HindiLearner News

In the land of English Vinglish Debanjan Chakrabarti , Hindustan Times May 09, 2013 First Published: 21:13 IST(9/5/2013) Last Updated: 21:17 IST(9/5/2013) Share  more .  comments    Email   print In Ramachandra Guha’s recent book Patriots and Partisans, there is an interesting chapter titled ‘The Rise and Fall of the Bi-lingual Intellectual.’ It focuses on the differing positions taken by Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore on the question of modern education for a nationalist India, and the role of English within that. Guha frames his chapter with a personal anecdote about his own limited bi-lingualism and peppers it with his admiration for true bi or tri or multilinguals, able to express themselves in scholarly and academic contexts in more than one language. The role of English within India’s national curriculum continues to vex educationists, especially when it comes to its links with development. Recently, in Hyderabad, at the world’s [...]

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Centennial, CO (PRWEB) April 30, 2013 International Media Distribution (IMD) announced today, that in recognition of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (AAPIHM), Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable will provide select Bollywood Hits On Demand and Filipino On Demand content free of charge during the month of May. In addition, the already complimentary TVK-Pop On Demand service will increase the number of music videos from 30 to 150 through the month of May. “We commend Comcast, Cox and Time Warner for their dedication to the Asian American community,” said Scott Wheeler, Senior Vice President, International Media Distribution. “We are excited to showcase Bollywood Hits On Demand and Filipino On Demand to new audiences. Fans of K-Pop will also be delighted with the additional music choices during this special viewing opportunity for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.” Comcast, Cox Communications and Time Warner Cable digital [...]

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Of all the language courses I’ve completed, the Portuguese class I’m doing this semester is by far the greatest. Forget grammar, forget rules and annoying tables with declination endings and all that stuff. Just open your mouth and speak! That’s what learning a new language is all about. Every week our teacher gives us two assignments to work on: topic 1 and topic 2. A week later we’re then asked to speak for 5-10 minutes about that topic. Here are some things we’ve done so far: what’s your favorite book. talk about one of your favorite travel destinations. what’s your favorite short story, write a short summary and also mention a few things about the author. Where do you usually go shopping. “ Just talk. ” – the teacher would say. On the first session my mind went black, my lips paralyzed. I was barely able to say “ [...]

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What do you say after “hello” in the UAE? Breaking the ice can be a fine art, even among people from your own country. So getting to know people from another country, where English is not the first language, can be pretty hard. I’ve found that some of my acquaintances from western countries break the ice by poking fun at themselves, a trait they call being “self-effacing”. It’s good to be able to laugh at yourself, but actually confessing to being stupid in public? Call it machismo, call it pride, but somehow it just doesn’t gel with us Emiratis. So if you are looking for a way to break the ice, I suggest something simpler, like our favourite sports (football, falconry), cars, architecture (such as wind towers) or our musical instruments, such as the oud and Arabian drum. Or dates – the edible variety, I mean. These are things [...]

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The first language through which I perceived the world was Hindi — the language of Northern India. As I entered kindergarten, I distinctly remember a classroom atmosphere of condescension towards my language. I’m sure that many other schools were different, but that was the tone in my school. As I spent more time in that environment, I slowly began to lose fluency in my own ancestral language. Hindi eventually became a memory stored in the back of my mind. Like so many other children of immigrants in America, English became the only language I could speak fluently. Language loss among immigrant cultures in the United states is a symptom of many forces operating together. Mass media, the education system, and employment requirements are all parts of the reason. However, I believe the root cause lies with the ugly legacy of centuries of colonialism. Many non-white peoples have been made [...]

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For Hicdegard Schultze, a retired schoolteacher from Munster in Germany, learning Hindi takes you to the spirituality. “It’s wonderful to learn this language as I plan to explore entire north India,” she says with a smile. She will also surprise you by greeting you with a ‘Namaste’. She is one of the about 40 students from Germany, Austria, China, Japan, Mauritius, Croatia, Thailand and Sri Lanka honing their Hindi skills at Wardha-based Mahatma Gandhi International Hindi University (MGIHU). MGIHU has been drawing increasing number of foreign students over the last few years. A teacher from Japan is a full-time faculty here and Maharashtra’s only central university (apart from IIT Powai) also conducts many orientation programmes for such teachers from abroad. “So far we have attracted about 40 students since January and the number is sure to rise as the year progresses. Last year about 150-170 overseas students pursued different [...]

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Communicate and connect around the world. Build a foundation of fundamental vocabulary and essential language structure. Develop the language skills to enjoy social interactions such as travel and shopping and learn to share ideas and opinions in your new language. What Will I Learn?   This level will help you: Build your vocabulary and language abilities Spell and write accurately Speak without a script Retain what you’ve learned Read and understand your new language Share ideas and opinions, express feelings and talk about everyday life Sample topics include: The basics, such as age and family relations Questions, greetings, introductions Times of day, calendar terms, the weather Directions, locations, telling time Present, past and future tense Apologies and polite requests How to order at a restaurant and give and receive directions Emotions, opinions and ideas Political, media, business and religious terms What Do I Get? Interactive Software Our award-wining version, [...]

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TeachAIDS Students at the Shirimatunda Primary School in Tanzania use a Swahili version of an online course about AIDS created by a company called TeachAIDS. Asia Jackson likes to learn at the computer because she can work at her own pace, which is usually faster than her classmates’. Al-Tariq Linton says, “It’s one on one. If I have a question, instead of competing for the teacher’s attention, I can go back and read it on my own.” Wanda Williams says her favorite part of the online course she’s taking is the narrator of the videos it includes. “Rufus made it funny,” she says. “It was fun.” As interest in online education rages, these 17- and 18-year-old students at Newark, N.J.’s West Side High are guinea pigs in a global experiment to answer a key but surprisingly elusive question: whether and when it actually works. Evidence is mixed about how [...]

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Bilingual education will soon arrive at three Arlington Heights schools. A state-mandated bilingual education program will launch in the fall for some elementary school students in Spanish, Polish and Hindi, as discussed at the latest Arlington Heights School District 25 school board meeting in April. A teacher who speaks Polish will be placed at Dryden Elementary and a teacher who speaks Spanish will be placed at Windsor Elementary. Ivy Hill Elementary will have bilingual support in Spanish and Hindi. Maps Ivy Hill Elementary School, 2211 North Burke Drive, Arlington Heights, IL 60004, USA The district’s 5,100 students come from families speaking about 50 different languages, said Soojin Suk, a teaching and learning facilitator who works on the district’s English language learners program. The number of Arlington Heights students who are learning to speak English is growing and the district has special programs at each of its nine schools to [...]

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