Advanced Tamil I (ASIANLAN 455) is for students who have completed at least two years of the study of Tamil or completed ASIANLAN 256 or can show that they have attained that level of proficiency through a placement exam or an interview with the instructor. Students who have already taken the third year are welcome to take the class, as the course will be structured so as to accommodate students at both the third and fourth-year levels. Students who take the class this year will be eligible to take it again once more in the future.

To accommodate students at two different levels in the class, attention will be given to individual student interests, the rotation of class materials, and the use of a flexible structure in which students can participate in the class at either the third or fourth-year level.

The goal of the class will be to further develop the students’ communicative skills and achieve fluency in the use of the language – both written and spoken varieties. As Tamil is a highly diglossic language (there is a great disparity between the written and spoken forms), due importance will be given to this factor in the choice of materials introduced. Standard print materials will be supplemented by materials prepared or collected by the instructor representing a wide variety of media (audio, video, web-based, etc.) Students will particularly be exposed to how the language is used in film.

By the end of this class students will be able to:

• Describe and narrate short scenes/stories
• Cope with some difficult situations.
• Discuss issues and support/oppose opinions
• Read and understand some news/articles/blogs
• Explain and reflect on the concept of culture through comparisons
• Understand the concepts and divisions in Tamil literature.

Course Requirements:

Attendance, Classroom participation, Completion of homework assignments, Group and individual projects and oral presentations, papers written on the topic of learning, quizzes, mid-term and final exams.

Class Format:

Recitation