DR. BENARD ODOYO OKAL, PhD

B.Ed., M.Phil. (Moi University), PhD (Maseno University)
Lecturer of Kiswahili, Department of Kiswahili & Other African Languages &
e-Campus Programs Coordinator, School of Arts and Social Sciences
Maseno University, KENYA

CONTACTS

• P.O. Box Private Bag (40105) Maseno, KENYA
• Mobile Tel: +254 720856280/780856280
• E-Mail address: benardodoyo@yahoo.com or boodoyo@maseno.ac.ke or benardodoyo1973@gmail.com
• ORCiD ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2408-817X
• Google Site Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YNbtGLMAAAAJ

ABOUT
Dr. Okal is a Kenyan citizen teaching general linguistics and literature in Kiswahili at Maseno University, Kenya. Lecturer, supervisor and examiner of both master and doctoral programs. Coordinator of academic programs for School of Arts and Social Sciences (SASS) and School of Development and Strategic Studies (SDSS) at Kisumu campus and e-Campus. Senior Consultant with Pedag Consulting Services Limited. Translator of texts: medical, legal, scientific, technical, business oriented, questionnaires, research consent forms, and service charters among others in English, Kiswahili and other African languages. Has translated for corporate institutions such as: PrAEctice Consortium (funded by European Union); GFIIEG Project; KELIN Kenya; MMUST, TUM and The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center; KEMRI and The University of New Mexico; African Field Epidemiology Network –AFRICHOL of Uganda; IMPACT Research Project, Kisumu; Maseno University; and Kisumu Hotel. Trained and resource person for online pedagogy by Pedagogical Leadership in Africa (PedaL) sponsored by Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR). Peer reviewer of journals and books: Handbook of Research on Teaching in Multicultural and Multilingual Contexts by IGI Global Publishers; Maseno University Journal of Arts and Social Sciences; Jarida la Kiswahili (Kiswahili Journal) of the Institute of Kiswahili Research; Saudi Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences; Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences; and African Educational Research Journal among others. Guest Editor of the American Journal of Linguistics of the Scientific and Academic Publishing, USA; and served as an Associate Editor of Indiana Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Authored an online book ‘The Linguistic Face of Africa,’ several book chapters and articles. Member of the International Society for Development and Sustainability (ISDS), Japan. Participated in workshops and conferences of Western Kenya Kiswahili Association; East Africa Kiswahili Association; Global Association for Promotion of Swahili; SPMA webinar by the University of Pretoria on Resilience in the Wake of Disasters; national consultative workshop on Languages of Kenya Policy, and National Kiswahili Council of Kenya Bill; and a research assistant for KenCorpus Project for the curation of Kenyan Languages Datasets for Natural Language Processing (NLP) funded by Lacuna Fund, Rockefeller Foundation, Google.org and Canada’s International Development Research Centre. Part-time lecturer for Princeton University Summer Global Seminar and Swahili Beginners Teaching, and an On-site coordinator for the Princeton University (USA) in Kenya visiting team activities at Maseno University, Kisumu Campus. Dr. Okal has hands on experience in Kiswahili curriculum building programs in various universities in Kenya besides being a member of board of management of a secondary school as a community service.