Hindi and Urdu Courses for Fall 2019
Ready to register? Go to How to Register. The application process is designed to make sure the course is a good fit for you for the upcoming semester. Questions? Email fclrc@hfa.umass.edu, call 413-542-5264 (413-542-LANG), or attend a drop-in session.
Studying Hindi or Urdu
Hindi and Urdu language study is available to all Five College students at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels.
There are courses for students with no previous experience with Hindi or Urdu and courses for students who speak Hindi or Urdu with some fluency, but need to learn to read and write or develop more advanced or specialized vocabulary.
In terms of everyday language, Hindi and Urdu are similar and mutually intelligible languages. Each language is written in a different script and the vocabulary used in literature and other specialized contexts tends to diverge. Students may focus on either Hindi or Urdu, or may switch between them upon learning the requisite script.
Course Formats
Courses are offered in a special “mentored” format that has the flexibility to serve students on all five campuses. Course sessions are scheduled across all five campuses based on the schedules and home campuses of enrolled students.
Course sessions are in the form of individual one-on-one tutorial sessions and small group conversation sessions. Individual tutorials are conducted by a Hindi or Urdu teaching assistant. Conversation sessions are conducted either by a teaching assistant or by highly proficient student native speakers of the language. Format varies by course.
Homework is structured by a series of detailed study guides providing step-by-step preparation instructions for the week. To see recent course syllabi and study guides, visit the Hindi course page and the Urdu course page on the Center's LangMedia website.
Both half courses (1.5 or 2 UMass credits depending upon the course) and full courses (3 or 4 UMass credits depending upon the course) are available. Half courses allow students with heavy course loads to fit in language study at a slower pace than full courses. See below for how credits transfer Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke or Smith.
CourseS for Beginners and for advanced Speakers
Students may start study of Hindi or Urdu in either the fall and spring semester. There are separate course tracks depending upon a student’s previous experience with either Hindi or Urdu:
- Regular track for students who begin study of Hindi or Urdu with no previous experience or only novice or early intermediate level skills in the language. Regular track courses address speaking, listening, reading and writing skills.
- Speakers track for students who already speak either Hindi or Urdu at a high intermediate or early advanced level and need to develop reading and writing skills and/or need to develop more advanced or specialized spoken language. NEW COURSE: Advanced Hindi & Urdu for Health and Human Services (1.5 credits). Open to native/heritage speakers and others with advanced Hindi or Urdu skills. Develop specialized vocabulary for health and human services situations. Spoken Hindi or Urdu. Course description below.
Course Scheduling
Students are scheduled for individual tutorials and/or conversation sessions based on schedule information submitted as part of the admission process. Students who are admitted and submit schedule information by May 1, 2019 will have priority in scheduling. Students will continue to be admitted and scheduled after May 1 as long as space remains available. With later applications, fewer options will be available in terms of session times and the campus on which course sessions will meet.
When possible, students are scheduled for sessions on their home campus or a nearby campus. In some cases, students will have to travel to a different campus. Five College bus schedules are taken into account. Students admitted by May 1 will have prioirty when determining the location of sessions.
Want to know more? Check out the Online Orientation Tutorial and the Hindi course page and the Urdu course page on the Center's LangMedia website.
Regular Track Courses for Fall 2019
Ready to register? Go to How to Register. Ready to register? Go to How to Register. Questions? Email fclrc@hfa.umass.edu, call 413-542-5264 (413-542-LANG), or attend a drop-in session.
Regular track half courses have one 30-minute tutorial and one 60-minute conversation session per week and are worth 2.0 credits at UMass. Half course workload is one hour per day. Five College Interchange Credit Information.
Regular track full courses have one 60-minute tutorial and one 90-minute conversation session per week and are worth 4.0 credits at UMass. Full course workload is two hours per day. Full courses combine two half courses in sequence during the semester. Five College Interchange Credit Information.
Hindi I or Urdu I. First part of four-part elementary sequence. Half course.
Hindi II or Urdu II. Second part of four-part elementary sequence. Half course.
Hindi III or Urdu III. Third part of four-part elementary sequence. Half course.
Hindi IV or Urdu IV. Fourth part of four-part elementary sequence. Half course.
Hindi V or Urdu V. First part of two-part intermediate sequence. Half course.
Hindi VI or Urdu VI. Second part of two-part intermediate sequence. Half course.
Hindi VII or Urdu VII. High intermediate course. Students can choose to focus on social media, literature, Hindi film, or Hindi or Urdu for health and human services. Half course.
Hindi VIII or Urdu VIII. High intermediate / early advanced course. Students can choose to focus on social media, literature, Hindi film, or Hindi or Urdu for health and human services. Half course.
Topics in Advanced Hindi or Urdu. Advanced course. Course topics chosen to meet the interests and needs of individual students. Half course.
Advanded Hindi and Urdu for Health and Human Services. Advanced course. Half course.
Full course sequence options:
Hindi or Urdu I-II
Hindi or Urdu II-III
Hindi or Urdu III-IV
Hindi or Urdu IV-V
Hindi or Urdu V-VI
Hindi or Urdu VI-VII
Hindi or Urdu VII-VIII
Topics in Advanced Hindi or Urdu may also be taken as a full course when space is available.
Want to know more? Check out the Online Orientation Tutorial and the Hindi course page and the Urdu course page on the Center's LangMedia website.
Speakers Track Courses for Fall 2019
Ready to register? Go to How to Register. Questions? Email fclrc@hfa.umass.edu, call 413-542-5264 (413-542-LANG), or attend a drop-in session.
Speakers track half courses are worth 1.5 credits at UMass. Workload is expectation is 4-5 hours per week. In some cases, speakers track half courses may be combined to make a full course. Five College Interchange Credit Information.
Hindi for HIndi-Urdu Speakers I. Course for high intermediate and advanced speakers of Hindi or Urdu to learn to read and write in Hindi. A placement interview is required. Schedule: One 60-minute tutorial per week, no conversation session. Half course. 1.5 credits at UMass.
Urdu for Urdu-Hindi Speakers I. Course for high intermediate and advanced speakers of Urdu or Hindi to learn to read and write in Urdu. A placement interview is required. Schedule: One 60-minute tutorial per week, no conversation session. Half course. 1.5 credits at UMass.
Advanced Hindi and Urdu for Health and Human Services. A course for advanced speakers of either Hindi or Urdu. The course will be based on videos from “Language for Health: The Practice of Medicine in Hindi and Urdu” ( http://www.hindiurduhealth.org ). The goal is to develop vocabulary and cultural knowledge needed to have conversations about health and human well-being in Hindi and Urdu speaking contexts. Course materials include a diversity of speakers using various styles of Hindi and Urdu. Topics will include the various medicinal systems used in South Asia (both conventional and traditional Ayurvedic and Unani practices), the language needed to talk about public health issues and access to health care, and conversation skills needed to function in various health and social services settings where Hindi and Urdu are used. Discussion will be based on a common curriculum and each student will also have the opportunity to choose topics on which to focus during the final part of the course. Schedule: 75-minute discussion session per week based on assigned videos, one-page reflection paper due each week (written in either Hindi or Urdu), and a final oral evaluation. Session time scheduled based on schedules of enrolled students. Priority in scheduling given to students who are admitted and submit schedule information by December 2, 2018. Applications will continue to be considered after December 2 but there will be more restraints on meeting time and campus location. Prerequisites: Advanced speaking skills in either Hindi or Urdu; sufficient writing and reading skills in Hindi or Urdu to read video transcripts in either Hindi or Urdu and to write a one-page reflection paper in either Hindi or Urdu each week. Placement interview required.
Hindi for HIndi-Urdu Speakers II. Course for high intermediate and advanced speakers of Hindi or Urdu to continue to work on reading and writing skills in Hindi. A placement interview is required. Schedule: One 60-minute tutorial per week, no conversation session. Half course. 1.5 credits at UMass. May be combined with Advanced Hindi and Urdu for Health and Human Services to make a full course.
Urdu for Urdu-Hindi Speakers II. Course for high intermediate and advanced speakers of Urdu or Hindi to continue to work on reading and writing skills in Urdu. A placement interview is required. Schedule: One 60-minute tutorial per week, no conversation session. Half course. 1.5 credits at UMass. May be combined with Advanced Hindi and Urdu for Health and Human Services to make a full course.
A student who has completed a course in the speakers track may in some cases be eligible to move into an appropriate advanced level course in the regular track.
Half and Full Courses - Workload and Credit
Half Courses Credit and Workload
Regular track half courses covering all four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) are worth 2.0 credits at UMass. Workload is one hour per day.
Five College interchange credit is: Amherst – ½ course; Hampshire – ½ course; Mount Holyoke – 2.0 credits; Smith – 2.0 credits and it is a Smith policy that at the elementary level two FCCSWL half courses or the equivalent must be completed to receive credit.
Speakers track half courses covering two language skills (either reading/writing or speaking/listening) are worth 1.5 credits at UMass. Workload is 4-5 hours per week.
Five College interchange credit is: Amherst – ½ course; Hampshire – ½ course; Mount Holyoke – 1.5 credits; Smith – 1.5 credits and it is a Smith policy that at the elementary level two courses or the equivalent must be completed to receive credit. Smith students taking Hind or Urdu for Speakers I or II must compete two consecuitve half courses in one language to receive credit.
Full Courses Credit and Workload
Regular track full courses covering all four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) are worth 4.0 credits at UMass. Workload is two hours per day.
Five College interchange credit is: Amherst – 1 course; Hampshire – 1 course; Mount Holyoke – 4.0 credits; Smith – 4.0 credits and it is a Smith policy that at the elementary level the equivalent of two FCCSWL half courses must be completed to receive credit. Full courses combine two half courses in a single semester.
Speakers track full courses covering two language skills (either reading/writing or speaking/listening) are worth 3.0 credits at UMass. Workload is 1.5 hours per day.
Five College interchange credit is: Amherst – 1 course; Hampshire – 1 course; Mount Holyoke – 3.0 credits; Smith – 3.0- credits and it is a Smith policy that at the elementary level the equivalent of two FCCSWL half courses must be completed to receive credit. Full courses combine two half courses in a single semester. Smith students taking Hind or Urdu for Speakers I or II must compete two consecuitve courses in one language to receive credit.
Want to know more? Check out the Online Orientation Tutorial and the Hindi course page and the Urdu course page on the Center's LangMedia website.