Bridging the language gap

Joanna Ransier first visited Rwanda in 2007, as part of a medical humanitarian team on a medical needs assessment at a former residential care center for street children. “It was three weeks of only work and no recreation,” she recalls fondly. “When it (work) was all done, I managed to go and see the countryside and the famed mountain gorillas in the Volcanoes National Park and I immediately fell in love.” “I interacted with locals and children and came to a deep appreciation of the challenges, opportunities and potential in Rwanda as a reemerging nation.” Little wonder therefore, that she was reluctant to return to her native California, US after her medical tour of Rwanda. The rest of the team literally had to tear her away. “I went back to the US but it didn’t feel good. Deep inside me, I felt emptiness. I finally gained the courage to tell my family and friends that I would be back to Rwanda because it’s where I belong.” It took her another four years before she could realise her dream. During this time, she had managed to come up with some specific ideas and hobbies to indulge in to make her stay in Rwanda more rewarding and rounded. This time round, she fancied a stint in social entrepreneurship, although her professional calling is medicine. “In social entrepreneurship, you don’t look at the problems, but the opportunities.” Particularly, this self-confessed linguist and novelist saw not only the vast problems, but also opportunities presented by Rwanda’s multi-lingual stature. “I’ve always been deeply fascinated by language, because it carries the culture of a people. It’s important to preserve culture through language, but also promote successful and effective use of other languages.” Where one would have expected her to latch onto a volunteer opening in an NGO, she chose to go the independent way, and has her own reasons: “I’m a retired nurse, and that’s unusual. I’m a single female, and that’s also unusual. This puts me in a very small minority, so I like to work in small teams.” Redefining the learning experience The net result of Joanna’s love for language and of the country is the Comprehensive Language Services (CLS), a sort of “one-stop-shop” for the language and communication needs of people who want to better their proficiency at English, Kinyarwanda and French, the three main languages spoken in Rwanda. This time, however, the learning experience is a fresh breath of air from the usual classroom-style learning. Ransier is basically attempting to import into Rwanda a never before experience in language and communication. “We are starting with coaching and mentoring for people who have studied English, can read and write it, but yet haven’t taken the next step to use the language for effective communication,” she notes, adding that “the need for it (language service) is transient as people come and go. The classes usually take the shape of small informal groups of between 6-40 people, and emphasis is placed on learning pronunciation, written skills, sentence structure and vocal projection. Lunching and learning Lunch ‘N’ Learn is the latest concept that CLS is set to launch soon in collaboration with Club Spic. The Lunch ‘N’ Learn program is strictly conversational practice. What happens is that a selected group meets during the lunch hour at a convenient location, enjoys a sumptuous catered lunch, and engages in interactive dialog with others who are committed to bringing more fluency and accuracy to their use of language for communication. There are no appointments or restrictive rules. One can choose to attend from 1-5 days per week according to your schedule. What’s more, the sessions are ongoing and open ended so there is no stop/start date. “In communication, the goal is to help people express themselves fluently, comfortably and cleanly. Our goal is to help people move from the academic style communication they have been used to, and communicate more adequately. Here to stay Ransier is not all about rhetoric though, which is what her language sessions are really about. Rather, she is more of a cultural tourist and a wanderer from far off lands. “My mum and friends want me back home but I tell them to understand that this is now home for me.” On a good day, you could bump into her demonstrating the use of a wheelchair to an elderly cripple, or simply enjoying a good chat with a Rwandese friend. To learn Kinyarwanda, she surrounds herself with many newly-acquired local friends, and watches the news bulletin in both the local language and in English. She is writing a book, The Insider’s Guide to Kigali for New Comers, which should be out in bookshops next year. It is the least you could expect from a person whose concluding remarks are: “I love Rwanda and I’m here for the duration. I love listening to people’s stories and I’m just so well taken care of here. It’s my home, and it just keeps getting better and better!”