Samoan language educator William Fanene is helping introduce Gagana Samoa to new learners in the United States, including students with no Samoan ancestry but an interest in Samoa’s culture and language.
Fanene recently launched Samoan 101 at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE), attracting 49 students from the United States, Australia, New Zealand and American Samoa.
The eight-week beginner course is one of the only university-affiliated Samoan courses east of Utah
Based on Fanene’s online language-learning platform Talofa Talk, the course focuses on teaching sentence structure before vocabulary to help students build conversations easily.
Fanene said the growing interest in Gagana Samoa reflects a desire among many people to connect with Samoan culture.
