# Adapting and Writing Language Lessons/Appendix K

APPENDIX K TO CHAPTER
UNSEQUENCED PRESENTATION OF STRUCTURES
(SWAHILI)
Freedom is not following a river. Freedom is following a river, though, if you want to. It is deciding now by what happens now. It is knowing that luck makes a difference.
William Stafford
Freedom for a language teacher may mean not following someone else's structural sequence, or following it. Of the materials which a writer can place at the disposal of a teacher, the Learner's Synopsis (Chapter 4, p. 144; and Chapter 5) should flow as smoothly as possible from the beginning to end. The subject of this appendix, however, is the presentation of structural points not as continuity but as chunks, so that they are maximally independent of each other in two ways: in their wording, and in their physical existence on paper or cardboard.
Concord: singular 'near me' demonstratives
Have available in the classroom a number of objects, at least one from each of the following classes:
M-WA M-MI LI-MA KI-VI
N
Pick up or touch one item at a time, and say Hiki ni kiti, or whatever the object is. Have the students do the same. Be sure that they touch the item they are talking about, so as to preserve the difference between hiki and hicho or kile. Then begin to use the question Hii ni nini? or, if you prefer, Hiki ni kitu qani? When the students can reply to this question, let them question and answer each other. Answer their questions about names of objects that you have not yet talked about. Finally, fall silent and let them use this new material in their own way.
If a demonstrative word (this, that, these, those) accompanies or refers to a noun, its form depends on the noun. This can be seen in the 'near me' demonstratives for singular nouns:
| meza | hii | 'this table' |
| table | this |
| mlango | huu | 'this door' |
| door | this |
| kitu | hiki | 'this thing' |
| thing | this |
| mtu | huyu | 'this person' |
| person | this |
| dirisha | hili | 'this window' |
| window | this}} |
See Synopsis, par. 18 .)
Have available a number of objects, two or more of each kind, to represent each of the following classes:
N
Pick up or touch one pair of items at a time, and say Hivi ni viti or whatever the objects are.Have the students do the same. Be sure that they touch the items they are talking about, so as to preserve the difference between hivi and hivyo, vile. Then begin to use the question Hivi ni vitu gani? When the students can reply to this question, let them question and answer each other. Answer their questions about names of objects that you have not yet talked about. Finally, fall silent and let them use this new material and/or earlier material in their own way.
If a demonstrative word (this, that, these, those) accompanies or refers to a noun, its form depends on the noun. This can be seen in the 'near' demonstratives for plural nouns:
| meza | hizi | 'these tables' |
| tables | these |
| milaugo | hii | 'these doors' |
| doors | these |
| vitu | hivi | 'these things' |
| things | these |
| watu | hawa | 'these people' |
| people | these |
| madirisha | haya | 'these windows' |
| windows | these |
Concord: Singular 'near' your demonstratives.
Have available a number of movable objects, at least one from each of the following classes:
M-WA M-MI LI-MA KI-VI
N
Put one object near a student, move away, and say Hiyo ni kalamu, or whatever the object is. Then take the object away from him, and have him say the same thing to you. Then hold the object and ask Hiki ni kitu gani? Have him reply Hicho ni kitabu, or whatever the object is. Be sure that there is agreement between the location of the object and the use of hii, hiki, hili or hiyo, hicho, hilo. Let the students use these questions among themselves, and in getting new vocabulary from you. Do not require them to remember the new words that they get from you in this way.
If a demonstrative word (this, that, these, those) accompanies or refers to a noun, its form depends on the noun. This can be seen in the 'near you, or otherwise already identified' demonstratives for singular nouns:
| meza | hiyo | 'that table near you, or already mentioned' |
| table | that |
| mtu | hyuo | 'that person' |
| person | that |
| dirisha | hilo | 'that window' |
| window | that |
| mlango | huo | 'that door' |
| door | that |
| kitu | hicho | 'that thing' |
| thing | that |
(See Synopsis, par. 18 .)
Concord:Subject prefixes
Have available a number of small, movable objects, at least one from each of the following classes:
M-WA M-MI LI-MA KI-VI
N
Using appropriate actions, substitute each in the sentence:
| Kalamu | iko} | mezani. |
| pen | is-located | on-table |
Have the students do the same until this becomes easy for them. Then teach them a few place expressions to replace mazani
Finally, teach the question Kalamu iko wapi? and let them use it.
When a noun is the subject of a locative word 'am is, or are located,' the subject prefix of the locative word depends on the choice of noun:
| Meza | iko | wapi? | Where is the table? |
| Table | is-located | where? |
| Meza | ziko | wapi? | Where are the tables? |
| Kitu | kiko | wapi? | Where is the thing? |
| Vitu | viko | wapi? | Where are the things? |
| Mtu | yuko | wapi? | Where is the person? |
| Watu | wako | wapi? | Where are the people? |
| Dirisha | liko | wapi? | Where is the window? |
| Madirisha | yako | wapi? | Where are the windows? |
| Mlango | uko | wapi? | Where is the door? |
| Milango | iko | wapi? | Where are the doors? |
(See Synopsis, par. 23, 62)