‘Preserving language is my dream’

Gustav grew up in the central northern town of Grootfontein where he says he learned to work hard and that coupled with focus, it could get him anywhere he wanted to go. He adds that he believes that he can achieve anything he sets his mind to.
Gustav is motivated and inspired by the two powerhouses in his life, his grandmother and mother, whom Gustav says sacrificed a lot for him and his siblings.
“Their characters inspire me, despite their limits, they always managed to provide for us,” he told The Zone.
Gustav is a Bachelor’s of Arts English graduate from the former Polytechnic of Namibia, now the Namibian University of Science and Technology (NUST). He describes himself as self-driven, hardworking and always looking for the best in people and himself.
He is currently doing a Master’s in Linguistics at the University of Cape Town. Although there were some challenges, as is the case with many students that want to pursue post-graduate degrees, Gustav says the general experience has been stimulating and filled with new experience.
“Funding had always been a major challenge that we had to overcome. I was also overwhelmed by the culture shock and missing home in my first few weeks. I still miss home now but it has gotten better,” he said.
He says he is passionate about “sociolinguistics and language in education” and says that he enjoys following political issues from all across the world, “especially those relating to social justice, education and cultural heritage”.
Gustav who usually isn’t shy to entertain a crowd, says that he is actually an introvert who tries hard to not show it. Throughout his life he says, his father has been his inspiration, describing his father as a “generous man”. His father unfortunately passed away when Gustav was ten.
Gustav says that the moment in his life that made him decide the path that he is going to take in life came when he decided to register for a BA English degree and his mother supported his decision.
“That was a defining moment for me. I enjoyed reading and this degree would allow me to do just that. I realised that I was good at working with languages, which drove me to wanting to learn more about them.”
“I came to the realisation that our languages make us who we are and if we want to preserve our culture and who we are, we need to start with our languages. This is how I ended up doing Linguistics,” he says.
After graduating his BA, Gustav became a teacher and taught English at Centaurus High School for a year and then went to teach English and history for two years at Rosh Pinah Academy.
He described the experience of being a first-time teacher as being fun, and says that “the students were awesome and always keen to learn”.
“I was blessed with great colleagues who were always happy to lend a helping hand,” he shared with The Zone.
“Teaching English as a first language to non-first language students proved to be a bit of a challenge as many of them did not cope too well. As a teacher a big part of your job is to be a motivational speaker for your learners, this was always not easy. Learners work well when they are positively motivated,” he says, when we asked about some of the challenges of being an English teacher.
He says the best part of being a teacher is interacting with the learners, saying that “their energy always gave me energy to want to do better. From coaching rugby on the field to the English classroom. They always gave their best, it is the joy of teaching,” he said.
He decided two years ago that he would pursue his Master’s degree in 2016. He says the best part of the programme is the curriculum. “The curriculum is designed in a way that you can choose from a wide range of electives in your first year. In the second year you focus on your thesis fully and you can meet your supervisor more frequently. This enables you to focus on the task at hand and do well.”
At the moment, he is reading ‘Black skin, White Mask’ by Franz Fanon, saying, “I think it is an interesting read, a bit controversial but still great to read.” Once he is done with his post-graduate degree, he wants to go into language policy formulation, development and research, academic writing and lecturing.
He believes that anyone can achieve what he has. “I do not come from a rich family but I worked hard. I have to admit though, I wanted to give up at times, but my mom always said to me, ‘Don’t worry about what it looks like now, you have to see yourself in the future.’ I carried those words with me. I have met many other young people who have made it despite the odds being against them,” he recalls.
He says he keeps a healthy balance between his other priorities and school, by “making time for God and resting.”
“I allow myself time to breakaway from everything and just reset my body, mind and spirit. I also make time to go to the gym, the library, eat well and spend some time with friends,” he said.
Next, Gustav says, he would like to write down languages, preserving them in the same way Latin and ancient Greek were preserved.
He shared that his life plan is to “help develop the language policies in our country so we preserve our own languages but also remain at par with the rest of the world.
“Professionally, in the next ten years I hope to be involved in academic research actively engaging issue of social and linguistic reform in Namibia. As for personally, we’ll see,” he said laughing.
Gustav shared that one of the people that were instrumental in his development was and is Ms Shimbuli, who he says pushed him as a young leader and always believed in his potential. He added that his professors were all good role models when it came to helping him focus on his strengths.
In closing, Gustav encouraged other young people to envision what they want and work for that vision. “People will not always share that vision with you or see things from your angle, but as long as you know what you want, keep grinding and focus on your dreams.”

KEITH VRIES