FSI Kirundi Basic Course

With around nine million native speakers, Kirundi is an important regional language that is used in Burundi as well as parts of neighboring Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. When taken with Kinyarwanda, the language of Rwanda with which it is mutually intelligible, it becomes the third-most widely spoken of the Bantu languages.

It is a challenging tongue that poses significant problems for speakers of English in terms of phonology, morphology, and syntax. Notably, it is a tonal language, and it also makes use of a complicated system of prefixes, roots and stems.

However, this free online Kirundi course will take you through the basics, allowing you to acquire enough of the language to start speaking it as quickly as possible.

Since this is not a language with an abundance of learning resources, the FSI Kirundi materials will be an invaluable aid for anyone who needs to learn it.

Course Details

What is the FSI Kirundi Basic Course?

This FSI Kirundi course was designed as a short introduction to the fundamentals of the Kirundi language.

It is made up of 30 units consisting of dialogs that present the new language and drills that give you the chance to practice what you learn.

Each unit is also accompanied by audio recordings that allow you to work on your pronunciation and speaking skills (unfortunately the recording for Unit 30 is currently unavailable).

Despite the difficulties associated with this language, by working through this course, you will be able to acquire a good grounding in Kirundi, allowing you to continue building your knowledge of the tongue through further practice.

How was FSI Kirundi Basic originally used?

This course was created to give US diplomatic staff a foundation in the language before being sent to areas where Kirundi is spoken.

They attended six hours of classes per day, which they supplemented by a further two hours of individual study.

They spoke only Kirundi during class time, and even outside of lessons, they were supposed to speak Kirundi among themselves. In this way, in only a short amount of time, they were able to acquire the necessary level of Kirundi to function in their positions abroad.

How can you use FSI Kirundi Basic?

Although you can’t benefit from the perfect language learning environment enjoyed by US diplomats, you can gain a good knowledge of the language through this free Kirundi course. If you have access to another coursebook, you can use these materials to supplement your study.

Alternatively, if you are looking for a primary study resource, this course would be a great place to start – especially since this is not a language with an abundance of other available study materials.

Taking it further

Whichever study materials you have available, you won’t be able to learn Kirundi without practicing it. This is why, as soon as possible, I urge you to look for native speakers who can help you practice your Kirundi.

Try to find ways to incorporate speaking Kirundi into your daily life, and very quickly you will find you are making rapid progress despite the initial difficulties associated with this challenging tongue.

Student Text

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