FSI Hausa Basic Course

With an estimated total number of speakers of over 100 million, Hausa is arguably the most widely spoken of all indigenous African languages. Most of its native speakers are from Nigeria, Niger and Chad, but it is also used as a trade language through vast parts of West Africa.

It is also of interest to linguists as a relative of Ancient Egyptian and Assyro-Babylonian as well as other languages like Arabic and Hebrew.

For English speakers, it is relatively difficult to learn due to some unfamiliar grammar and the fact that it makes use of three tones, although it is an interesting option for anyone looking for a challenge.

Despite its importance, there is a lack of materials available for studying this language, which means this free online Hausa course is an invaluable resource for anyone who needs to learn it.

Course Details

What is the FSI Hausa Basic Course?

This FSI Hausa course was published in 1963 and consists of 30 units that are designed to give students a solid foundation in the language, leaving them capable of functioning in a wide range of situations.

Each unit features a basic dialog that presents the new language, which is followed by drills and exercises designed to give you the opportunity to practice what you have learned.

Originally, each unit was also accompanied by an audio recording. However, unfortunately, only the recordings for the first 10 units are available at this time.

How was FSI Hausa Basic originally used?

This course was originally created to give American diplomats a grounding in the language before being sent to postings in Hausa-speaking regions. They attended six hours of class per day and followed this up with a further two hours of personal study. In class, they spoke only Hausa, and even outside of class, they were supposed to use Hausa to talk among themselves. In this way, in only a short amount of time, they were able to acquire a level of Hausa that would allow them to function in their positions abroad.

How can you use FSI Hausa Basic?

Although you can’t hope to recreate the conditions enjoyed by American diplomats taking this course, you can still benefit immensely from these comprehensive Hausa materials if you know how to adapt them.

Since you will probably be relying on this free Hausa course as your primary source of study input, you can work through the dialogs and drills to give yourself a good basic knowledge of the Hausa language. If you can then supplement this by using any other materials you have available, you will be able to make good progress in this important African language.

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