Bengaluru: Bengaluru's non-Kannadiga residents will no longer need to mumble "Kannada gothilla", as the Kannada Development Authority (KDA) plans to launch 20 training centres in the city to offer free Kannada classes for non-native speakers.
These centres, to be initiated in partnership with community collectives and educational institutions, aim to bring the language closer to the city's non-Kannadiga residents.
The initiative has already attracted over 250 people who have approached KDA through community groups. Some private colleges have also urged KDA to organise the classes on their premises, KDA chairman Prof Purushottam Bilimale told DH.
The Kannada crash course will span three months and is expected to be conducted three times a week between 6 pm and 7 pm to accommodate professionals.
"The target group includes non-Kannada speaking, college-going youngsters, techies, MNC employees, and minority communities native to Bengaluru, but not conventionally educated and, therefore, lacking the ability to read, write, or comprehend Kannada,” Bilimale said.
Residents in apartment complexes are also encouraged to enroll as groups in collaboration with residents' welfare associations. The KDA will provide the curriculum and educators. A pilot project is expected to be launched on July 19.
Breaking away from the conventional, grammar-driven learning, the course created from a curriculum developed by Bilimale will use examples from everyday usage and names of places in the city. The idea is to create “meaningful contexts” that will make learning easier, Bilimale said.
“For instance, nasal consonants in the Kannada alphabet will not be taught initially since their usage is minimal in everyday context. Instead, easy sentence formation will be taught through exercises on verbless sentences,” he explained.
This approach aims to impart a working knowledge of the language for everyday use rather than for literary purposes, the KDA Chairman added.
KDA has been organising similar classes since 2019 at two to three locations, but without a formal strategy to design Kannada courses for non-Kannadigas.
The authority is in the process of hiring part-time teachers for the programme. Students will receive certificates on completing the course.