Modern Language Centre

Evening Language Courses

Course Description

Hindi Level 1
How long does the course last?
3 x 10-week terms with 10 lessons per term. Lessons take place once a week and last 1.5 hours each. This gives
a total of 45 hours tuition.

Who is the course for?

The course is aimed at a wide range of students with a general interest in Hindi. No prior knowledge of Hindi
is required as the course is for complete beginners.

What are the objectives of the course?

To acquire basic language skills and to achieve the equivalent of A1 level of the Common European
Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), entry level of the Qualifications and Credit Framework
(QCF).
By the end of the course you will:
be able to communicate in very basic everyday-life situations, including greetings, daily activities, finding
your way, telling the time and date, making simple purchases, ordering a meal, etc
be able to understand very simple oral and written texts and ascertain specific information on simple topics
have developed an insight into Hindi-speaking life, culture and society

How is the course taught?

A communicative approach is used. All four skills (speaking, reading, listening and writing) are practised,
with the main emphasis on speaking.
Students engage in interactive language activities, participating in group and pair work according to a
syllabus based on systematic grammatical progression.
Students will also be offered guidance in self-study and set optional homework tasks.

What course can I do next?

After completing all 3 parts of level 1, students should be able to join a level 2 class. Students who have only
completed one or two parts of level 1 should join a False Beginners class.

Course outline
Part 1
Topics
Alphabet vowels and consonants
Pronunciation
Numbers 1-20
Parts of the body
Directions and colours
Family and friends
Personal details nationality, occupation
Formal and informal ways of addressing people
Days of the week

Functions
Greeting / responding to greetings
Expressing thanks and apologies
Meeting a new neighbour
Asking and answering simple questions
Describing colour size, location, appearance

Grammar
Personal pronouns: use of this, that, he, she and it
Postpositions of place
Interrogative sentences
Number and gender
Present tense
A list of common verbs
Sentence structure person, verb relations

Part 2
Topics
Objects
Currency and numbers up to 50
Shopping
At home or school
Home: rooms in a house or flat, household furniture and items
Time, days and dates
Orders and requests
Likes and dislikes
Transport and directions
At the bus station
The weather

Functions
Buying fruit and vegetables
Describing towns
Asking for and giving directions
Asking for and telling the time
Expressing likes and dislikes
Organising holidays
Speaking about daily life

Grammar
Object and possessive pronouns
Adjectives
Present continuous tense
Introduction to past tense
Some useful verbs

Part 3
Topics
Daily routine and weekends
Short telephone conversations
Comparisons: smaller and bigger size
At the hotel
Places and location

Hindi Level 1 Page 2

Health and diet
Numbers up to 100

Functions
Asking and talking about health
Buying tickets
Describing a place
Offering, accepting and refusing offers
Answering the telephone
Making comparisons
Describing past events
Asking for things
Giving simple opinions
Talking to children

Grammar
Conditional
Past continuous tense
Relative pronouns
Simple Future tense

Learning resources
Textbook and exercise book:
Teach Yourself Complete Hindi, by Rupert Snell, 2003, ISBN-10: 0071420126

Students are expected to purchase their own textbook. An exercise book may also be recommended. The
teacher will supply additional material, both tailor-made and taken from other sources (textbooks, newspapers,
and new media).

Recommended additional material:

Hindi An Essential Grammar by Rama Kant Agnihotri, Routledge

For a list of bookshops where you may be able to purchase text books please see our web page:
www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/mlc/about/facilities/shops.aspx

Online language learning resources:

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/mlc/lrc/language-resources/hindi.aspx

Independent Study
Research indicates that successful language learners revise new material and review their progress on a regular
basis. The Language Resources Centre (LRC), situated in room K-1.072 in level minus one of the Strand
Campus, houses a wide collection of learning material including text and grammar books, magazines and
newspapers, CDs, DVDs, and self-access e-learning language programmes.

For details on LRC opening times, please see our website:

http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/mlc/lrc/LRCindex.aspx

Date of last revision: July 2016

Hindi Level 1 Page 3