Magdalyne Akiding

Magdalyne Akiding was born and raised in Kenya. She received her bachelor’s degree in education, majoring in English language and literature, from Pwani University in Kilifi, Kenya. She then moved to the United States in 2015 to pursue graduate education. She received her master’s degree in linguistics from Ohio University in 2017, and her Ph.D. in applied linguistics - second language studies - from Michigan State University in 2021. As a graduate student, Magdalyne focused on the instruction of Swahili and other African languages in the United States, and she taught Swahili in several universities in the U.S. throughout her graduate studies. She started her position at the University of Michigan in Fall 2022 as a lecturer of Swahili and the Coordinator of African Languages in the Department of Afroamerican and African Studies.