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Lesson Transcript

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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