Finished Swahili tree today !!!
58
Hi all! I have just finished the Swahili tree. I want to thank Duolingo, the course contributors and all the Swahili learners posting useful tips in the comments section. I couldn't have done it without their help.
My overall experience was great. However, towards the end though, especially on conditionals, I felt maybe a revision of the whole section would be great. There was a point I almost gave up because I had to report almost every sentence but I kept on going and trying to report as much as I could. That's the only way this course can be improved.
My next step now is to try to practice with native Swahili speakers to help with my speaking. Please share your Swahili learning experience. I am happy to connect with anyone who is interested .
Asante sana !
27 Comments
- 211
dang! impressive! that deserves a lingot! I started it, but im only a few lessons in...its hard without the sound!
- 58
Thanks for the lingot. Yea it can be hard without the sound but bear in mind that Swahili is read almost the way it is written unlike English. I wish Duolingo allowed audio comments to be posted. That would allow those who know the pronunciations to post for others to learn. Try listening to some online Swahili radios to get the feel of how the words are pronounced.
Happy learning !
- 58
I had the advantage of knowing some other languages from the Bantu family, so it was probably easier than you. I am glad I didn't have to do a lot of revision to retain the words. I am in level 11 in Ukrainian and I don't think I am even halfway yet. So, don't be too hard on yourself. Just take it one step at a time and don't forget that if you rush anything through you may hear the following from the elders;
Haraka haraka haina baraka. Pole pole ndio mwendo.
I'm level 18 and not even half way there so you're fine being level 9 and not half way. :)
- 25
I finished the Swahili tree last night. I agree about the conditionals. The English was bad and therefore it was difficult to remember the wording that they were looking for. I ended up copy/pasting the worst of them. Even so, I have tried out some Swahili with some encouraging co-workers and they think I'm a very fast learner.
- 58
Congratulations for finishing the tree. Wow you finished the tree and are still on level 9! You must be a very faster learner. Now is the time to practice the language. Let me know what methods or sources you use to further improve your Swahili.
Congratulations on finishing the tree! I'm about halfway on mine, hoping to finish it too in a few weeks.
- 58
Thanks and wishing you the best too. Give a shout if you get stuck. Happy learning!
Hongera sana! I think I will have to redo the lessons a few times as it isn't all sticking. This is a great resource and I too am very grateful. But for the sake of my blood pressure I also hope some of the corrections are made soon. Some sections are very hard work, and not because of the Swahili.
- 58
Asante. I feel you. Hopefully a lot of errors will be corrected soon. Don't give up and remember,
Tisa karibu na kumi.
What?? You're level 11 and I'm 16 and haven't even finished half of the tree yet!! LOL
Wewe ni mwerevu sana!!
- 58
Don't feel bad. I am sure everyone has their own unique way of learning a language and the methods may also change depending on the language being learned. In my case with kiSwahili, I didn't need to go over the lessons many times. I chose to do my revision in practice when I try to speak with native speakers. You are doing great. Keep up the good work.
I will, I am going to do a month of heavy Spanish listening practice then I will do a few months of heavy French study and then I will get serious with my Swahili tree.
Check out the new Swahili course at languagetransfer.org I plan to do it at the same time as my tree here.
I have just tried that. It's a really useful resource. A very different approach to Duo so should be really useful as a complementary learning approach. I like how it emphasises not rushing through and just learning at your own pace.
I haven't tried the Swahili yet but I loved the Spanish course because it teaches how to conjugate all the verbs without having to memorize the endings.
He did wonders for my Spanish, so now I'm going to try to start listening to his courses first and try to start duolingo courses shortly after so I will learn there and reinforce here.
- 58
Asante. You will get there "pole pole". Give a shout in the comments when you need something explained. There are a lot of amazing people in the community willing to help.
Congratulation! Now it's time to keep those skills gold. I totally failed that part of it... I finished the Swahili tree in 13 days and then totally ditched the tree now... Every skill is at one strength.
- 58
Asante! 13 days? Wow that was quick. It took about 6 weeks for me. Thanks for the tip to keep the tree golden but I will concentrate more on practice with native speakers now. I finished the tree when it was not golden but I generally understand. Keep strengthening your skills and don't give up
I finished the course before it was two weeks old. I almost certainly retained less of it as a result, but it does mean I have access to the tips and notes for each unit, and they are very helpful. Been mining them to make study aids, like quick look-ups for noun class subject pronouns/object infixes, concords etc.
Keeping the tree gold is a bit tricky at the moment due to the various errors, like missing hints and not all correct answers accepted. Hopefully it'll be easier when these things are corrected.
