Assignment given by Trinity Cert.TESOL Course- Unknown Language Journal

1. Unknown Language Journal
Language: Swahili
Tutor: Mr. Jaimon George
Trainee: Vinod Varghese.A
Session: May 2016

2. Day 1: Unknown Language Journal
List the aims of the second lesson and give examples in English.
By the end of the lesson Ss should be able to greet each other in Swahili, which is
completely strange to them.
Grammatical:
Ss will be introduced to the basic questions like ‘Jina yako ni nini?’ (What is your name?)
And sentences like ‘Jina langu ni Vinod’ (My name is Vinod).
Vocabulary:
Ss were introduce to everyday usage of words like ‘Hujambo’ (Hi/Hello), ‘Hodi’ (May I come
in?), ‘Karibu’ (Welcome/Come in), ‘Nzuri/Salama’ (Fine)
Pronunciation:
Ss tried to repeat the Swahili words as articulated by the T.
Communicative:
Ss were able to communicate with simple everyday usages of greetings.
E.g.
A: Hujambo!
B: Hujambo! Habari?
A: Nzuri!
Task 2: Materials:
Describe three materials and how each was used. For each, say if you found it helpful to the
learning process or not and why.
Material description and use How helpful was the material and why?
Prop (door)
Ss were introduced with the Swahili word
‘Hodi’ (May I come in?) by knocking at the
door. The OHP that followed was excellently
used to clarify the concepts.
Ss were impressed when they learnt their
first word with any L1 interference by just
showing a gesture.
The OHP (Overhead projecter)
The slides in the PPT introduced each word
with the help of images.
The T had little trouble in conveying the ideas
to the Ss because the PPT was prepared in
such a manner.
Whiteboard
The numerical and the word from of it
through PPT.
Ss hardly had any difficulty in learning the
numbers and the written form of it.

3. Day 2: Unknown Language Journal
Task 1: Lesson Aims:
List the aims of the second lesson and give examples in English.
Grammatical:
Ss will be introduced to the singular and plural forms of the nouns.
E.g. Mganga/Waganga (Doctor/Doctors), Mwanamume/Wanaume (Man/Men),
Mwanamke/Wanawake (Woman/Women)
Vocabulary:
Ss will be introduced to vocabulary relate to colour and nouns
Nouns- Mganga (Doctor), Mpishi (Chef), Mtoto (Child), Mwanafunzi (Student), Nyekundu
(Red), Bluu (Blue), Nyeusi (Black), Njano (Yellow), Nyeupe (White), Kijani (Green).
Pronunciation:
The T drilled each and every word again and again until the Ss pronounced it perfectly.
Communicative:
Ss communicated with their peer by giving their SIM number in Swahili.
Task 2: Interaction Patterns
Make a note of three interaction patterns used in this lesson (teacher to whole class,
pairwork, individual work etc). For each method used, ask a different member of the class
how effective they thought the interaction pattern was in terms of how it enhanced learning,
class dynamics, and a positive mood.
Interaction pattern How effective your classmate thought it was
Teacher- Student
T used PPT slides to make use of the
numbers learnt in the previous.
Manali felt that by calling the Ss to write
their SIM number on the white board was
good because the Ss had the content in their
mind and just needed the words to make it
physical. While each students used the
Swahili numbers to write their SIM number,
other students got familiar to the numbers
and were careful in making no mistakes
when their turn came round.
Teacher- Class
The T interacted to the Ss with a colourful
ball in his hand to teach colours.
Shumayla thought that the technique of
using such props, that is related to playing,
in the classroom arouse an interest in the
Ss.
Student- student
The T grouped the Ss into pairs and asked
them to ask for their numbers in Swahili.
Yuvraj felt that it was a useful technique to
learn the numbers. This helped to memories
the number and the pattern of asking other’s
number.

4. Day 3: Unknown Language Journal
Task 1: Lesson Aims:
List the aims of the third lesson and give examples in English.
Grammatical:
Ss will learn the genders of noun and singular and plural form of the nouns.
Vocabulary:
Ss will learn vocabulary related to family relations, name of animals, names of the weekend
and months of the year.
Nouns- Mimi (me), Dada (sister), Mama (mother), Baba (father), Ndugu (brother), Binti
(daughter), Mwana (son), Mke (wife), Mume (husband), Bibi (grandmother), Babu
(grandfather), Binti katika sheria (Daughter- in-Law), Mjukuu (grandchild), Paka (cat),
Mbwa (dog), Kiume (man), Mvulana (boy), Kike (woman), Msichana (girl), Jagoo (cock),
Kuku (hen), Ijumaa (Friday), Jumamosi (Saturday), Jumapili (Sunday), Jumatatu (Monday),
Jumanne (Tuesday), Jumatano (Wedneday), Alhamisis (Thursday), Januari (January),
Februari (February), Machi (March), Aprili (April), Mei (May), Juni (June), Julai (July), Agosti
(August), Septemba (September), Oktoba (October), Novemba (November), Desemba
(December).
Pronunciation:
The T drilled each and every word again and again until the Ss pronounced it perfectly.
Communicative:
Ss corrected each other during the pronunciation drill.
Task 2: Classroom Management Techniques
Make a note of three classroom management techniques used in this lesson. State when
eachwas used and how well it worked and why. For example: getting students’ attention,
maintaining students’ attention, teacher’s position, voice projection, seating arrangements,
non-verbal communication, dealing with fast finishers, whiteboard work.
Technique and use How well it worked and why.
Voice projection
The T drilled the pronunciation continuously
until the right accent was achieved.
The Ss followed the T during the
pronunciation drill because the words were
repeated more than once. Each word were
made to say by the T. Whenever the Ss
made mistakes the T would only move on to
the next students until the word was
pronounced perfectely.
Overhead Projector
The technique of using the apt pictures in
the slides and the arrows pointing on the
images with words.
This technique was easy to understand the
concept without any explanation.

5. Non- verbal communication
The use of good non verbal communication
in the classroom to convey the meaning of
the vocabulary.
The T used gestures to demonstrate what
the word meant. One gesture with a hand
with appropriate images was enough to
understand the meaning.
Day 4: Unknown Language Journal
Task 1: Lesson Planning:
Complete the lesson plan below as if you were the teacher.
Context
Language Aims (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation)
Grammar:
Ss should be able to construct sentences with all the three tense, Past, Present and Future.
Vocabulary:
Ss should be able to use verbs in the proper context.
Verbs- Sema (to speak), Andika (to write), Endesha (to drive), Penda (to love), Chukua (to
smile), Peana (to give), Moshi (to smoke), Kucheza (to play), Kuogelea (to swim), Kufikiri
(to think), Kutembea (to walk), Kula (to eat), Kukimbia (to run), Ngoma (t o dance), Mpishi
(to cook), Kunywa (to drink), Kilio (to cry).
Pronunciation:
By the end of the lesson Ss should be able to pronounce the words in proper accent.
Example
Conversation/ writing practice
Ss will be shown words on the slides of the PPT and ask them to repeat behind the T. The
Ss would write the verbs in their notebook.
Reading/ listening practice
By the end of the lesson Ss will listen to a Swahili song that would create interest in the
students for the language.
Anticipated difficulties for students (What, specifically, is difficult about the
language in the lesson?)
Ss will find the grammatical formation of the sentence as difficult, if they try to translate the
L1 into Swahili. The pronunciation of few words might be a lurid for some weaker Ss.
Materials and aids to be used
PPT with appropriate image to understand the meaning of the vocabulary will be used.
A video, Jambo Bwana, will be shown in the end of the class to arouse an interest in the
language and enjoy the beauty of the Swahili culture. Whiteboard, marker, OHP.
Study? Time Student activity Stage aim (why?) Interaction

6. Practice? (mins)
S
S and P
P
S
S
3 min
25 min
10 min
5 min
4 min
Introduce tense using
proper images on the slides
in the PPT.
Pre teach the verbs with
images and demonstrations
Ask students to construct
sentences with the verbs
and the vocabulary learnt in
the previous classes.
Check the answers
Play a video ‘Jambo Bwana’.
Engage:
To introduce past
simple, present
simple and future
simple.
Study:
To pre teach verbs
to the Ss with
pictures with the
help of slides. T can
even demonstrate
some of theverbs.
Activate:
Ss will construct
sentences on their
own. T has to check
the answers
individually.
Study: check the
answers.
Study:
Ss will enjoy the
vocabulary, rhythm,
tone and style of
the language and
might also end up
singing the song.
T and Ss
T and Ss
Ss
T and Ss
Ss

7. Contrastive analysis:
Comment on the similarities and differences between the unknown language and any other
language(s) of your choice in grammar, phonology and vocabulary. Include at least 2 examples
in each section.
Grammar
Similarities
1. In Swahili the plural form of ‘paka’ (cat) is ‘paka’ (cats). Likewise, in English the plural
form of some nouns are the same. In Swahili- Mbwa (dog)- Mbwa (dogs).In English-
Sheep (singular)- Sheep (plural), Furniture (singular)- Furniture (plural)
2. Swahili generally has an SVO word-order same as in English.E.g. Mimi ana sema
Swahili. Here ‘Mimi’ is I (subject), ‘ana sema’ means ‘to speak’ (verb) and ‘Swahili’
(object). This is the same as in English: I (subject) speak (verb) Swahili (object).
Differences
1. In Swahili the conversion of singular to plural is different from English. When the native
English speakers add ‘s’, ‘es’ or ‘ies’ as suffix to change a singular to plural, in Swahili
‘mw’ is added as prefix to singular and ‘w’ is added as prefix to plural.E.g.(1) Singular-
‘Mpishi’ means chef. Plural- ‘Wapishi’ means chefs (2) Singular- ‘Mtoto’ means
Child.Plural- ‘Watoto’ means children
2. The gender system in Swahili is different form English. Swahili uses some same name to
distinguish between masculine and feminine gender. Whereas in English there are two
different words for each.In Swahili- Cat-‘Paka’ (masculine)- ‘paka’ (feminine) Dog-
‘Mbwa’ (masculine)- ‘Mbwa’ (feminine) In English- Dog (masculine)- Bitch (feminine).
Tomcat (masculine)- Cat(feminine).
Phonology

8. Similarities
1. The pronunciations of some words are same as in English. In Swahili- bluu /blu:/ which
is the same in English for blue.
2. The ‘th’ pronunciation is almost the same in Swahili and in English. In English ‘th’-
thousand. In Swahili ‘th’- Thelathini (thirty)
Differences
1. The combinations like ‘mp’, ‘nd’, ‘mw’ are not used by the native speakers of English.
E.g. ‘Mpishi’(cook), ‘Mwalimu’ (teacher), ‘Ndugu’ (brother)
2. In English if the word ends in ‘e’, it is not pronounced, but in Swahili the ‘e’ sound is
pronounced.
E.g. ‘Mke’ /ImkaI/ (Wife) and ‘Mume’ /mәume/
Vocabulary
Similarities
1. The name of months can be easily recognizable by the native speakers of English. It can
be noticed that in Swahili ‘I’ is used instead of ‘y’ and ‘a’ instead of ‘er’. Januari
(January), Februari (February), Machi (March), Aprili (April), Mei (May), Juni (June),
Julai (July), Agosti (August), Septemba (September), Novemba (November), Desemba
(December)
2. The spelling and pronunciation is same in Swahili and in English. In English- ‘Bye’,
‘Zero’. In Swahili- ‘Bye’, ‘Zero’
Differences
1. There are plenty of differences in the vocabulary of Swahili when compared to English
Hujambo (Hi/Hello), Karibu (Welcome)
2. The numbers written in words are different from English. ‘Ishirini’ (twenty), ‘Mia’
(hundred)
Summary: Unknown Language Journal
Write a 300- 500 word summary about what you and at least one of your peers have learnt
from this experience about language teaching and learning.
A teacher’s love, empathy and dedication for the student who has the desire to communicate, to
express emotions and to live for freedom prepare a fertile atmosphere to learn an unknown
language. Mr. Jaimon, Unknown Language Teacher, who taught us Swahili, has proved to be an
epitome of all these qualities. He prepared his classes in the simplest way that anyone could
grasp and understand the ideas. His slow and steady approach to the teaching of the language

9. forced us to approach the upcoming classes yet again. Smile is a powerful tool that he wisely
used to control, concentrate, correct and consider our emotions as unknown language learners.
Content was interesting and his selection of apt images to make us guess out the meaning of the
words and sentences was an attention-grabbing way of teaching. As learners of unknown
language, I have come to know the sentiments of a learner and now have the knowledge of how
to teach an unknown language and how to carry out such classes.
The horizon of my teaching techniques has been broadened by learning Swahili,
unknown language, from Mr. Jaimon. He used PPTs that were precise and to the point. A
collaborative effort, from the teacher and the student, is a key factor to the study of a language.
They have to put their maximum effort to use the unknown language in the classroom. Mr.
Jaimon has never used the language that we were familiar with. Instead he used appropriate
images in his PPTs to convey ideas and made us to use the language in proper context. We never
had difficulty in understanding the meaning of vocabulary he used. A teacher of unknown
language should always have a positive attitude towards his pupil. Even a frown, while students
make mistakes, on the face of the teacher can mar the atmosphere of the classroom. Mr. Jaimon
has taught me an important lesson that a learner, first, needs a positive environment from the
teacher to bring up an interest in the language. Only then can a teacher successfully achieve the
aims of teaching an unknown language.
The traditional way of transaction with rigid grammar and vocabulary was not the way of
learning Swahili form Mr. Jaimon, but the practical usage of it was the secret behind. He always
made us to use the language we learnt in appropriate context. There was no rush in his
articulation which most unknown language teacher fails to do. His individual attention to all
students has to be underlined with great emphasis. His compassionate humanistic approach
towards the learners of unknown language has changed my perspective and which I think should
be highly recommended to all teachers of unknown language.
Jaimon’s successful teaching without student’s L1 interference was another skill that I am
trying to developed in me. My friend, Manali and I share the same opinion that Mr. Jaimon’s
brilliant usage of body language in proper context is worth mentioning. Along with the pictures
to describe the verbs, he used to enact it. This gave her and me a realization that a teacher should
be a performer too. To learn a language we need patience and desire to communicate. Mr.
Jaimon encouraged us to speak more than he did by himself. This taught me how to minimize my
TTT and increase my STT.
By and large, it was a wonderful experience learning Swahili as an unknown language for
it gave me an opportunity to step onto the shoes of a learner and be aware of the mental state that
a learner passes through. It was a platform that helped me to develop various skills that would
mold me to be a fine proficient teacher of the English language, an unknown language to many.