Chapters
Have you started learning Hindi yet? If not we highly recommend that you take a look at a couple of previous articles about Hindi language tenses and Hindi language verbs.
If you already know the basics of the Hindi conjugation, you probably wish to continue to learn Hindi, and it is perhaps time for you to get to the next level.
As for learning any languages, having a tutor will be a significant advantage and will most certainly boost your progress.
But why would one want to speak Hindi?
To start with Hindi is the fourth most spoken native language with more than 310 million people speaking it as their mother tongue. Albeit most of these people live in the Indian sub-continent, in India and Pakistan (where Urdu, the sister language of Hindi is the official language).
But the India diaspora is also one of the biggest in the world, and no less than 250,000 Indian born residents live in London only.
If you are going to move to India, learning Hindi makes absolute sense as you will be able to converse with more than half the population.
A Short History Of Hindustani
The Indian constitution ratified in 1950, acknowledges no less than 23 Scheduled languages, Hindi and English being the official language of the Indian government.
But where does Hindi come from?
Until the 13th century, Indians spoke a wide range of Khari Boli (former medieval Indian languages). When the Delhi Sultanate and later on the Mogul Empire established their grip over the Indian sub-continent, the ruling dynasties brought with them their native Persian based languages.
During the 16th century, more and more Persian and Arabic words made their way into the local dialects.
Urdu (meaning camp or army) became the standard language in the Imperial military and Hindustani (another name for the same language) became the universal language of Hindu and Muslim communities.
The language remained as the common vernacular up until 1837, when Hindustani in the Persian script (i.e. Modern Urdu) replaced Persian as the official language.
This change created a division between Hindus and Muslims especially in the Northern states of the Indian Union, where the Hindu majority argued that the government and official institutions should use the written native Devanagari script.
Following years of lobbying and political games, Hindi in the Devanagari script eventually became the official language of the Indian nation in 1949 but only after British rule over the country ended.
"Since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of nonviolent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity."
- Martin Luther King, Jr., American Baptist minister and activist
Hindi Classes In London
If you are lucky enough to live in the English capital you will not have any trouble finding Hindi lesson.
Britain has a long colonial past, and until 1947, India was under British rule which explains why London as such an important and thriving Indian community.
One of the leading Hindi teaching school is the LSI (or Languages Studies International). Founded in 1965 by a former army education officer, the company has now 14 different schools over the world, but their North London location (in Hampstead) offers both one-to-one tuition and small group classes. They tailor their lessons to each student making sure that you progress at your own rhythm.
The City Literary Institute based in Covent Garden offers more than 5,000 short courses to more than 27,000 Londoners every year. Amongst all those courses they provide a robust Hindi curriculum, ranging from total beginner to a third-year level course.
When you begin learning Hindi at the City Lit, you will mostly develop your listening and speaking skills as these classes focus on spoken Hindi. Learning how to speak Hindi and how to write in the Devanagari script are two entirely different processes and this way you could start to chat with your new Indian colleagues as soon as you land.
Finally, the School of Oriental and African Studies or SOAS, which is part of the University of London offers a great beginners course. This is a long course, running over three terms of 10 weeks each with 2 hours of Hindi lesson every week. This course will cover all the communication skills, listening, speaking reading and writing. Tutors use both Hindi and English to teach the class, and you will learn everything from Hindi grammar, and vocabulary to the Hindi numeral and writing system.
Superprof also has more than 1,200 registered professional tutors teaching Hindi all over the United Kingdom. No more excuses to not learn Hindi!
"India is the meeting place of the religions and among these Hinduism alone is by itself a vast and complex thing, not so much a religion as a great diversified and yet subtly unified mass of spiritual thought, realization and aspiration."
- Sri Aurobindo, Indian philosopher, yogi, guru, poet, and nationalist.
Find Hindi Lessons In India
If you hadn't had time to take lessons before you left the UK, do not worry. You will be able to learn Hindi in its home country.
If you are based in Mumbai, World Unite is one of the schools that offer the most comprehensive language classes around the city. The school takes on both foreigner wishing to learn the local languages as well as local wanting to learn another Indian dialect.
The classes genuinely reflect the melting pot city that Mumbai is and while you are there why not learn Marathi, Tamil or Kannada.
If you are located in New Delhi, HindiGuru is a well established Hindi teaching school, mainly aimed at foreigner wanting to learn (one of) the official language of India. The school offer multiple options ranging from a 7-day course to a 6-month program and everything in between.
They keep their classes small to be able to make sure that each student receives enough attention from their qualified teacher. Located in South Delhi, it is less than 10 minutes walk from the Malviya Nagar metro station.
The Zabaan Language Institue is another excellent school offering Hindi classes for beginners and advanced speakers alike. Founded by Ali Taqi and Neha Tiwari who saw that the curriculum offered by most Indian universities focuses solely on reading and writing. They believe that learning a language should be focusing on "a practical proficiency built on a deep understanding of grammatical structures and rich vocabulary".
The Zabaan Institute takes into account the needs, interests and goals of each student to offer the best educative experience possible. Teachers can pick and choose the best teaching materials amongst the full range of resources available within the Institute.
The classes are balanced and will arm you with a deep understanding of Hindi grammatical rules, a solid and rich Hindi vocabulary and conversational Hindi.
One of the unique aspects of the beginners class offered at the Zabaan Institute is that they are taught by non-native speakers. This means that your teachers will know exactly how hard Hindi might be to learn. These teachers will also give you a continuous informal evaluation of progress, making sure that you are comfortable with the pace of your learning.
Wherever you are in India, here at Superprof, we got you covered. With a professional network of nearly 2,000 private tutors, be sure that you will be able to find a teacher that suits your needs. From Hyderabad to Jaipur and Chennai, our tutors are all over India.
If you like to learn how to build Hindi sentence, Superprof can help.
"It's not so much what you learn about Mumbai, it's what you learn about yourself, really. It's a funny old hippie thing, but it's true as well. You find out a lot about yourself and your tolerance, and about your inclusiveness."
- Danny Boyle, English director and producer
Find Hindi Lessons Online
Many online platforms will let you learn Hindi, either before you depart or once you made it to India.
Loecsen will be a great start if you want to learn the rudiments of Hindi. This free website will give essential phrases to use in different situations, how to use transports, how to order at the restaurant or how to greet people. The website will provide you with both the Devanagari script and the English phonetic pronunciation.
Duolingo is also an excellent tool if you want to learn Hindi before you move to India. The app claims that it can teach Hindi by following 5-minute lessons every day. Not sure how true this is but practising your Hindi every day certainly can't hurt.
Rocket Language, the famous linguistic teaching company, also offers some free resources online, but the bulk of their lessons is only accessible if you pay. That being said, Rocket Language is a well-recognised teaching institution, and the methods they use have been proven to be efficient.
As you may not be able to find a lesson near you, why not have the lesson come to you?
Many of the qualified teachers that are registered on Superprof.co.uk, offer webcam lesson through Skype or the like. While teaching yourself using online resources is great when you start, new learners often find that they only begin to master a language once they take classes.
Check for an effective Hindi class here.
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