How to learn Kannada as a second language?

Kannada is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in the southwestern region of India. The language is also spoken by linguistic minorities in the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala and Goa; and also by Kannadigas abroad. The language had roughly 43 million native speakers by 2011. Kannada is also spoken as a second and third language by over 12.9 million non-native speakers in Karnataka, which adds up to 56.9 million speakers.  It is one of the scheduled languages of India and the official and administrative language of the state of Karnataka. Kannada was the court language of some of the most powerful empires of South and Central India, such as the Chalukya dynasty, the Rashtrakuta dynasty, the Vijayanagara Empire and the Hoysala Empire.

Kannada literature has been presented with 8 Jnanapith awards, the most for any Dravidian language and the second-highest for any Indian language. 

A second language will change your career drastically. Living in a linked world means which numbers of workers are publicity positions where knowledge of more than one language is important.

• A second language will offer you an insight into other cultures of the Kannada language, as well as creates more opportunities to achieve successful learning or progress in your career and knowledge. You are more equipped to fly around the world and discover the ways of life for others.
• The ability to become part of a community with a different culture and learn more about the world around us is offered through the study of a second language.
•  Time management and multitasking are two skills that will benefit you always. More languages can be used by multilingual people. Your capacity to think and communicate in various languages in more than one language contributes to multiple tasks.
•  Being fully immersed in a language learning environment does not simply mean learning the fundamentals of the language. It means learning how to communicate or participate in extracurricular events in your own Kannada language with your colleagues. This will be a great benefit if you are able to achieve this.

In an increasingly globalized world, we have broken down the advantages of second language learning and being bilingual or knowing Kannada as a second language.

The reality is that learning new skills improves all facets of your life every day. You can improve your career chances, learn about the world around you and become a better person in general by acquiring new skills.

There are tons of ways to learn Kannada, and the reality is there isn’t a singular method that is better than the other. It’s about finding what works for you, what matches your goals and what you need to do to reach those goals.

1. Enhancing Vocabulary

Once my son started learning Kannada, we both started labelling all the furniture with Kannada names. In fact, if you are a foodie like me and you can start writing the grocery list with Kannada words. You may also start following a Kannada food channel. Once you start picking up then you can move to the next target in writing these names in Kannada alphabets. One word of caution would be, do not exceed more than 5 words per day, otherwise, you may feel overwhelmed. At the end of the week ‘revision’ is equally important.

2. Don’t sweat over Grammar

Every language caters to kid’s stories first. I would like to recommend buying a few children’s storybooks in Kannada and start reading them loudly. Please don’t put stress on yourself regarding grammar at this point because the main idea is to check how quickly and how diligently you are able to understand the gist of the story.

3. Watching videos 

After understanding children’s stories, you may slowly venture into watching short videos on YouTube. It is imperative to suggest that you should choose videos related to your likings. If you don’t like current affairs, do not watch Kannada videos related to it, as you may get bored and the happiness factor will evaporate. Like I mentioned before, I am a foodie so I ended up watching different recipes on Youtube in Kannada with English subtitles.

4. Be a part of an online community

Personally, I am not a fan of social media; however, I can’t deny the fact that learning has become so approachable and diverse because of it. Recently one of my friends suggested I join a Facebook community, where I can not only get in touch with native speakers but a whole lot of info on the recent trends as well. I would like to suggest that if you are a working professional with a stressful job, join a community like this and it can broaden your horizon without spending a dime.

5. Invest in a trainer 

Avid travellers like me generally learn the basics of foreign languages for commuting purposes. However, if you are learning Kannada for your career, the ideal process would be to start speaking with a native speaker. If that’s not possible, then hiring a trainer is not only rational but also it can add value to your career progression. Hence, I call it an ‘investment’. Multibhashi is one such platform that you may like to consider for accomplished trainers.

6. Change the language of all devices into Kannada 

It’s a rather courageous choice to make but if you really want to immerse yourself into Kannada then this is a great path (though less taken). In our daily life, we spend a considerable amount of time on our computers be it work or leisure. So, if we can change the language of the device into Kannada then it will not only enhance our vocabulary but also stop us from thinking in English. Within a few days, you will find the brain organically processing data in Kannada.

7. Set up a schedule

How long does it take to learn Kannada? It’s probably one of the most popular questions many people have about this language. The truth is that it depends on the efforts you’re going to make to boost your level of Kannada. The truth is, to see fast progress you need to start practising every day! There are hundreds of useful apps and learning strategies to help you schedule daily lessons and find a learning pace that suits them.

8. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes

When you start to practice Kannada, you are always going to make mistakes. But if you don’t put a foot wrong, you won’t grow! Making mistakes and receiving feedback from others is the most effective way to learn a language. However, keep in mind that native Kannada speakers may not want to correct you out of respect, so make it clear that you’d appreciate some guidance.

Bonus Tip: Review – Repetition Is The Key!

This is probably the number one mistake students make.

They concentrate on learning new material and forget to review the older one.

Rule of thumb: for each hour spent learning new Kannada vocabulary, you need to spend a minimum of half an hour reviewing older Kannada material. Repetition is the key!

Yes, learning new languages is an opportunity to make you go places. What’s even better is visiting a place and you are able to communicate in their language with their people! Your motivation is what you require to make you dedicate more of your time and effort to learn the Spanish language. Wouldn’t it be just amazing to learn the language and get a job in your dream destination, settle there and enjoy yourself while you work? 

Dream big and work hard to make it come true!

Good Luck!!!