Teaching Kiswahili Oral Literature in Kenya

This book addresses the challenges of teaching Kiswahili oral literature in Kenya. The author argues that Kiswahili oral literature is important in the sense that it forms an integral part of Kiswahili as a subject in Kenya. She observes that challenges of teaching Kiswahili oral literature result from inadequate resources coupled with negative attitudes from teachers and students towards the subject. She therefore recommends that the ministry of education should provide adequate and relevant resources to support the teaching and learning of Kiswahili oral literature. Furthermore, the teachers¿ and students¿ positive attitudes towards the subject could be boosted by encouraging their appreciation of Kiswahili oral literature as a major component of Kenyäs cultural heritage. She opines that continuous in-service training for Kiswahili oral literature teachers would play a major role in educating teachers about the centrality of the subject, in the curriculum and the community at large, in terms of communicative competence and inter- and intra-community cultural cohesion. Curriculum developers, teachers and students of Kiswahili oral literature will find this book quite resourceful.