5 tips to learn Tamil for beginners

Tamil, a South Indian Dravidian language, one of the scheduled languages in India, also the official language of Singapore and Sri Lanka, classified as a classical Language of India and one of the longest surviving classical languages in the world, is a beautiful language to learn.

Identify your reason

First, identify your reason to learn Tamil. Are you planning to move to a place where Tamil is the most commonly spoken language or are you looking to learn how to read and write in Tamil? Your learning methodology would be very different based on whether it is conversational Tamil that you plan to learn or would like to enjoy the classic Tamil literature.

To speak or to read

If you want to learn Tamil because you are getting transferred to a place where Tamil is the primary language, then conversational Tamil is what you are looking for. In this case, you can temporarily hold to learn the reading and writing part which can be focussed upon a little later. In this case, you can start with some basic words, expressions, phrases, questions and answers that are used in day-to-day life.

If you plan to learn Tamil for other reasons where reading and writing are important you can start with the alphabet, understand the vowels and consonants and their pronunciation. You can also focus on how different letters are joined to get words and improve your vocabulary.

In both cases you would need to improve your vocabulary and hence learning the right pronunciation is very important. You can find numerous options to learn Tamil pronunciation online.

Immerse yourself in Tamil

Surround yourself with Tamil. If you are a movie buff, you can watch some very good Tamil movies, listen to the beautiful Tamil songs, watch content on YouTube channel both entertaining and learning material for Tamil. You can also stay in the company of Tamil speaking people. This would help you listen to how native Tamil speakers speak the language.

Find good resources

There are many books that help you learn Tamil. With advanced technology, you can find a lot of information online which could be in the written, audio or video format. There are many institutes that offer Tamil lessons. If regular classes are not for you, you can join any online class that allows you to learn Tamil at a faster pace.

Practice, practice and practice

Whether it is the alphabet, words, grammar, sentence construction or the ability to speak in Tamil fluently, you need to practice the language all the time. Find opportunities to practice it. Dedicate some time every day to practice the basics in Tamil and how to use them in your daily life. Just learning or improving your vocabulary is of no use if you are not using the language for speaking. A lot of people procrastinate speaking for the fear of making mistakes. However, it is important to understand that you would never be able to learn correctly if you don’t start speaking whatever Tamil you know and learn from there.

To implement all these things and learn at a faster pace in an organized manner you can join an online class that allows you to learn Tamil at your own pace and from your own space.