Tamil

TAMIL PROGRAMME

Have you always wanted to visit a South Indian eatery and impress the staff by ordering your food in fluent Tamil? Wondered about things like the significance of lamps in Deepavali or maybe even what goes in making a really good Thosai? Want to bargain in Tamil when buying the colourful sarees?

Tamil is recognized today as one of the vibrant classical language possessing a literature and a rich culture. It is essential to understanding and appreciating Tamil culture in the entirety. Knowing Tamil will not only make your visit Little India in Singapore easier but will also help you experience it wholesomely. It enriches you, to have a wonderful, immersive experience when you travel and visit Tamil Nadu and also Sri Lanka.

For Whom Pre-requisites Assessments Durations Instructor

For Whom

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The Tamil Language course are designed and structured for the busy working professional who aspires to attain language mastery in the Tamil Language. Competencies achieved through attending the progressive courses are useful to building confidence so as to enable the individual to speak, understand and read basic syntax in the newly-acquired language focus. Courses are designed in a structured and coherent manner, positioned from an adult perspective so that they closely address and match the adults’ learner’s quest for continuing education.
Successful completion of the language competencies are contingent upon participants’ consistency in attendance, and the dedication of time to practice after each class session.

Pre-requisites

NO MINIMUM STANDARD REQUIRED FOR EMBARKING ON THE COURSE

The Tamil Language courses are designed in progression from Level 1 to Level 3. This corresponds to a beginner in the language focus to roughly the equivalent of Beginner Level.

No specific pre-requisites are needed to enroll in Level 1. However, people who have intention to join mid-stage in the series of Levels are advised to conduct the placement test.

Please contact us at clslang@nus.edu.sg for the placement test.

Assessments

INCORPORATING ASSESSMENTS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Each course of content comprises some 30 hours, incorporating assessments and assignments. For each of the levels from 1 to 3, there will be an assessment (pass or fail) set for students to gauge their ability and readiness to continue onto the next higher level in Tamil Language.

Certificates of Participation will be granted to participants who have attended at least 70% of the classes.

Certificates of Achievement will be granted to participants who have attended at least 70% of the classes and successfully passed the final assessment.

Proficiency Certificates will be granted to individuals who have successfully completed three consecutive levels, encompassing Levels 1 to 3, Levels 4 to 6, and Levels 7 to Level 9.

Durations

Instructor

Apply Now

Full Course Descriptions (Course Topics)

LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3

LEVEL 1

TAMIL LEVEL 1

Course Fee: Full fee: $654 \| Fee after NSA subsidy: $354	Course Start Date: 11 January 2025	Course End Date: 15 March 2025
Material Cost: Fresh Student - $23 (Purchase/collection/delivery to be advised)	Venue: Online Class (As this is an online course, the use of webcam will be compulsory for everyone.)	Schedule: 9am to 12pm, every Saturday for 10 weeks
Registration Start: 26 October 2024	Registration Deadline: 25 November 2024	Course Schedule

All self-sponsored Singapore Citizens aged 25 and above may use available funds in their SkillsFuture Credit account to pay their course fees.
SFC Course Code: ***TGS-2019507991*** Learn more

This course is approved by National Silver Academy (NSA). Singapore Citizens aged 50 and above will be eligible for a subsidy of up to 50% off the course fee. For more information on NSA, please visit www.nsa.org.sg

For NUS Alumni/Staff/ Student, there will be a 10% discount off the course fee before GST.

This course is designed to teach students the basics of Tamil language which include basic grammatical concepts, text reading and conversation skills.

Course Content:
Students will be engaging in tasks to achieve the following communicative functions:
1. Vowels & Consonants – Pronunciation
2. Tamil Alphabet- Vowels, Greetings
3. Consonants, Basic personal information
4. Introducing myself and others – Minor sentences
5. Family relations
6. Visiting Friend – Adjective: numbers & colours
7. At the restaurant – Food

The course aims at enabling non-Tamil-speaking beginners to achieve competence in understanding and using basic Tamil, both its spoken and written forms. The emphasis is mainly on conversational Tamil and its practical use at the level of everyday discourse and on written Tamil and its use at the beginners' level. To facilitate immersion into the Tamil language, students will be taught the necessary skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking initially through a Romanised script; during the semester the students will learn the orthographic system of the Tamil language. The essential aspects of Tamil grammar will also be taught. By the end of course, students will be able to write and read small texts by using the Tamil orthographic system and possess listening and speaking skills in Tamil language.

LEVEL 2

TAMIL LEVEL 2

Course Fee: Full fee: $654 \| Fee after NSA subsidy: $354	Course Start Date: TBC	Course End Date: TBC
Material Cost: Fresh Student - $23, Continuing Student - $23 (Purchase/collection/delivery to be advised)	Venue: Online Class (As this is an online course, the use of webcam will be compulsory for everyone.)	Schedule: TBC
Registration Start: TBC	Registration Deadline: TBC

All self-sponsored Singapore Citizens aged 25 and above may use available funds in their SkillsFuture Credit account to pay their course fees.
SFC Course Code: ***TGS-2019507992*** Learn more

For NUS Alumni/Staff/ Student, there will be a 10% discount off the course fee before GST.

This course is a continuation from Tamil 1, aiming to further develop learners’ language proficiency and communicative structures using an integrated approach. Through the exposure to the Tamil language and participation in authentic communicative tasks, students will be able to express themselves fluently, develop a better understanding of cultural and sociolinguistic aspects of the language.

Course Content:
Students will be engaging in tasks to achieve the following communicative functions:
1. Shopping – Bargaining
2. Home Sweet home
3. At the classroom
4. Timing / Days of the Week
5. Phone call
6. Writing Greetings
7. Directions and places

This course is a follow up to and continuation of level 1. By the end of the course, students are expected to have a good grammatical understanding of the Tamil language and to have a vocabulary, which makes it possible for them to handle all four aspects in Tamil language learning (speaking, listening, reading and writing) with ease and effectiveness. There will be an introduction to features of idiomatic Tamil and to everyday usages. Students will be able to write short compositions and letters and to read newspaper articles, stories and short poems.

LEVEL 3

TAMIL LEVEL 3

Course Fee: Full fee: $654 \| Fee after NSA subsidy: $354	Course Start Date: TBC	Course End Date: TBC
Material Cost: Fresh Student - $23, Continuing Student - Nil (Purchase/collection/delivery to be advised)	Venue: Online Class (As this is an online course, the use of webcam will be compulsory for everyone.)	Schedule: TBC
Registration Start: TBC	Registration Deadline: TBC

All self-sponsored Singapore Citizens aged 25 and above may use available funds in their SkillsFuture Credit account to pay their course fees.
SFC Course Code: ***TGS-2019507993*** Learn more

For NUS Alumni/Staff/ Student, there will be a 10% discount off the course fee before GST.

This course is a continuation of TAMIL 2, aiming at strengthening learners’ communicative competence using an integrated approach. Through the exposure to a variety of authentic communicative tasks, learners will be able to deepen their knowledge of the target language, skills as well as intercultural competence.

Course Content:
Students will be engaging in tasks to achieve the following communicative functions:
1. News – Reading & listening
2. Current affairs – Online articles
3. Living Style
4. At the Market
5. Reply to a message – SMS/ email
6. Expressing oneself
7. May I? – Request, permission, help
8. Attending Festivals & Ceremonies – Wedding, Deepavali
9. My goal