Sawubona! If you are here, then you are learning isiZulu for the first time. This is a curriculum that Mabhengwane suggests you follow, depending on how much time you have.
Each set takes a specific amount of time, depending on how much time you devote to it:
- 3 hours per week: 1 month per set
- 6 hours per week: 2 weeks per set
- 12 hours per week: 1 week per set
Once you’ve completed all 7 of the sets below, you will be on your way to speaking and understanding isiZulu clearly.
Before you start, you should probably figure out what kind of learner you are. Most people are a mixture of different styles. Mabhengwane suggests the following regular activities depending on your style:
- visual learners: use flashcards and charts, including but not limited to the ones available in the iNkombandlela pack; play memory games, and when you learn new words, add them to a regular set of cards to flip over and check; diagrams help to make sense of information for you.
- auditory learners: use recordings, music, podcasts and speaking exercises to learn, including the recordings included in the explanations on this site; whenever you have new vocabulary, say it out loud and practise how it sounds.
- reading / writing learners: make sure that you write down everything you learn, because writing it out will help you to remember; reading things that you wrote down will also help, so essentially write notes about everything.
- kinesthetic learners: you learn by doing things, and through real-life experience; you need to practise in the real world, and make sure that everything you do is backed up by rich experiences.
So, if you are clear of your style, then have a look at the curriculum below.
Set 1: Basics
| step | rules | words |
| step 1 | Sounds & Pronunciation | Phrasebook & Greetings part a. and b. |
| step 2 | Understanding the Noun Classes part 1 | Phrasebook & Greetings part c. and d. |
| step 3 | Understanding the Noun Classes part 2 | Family Members |
| step 4 | Revise, schedule a lesson | Family Members |
Set 2: People
| step | rules | words |
| step 1 | Foundations of Basic Grammar part a. and b. | Assorted Humans |
| step 2 | Foundations of Basic Grammar part c. | Assorted Humans |
| step 3 | Foundations of Basic Grammar part d. | Assorted Humans |
| step 4 | Revise, schedule a lesson | revise |
Set 3: Counting and Small-Talk
| step | rules | words |
| step 1 | Numbers & Days part a. | Phonecalls, Reception-Desks & Small-Talk Part 1 |
| step 2 | Numbers & Days part b. | Phonecalls, Reception-Desks & Small-Talk Part 2 |
| step 3 | Numbers & Days part c. and d. | Phonecalls, Reception-Desks & Small-Talk Part 3 |
| step 4 | Revise, schedule a lesson | Revise, schedule a lesson |
Set 4: Colours and Bodies
| step | rules | words |
| step 1 | Colours & Description part 1. | Body-Parts |
| step 2 | Colours & Description part 2. | Body-Parts |
| step 3 | Colours & Description part 3. | Body-Parts |
| step 4 | Revise, schedule a lesson | revise |
Set 5: Questions & Transport
| step | rules | words |
| step 1 | Asking Questions part 1 | Transport |
| step 2 | Asking Questions part 2 | Transport |
| step 3 | Asking Questions part 3 | Transport |
| step 4 | Revise, schedule a lesson | revise |
Set 6: Journeys & Animals
| step | rules | words |
| step 1 | Journeys & Directions | Assorted Animals |
| step 2 | Journeys & Directions | Assorted Animals |
| step 3 | Locatives | Assorted Animals |
| step 4 | Revise, schedule a lesson | revise |
Set 7: Weather & Cooking
| step | rules | words |
| step 1 | Copulatives with Nouns | Food & Cooking |
| step 2 | Linjani izulu? | vocab for weather from Linjani izulu? |
| step 3 | Copulatives with na* | revise all vocab |
| step 4 | Revise, schedule a lesson | revise all vocab |
More coming soon!