili as either a first or second language. ?a service and technology center for language teaching, study and research Continued on page 7 A n i n it iat ive to en ha nce t he UO?s com m it ment to Af r ica n St ud ies ha s made new la ng uages ava il - able to Un iversit y st udent s. The Af r ica n la ng uages, Wolof a nd Ba ma ra n a re now ava ilable for t he fi rst t i me t h roug h t he Y LC self-st udy prog ra m. Swa h ili, wh ich ha s been of fered a s a self-st udy la ng uage si nce 1997, now ha s it s fi rst g roup of st u - dent s who pla n to sat isf y t hei r foreig n la ng uage requ i rement by ta k i ng t he cou rse i ntensively for t wo yea rs. I nst r uctor, Ma rko Mw ipopo, hopes t hat t h is w ill encou rage more st udent s to st udy t he la ng uage. ?I t h i n k it gives t hem more mot ivat ion,? Mw ipopo says. ?Some people don?t ta ke Af r ica n la ng uages because t hey d id n?t cou nt for a ny t h i ng. There wa s not h i ng ta ngible.? The recent Af r ica n st ud ies i n it iat ive bega n w it h a g ra nt i n t he a mou nt of $160,000 received f rom t he U.S. Depa r t ment of Educat ion, a nd is overseen by Professor Stephen Wooten of t he Depa r t ment of I nter nat iona l St ud ies a nd Professor Den n is Ga lva n of t he Depa r t ment s of I nter nat iona l St ud ies a nd Polit ica l Science. I n add it ion to en r ich i ng a nd ex pa nd i ng cu r rent Af r ica n la ng uage of fer i ngs at t he Un iversit y, t he g ra nt w ill a lso be used to create new oppor t u n it ies for st udent s to st udy a nd i nter n i n Af r ica; to sup - por t ta l k s, lect u res a nd sem i na rs on Af r ica n topics; to prov ide more per for ma nce oppor t u n it ies of t he UO Depa r t ment of Da nce?s resident g roup, Da nce Af r ica; a nd to develop t he a f r ica na hold i ngs of UO libra r ies. Du r i ng fa ll ter m, eleven st udent s took adva n - tage of t hese cou rse of fer i ngs by en rolli ng i n Swa h ili a nd Wolof. Ba ma ra n wa s not ava ilable Fa ll ter m, but Y LC hopes to ma ke it ava ilable begi n n i ng Wi nter ter m 2006. Cu r rent Swa h ili st udent Sha ra nya Ka n i k k a n na n sa id she is st udy i ng t he la ng uage i n order to prepa re her for t ravel to Ea st Af r ica. ?I wa nt more t ha n a ba sic u ndersta nd i ng of Swa h ili,? says Ka n i k k a n na n. ?I wa nt to be able to ta l k w it h nat ive spea kers.? As a t utor, Mw ipopo ha s played a la r ge role i n rest r uct u r - i ng t he Swa h ili prog ra m to ac - com modate more adva nced st u - dent s a nd to prepa re t hem to meet t he proficiency requ i rement s i m - posed by t he Un iversit y. ?The Swa h ili prog ra m is a lit t le bit d if ferent,? he says. ?La st yea r it wa s more i n for ma l. It?s becom i ng more for ma l. I have to teach i n a much more systemat ic way a nd use a n of ficia l tex t now. We used to do what st udent s wa nted most ly.? The self-st udy cou rses of fered at Y LC have t ra - d it iona lly been va lued for t hei r i n for ma l lea r n i ng at - mosphere, t hei r empha sis on developi ng ba sic com - mu n icat ion sk ills, a nd cu lt u ra l lea r n i ng. St udent s genera lly ta ke t hem i n prepa rat ion for oversea s st udy. Ma rko Mw ipopo and first-yea r Swa hili students. Swa hili en rollments in t he U.S. increased by nea rly 30% f rom 1998 to 2002 according to t he Depa r tment of Education. UO Shows Committment to African Studies, Swahili Ar iel Olson, Newslet ter Ed itor LCY language C enter http://babel.uoregon.edu YLC Yamada