Swahili Courses

JSLS

General Swahili Course

The Jambo Swahili Language School in Kenya offers short courses in Swahili language to students who want to speak Kiswahili within the shortest time possible. Our students come from different countries and cultures. Most of these are normally expatriates and other foreigners working in Kenya or East Africa with local communities or planning to settle in Kenya, or who want to learn Swahili so as to integrate seamlessly into the local culture.

A certificate of completion is issued to certify your level of competency at the end of the course.

Target Group: Missionaries, expatriates, volunteers, Kenyans in the Diaspora who can’t communicate well in Kiswahili.

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JSLS

Courses

Academic Swahili Course

We offer customized academic Swahili programs in East Africa for students pursuing Swahili language in universities abroad. We have so far held successful programs to students from USA and UK pursuing Masters and PhD programs such as in Comparative Literature, African Studies etc.
Some of our students have come from The Michigan State University, The University of Michigan, London School of Economics.
We have recently opened a Campus in Zanzibar Island, Tanzania, the cradle of the standard Swahili language, for this purpose. The Zanzibar Campus welcomed its first student under this program in August 2019. The student is currently a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature.
A certificate of completion is issued to certify your level of competency at the end of the course.
Target Group: Foreign University students taking African studies, History, Literature or related fields.

Swahili for Beginners

Basic Swahili or Swahili Level A1 is also referred to us Swahili for Beginners. This course is designed for students with no previous knowledge of Swahili language. This course normally takes 120 hours to complete and can be taken at your pace, or in a regular, intensive mode. We propose different Swahili courses to suit your needs.

Moreover, we can offer the Swahili classes on a tailor-made basis upon request for individuals, small and large groups upon request. Therefore, our Swahili lessons are suitable for individuals, groups or organizations.

You can now take your Swahili lessons at Jambo Swahili Language School in 2024. We are now one of the best foreign language schools in Nairobi offering well-structured Swahili lessons.
With several years’ experience teaching Swahili to foreigners in East Africa, you will be able to speak Swahili fast.

We are now ready for top quality instruction of Swahili language in East Africa with the re-opening of our new campus in Zanzibar. Our time-tested teaching methods suited for adult learning will ensure that you will learn to speak Swahili like a native.

A certificate of completion is issued to certify your level of competency at the end of the course.
Watch our Basic Swahili class here https://youtu.be/sL_76RxsuSg
Target Group: Anyone interested in Swahili language and culture, Kenyans in the Diaspora, Foreigners married to Kenyans, Missionaries desiring to work in East Africa.

Swahili for Summer Classes

Jambo Swahili Language School regularly organizes Swahili lessons during each summer. This course is great for you if you are looking to learn Swahili in Kenya or Tanzania during Summer. The classes are carefully designed to cater for the interests of the learners.

A certificate of completion is issued to certify your level of competency at the end of the course.
Target Group: Students from abroad seeking to learn Swahili during Summer

Corporate Swahili Classes

Similarly, we organize Swahili classes for companies and organizations in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya and Tanzania. These classes are highly customized to meet specific needs of your organization.

The Swahili classes can be held at your location or at our location. They can also be hold virtually as you may need.

A certificate of completion is issued to certify your level of competency at the end of the course.

Swahili for Kids

Did you know that children do not struggle to learn a new language? What a better way to jump-start their future by introducing Swahili at a young age? Moreover, being bilingual makes your kids smarter.

We have held several successful Swahili classes for children in Nairobi at our school or at their homes.

Watch our Swahili class for kids here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEtUucQn3Ao&t=145s

Online Swahili Classes

Due to the rapidly evolving learning environment worldwide, we have now adopted online classes for learners who are not able to attend our Swahili classes physically. This is a practical and convenient way of learning Swahili from the comfort of your home or office, or even while mobile. This ensures that you don’t miss lessons even for busy learners.

Why study Swahili ?

The Jambo Swahili Language School in Kenya offers short courses in Swahili language to students who want to speak Kiswahili within the shortest time possible. Our students come from different countries and cultures. Most of these are normally expatriates and other foreigners working in Kenya or East Africa with local communities or planning to settle in Kenya, or who want to learn Swahili so as to integrate seamlessly into the local culture.

A certificate of completion is issued to certify your level of competency at the end of the course.

Target Group: Missionaries, expatriates, volunteers, Kenyans in the Diaspora who can’t communicate well in Kiswahili.

Swahili Levels

The Generals Swahili language course is divided into four levels from basic Beginners to Advanced learners, and the duration to complete each level is indicated below.

EUROPEAN (CEFRL) LEVEL DURATION 

CEFRL Level

Guided Learning Hours (Approx)

A1

Beginner

120 HOURS

A2

Elementary

120 HOURS

B1

Intermediate

180 HOURS

B2

Upper Intermediate

180 HOURS

C1

Advanced

250 HOURS

C2

Proficient

250 HOURS

JSLS

Swahili Course Description

This is the introduction of Swahili language to beginners. It is designed to enable learners develop the ability to communicate with ease with other Swahili speakers.
This course is intended for students with little or no knowledge of Kiswahili. The course begins with basic lessons such as greetings and finishes up with lessons of self-expression in everyday life e.g. at grocery stores, at bank, at post office, making telephone calls etc.
The major goals are to enable students to develop communicative skills in Swahili through listening, speaking, reading, and writing. At the end of the course the student will be able to use a set of communication tools to comprehend and speak about a set of social situations.
The student will be able to communicate and discuss basic personal history, leisure time activities, work situations and use Swahili for day to day activities such as visiting the market. Essential skills such as asking and answering simple questions will be mastered.

Elementary Swahili (Level A2) is a progression of Basic (Beginners) Swahili Course. It builds and develops on the concepts already learnt at Swahili level A1. It also takes 120 hours to complete. You can now learn Swahili at your pace (flexible), at home or office, online and face to face.

For academic purposes, we recommend you to follow a more structured, regular Swahili lessons. The Kiswahili lessons can be arranged according to your needs and convenience. If you want to complete the program within the shortest period, you can take Immersion Swahili program 2024.

Swahili Elementary 1 is a continuation of Swahili Beginners Level A1 (or equivalent). The course aims to build on existing knowledge of Swahili and provide a broader understanding of Swahili language and culture. Teaching is predominantly in Swahili and students are expected to prepare for class discussions and presentations. Effective communication in Swahili is the aim of this course. Students will be expected to participate in ‘real life’ situations through role play, for example, bargaining for goods at a local market. Students will form discussion groups to express thoughts and opinions. There will be written work involving translation.
At the end of Swahili Elementary 1, students will be able to understand more advanced grammatical structures and engage in discussions of a more complex nature

Swahili Elementary 2 is designed for those learners who have completed Swahili Elementary 1. The course aims at further immersion in use of the Swahili and its cultural context. Teaching is predominantly in Swahili and students are expected to prepare for class discussions and presentations. Effective communication in Swahili is the aim of this course. Students will be expected to participate in ‘real life’ situations through role play, for example, bargaining for goods at a local market. Students will form discussion groups to express thoughts and opinions. There will be written work involving translation.
At the end of Swahili Elementary 2, students will have achieved a basic level of fluency in the spoken language and will have a good working knowledge of advanced grammatical structures.

The Kiswahili Intermediate level deals with more advanced forms of expression, grammar and vocabulary required for an intermediate qualification.

The course will equip the learner with language skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking) and cultural information to make one a competent user of Swahili. The course will additionally provide the learner with the opportunity to enhance soft skills such as collaboration, respect for others’ opinions, netiquette, planning and managing one’s own learning, etc

At the end of the course, a learner should be able to:

  • Make travelling arrangements in Swahili;
  • Describe leisure activities;
  • Express and defend an opinion on an issue;
  • Express dreams and hopes;
  • Write simple texts on familiar topics;
  • Discuss political and economic activities;
  • Write an official letter;
  • Translate documents from Swahili to English and vice-versa;
  • Highlight the main points of a newspaper article, news item, etc;
  • Write short poems;
  • Read and answer questions on short Swahili narratives;
  • Discuss social issues such as marriage, art, dances, etc;
  • Discuss environmental issues such as climate change, sanitation, water, etc.;
  • Answer questions on an extract of a Swahili novel;
  • Work effectively in groups;
  • Respect netiquette;
  • Plan and manage one’s own learning (learning autonomy).

For the course materials, the students will be provided with the recommended materials before the start of the training. The materials include textbooks, listening CDs, interactive digital platforms and Internet.
NB: The materials may be revised to suit an individual or group requirements and needs. Please discuss with your instructor.