Swahili, the most commonly spoken African language, is now being taught at Evanston Township High School to accompany its expanding African Studies program and give students a unique learning experience.
ETHS administrators thought a Swahili language program would benefit the students, a large percentage of whom are African-American, said David Bamlango, the new Swahili teacher. With a strong African Studies department at ETHS, Bamlango said it seemed normal to teach an African language.
“It felt to (administrators) that something was missing,” Bamlango said.
ETHS is the second high school in the nation to offer the language. Berkeley High School in Berkeley, Calif., was the first.
Bamlango teaches first-year Swahili to two classes of 15 students each. Last semester there were about 20 students in each class, but since students are not required to learn a language at ETHS, some of them dropped the subject to fulfill other requirements, Bamlango said.
But this is not a reflection of the program’s future development or success, said Kathy Pino, chairwoman of the World Languages department at ETHS. The department is still measuring student response to the Swahili program to decide whether to add higher level classes or more first-year classes next year, Pino said.
“It’s going to happen, but we’re in the baby steps right now,” she said. “My hope is to see it grow. We base our classes on student request … A lot of it depends on the teacher. If people say he’s good, students might take it.”
Bamlango suggested that ETHS inform Evanston middle schools of the new language to increase enrollment in the class.
ETHS administrators met with Bamlango in April 2001 after a faculty member recommended him. Bamlango, who grew up and taught French in the Democratic Republic of Congo, agreed to teach the class but said he did not know what to expect from American students. Besides having more educational resources at ETHS, Bamlango said schools in America are also more informal than in Africa.
“Teenagers are the same everywhere, but … the culture of the place and the teacher-student relationship (are different),” said Bamlango, who has lived in Chicago since April 2000. “The teacher-student relationship is more formal (in Africa). The teacher is the parent in the school so you have to give them the respect you’d give your parents.”
Most students took Swahili out of curiosity or to prepare for trips to Africa that they want to take after graduation, Bamlango said.
ETHS senior Patty Levon said she wanted to learn a new language after studying Spanish for several years. She agreed that it took some time for Bamlango to get used to the students.
“At first he was kind of surprised by what we were like,” she said. “People talked all the time.”
Pino said she wanted to renew a connection between the African studies program at ETHS and the Northwestern African Studies department that would include the Swahili classes. In the past, the NU African Studies department invited ETHS students on field trips and also selected students to participate in a mentoring program, said Sarah Vaux, program assistant at the NU African Studies department.
Vaux said ETHS has not contacted her department yet, but she supports the addition of the Swahili classes at the high school.
Although Bamlango is studying to obtain a law degree in the United States, he said he is committed to helping the Swahili program grow at ETHS. Learning Swahili is a good way to experience African culture, Bamlango said. While there is no one culture that defines all African countries, he said the language has unified African-Americans.
“Swahili is a good window to open you to the African world,” he said. “Wherever black people are in the world, they try to find a Swahili word to connect with each other.”
