My name is Nafisa Awadh Omar, and I am from coastal Kenya. Born into a Swahili family, Kiswahili is both my first and native language. I earned a Bachelor of Education (Arts) degree in 2019 from Pwani University in Kilifi, Kenya, with a with a focus on Kiswahili and Islamic Religious Education. Driven by a deep interest in the Kiswahili language, I pursued a Master of Arts in Kiswahili at Pwani University, which I completed in 2023. My master’s research focused on linguistic and structural errors often made by second language learners of Kiswahili, with learners from the Waaṱa community of coastal Kenya as my case study. The study raised significant questions about how culture, identity, and power influence second language learning, which I am eager to further explore through doctoral research in Second Language Acquisition at UW-Madison.
My teaching experience also inspires my research interests in Second Language Acquisition and pedagogy. While pursuing my master’s degree at Pwani University, I was a Teaching Assistant (TA) in Swahili linguistics and culture. In the summers of 2022, 2023 and 2025, I taught Kiswahili as a Foreign Language for Howard University’s Fulbright Hays Swahili study-abroad program hosted at Pwani University. From August 2023 to June 2025, I worked as a Swahili instructor at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York, where I also taught courses in African cultures. These teaching opportunities have enhanced my pedagogical skills in second language learning and teaching and provided valuable platforms to think critically about and nurture my research interests in Second Language Acquisition.