Topic: Feature Story – Dr. Ndinzi Masagara
Source: Ndinzi Masagara
Contact: Shelnik Boyd – slboyd@student.ysu.edu
Date: March 24, 2014
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Being Bilingual won’t be a bad idea only if Masagara is teaching the course!
Most people ask “where is Zaire?” Understanding, that most people are not familiar with the
many countries that are located in Africa, Dr. Ndinzi Masagara gives out the precise geographic
location of Zaire. Masagara explained thoroughly “Zaire is a name of the present Democratic
Republic of Congo. It is located in the central part of the Africa and in the north eastern part of
Angola. It is the third largest country in the continent of Africa.”
Masagara left his country to become part of the dreams, action and goals that the United States
provided to the foreigners who came to America to better their lives and those of their love ones.
Masagara received his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) when he graduated from the University of
Southern California. He came to Youngstown, Ohio in the early 1990’s, where he was employed
by Youngstown State University (acronym YSU) for over 21 years. Masagara is a professor in
the Foreign Language and Literatures department.
Breaking down languages barriers to aide college student to learn more languages besides their
own, he teaches his students French, Swahili and Linguistics. When asked what are the traits that
make him happy as a professor when concerning his students, he stated that he like to see how
his students’ progress with the languages. “ Some students are at first nervous, when learning a
new language…but as the semesters proceeds the students know with 30 minutes per day of
studying the languages; it’s not hard learning new languages…the student must apply his or
herself while learning any language” accordingly to Masagara.
Even though most of us will agree that it pays to be bilingual, it can still be difficult to remain
optimistic when learning a new language, it feels like a never-ending road trip with numerous
dead ends. “Learning a language that is not your native language give you a better understanding
of yourself,” Masagara continued “its self-motivation that will get you through the barriers when
learning new languages.”
Masagara lives in Canfield, Ohio with his beautiful wife Kanyange whom the two share three
intelligent children who all graduated or currently in college. When Masagara is not teaching the
present tense and past tense of a language to his students, he spends his time first, with his family
“Going home and spending time with my family and my friends keeps me grounded…its
therapeutic, especially after I have a long day at work,” Masagara expressed dearly.
Masagara also mention that after spending time with his family that he enjoys researching
Sociolinguistics which is the study of the relation between language and society--a branch of
both linguistics and sociology. Often called the sociology of language. When asked why,
Masagara simply stated, that he likes to listening to how people say things and why their word
choices. Also, Masagara stated by doing research in sociolinguistics helps him have a better
understanding with the revolving of new generations of students. With a professor like Masagara
will make one throw out their Rosette Stone disc to get more one on one action while learning a
new language.
**Recommend Placement and Photo: This article will be placed in Youngstown State
University’s A Magazine for Alumi and Friends on page 4.Placee the topic title in bold legible
font. As far the photo of Masagara it should be a M.S (Mid Shot) picture of Masagara teaching a
lecture. Make sure that his face is directly aim facing the camera. Also, place the photo on the
upper right side onto the first page.