Gee ntị, Ghọta!
I lived in Enugu for about 3 years as a child. This had a huge impact on my Igbo Language acquisition.
Kindergarten back in 1990 was daunting, I was nicknamed, ‘onye ọcha nna ya dị oji’ because of my presumed ‘oyiboness’, speaking a lot of English and coming from Lagos. Of course I was picked on.
Naturally I was made class varnacular prefect in a school where Igbo was predominantly spoken and o, what joy for my teacher having a ‘nwa bekee’ in her class. I cringe today at the thought of my ‘prefectship’ duties.
To fit in, I had to adjust….. ozigbo ozigbo! I could speak Igbo, but I needed to be more confident speaking it outside and to other kids.
University Primary School, Enugu in those days used to have the kids read the news in Igbo Language during Friday assembly. This meant a few children were picked every week to read snippets of Igbo news. As much as I dreaded being selected, I needed to be prepared. Bịa lee nụ m (come see me), listening to EBS news every evening to pick up new words. I could read Igbo from an early age, so I had to up my reading of Igbo newspapers as well.
The dreaded day came, when my name was selected…. ‘Ala kpughere’ (the ground opened) that day. However my weeks of listening to and reading Igbo news payed off.
I can vaguely remember reading something like:
‘N’ụbọchị Satọdee nke gara aga, ọ nwere otu nwoke a na-akpọ maazị Nduka bi n’okporo ụzọ Trans Ekulu. Ndị uwe ojii akpata la ya n’ihi na ọ were ogologo ntu kụọ nwa ya nwoke n’isi…. ‘
And the rest is history.
One can never unserestimate the power of LISTENING during language learning. It’s a skill that must be obtained to be successful in acquiring a new language. Might I say that there will always be the tendency to get thrown off by the speed of native speakers. To counter this shock, for Igbo Language learners, listen to Igbo on the radio, podcasts, listen in on intentional Igbo heavy conversations, watch ‘reasonable’ Igbo Language skits…..
Your listening skill is your power. Develop it, then engage.
Ngwa nụ…. Ka ọ dị mgbe ọzọ!
By The Supu project
2024-09-06 20:20:29