From October 2009, the British Council has been offering beginners' courses in colloquial Tamil in addition to our well established Sinhala classes. Both courses are designed for foreigners living in Sri Lanka who want to gain a basic, practical knowledge of the spoken language, focusing on everyday situations - shopping, giving directions, introducing yourself, asking simple personal questions, etc.

The Sinhala and Tamil scripts will be introduced, partly as an aid to pronunciation since both languages are "phonetic". You will learn to read and write the most common letters of the alphabet so that you can read place names, common words, simple phrases, etc. But the more formal written forms of the languages will not be introduced. Both courses will be taught by Michael Meyler, who has been teaching our popular Sinhala beginners' classes for the past 12 years.

SINHALA 1 (Beginners)
This 40-hour course is designed for foreigners living in Sri Lanka who want to gain a basic, practical knowledge of spoken Sinhala. On completing the course you will be able to communicate in simple everday situations: introducing yourself, shopping, making simple requests and offers, etc. You will learn a basic vocabulary of common nouns, verbs, adjectives and time expressions and will also be able to recognise the most common letters of the Sinhala alphabet.

Course length	40 hours
Class times	Monday and Friday from 1100 to 1300 Duration: 10 weeks
Location	Teaching Centre, British Council, Colombo
Fee	Rs. 28,100/- (payments can be made by cash, cheque or credit card)
Term dates	from 19 January to 2 April 2010

SINHALA 2
This 40-hour course is designed for anyone who has completed the beginners' course or who already has a basic knowledge of spoken Sinhala. On completing this course you will be able to communicate more effectively in everyday situations: telephone conversations, taking a three-wheeler, talking about daily routines, etc. You will build up your vocabulary, learn to use different tenses (past, future, present perfect) and increase your knowledge of Sinhala script.

TAMIL 1 (Beginners)
This 40-hour course is designed for foreigners living in Sri Lanka who want to gain a basic, practical knowledge of spoken Tamil. On completing the course you will be able to communicate in simple everday situations: introducing yourself, shopping, making simple requests and offers, etc. You will learn a basic vocabulary of common nouns, verbs, adjectives and time expressions and will also be able to recognise the most common letters of the Tamil alphabet.

Course length	40 hours
Class times	Tuesday and Thursday from 1800 to 2000 Duration: 10 weeks
Location	Teaching Centre, British Council, Colombo
Fee	Rs.28,100/- (payments can be made by cash, cheque or credit card)
Term Dates	from 19 January to 2 April 2010

HOW TO REGISTER

Registrations are open now. You are strongly advised to register early to ensure a place on the course.

Please contact Thushara Gamage at our Teaching Centre registration desk at the following times:

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT MICHAEL MEYLER