Instead of a 30-minute trial lesson, I offer a full 1-HOUR trial lesson. This is YOUR customized Swahili or English trial lesson– whether you want help with a certain area of the language, or if you want to see if I am the teacher for you. 🤓 

With my curriculum and materials, I generally work with motivated students for the long term, especially students who have partners, friends, and relatives who are Swahili or English speakers. It's fulfilling to help connect families across cultures. Before our Trial Lesson, send me a message to tell me about your language journey so I can prepare for our first lesson. 

⚡ Get to know each other– brief Teacher/Student introductions
⚡ Discuss WHY you are studying this language– family, work, travel, volunteering, etc.?
⚡ Your OBJECTIVE: what YOU want to know– what GOALS do you want to FOCUS on?
⚡ Tell me the LEARNING style you prefer– conversational, organized step-by-step, or both?
⚡ What TOPICS do you like, want, or need to be able to discuss in the language?
⚡ Assess your CEFR language LEVEL– what apps, materials, classes you have taken?
⚡ Recommend a course PATH for you & the best way to develop YOUR Swahili or English
🔥 Demo teaching: Dive right into a lesson on the first day and start speaking! 🗣️ 
⚡ Summary, Homework, and our Next Lesson plans
💥 For Swahili: You will leave with my customized Introductory PDF "packet"

You will walk away from this lesson with a specific language goal in an established amount of time. For example, "I want to be able to speak Swahili with native speakers within ____ months." 

Karibu! Bienvenue! ¡Bienvenido! Benvenuto! Bem-vindo! Добро пожаловать! Welcome!

I DO NOT TEACH ENGLISH BEGINNERS. (ONLY SWAHILI BEGINNERS).
FOR ENGLISH LESSONS, YOU MUST BE AT INTERMEDIATE LEVEL (B1) OR ABOVE.

Virtual Reality tours, 📸 Graphic Novels, 💥 and more– This is your stress-free guided conversation practice that is 100% in Kiswahili. 🗣️💬 You'll know you're ready when you can do most things in my Foundations of Kiswahili course (you are approaching level B1+) and you can understand answers and phrases of slowly and carefully spoken Kiswahili directed towards you. No English needed. 🗑🔥

👉 Let's talk about: daily routines, recent activities and events, language learning, music and movies, something or someone in popular culture– even history and current world events! You can also come to class with specific grammar areas of Kiswahili that you want to practice through conversation. I enjoy talking about culture and society, anthropology, history and world events, and I love learning new things.

👉 We can go on adventures by reading original stories, a Comic Book, or Graphic Novel together 100% in Kiswahili! 💥📚 Through music and images, we can check out the environment of Lake Tanganyika and its towns, villages, and farms from of my years of research and living in Kigoma, Tanzania! 📸 🌴 We can take Virtual Reality tours using videos, 360º photographs, and Google Maps! 

We will develop more complicated grammar such as verb extensions, conditional and compound tenses, negative tense in past and future, the location noun class, compare noun classes, and build professional and academic vocabulary for research or work. I'm confident I can get you to a B2-C1 level in the time your personal commitment allows you to, where you feel comfortable not using English with native speakers. 

I use the Comprehensible Input (Krashen) and Total Physical Response (Asher) theories in language learning.💡🙌 You will be surprised how much you understand with visuals, dynamic gestures, miming, and props to create an interactive experience as we converse together, and talk about stories and pictures. I can write new vocab in the chat and send you a document after each lesson. 📄

Mazungumzo kwa Kiswahili 💯 Kiswahili Conversation Practice & Reading Together 🗣️📖

In this course, you will build the foundations for navigating daily life in your Kiswahili "safari." This is a curriculum I have designed using the most recommended Kiswahili resources, my own immersion experiences with the language every day, and other resources I have found during my research.

☑️ Conversational Kiswahili– natural everyday spoken Kiswahili 🤝 NOT outdated textbook or tourist Kiswahili 🙅
☑️ Structured learning plan customized to your level and needs that integrates grammar and conversation in a no-stress, clear, and organized curriculum 📚📓
☑️ Engaging supplemental learning aids delivered to your inbox– online resources, videos, songs, and films. Personalized according to your interests! 🍛🎶🎥✈️
☑️ Customized, teacher-created PDFs and audio recordings together with easy real life stories 📄🎧📖
☑️ Personalized feedback and homework after every lesson– you know your next steps ✏️
☑️ I'm available between lessons– you can send me messages & voice messages for questions, feedback, and corrections 📱💬
☑️ Exclusive access to monthly group lessons with other students🧑‍💻🧑‍💻🧑‍💻

☑️ Resources only teach coastal Kiswahili ⛔️ but my curriculum includes continental Kiswahili. This includes Kiswahili of inland Tanzania and Eastern Congo 🌍
☑️ Methodology: Comprehensible Input (Krashen et al.) and Total Physical Response (Asher et al.) using visual images and gestures 💡🙌
☑️ Start constructing sentences from day one– we will converse in Kiswahili naturally in every lesson 🗣️
☑️ I have been there myself and understand the challenges of being an adult learner– you will have the strategies and shortcuts that few people are taught 💯

We will immerse ourselves in Swahili culture, history, and politics through speaking, listening materials, videos, music, films, and real life stories. Let's prepare you for your first day, week, and first months with confidence. Our goal is to find you a conversation partner by the completion of this 28 lesson course. 🚀

🥇 FOUNDATIONS OF KISWAHILI 🏠 Fundamentals Curriculum Customized for You 🚀 Step-by-Step Kiswahili Acquisition

Please contact me if you are interested in a different study plan or arrangement from the other three Kiswahili courses.  Previous inquiries and arrangements for this course have included:  translation & transcription support,  research preparation & consultation,  cultural consultation,  Congolese Swahili,  focus on East African music,  lessons for adolescents (14+),  a self-study independent curriculum,  arrangements to meet in person,  and specific learning plans focused on aspects of standardized Swahili grammar according to your objectives.  Contact me BEFORE booking this customized arrangement, and to discuss pricing.

Customized Language Services, Kiswahili Studies, and Study Plans 📝

I'm Tina, and I'm from California. 🏖🏞 But I live in East Africa. I love teaching Swahili, and in 2024, italki gave me the opportunity to help you with my native language– American English! I use some of the techniques and strategies from my Swahili curriculum in a guided conversation practice that is 100% in English.🗣️💬 

Intermediate–Advanced Speakers: Let's improve your conversational fluency together. I will help you with corrections in grammar, pronunciation, rhythm, and putting the stress of American English in the right places so you’re better understood.🗣️ Your conversation class can be as free flowing or as structured as you’d like it to be. My English students of past and present have enjoyed:

• Reading and discussing short stories📖 and thought-provoking photography📸 from different countries around the globe– including people of the United States.🌍 We can explore Google Maps with each story and photograph.🗺️ You can also send me an online article or story before our lesson, so that we can discuss it during class. 

• We can discuss the nuances of more advanced grammar: compound tenses, phrasal verbs, and build professional and academic vocabulary. You can come to class prepared with a specific area of English that you want to improve through conversation.📝 We can also look at American English idiomatic expressions.

• I also help students practice the speaking portion of IELTS & TOEFL exams.

I am an anthropologist, so I will help you with English from the perspective of your native language and share resources with you.🗣️ I have helped Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, and Swahili speakers improve their conversation skills in American English. I love to laugh while learning, and I enjoy discussing ideas: cultures, society, history, anthropology, archaeology, philosophy, and geography. What about you?

I DO NOT TEACH BEGINNERS IN ENGLISH. (ONLY SWAHILI BEGINNERS).
FOR ENGLISH LESSONS, YOU MUST BE AT INTERMEDIATE LEVEL (B1) OR ABOVE.

Conversation Practice 🗣️ with Corrections 🇺🇸 in American English [B1-C2 levels]

I'm Tina, and I'm from California.🏖️🏞️ But I live in East Africa. I love teaching Swahili, and in 2024, italki gave me the opportunity to help you with my native language– American English!🗣️💬 

With this course, we do in-class editing and proofreading of essays, articles, emails, letters, websites, job/university applications, CVs and resumés, proposals and other documents. I also help students with writing IELTS & TOEFL essays and practice preparing a work or academic presentation. 

I am a Fulbright Scholar and linguistic anthropologist with a Bachelors in Anthropology and a Masters by anthropological research in language, culture, and African music. Fulbright is the most widely recognized and prestigious international exchange program in the world. Whether you're aiming to excel in university essays, create a business document, or create a compelling resume– you'll receive expert proofreading and feedback designed to elevate your writing and presentation.

Please note: 

* All editing/proofreading will take place in the class and you must be present in the class. I cannot work on your document if you are not present. We will edit and proofread as much as we can together in the class time.

* I can edit your document with you and give you advice on it, but I cannot write or rewrite it.

* While we will improve your document to the best of my ability during the class time, no editor can offer a guarantee that no errors will remain in your document. The final review if your responsibility. The more time we have to work on your text, the better the end result will be.

In-Class Writing, Editing, and Proofreading - Academic, Business, and Professional Documents 📝 (NEW!)

Save some money by studying Kiswahili with your partner 😘, a family member 👩‍👦, a friend👭 or a colleague🧑‍💻! Perhaps studying with someone will give you the motivation you need to study Kiswahili more seriously! 🧐 We will follow my curriculum for Kiswahili acquisition. But we will customize it to consider the level, objectives, and passions of each student. We will also create a special group chat for homework assignments. One of my passions is teaching Kiswahili to people who have partners who come from Swahili-speaking families in East Africa. So whether you want to talk with your in-laws, speak your mother's or father's native language, or do research or work in East Africa with a fellow colleague– I have been in two of those situations. I'm ready to help you and a partner study together!

* Note, this course is for no more than 2 students

Swahili Group Lessons ~ Learn Together 👩🏼‍💻👨🏾‍💻🧑🏻‍💻 (NEW!)

Conducted research and interviews in Kiswahili language about music culture through community immersion; Facilitated community Music & Debate Classes in Kiswahili language without use of English, interpreters or translators.