ABOUT THE STUDENTS

As you can see in the photograph above, students taking Swahili at the University of Toronto come from diverse ethnic backgrounds, which is a clear indication of the international status of the Swahili language. They also come from different academic disciplines. The majority of students are enrolled in Kiswahili for two major reasons:

• As a requirement in the African Studies Program; and
• As a Humanities Distribution Requirement.

For a clear understanding of these two requirements, please consult the appropriate pages in the University of Toronto Calendar.

In addition to the above requirements, some students take Swahili either because they were exposed to the language while working or volunteering in East Africa and would like to have a greater understanding of the language or they are planning to go to work and volunteer there in the future.

The diversity in ethnicity and academic disciplines of the students makes learning Kiswahili at the University of Toronto an exciting experience for both the students and their instructor.