| |
Current instructors
 |
David Adu-Amankwah teaches Twi/Akan. He holds a M. Phil. degree (in linguistics, with Russian) from the University of Ghana and a Ph.D. degree (in folklore, with African languages & linguistics) from Indiana University, Bloomington. He is currently a lecturer of Akan (Twi). He is Akan-born, and he was the first native speaker to teach Akan in the African Languages Program at Indiana University. He taught at Indiana University from 1994 to 2000 and also from 2003 to 2004 at the University of Florida, Gainesville. David’s major interests have been in folklore, language, and culture, and he has worked on the proverb, royal praise poetry, and joke among the Akan of Ghana. (daduaman [AT] indiana.edu) |
 |
Fabienne Diouf is the Wolof instructor. She is from Senegal and is a MA student in the Linguistics Department at Indiana University. Fabienne received a Bachelor in Arts in English Literature and Linguistics from University Cheikh Anta DIOP of Dakar/SENEGAL. (fdiouf [AT] indiana.edu) |
 |
Betty Sibongile Dlaminiis a singer, actress and playwright, poet and fiction writer who teaches IsiZulu at Indiana University. She obtained her degrees from the University of London (SOAS), Sussex University (Brighton), University of South (Pretoria-SA) and University of Swaziland. She has done translation and editing work for companies that include Macmillan Publishers (BOLESWA), Reach-Out Publishers (SA), Shuter & Shooter (SA) and Rise Films in collaboration with BBC Channel 4 (London). Her awards include the Sino-Swazi Award (1995), Second Best short story writer for the English Association of South Africa (1997), Dean of Education’s Award -UNISWA (1998), The German Award for Young Researchers from BOLESWA countries (2000), The Association of Commonwealth Universities Award (2003) and Macmillan Publisher’s Grand prize for the Best SiSwati novel, umsamaliya lolungile (2008). As a scholar, Dr. Dlamini has presented a number of papers at conferences.
(bsdlamin [AT] indiana.edu) |
 |
Hannah Essien is the Twi instructor. She is a Ghanaian and a graduate student in Arabic Language and Linguistics. She obtained her Master's Degree in International Relations and her B.A. Degree in Arabic Language and Political Science with First Class honors from the University of Ghana. She also holds an External Diploma in Translation (English, French, and Arabic). She taught English at the Ghana Institute of Languages, and Arabic at the University of Ghana. She was also a Senior Research Assistant at the Arabic Department of the University of Ghana. She speaks English, French, Arabic, Persian, Twi, Nzema, Ga, and Fante.
(hessien [AT] indiana.edu) |
 |
Sindy Lekoba is from South Africa. She is Associate Instructor for IsiZulu and an MA graduate student in Linguistics at Indiana University. She holds a Bachelor of Education, a Bachelor of Arts, and a Secondary Teacher's Diploma from the University of Zululand in South Africa at Empangeni campus. She has 19 years of teaching experience. She taught History, English and Zulu in high schools in South Africa and was a Lecturer at Madadeni College of Education in Newcastle, South Africa after which she was promoted to a Senior Education Specialist, developing and advising educators in teaching Technology Education. (slekoba [AT] indiana.edu)
|
 |
Abdulwahid Mazrui is a Kiswahili instructor from Zanzibar, Tanzania. He is a native speaker of Swahili and also speaks Spanish. He graduated from the University of Dar-Es-Salaam in 1991 with a major in Linguistics and has a Diploma in African Language Teaching from the Center of African Language Teaching in London, UK. He has also attended the Second Language Acquisition Certificate Program for African Language Instructors in Madison, WI. He has taught Kiswahili in both Zanzibar and Arusha with the U.S. Peace Corps. He has taught Kiswahili at Indiana University since 2003, and holds Master's Degree in Linguistics from Indiana University. He is currently a Ph.D. student in Applied Linguistics and TESOL at IU. (ammazrui [AT] indiana.edu) |
 |
Beatrice Ng'uono Okelo is a Kiswahili instructor. Beatrice graduated with a Master's degree in African Languages and Literatures at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Bachelor¿s Education degree in Music and Kiswahili from Kenyatta University in Nairobi. She taught Kiswahili and music in Kenya for a number of years before moving to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2007 as a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant for Swahili. In addition to teaching Swahili and a course on African languages and literatures, she taught Kiswahili to 6-10 year old children at a Startalk Program at the Belanno language school in Neenah, WI. She is also a Defense Language Proficiency Test (5th generation) external reviewer for the Defense Language Institute and a Kiswahili test developer and reviewer for other American organizations. From 2008-2010, Ms. Okelo was a storyteller with African Storytelling on Wheels. She has published in the Journal of the African Languages and Teachers Association (JALTA). (bokelo [AT] indiana.edu) |
 |
Alwiya Omar Alwiya Omar is a Clinical Professor of Linguistics at Indiana University. She teaches Swahili (Kiswahili) and co-ordinates the teaching of other African languages in the Department of Linguistics and the African Studies program. Her research interests include second language acquisition, cross-cultural pragmatics, web-based language instruction, and study abroad language programs. Dr. Omar is also the director of the Swahili Flagship Center at Indiana University, and Director of the STARTALK Swahili summer program for Indiana high school students. (aomar [AT] indiana.edu) |
 |
Amadou Beidi Sow Amadou Beidy Sow is a Bamana instructor from Ségou, Mali. Dr. Sow obtained a Master¿s degree in Second Language Teaching from the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Bamako. After coming to the United States, he earned a Master¿s degree in International Studies at Ohio University followed by a Ph.D. in Education (Cultural Studies in Education) with a focus on political leadership. He has published Political Leadership in the Hand of Teachers: The Type of Leadership Teacher Politicians Display on the Political Scene in Mali, VDM Verlag (2010). Dr. Sow has presented at numerous conferences. He has experience teaching Bamanankan, French, English, and Social Studies.(absow [AT] indiana.edu) |
Past instructors
| Nasra Ally Ahmed is the Swahili instructor. She is from Tanzania and is a MA student in Second Language Studies at Indiana University. She has a BA degree in Education and Linguistics from the University of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. She taught Kiswahili at William Paterson University of New Jersey as the Fulbright FLTA in 2004-2005 academic year. |
| Ibro Chekaraou taught Hausa at Indiana University and earned a Ph.D. in Language Education. He is now the African Languages Coordinator at Michigan State University. (ichek [AT] msu.edu) |
| Boubacar Diakite is the Bambara instructor. He was born in Mali, West Africa, where he did his undergraduate work in bilingual studies at University of Mali. He studied Arabic, English, and German. French was used as the medium of instruction. In addition, he is a certified N'ko instructor. He is currently a graduate student in linguistics at Indiana University. |
| Dior Fall is from Senegal. He is currently teaching Wolof as a Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) at Indiana University, Bloomington. |
| Khalfan S. Mohamed is from Tanzania and is a Ph.D. student in International Relations and Comparative Politics at the Department of Political Science at Indiana University. He also holds a Master's Degree in Law. He taught Swahili at IU from 1999 to 2006. (khmohamm [AT] indiana.edu) |
| Seth Ofori taught Twi at Indiana University from 2001 to 2006. He is from Ghana and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of African Languages and Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts with a distinction (First Class) in Linguistics and Sociology from the University of Ghana, Legon, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Linguistics from IU. (saofori [AT] wisc.edu) |
| Muziwadile Hadebe taught IsiZulu at Indiana University and is a graduate student in the History Department. He obtained both a B.A. Honors and a Master's Degree at the University of Natal (Durban). He obtained a Senior Secondary Teacher's Diploma at Eshowe College of Education and Umlazi College for Further Education, specializing in IsiZulu, English, Afrikaans, history, and geography. In the University of Natal, he worked in the archives, library, and museum, and also took part in archeological digs. He has been involved in a number of oral history projects and has 16 years teaching experience.
|
Abdou Yaro is a Visiting Lecturer and a Bambara instructor in the African Studies Department. His research and teaching interests include language instruction with technology, Francophone African Literature, African cinemas, Postcolonial & Disability studies, and African Diaspora.
|
|
|
