by Nina Fridman, junior, Northwestern University
When I first came to Northwestern, Weinberg’s six-class language requirement felt like a chore. I was uninterested in continuing to learn Spanish, as I had done in high school, but at the same time I did not want to start over and learn another language from scratch. My freshman year, I deferred the decision, and decided not to take any language classes at all. A few months later, I noticed a sophomore on the debate team completing his Swahili homework while we were all working together in the Hardy House, the home of Northwestern debate, and I decided to inquire about the class. He recommended that I take Swahili to fulfill my language requirement, citing how fun Professor Mwangi made learning the language.
The following fall, I was still hesitant, but signed up for the first course in the Swahili sequence anyways—a decision I would not regret. On the first day of class, I could immediately tell how passionate Professor Mwangi was about teaching students the Swahili language and East African culture. At Northwestern, it can be a daunting task to choose which classes to take out of the hundreds of available courses offered, and often the best classes are those that you have no prior knowledge about, but somehow stumble upon anyways.
Swahili is one of those: an off-the-beaten path choice that not many students even have on their radar. Yet, that is what makes the class such a great opportunity. Because Professor Mwangi teaches all of the six Swahili classes, you get a chance to have a personalized language learning experience along with a group of Swahili peers. In Swahili class we learn not only vocabulary and grammar rules, but also apply what we learn to some facet of East African culture—whether that be food, music, celebrations, customs, or anything else. I would recommend Swahili to anyone!
Nina Fridman is a junior and a member of the Northwestern Debate Society. In January, she and her debating partner Tim Wegener won the Fullerton-Georgetown College Debate Tournament and competed in the National Championship in March.
This article will appear in the PAS Newsletter, Spring and Fall 2021, Volume 32, Number 1