To whom it May concern,
Majunga, November 3, 2020
In preparation for our missionary work in Madagascar, we, the undersigned Philip and Marjorie Graf, took courses in learning the Malagasy language at Madame Fanja Ralaindratsiry's in Antsirabe from July 2019 until June 2020. With 2 other couples, we studied 4h / day every morning (for men) and 2h / day every afternoon (for women).
Having no knowledge of the Malagasy language, our goal was to be able to get by in this language for everyday life and also for teaching the Word of God. While we still have a long way to go to be completely fluent, we can say that, thanks to God's help and Ms. Fanja's professional lessons, we have achieved our goal. Ms. Fanja's good visual and auditory method (GPA), her motivation and her desire to adapt to individual needs greatly contributed to this result.
We recommend Ms. Fanja as a teacher to anyone looking to learn the Malagasy language, especially because of the following strengths of her course:
The method of learning vocabulary (recognize - then write - then speak) is very effective, even for us who, for a long time, were not used to learning for a long time.
- Her lessons and explanations regarding grammar are very clear, which helps a lot to understand and appropriate sentence structures that are very different from those of French.
- In the context of our missionary work we particularly appreciated her effort
to make us discover the specificities related to the use of the Malagasy language in the Bible.
We still want to share some opinions and tips that have been forged during our learning time. These can be personal, but may still be useful for one or the other:
- Learning together has the advantage of producing mutual encouragement, especially over an extended period of several months.
- More than 3 students seems to reduce the learning speed too much
- An intense course ideally 5x4h / week seems very useful for the first 3 months
- After the first bases (3-6 months depending on the speed of progress), we think it is good to adapt
The course allows more and more individual lessons and time for oral exchange.
- For oral expression it is useful to plan fixed times with several different Malagasy people or teachers. In the variety of oral exchange you progress more quickly.
We therefore recommend without hesitation Ms. Fanja as a teacher of the Malagasy language and we encourage to all those who propose to start learning or improving their skills.
Philip and Marjorie Graf
November 2020
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Salama daholo 😊 hello everyone)!
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The day I arrived in Madagascar, I felt like a baby who couldn't communicate, who couldn't express himself and who felt very vazaha ( = foreigner). Thanks to Fanja and to God, with the courses at Antsirabe, I have now reached a stage where I can manage my life in Malagasy, either when I go to town, or with the authorities to settle my papers, or with work here in Madagascar . To all those who want to live here for long term, I really recommend and encourage you to learn the language long enough (I did 10 months from November 2019 until August 2020), because if not you will not be able to get by and you won't find the time to learn as soon as you get to work ... Fanja is always very patient and she explains THE grammar really well. Her method of teaching new words through photos is very interactive. For me, being German, it was sometimes a bit difficult, because French is not my mother tongue either, but with the photos I could understand well …. I chose to do lessons in french because it is the second language here even though Fanja teaches also in English and I know and speak much better English than French We also learnt a lot of medical vocabulary which I need for my work as a doctor. I had my lessons alone with Fanja (I did 2 hours a day of intensive lessons with her), but as soon as I managed to talk a little, I always spoke with people around me ( It is important to do at least 1 hour per day of conversations out of class). Malagasy people are always very happy if you try to speak in Malagasy, and even if you make mistakes sometimes, they are always ready to help. I wish you a good learning of the Malagasy language with Fanja,
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Dorothea
If you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me: dorotheahof@gmx.de
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To Whom it May Concern,
I am writing this letter concerning my time studying Malagasy under Fanja Ralaindratsiry. I have studied multiple languages throughout my lifetime: Shona in Zimbabwe, Spanish in the United States, French in France, Moré in Burkina Faso, and Malagasy in Madagascar.
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During my 10 years in Madagascar, I have now studied under three separate teachers. Without a doubt, the most productive time was spent studying under Fanja. Fanja uses a visual method, and for myself who is a visual learner, this was essential for me to be able to learn a lot of vocabulary in a short period of time. She was always well prepared, bringing all of what was needed for class. She has worked hard to collect or create tons of examples for vocabulary use. We also used a white board for writing out any content that cannot be taught in a picture. Notes are provided so less time needs to be spent writing, although there is also time to write information by hand, which I do believe is part of the learning process for any learner. She worked efficiently and took time to explain every day things to make the learning the most applicable to my life. As a missionary, I was in awe of her knowledge of the Bible and quick recall of how a word is used in scripture and how to locate it. Her knowledge of the English language was also outstanding, making it even more possible to make connections quickly and accurately between English and Malagasy.
I highly recommend anyone who is looking to study Malagasy to contact Fanja before anyone else. Her sweet spirit and outgoing personality make her a very comfortable person to study under. She is gifted in seeing where the student needs more time to learn and doesn’t rush a concept just to ‘get it done’. She is willing to spend time on any area that needs more explanation, which is invaluable for the students so they build a strong base before adding more knowledge. Time spent making short videos of the daily vocabulary, reading or writing a prayer to be repeated, etc. are also wonderful additions to her teaching method that no other teacher has ever provided for me, in any language I have studied. For the auditory learner, this is a great benefit.
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Sincerely,
Mrs. Heather Santmyire
Assemblies of God World Missions
Recommendation for Fanja Ralaindratsiry 23 May 2012
I, Adam Willard, along with my wife, Lora, have enjoyed having Fanja as our Malagasy language teacher for nearly 7 months. We have had Malagasy lessons with Fanja an average of 3 to 4 hours a day, 5 days a week during that time. We began by knowing and understanding nothing of the Malagasy language. But as a result of being taught the Malagasy language by Fanja, we are now able to converse regularly in Malagasy, easily manage all of our daily and weekly needs in Malagasy, and about one month ago, we even had our first opportunity to formally address a group of people in the Malagasy language and it was a success. I have no doubt that our success in the Malagasy language in such a short period of time would have been impossible if not for Fanja’s skill and determination as a teacher, as well as the effective and beneficial methods that she uses. In our opinion, and out of all of our experience learning foreign languages, Fanja is the best foreign language teacher either of us has ever had.
One of the greatest skills of Fanja as a teacher of the Malagasy language to foreigners is that she’s not constrained to a single instructional booklet or method. For new learners who have several months or more to learn, and for the first part of their Malagasy language training, Fanja mostly relies upon a very effective method known as the Thompson method. With this method, a student learns first to recognize and comprehend spoken Malagasy and commit words to memory through understanding and through pictures and real-life examples – rather than through reading and writing and rote memorization. By this method, we’ve also managed to have a better and more natural pronunciation of the Malagasy language than if our teacher had encouraged us to speak immediately from the beginning, through reading written words. But, even with the Thompson method, Fanja modifies it so that it’s better suited to the particular nuances of the Malagasy language and the needs and abilities of her students. Then, as the student progresses in the Malagasy language, or for a student who already has some familiarity with the Malagasy language, Fanja creates her own lessons, individually suited to her students. She uses a combination of other methods that employ grammar and vocabulary, word and picture games for comprehension practice, and her own created activities for learning, remembrance and usage. The best part is that for every student of Fanja’s, she reviews her previously-created lesson material and then modifies it so that it more perfectly fits her current students’ needs and available time. She also continues to modify it day after day, to support any changing needs of her students. Every student of Fanja’s can be sure that they have individually-catered lessons, suited to their language-learning level and occupation, giving them the best possible Malagasy language learning that they could have.
In addition to Fanja’s outstanding skill as a Malagasy language teacher for foreigners, she’s also an excellent cultural and local guide. Throughout the course of any foreigner’s stay in Madagascar, questions will inevitably arise about different local and cultural norms and Fanja does a great job explaining those differences and incorporating those explanations into the language lessons. And for students with greater cultural interests, she introduces even more of Madagascar’s unique cultural concepts. And for first time arrivals to Madagascar, Fanja is patient and helpful, using time that’s not a part of the lessons to help introduce her students to various parts of Antsirabe and to accomplish necessities for their stay. To us, she’s become not only a great teacher, but also a trustworthy friend on whom we can depend. We heartily recommend Fanja to any learner of the Malagasy language, whether one who is completely new to it or one who needs to brush up on advanced aspects of grammar or the nuances of a particular work environment. I have no doubt that Fanja is the best Malagasy language teacher you can find.
Sincerely,
Adam & Lora Willard
Missionaries with Youth With a Mission Madagascar
Recommendation for Mrs. Fanja as Malagasy language teacher
We studied Malagasy with Mrs Fanja from November 2016 until May 2017. At first we had 4 lessons daily together as couple, but after around two months, we split up and each had 2-3 lessons daily, as her work schedule allowed this flexibility at the time. Our children were taught by her as well, on a less regular basis. See note at the end for this.
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We got to know Mrs Fanja as very friendly and sincere person. She is well organized, encouraging and enthusiastic in teaching. She uses the Thompson method for teaching, but has adapted it to the specialities of the Malagasy language, as some topics are a lot larger than in English and grammar is very different. Her long experience in teaching have enabled her to work out a written program of her own. As student you can benefit from this, as it includes vocabulary and grammar (a small additional fee is asked for receiving this). We also saw Mrs Fanja’s great capacity to adapt to the learning style of the individual student. She adjusted the speed, workload and pedagogical tools to the needs of all four of us, e.g. doing more or less repetition, using games or songs to make it fun and leaving out more complicated structures. She was always motivating and encouraging, even in our great weaknesses, seeing the small development, and not the failures. She also was very open to listen and understand the specific vocabulary needs of us regarding our future work situation.
She did not only teach us the language, but also helped understand Malagasy culture better. She was very open to be asked any question and look for good answers. On our demand we visited a few special centers in Antsirabe with her (a children’s home, the school for the blind and the school for the deaf).
Mrs Fanja knows English well enough to be able to teach students of this language. We were able to communicate well with her, written, on the phone and face to face.
And besides all her qualities regarding teaching, she also offered us a personal relationship with herself and her family, inviting us to hear about and experience the joy and struggles of a middleclass Malagasy lifestyle.
A separate note about Mrs Fanja’s work with our children: At the beginning and towards the end of our time in Antsirabe, our two sons aged 5/6 were taught by her during 30-45min (nearly) daily. She knew to lead them well, making learning fun for them. They would for example be running around doing exercises, or playing out things in Malagasy or learning songs. I have to say, our boys were very motivated to learn, but were not used to the “usual school way” of learning, just sitting and obeying. Mrs. Fanja found great ways to lead and teach them.
We would like to recommend Mrs Fanja as a great teacher for the Malagasy language and are willing to be contacted by people wanting to know more details.
Marcel & Dorothee Schaerer, working with King’s kids Madagascar
Ambohidratrimo, 15.11.2017
September 17, 2016 Greetings! I’m Crystal Shattenberg. I want to recommend Fanja Rabemiafara who is a
very capable and excellent language teacher/helper of the Malagasy language. She has lots of experience teaching and working with foreigners. During the two separate times I have studied with Fanja, she has had many insights to help one understand the language as well as Malagasy culture. She uses the GPA/Thompson Method of language acquisition, a very practical, useful approach to learning language. She is also willing to use other methods and adapt her teaching style to meet the student’s needs. Fanja, has done her own extensive study of English language and grammar as well as Malagasy grammar and is able to give good clear explanations of “why” certain things are said and done in the Malagasy language. She makes learning fun.
Fanja’s method focuses on listening first, building vocabulary, and then building one’s language ability. She is patient and willing to repeat things many times, so that one can “get it.” She also provides lots of correction so that one really learns how to speak well, not just get by.
When I came to Mahajanga, Madagascar in 2010 to teach English, I quickly realized that I needed to learn the Malagasy language. In January 2011, I lived in Antsirabe for 6 months and did intensive language study. One of my teachers was Fanja, who I studied with 2-3 times each week for 2 hours each session.
Recently, I returned to Madagascar with my husband and needed to do some intensive language study to ‘brush up.’ In July 2016, Fanja came from Antsirabe where she lives, to Mahajanga where my husband and I live, for 2 weeks of intensive language study. She taught me and another couple and their 3 oldest children. We arranged Fanja’s travel fare and she stayed with us while she was here to teach, which worked out well for all of us.
I have found Fanja to be not only a good teacher, but a safe person, someone that I can ask tough questions about the things in this language and culture that are not clear to me. She has become a good Malagasy friend and also someone with whom I have been able to keep in contact. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone seeking a language teacher/helper and I know that she will give 100% to helping whomever she teaches Malagasy.
Sincerely,
Crystal Shattenberg
Recommandation for Fanja Ralaindratsiry February 2016
Fanja Ralaindratsiry stayed with my husband and I for 10 days in February 2016,
teaching us malagasy from english. She would teach three of us at a faster level in the morning for four hours, and one pupil at a slower pace in the afternoon for four hours. She is incredibely adaptable and very hardworking.
She has fantastic teaching skills as is very talented in what she does. She is very clear and eloquent in her English and was always mindful of us in the class, making sure we understood what she was teaching. She is creative in her classes which helps stimulate learning and also makes her lessons fun and enjoyable. My husband and I learnt so much from her, not just the malagasy language, but also about Malagasy culture. She is kind, approachable, friendly and really enthusiatic. She clearly enjoys working with people and has a real talent for teaching.
Fanja is a fantastic teacher, her enthusiasm and talent make her a real joy to learn from. I would definitely recommend her to others looking for a teacher.
Your Sincerely,
Vanessa Schaben
Fevrier 2016
Bonjour à tous, moi c'est Damien, je viens de Suisse et suis marié avec une femme malagasy merveilleuse.
J'ai eu l'occasion de côtoyer Fanja durant un cours de malagasy de 10 jours intensif à Tamatave. J'avais déjà de bonnes bases de malagasy, car j'habitais à Tamatave depuis déjà 4 ans, pourtant mon défi est de pouvoir parler. J'avais toujours peur de communiquer, de faire des fautes...
La venue de Fanja, même si c'était court, m'a aider à avoir un peu plus de vocabulaire, de pouvoir former des phrases correctes, ce qui m'aide à oser un peu plus à communiquer avec les gens autour de moi. Je sais que j'ai encore du chemin à parcourir, mais son passage à Tamatave, sa manière d'enseigner, très pratique, m'a aidé à prendre plus confiance en moi.
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