Non-Kannadigas struggling to converse in Kannada is a common sight in Bengaluru. With a significant portion of its population as outsiders, different organisations provide Kannada classes in the city.
These classes are helping many with their work and goals, and carrying out daily activities smoothly.
With Karnataka Rajyotsava on Sunday, Metrolife looks at different language class options one can choose from.
Kannada Prasaara Parishat
Kannada Prasaara Parishat (KPP), a non-profit organisation, started by Raghavan B V, has been holding Kannada classes for the last 30 years.
The organisation used to hold classes for corporates, but its focus lies on the Sunday classes for general public, which used to be held in the vicinity of MG Road. The classes are for three months. “People from all walks of life would come for the courses till February. Now the classes are online and are being held through Zoom,” he says.
KPP conducts classes at all levels: basic spoken, advance spoken, script reading and writing, advanced Kannada and prepares students for various Kannada state and centre examinations.
Contact: 94488 78569
KannadaGottilla
KannadaGottilla, founded by Anup Maiya, has taught around 22,000 students, since 2014.
One can log on to www.kannadagottilla.com, and register for classes through WhatsApp or Skype. There are courses for speaking, reading and writing Kannada.
“There are three levels of classes on WhatsApp. Level one is learning basic words and sentences, level two is about understanding grammar and the next level delves into advanced grammar,” Anup says.
Every batch has about 25 to 30 students, with separate batches for men and women.
“Daily lessons will include audio recordings and notes from mentor, with six to seven words, or two to three sentences taught in a day,” he details.
The group has a team of 10 mentors and has done workshops for corporates and different organisations. They have started a initiative, AnyBody Can Teach (ABCT), where anyone can send a video explaining a Kannada word and sentence.
“We will be uploading a couple of videos everyday on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. People can learn a word and sentence for free through November,” he adds.
Contact: www.kannadagottilla.com
Speak
Speak, located in Uttarahalli Circle, close to Banashankari, is currently offering one-to-one classes through WhatsApp audio calls or telephonic calls.
Classes are available for speaking, writing and reading Kannada. Narendran Somisetty, founder, says courses are according to the learning requirements.
“Some of our students are those who have settled down in the city and want to be able to communicate freely with people, while others, although being Kannadigas, may have forgotten how to read and write Kannada,” he adds.
Batches are held through the week and weekends, according to preference.
Contact: 98452 40492
Bhasha.io
Bhasha.io teaches Indian languages through a one-to-one online live class format.
Gaurav Rathi, co-founder says, “We have a personalised app that has bite-sized lessons, which are useful for revision. The classes are focused on spoken Kannada from the first day, and is a two-month program.”
Most students continue classes beyond two months to improve fluency. Students are from healthcare sector, government sector, entertainment industry and children of NRIs.
During the lockdown, enrolment of students increased by two to three folds. “We continue our classes online going forward,” he adds.
Contact: 7899079952 (WhatsApp)
IndLangs
IndLangs, Ulsoor, has been offering online and offline Kannada classes since four years. Now classes are on Skype only.
Raghavendra Prasad, founder, says that there are four stages to learning a new language-- learning frequently used words, sentence formation, tense of the sentence, and holding basic conversations.
He says, “Our course spans over 10 classes and covers all these stages. Classes are held on weekends and each class is of 90-minute duration.”
IndLangs has also published books Spoken Kannada Level 1 and 2, that are available on Amazon.
Contact: 99001 07456
Lessons on Snapchat
Atit Kharel, one of Snapchat’s Official Lens Creators, has created a special feature for Kannada Rajyotsava. His ‘Learn Kannada’ lens will allow people to learn Kannada in a fun and easy way.
It uses augmented reality and machine learning to recognise objects and translate their name to Kannada in real-time.
Users have to point their cameras at an object to scan it, and the lens automatically displays the English and Kannada names, along with a phonetic transcription of the word, so you can learn the language one word at a time.
“I have always been fascinated by the cultural diversity of Karnataka. The idea behind the lens was to make learning Kannada fun and easy. The lens is easy to use and there are over 1000 words to learn,” says Atit Kharel, Snapchat Official Lens Creator.
How to use: Open Snapchat and tap the Search bar. Type ‘Learn Kannada’ and click on the lens to unlock.
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