David Kyeu is a Continuing Lecturer in the Department of African American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, where he teaches Swahili language and courses addressing language and social issues in Africa. He also serves as the Language Assessment and Distance Language Coordinator. He holds a Ph.D. in African Languages and Literature, with a minor in Second Language Acquisition, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, as well as an M.A. in Swahili Studies and a B.Ed. in Swahili and Mathematics from Egerton University in Kenya.
Dr. Kyeu’s teaching and research interests include Swahili language and cultures, second language acquisition, applied linguistics, academic writing, sociocultural interaction, digital communication, children’s literature, and language policy in education. His research examines how language learners use interactive and digital environments to develop communicative and writing skills. His doctoral dissertation, The Impact of Interactive Conversations on Swahili Essay Writing, investigated how Facebook chat and face-to-face conversations influenced speaking and essay writing among American learners of Swahili. His subsequent scholarship has continued to explore digital communication and Swahili language learning, including the role of Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, and X in language development. With more than twenty years of teaching and research experience, Dr. Kyeu has taught Swahili language and cultures at the University of California, Berkeley; Brown University; the University of Florida; Touro University; the University of Wisconsin–Madison; and in the Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. At Berkeley, he currently teaches beginning and intermediate Swahili and has also taught composition and academic writing, as well as courses on language and social issues in Africa.
Dr. Kyeu is a mixed-methods researcher specializing in sociocultural interaction, African languages, second language acquisition, applied linguistics, and digital communication. His scholarship has appeared in MULIKA, the Journal of African Languages Teachers Association (JALTA), Current Studies in Comparative Education, Science, and Technology, the Russian-American Education Forum, and the International Journal of Humanities, Science Innovations and Management Studies.
Dr. Kyeu is the author of Language and Social Issues in Africa, Beginning Swahili Workbook and Guide: Homework Exercises, Quizzes, Final Exam and Noun Classes, Swahili Noun Classes: Your Friendly Workbook and Guide, and the play Kibali. He is also the chief editor and principal investigator of the edited volume Swahili: African, Islamic, Arabic, and Other Global Influences, supported by the Sultan Fund at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies and the Department of African American Studies at UC Berkeley.
His current scholarship and pedagogical work include place-based and culturally responsive language teaching, digital storytelling, environmental justice and language education, African language curriculum development, and technology-enhanced language learning. In summer 2026, he joined a select cohort of language pedagogy experts working across Russian, Arabic, Swahili, Hindi, Czech, Bengali, Chinese/Cantonese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese, and Korean to explore place-based approaches to language teaching through a Berkeley Language Center-supported initiative.
Dr. Kyeu has received funding for projects involving film and language pedagogy, WhatsApp and essay writing, digital storytelling, African languages, and the development of courses in African American Studies. He has also served as a reviewer for the Hennel Duarti Foundation Swahili Academy curriculum.
Dr. Kyeu’s professional service includes leadership in the Global Association for Promoting Swahili (GAPS), where he served as Deputy Director from 2019 to 2022. He has participated in GAPS conferences and scholarly activities at institutions across the United States and East Africa and has contributed to the advancement of Swahili language scholarship and professional development internationally. He is also an active member of the Association of African Languages Teachers (ALTA) and the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL).
At UC Berkeley, Dr. Kyeu has contributed to departmental and university service, including serving as webmaster for the Department of African American Studies, participating in the In Defense of Digital Storytelling committee, and serving as a Peer Teaching Excellence Reviewer for colleagues in the department.
He continues to make African language knowledge accessible to broader communities through public scholarship, community engagement, and volunteer teaching of academic writing, mathematics, and Swahili to middle and high school students.
Dr. Kyeu’s work has been recognized through a Fulbright-Hays award at Brown University (2005–2006), a Swedish International Development Agency fellowship at Karlstad University (2002), and the University of Wisconsin–Madison Academic Initiative Teaching Award (2009). He was nominated for UC Berkeley’s Outstanding Faculty Award in 2023. He has presented his teaching and research at scholarly forums in the United States and internationally.
Publications
Articles and Edited Volumes
Kyeu, D., Hannouchi, S., Ratsirarson, H., & Lupogo, I. (Eds.). (2026). Swahili: African, Islamic, Arabic, and other global influences. Native Book Publishers.
Kyeu, D., & Sandaniaina, M. (2026). Similaries in the Arabic influence on Kiswahili and Malagasy: Language, religion, trade, and cultural transformation in he Indian Ocean world. In Swahili: African, Islamic, Arabic, and other global influences. Native Book Publishers.
Kyeu, D. (2026). Language as economic infrastructure: Code-switching, multilingual markets, and trade networks in Africa. International Journal of Humanities, Science Innovations and Management Studies, 3(2), 1-5.
Kyeu, D. (2023) Two years abroad: American kids' adventures in Kenya. Native Book Publishers.
Kyeu, D., Lupogo, I., Mataka, K. & Mtabazi, M. (2021). Asili, matumizi, na mtazamo wa salamu ya “Shikamoo” katika jamii ya watumiaji wa Kiswahili [The Origin, use, and perspectives of the greeting “Shikamoo” among speakers of Swahili). MULIKA 40(1). Institute of Swahili Research, Dar es Salaam.
Kyeu, D. et.al. (2017). Co-Editor, MULIKA 2017: Toleo maalum, makala ya kongamano la CHAUKIDU 2016. Institute of Swahili Research, Dar es Salaam. ISBN 0856 – 0129.
Kyeu, D. (2015). ‘Kuwakosoa Wanafunzi Kimawasiliano’ [Correcting Students Communicatively]. Journal of African Languages Teachers Association (JALTA) Language Specific Swahili, 2.
Kyeu, D. (2014) ‘The Impact of Facebook Chat on Swahili Essay Writing.’ Current Studies in Comparative Education, Science, and Technology, 1, 34-64.
Kyeu, D. (2014) ‘Technology and Swahili Essay Writing.’ Russian-American Education Forum: An Online Journal. 6(3).
Kyeu, D. (2012) ‘Ubisharazishwaji wa Utahini wa Kiswahili: Mfano wa TOKFL.’ Journal of African Languages Teachers Association (JALTA) Language Specific Swahili, 1.
Books
Kyeu, D. (2026). Language and social issues in Africa. KDP Publishers. USA.
Kyeu, D. (2012). Beginning Swahili workbook and guide: Homework exercises, quizzes, final exam and noun classes. Outskirts Publishing Press.
Kyeu, D. (2011). Swahili noun classes: Your friendly workbook and guide. Outskirts Publishing Press.
Kyeu, D. (2010). Kibali. Outskirts Publishing Press.
Community and Professional Service
2026: African American Studies administrator with Professor Tianna Pascal and Barbara Montano for In Defense of Digital Storytelling.
● Peer Teaching Excellence Reviewer: Reviewed three colleagues in African American Studies with Professor Nikki Jones.
● Interview Panel Member: Served on the interview panel for the Amharic Instructor position with Professor Leigh Raiford.
● Deputy Director, Global Association for Promoting Swahili (GAPS), 2019–2022.
● GAPS Conference Committee Member: Participated in conferences at Washington, D.C. (2015); Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi (2016); University of Dar es Salaam (2017); State University of Zanzibar (2018); Kyambogo University, Uganda (2019); GAPS Online Conference (2020); Pwani University, Kenya (2021); and Howard University, Washington, D.C. (2022).
● Webmaster, Department of African American Studies, UC Berkeley.
● Language Assessment and Distance Language Coordinator.
● Reviewer, Hennel Duarti Foundation Swahili Academy curriculum (2024).
● Active Member: Association of African Languages Teachers (ALTA) and National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL).
● Community Educator and Volunteer Instructor: Academic writing, mathematics, and Swahili for middle and high school students.
● Public Scholarship: Dissemination of knowledge about African languages, including Swahili in the Life of African American People.
