"Tamil: An Intensive course" by Prof V.I. Subramoniam and Dr. V. Veeraswamy is an important book much sought after by many during the last four decades. For sometime it was out of print. Due to reasons beyond our control this could not be reprinted earlier.
I am proud to dedicate this book to the memory of Prof. V.I. Subramoniam, the founder of three sister organizations viz. Dravidian Linguistics Association of India, International School of Dravidian Linguistics and the International Journal of Dravidian Linguistics and to Prof V. Veeraswamy who was my collegue in the Tamil Department of the University of Kerala.
When Tamil language was given classical status we planned to bring out this book. Unforeseen situations delayed its republishing further.
I am thanful to the publication and research committee of ISDL for having consented to its republication with the concurrence of the Council of Direction. I am in particular thank Dr. TP Sankarankutty Nair, Convenor of the Publication Committee for his genuine interest in republishing this in March 2012.
Any human being who speaks a language should have been a learner as well as a teacher, consciously or unconsciously. If the language is his mother-tongue, he learns it in his early child-hood from his parents, siblings, and members of his society, and teaches it in his adulthood to his fellow beings of his village. If he knows another language its learning will have been more systematic than that of his mother-tongue. His experience in learning languages grows in proportion to the number of languages spoken by him. Learning a language, thus, is an experience shared by all members of the society. This has enabled every one to evaluate and criticise any hypothesis formulated for learning. This again is the reason why any of the existing hypotheses do not completely satisfy any learner.
COMPLEXITY IN LEARNING LANGUAGES
The factors involved in learning a language are many. The language proneness of the individual, his motives in learning, the teacher and his method, the lessons, the opportunities one gets in life by learning a language etc., are a few. Because of the involvement of complex-in some cases contradictory - factors, 'no one educational method is a cure all'. (1)
LEARNING OF MOTHER TONGUE AND OTHER LANGUAGES
Learning ones own mother-tongue and learning a language in addition to the mother-tongue are two related areas of learning with a difference. In learing once own mother tongue, interference of any other language is non-existent. In learning another language interference of the mother-tongue in the process of learning is a factor to be reckoned with. In the first, only acquisition of a language is involved. In the second, in addition to acquisition, restraint of the mother-tongue is also involved. The number of languages learnt increases the efforts of restraining the languages already learnt, while acquiring a fresh language. The same method of teaching can be employed for both types of learning.
METHODS OF TEACHING
Among the methods adopted in teaching languages one is the grammar- translation method. This involves the grammatical analysis of the language taught, and the categories of grammar being defined in general terms with reference to meaning. The mother-tongue of the student is extensively used in teaching the foreign language through this method. Opposed to this is another method, the direct method, which abhors the use of the mother-tongue while teaching another language. Practitioners of this method engage the pupil in conversation and supply meaning by referring directly to objects and picture charts. They make signs or act out the meaning of sentences in order to make the students understand their significance. Grammar is used by some. Others give little importance to it. None of its followers use the grammatical analysis of the native language.
A third method now gaining popularity is the audio-lingual method which admits the use of the mothertongue to supply meaning to the students. At the same time, it insists on memorizing dialogues and stories. Writing and reading are not used during the initial phases of instruction. Grammatical exercises, drills and changes in sentence patterns by substitution, are practised in this method.
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