Tamil course in Chennai?

mirjamd

I am looking for a Tamil course in Chennai, so I can understand the jokes my boyfriend cracks about me in that mysterious language And of course other practical things like shopping for groceries and not getting cheated too much by autodrivers.. I know there are hundreds of books and tapes and websites to learn Tamil on your own, but I have discovered I need somebody to check my homework to actually get me to learn

Does anybody know a good Tamil course? Something like the Hindi Prachar Sabha maybe? I'd like to learn in a group because I imagine its more fun than being alone with a tutor..

ISN

You can easily find a Tamil tutor in your area, jut enquire through your local contacts, they will come to your place and teach, and most of them are flexible with timings.

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Stacey

I also would like to learn tamil. I have been living in Chennai for 6 months now (originally from Australia).
If you find out anywhere that holds classes i would love to know and maybe we could join together?

Sama

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Richeek

Will anyone who knows of something concrete around Nungambakkam let me know too. I cannot follow the jokes my in-laws share and am all at sea on the roads

Nick-H

Nope.

Couldn't possibly be a Mod Note...

Mod Notes are Blue!

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Nick-H

Most of the buildings, I guess, particularly the modern ones. The older ones will be brick.

mairangi_vice

I hope he can follow that joke!

Seriously though, tamil is a total pain to learn. I put in some serious effort when I first came to Chennai, but in the end I wrote it off as too hard, and now have forgotten most of what I learned. Maybe Im just a bit thick though...

Nick-H

Phew! So it isn't just me, then!

Depressing that you found it so hard, though, as nearly everyone has a greater aptitude for languages than I do .

What did you find so tough? vocabulary? grammar? Did you try to learn the script?

mairangi_vice

I learned the script, and can still read it reasonably quickly, even though I have no idea what Im saying! I think it was the vocabluary that got me, also pronouciation. It is very disheartening when you try out your fancy new tamil phrase on the unsuspecting auto driver and he just looks at you blankly.

Nick-H

Hmmm... yes... they used to do that to me with place names when I first came here.

I'm impressed you learnt the alphabet. That is the sort of learning that I am worst at: pure memory learning.

mirjamd

Hm, that doesnt really sound very encouraging. Ill give Tamil a try anyway, wont have much else to do, thanks to the gracious Indian government who doesnt let me work for the first year of marriage...

And Stacey, maybe we could look for a teacher together, that would be more fun than doing it alone? Tried to PM you, but that's not working yet for you. Ill be in Chennai the day after tomorrow, maybe we can meet up sometime?

Stacey

Mirjamd thats sounds good. I have sent a few emails out on various websites i found and got a reply back from someone who is willing to teach tamil here in Chennai. Just finding out now who he/she is and if they are any good etc! Will keep you updated. Im new to this site, what do you mean by PM?

jsanjayan

I'm originally from Sri Lanka, left at age 4 to Africa and now reside permanently in Australia and am in India for 6 months as my husband chose to have a sabbatical here. I grew up speaking English as my first language but maintained a loose connection with spoken tamil (grandparents etc)- however Indian tamil is quite different....I manage to cobble together what I know and throw in the "Indian Tamil" words I pick up on a daily basis from the driver/cook/watchman. Personally I am impressed with my efforts but they do occasionally throw up their hand and say (in Tamil) "I just don't understand what you're saying!!". I just can't do numbers above 10 in tamil and refer to the brief vocab list given at the back of The Lonely Planet Guide to India (quite useful I must say). My advice would be to pick up some useful words and use hand gestures for the rest - unless of course you plan on staying here longterm, when it will certainly be worth the effort to learn. I think it is particularly hard to live here (other than shops and offices where they will speak english) without knowing the language, especially when you need to talk to drivers, maids, guards etc.
Sugi (J is my hubby and I haven't figured out how to delete his profile and get my own...as I use his laptop....any advice?)

Stacey

Its going to be a tough language to learn but hey its worth giving it a shot. I am planning on living here long term so its definately worth a go for me. I have already picked up about 30 words but more would be good to know.