Chapters
- 01. Have the Right Attitude
- 02. Set Realistic Goals
- 03. Identify Methods that Works for you
- 04. Start with the Basics
- 05. Practice
- 06. Immersion
The first question that pops into many people’s mind when wanting to learn Tamil is: Will it be a hard language to learn? Learning a new language is always challenging at the beginning. Honestly, if you focus on how difficult learning Tamil is, it is likely that you are going to struggle. It is best to focus on what can be done to make the process of learning, easy and fun.
Tamil language is spoken by around 80 million people worldwide. It is recognised as one of the oldest living language in the world with texts dating back over 2,000 years. It was the first language to be legally acknowledged as a classical language of India. It is rich in history and literature and also has its own script referred to as Tamil Brahmi. This makes the Tamil language an interesting and beautiful language to learn.
There are many ways to learn Tamil. Having a proper plan is important in the long run. As a beginner, you will need to get started first before coming up with a plan that works for you.
Learning Tamil will be an exciting venture. However, it requires patience, resilience, and motivation. There are many things to consider such as your goals, how much time do you have to spare and budget.
The road to learning Tamil can be daunting at times, so we have listed down a few ideas on how to start your journey as a beginner and some of the things you might need to consider.
Have the Right Attitude
It is impossible to learn a language without having a positive attitude and the Tamil language is not an exception to this rule. You can have the best resources available but if you do not have the right attitude and mindset, you are highly unlikely to succeed. Your attitude towards learning the language will determine your success. For example, there are 247 alphabets in Tamil. Many may get intimidated with such a big number. However, if you look at it objectively, the 247 alphabets are based on the combination of 12 vowels, 18 consonants, and one special character. Once you have learned and understood how these letters are formed, memorising them will not be so tedious. A positive attitude will encourage you to use multiple strategies to learn Tamil. Furthermore, it will motivate you to put in greater effort to succeed.
Set Realistic Goals
It is important to set realistic and achievable goals before you begin learning Tamil. This is something that should be carefully done as it is often easy to become over ambitious and get carried away only to lose motivation after a while. Everything will not fall into place immediately and it will take some time for a beginner to get into the flow of learning Tamil.
The goals set should reflect which level you are at currently. Are you able to speak Tamil but unable to read or write? Or are you totally new to the language? Do you want to learn to converse with others? Or are you looking to learn formal Tamil? Take all this questions into consideration when you are setting your goals as each level is different from the othe
For example, goals like committing to learn the alphabets in certain number of weeks before moving on to numbers or starting with learning a certain number of Tamil verbs each week and slowly working through common words and phrases in Tamil will keep you moving forward. This will make the goals set achievable and not too difficult that it ends up being demotivating.
Click here to find out the differences between Tamil and Hindi.
Identify Methods that Works for you
When it comes to learning a new language, there are many methods available for you to choose from. Everyone learns differently. The best way is to try all methods and stick with ones that works best for you.
For those who work best with a classroom experience, language classes either face to face or online can be effective. There will be choices of learning with others or one-to-one. This will will depend on your budget and the amount of time you have to spare. Did you know that you can find Tamil lessons on Superprof?
If you love to read and feel that you learn best through reading and writing, then you can opt to learn on your own. There are many choices ranging from online resources to language books with audio CD that will provide step by step guide in learning Tamil.
There are also smartphone apps to learn Tamil. These language learning apps can be of great assistance to bolster your learning. Since everyone these days always have their smarphones in hand, it will serve as a convenient learning tool. These apps usually allows you to practice speaking skills and test your writing and ability to understand text.
These are some of the methods available to learn Tamil. You can use more than one method to learn. Just choose methods that is the most convenient for your progress.
Start with the Basics
As a beginner, start learning Tamil with the following basics:
Common words and phrases:
- What is your name? (Unggal peyar enna?)
- How are you? (Eppadi irukeenge)
- Thank you (Nandri)
- Greetings (Vanakkam)
5W’s & 1H:
- What (Enna)
- Why (En)
- Where (Enga)
- When (Eppo)
- Who (Yaaru)
- How (Eppadi)
Simple Verbs:
- Sit (Utkaaru)
- Walk (Nade)
- Eat (Sappidu)
- Sleep (Thoongu)
Pronouns:
- He (Avan/Avar)
- She (Aval)
- It/This (Adhu/Idhu)
- Gender neutral pronoun (Avanga)
Simple sentences:
- Can you help me? (Enakku udhavi seivienkala?)
- How much is this? (Idhu evvalavu?)
- I'm lost (Enakku vali theriyala)
Once you have mastered the basics, you can move on to the more complex portions like learning reflective verb and nouns, continuous tense and others.
When you start learning the basics, you will inevitably learn the grammatical structures. As you learn some common phrases like how to introduce yourself in Tamil and how to greet or wish others, you will become familiar with structure. The more complex portion of using the correct verbs and tenses will follow later. This is how the native speakers would have picked up the language as well. At a young age, they start speaking the language first and as they grow older, the will learn the technicalities.
Practice
The key to learning any language including Tamil is to practice it. Whether it is the alphabets, grammar or speaking Tamil fluently, practicing consistently is necessary. Repetition and applying the language in new context will help connect what you already know to the new information.
How to practice will depend on which level you are at. As a beginner, you can use flash cards to practice the simple verbs and common words and phrases. This will help you in not only recognising the words and phrases but also understand and remember the meanings. There are many websites and apps that can help you practice as well.
As your language skills develop, you can practice by trying to think in Tamil. You can have monologues in your head as you go about your day. People tend to think to themselves in their native language. This will allow you not only to practice but construct sentences easier which will lead you to have an easier conversation when it really occurs with another person.
Many people make the mistake of working on learning and improving vocabulary and procrastinate to practice speaking. It is understandable to feel reluctant to speak to other Tamil native speakers right away. However, if your end goal is to be able to converse in Tamil, you should start by talking aloud by yourself in order to gain more confidence and to be able to construct sentences properly. This will eventually help you to speak with others in Tamil as well as understand it when it is spoken to you. The sooner you start doing this, the faster you will improve your speaking and listening skills. Having conversations in Tamil with other native speakers will help you practice what you already know and learn from your mistakes. It will help build your confidence.
Immersion
The best way to learn and master any language is by immersing yourself in it. By surrounding yourself around people who speak in Tamil and using Tamil to communicate with them is the best way to learn. The act of communication via speaking, listening and responding will help you master the language. People who move to a country where Tamil is spoken or get involved in a student exchange programme will have higher levels of fluency.
However, it is not feasible to expect everyone who wants to master Tamil language to pick up and travel to Tamil Nadu or Sri Lanka. There are other ways for one to learn through immersion. We live in a world where globalisation and digitalisation has enabled learners to immerse themselves in Tamil through watching films, listening to songs, engaging with Tamil native speakers online and many more.
If you are looking to learn Tamil, you can always reach out to a tutor at Superprof for help and guidance!
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