Introduction
Basic Hindi is funded by Open Educational Resources at Michigan State University. It is an online interactive theme-based textbook for the true beginner of the Hindi language. It promotes communicative, linguistic, and cultural competence. It has a mixture of pedagogical approaches to fit all types of learning and teaching philosophies/styles to achieve intermediate low to mid-ACTFL proficiency levels within a semester.
The book has eight chapters. Chapter 1 is an introduction to Hindi script and sound system. Chapters 2-8 are based on themes: beginning conversation; family; describing places; expressing likes, dislikes, needs, and possession; giving instructions and making requests, expressing present, past, and future actions; and talking about past and completed actions.
Each chapter starts with a review of the vocabulary, grammar, and theme of the previous chapter. Each two to three reading/listening is carefully tailored to fit the proficiency level of the intended learners. Each chapter also has a “study abroad” section. The reading/listening and study abroad sections have pre-/post- reading/listening activities to help learners to achieve interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational skills in communication. The goal of the study abroad section is to expose learners to study abroad experience. Each chapter also has a grammar section which includes three to four grammatical items explained in a video and text, followed by interactive activities. Each chapter ends with cultural notes and a few online available materials related to the theme of the chapter.
The book aims to cater to different learning and teaching styles so the learners can go through the reading/listening sections then the grammar section or the other way around to develop linguistic competence. Vocabulary in reading/listening is built in the conversation with the English meaning so that learners can infer the meaning in the given context. Activities in reading/listening and grammar have been developed by using h5p so that learners can get immediate constructive feedback.
Lastly, this book is the beginning of the journey and not the end of it. I promise to keep this book updated and revised based on the users, and experts’ feedback. So, if you find something, any error, and/or have suggestions, please do not hesitate to write to rranjan@msu.edu.
