Achoro m i bido nzuko asusu Igbo maka ndi bi n'ezi. O nwere onye uche ya di na udi ihe a?

I'd like to start a phone conversation group (meeting via conference call) for Igbo language learners.

Munwa n'onwe m a macharo asu Igbo ofuma. Achoro m ndi mu na ha ga-akpa nkata n'Igbo gharu ichi onwe anyi ochi ma o bu nwe ihere.

I, myself, am not very good with spoken Igbo. I want to practise Igbo with others in an environment free of ridicule or shame.

Daalu!

Thank you!

Opsimath:
I want to practise Igbo with others in an environment free of ridicule or shame.

This is probably the most significant factor. Nigerians have developed a culture of shaming their own sons and daughters who have a desire to learn the language. It can be off-putting to most learners. If you can honestly create this environment, then you will have succeeded where many have failed.

The second thing is active interaction. Most Igbo learners (in diaspora) who want to begin learning to speak are typically in an environment that lacks fellow Igbo speakers. If they are strong-willed, then they take to joining forums and interacting in Igbo online. However, that is not the same as interacting through speech. The only real way to be a more fluent speaker is to actually speak. If you can create an environment where learners can interact in Igbo over the phone, it might help. At the very least, it might be interesting.

The only thing is that it may be difficult to justify this to some. A phone group is essentially a conference call, and a conference call is akin to an online forum. Aside from that, conference calls have a tendency to be highly unmoderated. Maybe a different angle may be more viable. Possibly, setting it up as a service, rather than an open conference call line would be more beneficial.

If the service has functionality where Igbo learners can call in and chose their degree of interaction (one on one, group of three, open forum, etc.), then I can certainly see the benefit of this. It's an idea that hasn't been tried before, to the best of my knowledge. Setting up something like this would be involving, but likely also very rewarding. The infrastructure for this kind of service can be easily designed. Access to the conversation lines can be provided with a mobile app (diaspora learners are probably much more likely to engage if you present them with this option). I can actually see this at work, and it would certainly go a long way toward preserving the language among diaspora youth. In fact, I can see diaspora youth moving the language forward through this avenue.

Thanks for responding. I agree on all your points, but the latter part got a bit complicated for me. What I envision is something akin to a prayer line, which I know many people are already familiar with. I'm hoping to get at least 1 person from this forum to start practising with. Hopefully, we can grow from there and maybe start thinking about some of the intricacies you mentioned.

As an Igbo learner, my priority is to create a safe and conducive environment for learning. I also want to practise speaking with people that are not my parents, for once in my life!

Oh no, don't worry about that last part of my post. I was simply extending your idea and examining the potential over the long-term. I don't expect you as an Igbo learner to be concerned with designing a system or service such as that.

I understand exactly where you're coming from, especially with regards to wanting to speak with people other than your parents. I do have to ask though, have you not discussed this with friends and family? I'd like to believe that despite the general lack of nearby Igbo-speaking peers in the disapora, you would still know at least one or two like-minded diaspora Igbo.

Basically, what I'm trying to understand is why you chose to approach people online here in NL, as opposed to having already gotten started with one or two of your peers in diaspora? This is just a question for curiosity sake. I just would like to understand your situation and motivations.

Very tough question. I'm thinking of adding the conversation group to the things I'm already doing, like reading Igbo books, speaking more often in Igbo, and watching Igbo movies. I usually like to inundate myself with opportunities when taking on a new challenge; it's the way I learn best.

Another big reason is I want to reach out to other people like me. Part of the difficulty of speaking in Igbo, for me, is psychological. This group would also be cathartic, I hope.

Oh, and I joined NL to make this announcement. Igbo associations are alienating to people like me, parents and friends are not sufficiently understanding or helpful, and Igbo lessons may not focus on conversation as much as I would like. I figure lurkers might find this thread and want to participate.

I see. Thanks for sharing. The context helps.

Anyway, I believe this project (I'll call it that for the time being) is worth pursuing, if you're certain of your desire to pursue it. The only immediate caveat I can conceive of would be people's willingness to interact with others who are more or less strangers over the phone. Hence the reason why I mentioned like-minded people. Personally though, I am interested in seeing how a project like this unfolds and develops.

Have you heard of web meetings and screencast conferences? I believe such a thing would help lend an air of legitimacy by providing more than just an open conference line (I feel people won't know what to do with an open conference line and may just sit with their phones muted, especially those who are shy). The web meeting aspect will simply provide a means for Igbo lessons, and you can keep the lesson structure as loose and casual as you like. Include more conversation than what is seen in most Igbo lessons (which I very much agree, there is not a strong focus on conversation and interaction with many of these Igbo lessons, especially when taught in diaspora).

I think the anonymity phone provides might be good for some; I just hope if it's casual and welcoming enough people will join and participate. My hope is that others will follow suit with their conversation groups...now if only I can get one eager participant!