David Kyeu

David Kyeu is a Lecturer and Language Assessment & Distance Language Coordinator at the University of California, Berkeley. He holds a Ph.D. in African Languages and Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a minor in Second Language Acquisition, alongside a Master’s in Swahili Studies and a Bachelor of Education in Swahili and Mathematics from Egerton University. His research focuses on Swahili language and cultures, academic writing, applied linguistics, and language policy. He has taught Swahili at institutions including Brown University and the University of Florida before joining UC Berkeley, where he instructs academic writing and Swahili language courses.

Dr. Kyeu’s scholarly contributions include studies on technology’s role in Swahili language learning, such as the impact of Facebook chat on essay writing. He has been recognized with a Fulbright Scholarship (2005-2006), a Swedish International Development Agency fellowship (2002), and a teaching excellence award from UW-Madison (2009). Active in professional organizations like the Global Association of Promoting Swahili (GAPS), he co-edits academic journals and advocates for LGBTQ-friendly Swahili curricula and African language accessibility.

His service roles include Deputy Director of GAPS (2019–present), committee member for GAPS conferences across multiple countries, and webmaster for Berkeley’s Department of African American Studies. He balances teaching, research, and community engagement, emphasizing inclusivity and cultural preservation in language education.