FSI Shona Basic Course

Shona is a Bantu language spoken in present-day Zimbabwe and some neighboring areas.

However, it is difficult to define since several varieties exist, and there is some disagreement over which dialects can correctly be referred to as “Shona”.

The Karanga, Zezuru and Korekore dialects are spoken by a total of around 11 million people, while the closely related Manyika and Ndau dialects combined add a further 3.5 million speakers. This makes it one of the most widely spoken of the Bantu tongues.

There are few resources available for studying this language, making this free online Shona course from FSI an invaluable source of study materials for anyone hoping to learn it.

Course Details

What is the FSI Shona Basic Course?

This FSI Shona course, which first appeared in 1965, is based on the Manyika dialect of the language. However, at the same time, it also attempts to allow for the differences in pronunciation and vocabulary found in other versions of the language.

It is divided into 49 units, each starting with a dialog that presents the new language. This is followed by drills and exercises that are designed to let you practice what you have just learned.

Each unit is also accompanied by an audio recording that you can use to work on your pronunciation – however, at present, only the recordings for units 1-35 are available.

How was FSI Shona Basic originally used?

This course was originally created for US diplomatic staff who needed a grounding in the language before being sent to postings in parts of the world where Shona is spoken.

The students would take around six hours of class each day, and they followed this up with a further two hours of personal study.

During lesson time, they spoke only Shona, and even outside of class, they were encouraged to use it to communicate among themselves. In this way, after only an amount of time, they were able to gain a relatively high level of competence in the language.

How can you use FSI Shona Basic?

Although you can’t expect to recreate the perfect learning environment of an FSI classroom, you can still benefit greatly from this free Shona course if you know how to adapt it.

Since this will probably be your primary source of learning materials for this language, you can work through the dialogues, using the drills and exercises to practice what you learn along the way.

If you can find other study resources to supplement the FSI course, you will be able to accelerate your progress even more.

Taking it further

Student Text

Unit	Audio
Unit 01	Tape
Unit 02	Tape
Unit 03	Tape
Unit 04	Tape
Unit 05	Tape
Unit 06	Tape
Unit 07	Tape
Unit 08	Tape
Unit 09	Tape
Unit 10	Tape
Unit 11	Tape
Unit 12	Tape
Unit 13	Tape
Unit 14	Tape
Unit 15	Tape
Unit 16	Tape
Unit 17	Tape
Unit 18	Tape
Unit 19	Tape
Unit 20	Tape
Unit 21	Tape
Unit 22	Tape
Unit 23	Tape
Unit 24	Tape
Unit 25	Tape
Unit 26	Tape
Unit 27	Tape
Unit 28	Tape
Unit 29	Tape
Unit 30	Tape
Unit 31	Tape
Unit 32	Tape
Unit 33	Tape
Unit 34	Tape
Unit 35	Tape