Learn how to say the five most common phrases used in a classroom
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Medina: Hamjamboni! Welcome back to SwahiliPod101.com! I’m Medina. |
| Joshua: Hello everybody, I’m Joshua! This is All About, Lesson 14 - Top 5 Swahili Classroom Phrases. In this lesson, you’ll learn the top five phrases you will hear in a classroom. |
| Medina: Some are phrases that a teacher would use, and some are phrases you can use with a teacher. You'll definitely get a head start by already knowing these phrases! |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Joshua: Our first phrase is ‘...ina maanisha nini?’ |
| Medina: ‘...ina maanisha nini?’ literally translates to "...what does it mean?" This is a very useful phrase in the classroom, because you can ask your teacher what certain words, ideas, or places mean in Swahili. |
| Joshua: You would use this phrase by first stating the item you want to know, then add ‘ina maanisha nini?’ Medina, could you give us some examples? |
| Medina: Sure! ‘Gari lina maanisha nini?’ means "What does Gari mean?" and ‘Lililotumiwa lina maanisha nini?’ means “What does ‘lililotumiwa’ mean?" |
| Joshua: And what do those words mean, Medina? |
| Medina: Well, ‘gari’ means "cars," and ‘lililotumiwa’ means "used." |
| Joshua: Excellent. Our next phrase is ‘Fungueni vitabu vyenu.’ |
| Medina: ‘Fungueni vitabu vyenu’ literally means "Open your books." Your teacher might use this phrase to tell the class to open their books to begin reading. |
| Joshua: Cool. The next phrase is ‘Sielewi.’ |
| Medina: ‘Sielewi’ means "I don’t understand." |
| Joshua: You would use this phrase if your teacher explains something or says something that you didn't understand. |
| Medina: Swahili teachers like it when you use Swahili to interact in the classroom, even if they have to explain things in English afterward. |
| Joshua: So be sure to use this phrase, even if you're just muttering to yourself. It's good for your learning! |
| Medina: The next phrase is ‘Tafadhali rudia.’ |
| Joshua: ‘Tafadhali rudia’ literally translates to "please repeat," but means "could you repeat again." |
| Medina: Swahili translated directly to English always sounds like something that would come out of Yoda’s mouth. I wonder why that is? |
| Joshua: (laughs) I don't know why, but it's true. ‘Tafadhali rudia’ is a useful phrase in the classroom. |
| Medina: You can expect your teacher to say this when they want you to repeat something. |
| Joshua: Ok. Our last phrase is ‘Umeelewa?’. |
| Medina: It translates as "Have you understood?" |
| Joshua: This question is often used by teachers to make sure the students are understanding what they are explaining. |
| Medina: Let's recap what we learned in this lesson. |
| Joshua: That's a great idea. Can we hear all of those phrases again one more time? |
| Medina: Sure! |
| Joshua: "What does (it) mean?" |
| Medina: ‘...ina maanisha nini?’ |
| Joshua: "Please open your books." |
| Medina: ‘Fungueni vitabu vyenu.’ |
| Joshua: "I don't understand." |
| Medina: ‘Sielewi.’ |
| Joshua: "One more time." |
| Medina: ‘Tafadhali rudia.’ |
| Joshua: And "Did you understand?" |
| Medina: ‘Umeelewa?’ |
Outro |
| Joshua: There you have it, all five phrases for the classroom! |
| Medina: Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time! |
| Joshua: Bye! |
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